Sparkla Guide — Stella Sora

To field-test the Tyrant Pie. The Monolith makes for the ultimate proving ground.

Grace Imperium Wanted Poster

Wanted for immediate apprehension in connection with a major illegal Neo smuggling ring:
Name: Sparkla
Gender: ???
Age: ???
Height: ???
Description: Female. Travels with a hat-wearing rabbit.
Charges: Trafficking Neo equipment
Incident Date: Joyous Day, Sonus Month, 996
Location: Port Goldfinch
WARNING: Suspect is highly dangerous and presumed armed with NGO weaponry. Do not approach or attempt capture.
Bounty:
5,000,000 Dorra for intel leading directly to an Imperial Guard arrest.
10,000,000 Dorra for the direct capture and delivery of the suspect.

Imperial Guard

Tech Exchange Group Chat

Leona: Where is she where is she where is she?!
Bloc: Right here, right here!
Leona: Not you!
Bloc: Wow, guess I don't matter then?
Leona: I don't want you!!!
Leona: Where's Sparkla?! Sparkla!
Bloc: Did she block you again?
Leona: Duh.
Leona: Why else would we even make this group?
Leona: It's literally just to track her down whenever she blocks us.
Leona: So where is she?!
Bloc: You know she doesn't read group chats.
Leona: ... Then what is the point of this chat?
Bloc: So the two blacklisted can comfort each other.
Leona: Wait, you got blocked too?
Bloc: Ding ding ding! Give the genius a prize!
Leona: Quit the snark!!!!

Rabbit Pie Maintenance Log

Structural Integrity: Bolts tight, no cracked welds. Optimal condition.
Lubrication: Running smoothly. Zero jamming.
Pending Add-on: Text recognition module.
Pending Upgrade: Artillery bombardment mode.

Metal Monster Witness Report

It happened near the Behemoth Mountains. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, because there ain't no way a metal beast like that actually exists...
It dropped straight out of the sky and spat a person right out!
And the person was just as weird.
She was sitting in a chair with wheels, and had these hat-wearing rabbits following her around.
The rabbits were doing laundry and hanging up blankets like they actually understood human speech...
I didn't linger for long. That whole bunch was just plain freaky...

Invention Catalog

Metal Prosthetic: Custom build. At the client's strict insistence, the umbrella, flower-watering, and extending features were completely scrapped.
Gauntlets: Custom weaponry. The client demanded an exterior design that screamed explosive, sharp aggression.
Alarm Clock: Built for a student. Agreed with the client that failing to hit snooze in time triggers a self-destruct sequence. (Explosives supplied by Leona.)
...

Sparkla? A total genius, just like me! But if I absolutely had to rank us ... then in mechanical R&D, she might just barely, slightly edge me out. Just a tiny bit, okay?!
—Leona

Next time we meet, I definitely need to ask Sparkla about hooking Loxy up with some amphibious upgrades! Oh, and I watched that Stella Drama she recommended—the one where cars turn into people... You think Loxy could pull that off someday? Hehe.
—Noya

Basically accurate.

The only issue is a dead contact number. Please update this to an active line as soon as possible.
—Willow

Library Checkout Card

Title: The ■■■ Fairy Tales
Author: Anonymous
Call Number: I536.8
Date Borrowed: Sep 3, Year ■■■
Due Date: Sep 17, Year ■■■
Borrower: S
Date Returned: Sep 9, Year ■■■
Notes: /

"Far out in the ocean, the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflowers and as clear as the purest glass. But it is terribly deep..."
"... The Ocean King had six beautiful daughters. The youngest princess loved hearing stories about the human world above more than anything else..."

Her mother's soft voice was slowly lulling little Sparkla to sleep. Still, the girl fought to keep her eyes open, slurring her words as she pressed on. "Mommy, is the youngest princess pretty? And ... why does she like the human world so much?"
"Of course she is. The book says her skin was soft as a rose petal, and her eyes as clear as the deep blue sea."
"As for why she liked the human world? Probably because it's so, so far away from her home. It's only natural for her to be curious."
"Just like you, my sweetheart. Aren't you always wondering if giant whales live up in the sky? Hehe."
"Then... Then I hope the youngest princess gets a chance ... to visit the land someday... Zzz... Zzz..."
Before her mother could whisper goodnight, little Sparkla had already drifted off into a deep slumber.

"Waaah... Why did the little mermaid trade her voice just to become human? And... And her feet hurt so badly..."
The next day, Sparkla pestered her mother to finish the story, only to be struck by a devastating plot twist.
Although the little mermaid was finally a part of the human world, she paid a terrible price for it.
"Oh my, why are we crying?" Her mother rushed to comfort her, but nothing could stop the tears rolling down the little girl's cheeks.
Sparkla sniffled. "No, we can't let the little mermaid suffer like that. What if she didn't have to walk? Or ... what if she could live on land feeling completely free? Mommy, I want to build a little moving chair for her! Oh, wait! What about a giant moving fish tank...?" Muttering ideas to herself, she haphazardly scrubbed the tears from her face and sprinted eagerly back into the house.
"Hey now... Go wash your face first..." Her mother held back a chuckle, not the least bit upset. She simply slipped a bookmark onto the page. Seeing her daughter bounce back to her energetic self was all that mattered.

While organizing her bookshelf, Sparkla noticed a bookmark lying on the floor.
It featured a drawing of an unfamiliar ocean, with a bright splash of color breaking the surface that looked exactly like a fish's tail.
A memory struck Sparkla—this was the bookmark her mother had made for her when she was little. She remembered wanting to build a moving chair for the little mermaid back then, never imagining she'd eventually be the one using it. Of course, basic mobility wasn't enough for her; she had tricked it out with plenty of upgrades. As if on cue, two mechanical arms extended from the back of her wheelchair, nimbly plucking a book from the very top shelf.

"Let's go with this one today. The stall owner said it's from a fresh batch of fairy tales recently unearthed from the Monolith."
"Let's see here... Alicia's Underground Adventure?"
"Alicia was sitting by the riverbank when she suddenly spotted a white rabbit in a waistcoat scurrying past with a pocket watch. Stranger still, the rabbit was muttering to itself, 'Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!'"
Sparkla eagerly flipped the page, only to be completely captivated by the illustration. Oh dear! Oh dear! This Mr. Rabbit, dressed to the nines in a suit and top hat with eyes sparkling like rubies, looked incredibly similar to the snow rabbit her father had built for her years ago!
I have to invent something for him. Anything to help him escape his personal hell of perpetual tardiness!

So, in her dreams that night, Sparkla found herself with a suited rabbit of her very own, who whisked her away to the Six O'Clock Tech Exchange.
It was the exact convention she had always dreamed of—no loudmouthed Leona, no troublemaking Bloc. Just a lovely cat lady and an enthusiastic puppy plushie. In this peaceful haven, she could finally focus on modifying a scooter exclusively for Mr. Rabbit, seamlessly blending high-speed traversal with a built-in baking function.
When she woke up, Sparkla spent a long while basking in the afterglow of her sweet dream. Staring at her empty bedside, a sudden stroke of genius hit her: the suited rabbit from the story would look perfectly at home right here in her room.
For the next month, Sparkla's workshop abruptly halted all incoming commissions. As for how to explain this sudden hiatus to her clients? Well, she'd just leave that headache to Bloc.

Exactly a month after Sparkla stopped taking orders, Bloc and Leona showed up at her workshop.
"What is your deal?! You take a whole month off, and all your orders are now my responsibility?! I've been doing the work of two and haven't slept in four days... My brain is squeezed dry of inspiration!"
The moment they walked in, Leona drifted toward Sparkla's room like a zombie. "I'm gonna crash for five... Aah! What the heck is that?!"
Bloc peeked in from behind her. "Oh? Is this what you've been working on all month? What do you call it?"
"Watch your pronouns. It's a 'she.' She is my butler, Rabbit Pie." Sparkla hauled Leona out of the room and lovingly adjusted Rabbit Pie's hat. Leona's terrified flailing had knocked it completely askew, as it dangles at the robot's neck. "I guess she's passably cute, but that name is a tad tacky," Leona remarked with a hint of disdain. Still, she couldn't resist running a curious hand over the mechanical rabbit. "Wow, you hid this joint mechanism pretty well..."
"Hands off. Did you just mock my naming? Rabbit Pie, put Leona on the blacklist. She is permanently banned from my room."
Rabbit Pie gave a slow, deliberate nod.
"Hey, hey, you tyrant!" Following its master's orders, the mechanical rabbit gave Leona absolutely no room to argue, forcefully shoving her several meters down the hall.
Leona sulked on the sidelines for a moment before her eyes suddenly narrowed. She just realized something crucial. "Wait a minute... You didn't manually input any commands just now! No way... Does this thing already have voice recognition?! That's insane... Quick, walk me through your entire design process!"

Seeing that the other two had completely forgotten she even existed and scurried straight to the invention room, Bloc simply made herself at home. She expertly retrieved a bag of tea she had left in the cabinet last time and began brewing herself a pot.
"My, my, I can already picture a blissful future where I fall asleep on a giant pile of Dorra... Ohohoho..."