’Se-ven, Nine, Six, Six… Four, One…’
A female voice crackled eerily through radio static. It read off a series of numbers, there would occasionally be a long beeping tone, or a pause of white noise, and then the voice would resume announcing numbers through the static. The voice was unplaceable, it somehow sounded human and synthetic at the same time.

“What is it?” asked Gura.
“A numbers station” Amelia told her with a sage and knowing nod.
“A what?”
“A Numbers Station”, Amelia repeated, making a point to enunciate each vowel clearly.
“What's a numbers station, what's it doin’?”
“No one knows for sure.” Amelia set down the book she had been browsing through, and paced back and forth in front of her desk. She held one hand at her hip, and another on her chin, as if mimicking a great Detective from the movies. “The most common theory is that they broadcast secret messages to spies”.
“Ooww~!” gasped Gura in excitement.
“They also say it could be sending military instructions, to submarines, or data from radar sites.” Ame raised a finger theatrically.
“Hmm, hmm” followed Gura, enthusiastically nodding her head, as if considering the possibilities of each theory.
“Although…” Ame continued, “they also say it could be some kind of crazy government brainwashing experiment - If you listen long enough, they can mind-control you!”
Gura’s eyes widened with another excited gasp, and then the pair laughed together.
“It’s spooky tho’”, concluded Gura, and got up from a futon. Boney M’s ‘Rasputin’ fizzed briefly on the radio with a distant and tinny sound, interrupting the numbers, before crackling away again into the snow of white noise. “Are they having a disco?”
Ame giggled, and clicked off the radio.
“Sometimes the radio signals get crossed.”

Gura made her way over to Amelia’s desk, and looked over the book she had been reading.
“Cry… Cryptazooliogee?” She tried to read.
“On Cryptozoology” Amelia read out the title.
“‘Crypta-zoo-lagee’” Gura tried to say back. “You into Bitcoin now or something, Watson?”
“Not that kinda Crypto. It’s about legendary creatures, you know, Yetis, the Loch Ness monster?”
“Aww thats all bullpoop” scoffed Gura.
“Gura…” Amelia looked upon Gura like a disappointed parent, “Ain’t you a shark-girl, from Atlantis? That’s why we’re always hiding you away, you know. Cryptozoologists would love to study you!”
“I’m not from a Zoo...” pouted Gura.
There was a rap at the front door.
“Gura.” Ame told her sternly.
Gura understood, and shuffled through to a back room, before Amelia opened the door to her office. ‘Amelia Watson’s Private Detective Agency’ was a small office building, away in a quiet back street. Visitor’s were usually expected by appointment, but the girls could never be too careful.

“Oh, hi!” Mumei greeted cheerfully when Amelia opened the door. Kronii stood behind her, much taller, and gave a simple stern nod in greeting. Ame let them in.
“Gura, it’s ok.” She called.
Gura reappeared from the back room. She and Mumei waved at one another with big friendly grins.
“Actually, girls, I need to talk to Watson.” Kronii said blankly. Gura looked to Amelia expectantly, like a dog waiting on instruction from it’s owner.
“It’s ok” Amelia reassured her, “we have some things to discuss, just wait in the back, ok?”
Mumei took Gura by the arm.
“Comon’ shorty, lets leave the grown ups to their boring stuff.”
“I’m not a shorty, taller than you!” Gura exclaimed, stretching onto her toes besides Mumei - still shorter than her.
“Not!” giggled Mumei. The pair happily chattered away, and disappeared through to the back room.

Amelia drew the blinds down on the windows, and locked the front door. Kronii leaned herself back and perched on Amelia’s desk, arms folded.
“We’re going back. She says it's important. They’ll be loose ends though, we’ll need you for that.”
“When?” asked Amelia.
“As soon as possible.”
“No, I mean, ’when’ are we going back to?”
“I can’t say exactly”, sighed Kronii, “it’s a big one. You’ll just have to trust Mumei on this. If she says we have to go back, well…I’ll take her. And like I said, I want you there to tie up any loose ends.”
“And you're sure?” Ame looked at Kronii suspiciously.
“She’s right.” Kronii puffed and brushed away glossy black hair from her face with her fingers. “I can feel it. Something isn’t right, with this timeline. I can’t place it, but it isn’t right. If we missed something last time, we have to fix it.”

Mumei paced slowly around the back room, whilst Gura casually swung from side to side in an office chair, perched with her legs crossed. The front of Amelia’s building was simple, and unassuming for a detective’s office, all that stood out was the myriad of houseplants, fishtanks, and terrariums that Amelia loved to tend to. The back though, was a hidden world. Dimly lit, a large space, desks full of papers. Complicated devices strewn around, sextants, microscopes, electrical gadgets. Pinboards full of documents and photographs covered the walls, and large metal machinery hummed in dark corners like an abandoned factory floor. Mumei ran her fingers across the thick steel of them, drawing a line out of the dust, she gazed over the pinboards, and ran her hand across the spines of books sitting on shelves, like a nurse gently tending to patients on her ward.
“So, what’s new, Gooba?” she asked Gura, talking back over her shoulder as she paced the room.
“Nuthin’.” Gura swung playfully in her chair. “Ame says I have to stay inside all the time. It’s boring. Can’t I come stay with you again? It was way more fun. Remember when we went to that theme park?”
“You had to wear that big dumb hoody to hide your tail!”
“Yeeah~. It was fun though.”
“We can do it again, some day” Mumei said, her voice now falling slightly distant. “But Gura, something important came up. We’re going away again, for a while.”
“You and Kronii? Time-stuff?” Gura asked her.
“Time-stuff. And Ame’s coming, again. You’ll be a lone shark for a bit, ok?”
Gura’s lips shuddered, and she pounced up from her chair.
“No! You can’t!”

“You can’t!” Gura shouted again, bursting back into the front office. Her eyes welled with tears.
“Ame…” Kronii tutted with irritation. Amelia could only squirm and look awkwardly down at her feet.
“I’m not staying behind again! You can’t…” Gura’s voice trembled, the tears broke, rolling down flushed cheeks.
“Gura”, Mumei said gently, and took her arm, but Gura pushed away, inconsolable. She rushed to Amelia, and fell into her chest. Amelia could do nothing but embrace her.
“It’s too dangerous, too important”, Amelia told her.
“I can help, just take me with you”, Gura sobbed.
“Help how?” Kronii said. Gura shot her a scowl. “I’m sorry Gura, but it’s not a game. This is serious.”
“I know it’s serious. I know. But I can’t just get left behind again. I always get left alone.”