Interlude IV (Animal Crossing)
VEGA immediately registered the anomaly as they emerged from dimensional space once more. Unfortunately, the tether had chosen to deposit them into the lower atmosphere of an unknown planet this time, meaning that as of arriving in this new dimension, the Doom Slayer was now plummeting through the air and towards the ground.
VEGA immediately began learning what little he could about their situation as the Doom Slayer oriented himself to stop their spinning. Audio sensors registered nothing save for the whistling of air as it rushed past them, so VEGA made use of visual and quantitative data instead.
Accounting for the pressure of the air and the calculated gravitational constant of this new planet, VEGA immediately confirmed that given the Slayer's aerodynamic profile, it was impossible for them to achieve a falling speed great enough to cause significant damage.
VEGA's conclusion was further solidified as he took note of their altitude, which had only been a mere twenty meters above the planet's surface.
Unfortunately for them both, the low altitude of their entry did not give them enough time to alter their trajectory by much, a fact that VEGA found irksome due to the fact that they were currently plummeting towards a small town or village of some kind. Given that they were approximately 2.0274 seconds impact, VEGA wasted no time in trying to give the Slayer a heading to aim for and instead calculated their impact point.
Confirming the results, VEGA was less than pleased with what his analysis showed. Seeing that he could take no action to help mitigate what was about to occur, VEGA did the only thing he could:
"Please brace for impact."
…
Isabelle beamed as she finished organizing her desk. After letting it get so cluttered recently, she was happy to finally return things to their proper space. Taking a deep breath, Isabelle took a seat from her work, the bells in her headband jingling softly as she leaned back in the chair.
It had been quite some time since the mayor had departed for the Smash Tournament, and while Isabelle and the rest of the townsfolk had been happy that their leader had been presented with such an opportunity, the departure had the ill result of increasing her workload quite a bit.
In addition to her usual duties, Isabelle had also absorbed quite a few of the mayor's tasks in their absence. She had been happy to help out of course, but there were times that her new tasks required her to make important decisions for the town, and no matter how obvious the correct choice seemed, Isabelle always felt a little worried if she had done the right thing. She always did her best, but being in charge was hard sometimes, and Isabelle wondered if she was doing as good of a job as she hoped.
Suddenly, Isabelle's ears perked up as she heard a loud commotion from outside. It sounded like a large booming noise, and she immediately became worried that someone was hurt. Rushing from her desk and out the doors of town hall, Isabelle frantically looked left and right to search for the source of the noise, and to her surprise, she saw Rosie running towards her, a shocked expression on her features as she hurried over.
"Rosie!" Isabelle said in alarm. "What's wrong? Is everything ok?"
"Isabelle! Come quickly! A giant just fell on the new home next to the river!"
"A…giant?" Isabelle asked incredulously.
"Yes!" Rosie said with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. "It's really big! And it's wearing a really weird suit! I think it might be a space giant!"
The story was quite outlandish, even for Rosie, but she seemed very excited about it, so Isabelle trotted after her as she led the way.
After a short stretch of jogging after Rosie, Isabelle saw the house come into view, or more accurately, what was left of it. The town was expecting a new resident to arrive tomorrow morning, and Tom Nook had been hard at work making sure that the house was ready on time for their arrival. He had just put the finishing touches on it yesterday, but now it had been reduced a barely recognizable pile of shingles and siding. Isabelle felt a twinge of sadness at all of the hard work gone to waste, but her attention was quickly diverted to what she saw next.
Standing next to the pile of rubble and dwarfing it by comparison was a person of monstrous size. Now seeing firsthand that Rosie's story was indeed true, Isabelle gaped up at the person, craning her neck to try and see just how tall they were. This figure was even taller than the trees that stood around the town, and as Isabelle looked the giant's head to its feet, she saw that even with her hair tied up like it was, she was barely over the figure's knees in height.
Isabelle tried to see the giant's face, but it was covered by a dark green helmet with an opaque visor to match. The figure looked back down at her with curiosity, and Isabelle gulped and offered a small wave with her hand.
"Ah…h…hello!" she offered, trying to sound cheery and bright despite her nervousness. "Did…did you fall? Are you alright?"
"Hello," came a voice from the suit. "We are uninjured. Thank you for asking. I sincerely hope no one else was hurt when we landed."
The voice was kind and polite, and both Isabelle and Rosie relaxed at its comforting tone.
"No one was hurt, thank goodness," Rosie chimed in. "I was the only one nearby when it happened. Are you sure that you're ok? You completely destroyed the home when you landed!"
"The armor protected us from harm," the voice replied. "I am grateful for your concern, but please do not worry. I am more troubled by the damage that we have done to this structure. Did this dwelling belong to either of you?"
Isabelle shook her head no and explained that it was for a resident that was moving in tomorrow, then proceeded to introduce both herself and Rosie to the strange giant. She then raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"I'm sorry, but why do you keep calling yourself 'we', Mr…uh…?"
"I am VEGA," the voice finished politely. "I use the term 'we' because I am not the one wearing this armor. I am merely an artificial intelligence that resides within the armor's systems."
"An artificial what-now?" Rosie asked.
"An artificial intelligence. A synthesized lifeform," VEGA clarified. "If it helps, you may think of me as an advanced computer that can speak."
"But if you're not the one wearing the armor, then who is?"
"That would be the Doom Slayer," VEGA replied. The giant nodded once at the mention of his name.
"Wow! So, you are both partners, then!" Isabelle said cheerfully. "But did you really fall out of the sky?"
"Yes, we did. We landed here from a place very far away. We were attempting to return but accidentally arrived here instead."
"Oh…I'm very sorry to hear that. Is there any way that we can help, Mr. VEGA?"
"I am of the opinion that we should be the ones helping you," VEGA replied, his point causing the Doom Slayer to nod in agreement and gesture to the destroyed house.
Isabelle then understood. The two of them wanted to fix what they had broken, and the thought of them wanting to make amends brought a cheerful smile to her face.
"Oh, are you sure? Thank you so much! I was worried that we wouldn't have a place for our new resident to stay tomorrow, but if you are offering to help rebuild the house, then we'd gladly accept your help!"
With Rosie and the Doom Slayer in tow, Isabelle ventured over to Nook's Cranny to inform Tom Nook about what had happened. At first, Tom had been upset that the house he had built was completely destroyed, but his mood improved greatly when he heard that the Doom Slayer and VEGA were offering to repair it free of charge. He directed them to the back of his shop where he kept his tools and materials, and soon the three of them were all walking back to where the house once stood.
Isabelle and Rosie both carried a bucket of paint in their arms, and the Doom Slayer carried everything else, which was no small amount of materials. The two villagers marveled at how strong the giant man was, and they both giggled when Rosie made a joke about Roald wanting to steal his workout routines.
As soon as they made it back, the Slayer immediately began construction on the house. Both Isabelle and Rosie were surprised when they saw how fast he worked; his hulking strength paralleled only by his attention to detail in building a solid foundation. Isabelle and Rosie helped where they could, offering him tools when he required them and helping keep the work area clean. Isabelle thought it was funny to watch the Slayer work with such small equipment. Since the nails were the of pins to him, he did not even bother to use the hammer. He just tapped the nails into place with his palm.
Despite neither Rosie nor Isabelle saying a word to anyone except Tom Nook about a giant in their town, word spread rather quickly, and soon nearly everyone had ventured out to the construction site to see him.
Like Isabelle, everyone was surprised by just how large the man was, and because no one could see his face, everyone soon began to gossip about what he looked like without his suit. Some thought that he might be a space alien, while others thought that he was a robot. Some still persisted that he was a human like the mayor. No one idea was more valid than the other, however, and despite asking VEGA multiple questions, no one could figure it out.
Eventually, everyone went back to their own activities, leaving the Slayer alone to work on the house. Only Isabelle stayed behind to help, as Rosie said she was going to go pick some flowers for their new resident arriving tomorrow.
Thanks to the Slayer's size and strength, the house was rebuilt in no time, and the only task that remained was to paint it. At this point, Isabelle became very excited, as this was a task that she could take a more active role in.
Eagerly hopping over to one of the cans, Isabelle fruitlessly attempted to open it, her inability to break the seal becoming quite obvious as she yanked and pulled on the lid.
After watching her struggle for a brief moment, the Slayer came over and showed her how to do it by demonstrating with his own paint can. Taking a screwdriver, which looked more like a toothpick in his massive hands, the Slayer carefully tucked the tip under the lid and used the length of the screwdriver as a lever to pry the paint can open. Isabelle watched closely the entire time, and when the Slayer had completely removed the lid from his can, he carefully passed the screwdriver over to her so that she could try.
Setting her jaw, Isabelle placed the tip of the screwdriver under the lid just like the Slayer had, and slowly but firmly, she pushed down on the handle to pry the lid off, and she was rewarded with a soft pop as the lid's seal was broken.
Smiling pridefully, Isabelle then removed the lid without any issue and passed a paintbrush over to the Slayer. Before long, they had both fallen into a comfortable pace as they painted the exterior of the new home.
Even though it was work, Isabelle actually found herself having quite a bit of fun, and she smiled and started humming a little tune before a thought crossed her mind.
"Mr. Slayer, is it true that you accidentally landed in our town when you were trying to return home?"
The Slayer paused his brush for a moment, then answered her question with a nod.
"Well…if you can't find your way back home, you could stay here if you wanted to. I mean, you're really good at building houses, so you could make one here really easily!"
The Slayer looked over to Isabelle once more, and even though he didn't say a word, she could tell by the small shake of his head that he could not accept her offer. Isabelle couldn't help but feel a bit sad that her new friend couldn't stay, but she perked back up and smiled as another thought crossed her mind.
"Well that's alright. Even still, please feel free and come back and visit again! Hopefully the mayor will be back by then, so you two can meet each other!"
The Slayer nodded once and gave Isabelle a thumbs up with his left hand, and she felt her tail wag happily at his desire to visit again one day.
"I would be content to return some day as well, Isabelle," VEGA said cordially from inside the suit. "I find your town and its people to be very hospitable."
Isabelle blushed and thanked VEGA for his compliment, continuing her happy tune as she continued to paint her wall.
Once they had finished, Isabelle helped the Doom Slayer pack their materials back up so they could return them to Nook's Cranny. By then, the sun had begun to set in the horizon, casting the town in a golden-orange glow that Isabelle found to be very beautiful.
As the Slayer stepped forward in the direction of the shop, Isabelle hung back a moment, folding her hands in front of herself and shuffling her feet sheepishly.
"Um…Mr. Slayer?"
He stopped and turned back to her inquisitively.
"Can I maybe…stand on your shoulder on the way back? I've never been that high up before, and I wanted to see what it was like…"
The Slayer considered for a moment, then nodded once and got down onto one knee. Shifting all of the materials he was carrying to one arm, he held his free hand down on the ground with the palm up, inviting her to climb on.
Feeling overly excited at the approval of her request, Isabelle jumped forward and clamored onto his hand, which was easily large enough for her to stand in without too much trouble.
Once he was sure she was stable, the Slayer stood back up to his full height and placed Isabelle gently onto his shoulder, who quickly found her footing and held onto his helmet for stability.
"Wow!" Isabelle exclaimed, looking out over the town from her newfound vantage point.
"I can see everything from up here! Look, there's my house, and town hall, and the museum, too!"
The Doom Slayer seemed satisfied with her excitement, and he took his time returning to Tom Nook's store so that Isabelle could enjoy the experience longer. During that time, Isabelle enjoyed the sunset like she never had before. The grandeur of the waning day all lay before her without any obstacles blocking her view, and she admired the colors swimming across the sky as the Slayer walked across the land.
After they had dropped or their items and assured Tom that the home was in tip-top shape for tomorrow, VEGA informed Isabelle that it was finally time for them to leave. Isabelle felt sadness fall on her shoulders at the news, but before the Slayer could put her down, she quickly had an idea.
"Wait!" she said. "Can we stop by the town hall first? I want to give you something to thank you for all of your hard work today!"
With agreement from both VEGA and the Doom Slayer, Isabelle happily pointed the way from his shoulder, and in no time, they had arrived back at city hall once more, where the Doom Slayer set her back on the ground once more.
Promising to be back in just a second, Isabelle ran inside and hastily rummaged through her desk, looking for something in particular. After a few fruitless moments of searching, she heard a familiar jingling noise and her fingers brushed up against the familiar elastic material of one of her spare headbands.
Grinning from ear to ear, Isabelle hurried back outside with her two headbands jingling erratically as she ran. The Doom Slayer watched her as she skidded to a stop in front of him, and after pausing a moment to catch her breath, Isabelle proudly offered the spare headband to the Slayer.
"Take this with you!" she said enthusiastically. "That way you won't forget about us or the fun memories we made today!"
Leaning down, the Doom Slayer gently took the headband and examined it through his visor. He seemed to like the gift, and after a moment of brief consideration, he reached behind himself and produced a gift of his own.
The object in his hand was larger than the headband she had given him, and before she could ask what it was, the Doom Slayer set it down on the grass in front of her.
It was a miniature version of the Doom Slayer, a toy that had been built to look like him in his suit of armor. The details were all there, and despite looking rather small in his hands, the toy stood almost to Isabelle's chin now that they were on the same level.
Taking in his gift to her, Isabelle felt her heart overflow with joy.
"I love it!" she squealed happily, picking up the toy with both hands and holding it up to her face. "Thank you so much!"
The Doom Slayer nodded once before kneeling down and holding out his fist in a friendly gesture.
Setting the toy down carefully, Isabelle eagerly bumped his fist with her own, her smile so wide that she felt it might freeze there. She had made a brand-new friend today, and now they both had something to remember each other by.
Standing back up, the Doom Slayer took a step back, and Isabelle did the same.
"Goodbye, Mr. VEGA! Goodbye Mr. Slayer! I hope to see you again soon!"
"I do as well, Isabelle. Take care," VEGA said.
Lifting his right hand, the Doom Slayer made another thumbs up, and this time, a bright flash of blue light engulfed his form followed by a loud bang. Isabelle blinked her eyes against the glare, but before her eyes could adjust, the light faded, and the Slayer was gone.
Turning back to the miniature toy Slayer, Isabelle moved to pick it up before she heard approaching footsteps from behind her. Turning around curiously, she saw none other than Pete the mailman approaching with a letter in his hand.
"Hello Isabelle! I have a letter for you!" Pete said. "I'm sorry I couldn't deliver it sooner, but it fell under the table this morning, and I didn't find it until now."
As Pete walked up, he noticed the toy Doom Slayer standing in the grass next to Isabelle.
"Wow! That looks very nice, Isabelle! Where did you get it?"
Isabelle looked back at the figurine and smiled broadly.
"It was a gift…from a very good friend."
"How thoughtful of them!" Pete said before handing her the letter.
"Thank you, Pete! I'll see you tomorrow," Isabelle said as Pete waved and went back the way he came.
Looking down quizzically at the letter, Isabelle noticed that the seal was of some strange symbol that she did not recognize. It was certainly addressed to her, but there was no return address, making the origin of the letter as mysterious as its seal.
Sparing a glance over to the Slayer toy, Isabelle playfully held the letter up to it.
"What do you think of this, Lil' Mr. Slayer? Have you seen this before?"
The figurine said nothing in response, and Isabelle jovially noted that the real Doom Slayer would've reacted the exact same way.
"Well, let's get inside, and then we'll take a look!" Isabelle said determinedly, picking up the little Slayer with one arm and walking back into the town hall.
...
A/N: I'm not sure if you could tell, but I've been wanting to write this chapter for a little while. Quite honestly, it might be the first chapter I've written where nobody gets hurt, so there's a first!