The Kronies
She receives a message
Anomalies appeared nearby
"Ugh, this again"
Being the Warden of Time meant taking care of problems related to it
"I swear if that damn detective did something again..."
She's gotten used to blaming her for everything that goes wrong
She's usually right in her assumptions
Arriving at the "crime scene", she finds...
Clocks?
"...What?"
She sees 2 small alarm clocks
"These are the anomaly?"
She walks closer to them
They don't seem like anything special, maybe the anomaly is something else?
She tries to pick one of them up
Just as her hand touches one, they start moving
"GWAK"
She jumps away from the surprise
They're jumping around, not really paying attention to the Warden
"T-they're alive? What the hell did Watson do?"
They turn to look at her
"Gwak!"
She steps back again
They jump towards her
"W-what is it?"
They move the knobs that may be their arms around
It's almost like they recognize her
"Can you talk?"
They keep jumping, she can only hear the slight ringing of their bells
"Guess not..."
She's mildly entertained by their antics, but she's still wondering where they came from
When it seems like they've run out of energy, they simply stare at her
"...Well it seems like you're not doing anything wrong..."
She turns around
"Guess I'll leave you be"
While walking away, she hears ringing again
She turns around, they're right behind her
"Don't tell me you're planning on following me..."
At a council meeting, some members seem very confused
"Uh... Kronii?"
Bae finally decided to ask
"Yeah?"
"Whatcha got there?"
"...Some alarm clocks"
They're jumping on the armrests of her seat
"...I see that, but... Why?"
"...They wouldn't leave me alone"
"They seem very attached to you"
Sana leans in to get a better look
"I have no idea why, I've never seen them before"
Kronii stops one of them from jumping with her hand, it somehow seems ecstatic
"They remind me of Friend!"
Mumei says this while giving the paper bag a hug
"I think they're cute!"
Fauna reaches out to grab the other clock
It struggles for a bit, but eventually calms down
Fauna tries to ring its bell, but she can't
The clock notices and rings for her
"Awwww!"
She pats it a little
The clock seems to enjoy it
"Wanna keep them?"
Kronii tries to throw the one she has in her hand, but it refuses to let go
The clock that Fauna has seemed to understand what she said and desperately tries to run back to her
"Hmm... I think they want to stay with you, Kronii"
"...Why"
"Well, you know since they're related to time and you're--"
Kronii stares daggers at Sana
"...I'm sorry"
"I don't even know how they appeared"
Kronii lets them go back to the armrests
"Didn't you say it was because of Watson?"
"That's what I thought, but she denied having anything to do with them"
"Well... It seems they're not gonna harm anything..."
Kronii winces knowing what Bae is about to say
"Why not let them stay with you? If they do something wrong you can always turn back time"
Kronii rolls her eyes, then looks at the clocks
It looks like they're begging her
"...Fiiiine...."
The clocks jump in joy, making the other members of the council giggle
Even if they can't talk, they're somehow good at expressing emotions
"Might as well give them a name, ri--?"
Fauna stops herself, realizing who she just asked to name them
Kronii stares at them again
"...Kronies"
The council is full of regret
"...Why did I ask?"
Everyone groans, no matter how much time passes, her naming skills will never improve
"Shut up, it's the perfect name"
"It sure is...."
"Look, they look happy"
The "kronies" are jumping again
Kronii finally cracks a smile, making the others give up in trying to get her to change her mind
As much as she was complaining, she still takes them home
She places them on a table
"...Wait here"
She walks away, looking for something
A few minutes later, she returns
"If you're going to stay... You're gonna have to put in some work"
She places a little top hat one of them and a maid headpiece on the other
"I always thought having a butler or a maid would be a good idea"
The kronies stay still for a few seconds, then their new accessories begin to float
"...Huh"
Kronii tries to move them a little bit and they simply float back
She finds this entertaining so she does it a few more times
Thoroughly entertained, she stares at them once again
"You're missing something...."
She leaves them again
They hear her talking to herself
"Ahhh where did I put them..."
"Oh! Yeah these will work"
They see her returning with two small blue ribbons in hand
"Here we go"
She places them on the lower half of their faces, hoping the same thing happens as with their hats
They're stuck in place
"Perfect! You're mine now"
She gives them a huge smile, letting her fangs show
The kronies wiggle their arms, they seem just as satisfied as her
Kronii slowly realizes she's really enjoying this
"...Why am I doing this?"
She covers her face
"Ugh... Go clean or something"
Hearing the order, they seem to react
The hands of the kronies' faces begin to move
They start ringing, causing Kronii to look at them
The hands seem to move a full 24 hours, then they stop
Suddenly, they get to work
They jump off the table and start cleaning up Kronii's place
They're slow and clumsy, but they're getting the job done
Kronii watches them while they move to each room
They're about to enter Kronii's bedroom but--
"WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH"
She picks them up
"OFF LIMITS, you JUST started working here"
The kronies look dejected but continue with the other rooms in the house
When they're finished, they go back to the table Kronii first placed them on
Kronii's legitimately impressed
"Well.... I guess I can keep you a while longer"
"...How am I supposed to pay you though"
Weird that she's considering paying sentient clocks at this point
She looks around, somehow expecting someone else to be in her own home
She picks them up and gives them a hug
"...There"
She puts them back down
"Don't expect much of that. That was... never mind"
She leaves them on the table, they're probably waiting for more orders from her
"...How about you show me what you can do in the kitchen"
They stare at her, then once again the hands on their faces move
After that same "ritual" they go to the kitchen
Once again, they're clumsy, but manage to make a decent meal
"...Huh..."
Sentience, their floating accessories, learning and using skills after doing that thing with their faces...
Those are some weird powers
"Alright, you can go take a break now...."
They obey, and go back to the table
They stare at her
"...But don't look at me"
They look away
Kronii ponders to herself
"Well at least they're obedient"
"...I'll get rid of them later..."
"No point in getting attached"
Before opening the door with your coworker, you do your daily bet
"I say 3 hours"
"I'm going for 6, she went to bed too late last night"
You find your boss curled up in her bed
"Miss, it's time to wake up"
"...Mmmm, no..."
Your coworker chimes in
"Please, Miss, you have a visitors today"
She snaps her fingers then begins to wake up
"...How long did you stop time, Miss?"
"....5 hours"
Ah damn, no one won this time
"...How do you even manage to wake up so early each time? You're always in your uniforms too..."
"Part of the job, Miss"
"I like the outfits too, so it's no biggie"
Your fellow kronie shows off her maid outfit, while you adjust your blue ribbon in your butler suit
"...Glad you like it"
"Now, let's get you ready, Miss"
You help her get up
Another crew of kronies have the bath ready
While some of them help her bathe, one kronie reminds her of her schedule
Sure, she could be doing all of this by herself, but she's gotten used to letting her kronies help her
She doesn't even bother stopping time for this, forcing the kronies to become more and more efficient so she's not late for anything
Since you and your fellow kronie have been here for the longest time, you lead the others by example
Eventually, you became the housekeeper and the other one became the Lady's maid
After the bath, you lead her to eat breakfast
The main cook kronie always has anxiety attacks waiting on his boss' review
She takes a few bites while he stops breathing
"...Good"
And as always he breathes a sigh of relief knowing he can live one more morning
You take her back to her room to get her dressed
"Do I really have to put on my work outfit?"
"You asked us to prepare it yesterday, I can send a kronie to get a casual one if you wish, Miss"
"Nah, it's fine"
Just as you finish preparing Kronii, the guests arrive
"Your orders, Miss?"
"Let them in, and treat them well"
"Understood"
Kronii invited the Council today
Now that they have another job she thought it would be a good idea to bring them along to stream
The kronies do as they're told, treating them like guests of honor
Anything that they needed was brought to them in a timely fashion
"Wow you guys really grew up, huh?"
"It's been a while"
"Wait, you guys can TALK now?"
"There are a lot more of you, too"
The council is very interested knowing what happened to the pair of clocks Kronii had brought that day
You try to answer them
"We're not sure how growing up nor talking works for us, but more of us appear every now and then when an anomaly happens"
Kronii continues for you
"I've given up trying to find a source of these powers, it's too much of a bother"
"I see... So much for 'I'm gonna get rid of them', you tsundere granny"
Bae teases Kronii, making the latter look away in embarrassment
"...They're good workers... Speaking of"
She turns to you
"Kromie, get me the usual tea"
"Of course"
You bow and leave the room
Sana tilts her head
"Kromie? I thought they were kronies"
"They're special kronies"
The council stares at her
"...How can you even tell the difference?"
"Ehhhh... just a certain little something or somethings in their outfits"
"Just pay attention!"
They roll their eyes
You return some time later, with tea, cups and snacks for the council
They're all staring daggers at you
"H-here you are, I thought everyone should partake"
Kronii smiles at you
"Good job"
"Thank you"
Meanwhile, the others are still eyeing you
While you put everything in place, you notice Sana staring at your arms
"Oh, wait!"
She seems to realize something, she turns to look at your coworker
She stares at the ribbon
"Ohhhh! I see now!"
"Did you?"
"That's so cute Kroninii!"
Kronii sheepishly smiles
"Okay... you did get it"
"Wait, what was it?"
Mumei has stood up, looking at every part of your outfit
"I'll never tell~"
Eventually, all of them realize what that "something" is and tease Kronii over it
While they're enjoying their snacks, you see that Fauna's staring at you and the maid kromie she first met
"Is something the matter?"
"Oh! Nothing, it's just..."
She giggles a bit
"I just miss when you were little"
"That's not an issue, please wait a moment"
You leave and bring back a small kronie
He looks almost the same as you when you first appeared
Fauna uuu's in wonder
"This little guy's still in training"
Kronii crosses her arms and pouts
"Now who gave you permission to do that?"
"I was just following the initial order..."
"C'mon Kronii, pleaaaase?"
Fauna's using her puppy eyes
She cracks a smile
"...Guess you can pet him for a bit"
You give the little kronie to Fauna, she happily pats him
The kronie rings in response
They go ahead and stream their group collab, meanwhile you do your job as housekeeper, helping your kronies with chores
Your coworker, the Lady's maid stays close by the room they're in, in case the council needs anything
At the end of their collab, you and the kitchen staff serve dinner
The main cook took extra care with the notes Kronii gave him concerning the council's tastes
He gives his will to you, in case he screwed something up
Thankfully, they all enjoy the meal
While eating, the kronie topic comes up once again
"Kronii, you should just let each of us take one of the little guys home, they seem so useful"
"Absolutely not!"
Bae angrily looks at her
"Why not? I'm sure there's no way I could screw it up"
"Because I said so!"
No one was satisfied with the answer, you decide to step in
"I can't recommend us leaving our Mistress"
Somehow, they seem to believe your words more than Kronii's so you continue
"We've sent some kronies outside for errands, but we've found that we don't last a long time without our Mistress' presence"
"At most we can continue to function for a day or two, afterwards we "turn off" per say"
"Well what happens when Kronii leaves this place? Wouldn't you eventually turn off too?"
A very valid question from Mumei
"We can function normally in this house no matter what because of how long our Mistress has been living here"
"She's left us for a little more than a week at times and we're able to keep working as normal"
"I see...."
It seems the council is satisfied with your answer
They're a little disappointed, though
Kronii stares at you stupefied
At the end of the day, you see the council off
"Well clearly, the answer is to visit more frequently"
Fauna is still holding on to the little kronie, you struggle to make her let him go
"Only if our Mistress allows it"
"Don't you worry, kromie I'll make sure she lets us"
Bae gives you a mischievous grin, you worry for your Master
After they leave, you return to her side
She's sitting on her throne
"So... about that answer you gave them"
"A lie, Miss"
Obviously that was all ad-lib, because if the Miss says no, then you have to follow through
"Oh! Haha, yeah I knew that"
She's happy you went along with her
There's still something you'd like to know, though
"If I may overstep my boundaries, Miss..."
"Go ahead, you earned it for today"
"Thank you"
You turn to look at her
"Why did you deny their request? I'm sure I could've arranged for the trainees to stay a little while with them"
Your fellow kromie speaks up
"I was wondering that too"
"Well... I was thinking of letting you guys go help them"
"But I know they won't let you go at some point, and I don't want that"
She gives you the same smile she gave you when she put your ribbons on for the first time
"You're MY kronies, after all"
t. Nameronii
Sources:
【Members Only】Let's Get Down To Business
https://twitter.com/Zenya_3d/status/1470268684140969984
https://twitter.com/jkimsketches/status/1468079173012840455