Chapter 2: The Anchor's Interview

"Ah, thank you Porter," Rover said, looking to the aisle. A brown monkey in an old-fashioned conductor's uniform stopped by our seats. "Sit up if you can, miss."

As I got up in my seat, my head got light. Porter pulled a teacup off his tray, then set it down in an indent on the bench's arm. On making sure it was secure, he put a tea ball inside the cup, then poured hot water over it. "It's not the most pleasant thing in the world," the monkey said with kind tones, "but it'll help you recover."

As all these animal people seem nice, or at least not hateful enough to want to poison me, I drank the tea. It was bitter in a bad way, tasting of fuzzy leaves and dry roots. I winced at the taste, but drank at it slowly until it was gone. My head was starting to feel clearer, at least.

In the meantime, the train stopped again. Rover got up to speak to a few animals who were getting off at a certain town. He stayed out of the train a little while, though. "What's he doing?" Monique asked.

"Your buddy here is an anchor, buh-kay!" the nice male in the other seat said. However, when I looked at him, I only saw a weird blurry haze. "We haven't had a new anchor in a while. This is so exciting!"

"A new anchor means a new town will be created," the female from just ahead added. "The anchors are supposed to be the souls of selfless and pure hearted animals. I guess she must qualify even though she's human, how now."

"Hah," the grouchy male said. "I bet it's just Loki looking to cause trouble, harrumph. Her town will be a wreck."

"Will you give her a chance already?" the other guy said. "Anyhow, Rover is probably sending out a message about a new anchor and a new town. Towns have got to have people running them, after all, so we need to gather all the loose workers that are around. And that makes up what we've got in AC: the villagers, the anchors, and the workers."

"And the special travelers, don't forget them," the female said. "You surely couldn't forget about Gracie, now could you?"

"Of-of course not!"

"Especially after she ripped into my last outfit," the grouchy male grumbled.

"Hey, hey there Pike," Rover said, coming back to my seat. "Careful now. I've already had to give you two warnings. I don't want to kick anybody out, but if you fail, I got no say in the matter."

"Harrumph." His blurry mass shifted, I guess because he was sulking.

"Okay, now that you're looking better, how about we start up your interview?" Rover said, turning his attention to me. "I take it some of these folks have been telling you stuff, but feel free to ask me anything."

"Um," I said, "one thing is, why nearly everyone is blurry? Even me."

"Well that's just the thing," he replied. "You're a lost soul, so you can't see the villagers clearly. I'm guessing you can see your friend Monique clearly because you knew each other in life. Souls do not have the same appearance they had in life, which is why I couldn't tell that you were human until I touched you. I need to give you your interview so we can find out what your true self looks like. It may not be the one you had in life, although you will remain what you are, a human. But anything else can change. Like, you could have green hair!" He laughed.

"That doesn't sound too good," I replied.

"Didn't you say the same thing to me?" Monique asked. "Except with fur."

"It's part of the interview," he said. "Some questions will be the same, but some will be different. And nobody is allowed to interrupt, remember? Your question wasn't too bad, Monique, since you're new, but let me talk with her now."

"Oh, okay," she replied, then put her paws in her lap.

"And there is one thing we must do that the others won't be able to overhear," Rover said, digging a card out of his bag. "Here, take this and close your eyes." I did so. "This card is reading your greatest points, and your greatest flaws. It is kept in a secret place, where only the judges can read them later on. Each soul here sill needs polishing and refinement. If you overcome your flaws, then you will be allowed to pass. After that, well, it's up to you. Okay, open your eyes and read the card if you want. Don't speak of it to anyone, even if you trust them. You may tell them you have these flaws, but do not say that they are on your card. If you chose not to read it, just hand it back to me face down."

I read the card. It had found flaws with my good points, more good than bad thankfully. But some of those bad were exactly what I had been fearing. If this was a place to get past those things, though, it was good to know what I needed to do. I handed the card back to him as instructed.

Without reading it, Rover slipped it into an envelope and sealed it up. "Right then. What's your name, by the way?"

"Nadia," I said, then blanked out. "I don't remember my last name."

"It's okay, nobody uses them around here. Nadia… sounds old-fashioned to me. But the important thing is, do you like the name Nadia?"

I nodded. "Yes, I think it's sweet and cute."

After writing down the name, he put the envelope away and grinned. "Yes indeed, a sweet name for a sweet girl. Now tell me, what do you think of our train, hmm?"

"The train?" I looked around, at the beautiful wooden paneling, the plush red benches, the red curtains (wait… hadn't they been green?) and the classy red and gold carpet. "It's cozy and romantic, like a dream of an older age. I like it very much."

"Thanks," Rover said, his ears turning forward and his tail curling in pleasure. "We have a lot of pride in our train. Say, is there anything in your life that you were really proud of?"

I considered it for a moment, but only one thing popped into mind. "Right off the top of my head… there was this sickly little maple tree in my neighbor's yard. It was only a few years old, but it wouldn't grow any taller and it had very few leaves. My neighbor was going to get rid of it, so I asked if I could take it. I took care of that tree and in a couple more years, it was one of the most beautiful trees on our block. It got to be very big and full, giving lots of cool shade."

"That sounds lovely. You weren't barking up the wrong tree then, ha ha."

I chuckled at his bad pun. It was slightly amusing, anyhow.

"Did you have many friends? It's okay if you don't remember too clearly; your past life will eventually fade. However, the connection between friends remains forever in our hearts." He smirked. "Hope I'm not getting too mushy on ya! Dealing with death every day, it happens."

"It's okay," I replied. "Um, well… I had a few very dear friends, including Monique. There were many that I called friends, but may have just been acquaintances."

"Hmm. Do you regret not developing those friendships more?"

"Yeah. I should try harder to do that now."

Rover nodded. "If you get some buddies that you're real tight with, then no matter how bleak things may seem, you always know that you'll pull through with their help. Now tell me, when was a time when you felt really happy?"

As it had with the earlier question, one memory came to mind. "There was one time when I was a child, and I was upset because my parents had moved us far away. It was so hard getting used to a new place, a new school. But then my teacher took us out on a school trip that I knew nothing about, since I just moved in. It was a long trip, but when we got there, the trip was to a dollhouse museum. I got so excited; me and the other girls talked freely and admired every display, even though I was a stranger to them. It was a mix of it all, I think, being accepted and seeing this amazing museum."

"That would be really great, after you'd been sad and all," Rover said. "So you like museums?"

"Oh, yes. They can be peaceful and exciting, informative and entertaining."

"Well good! Lots of people around like museums, so I'm sure there'll be one to visit nearby. Now, one last question. What do you think about money?"

"Um…" I felt nervous; the question touched upon one of my new uncertainties. But, maybe saying something would help me form a stance? "Well I'm not sure. It's a necessary system, to exchange goods and services fairly. But, I'm starting to think that it's not good to stockpile a lot of cash. It's not any use just sitting there, so you may as well use it for something that helps you or another."

Rover twisted his ears, a classic feline uncertainty sign. "Not too sure of that, are you? But that's okay. We've all got things to learn and many of us are forgiving of mistakes." He clapped his paws together. "Well, now I have a good idea of what you're like, Nadia. And you have some grounds to start from. So, without further ado…"

He then rubbed his paws together, then leaned over to put them both on my forehead. I felt a strange warm sensation coming from him. It wasn't just the rubbing of his paws, though. It was like a loving force, a blessing from a power beyond this blue cat in front of me, a power that was forgiving and creative. As it washed over me, I had a sense that although I was entering into a different life, a different trial, things would be okay.

Speaking in a whisper that only I could hear, the dandy reaper said, "From good comes good. From ill comes ill. From love comes love. From spite comes spite. All things that go around, come around. Nadia the human, welcome to your new life in Animal Crossing."

For a moment, everything flickered. Then it came back into being. I came back into being. And I felt a whole lot better than I did before.

"Pffffft!" Monique said, sounding shocked. "She looks… very different."

"You look very different too," I replied. Then I looked over myself as best I could.

The weird burial shroud dress was gone. In its place, I was wearing a bright pink dress with a large white daisy printed on the snug top. The skirt was medium length, pleated and going down to my knees, while the sleeves were short and poufy. And I had shoes now, red sneakers with white laces, and white socks underneath. On my wrist was a watch that had an unusually large screen and various buttons on the side. At my side, there was a yellow shoulder bag with large white spots on it.

But there was something even odder about it: my body shape. "What is this?" I asked, putting my hand to my now flat chest. "I have the body of a child."

"Huh, sorry about that," Rover said. "You are the first human I've ever dealt with. And from the vague memories of my old life… geez, that was so long ago now… I remember being very fond of human children."

As he spoke, I glanced at the window. The reflection wasn't very good: all I saw was a child's face with dimples and long lashes. My straight hair brushed against my shoulders. Pulling up a lock of it, I saw that it was dark chestnut brown.

"It's been a long time since I was a child," I replied. "I'll get used to it, I suppose."

"And the stuff you've got now," he gestured to my clothes and accessories, "can be changed when you get the money to do it. I can only give out certain standard items, see? But that should do you until you get all settled. Do you like it?"

I smiled at him. "It is nice, thank you."

He grinned. "Great! I think you'll get along just fine with us. Anyhow, now for the big question!" He got up and turned to the rest of the train car. "Everyone, meet our newest anchor, Nadia!" There were some cheers, along with polite clapping. "With a new anchor comes a new town, and a new town needs villagers. Can I get a group of six volunteers to move to Nadia's town?"

"I want to stay with her, pffffft," Monique stated quickly, getting up off her bench.

"Of course you do," Rover said, then laughed at himself. "Gosh, I should have thought of that, really! Okay then, five volunteers."

"I'll go, buh-kay!" the nice guy across the aisle called. Now that I could see him, I realized that he was a white rooster that was as tall as me, just a bit bigger than Monique and Rover. He wore something that made me think of a tourist's shirt, a dark blue one with giant red flowers splashed across it. However, he didn't wear pants or shoes.

"Okay, so Goose goes, mya. Who else?"

"Oh, we'll go!" the female just in front of us called, coming out into the aisle. "Right, how now?" She was a tall creature, a brown cow who wore an orange shirt with a long skirt that reminded me of the wedges of an orange. She turned to her friend.

"Um, okay, it sounds fun sugarbill," a timid female voice answered. A small olive brown duck tiptoed out, clutching her wings together nervously. Her cheeks had pink blush, even beyond her shyness. She wore a colorful patterned shirt with black shorts. Still no shoes, though.

Bowing to the timid one kindly, Rover said, "Okay then, Patty and Deena will move."

"I'll go, harrumph," the grouchy guy with Goose said. "I want to keep an eye on this human." Now that I could see him, he seemed to be a pale blue-green ferret with bushy eyebrows. He wore a black shirt that had a white skull on it.

"Okay Pike," Rover said, more cautiously, "but you'd best be on your best behavior. And one more, please?"

No one answered. Some people whispered, still uncertain. I felt nervous. Were they that suspicious of me?

"Hmm…" Rover tapped his foot, then clapped his front paws. "Hey! Rodeo!"

From ahead, I heard a disturbed snort. "Huh, uh, what? What is it, chaps?"

"You never told me where you were moving, so I've got a place for you. Brand new town, with a human for an anchor."

"What?"

"Good grief, did he really sleep through all that?" someone further up in the carriage said.

Rover went up to get the guy. "Come on, Rodeo. I think this'll be good for you too."

When he came back, he was escorting someone even taller than Patty. Rodeo was a great bulky bull, a dark blue that was nearly black. However, he had strands of white hair covering his sleepy eyes. He smiled at me. "Hello there, chaps. I'm Rodeo. Nice to meet ya."

Smiling back, I shook his hoof. "You too, all of you. I'm Nadia."

"She looks awful peculiar, don't she?" the bull asked of Patty.

"Oh, she seems to be nice, so be nice," Patty said, sitting with Deena across from me. This caused Monique to move to the side, where a side bench was… huh? I can't remember that being there before.

On the other side, Rodeo sat down across from Pike, while Goose moved over to the side bench. "Looks like we're all going to be neighbors now!" the last said, swaying back and forth in a happy motion. "So we'd all better get along, buh-kay."

"Exactly," Rover said. "Now, I need to check up on some things, so you've got a few minutes to get to know each other. Then I've got to take Nadia in back so we can plan the town's basic appearance. Umm… oh yeah! Porter!" He turned around and opened up the door. "Did you get all that? Where else do we have to go?"

"Eek eek, sir! As things stand, we need to stop by Dusk, Twinkle, and Appleton."

"Good! We won't be taking on any new passengers until we get the new town settled, so send a telegram ahead."

"Right away!"

"Then, I'll leave you to each other," Rover said, heading into the darkened room in back.

I looked over at my new neighbors, then at the side bench. "Does this train change all by itself? I've seen it changed, without seeing it change."

Patty and Deena giggled. "Why yes, it does," Patty answered. "It changes to suit the needs of the passengers. Or on the whim of the crew, I think. And no one ever catches it changing; that just can't be done!"

"Are they going to serve breakfast?" Rodeo asked. "I just woke up, after all."

"I don't know," Patty said. "I've moved around a lot, but it's hard predicting when they'll serve food here."

"I hope they do," Goose said. "I mean, if we're starting a whole new town, it's gonna be a long day ahead of us."

Monique twisted her ears, looking puzzled. "What do you eat here?"

"Fish," Pike stated.

"A lot more than just fish," Goose said leaning forward. "There's fruits and vegetables which are always fresh, even in the dead of winter. And grains, so we can have pasta, bread, and pastries. Spices too, so every dish can be unique. And bugs, if you're into eating them. I am, buh-kay."

The ferret rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but fish is the only meat, end of story. Unless you count bugs." He shuddered.

"Eggs are a kind of meat," Deena said quietly. "And there's milk; I know most cats like milk."

"That doesn't sound too shabby," Monique replied.

"I've never tried bugs before," I said. "What're they like?"

Goose, Deena, Rodeo, and even Monique smiled at the question. The rooster was the one to answer, though. "It depends on the bug. Some are crunchy while others are soft. And some of them are mild, while others are real spicy. Oh man, one time I tried a scorpion. Even after you drain the poison out and roast it, that was hot hot hot!"

"Probably because you roasted it," Deena suggested. "If you marinate them in sweetened milk and grill them, they're not that bad."

"I like beetles," the bull said. "They're like potato chips, crisp and all kinds of flavors. And if you dip them in ranch dressing, it's even better."

"I always had them raw," the cat said, twitching her tail.

Deena smiled, managing that by curling her bill up some. "Oh, well now that you can cook them, you really ought to try it."

I nodded. "Huh. I might try that." Since other kinds of meats were obviously out of the question, I'd have to keep a mental check on myself to be careful about mentioning them.

Porter then walked into the room. "Now stopping at Dusk! Dusk! The local time in Dusk is September 2, 3:24 PM. Please wait patiently to disembark!" Then he turned to us. "Oh, and Rover is ready for you now, Nadia."

"Okay," I said, getting up.

"Hey Nadia!" Patty called.

"Hush sugarbill, we can't influence her…" Deena whispered loudly.

Still, the cow grinned. "Make us a good town, how now."

I nodded. "Right." Then I went in back with Porter.

Through the door was the caboose of the train. It was clearly a workspace, with a pair of desks, stacks of crates, and a digital schedule board. On the last, there weren't many entries, just Twinkle, Appleton, Chime City, and one labeled with a question mark. I guessed the last would be the town I was making, and wondered how that would work.

Although it was a workspace, it did have nice large windows. Rover waved me over to his desk, where a large piece of parchment was spread out. It had the form of a map, with a compass, blanks for names, scale markings, and a symbol key. However, it was just an empty form. I sat down in a chair beside the cat.

"So did anyone tell you anything about how to make your town?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, although Patty did say to make a good one.

"Heh." He winked and pointed at me. "That's one thing you need to know about this place. It is a higher plane than reality. However, there are still many temptations about, some that may not be obvious."

"Everyone is being tested," I guessed.

"Right. Some pass, some fail, and some even decide to stay. It all depends on what an animal chooses and does. Now, before we get to into designing, I want to tell you some more about the role you have in Animal Crossing. An anchor is one of the most powerful positions in this realm; however, it is also the one with the heaviest responsibilities. Everyone's actions and choices affect what happens to them. But your actions and choices, those affect you, your neighbors, your town, everything around you. Get lazy and the town will suffer. Work hard and the town will prosper. Understand?"

That was the level of responsibility I was taking on? I felt nervous. "Maybe, but why does an anchor affect so much? Everyone's actions affect others around them."

Twitching his ears in thought, Rover paused, then pointed out the window. "Well let's try this. You've experienced what it was like out there, right?"

Recalling that, I shivered. "Yeah, it was silent and eerie. But there were those demons that came with little warning. And I couldn't seem to find a way away from the tombstone."

"And even if you could find a way to get away, you wouldn't have been able to figure out where to go. It's chaos out there. Like with time. All the workers that I've called in for you? They had a week's notice of the new town which only happened after I found you and called them. But it may seem only an hour, or even less, until we bring them on board. None of the towns are on the same time or day.

"Now sometimes, souls will come together and form a community, a kind of town. It will come from their collective imaginations. But it is only temporary; either the souls will have an argument and make their town fall apart, or the demons will come in and destroy it. The anchor is a person with an inner power that makes such towns permanent. Don't worry, you don't have to do anything; just your bright presence will enable the town to stay in place, like the anchor of a ship keeps it in place."

I put my hand to my chin, thinking. "So I will affect the town deeply because I'm part of its foundation?"

Rover nodded. "That's right. But it also means that you can't move out of your town. You can leave for a brief time to visit other places, but you absolutely cannot be gone for more than a day. If you are, then the town you founded will disappear and all the folks who were living there will become lost souls again. Granted, I can usually put everything right, but it takes a lot of time to track down everybody. I remember this once, I had two squirrels that lived in a vanished town. I got them mixed up on accident and both of them changed as a result. At least they forgave me of it."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

"Great! Now, as to the town you're founding… got any ideas for what you want? Or a name?"

I closed my eyes, but then shook my head and looked back to him. "Um, no. I'm not sure where to start."

"That's all right. We'll work things out, mya. Now, since this will be your permanent residence, you ought to make a place that will be comfortable and enjoyable to you. The villagers can move from town to town, so if someone is dissatisfied, someone else may like it. Let's start with your house. Or more specifically, your yard. What would you want there?"

After giving it a moment's thought, I said, "Trees. There were never many trees at my old home, but I like the sounds the wind makes through the leaves and even through the branches in the winter. Maybe some flowers too. I don't know much about gardening, though."

Rover snickered. "Heh, well things work differently around here. Okay, so your house would be surrounded by trees with some flowers. Now let's say you took a daily walk around town. What would you want to see?"

That idea set my mind to working. "It would be nice if I had mostly dirt paths lined with lush grass, a natural place. If there was a river or a creek, that would look and sound really nice. And there could be a hill where people could have picnics and such."

At that, his ears perked up. "Ah yeah, a picnic hill would be excellent! Then you could enjoy a nice sandwich and chips lunch while looking over the whole town. Or the ocean. What kind of beach would you want?"

"A beach? Wouldn't that make the town a bit busy? I mean, if you've got the river, trees, hill, and then the ocean and the beach."

"Oh, it's normal for towns around here to have beaches. I can't think of any that don't. Like I said, things don't work the same in this realm, so standard geography doesn't work."

"In that case, I'd be fine with a sandy beach. I can't remember any beaches, but I think it would be fun to hunt for seashells."

"You can find out soon enough. Next, there are some facilities which always come with a town: a post office, a general store, a police station, but I want to talk with you about the city hall. What should it look like?"

"A city hall…" an image popped into my mind and I tried to describe it. "It would be made of brick and be classy. And…"

"Okay, that's should do," Rover said.

"Huh? I just said two things."

"But it appeared on the map," he said, pointing to the paper.

And indeed, it was no longer blank. It had a river which started on the northern border, just west of the train station and just east of a large hill. The river then snaked off to the southeast, dropped off a cliff in a waterfall, then continued east to a lake, then south until it reached the ocean at the southern border, almost at the eastern edge of town. With that, the town was split in two, with the northeast part smaller than the southwest. Some buildings had appeared, including the town hall in the southwest portion.

"I was just thinking that the town hall should be a kind of meeting place too," I said. "Like it should have an outdoors plaza or something for holidays and parties. I know what you said, but it is a community, so there should be a community space."

"That would be useful," Rover said, watching as the map tried to match my idea of the outdoors plaza. "That way, you don't end up having a muddy festival."

"That wouldn't be fun. Of course, there might also be an indoors meeting place too. Like..." in a second, the idea came to me, "like a coffee shop."

I noticed his ears perk up in interest again. "Ooo, a coffeehouse then? I know a guy… oh, and do you want a museum? We have a network of museums in Animal Crossing. They're all general museums, though, no focused themes like your dollhouse museum."

That made me smile. "That would be great still. I'd like that."

"Heh heh heh, you said you had no ideas, but then we've already got it complete."

"Once I had a place to start, it just came to me."

"Then I think you'll be a good anchor. Just one last thing: the town needs a name."

Looking over the map, I tried to find an inspiration. It came to me as I considered the picnic hill. "I think it should be called Verdant."

"Verdant, is it?"

"Yes."

"Mya, very nice! Okay then, we now have Verdant Town."

"Rover," Porter called over to us as the train whistled. "We're at Chime City."

He grinned his goofy grin. "Ah, perfect timing! Come on, Nadia, let's go meet your town's workers."

Going back into the other train car, I saw that Monique had relaxed some; she was talking with Patty. I waved to my new neighbors, then followed Rover over to the door in the center of the car. Outside the window, there was a pretty city. It wasn't like the concrete and glass sprawling monsters I could vaguely remember. Rather, it was like an old-fashioned fancy, stone and brick buildings along a cobblestone road, with decorative iron streetlamps and a fountain with a sculpture of a flock of birds. Maybe I would visit this place later.

There was quite a group of animal people outside. "Are there more workers than villagers?" I asked.

"For now," Rover admitted. "But more villagers can move in as you start to improve a place."

And there were a lot of workers. I had to return to my seat to make way for them, but there was a pair of dogs, a pair of owls, a pair of hedgehogs, a raccoon (I wasn't entirely sure about that), three pelicans, and an elderly turtle. Once they were all aboard and seated, Rover went to the engine for a minute.

As he came back, the train whistled. "Okay everyone, next stop is Verdant! The local time in Verdant will be December 1, 7:00 AM. Let's head out to your new home!"

As everyone cheered, I couldn't help but cheer along with them.

I follow the spirit of the games, not the exact wording. I've got a mixture of features from several AC games, primarily the Gamecube and DS ones because those are the two I play. Twinkle and Dusk were towns I had on the 'cube. Appleton is one a friend has (although it's native fruit is peaches...). Verdant is unique; the word means lively and green, which fits the AC towns very well. (edit: I also have the 3DS one now)

The villagers talking in Chapter One were Pike, Goose, and Patty.