"Lab member no. 002, Mayuri, did you bring the bananas?" Kurisu asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "We need to conduct more experiments with the Phonewave (Real name T.B.A)."

"Well, Mayuri bought some on her way home, but you won't change them all to gelnanas, will you?" Mayuri asked in her timid voice. She held up a plastic shopping bag which was filled completely with bunches of bright yellow bananas. "Remember, these are Mayuri's bananas."

"I know, Mayuri," Kurisu agreed with a smile. Although she was quite confident that experiments with the Phonewave would always turn up the same information, Kurisu couldn't help but be frustrated by her lack of understanding of the technical side of said experiments. Just why did objects turn to jelly? What caused the shock wave each time the machine was activated? The Future Gadgets team had managed to create something so spectacular, but the only way to utilize it's true potential was to unlock the secrets behind the device's mysterious workings.

"There, it's all set up," Mayuri said after placing a single banana in the microwave.

"Daru, do it now," Kurisu ordered with a demanding voice.

"Right away, Makise," Daru set the Phonewave's timer and sat back to watch. All three lab members kept their stares on the banana, watching it rotate, eager to see the change happen. However, to all of their disappointment, at the very moment of activity, a burst of energy sent waves throughout the room, blinding the young scientist's view of the phenomenon. When the smoke cleared, Kurisu opened the microwave door. In place of the banana, was bright green slime.

"It worked!" Mayuri cheered, throwing her hands into the air.

"It worked, but we still don't know why it worked..." Kurisu sighed, pursing her lips in thought. "Daru, analyze the shock wave that was produced. Mayuri, dispose of the gelnana in a way SERN won't notice. I need to go out on my own mission."

"What mission is that?" Daru asked while he powered up his computer. In an instant, the screen was filled with a bunch of numbers that was all nonsense to anyone unfamiliar with the code.

"Heh. Only the most important mission of all," Kurisu grinned. "I'm all out of DK Pepper."

"Huh?! Your gross drink?!" Daru gasped looking angry. "So we have to work while you go grocery shopping?"

"It's not mere grocery shopping. I can't work if I don't have my drink," Kurisu insisted. She made sure she had her wallet and took a step out of their shared apartment. "I'll be right back, you two. I expect you both to be finished by the time I get back."

"Yes Ma'am!" Mayuri called as she left. Daru too, got to work. Kurisu smiled at the sight of her friends both working so hard. She shut the door to the laboratory and set on her way to the grocer.

"Makise! The whole building shook! What the hell were you doing up there?!" Mr. Braun had been waiting for Kurisu with a stern look on his face. His gigantic arms were crossed over his chest and his eyebrows were furrowed angrily.

"Sorry! I'll clean up later!" Kurisu ran straight past her landlord, determined to avoid his wrath. It only took a minute before Kurisu had ran far enough to drown out Braun's shouts. When she did, Kurisu smiled to herself proudly. It was always fun working with her friends on their studies. Especially when they were able to make progress. And although she could never quite place it, she had a weird feeling deep within her mind that if she hadn't chosen this path of science and discovery, her life would be over.

"Makise~" a very feminine voice called out to her. Kurisu turned to see Ruka walking towards her.

"Oh, hey Ruka," Kurisu smiled and greeted her friend.

"Out shopping?" Ruka tilted his head as he asked.

"I just need to refill on drinks. After all, a mad scientist can't function without it," the two chuckled in unison.

"Just be careful, okay?" Ruka added on a more serious note. "I heard on the news that some scary stuff has been happening in the shopping district lately. So don't stay out too long by yourself."

"Scary stuff?" The red head inquired curiously. "Like what?"

"I'm not totally sure," Ruka admitted. "But I thought I heard the news reporter say something about a jelly man. I'm sure it's nothing too big to worry about though. I'll see you later. El Psy... er... what was it again?"

After hearing the mention of a jelly man, Kurisu found herself at a loss for words. "It's, uh.. Congroo," she answered absentmindedly. "El Psy Congroo."

"Right! Now I remember," Ruka giggled into his hand. "I was just heading over to your lab now to give this cosplay back to Mayuri. So maybe if you hurry back we can-" Although Ruka was still spouting off polite chatter, Kurisu was unable to focus. The idea of a jelly man was frightening, especially if it was the same as what happened when the Future Gadgets team created gelnanas. As soon as Ruka finished what he was saying and waved her goodbye, Kurisu quickened her pace towards Akihabara's shopping district.

There were as many people as usual, all rushing to buy the latest manga and action figures. There were girls dressed as maids holding huge signs, and cosplayers in brightly colored wigs and clothes. Maybe, Kurisu thought, it would be impossible to find anything in this mob of people. No matter how much Kurisu tried to push her way through the overwhelming throng of people, she was unable to see anything similar to what Ruka had mentioned. It was plausible that the whole story was just a hoax, but until she saw it with her own eyes, Kurisu was unwilling to give up her search.

"Kurisuuu!" A cheerful voice yelled out to her, and Kurisu swung around to see Suzuha running full speed towards her.

"Eh? Suzuha?!" Kurisu tried to get out of the way before being trampled, but the mass amounts of people surrounding her from all sides made avoiding the collision an impossibility. "Oomph!" Kurisu made a sound of discomfort as she tried to stop herself and Suzuha from falling.

"S- Sorry about that," Suzuha smiled and scratched the back of her head apologetically. "What are you doing here anyway? Don't you normally only come here with Daru?"

"I was just out shopping," Kurisu said after fixing her lab coat, which had shifted on impact. "By the way, have you seen anything weird around here?"

"Weird?" Suzuha cocked her head to one side, indicating that she didn't have any clue as to what Kurisu was talking about. "I don't think so. How come? Should I have?"

"No, it's fine. I just thought there might be something up. Ruka told me something about a-"

"Oh!" Before Kurisu could finish talking, Suzuha burst out excitedly. "I did see some police tape! It was this way! Follow me!" With that, Suzuha raced off.

"Hey, wait up!" Kurisu called and took off after her. Having spent a large majority of her life in a lab, Kurisu naturally had a hard time keeping up. The run alone was difficult, but that alongside weaving in and out of crowds was too much, and Suzuha was soon far out of sight. Exhausted, Kurisu was forced to stop and catch her breath. "W- Wait... for me..." she wheezed as though Suzuha were still able to hear her.

Once she regained her composure, Kurisu glanced around. It seemed as though she had been lead away from the busy part of Akihabara and was now somewhere more... quiet. As a matter of fact, Kurisu didn't think there was anywhere in Akihabara that was this empty. Feeling a bit lost and confused, Kurisu wandered farther off in the direction Suzuha had disappeared in. Just a few minutes ago, she had been surrounded by large extravagant buildings, but the farther she got, the less civilization Kurisu was seeing. It was getting to be eerily quiet, building a sense of nervousness within the instinctual parts of the Inventor's brain.

"Maybe I should turn back..." Kurisu thought to herself after a few cautious looks around. She almost turned on her heels right at that moment and left, however, almost like she was possessed, Kurisu's feet started to move on their on and she continued forward. The sensation felt as though there was a voice at the back of her head, encouraging her to keep going - telling her that there was something for her at the end of the path. And although the voice she was hearing came across so clearly, the sound of each one of her footsteps echoed in her ears, reminding Kurisu that there was no one there but her.

That's when she saw it.

A horrific scene before her that Kurisu could have gone her whole life without seeing.

It was a man-shaped, or rather, it was a man made of gel. Exactly as Ruka had said, the green slime lay on the ground in the exact shape as a full grown man.

Taken aback, Kurisu stepped back. It was disgusting, appalling and Kurisu wanted nothing more than to look away, however she couldn't tear her eyes off of the jelly man.

"I'm glad you found this on your own," upon hearing a voice, Kurisu whipped around, ready to defend herself if needed. However, the figure approaching her was none other than Suzuha. Her usual hyperactive demeanor seemed to have disappeared completely. "This is the result of a failed experiment. SERN tried to unlock the secret to unlocking time travel but they're lacking a few key components to making it work correctly."

"SERN?!" Kurisu gasped. "Suzuha, what are you talking about? Time travel isn't even possible!"

"Of course it isn't. Not without the proper equipment at least," Suzuha explained. "In another time line, however, you and your friends have already mastered your control over jumping time, and used it to prevent SERN from obtaining the same tech."

At this rate, even Kurisu's evolved mind was having trouble keeping up. Not only had she been right about SERN, but she was now being told about sperate time lines.

"I don't understand... if we don't have the technology in this time for them to learn from, then why do you need to tell me all of this?" Kurisu inquired. "I mean, I do think it's better to understand what's happening, but you could have easily kept me ignorant..."

"You're right. I could have. Unfortunately, I need your help with something," Suzuha frowned, furrowing her thin eyebrows in frustration. "Have you ever heard of a man named John Titor?"

"Titor? No, I don't think so."

"Exactly. Because he doesn't exist. He was an inventor from another time line, and because of an error in one of his calculations, he ended up here. I was able to track which reality he ended up in until this point, but here he just... vanishes," Suzuha paused for a brief moment to let Kurisu think before continuing. "The conclusion I've come to is that he accidentally transported himself to a version of this world where, for whatever reason, he doesn't exist."

"So, why are you telling me this?" Kurisu asked finally. "It's not like this guy means anything to me. I'm perfectly happy here. Besides, SERN is a huge organization. Why on Earth would I risk getting involved?"

Suzuha sighed, pinching the skin in between her eyebrows with her thumb and forefinger. "I was hoping your Reading Steiner would have kicked in by now. Whatever. Think about what I said. If you change your mind, you always know where to find me," she turned, preparing herself to run home. "Oh, and don't mention any of this in front of Braun!" After yelling that last warning, Suzuha started running again.

Looking back at the jelly man one last time, firmly burning the image into her memory, Kurisu walked back to the Future Gadgets lab.

"Kurisu, what took you so long? Ruka was excited to see you, but he had to leave a few minutes ago," upon entering the building, Kurisu was immediately greeted by Mayuri. "And.. where's your shopping bag? Weren't you going out to buy something?"

"They were, uh, the store was sold out," Kurisu fibbed, trying her best to fake a smile. On her walk home, she had considered telling the other lab members what had happened, but in the end she decided to keep it to herself. "So, did you two finish your assigned jobs?"

"Uh-huh!" Mayuri nodded enthusiastically. "Mayuri threw the gelnana in the garbage, like you asked."

"Very well, Mayuri. And what about you, Daru?" Kurisu asked, fixating her gaze on the computer programmer. "Have you finished deciphering the the shock wave?"

"I did, but I got something to show you that's way more exciting than some numbers," he said, spinning around in his chair to look over at Kurisu. "Some dude on the internet PM'd me as soon as you left. Normally I'd have assumed it was no big deal, but they mentioned the Phonewave (Real name T.B.A.)."

"They what?!" Kurisu gasped and stumbled over to Daru's side, looking over his shoulder at the message. "Who are they?!"

"Well, if they know about our microwave, then wouldn't it be someone we know?" Mayuri interjected from across the room.

"That's just what SERN wants us to think.. it must be their doing!"

"But what would they want with the Phonewave?" Daru asked, looking unconvinced. "All it does it turn stuff into goo. If you think about it, it's kind of pointless."

"I- It's not pointless!" Kurisu shouted, her face going bright red.

"Yeah, yeah... whatever you say, Tsundere."

"I am not a tsundere!.. Just tell us who sent you that message."

"Hmm... some guy named Titor," Daru said after scrolling up to the top of his computer screen.

"Titor?" Kurisu asked. She thought back to what Suzuha had told her. But if that were true, then John Titor wouldn't exist to be able to contact them. "John Titor?" She questioned further.

"Nah. Barrel Titor," Daru said, sounding completely uninterested. "Why? Do you know him?"

"No. Not really. Just read the message."

"Read it yourself, genius girl," Daru got up from his chair. "I'm going to visit my darling Faris," he said before leaving with a dirty look on his face.

Kurisu sighed to herself and sat down in Daru' chair. "Let's see here..."

My name is Titor. I'm from the year 2036. Using the Phonewave technology, I was able to send this message back in time for you. I have been contacted by a common aquaintence of ours to tell me that despite a change in the time lines, SERN has still gained access to your work. Although I haven't seen this for myself, I've been told there's a being with the capabilities to finish your machine, and set your world back to the way it's supposed to be. -Barrel Titor.

After reading the message, Kurisu's head was swarming with complicated thoughts. She never would have imagined something as simple as the Phonewave, a device she still didn't quite understand, would end up having such significance. Kurisu was unsure whether or not she should investigate this further, especially if SERN was involved. But if it was the only way to fix time, then perhaps she had no choice.

"What did it say, Kurisu?" Mayuri called, snapping Kurisu out of her trance.

"Uh, n- nothing. Or nothing we need to worry about," Kurisu said. "It was probably just a prank."

"Oh. That makes sense," Mayuri tilted her head as though she didn't fully understand what was happening, and Kurisu couldn't blame her. It would only be worse if she tried to explain the whole situation to Mayuri. Daru too, for that matter. If she wanted to keep her group's panic to a minimum, Kurisu knew that she needed to keep this to herself.

---

Both Daru and Mayuri were out, leaving Kurisu alone at the lab to work. She had taken quite a while to consider everything that had happened. The message... SERN... Gelnanas... All of the strange occurrences lately had managed to convince Kurisu of one thing: There was definitely something wrong. She left the apartment and entered Mr.Braun's shop.

"Hey, have you seen Suzuha anywhere?" Kurisu asked after a quick look around. "She was working today, right?"

"She was here earlier," Braun said as he put down a few heavy looking boxes. "How come? She bothering you?"

"No, I just needed to talk to her about something," as Kurisu spoke, she recalled the warning Suzuha had given her.

"Oh, and don't mention any of this in front of Braun!" The words replayed through Kurisu's head as she remmebered the scene from the previous day.

"Well, I think she's going to be back later," Braun scratched the back of his head in thought. "But if it's urgent, she's probably not far."

"It's not too important," Kurisu lied. She figured that it was safer not to say anything anything that would raise suspicion. "Thanks anyways," Kurisu smiled as normally as she could before leaving the room to look for Suzuha.

Once Kurisu was out of sight, Braun's expression fell. He removed his cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. "Let's hope Moeka can handle this. I don't want to blow my cover this early on."

---

After half an hour of searching, Kurisu finally spotted Suzuha. Upon realizing Kurisu's arrival, Suzuha pulled on her bike's brakes and came to a sudden stop.

"Kurisu! What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Those things you told me... about time travel and SERN... I want to know more," Kurisu gulped. "I want to help you."

"You mean it? You'll really help us?" Suzuha's eyes were gleaming.

"Yeah. I don't want to stay naive to this world. I want to help take down SERN and return to the right time line," Kurisu explained with a determined nod.

"In that case, there's only one thing you need to know for now," Suzuha smiled slightly, still happy about Kurisu's decision. "Does the name... Okabe Rintarou mean anything to you?"

Kurisu froze for a second before responding. "Okabe?" Her head cocked slightly to the side and she raised her eyebrows in question. Although the name sounded familiar to her, Kurisu didn't know anyone by that name. "Who is it? A scientist?"

"More than just that," Suzuha sighed. "Okabe... he's the inventor of the Phonewave."

"Eh? I made that!"

"In this time line, maybe.. but in the original world, it was made by him. Don't you think it's strange you just woke up one morning and knew how to create something so weird?" Kurisu nodded. "What happened to you is called Reading Steiner. It's when you retain information from other time lines, whether you realize it's happening or not. But regardless, while Okabe is the only one who's able to finish the Phonewave, it's possible that you may be able to retain that information from your other word selves."

"I think I understand, but why me?" Kurisu reasoned. "Why am I the only one with this ability."

"To be honest, I'm not totally sure," she said, toying with one of her braids. "But I assume it's because you were the closest to him. I was never there, but you seemed to have a good relationship with him. And you did help with a lot of the research."

"So because of my close contact with this man, I'm able to remember different time lines?"

"Precisely."

"I just have one more question before I fully agree to do this..." Suzuha stayed silent. "How do I know I can trust you? I mean, for all I know, you could be aligned with SERN."

"There's no way for me to fully convince you, but SERN wouldn't give you all the information like I have. They would resort to cheap manipulation. Whereas I'm willing to work alongside you," Suzuha said. "Another example. I'm going to tell you the key piece of equipment you're going to need... The IBN-5100. You can use it to hack into SERNs database. There you should be able to find all the information you need. Your friend - Ruka, I think it was - should be able to help you with that. Now, I have to get back to work before Braun gets mad." Suzuha hopped back onto her bike and hurried away leaving a puff of dust in her path.

With her only lead being Ruka, Kurisu decided to go to the shrine where Ruka acted as a shrine maiden. Lucky enough, Ruka was outside practicing with his wooden katana when Kurisu got there.

"Hm? Makise?" Ruka smiled and turned when he saw her. "What brings you here?"

"This may sound strange, but I need your help," Kurisu pleaded, getting straight to the point. "I'm looking for a computer - The IBN-5100 - and I have reasons to believe it's here."

"A computer?.. Let me think," Ruka held his chin in thought. "Oh! I remember. My grandfather had an old computer in his storage."

"Had?"

"He gave it away just yesterday," Ruka gave Kurisu an apologetic smile. "I think I saw Faris with the man he gave it to. So, you could try asking her."

"Y- Yeah. I guess I'll have to try that," Kurisu frowned. It was unfortunate that the computer was missing, but at least she knew where it had gone. "Thanks for your help, Ruka."

"Anytime," Ruka responded as he giggled afemminately. "So, what do you need the computer for? It's really old, you know. It probably doesn't even work very well."

"Hehe.. Daru wanted it for something," she conjured up a story on the spot, hoping it sounded more reasonable than she needed it to hack into a secret government organization for top secret information on time travel. "Thanks again. I'm going to go see Faris now if that's alright."

"Of course. Tell Faris I say hi."

"I will," Kurisu smiled and left the shrine. This minor setback wasn't too much of a burden, however it was taking a toll on Kurisu's patience. If the IBN-5100 was needed to hack into SERN, then she most definitely was determined to find it.

The May Queen was as over-crowded as it always was. There was even a line up leading out the front entrance. After pushing her way back in, Kurisu looked around for Faris.

"Kurisu," a cheery voice called out. "Are you here to eat, meow?"

"Uh, no, I'm here to ask you something, actually," Kurisu said. "I'm looking for something and I think you might have it."

"Hmm.. why don't you have a seat, meow.. Faris will be right with you," Faris smiled and struck a feline-like pose before scampering off to deal with real customers.

Following the girl-maid's instructions, Kurisu fond an empty seat, probably the only empty seat in the whole cafe, and sat down. It was a few minutes before Faris returned, with a slightly more serious look on her face.

"What is it you're looking for?" She asked upon her return. "And why would Faris have it?"

"I'm looking for an old computer. Ruka told me you were there when his granddad gave it away, so I thought you could help me get it," Kurisu looked through the menu as she explained. "I really need it, and it'd be a huge-"

"Faris will help on one condition, meow," she grinned and crossed her arms. "Faris needs Kurisu to work and shift at the May Queen. Then you can have your dumb computer."

"Makise? Maid dress? Cat ears?!" Appearing from what seemed like nowhere, Daru had joined the conversation, face red-hot and steaming. "Whatever's happening, I'm in!"

Faris smiled and said, "Kurisu is gonna take over for the rest of the day so Faris can run some errands, meow! And looks like we're in luck; Daru can be your first customer!"

With a heavy sigh, Kurisu nodded. "If this is the only way you'll help, then I suppose I have no choice. But do you have a spare uniform I could put on?"

"Hmm.. we do have Mayuri's dress," Faris said with a mischievous smirk on her face and winked. "It'll just be a bit tight, meow!"

Kurisu blushes heavily, and lowered her head in embarrassment. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, preparing herself for the years of emotional trauma that came with agreeing to do this task for Faris. "I'll go get changed and start now then. But I'm certainly expecting to have that IBN-5100 by the end of the day."

"Sure thing, meow!" Faris agreed before pouncing off in another direction. "Follow me, meow! Faris will show you where to change!"

Reluctantly, Kurisu followed Faris as she bound through the crowded building until finally, she found herself in the backroom. Inside of Mayuri's work locker was a small maid dress that Kurisu was expected to wear.

"This won't fit me," Kurisu started to complain, but Faris had already left the room. So with no one to argue with, and no other way to get the computer she needed, Kurisu decided to suck it up and squeeze herself into the tiny outfit.

"Wow!" Daru exclaimed when he laid his eyes on Kurisu, fully equipped with a puffy skirt and cat ears. "I guess even you can be cute, Makise!"

"Well, don't get too used to seeing me like this," despite the super noticeable blush that had formed on her cheeks, Kurisu kept a stern expression. "I'm only doing this in exchange for a favor."

"I thought I heard you say something about the IBN-5100, but why do we need something like that?" Daru asked. "It's ancient. They don't even have them in pawn shops. Oh, and I'll have an ice coffee."

"We need it to.." Kurisu lowered her voice, leaning closer to Daru. "Hack into SERN.."

"What?! You're going to-!!"

"Shush!" Kurisu put one finger violently over Daru's mouth. "Not so loud.. anyone in this building could be after the same thing as us. We need to be careful. And your coffee will be here in a few minutes."

"You're supposed to meow here," Daru sighed, looking annoyed. "If you want to work here, try acting cuter."

"I don't want to work here!" Kurisu's blush intensified. "I need to in order to get the computer... and stop calling me cute!" Kurisu spun on her heels, and left to retrieve Daru's coffee.

"Well," Daru grinned to himself. "I suppose a tsundere maid isn't too bad either."

Once in the kitchen, it didn't take too long for Kurisu to figure out how the espresso machine worked. A machine so simple was nothing compared to what she was used to working with. And having the recipes to all the drinks printed out helped a lot too.

She made Daru's drink and carried it back to his table. "Here you go. Once ice coffee."

"Thanks, cutie," Daru smiled in amusement. He was obviously pleased to hold such power over her.

"I already told you to stop with-"

"Excuse me, miss. I haven't been helped yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll be there in a second," Kurisu left Daru's table and hurried to help the next customer.

She looked far different than the rest of the May Queen's clientele. She was dressed quite nicely, and had a pretty face. And with her glasses, she seemed like the quiet bookworm type.

"What would you like, meow?" Kurisu asked smiling. It was odd having to adopt such a weird personality, but if she was going to work there for the night, she was going to do it right.

"Just a latte will suffice," the woman answered briefly. Her voice was very quiet and lacked tone. "Also, I happened to overhear a conversation you had... do you happen to be looking for an IBN-5100?"

"I uh.. what do you know about it?" Kurisu asked, the suspicion in you voice was impossible to miss.

"Not very much. But I'm looking for one too," the woman said shyly. "If you have any information on where one is, I would love to know."

"I'd love to chat, but it's really busy in here. I have more orders to fill," Kurisu used the busy cafe as am excuse to stop talking to this girl as fast as possible.

"If you're busy now, we should talk later..." the girl said as she scribbled a few digits onto a napkin. "My phone number. So we can text."

"Yeah, okay," Kurisu nonchalantly shoved the napkin into her apron pocket and focused her mind on waitressing. She didn't have the time of day to talk about old computers with strangers.

---

"Wow, Kurisu, you did a pretty good job," Faris gapped when she returned to the cafe. "Maybe you can start work here permanently, meow!"

Kurisu, herself, was coated in sweat and utterly exhausted. Her face was beat red from humiliation and hardwork, and Kurisu was just glad it was finally over.

"W- Where's the computer?" Kurisu asked amongst her gasps for breath. "We had a deal, Faris."

"Hehe! I left it with Daru," Faris giggled. "I figured your arms would be tired from carrying trays all day, meow! So we can just let him do all the heavy lifting."

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks by the way," Kurisu sighed. She wasn't used to being on her feet all day, and she was beyond exhausted, finding it dificult to hold herself up. "Why did you have the computer in the first place?"

"My daddy owned it, meow!" She smiled. "So when you're done with it, be sure to bring it back, okay meow?"

"Alright. We'll return it as soon as we don't need it anymore," Kurisu smiled. "I'm going to change then go home. We have a lot of work to do."

---

"Kurisu," Mayuri's voice rang through Kurisu's ears. "Kurisu, wake up. Daru told me to come get you."

She stretched and sat up, the sensation of waking up setting in her brain. After working the whole day at the May Queen, Kurisu had been too tired to help Daru, and ended up falling asleep on the couch.

"Is it finished?" She yawned, wiping drool off of her lip. "Did we hack SERN?"

"Although it's not in the same format that actual members of SERN would see, I'm in," Daru answered in place of Mayuri, causing Kurisu to jump up and run to his side.

"Is there any information on time travel?!" She asked enthusiastically.

"Hmm.. not that I can see. There's not even any documented attempts at time travel," he continued to scroll through different documents and pages, scanning the titles in search of anything related to what they were searching for. "Huh? What's this?" Daru clicked on a link, and an article opened on his screen.

"Is that...?" Mayuri glanced over Daru's other shoulder.

"That's our Phonewave (Real name T.B.A)!!" Kurisu gasped. "Why is it on here?!"

"I'm not totally sure.." Daru said as he read the article. "It seems like these are blueprints to upgrade it. But what are the upgrades for?"

"Time travel..." Kurisu muttered. Both Mayuri and Daru looked over at her in surprise.

"What are you talking about, Kurisu?" Mayuri asked.

"We made.. a time machine?" Daru asked, his eyes widening.

"We haven't yet. First we need to make the modifications," Kurisu clenched one fist. "Daru, you get print off those blueprints, and I'll go get what we need to build it."

"Mayuri wants to come with you, Kurisu," Mayuri declared.

"Oh, alright," Kurisu agreed. "Get your shoes on, and get ready."

"Yes Ma'am!" Mayuri got ready as she was told to and followed Kurisu out the door. The two of them walked side by side to all of the mechanics stores around in order to scrounge together the materials that were needed for the upgrade. On the way back, Kurisu looked down at Mayuri curiously.

"Do you know anyone named Okabe Rintarou?" Kurisu asked, testing to see if she was truly the only one affected by reading steiner.

"Okabe?" Mayuri stopped to think. "I don't think so."

"So the name doesn't sound familiar to you at all?"

"Well, maybe," she shut her eyes tightly in thought, but to no prevail. "Nope. Mayuri doesn't know anyone with that name."

"I see," Kurisu furrowed her brow. So she was the only one who had any recollection of that man. Although she couldn't remember a single detail about him, just hearing his name makes her head hurt. It was as if the slight pain was brought about by all her repressed memories; each one trying to break free from this block on her mind.

"I don't know who he is, but if I ever meet him, do you think it would be okay if I called him Okarin?" Mayuri suddenly smiled happily. "It's a mix of Oka from Okabe, and Rin from Rintarou. Isn't it so much cuter?"

"Uh, yeah. It is sort of cute."

"Hm? Kurisu, are you okay?" Mayuri suddenly looked up at her companion. "You look a little bit pale."

Just as Kurisu was about to say she felt fine, she lost her footing and fell to the ground. Mid-fall, however, Kurisu felt her eyes glaze over, and her vision went black.

---

When she regained her conciousness, Kurisu found herself someplace familiar. She was back in the building where she had first met Mayuri while doing a presentation on time travel. Only she wasn't presenting. Not exactly. The person presenting was certainly her, but Kurisu found herself watching from a third-person perspective.

Watching herself explain her own theories was strange, especially now that she knew that she had been wrong. Kurisu continued to watch herself speak, until finally, it ended and the room filled with applause. Kurisu glanced around at the group of people watching her. Each one looked impressed, but one. When Kurisu laid eyes on her own father, with his expression filled with disgust, she felt a pang of sadness in her chest. All she had ever wanted was his approval, and since abandoning her traditional studies, the chances of that happening were one in a million.

"Papa, how did you like the presentation?" She was no longer standing in the lecture room. Instead, she was in one of the building's many corridors. Standing next to her was her father.

"It was brilliant. You've really done your research."

"You mean it, Papa?" Kurisu watched the hope form in her own eyes upon hearing her father's words. "You really liked it?"

"I did. The paper you wrote, give it to me," Kurisu almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I'll publish it under my own name and finally get some recognition!" Kurisu's father snatched the papers right out from Kurisu's arms and she grasped desperately at them, trying to take her work back.

"Papa, why would you do this?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes. "Why would you steal your own daughter's work?!"

Watching this devastating scene unfold before her, Kurisu could feel her heart breaking. She clutched at her chest in an attempt to ease the ache she felt, but it only made it hurt more.

"Papa, stop it!" Kurisu tried to call out to her father - beg him to stop - however he couldn't hear her. Instead, he continued to yell at the other Kurisu, his face growing redder and redder with anger.

"No daughter should surpass her father!" Past this point, Kurisu could no longer bring herself to watch. She shut her eyes as tightly as she could, but she was unable to block out the sound of a knife being plunged into her chest. Kurisu listened to her own scream in pain and sadness as she dropped to the floor dead.

A scream tore itself from Kurisu's throat. She knew she was dreaming, and Kurisu wanted nothing more than to wake up. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't free herself from sleep's hold.

"Kurisu.. Kurisu you're sweating," after keeping her eyes shut for a while, a voice Kurisu didn't recognize called out to her. "Are you alright?"

She let her eyes fall open again. Before her was a man. His dark brown hair was messy, and it looked like he hadn't shaved in just under a week. However his smile made up for the rest of his half-assed appearance.

"You looked like you were having a nightmare," the man said.

Too tired to piece things together in her head, Kurisu didn't try to struggle. She didn't have the mental strength to question the pure absurdity of what was going on. The only thing she could ask was the simplest thing she had ever thought to ask. "Okabe?"

She didn't need to ask, because as soon as she did, Kurisu knew it was him. Okabe looked exactly the same as he always had; exactly how Kurisu remmebered him. But why did she remember him? How did she remember him? Though in her mind she had never once laid eyes on this man, in her heart, Kurisu felt she had a close connection with him. Just lying there, with Okabe next to her, Kurisu felt safe and happy. Her chest was pounding happily, and even though she felt weak and sleepy, she couldn't help but smile.

"Of course it's me," Okabe said, his face contorting with worry. "What's wrong? Has SERN scrambled your brain?"

"No, I don't think so," Kurisu answered. She sat herself up, and looked around the room. Kurisu has been lying on the couch in the Future Gadgets lab. "Say, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"This isn't real, is it? When I wake up, you'll be gone again?" She frowned; the idea of being without Okabe any longer nearly brought her to tears. "This is all my imagination."

"Kurisu, I..." Okabe's smile faded. "I'm afraid so. But there is a way to bring me back. You need to finish building your time leap machine and go back to the day we met. The day I first found you dead. It's scary, I know, but if we can pull this off, I'll be there to protect you."

"Time leap? I thought we could just send messages through time," Kurisu inquired.

"You were the one who created the time leap, Kurisu," Okabe said. "Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what changes you made, so it's up to you to remember," Okabe gently caressed a piece of Kurisu's hair. "I believe in you, Kurisu. I know you can do it." With those kind words playing through her mind, Kurisu felt a jolt of hope flow through her entire being. Okabe leaned forward, pressing their lips together in a gentle kiss. Warmth spread between the two of them, and Kurisu let her eyes fall shut, casting light shadows on her cheeks. The tender moment didn't last long, however, as when her eyes reopened, Okabe was once again gone.

"El.. Psy... Congroo," Kurisu muttered to herself when she woke up.

"Hm? Are you awake yet, Kurisu?" Daru asked from his computer. "Mayuri said you had a fever. Are you feeling better?"

Kurisu sat up slowly. "Daru, where are the pieces Mayuri and I got?"

"I put them over there," Daru said, pointing to a large pile of pieces of scrap metal and miscellaneous electronics in the corner of the room. "But you shouldn't move.. you passed out in the middle of the street, after all. Just stay resting."

"Daru, there isn't time," Kurisu got up quickly and knelt down by the pile of spare parts. Her brain was running a million miles an hour, trying to figure out a way to build the time leap machine. "Bring up the article on the Phonewave (Real name T.B.A) again. I want to read it more thoroughly."

"Sure, but what's the hurry?"

"I'll tell you later," she said as she rooted through bits of metal. "Just hurry!" She knew that without finishing the Phonewave, upgrading it even further than that would be dificult, but she wouldn't knew if it was possible or not until she tried. If she had been able to accomplish something like that in another time line, then there was no reason she shouldn't be able to a do it in this time.

After taking a second look at the Phonewave blueprints, Kurisu started on her mission to upgrade her gadget. She was concentrating to such an extent that Kurisu didn't even notice the time passing as she worked, and before long, the sun had set.

"Kurisu, it's late. Why don't you go home already?" Mayuri asked, handing Kurisu a bottle of DK Pepper.

"Just a little bit longer," she said without lifting her head. "I think I'm almost done.. but it still could be a while. You go home ahead of me. Suzuha will walk you there."

"Yeah. I guess so," Mayuri sighed. "I still don't know who he is, but Okarin must mean a lot to you."

Kurisu felt her face go hot, so she buried it even deeper in her work. "Y- Yeah. He does."

"I hope I can meet him some day," Mayuri giggled before exiting the apartment.

---

"I did it!" Kurisu exclaimed, looking down at her invention in glee. The sun had come back up once again, signalling a new day. After this realization, Kurisu could feel just how tired she was after pulling an all-nighter. A tired yawn tore from her throat, but she had to stay awake. It wouldn't be long before the rest of the Future Gadgets team arrived, and she would be able to show off her hard work.

Beep. Beep.

A sound rang out from Kurisu's pocket. She pulled out her phone and checked her unread messages.

From: Daru
Subject: NA

Some girl is heading over to the apartment. She's super cute and says she know you.

[End]

Kurisu wondered who the girl could be, but before she could think up a single possibility, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Coming," Kurisu called before getting up to open the door. Standing just outside was a tall girl, formally dressed, cell phone in hand. "Oh? You're the girl I met at the May Queen. What do you want?"

Instead of answering in the form of words, the girl began typing on her phone. "You never texted me about the IBN-5100."

"Well, I do have it here, but I may still need it," Kurisu said defiantly. "It's not even mine to begin with. It belongs to my friend."

"My name is Moeka," the girl displayed the typed message on her screen. "I don't wish to take it, I just want to look at it."

Kurisu hesitated, but in reality, it wasn't too big of a deal to just let her look.

"Alright," she agreed. "It's through this way." Kurisu led Moeka to Daru's desk, and gestured to the old piece of mechanics. "That's all it is."

A smile grew on Moeka's face as she laid her eyes on the device. Immediately, she began to snap pictures of it, her face flushing red with happiness.

"There. Are you finished? Because I have work I need to do."

Moeka turned back towards Kurisu and held up her phone with a new message typed up, "What kind of work?"

"Th- That's none of your business," Kurisu said. "I'm just incredibly busy right now. My associates will be arriving any minute now, and I can't afford to waste any more time today?"

"Then I'll leave," Moeka frowned slightly. "Thanks for letting me see it." She turned and began to leave the apartment, stopping only once to glance back at the computer.

When she walked down the steps, returning to ground level, Moeka's phone buzzed in her hands. She looked at the screen to see she had received a message from FB.

From: FB
Subject: Update

Moeka, what intel were you able to collect?

[End]

A small smile arose on her lips as Moeka speedily wrote her reply.

To: FB
Subject: Update (Re)

They've finished hacking into SERN, and by the looks of it, are working on some sort of device.

[End]

From: FB
Subject: Thank you

Thank you for your hard work, Moeka. I wouldn't be able to do this without you.

[End]

---

"Guys, you'll never guess what I finished last night. Or, I guess it was this morning," Kurisu said, in place of a greeting, when Daru and Mayuri walked inside. "It's something so amazing, so spectacular, that it'll blow your minds!"

"Kurisu, you look like you haven't slept at all..."

"That's because, Daru, I haven't," Kurisu smiled. "But that won't matter when you see what I did!" She ran excitedly over to the table she had been working at, and held up a metal headpiece that looked almost like goggles. "What do you guys think?"

"It.. looks.. interesting?" Daru said, nervous he might hurt Kurisu's feelings.

"Mayuri thinks that they're cute," she smiled and peered closer at the machine. "But what's it for?"

"Using the information that SERNs blueprints gave us, I was able to improve on their ideas with this," she declared proudly. "It's a time leap device. With it, we can send a person's concious back in time."

Both Mayuri and Daru remained silent for some time. They both stayed staring at the head piece, curious if it would actually work.

"What would we ever need that for?" Daru asked. "I mean, sure, it's cool. But does it have any actual purpose?"

"Of course it does! With this, we can-!"

"Kurisu!" The front door suddenly slammed open, and Suzuha ran in. "You need to take the machine and run!"

"Eh? Suzuha?!" Kurisu gasped. "What do you mean?!"

"What's happening?" Mayuri asked, her big eyes darting back and forth between Suzuha and the door.

"No time to explain!" Suzuha cried out, shutting the door behind her and leaning her whole body against it to try and keep it shut. "You just need to leave out the window and get as far as you can! I'll try to hold them off!"

"Hold who off?!" Kurisu yelled frantically, but before she could get an answer, the sounds of gunfire sounded. Suzuha's eyes widened, and she dropped to her knees. The door swung wide open, knocking Suzuha's limp body to the floor, a pool of blood spilling out from underneath of her.

Mayuri broke out in a spasm of cries and screams, holding her head in terror. Daru tried to grab her arm and pull her somewhere safe, however, a couple gunshots later, they were both on the ground.

Men filled the room, all dressed in black. Kurisu knew what was going on. She knew that SERN had come to take their device. The sight of her friends being killed one after another was traumatizing, but Kurisu had already made a promise to herself to finish what she had started. She clenched her fist, determined to make sure they're deaths weren't in vain. As soon as she could, Kurisu made a dash for the back window, keeping her device held close to her. She had to move fast to stay ahead of SERN, but there was a limit to how fast one could climb down the side of a building.

When Kurisu got to the ground, she was pleased to see Suzuha's bike waiting for her. "Thanks, Suzuha," she said out loud while glancing up at the apartment. When she did, she noticed men approach the window she had escaped out of. Discreetly swallowing her grief, Kurisu began to peddle and fast as her legs could muster. Keeping one hand on her time leap machine at all times, Kurisu had to steer with one hand, adding to the dificulty of biking away from a secret organization.

People on the street, unaware of the situation at hand, cussed and jumped out of the way as Kurisu sped past them. She looked behind herself a few times to see if anyone was close behind her. Eventually, she decided to go towards Ruka's shrine. She didn't want to put anyone else in danger, especially in case her machine didn't work, but it was the only way she could think of to escape.

It only took a few minutes to get there. And as Kurisu rode in, she saw Ruka sweeping the holy grounds.

"Ruka!" Kurisu called, catching the young boy's attention.

"Kurisu, what-"

"I need your help!" Kurisu yelled as she tried to pull the brakes on her bike, causing herself to fall off and hit the ground. A stinging pain rang though her legs, however she gulped it down and looked up at Ruka desperately.

"W- What is it?" Ruka's face went and shade paler as thoughts about what had happened went through his mind.

"I need you to make sure no one knows I'm here!" She lifted herself off of the ground painfully. "And please.. hide this bike!"

"O- Okay!" Despite not knowing what was happening, Ruka obediently agreed to Kurisu's orders. "Leave it to me!" With a look of pure motivation on his face, Ruka immediately started lugging the bike away to a more secluded spot. "If you need it, there's space in the storage room you can hide in!"

"Thanks, Ruka," Kurisu found herself smiling slightly and she trudged her way towards the shrine's storage. After plopping down onto the floor, Kurisu was finally able to have a closer look at her device. The design itself was incomplete, with stray wires here and there, but perhaps with a stroke of luck, Kurisu would be able to make it work.

Powering the device up took a few minutes, but soon the whole thing was sparking and spasmming. She placed the piece over her head, breathing in and out to calm herself.

"I- I don't think anyone is here-" she heard Ruka outside speaking to someone. No doubt SERN had caught up to her. Yet another gunshot fired, followed by a blood-curdling scream.

Without much time left before she was found, Kurisu set the dial with shaky fingers. She programmed it quickly, and if it worked, she should go back to the day she gave that presentation. The sounds of the men's footsteps kept getting closer and closer. Kurisu shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the time devise to work. Finally, as the door to the store room opened, she felt a pulse go through her head, and she was thrown into blackness.

---

The sound of applause brought Kurisu's attention back. She was standing in front of a audience, everyone of them looking pleased with her. Surprised, Kurisu looked down at herself, then back around the room. Without saying a word, she stepped down from the podium and left the room.

The halls were mostly empty. Kurisu assumed they were all busied with other lectures. At this moment last time, Kurisu would've been meeting Mayuri for the first time. But right now, all Kurisu could think of was finding Suzuha. She needed to make sure she had done her job correctly.

Running at full speed, Kurisu started heading towards the apartment building where, in the future, her and the others shared. She was unsure if Suzuha would work there at this point, and although it was unlikely, it was the only place Kurisu could think to look.

"Makise Kurisu," standing outside the apartment was Suzuha. She looked a bit shocked to see Kurisu. "If you're here, then.. You've done the time leap?"

"I have," Kurisu nodded. It was the most peculiar thing; speaking to someone who less than an hour ago was shot dead. "So, what do I do now?"

"If you acted as I wanted you to, then you used a time leap rather than the Phonewave," Suzuha said. "But now you need the Phonewave. It's flawed nature is what caused this problem in the first place, and you need to use this to fix it. You already know how to make the Phonewave, and I can help. Just tell me what you need."

With a firm nod, Kurisu proceeded to list off pieces she would require to rebuild the machine, and as promised, Suzuha hurried off to find each one. Working together, the two girls were able to finish the Phonewave in a just under two days.

"And that's the last thing?" Suzuha confirmed with Kurisu. "Then it's finished, right?"

"Yeah, it should be," she said, tapping her fingers on the top of the microwave. "So what do I now? You never really explained."

"Hook the Phonewave up to your cellphone," Suzuha commanded, and Kurisu did as she was told. "Now text this number. Tell him to never invent the Phonewave. If my calculations are correct, it should set things back to the way they were.. Granted Okabe isn't too damn stubborn to listen to us."

"By sending this message back in time, it'll bring Okabe back?" Kurisu typed the text into her phone and prepared herself to press send.

"Yes."

Kurisu thought back to before the time leap. Right now, in this time, her friends were alive. They don't even know Kurisu existed, but at least they were alive. And once this mess was all over, Kurisu knew she would be able to meet them again, and build their friendship anew. After a deep breath, Kurisu let her thumb tap the send button.

---

Her presentation had just ended for the third time. This time, however, Kurisu was sure the world had been fixed. She sprung out of the room before the applause had even ended and sprinted down the hallways. Right outside the building stood a man.

A smile spread across Kurisu's face as she ran towards him.

"Okabe!" She exclaimed, the bliss in her voice clear as day.

"Eh?" Okabe turned around to look at her, however he didn't look as pleased as Kurisu did. "Aren't you that genius girl?"

"Don't forget me, idiot," Kurisu scolded, causing a look of confusion to grow on Okabe's face. "I remembered you, so it's your turn."

"Remember you?" Okabe asked. "Wait a minute! You must be the one who sent me that text! How did you know about my invention, it wasn't even built yet!"

"I know because I'm from the future," Kurisu explained gently.

"Oh yeah?" Okabe looked doubtful. "And how do I know you're not part of SERN?!"

Kurisu giggled quietly, taking a step towards him. She stepped up onto her tippy toes, kissing him softly. Okabe's eyes shot open wide. After only a moment, Kurisu pulled her lips away from him, and uttered one phrase.

"El Psy Congroo."

End.