Archive of Our Own

It’s the afternoon on a sunny day in Tracen Academy. Classes have concluded and the students were free to do what they wish. For most, it’s another day of training. For the lucky few, it’s a day to recuperate. For one umamusume, it was a day for neither. In fact she doesn’t even know what day it is right now.

Agnes Tachyon, the mad scientist of Tracen, sat at her desk chair with her knees to her chest. Between her right index and middle fingers, a sealed vial was dangling. Tachyon stared at its liquid contents. She didn’t remember how long it took for her to complete the concoction, only why she made it.

When Tachyon retired from active racing, she was able to focus completely on research. At the behest of her trainer and the student council, the mad scientist was asked to join the R&D side of Tracen. Tachyon didn’t see any benefit. She was already given her own lab and she worked better on her own. And yet Tachyon was still moved to R&D. Her trainer called it an extended training of wits. Tachyon in return called him a moron.

Her first meeting with her new classmates wasn’t a total disaster. She was treated like almost royalty and was swarmed. Some of them wanted collaborations, other wanted her for their own experiments. If anything, being on the receiving end of a weirdo's strange request was a change of pace.

However, Tachyon found it hard to connect with these classmates who are just as eccentric as her. She can barely handle her roommate, Agnes Digital, dealing with a classroom full of Digitals is draining. It was Tachyon’s new goal to figure out how to deal with eccentrics, starting with herself. And who else knows her best but her own rival-friends? How did any of them deal with these umas, let alone herself? Tachyon looked to solve this the only way she can. Unfortunately, it wasn’t through honest communication.

All this has lead to today and the vial in Tachyon’s hand. For the longest time, she never really cared for how others thought of her. She knew what her closest friends felt about her, but wondered if they ever felt something else. Did it require mental preparation? What was the correct amount of tolerance to set? Instead of actually asking them, Tachyon took drastic measures.

“Taking this won’t be enough. I need someone else with me.” Tachyon mumbled to herself. In the first floor laboratory, she was alone. To complete her experiment, she needed a Guinea pig. Usually at this time, Manhattan Cafe would be sitting at her corner of the lab. Tachyon glanced over to the unoccupied corner. Cafe’s sofa looked incomplete.

“Haaaah… Anyone will do.” she mumbled to herself as she grabbed her smartphone. Looking through her list of contacts, Tachyon picked her most closest friends she had during her racing career to receive a text.

[Can all of you meet me at my laborato_ ] Tachyon wiped the message away. She needed something that would get them to appear faster. She tried again, this time with a bit of malice.

[Everyone! Please help me at the lab. I accidentally broke Cafe’s coffee machine. I tried to see if it was able to mix my concoctions. Please don’t tell Cafe.] 

“Aaaand send.” Tachyon opted to instead create a chat room with her friends . And she also made sure to include Cafe in there as well. Her lips widened into a smile when she saw who replied first.

mhtn_cafe: [I’m coming right now.]

pokke: [HAHAHA HOW DUMB ARE YA]

dantsu_f: [Oh no! Cafe don’t do anything harsh. Maybe it was an accident!]

scarlet_num1: [TACHYON-SAN CAFE IS IN THE CHAT ROOM]

pokke: [oh **** hold on Cafe wait dnt do anything!!!!!! TACCHY RUN]

mhtn_cafe: [Stay right there Tachyon.]

scarlet_num1: [CAFE JUST DASHED OUT OF THE LIBRARY.]

Tachyon let out a couple giggles before setting her phone down on her desk. Tachyon would never touch any of Cafe’s tools, though she’d have to be quick to show her innocence. Cafe’s wrath is not something she would like to experience. “But maybe she does have some animosity towards me…” Tachyon wondered as she played with the vial in her hand.

The vial’s contents is a work of science and several nonstop days of labour. Tachyon managed to reverse engineer a truth serum. Typically, these are used on someone to let them slip up during interrogation. The Mad Scientist’s serum is instead made for the interrogator to consume. While under its effects, those in the presence of the serum taker cannot tell lies. Duration of the serum should only last 6 hours at the latest. Is this breaking any ethics or laws? Of course, but when has Tachyon ever not been careful? Only a single vial exists of this and Tachyon was sure to delete her files on this. As for whether it actually works? …Well she’s going to find out soon enough.

“Maybe I could just ask them how befriend new people…” Tachyon hesitated and thought about ending this experiment, but then she heard the ever growing noise of heavy steps coming. Cafe was only seconds away.

“Oh well. It’d be a waste not to try this.” With a flick of her thumb, the vial’s cap was tossed out. Angling it down to her mouth, Tachyon gulped the entire serum down. She took a moment to compose herself and waited eagerly for the arrival of Cafe. She grabbed her phone to see how the conversation had continued, but the door to the lab caught her attention first.

The laboratory door opened quickly, but didn’t slam against the wall. Manhattan Cafe chose not to make a scene if the residing scientist was not actually present. Thankfully she was, so Cafe entered and slammed the door shut. Tachyon could feel the force of it on her oversized lab coat.

“Good afternoon, Cafe! Didn’t expect to see here so quickly. I take it you’re here for your coffee machine!” Tachyon greeted Cafe as she casually does, with sleepy eyes and her signature grin. Cafe greeted her back with a stare that could kill. The Jet-black haired uma already sees ghosts on a daily basis, tonight might be the first time she sees a dead body.

“This is the part where you explain whatever plan you have, Tachyon.” Cafe bluntly demanded.

“Aaah Cafe~. Seeing you so wary of my schemes is so adorable. Why not let yourself be surprised like you used to?” Tachyon tossed out a simple question to see how she’d respond.

“Because I would like to avoid dealing with the aftermath of whatever experiment you involve me in.” Cafe answered back. Coming from experience, the mad scientist is always quick to test first and let everyone deal with the consequences later. Cafe crossed her arms, she prayed her answer was enough for Tachyon. It was.

“Please tell me why you lured me here so I can go on with my day. I owe a lot of people apologies at the library...”

“Why the rush? I think you’ll quite enjoy my new experiment. No concoctions for you this time. I just need to ask you some questions.”

Cafe wanted to do her best to say no. She must be so used to her partner’s presence if she felt okay with this scenario. If there really was nothing for her to drink, it wouldn't end in disaster at least.

“Fine. So long... as I don’t glow green like your trainer last month.”

“Like I said, no concoctions for you to consume.... Also that was guinea pig’s fault. I told him not to drink my greening tea. Plus that was only for a day. I made sure that he wasn’t seen by anyone other than us too. He-“

“The questions, Tachyon...?”

Got you, Tachyon thought, her grin growing bigger. Now all she has to do is to guide her into the right questions. Having taken out a notebook and pen from her lab coat, Tachyon lifted her index finger.

“First question then. Would you consider me as a part of Tracen’s group of eccentrics?” A simple yes or no question to begin with, one with a very obvious answer.

“Yes.” Cafe closed her eyes. Having accepted that today was going to be one of those days, she sank down onto sofa behind her. She had an entire list of reasons why Tachyon belonged to that group. She managed to keep it to herself as her blunt one-worded answer still counts as an answer.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Tachyon responded. Time to push it just a bit more. “Is there anything you do to prepare with having to deal with me? And please give me examples.” She lays the tip of her pen on her notebook, hoping to write down something important.

“I…” Cafe wanted to say she didn’t. She felt something in her throat. Her mouth betraying her as the words that would come out of her mouth were those she did not want to speak. She wanted to stop herself from uttering more, but the words spilled out against her will.

“I take deep breaths every morning in front of my bathroom mirror to compose myself. Sometimes I do it right before entering the lab. I make excuses to leave when I cannot handle a conversation. I have a specific coffee blend for when dealing with you is the biggest worry of my day.” When Cafe finished speaking, her eyes were open wide.

“Aaaah… I apologize for any unnecessary stress or have been giving you. I can check your cortisol levels for you some other time if you like?”

“Not interested.” She felt it again. A small tinge in her throat. Cafe laid a hand on her neck. “Tachyon, I thought you said no concoctions for me.”

“Of course! I didn’t make you drink anything lately, right?”

“No, you did not but... What was in that empty vial?”

“I’m asking the questions here. You wait your turn, Cafe.”

“Promise me that.”

“What’s that?”

“My turn. I answer your questions, then you answer all of mine. Truthfully.”

“It’s a promise. I owe you an explanation after all.”

Cafe released her arms and rested her hands on her lap.

“All right... Please continue.”

“Next question. How would you describe our relationship?”

A million words wanted to fly out of Cafe’s mouth in an instant. Goddesses, where does she even start? She closed her eyes. She took in as much as air as she could before letting it all out. With her eyes back open, Cafe let it all out.

“You and I are partners.” She answered with a smile. A smile that did not come from a need to be polite. Tachyon only ever saw this smile when Cafe wasn’t aware of her. When Cafe was immersed in her books or when she got a new batch of coffee blends. Tachyon wasn’t sure if this was even worth writing about in her notebook, but wrote a prominent “what kind of partner?????” on it anyway.

As Tachyon stared at her notes, she failed to notice that the Cafe in her peripheral vision was quite larger than before. Almost like she had teleported away from the sofa and was right in front of her. She was right in front of her.

“Huuuhhhgfff!” Tachyon muttered as Cafe lifted her by the collar of her uniform. The former was forced onto her feet with her face inches away from Cafe’s face.

“What did you do?” Cafe dropped the smile for the glare.

“N-now now Cafe! W-who said it was your turn right now? How about you let me finish first?”

“I have been talking... No. I have been sharing more about me in these past few minutes... than I ever had in years.” As Cafe's face drew closer into Tachyon's, the latter noticed a subtle red on there. “Unless you tell me what you have done, I’m leaving.”

“All right. All right! I’ll tell you, please don’t kill me!” Tachyon begged for her life. Or rather for her experiment. It's almost the same for her. Her iconic smirk has not left her face even in this tension.

“As you know, my dear Cafe, Trainer-san convinced the student moved me to R&D.” Tachyon explained, having no intention of bringing up the vial-shaped elephant in the room.

“He thought that I’d do well with the other students there. They're very much just like me, but I find myself confounded with my own kind. I can understand the average student around here, but I’ve never been one to deal with the excitable ones.”

Cafe eased the grip on the scientist’s collar. She was not sure what this had to do with how she is over-sharing, but a revelation like this was enough to distract her. Tachyon has never been this forthcoming with her own faults before.

“Is this... what this is about? To get more comfortable with your new classmates..?” Cafe was puzzled, but then started to grin at the idea that Tachyon wanted to be more sociable.

“Don’t think I don’t know how the others think of me. They treat me like I’m Frankenstein’s monster, but now I’m among people who treat me like Frankenstein. I’m just not suited to that type of environment yet.” Tachyon answered back.

“And you were about to get to the point of asking me how I deal with the eccentrics of Tracen?”

“I was getting there.”

“Maybe open with that question first.... And don’t give me heart attacks over my espresso machine.” Cafe sighed deeply as she finally let go of Tachyon’s uniform. Hearing that the scientist is doing a whole experiment just to learn how to socialize better would baffle anyone. Not her, she thought, that’s just what Tachyon does.

“This is a first for you... Wanting to improve socializing? I’m glad... I’d be happy to help you.”

“Wonderful. And yes, I apologize for threatening your coffee devices. Do know that I’d never use those for synthesizing. Can we continue with another bout of questions?”

Cafe walked back to her sofa and sat down. She pondered her answer. It should have been simple like the first 'Yes' she gave. Instead, Cafe gave this one some thought. When she finished, her left hand clutched onto her right tricep. Once again, Tachyon’s reverse truth serum takes effect.

“I don’t think I can be the one to answer any more questions. Even I lack… the skills to make friends. You and I… it’s different. Maybe I can help in some other way?”

“Nonsense. You tame one shrew, you can tame any of them. Why am I any different to you, Cafe?”

“Because I love you.”

Tachyon laid the tip of her pen onto the notepad.

Love.

She caught herself thinking about it before writing it.

Love.

What an interesting take, but it would be a long time before she’d learn to love her new classmates. She bet that Cafe was lying in saying she was not knowledgeable on relationships. Maybe the serum is wearing off.

Love.

Too long to develop.

Love.

Maybe she can make her classmates love her? Is that what Cafe was getting at? Who does Cafe love?

Oh.

Tachyon realized that she stopped breathing. The objects in her hands felt heavier. Her hands throbbing in sync with her heartbeat. Usually, these feelings occur as she ran on the track. Except her feet were dangling in the air, she was still in the lab. Still sitting. She hadn’t taken in air yet, so she inhaled for the first time in what felt like an hour. As she finally got oxygen in her body, Tachyon tilted her head up to look at Cafe. Shrouded by her long jet-black hair, painted atop her pale skin was a coat of deep red. Her eyes and mouth wide open to accompany.

Tachyon stopped grinning, lips parted. She had gone too far in this experiment. The notebook, pen, and vial slipped through her hands. A tough loss for her as she needed her notes. She needed to fix this. Put everything back to how it was or face death. As she tried to find a solution, she finally was reminded of Cafe’s last response.

“You love me?”

Cafe got up again. This time, Tachyon witnessed her move with violent intent. Tachyon had more than enough time to react, but no one can escape Tracen's ghost whisperer.

The mad scientist was back on her feet. Her back against the wall. She was a few inches taller than Cafe, but the latter held her tightly to her eye level. Hands gripped on her shoulders kept her in place. No she definitely doesn't love me, Tachyon concluded, because she's going to kill me.

“I noticed... you never actually answered... What have you done to me?” Cafe interrogated.

Tachyon wanted to answer. Instead, she's stuck staring at Cafe. She's glaring at her again, rather she's pretending to glare. Her eyelids twitching, snapping back in place to frown. The red patch on her cheeks is still there, but there's another red patch on Cafe's lips. She's biting her gums hard. For someone who is about to end her life, Tachyon thought that she looked very cute right now. This relaxed her enough to start talking.

“Not you. I’ve done something to me.” Tachyon answered as she pointed at the vial on the floor. Since her over-sized lab coat hid her hand, she wiggled her sleeves at its general direction.

“I made a concoction that would make it so anyone I talk to can only tell me true statements. It's quite impressive really.” Tachyon was trying to play it off, for her own sake. And not because of the amount of ethics she may have destroyed creating and using that serum.

Cafe closed her eyes. She tilted her head upward. ‘She’s done it again’ she thought. It shouldn’t surprise Cafe that she’d fall victim to more experiments, especially when she shares the laboratory with the Mad Scientist. She would always make Tachyon reverse anything she’d done lest they both get expelled. This time it's different, can't reverse a love confession.

She just admitted her love for her once-rival, current-lab partner. She wondered if she could play it off. No, that's Tachyon's thing. Can't fool the master. Cafe hated dealing with the aftermaths of Tachyon’s experiments. This remains true, but Cafe found herself enthralled by them. She loved seeing Tachyon at work. Seeing those concoctions come to life. She loved watching her mumble up a new theory. Tachyon at work was like a master chef in their kitchen. Of course anyone would hate to clean up the leftover dishes. Especially the part where everything got burned. But to see that mess happen was Cafe’s favorite thing in the world.

Cafe felt a hand on her right shoulder. As she opened her eyes again, in front of her was still Tachyon. A soft blush covered the Mad Scientist's face. Her eyes were focused dead ahead. Cafe can see herself in them, held between the four white stripes across Tachyon's eyes.

“Cafe... you're bleeding.”

Tachyon raised her right hand to Cafe's chin. She used her white lab coat sleeve to wipe the crimson off of Cafe's mouth. Cafe's own grip on Tachyon weakened, slipping her hands down lower to Tachyon's biceps.

“Why... did you think it necessary to include a truth serum on this... experiment...?”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Tachyon said. “I wanted your honest opinions about me no matter what. I'm more than used to the jeers and insults. I was ready to take anything horrid you had to say about me.”

“And what about the opposite?” Cafe shot back.

“...I have no idea.” Tachyon retorted.

“...” Cafe can only roll her eyes at her. The pain in her mouth finally got to her and she started to pout too.

“Can I ask you one more question?” Tachyon asked.

“Only if I have the right to decline to answer.” Cafe's already embarrassed herself, so she would at least want to keep some dignity. Tachyon will not laugh last.

“Okay. Answer me only if you want. Can I at least ease that pain right now?” Tachyon added this by cupping Cafe's chin, her thumb pressing softly on the side of her mouth.

“........Only if I don't have to drink anything.” Cafe's final answer. If Tachyon wanted an answer that's less repetitive, she'd have to earn it by not repeatedly experimenting on her. Cafe gazed at Tachyon firmly to confirm her wish.

And then Tachyon got closer to her. Enough that she was all she could see. Her pouty lips touched Tachyon's. For the second time, Tachyon surprised her with something new. Somehow, it was better than the first time. She hoped it'd be a bit before Tachyon reverses this, it really is easing the pain.