January 17th, 1998,
I Would Call It Destiny

A single tear cascaded down Amelia's cheek and rolled off of her chin. Everything she'd known had been wiped away in an instant, leaving her alone in a new world that was completely detached from her own.

Her feet were planted on dark, smooth pavement, and she was surrounded on nearly all sides by at least a dozen horseless metal carriages lined up in rows. She could see a road just beyond the lot of them, and it, too, was neatly paved, albeit with some fractures. Occasionally, one of the vehicles would zip down the road at a frightening speed, its engine whirring as it left behind a cloud of smoke. The odor of burning oil hung in the cold, winter air. The roads were lined with billboards and signposts, each with their own strange iconography. Most of the signs boasted exceptionally uniform text and symbols, while some were obscured by crude vandalism that interrupted the deliberate designs.

The buildings, much like the road, were far more sleek than Amelia was used to. Massive, geometric blocks of concrete with large windows. Shop names written with large glowing letters that lit up the cloudy day. 

A quieter, higher pitched motor from the building just behind her began to whir, drawing Watson's attention. The building's glass door slid aside to reveal a lone girl standing as still as a statue.

The two stared silently at one another. She was short and petite, had white hair with blue highlights, and wore a blue hoodie with a cartoonish depiction of a razor-toothed maw. Her shimmering blue eyes were so mesmerizing, it took the detective a moment to notice the shark tail that trailed behind her.

"Ame?"

"Gura?"

Gura's face lit up, and she broke into a wide grin, showing off her jagged teeth, as she sprinted toward Watson. 

"I'm so happy to see you!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms tight around Amelia's waist. 

The time traveler's bewildered expression melted away, a warm smile taking its place as she rested a hand on Gura's head, feeling her soft, snowy hair between her fingers. "I'm happy to see you too."

The shark pulled away however, and Amelia could see that she was scowling now. "Next time, let me know when you're going somewhere! You had me worried sick!"

Amelia raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Don't 'huh?' me! You vanished for like, a month, you jerk!" Gura shoved Ame's shoulders, sending her back a few steps. "You promised you'd come to my Christmas party!" Her hands were clenched in tight fists now as she continued to shout at the detective.

"Uhhhhh…"

Watson could already tell that she had a talent for digging really inconvenient holes for herself with this time travel thing.

"I'm… sorry?"

"You better be!" The little shark emphasized. She could really make that squeaky voice of hers sound intimidating when she was serious. She snatched Amelia's hand and began to stomp across the parking lot. "We're hanging out today Watson, you don't get a choice. Let's go, stinky!"

"W-wait, hold on-"

For such a small and slender girl she was quite strong, as she was able to drag Watson behind her with ease. Amelia stumbled along as Gura stomped down the sidewalk, her tail swinging to the rhythm of her footsteps. "Your timing couldn't be better, too!" She panted excitedly. "I just picked up some scary movies, and I know how much you hate those! Consider it payback for ditching me!"

Movies? Scary movies?

Amelia decided not to ask, for fear of looking stupid. But whatever a scary movie was, it sure didn't sound pleasant. A sinking feeling began to well up in Watson's stomach, one that only got worse as Gura continued to haul her up the street.

A dejected groan slipped from the shark's mouth as she sunk into the couch, her tail spilling over the left armrest.

What she'd been hoping to be a gory horror flick turned out to be more of a bland mystery drama. She'd been holding out hope for quite some time that it was just playing the long game, and that it would eventually take a turn and scare Watson senseless. She figured that it couldn't possibly be this corny all the way through, there had to be a twist coming up. Any minute now. 

But with every minute, that became more unlikely. The characters continued to squabble over minuscule details, and it was becoming increasingly obvious to Gura that it really wasn't going anywhere. 

She stretched her arms up into the air. "Alright Watson," she managed through a yawn, "you win this time; we can do something else now."

But Amelia remained as still as stone. Gura could see the images from the screen reflecting off of her friend's vacant blue eyes, which were locked tightly to the tube TV by some manner of hypnotism. The detective had an incredibly stupefied look on her face, her mouth hanging open like an idiot.

"Hey, Ame," She said, nudging her friend lightly. Watson gave no response. Her focus remained solely upon the moving pictures, and she merely tilted her head slightly, blinked a few times, and continued staring.

Gura pouted and threw her palm directly in front of Amelia's eyes, causing her to spring back to life.

"H-hey, what the heck?" Watson squealed, squirming in her seat to maintain view of the picture box. Gura was not going to ruin this experience for her; Amelia hadn't been to the theater since that time she and Sherlock were searching for the playwright killer a couple years back. Even then, she hadn't sat down to actually watch a performance since she was 11.

"I'm tryin' to talk to you, stupid!" Gura shouted.

Amelia, however, was still doing everything she could to keep her eyes on the screen. She'd grabbed Gura's arm to try and move it out of the way, and was ducking and weaving in every direction. "Come on, Gura, I'm gonna miss it!"

Groaning, Gura grabbed the TV remote and paused the movie.

Watson's eyes went wide in awe, and she almost audibly gasped. The people behind the glass were all frozen in place. "Whoa… you guys do have time travel…"

"Hello? Earth to Watson?" Gura was desperately calling for her friend's attention at this point. "I'm getting kinda bored; wanna play a game or something?"

Amelia looked at Gura, giving her the cutest frown and puppy dog eyes. "But who killed Mrs. Williams?"

"Who cares? Can't you find out later?"

"I care, and I wanna find out now!" Watson retorted. "Now unfreeze the people!"

Gura sighed, and let out a chuckle. "Fine, you stubborn little… dummy," she remarked under her breath, lightly punching Watson's shoulder before pressing play.

Amelia, understandably, had never imagined the theater could be experienced from home like this. She didn't have to sit around a bunch of weird strangers, she could actually see and hear what was going on, and there were these really salty, buttery, popped corn snacks to eat. She made the right call coming to the future; it was already far better than her life had been in the 1800s.

Suddenly, Watson felt a weight fall on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw Gura was fast asleep, the shark girl's head resting peacefully on her arm. With Gura's every breath, Watson caught a peek at her friend's cute little shark teeth.

To run into Gura again like this, to be in precisely the right place at any period of time, it seemed to defy all logic. What would she have done if Gura hadn't been there for her? When Amelia really thought about it, she was like a lost child, drifting through life and time with reckless abandon. Yet, it seemed that whenever Amelia found herself lost, this girl was there to protect her. Perhaps this was what destiny was like.

The ends of Watson's mouth curled up into a soft smile as she rested her own head atop Gura's, nuzzling against her friend's soft tresses. She closed her eyes and let a feeling of relief wash over her. Sooner than expected, she'd found somewhere she belonged, more than she ever had with Sherlock, and she already couldn't imagine letting it go.