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With a huff, Fanny turned her back on the man calling himself "Faust" as he slinked away across the ground like a caterpillar. His lack of grace in defeat was simply appalling. Had she really mistaken this oddball for the suave and handsome Dr. Baldhead? Yes, it had been a few decades since she'd last seen him—languishing in feverish delirium as she withered away from the illness that would have claimed her life had the doctor not descended upon her beside like a merciful angel and cured her with his magnificent genius—but the image of him smiling over her, sunlight from her window ringing his head like a halo, had been her guiding grace from that day on. How much longer would it be until fate and fortune smiled upon her again and reunited them?
Mortifying as this instance of misidentification was, however, Fanny didn't have long to languish in her disappointment as a strange warbling pulsated through the air behind her.
"Come now!" she scolded, spinning on her heel to chastise Faust. "Haven't you caused enough trouble?"
But the springy weirdo was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a most curious anomaly had taken his place. Floating in the air before Fanny was a bright white disk, its borders shimmering and indistinct. Circumnavigating the object, Fanny found it to be perfectly flat and invisible on the opposite face. On its visible side, it stared like a great, unblinking eye and rumbled with an unbroken, subsonic hum. As she squinted against the brilliance of its alabaster surface, Fanny swore she saw a figure writhing within. And though it was gone in the blink of an eye, she would have recognized its long, elegant limbs and smooth, round head anywhere.
"Doctor!" she cried, reaching out. "Wait for me!"
The instant her fingers broke the surface of the disk, Fanny was sucked—or perhaps flung—through the portal. Tumbling into a blinding void, she was subjected to sensations she never could have imagined in her most delirious fever dreams. Every fibre of her being was stretched and squashed. Every molecule in her body exploded away from one another until the space between them had doubled. Time blurred out of focus, flying by so quickly that it wrapped back around to standing still.
Just as she thought she would pass out, Fanny's trajectory through the void jagged at a sharp angle. She was violently thrown from the void, tumbling heels-over-head onto a familiar grassy lawn.
"Oh, I think I might be sick," she moaned, waiting for the world to stop spinning around her. As the thumping in her skull abated, a set of approaching footsteps took its place.
"Boyoinyoing~! Hm? Dear me. Miss, are you quite all right?"
Looking up at the shadow looming over her, Fanny's heart sank. "It's you again, the stretchy weirdo."
"Hey now..."
"I'm fine. Just took an unexpected tumble." Fanny pushed herself to her feet with her massive syringe. Brushing grass and dirt from her skirt, she asked, "Was that portal your doing?"
"I'm glad you're okay. As for the portal, it isn't one of mine." Faust reached sideways to grab the brass knob of a door that hadn't been there a moment ago. Twisting the knob, he opened and closed it a few times to demonstrate. Indeed, it looked nothing like the simple gash in time and space that Fanny had fallen through.
"Well anyway, quit following me!" Fanny snapped. "You'll never dissuade me from my search, so leave me alone!"
"(Hm? Have we met? Maybe she bumped her head when she fell.) Well, you look okay physically. Be careful out there. Ciao~!" Reaching over his shoulder, Faust pulled a black parasol out of thin air, popped it open, and floated away into the sky.
With her primary source of consternation drifting away on thermals, Fanny returned her attention to the portal. To her distress, the image within had grown fuzzy in the short time she'd been distracted. As it was now, she could no longer be certain if the figure within was her idol or mere pareidolia. Fanny shook her head and clapped her cheeks, willing the doubt away. No matter what awaited her on the other side of this portal, remaining frozen with indecision would guarantee she got nowhere. If nothing else, she at least needed to find a way home. Taking a deep breath, Fanny leapt into the portal.
This time, she was spared the sensation of being tugged apart like taffy. With her feet firmly planted, she looked around to find nothing but blank, white light in every direction. There was no floor visible beneath her boots, nor any ceiling above. And though gravity held constant, it felt as though causality was flowing backwards. When she tried to take a step forward through the void, Fanny found herself fighting against the tide of an invisible river. The space ahead resisted as she pushed onward. In the distance, whether it was real or wishful thinking, a vision of her beloved doctor shimmered faintly. Fanny stubbornly pressed against the aurora borealis as it fought to sweep her backwards.
A ringing built to a roar in her ears, and suddenly the tide shifted, dragging her forward. Fanny tripped, spun around, caught herself with her syringe, then stumbled forward again. As the unseen force tossed her about in its current, the silhouette she'd been chasing swirled around her. The figure oscillated rapidly, morphing between the visages of Dr. Baldhead and Faust as though it was taunting her. Gritting her teeth, Fanny shouted at the mirage.
"Are you mocking me?! Whoever you are, I won't fall for your tricks! You'll never shake my faith in him!"
No sooner had she spoken, than Fanny was ejected from another portal. When her eyes adjusted to the cloudy daylight she'd been spat out into, she found herself in the middle of an urban sprawl. It looked much like any city, bustling and twinkling with the lives of ten million different people. A fierce wind whipped up, rustling her hair and skirt and nearly blowing her winged cap off her head. It was only as she reached up to grab it that Fanny realized the source of the gale: she was falling through thin air.
With a panicked cry, Fanny extended the wings of her cap to slow her fall. Flipping her syringe upside-down, she took a blind swing at the first solid object in reach. The lip of the syringe's plunger caught on the edge of a concrete slab floating mysteriously in mid-air again all laws of nature. She breathed a sign of relief as the slab held. Her moment of calm shattered immediately, however, as the sheath of her syringe slowly slid off the plunger, pulled by gravity and Fanny's weight. Even if the slab was unaffected by gravity, Fanny and her weapon weren't. Panicking, she glanced about frantically.
The slab she'd barely managed to catch herself on was not the only curious platform free-floating several stories in the air. Standing on another, a young woman in unusual clothing tilted her head at Fanny's antics. She wore white shorts with broad, breezy pleats and a pair of straw sandals. Her dark red top had short sleeves and a loose fit that looked more appropriate for a jacket than a shirt. A white hood with two triangular points on top that almost looked like a pair of cute, pointed ears obscured her face. Painted on the front was a large, stylized eye impassively observing Fanny in her predicament.
"H-H-Help..." Fanny squeaked.
Suddenly, Fanny plummeted as the syringe separated from the plunger. The wind rushing past drowned out her shrieks as she fell. Just as she was about to hit the packed earth of the empty lot below, a flash of light split the shadows beneath her. In a blink, Fanny found herself drifting down through the void that had started this whole ridiculous day. With her cap's wings extended, she fell slowly and gently, giving her a chance to catch her breath again. Images of Faust, the strange man from earlier, flashed past in the light surrounding her. Miniature versions of him tumbled past through the nothing, each giving wave or salute before passing through an equally miniature door and slamming behind them.
"I must be going mad," Fanny lamented. "I wonder: is my neck going to become all stretchy now too?"
After what felt like forever and yet no time at all, an exit appeared under her. No longer afraid, she allowed herself to sail through. With her cap's wings slowing her fall, the impact was painless—if less than graceful—as she tumbled out and onto the crest of a grassy hill.
Fanny's breath caught in her chest as she took in the beauty that stretched out far below. A sprawling shrine ground built partially over a lake filled the small valley. Sitting somewhere between fantasy and traditional Japanese architecture, it looked like the setting of a faerie tale. Gathered on a platform overlooking the water, a group of uncanny folk appeared to be celebrating. Some were lanky, with arms that nearly reached their ankles. One was as round as a massive boulder. Another fluttered through the air as a paper-thin outline in the suggestion of a figure, and one looked like a deer in ceremonial adornments. Among these otherworldly strangers was a single familiar face: the woman in red and white jumped for joy, kicking back her feet and throwing her hands into the air. Out from the group, a pale man in a white yukata stepped forward to pat her on the head.
As she watched from a distance, the sound of soft sniffling caught Fanny's ear. Looking around, she was surprised to see the woman in red and white standing nearby on the hill. She gazed down on the proceedings with tears rolling down her neck and dripping from her chin.
"Dear me..." Fanny muttered. She had no idea where she was, no idea who this woman was, and no idea what in the world was going on. But even so, something deep within her pushed Fanny forward. "Miss, are you all right?"
Without a word, the woman bolted, disappearing through another of the very portals that had been terrorizing Fanny all morning. Pulling herself to her feet, Fanny slotted the plunger back into her syringe. As it slid back into place, Fanny's eyes were on the portal. She knew what she had to do.
In one motion—a single step—Fanny passed through the portal and out the other side. She looked back, and the portal was still there. Beyond it stretched an infinite expanse of nothing and everything, yet she had surmounted it in the blink of an eye. It beggared belief, but Fanny had no time for riddles. Turning her back on the portal, she quickly found the mysterious young woman squatting at the side of a dirt road with her head down and her knees were pulled tight to her chest. Fanny looked up and down the road, but there was nothing in sight past rows and rows of dense forest. Walking over, Fanny kneeled beside the woman.
"Hello there," she said gently. With her hood folded back from her face, Fanny could see the woman's ruby-red eyes were puffy from crying. Despite her odd attire, she looked much like any other girl their age. She was pretty, in a tomboyish way, with long eyelashes and soft, pouting lips. With the smile of an angel, Fanny asked, "Won't you tell me where it hurts?"
"M-My heart. My head... My feet kinda hurt too," she mumbled.
"Why don't you sit down for a moment? I'll have you right as rain in no time."
As the woman sat down in the grass at the side of the road, Fanny pulled out her first aid kit. Tugging on a pair of exam gloves, she slipped the woman's sandals off. Her feet certainly looked like they had put in the miles. Her nails were long and pointed, almost like claws, and the skin of her soles were roughly calloused. Gingerly testing their flexibility and feeling for lumps, Fanny found them no less dexterous for the wear. In fact, the muscles and tendons were admirably developed.
"Hmm. I don't think you're injured. Probably just tired." Selecting a phial of scented oil from her kit and applying it to her gloves, Fanny rubbed her thumbs up and down the arches of the woman's feet in even turns. As she worked, she said, "You've walked a very long way, haven't you?"
"I'll say," the woman sniffled. "I'm looking for my teacher. He went off somewhere and left us all behind. But I don't know where, so I've just been checking everywhere and everywhen I can think of."
"My, how diligent. You must love your teacher a lot."
"What about you? Who jumps through a portal when they don't know where it goes?"
Fanny giggled. "You have a point. But you see, I'm also looking for someone very dear to me. I thought, since I haven't been able to find him yet, maybe he's somewhere I can't reach. When your portal appeared, I thought maybe the universe was giving me a hand. I guess it was pretty silly of me."
The woman's catlike eyes lingered on her intently. "...no," she said finally. "I actually think that's really admirable."
Finished with the massage, Fanny removed her gloves and slid the woman's sandals back on. The woman continued staring as she got back to her feet.
"My name's Nekomata."
"Please to meet you. I'm Fanny."
Fanny held out a hand to shake, but instead of taking it, Nekomata leaned in and sniffed it. Once she was satisfied, Nekomata nodded to the portal they'd come through.
"I made it so you can go home now," she explained. "I hope you find your guy."
"And I hope you find your teacher." Fanny hesitated. "Nekomata-chan, will I ever see you again?"
"Huh?" Nekomata cocked her head.
"I mean, we've both wished each other good luck. It would be a shame if we never knew how things turned out. You can direct these portals, right? Once you've found your teacher, you should come visit. And I'll put my everything into my search so that, when I see you again, we'll both have good news to share."
As a fine blush crept onto her cheeks, Nekomata yanked her hood back down over her face.
"O-Okay. That sounds...nice. Yeah. Then, until next time!"
With a final wave goodbye, Fanny stepped through the portal. Ahead of her, through the blinding void, she could see her home as clear as day. Dr. Baldhead wouldn't be there waiting to greet her with his dashing smile and big, strong hands, but Fanny knew he was out there somewhere. She just had to put one foot in front of the other, striving forward until fate brought them together again.
(art by Wisydora)