Chapter 26
Tsuki Tamaki

Tsuki Tamaki. A girl born and raised in Japan's Aomori Prefecture with her father being a traditionalist and a successful business man while her mother is a typical housewife yet was an otaku back in her day. She led an ordinary life in the city of Aomori, the same name as the prefecture, but is a serious Hello Kitty! fan for as long as she can remember since her mother introduced it to her at a young age. However, she never got any siblings yet made a lot of friends in her home city up to 200 from not just her school but with other schools as well. But things took a turn when her family had to move to the United States in 2011 much to her dismay and sadness. When in the state of Wyoming, she had to learn English as her father works at his new job after getting a promotion at the firm company he works in. Her mother remained the same yet was sad about the culture shock she had to endure.

Tsuki had a hard time trying to adapt to her new environment in Muddle Creek as she tries so hard to make friends. However, some of the kids see her as more of an alien than a person. As she was walking home one day, she noticed two young men playing basketball and having a good time, J.H. and Jack. When she saw Jack, she fell in love for the first time in her life. She was too shy to talk to or even get close to Jack and J.H. as the two left after a good game. That is when Tsuki decides to change things around with herself. She worked hard while trying to stay true to herself in order to not only to get close to Jack but also try to make friends. She worked hard to become someone who isn't shy and have more confidence in herself while in a new environment as she later became friends with not only Jack and J.H., but also with Uma, Liga, Jeb, Jose and Muammar. To her, it was the best day ever. She helped her new friends learn more about Japanese culture and how to speak Japanese in order to watch shows that won't be out in English dub, make all sorts of gadgets with them and even help out with the creation of the Tulpa device when the coronavirus hit. As long as she is with friends, she is happy.

While traversing through the cosmos, Tsuki is meditating in her room while also processing wave after wave after wave of information from not just the internet back home but various other forms of nets. Networks of different versions of Earth in the psyche multiverse, space internet of various interstellar civilizations, and a lot of other such networks she has full access to. She is trying to find more information on the psyche multiverse in order to prepare for whatever comes their way because you never know what sort of horror that people had came up with that has appeared in the collective imaginations of every human back on Earth. The real Earth.

She probes through a virtual ocean full of 0's and 1's as they pass through her as she floats in this ocean. Tsuki found some data that could be useful such as maps, politicians, characters they should meet that would aid them in their quest, what planets to avoid and to use as checkpoints, celestial objects that should be avoided such as black holes, the territories of interstellar governments, who is at war and who is not. So much data to process and little time for Tsuki to map out a course. However, from what she is seeing, the psyche multiverse is a huge mess. Various universes overlapping every few days, one minute there is a solar system and then it is gone, and so much happening all at once. So much so that she had to stop and made an incomplete map of the place that will be out-of-date in a matter of hours.

Tsuki then heads towards the kitchen to get something to eat and sees Uma making dinner.

"Hey, Tsuki!" Uma is happy to see Tsuki. "Dinner is almost ready. I'm making Vangi Bath along with Tofu Tikka Masala."

Tsuki smirks, "An all vegan dinner?"

"Yeah." Uma stirs the pot of masala, "But I'm making a larger portion for you since your brain requires a lot of calories to process all that stuff during your meditations."

Jose comes in, "¡Santa mierda! The hell is that smell?!" He looks at Uma and is a bit disgusted, "Are we having vegan shit again?"

Uma points her ladle at Jose, "Hey! If you don't like it, don't bother eating it!"

Jose has his hands up, "I'll eat it, I'll eat it." He cracks a smile, "Anything is better than starvation."

Muammar appears and sniffs the air. "Masala?"

"And Vangi Bath." Uma finishes and get things ready, "And it is now ready."

Everyone is at the table and eating Uma's cooking as they talk about some of the stuff they were doing.

"So, Tsuki." J.H. says, "Did you manage to make a map to our destination to take on the psycho-bitch?"

Tsuki sighs and brings down the mood, "I've been trying, but making a map to something that changes every minute. To be honest, I'm afraid it will be impossible to get where she is."

Jack says, "Hey, stuff like that is difficult so don't be hard on yourself."

Tsuki smiles as Jack, "Thanks, Jack."

Jeb asks, "So... What are we having for dessert? And I hope it ain't vegan." But then he feels something going on inside of him. "Be right back!" and he gets up and leaves.

J.H. also have a similar feeling, "Shit. Now I have to use the bathroom." So he gets up and leaves.

Uma says to them both, "That's what happens if you don't get enough veggies!"

Jack asks, "So what are we having for dessert?"

"Pumpkin pie with extra whip cream."

"Mmmm!" Muammar loves it, "I love pumpkin pie."

Liga chuckles, "Who doesn't?"

Jack then feels a rumble in his insides, "Ah crap. Now I have to go to the bathroom." He gets up and heads out.

"More pie for me then."

Jack yells from a distance, "Don't eat my slice! Save some for the rest of us!"

The ship continues to moves through something greater than hyperspace and a few days past. Tsuki is writing in her Hello Kitty! journal about her adventures with all her friends as well as sending an e-mail mentally to her parents. She looks at the corner of her room and see some boxes that Jeb and Jose left and wonders what are they. Jose comes in and picks up one of them.

"Hey, Jose?"

Jose holds one of the smaller boxes, "Yeah?"

"What is all that?"

"Oh, these? Some equipment Jeb and I are using to make some special computers to help navigate through the psyche multiverse by using prediction algorithms. You know? To make it easier for you since you have been working hard on trying to make a map."

"Oh!" Tsuki smiles by the surprise, "Thanks guys!"

"Sure thing."

"Can I help? I am a computer scientist after all."

"Feel free to join."

Jeb, Jose and Tsuki are in the cargo bay of the ship and try to make a computer system that will help them navigate through the psyche multiverse. Tsuki is working on some of the circuit boards of the computer with Jose working on a prediction algorithm program while Jeb makes the frames for the new computers.

"Wish this could be a montage." Jeb says out loud.

Jose look at Jeb, "Why?"

"Because things would go faster. Like a few seconds you and I would be working on the same program with Tsuki makes a new processor then we cut to you and me arguing with Tsuki stopping us and a few other things."

"Yeah. But I prefer to work together rather than going at each other's throats."

Tsuki stops and says to the two, "Well... We have been on this ship for a while and we might be going stir crazy. Or in correct terms; cabin fever."

Jose smiles, "Oh man, I love that song." He looks at Jeb, "Remember Muppet Treasure Island?"

Jeb starts singing, "I got cabin fever. It's burning through my brain."

Then Jose starts singing, "I got cabin fever. It's driving me insane!"

Tsuki laughs at the two singing, "Sate, korega genjiten de kono fune de mottomo omoshiroi kotodesu."
Translation: "Now that is the most hilarious thing on this ship as of to date."

Jeb and Jose chuckle a bit.

Tsuki then starts to sound serious, "But cabin fever is a real thing. According to what Uma said to me; Cabin fever is the distressing claustrophobic irritability or restlessness experienced when a person, or group, is stuck at an isolated location or in confined quarters for an extended time. A person may be referred to as stir-crazy, derived from the use of stir meaning 'prison'."

Both of them go, "Ooohhh..."

Jeb says to Jose, "Okay, that makes sense."

Jose looks at Jeb, "That may explain a few things."

"What things?" Tsuki is curious.

"Nothing!" they both say in a panic, "Let's get back to work!"

The three continue to work on making the special computer to help navigate through the psyche multiverse. The three agreed that navigating through such a chaotic and a perpetual hurricane that keeps on shifting the tides of the gigantic ocean that can throw everything off course. They manage to complete half of the computer until it is late at night.

"What time is it?" Jose asks.

"I think it is almost 11 at night." Jeb responded.

Tsuki yawns, "I think that is enough for the night." She put her tools down, "We should get some rest and continue later in the morning."

Jeb then says to Tsuki, "Can't. Jose and I got a tournament online to compete in." He thinks to himself, "Although I wonder if we can actually play while traveling between multiverses."

Jose thinks about it for a moment and realizes something. "Wait a minute. What tournament?"

"I...uh..." Jeb completely lost the name of the tournament. "Huh. I could've sworn that. Wait. Why are we going to participate in a video game tournament when the apocalypse happened?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

Tsuki look at the two, "I have to agree. But what tournament were you referring to? Halo? Call of Duty?"

"Fuck me. I can't remember."

"So fuck it. We're getting back to work tomorrow."

"Agreed."

Everyone went to sleep for the night as they continue to travel across the cosmos. However, even when asleep, Tsuki continues to do research in the net. Or multiple nets. She does deep dives to save as much information as she can while sending it to a series of hard drives she has stashed somewhere on the ship. So think Ghost in the Shell yet Tsuki is wearing a Hello Kitty! cat suit. Which ruined the coolness factor. She search deep in the nets to learn more of the psyche multiverse as well as keep track of things happening on Prime Earth as well as the United Confederacy of Exiles. From what she has learned, the UCE has gained a multitude of members since their departure and managed to get over 40% of the Cascadian Galaxy to join on their side. But she has intercepted some reports about spies checking on the Grand Axis Alliance and the Great Workers' Unity. Good news is that they are still oblivious about the growing UCE with the bad news is that there is another fascist alliance that is all American that has appeared known as the True American Patriots. An alliance of four nations such as the Allied States of America, Federalist States of America, United Enclaves of America, and the American States of Zia.

"The fuck?" she says when she sees the ring-leader. "Why is the RED Soldier from Team Fortress 2 leading this alliance? Last I check, he's a dumb-ass."

But Tsuki just shakes it off and continues to learn more. She discovered that all traces of the parasitic organism that were infecting Avatars are completely and 100% wiped-out, a discovery of another galaxy full of WH40K fan-made works, and even came across an article about a nation called, Punkistan. She does find many of these articles and data fascinating until she comes across...

"OMG!" she squeals, "A HELLO KITTY! INTER-DIMENSIONAL MEET & GREET! I GOTTA GO THERE!" She looks at the bottom of the poster, "And it is being done in VR! YES!" She jumps up and down, "I gotta tell everyone about this! Wait..." she looks at the date, "Three months from now? Fuck!" She is disappointed.

However her disappointed faded when she hears alarms going off in the ship.

Tsuki woke-up along with everyone else as they get ready for whatever is happening.

"What's going on?!" she asks in an alarm tone.

"Don't know!" Liga says, "Let's go!"

Everyone headed towards the bridge until the ship came to a sudden stop that caused everyone to fall down. Many of them groan and moan from hitting the metal floor hard.

"Fuck me!" everyone says in their own native languages as they try to get back up.

Jack asks, "The hell just happened?!"

Liga sighs, "Please don't tell us we're being attacked by those mecha King Kongs again."

All of them made it into the bridge and see what is going on.

J.H. is on the scanner, "Scanning now."

Uma sees one of the screens, "We got fire on one of our thrusters!"

Tsuki press some buttons, "Sealing air from the engine room."

Jack tries steering but couldn't.

"Dammit!" he shouts, "We're dead in space!"

Muammar speaks, "Technically, we are dead in the water. Although it applies more if the ship is in water but-"

"Not now!" Uma shouted.

J.H. reports, "Looks like we got hit by something and it is lodged in the thrusters."

Jeb press some buttons, "Shutting down the engines."

Jose asks, "What exactly hit us?"

"I don't know." J.H. says, "But we need to repair it fast if we're gonna make it."

AN: Hey everyone! Hope you guys are doing alright in this summer heat. Also, hope you guys will enjoy my new story; Punk'd Up. An anthology about different types of Punkers in a world that is similar to our own with realism yet has some fictional elements thrown in. Hope you enjoy! But from now on, I'm gonna upload random chapters pending on what am I in the mood of doing. Later!