January 17th, 1998,
Something Familiar

"I think she's in here…" the young blonde detective thought aloud to herself in a hushed whisper. She stood outside a Blockbuster Video, a common destination for adults and teens alike. If she was going to find this classmate of hers, this wasn't a bad place to start.

Carefully, she pulled on the handle, and the door swung open silently. Creeping inside, she immediately began scanning the building for her target. A few adults were perusing shelves of VHS tapes, as well as the fancy new DVDs, and a few teens were chatting by a shelf of PlayStation games.

No sign of her yet.

Taking only a couple steps into the video rental store, she froze as her gaze fell upon the line of people leading to the register.

A shark tail trailing behind the girl; it made her impossible to miss. Not to mention that silver hair with the blue highlighting, and her eyes that sparkled like the ocean blue.

In her hand, she tightly gripped a video cassette case branded with the Blockbuster logo as she tapped her little shoe against the ground impatiently.

And standing next to her was…

Lightning cracked the dark overcast sky, and thunder tore through the air. A harsh wind roared as rain fell almost parallel to the crumbling, drowning city beneath it. The detective clutched her hat tightly as the rubble of dilapidated buildings beneath her endured an onslaught of massive, 8 foot tall waves. The floor beneath her was trembling at the sheer might of the storm.

At least 30 feet above the perplexed investigator hovered a youthful girl, held up by countless thick, octopus-like tentacles spiraling out of her back. Her hair was an inky black, with some vibrant orange highlights on the tips, and her eyes glowed a deep and vibrant crimson. The tendrils rose from the waves and slammed back into the waters, summoning massive swells in the flood below as they carried the girl over the wreckage.

The detective could only watch as the eldritch abomination laid waste to what little remained of the urban landscape. The tentacles smashed buildings, cars, anything that laid in its path. Car alarms blared as the surging waters carried them away.

Suddenly, however, the monster paused. Such a ruthless beast, and yet it seemed almost… conscious, and self-aware.

The girl's head snapped to the side, locking her bright red eyes with the spectating sleuth's. The two girls stared back at one another, the inhuman nature of the beast piercing through the detective's mind and soul, utterly paralyzing her in fear.

One of the being's tentacles rose from the water and reeled itself back, preparing to strike. The muscles of the cursed appendage stretched and twisted in place, before finally thrusting toward the helpless girl at breakneck speeds.

"WATSON!" A squeaky voice shouted in desperation. A small girl whizzed by, piercing the tentacle with a sparkling trident and halting it just before it obliterated the investigator. Attached behind the small girl, the tail of a shark flapped in the breeze.

"...Watson?" An adult man's voice echoed all around the detective. "Are you quite alright, my dear?"

Amelia Watson blinked her eyes a couple times. She found herself standing in the parlor of a 19th century British dwelling; the same building she'd been in for roughly the past half an hour. She was there to investigate a crime scene with her mentor and partner, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

"Y-yes, I'm fine, Master Holmes," she replied.