Author's Note: Just want to make something official—well, as official as fanfiction can be: Project Bluefield & Fire Emblem Fates: Devastation follows the canon of two of The Apocryphal One's works, The Invisible Princess and The Lost King. Granted, there will be liberties taken here and there, and the outcome may not follow Fire Emblem Fates: Aftermath. However, I will be as faithful to her, ahem—"Chronicles of the Unexplored" series as possible.

All right, now to let an unexpected setting take center stage…

"Hot Dogs For Lunch"

"Night 3 of 36", [ "a.2012" ] - 13:37:04

017 "Bluefield"

"Costco Wholesale Food Court"

"[ Unknown City ]", "California", "U.S.A.", "Earth"

Recommended: Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day

I walk a lonely road

The only one that I have ever known…

Beyond the earbuds, I could barely hear the cashier saying, "…here you go, sir!"

"Thanks," said the man in front of the woman in front of me.

As he passed me, I shuddered, pulling my thin grey jacket tighter as I walked up one space. Warm breath into my hands (no burning them)—rub rub rub—I'm back to crossing my arms.

Geez… Being a literal freak of nature doesn't change the fact that you're still gonna get frozen.

Luckily, the One holding our table…at least she got the necessary cold-weather protection.

I yawned, looked down at the concrete as Billie Joe Armstrong reached the Boulevard's chorus.

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me

My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating

Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me

'Til then, I walk alone…

…Huh?

That last part was because something caused me to look up. The lady's order must've been done with already. The cashier was beckoning me over.

Whoops.

"How can I help you?" the cashier asked as I walked up.

"Uhh, two hot dogs, please."

As the cashier left to get the order ready, I looked around, to my right. Past the line on my right, people were at the soft drink dispensers. On the right of that, people were at the condiment counter.

On the right of that, two tables along the wall, was—

"Here you go, sir." The cashier pushed forward two wrapped hot dogs and two drink cups. "That'll be three dollars twenty-eight."

"Thanks." After paying in cash, I put the returned seventy-two cents in my pocket and the food in my hands.

The two hot dogs had mustard, but only one had onions. One cup had Pepsi, while the other held lemonade.

Carefully, I sat down and layed the food out—mustard hot dog and lemonade go to the one across from me.

"Okay, I am starving." Picking up my hot dog, I started munching on one end. After I chewed and swallowed my bite, I looked up at her. Immediately, I clicked off Billie Joe singing about walking alone again. "Aren't you gonna eat?" I asked her, pulling out my earbuds.

She glanced up at me, somewhat startled. She'd changed into a white furred jacket, a black longsleeve underneath, white gloves, and new jeans. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, set around the nape of her neck, in a new tying band. The wristwatch on her left arm was simple, an analog number that I'd set to the "present day, present time" after buying it earlier.

"S-Sorry," she muttered. "It's just… Where—Where are the chopsticks?"

I raised one eyebrow. "They're where they're necessary—which, well, isn't here, I'm afraid."

Grrrrrrrwwwww…

We both straightened when we heard that.

The woman blushed. I just shrugged and munched.

"Well," she sighed, "beggars can't be choosers, I suppose." Picking up her hot dog, almost as though it would come to life and scuttle away like a startled crab, she opened her mouth and bit off some of the end: beef, bun, mustard. She chewed seven times, swallowed, and took a drink from her lemonade via drinking straw.

I handed her a napkin, which she took. "So…what do you think?"

The woman wiped her mouth, setting down the napkin before she took a breath.

"I think," said Queen Mikoto of Hoshido, choosing her words not-too-carefully, "that this is one of the most unusual meals I have ever had."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure. I have…no frame of reference to compare to this. So…this is meat…"

"Yeah."

"…placed in a bun of bread…"

"Yeah."

"…and topped with this yellow condiment."

"Yes, that is the gist of what lunch is."

Mikoto simply stared at it. Then she took another bite.

I chomped mine. After chewing enough, I slurped on my soda.

It likely would have made for quite an odd image: a royal lady, treating this silverware-free dish like any other; and then this guy across from her, eating his with a mix of having and lacking manners, with a metal device fastened to his wrist.

Except Mikoto would likely have been mistaken as a Japanese tourist or something; and the wall was on my left, so no One passing us would notice my ZeroDrive.

Well…if they noticed me at all.

"So." I dusted off my hands of crumbs and took another sip. "What are you thinking?"

Mikoto was about two-thirds done with hers. She looked up at me. "Hm?"

I tried to keep my exasperation in line. "I'd like to know what you're thinking right about now," I calmly reiterated.

Putting her hand up to her mouth to clear her throat, she wiped her mouth again and looked me in the eyes. "You can't tell?" she queried.

"Hey—I can't read minds. Just emotions and see visions of the future." I put my "accused" hands down. "Some things need to be worded out. I mean, look what's happened these past two times—simulation gives you fake life, silver bird falls out of the sky, guy falls out of silver bird, guy blows up fake life's day job, guy fights off monsters, guy gives back your memories, guy buys you a hot dog. You're covering it up now, but back there you were a lost dog in the middle of nowhere. You wanna know the only thing I know you could be thinking right now?"

"What would that be, Bluefield?"

I shrugged. "…Must be one hell of a scary 'brave new world' you find yourself in, huh?"

Mikoto didn't say anything. Her gaze didn't waver, exactly. Just…drift to the concrete. The wall. Her hands in her lap, she took a moment before nodding reluctantly.

"Given the sitch, that's all I can safely figure," I stated. "Buildings of concrete and glass, metal carriages without horses, giant metal birds that needn't flap their wings, communication and information at your fingertips… Not like Hoshido or Nohr."

I thought I saw the queen turn her head down by 1 degree, staring at her jeans. Clearly, she was hiding something.

…Whatever.

Hastily, I mashed my hot dog wrapper into a ball and sent it soaring into the trash bin. "…ehhhh…two points," I muttered, before addressing Mikoto. "Well, I'm gonna refill my drink. You want one, too?"

Surprised, she nodded. "All right. Lemon… Lemonade, was it?"

"Being a literal freak of nature doesn't change the fact that you're still gonna get frozen." - Just so you know, this happened before the war started. Again. Before the Ambush at Sea, to be specific. —Blu

"sitch" - Situation, obviously. —?

"Clearly, she was hiding something." - Looking back on it, she was probably afraid of possibly triggering the speak-not curse about Valla, especially in this unknown environment. —Blu

* Was it possible? —Kyoku

* Dunno. Wasn't willing to find out, I guess she was. —Blu