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"Excursion" (Muse-Greenhill Checkpoint; Greenhill) "What do you mean, I can't pass?" "Exactly what I said. You cannot pass." The two muscular guards of the checkpoint leading to Greenhill stared at the teenage wanderer. She was a strange one, she was; her clothing, a green dress covered partially by a vest, striped yellow, brown, and red, wasn't exactly a common style in the City-States. A white ruffle-collar-thing surrounded her neck, and from that dangled two small red bells. Her white and red gloves, her pointed white and green boots, her thigh-high brown stockings; she apparently enjoyed wearing many different colors. Her messy dirty blonde hair, though mostly kept back by a red ponytail band, still managed to find its way in front of her eyes, but did not obscure the sight of them. However, her eyes seemed the strangest of all. Both a deep brown, they gave the observer a small glimpse into what appeared to be... pure energy. There was no doubt in either guards' minds that this girl had energy. Especially since she was doing a good job of displaying it, too. "Why can't I pass?" she asked, her expression souring considerably. Given her reaction, it almost seemed as if she had just been told that the sky was pine green. "What reason have you to be here?" "Well..." She took a step back. "You see, I want to go to Greenhill. I heard that there's a guest lecturer there who knows a few things about machines and robots and stuff like that. I'm on a journey to learn about gadgetry, so I want to talk to this guy. Now, I'm going to pass now, okay?" The guard to the right smiled at the other, winking. "I'm afraid we can't do that." "Why not?" "Because we were instructed not to let suspicious characters pass," he said, grinning. "And you are a suspicious character." The girl seemed to back down slightly at this, sliding toward a barrel-like object nearby. It shook just barely. "Did that barrel just move?" the other guard whispered to the first. "You must need glasses." The girl hopped back over to the guards. "Seriously, I need to get through. So I'm going to be crossing now." She took a bold, adventurous step toward the checkpoint gates; both of the guards shuffled in front of her, though, blocking her path. "You know we can't do that. Now go home." The girl's expression then turned angry, her brow furrowing. "Listen, buddy, I bet if you knew who I was, you'd let me pass in a heartbeat!" She also seemed stubborn, too. "Oh really?" the first guard said with a laugh. "Well then, who are you?" The second guard's gaze turned to the barrel again. If he didn't know better, he could've sworn it was getting closer... "I'm a trickster," she proclaimed with a curt nod and a smile. "A... trickster?" The first guard glanced at the second with a raised eyebrow, almost seeming to say, Can you believe this kid? "That's right! A trickster! Well, a trickster trainee, actually..." "Really?" The first guard chuckled. "Do you know what us tricksters do to people who don't let us pass?" "What?" "I have a robot. His name is Karakuri-maru, and if you don't let us pass, he's going to beat you up." "Really, kid? So where is this robot of yours?" "Over there." She pointed directly at the barrel. "Now let us through. Now." "That thing?" He laughed again. "Sorry, kid, but you'll really have to do better than that." "I'll prove it!" The girl pulled a green mechanical box from her small bag, then unfolded it and began to tap on it. The barrel's top lifted upward, and a pair of wide yellow eyes emerged, followed by what appeared to be a mouth. From the sides, two wire-like arms folded outward, then three wheels came out near the bottom. It made no other movement, though. The girl didn't appear too happy, though. "Come on! Get them!" She tapped on the control panel again, and it began to slide forward, but it suddenly screeched to a halt. "Kara! No brakes!" She hit a few more buttons, and again it moved forward, only to stop suddenly. "Grrr... work!" She tried again, slamming the buttons; this caused Karakuri-maru to fly into the guards, and the force of the blow knocked them both unconscious. It also punctured a hole into the gate. The girl stared at the carnage she had caused. "Oops." The girl, who happened to be named Meg, left the damage behind her, with Karakuri-maru following. She really didn't mean to knock the guards unconscious, but it served them right for trifling with a trickster. Sheena had dared to do the same thing; he had looked upon her like she was just a little girl, a brat, a pest, but she would never be a trickster, would she? She showed him. She knew how egotistical he was, and she merely exploited this. In the bathing area, she simply swapped his shampoo with a bottle of wood glue that she had borrowed from her uncle Juppo. If he noticed, good for him. If not... well, he'd never have to comb his hair again. She stayed nearby the bath, wanting to see and hear his reaction. It went better than she could have ever hoped for. One moment, she heard only the sound of water dripping from the ceiling; the next, she received her reward for her efforts when Sheena let loose the loudest, highest-pitched, most terrific scream she had ever heard in her entire life. She then knew that she had succeeded, and she fell into a giggling fit. She dashed off moments later, deciding to wait for Sheena to cool his heels a little before daring to set foot near him again. That took about a week. That had been three years ago, when she was in the Liberation Army. Had she really grown beyond the antics of a young girl? Apparently not. After Barbarosa's death, Meg decided to follow Juppo yet again, hoping to get him to teach her more about machines and such. When she asked, though, he told her that she needed to see more of the world to become a true trickster, then gave her Karakuri-maru and sent her on her way. She obliged, not wanting to get on his bad side... at least not yet. At least she would be able to wander about and learn more. Once she reached Muse, she heard from a boy living there that his older brother attended school in Greenhill; there a person with experience in machinery was visiting, according to him. She naturally decided to leap upon the opportunity. Oh, here I am, she thought. Greenhill. The woodsy path had led her in the right direction, it seemed; right in front of her stood the stone gate of the town. "Well, Kara," she said, "let's go!" She ran through the gates, Karakuri-maru following. Little did she suspect what her visit would bring her.
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