Interlude 1
Mitsuki Sanada walked towards Kazuki Yotsuga's room.
She was alive, alive in this world which was a synthesis. This new, synthesis world was a combination between the ordinary world where she and Kazuki had come from, and another world full of giant robots where neither of them quite existed. The synthesis world was largely normal, but peculiar effects still persisted. Everyone had at least two sets of memories: one from the synthesis world, and one from the robot world. She and Kazuki and her father, Dr. Sanada, as well as many others, had three sets of memories, the other being from the world without giant robots. This world didn't have any artifacts or giant robots, except for Zinv. Zinv had been destroyed in order to create this world, but he had reappeared recently, and been moved to Dr. Rara's island lab. She still remembered that boat ride, with her father carefully watching Dr. Rara and his wife Ayuko, and they for their part carefully watching herself and Dr. Sanada. Kazuki Yotsuga had eyes only for Zinv, carefully tethered belowdecks.
The only thing that was comfortable on that ride was her clothes: she had been able to get out of that hideous Ms. Rah outfit before she left. There had been so much tension because everyone's memories made it hard to trust the others sometimes, yet now an equilibrium had been worked out once again.
It was about time that Kazuki got up, but he was a heavy sleeper and it was very difficult to wake him. So Mitsuki Sanada would probably have to wake him again, and make sure that no one was in his room bothering him and making him late for breakfast and school.
She was too late to see Ayuko Rara clamber up to open Kazuki's second story bedroom window, but she opened the door in time to see Ayuko pull herself into the room over the windowsill.
Mitsuki Sanada was so taken aback that she gasped in surprise. Then she yelled, "What are you doing in here?"
Ayuko calmly replied, "I rang the doorbell at least ten times, but no one let me in. So I had to come this way."
"I've been up for the past two hours and haven't heard a thing!" Mitsuki shouted accusingly.
"Then I guess you can tell me what I need to know. I need to find my daughter. She must've been sleepwalking again, and I was wondering if she was here."
Mitsuki Rara usually lived at Dr. Sanada's house, but for the past week she had been staying at the new townhouse of her parents, Dr. Rara and Ayuko. They had bought it after the destruction of one of their earlier houses. The new house was nearby, so they could visit the Sanadas, although they also had a mansion on the island with their laboratory. Mitsuki Rara often slept walked, but Mitsuki Sanada had never heard of her actually leaving a building during such perambulations. She wondered just what had been going on at the Rara residence.
"I can't be sure. I was in the kitchen most of the time, and she's very quiet," Mitsuki explained more softly, because of her shock.
Kazuki had stirred in his sleep during the discussion just related, but not fully woken up. Now his alarm clock rang, and he blearily stirred again, but still failed to get up. Ayuko, irritated by the noise, silenced the alarm clock. Kazuki had finally reached out to do so, and stopped as the noise did. He looked up and yelped.
"Mrs. Rara?" he said in mixed fear and sleepiness.
"Now look what you've done," Yayoi said from behind Ayuko. "You've scared him."
Yayoi often climbed through Kazuki's window, but she had an easier time of it because she lived in the building next door on the second floor and there was a connecting walkway between the two houses.
Kazuki finally managed to sit up, facing Ayuko. Mitsuki Sanada and the open doorway were behind him. Ayuko's eyes lit as Mitsuki Rara, in a nightgown and with her eyes nearly closed, padded past Kazuki's room and went further down the hall.
"Mitsuki, wake up!" called Ayuko.
Kazuki looked behind him and saw only Mitsuki Sanada. "Uh, is she sleepwalking like the other Mitsuki always does?"
Ayuko rushed out into the hallway, and the others followed. Mitsuki Rara had reached the end of the hallway, but now turned back towards her mother.
"Mitsuki, wake up!" ordered Ayuko.
Mitsuki Rara's eyes opened, and she stood straighter. "Yes, mother," she agreed in an odd, yet familiar, voice. She moved with a quick and alert gait into the room that she shared with Mitsuki Sanada at the Sanada residence.
"I'm surprised that she ventured out this far," remarked Yayoi.
"It's happened before. She gave us such a scare the first time, when she was only about 8..." Ayuko broke off.
"Are you sure she's awake yet? Why did she go in our room?" Mitsuki Sanada asked.
Mitsuki Rara now emerged from the room. She was dressed in her usual clothing, and her eyes clearly acknowledged everyone, yet didn't seem to recognize them all.
"Mitsuki?" ventured Mitsuki Sanada.
"The godlike Mr. Rara will rule the world! All of our ancient technology is designed to help and protect people! We only need your acceptance of our government," was the bold proclamation of Mitsuki Rara- now subsumed in her alter ego, the propagandist Ms. Rah.
"I don't think I can stand going through this again," sighed Mitsuki Sanada.
"Mitsuki, snap out of it!" Kazuki cried.
"We will always be victorious in battle, and we only desire your unswerving loyalty to our cause. Then there will be peace and prosperity!" Ms. Rah had seemed to sense that the others were speaking, and delayed her speech until they were not talking, yet not a hint could be found that she had comprehended anything that anyone said.
Ayuko's eyes had widened as soon as Mitsuki began her speech, and she now took a step backwards.
Yayoi glared at Ayuko. "This must be what you came here for."
"No, no, I don't understand. This is a self-induced trance, it's what she always did for the trailers."
"But she didn't induce this one right here, you did," Mitsuki Sanada accused her. "It must've been when you told her to wake up!"
"That's not possible!" Ayuko's voice had risen in horror. "She always placed herself under the influence for the trailers, and she's never done anything like this for the trailers."
Kazuki's countenance was grim. "You have placed her under mind control before. Release her!"
Ayuko began, "Mitsuki-" but was cut off by the voice of Dr. Sanada below. "It's not like you to be slowpokes about breakfast. Get down here, kids! And where's Yayoi? She'd have to be confined to bed to not be here. Has anyone seen her?"
Ms. Rah, with a deliberate and lengthy stride, pushed past them all to the stairs. Not expecting this, she was beyond their reach and halfway down the stairs before they quite realized it. "The foolish Dr. Sanada dares to oppose our power!" she said in a stage voice that carried halfway across the house.
"Glad to have you back!" called Dr. Sanada in return. "That sure brings back old memories." He laughed.
Akane poked her head and its worried expression out of the kitchen. "Yes, most of them bad. What's going on?"
Behind her, Dee was pouring food for Kumu, their dog. "I didn't know Mitsuki was coming to breakfast," Dee remarked.
Dr. Sanada was seated at the table. Ms. Rah stopped some feet away from it, faced him and began to propagandize with imperious and forceful gestures. Ayuko entered a few seconds later, stood directly in front of her daughter, looked her in the eye and barked, "Ms. Rah, the trailer is over."
Ms. Rah continued her speech.
Kazuki and the others had entered the room shortly after Ayuko. Dr. Sanada ran out of the room after the unsuccessful intervention. Ayuko was frozen.
Akane approached Ayuko with murder in her eyes. "I can hardly believe you did this to your own daughter!"
Ayuko had not moved a muscle, and her eyes were growing wild. "She always emerges from the trance herself, she chooses when. It's a self-induced trance. She can do it if she wants to," retorted Ayuko. "I never was supposed to awaken her from the Ms. Rah trance, there's just no way to do it. Everyone always blames me for these things."
"Usually you're the one causing them!" exclaimed Kazuki.
Dr. Sanada's voice could be heard down the hallway. He was on the phone, demanding to know the location of Dr. Rara and Zinv. "If he's gone and started the war again..."
Kumu heard Ms. Rah's propaganda and ran to her, seated herself on her hind legs before her, and wagged her tail furiously. Ms. Rah squatted on a level with the dog, smiled and petted it, and addressed it thusly: "Foolish member of the human race! You will bow down before the might of the RaRa Army!"
Kumu began to lick her face.
Ms. Rah began to laugh maniacally. She ordered the canine: "Stop, you're always tickling me."
Kazuki got on his hands and knees and looked at her. "Mitsuki, you've got to stop this!"
"Yes," Mitsuki Rara replied, "she does need to stop! She always licks me!" She giggled. Then she paused.
"Why am I at Dr. Sanada's house?"
Kumu whined in disappointment.