The basic principles of human movement were quite simple. To move, one would simply shift their limbs around in a fashion that would get them from point A to point B. In general this would require use of two legs that worked properly, or in the event wasn't possible, crawling was always an alternative.

This, of course, relied on the foundation of learning. The three simple steps of how basic functionality was learned.

To run, one needed to first walk. To walk, one needed to first crawl. To crawl… was simply just the first step.

Stelle had no issues with any of this. At least, none that she could remember. She could move just fine, jog just fine, jump and do whatever she really wanted to. She was surprisingly athletic.

But then March handed her a bat and told her to try fighting some monsters and it all went to shit.

If there was ever a time Stelle felt like she was out of her depth, fighting would be her prime example.

It was as if all her basic fundamentals of being a person with two functioning arms and two functioning legs were thrown out the window and sucked into the vast emptiness of space. She felt as if she was learning to jump off a tightrope, perform a triple aerial flip into a tiny pool of water before she even really figured out that she had hands attached to her arms and that they had opposable thumbs so she could grab her weapon.

In fighting, she ran before she even figured out how to crawl.

"Stelle duck!" March called.

Stelle complied on accident. The sudden call surprised her and she overextended her step, her ankle wobbled and gave up on her as she fell to the ground. Her shoulder broke her fall before her head could, but that didn't stop the breath from being sucked out of her.

An arrow sailed over her and planted itself between the eyes of a monster, causing it to evaporate into some black dust. Stelle didn't bother pondering about how in the name of the stars that worked, she'd stopped thinking about it when pointy lethal weapons were thrusted her way.

Stelle scrambled to her feet, bringing her bat up and swinging it at an unsuspecting human-like monster. It clanged against its helmet but ultimately did nothing. The recoil of the hit actually caused her bat to bounce backwards, flying out of Stelle's hand and into the air, where it floated in a high arc before coming back down right onto the neck of another antimatter legion who had taken aim at March.

The sudden hit from behind caused the monster to flail, one of its feet teetering off the edge of the platform before it plummeted. Its weapon soaring from its hands and impaling one of its allies. The newly impaled monster staggered back, grabbing hold of the closest thing to it (the last remaining monster of the bunch) and falling off the edge in a similar fashion to the other monsters. It faded into black dust before it even reached the floor, leaving one of the two monsters that had fallen to stagger onto their feet, having fallen onto a platform beneath them rather than the entire way downwards.

Stelle's wayward bat chose that time to make it's reappearance, arcing from wherever it disappeared to, and falling onto the lower platform level directly in the way of the leftover antimatter monster, bouncing off it's faceplate causing it to fly off the platform and continue it's descent down the room. There was a faint thud that could be heard. Stelle's bat miraculously rebounded off the monster in just a way that it ricocheted off several surfaces until it slowed its descent directly in front of Stelle, allowing the woman to catch it with ease.

"Uh." Stelle couldn't help but stutter, still not entirely sure what in the stars she just witnessed.

"Wow Stelle! You're really good at this fighting thing! Are you sure you haven't done any training? You must be a natural!" March cheered her, having witnessed the entire thing as well.

Stelle briefly wondered if the girl she was now teaming up with was completely unaware that there was just no possible way in any sort of universe that she could have planned whatever that was, but didn't want to exactly rain on her parade. However it happened, they were now monster-free.

Luckily for her, she was saved from answering when Dan Heng reconvened with them.

"Are you two alright? I heard fighting." He questioned.

March turned towards the new arrival. "Dan Heng! You wouldn't believe it! Stelle is a natural at fighting! She'd make a great addition to the astral express!"

That got a raised eyebrow from the man. "Really now? That's a nice surprise." He said, turning towards Stelle.

Or perhaps not. "Beginners luck…?" Stelle hesitantly replied.

It seemed to satisfy both of her new acquaintances, so they continued onwards, meeting up quickly with the previously mentioned Arlan. The two men talked about a few things, something about the space station and something about the Astral Express. Both were things that Stelle had heard mentioned before but had absolutely zero idea about what they actually entailed.

There was more discussion, Stelle tuned most of it out, she wasn't really able to discern anything from it anyways. March nodded at a few things and Stelle copied it, nodding or making a noise of approval when there were short lapses in talking. It seemed to be enough to convince them that she was following along, although the raised eyebrow from March may have just revealed that that was wishful thinking.

She had questions, a lot of them, but she figured in a rare moment of logical deduction that the window for asking questions had long since passed.

Especially since when they all turned to her and asked what she was doing before the antimatter legion attack. She had panicked and said she worked here, in the station.

'I was robbed for everything I have so I can't provide any identification.' Wasn't exactly the most bullet proof alibi. But she'd rather limit the amount of people who knew about her amnesia if she could help it.

The quartet, although it was much more like a trio, fought through any leftover antimatter legion. Stelle chose to stick to the back, opting to protect their noncombatant rather than engage the enemies herself.

It certainly had nothing to do with the fact that the one time she chose to engage, she had tripped, causing her shoe to fly off and hit the enemy in the face. If that was all she would have still been mortified but it was the fact that both March AND Dan Heng followed up with a combo that completely erased the monster from existence that left her reluctant.

March even complimented her, saying

'Good Teamwork!' after that.

Dan Heng even agreed, mentioning that her ability to turn situations in their favor was a rare and unique skill.

Stelle didn't question it.

Luckily for her, the quartet found the main elevator quickly. They apparently needed an access key of some sorts, one that was previously entrusted to March.

"Where did I put that thing?" March grumbled to herself, patting down various parts of her clothes in an attempt to locate it.

From what Stelle could tell, the girl didn't even have any pockets on her frilly outfit.

"Oh!" March exclaimed, before walking over to Stelle. One of her hands extended towards her face and cupped a cheek.

"Wait what-" Stelle stuttered out, her cheeks erupting into a fiery blush at the sudden closeness of the pretty woman.

March was close enough that Stelle could catch just a faint whiff of her sweet perfume. Close enough to count the lashes on her eyelid and close enough for her cute pink lips to take the majority of her focus.

Was this really happening? Stelle couldn't help but wonder. Right here? Right now? So suddenly?

She closed her eyes, breath held in anticipation at the sudden proximity of the cute girl in front of her. Stelle felt a hand inch around the back of her neck, fingers running through her hair in a way that sent an electrical shiver down her back. Her heart was beating pounding inside it's cage as she-

"Here it is! One keycard!" March declared.

Stelle's eyes fluttered open in confusion. In front of her was March, the same girl who was just inches away from her face a moment ago. She was holding a keycard between her index and middle finger, posing with it upwards and her free hand on her hip.

"What?" Stelle repeated.

Dan Heng sighed, his palm meeting his face with a faint but audible smack.

"March please wait until we're safe to do your magic tricks." He chastised.

"Hmph! You guys just have no appreciation for art! One minute it was gone and boom! The next thing you know it was hidden behind Stelle's ears!" March said, passing the keycard to Dan Heng before crossing her arms in a pout.

A magic trick? That's what it was? Stelle released a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. If she focused she could still feel the closeness of the girl to her. The way her perfume smelled, how her hand felt on her cheek, the way her fingers ran through her hair.

Stelle shivered. "Pretty girls are scary." She muttered to herself quietly.

"Damn right we are!" March exclaimed loudly, having somehow heard her, and shot her a wink.

Besides Stelle, Arlan also muttered to himself. "Am I the crazy one…?" He couldn't help but wonder.

When they reached the top of the main elevator, the doors opened to reveal the area referred to as the master control room. Stelle for one, was glad to see other people as opposed to more monsters in the area. She was getting really tired of tripping.

Arlan, March and Dan Heng all stepped out of the elevator in unison. Stelle was a beat behind.

"Himeko is the captain of the Astral Express. She'll give us any new developments regarding the antimatter legion." Dan Heng explained.

Stelle wasn't sure who Himeko was, but she assumed it was the woman with long red hair in their path. Her back was to the party, instead choosing look at some sort of… briefcase? The amnesiac couldn't exactly tell from the angle.

"Himeko! We're back!" March called out to the woman.

The woman with red hair turned towards them and Stelle's jaw dropped. She wasn't even sure if it was still attached to her head, or perhaps it was and it was just irreversibly extended from how far down it had dropped. Was it just her or was every single woman she met incredibly breathtaking in each their own way?

The long red hair, while certainly pretty from the back, framed her face in crimson waves that Stelle just wanted to run her fingers through. Her features could only be defined as regal, with golden eyes that seemed to exude warmth. When Stelle trailed her gaze downward, she had to swallow in an attempt to wet her suddenly dry mouth. Himeko was certainly gifted in her… assets, and the white dress she wore only seemed to accentuate her body's beauty.

Stelle couldn't stop staring. Couldn't tear her eyes away from the woman if she tried. She was alluring, enchanting. There was a natural charisma to her that seemed to pull the amnesiac woman in.

"March, Dan Heng, I'm glad you're both back safe and sound. You as well Arlan, Asta will be glad to hear you're alright." The red headed beauty spoke.

Stelle wondered if it was possible to melt into a puddle. A human puddle. Could a voice melt a person into a puddle? Because Stelle felt like it was possible.

"Yep! All safe and sound. This is Stelle! She's our new friend we met!" March introduced her.

Himeko turned towards her and smiled gently at Stelle. "Hello there, I'm Himeko, captain of the Astral Express. I'm sure you have some questions about everything."

Questions? No, she had no questions. She just wanted to listen to Himeko's voice all day.

Wait, if she asked questions she could figure out answers instead of just winging things. And on top of that she'd get to listen to her voice even more!

So yes, Stelle did have questions. She had a lot. Like how she fit into everything. Where were her memories? Why were there a bunch of monsters trying to kill people? What exactly the Astral Express was. How to pick her jaw up from the floor.

"I do." She confirmed.

"I'll try my best to answer them then."

Stelle nodded, she opened her mouth to talk about the monsters and-

"Do you like women?" She asked

That got her a raised eyebrow.

It took her three beats to realize exactly what had just come out of her mouth before she slammed a hand over it, preventing herself from saying anything else before her brain could fully process it.

"What I meant to say was that you're very pretty and-" Stelle stopped her attempted restart.

The other eyebrow raised.

Stelle cringed internally. It seemed as if every time she opened her mouth she was unable to say anything remotely serious. One more time.

"Why don't we get some alone time so you can answer my questions more in depth?"

A smirk.

Stelle buried her face in her hands, instead opting to take a deep breath and hold it for three entire seconds. Each second felt like an eternity and she was acutely aware of each set of eyes that were on her the entire time.

When she released her breath. She spoke slowly. "I'm going to stop talking." Stelle declared.

There was silence for a second before March was the first person to break it. "Wow, talk about foot in mouth syndrome." She commented.

Himeko chuckled. "You're very funny." She told Stelle.

"I know right! That's what I said earlier!"

"She's quite the character." Dan Heng commented.

"I'm… gonna report back to Asta." Arlan said, excusing himself. His tone betrayed his relief.

Stelle could feel the heat radiating off her face as she reburied her face into her hands. A quiet, but high pitched whine echoed from her throat as she struggled to contain her utter mortification at herself. Why did she have to be this way?

March patted her back. "There, there, Stelle. It'll be okay. Himeko has that effect on everyone."

"I can't recall anyone acting like that upon meeting Himeko." Dan Heng interjected.

"You're not helping~" March said in a sing song tone.

Himeko laughed. "I'm glad that you're all getting along. Let's meet up with Asta so we can sort out everything regarding the space station all at once."

Stelle wondered if it was possible for her to dissolve into black dust like the antimatter monsters, but followed the Astral Express crew when they made their way throughout the master control zone. They didn't have to walk far, only going a few healthy strides into what Stelle could only assume to be the main terminal, given the hologram and a pink haired woman issuing commands.

"Asta?" Himeko called out, causing the woman to turn around.

Stelle froze at the sight of Asta. Her hair was pink, darker than March's but still just as silky looking. She had a short side ponytail along with a lock braided in front of her. Her eyes were a bright blue, like crystals in water. She had a collared white shirt with ruffles on the front, the sleeves were detached, exposing her shoulders.

Oh no she's cute.

"It's happening again." March commented.

"Huh." Dan Heng hummed.

Start: May 3rd, 2023

End: May 8th, 2023

Words: 2644

I am down horrendous for all the women in this game and so is our trash panda.

Next update soon. Thanks for the warm reception.