When Ren came-to, the shuttle had crashed in a forest. He looked everywhere for his crewmates but had no luck. His arm couldn't be moved without pain. It was broken. Of course it was broken, he landed on it when they crashed, for God's sake but then why was he in a safety harness? “I'm in shock? Of course I'm in shock. I just crashed a freaking spaceship." Ren unbuckled himself from a safty harness and lurched out of the shuttle and looked around. He was in a forest, with the shuttle carving a wide trench on its was down. In front of him, he could see a bustling metropolis above the strange, thick trees. Above him were… Well that couldn't be right. It was an island. Right up in the sky. “Maybe my loss of blood is making me see things," he said to himself. Behind him was a plateau, surrounded by mountains like it was one of them, minus the peak. Another city was on the plateau. And- oh. Ren heard a slight hiss as a dart embedded itself in his neck. “Still in shock? Yes, probably," Ren muttered. Then he lost consciousness for the second time that day.

When Ren woke, a rabbit was standing over him. How was that? Rabbits are much smaller than humans, and they don't stand on two legs. Ren tried to move, and discovered he was tied to a chair. It was at this point that he started to panic. “Who…. Who the hell are you? Why am I tied to a chair? Why am I here? What are you?" He demanded, struggling, trying to remove his bonds. 

“Ren, calm down! I don't understand Japanese," the rabbit said. Ren knew that voice from somewhere, but he couldn't place it. It sounded female, but how was he supposed to know? Maybe in this species, male's voices were lighter. It was still in shadows, so he couldn't tell.

“Hoho- How do you know my name," Ren asked, making a conscious effort to switch from rapid fire Japanese. Of course the… Creature, whatever it was, spoke English. 

“Of course you don't recognize me… I forget we change when we enter this world," it broke off. “Im Lisbeth, alright? But in this world, I'm known as Jessica. Jessica Steele."

“O-O'Hara? Why are you a rabbit?" 

“Actually, I'm a hare. On this world, both species are known as Lepusians."

Ren, on information overload, stopped struggling. Against his better judgements, he asked another question, even though the last one wasn't really answered. “Where are we?"

“Why do you ask?"

“To advance the plot. Err, I mean, because I need to know," he said, trying be state it matter of factly. 

“This is Coggsworth, in the Steam district on the eastern continent of Fuzzia, on the planet Furth," she said, managing to get the matter of fact feel that Ren couldn't. Then her straight face cracked. "Only messing with ya. This is Coggsworth In the steam district, but this is Grash, on the planet Zoogaris. We are also the third planet from our sun, but some choose to inhabit the second and fourth planets, the planets of Dragalia and Homonus. Home of what are known to you as dragons and what little ape population, including humans, that we have in this system.  

“Dragalians and homons are sort of rare on this planet, but you can pass for a homon. They have developed a similar culture to Japan there, right down to the language. It's call Nihon."

“But… Nihon is Japanese for Japan! Are you telling me that they are the same right down to the name?" Ren demanded. He hadn't been released from his bonds, so he continued struggling.

“Oh! Here, let me get that for you," The hare turned the lights on by pulling an oversized lever, making large gears turn. A gas lamp flickered on a few moments later. As Jessica untied the bonds on his hands, he got a good glimpse at her. She wasn't very well endowed in the chest area, but she had wide hips. She was cream colored, and her eyes were a stormy grey. She looked gentle and soft but Ren knew from self-defense lessons she had agreed to give him that she was a master of what she called “Lepus jutsu." She gave it an official name, too- Aurum leporem. The Golden Hare style. He never mastered it. As she bent over to loosen the bonds on his legs, he saw that she had a short tail, like a deer's. She was wearing a European Victorian period jacket, leather instead of silk, and a very light blue blouse, along with men's frock pants. She looked the same as she did on earth, Ren decided. Chest just small enough to pass for a man, if she so wished. Granted, her ears were larger, but her face had always had an animalistic quality to it. Those grey eyes were just a little too big. The nose just a little too small. The front teeth just a tad larger than normal. He had found her talking to a co-worker, a member of the Furry fandom, quite often, but had thought little of it. Neither himself or the co-worker suspected that she was a true anthropomorphic animal like the ones they talked about. “Look, Ren- your name is the only thing that might be suspicious. Sendo just isn't a surname in Nihon. Ren isn't a first name," she grinned. “But you know what is? Nice to meet you, Sebun Atenien." She held out a paw and Ren- no, Sebun, shook it, scowling. 

“We're back to the Sebun garbage? I thought we had left that behind us," he practically growled. 

“Nope, now you're stuck with it forever. Or, at least until a wormhole like the one that we crashed through appears again."

Sebun considered this. “I never asked. How did you survive? You must have been injured more than I was," he said. "After all, I only had a broken arm."

“That was several weeks ago. If you were paying attention, you would notice that your arm is fixed up. I used a bonobo tranquilizer, then you hit your head on a bulkhead of the shuttle. You were in the hospital for a few weeks, then, when your brain waves gave indication that you would wake up, they released you to me. When you showed signs of waking up, I tied you to the chair, thinking that you might attack me. I do look much different, after all. Come on, let's go," She told the entire story without pausing, dodging the question. She opened a door, and Sebun stepped out into the town. He saw balloons, propellers and gears everywhere. Houses seemed to be done in a Victorian style. They were near the edge of town. He looked down the wide avenue, away from the city, and saw the mountain range from when he crashed. Only this time, he was viewing them from halfway up their height. He stumbled to the edge of town, only to find a fall that would inflict much worse than a broken arm. 

Coggsworth was the floating island.

***