PLDN Chapter 39

"Chapter 39: Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality: The Forgotten Times Saga"

Sub-Entry 381: "Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality, Part 1 - Mirror Warp Underground":
''OOC:  This sub-entry is dedicated to Tyhm (wherever you are) and your long-since defunct but never forgotten MWU. Thank you for some of my earliest RP and fanfiction experiences.''

* knock knock knock *

Violet's door opened. When was the last time she had stayed in her quarters in the residential floor of UCIAT Headquarters. I'd shown Asriel this floor of apartments in our own HQ before. It was where he first met Willamina and Honey. While most of us preferred to stay in our own residences like Rabbotou Dojo and my own shop's back room (when I worked myself too hard to trudge back to my family residence in town)...some of us like Sally were okay with staying "on campus".

"Goat Son."

"Um...you...feel like visitors, Aunt Vi?"

A sigh. "C'mon on in."

"You...haven't been yourself since--"

"You of all people appreciate that irony."

Asriel was a silent for a bit.

"Sorry.  That was unfair.  Look.  If you came to cheer me up, everyone else has given their pitch."

"Well...I guess I got nothing, then, Aunt Vi..." Asriel turned away. But not out of defeat. It was to hide his sly grin.

"Hey...don't be that way--"  Vi reached out to him before he turned around and surprised her with--

"Have mercy!!!!  Everybody do the Funky Duckman!  You put your down DOWN!  You thrust your PELVIS!  (HUH!)  You thrust your PELVIS!  (HUH!)  You thrust your PELVIS!  (HUH!)"  He said as he commenced to repeated pelvic thrusts.

Okay. Time out. Seriously. This was something very meme-able from Violet's past that even Asriel shouldn't know about. And if Violet had done this herself, Bunnie would have clubbed her over the head and told her politely  "Stop.  Please."

I don't want to have to start banning Azzy from access to purple and black-listed cyber gates. How did he even find out about that world, anyway? It was shocking back then but probably nothing compared to Sanchez's Earth C-137 nowadays.

Wait. I forgot who he was trying to cheer up. Of course she'd be the source...

Violet was stunned for several and I mean several seconds.

"Aww jeeze...I broke you, didn't I--"

And then Violet burst out laughing to the point of literally rolling on the floor and laughing her hind-quarters off.

"...okay...okay....give me a sec....okay, you win an Internet, Goat Son...well played." Violet gasped in between wheezes and laughter.

As soon as she composed herself...

"Thanks...I needed that."

"Any time, Aunt Vi.  Any time.  I got to go.  I have to meet Volt for some official S.T.C. businesses.  Hush-hush, top secret.  Don't even try to follow or spy on us.  Ya dig?"

"Okay.  For you, Cinnamon Roll, I'll behave."

So...jumping forward to the immediate future...

"I got your message, Volt.  So what's this big meeting in this isolated deep space region between dimensions and far from the STC Center?"

That's...where things would quickly change.

"...my message." I blinked. "I received a message from you to meet you here on Daimyou's orders.  It felt off because this was a sector that I'd never told you about--"

I broke off immediately. His expression turned to freaked out as well.

"Oh no."

"We just stepped into a--"

And that was when we both felt the jolts go through us...not electricity (or I would have absorbed it easily). No, this felt like a paralysis wave...!

"Mmmmn....should I finish your sentences for you since it's just so PAAAAAINFULLY cliché and predictable?" Adonis stepped out of the red cyber gateway, arms behind his back and devious grin.

"Damn you!" I growled.

"You sure recovered...fast for a guy who got his brains turned to milkshake by Aunt Vi!"

"I'm sure that's an exaggeration she told you.  Violet never was one to size out just how badly she's ACTUALLY beaten her foes down.  Why do you think Jerry Attrick and the old Ninja Crow yakuza are back and driving Little Tokyo's crime rates up?"

"Got Jeremiah Surd to tell you how to break free from the prison in your own mind that Vi confined you to.  Unable to move so much as a toe let alone log out of Quest World.  Tell me I'm wrong." I hissed.

"I know where this is going, Adonis.  After the first two times of kicking us out of space and time to another dimension outside of the UltraVerse is getting old." Asriel was surprisingly unkind to him...but by this time I'm sure he was as sick of Adonis' crap as I was.

"Oh you couldn't be more wrong.  You see you're actually not going to leave the confines of the UltraVerse...however...there's another layer of truth that your partner is not prepared for.  A layer of truth he's buried in the back of his old memories."

"What are you getting at!?" I snarled.

"Come now...all this time and you've never wondered why your oldest sins have never come back to haunt you except in memory?"

An old fear was stirring in me.

"Get to the point--"

"So defiant...but that defiance is only going to make things worse for you."

"I made an astounding discovery eons and eons ago...much closer to what you refer to my darkest sin than you would have ever suspected all this time."

Universal City's echo was screaming at me.

"You see...the UltraVerse has its own memories...memories of its identity across the Axis of Reality.  You see only one UltraVerse that has always ever been...but when AU's are created...no...when ALL universes are created they are instilled with the capacity to produce an echo in other universes; this echo becomes strongest when universe collide...when they cross over.

So let me ask you this, Volt, old friend...what happens when universes form a Triumvirate alliance that lasts for what felt like more than one lifetime?"

He was speaking in riddles...but something in my soul felt like it knew something I had been trying to forget all this time. Something I tried to erase. Was the reason because of--

"Was the reason because you wanted to move on?  Or was it because you wanted to escape your GUILT!?"

Oh gods...he knew me so well he was already reading my thoughts...reading me like a book. Reading me like--

"Like I know what you're going to say next, Volt?"

Stop it! Just stop it!

"Hey, leave him alone, jerk!  Haven't you tortured him enough!?" Asriel snapped.

"Enough?  There is no 'enough', boy.  For eternal beings such as ourselves, the sins are eternal...as are the punishment that they've invited."

"Why can't you just move on with your life like--"

And with that Adonis suck-punched Asriel.

Goat Son winced unable to rub his sore mouth or wipe the trickle of blood.

"Am I striking close to a nerve...?" Asriel glowered, unphased by the bullying.

"Everything I do is for the sake of chaos...but also for the sake of making my former mentor and teacher understand the price of betrayal...the price of abandonment.  You know that price very well, don't you, Asriel?  You know what you cost your dear sister...you know what you invited from her counterpart."

"What I know is how you just never take a hint that you're overusing the low blows I've already heard before.  You wore them out in Quest World!"

"And yet they still hurt like the dickens, didn't they?"

"You can keep hurting us all you want...it will never break us!" Asriel snarled, his eyes flaring up red with Determination.

"Well I've talked down to you long enough.  Now that I've dragged out this boring conversation long enough for the Ultimate Annihilator to charge, I think I can use it now to do what I intended to use it for in the first place."

"You're just crazy enough to use Ivo Robotnik's machine to tear open time and space again...the one that the Council Traitor gave to him.  The thought of doing irreparable damage to space, time, and dimension doesn't even scare you, does it?  Even though you could end up corrupting even your OWN existence!"

"Corrupt what's already corrupted?  How droll, Volt.  How delightfully amusing.  Well now...I guess it's time for your trip."

"Rest assured our crew will hunt you to the ends existence and stop you from--"

"And here's where the cherry is placed on top.  I'm not staying behind this time.  Oh no no no no...I'm going with you on this fantastic voyage to make SURE you get what's coming to you."

Oh no...

"And leave your followers without a leader?" Asriel challenged as the machine started activating.

"Leadership is a pathetic crutch.  If they are half of the anarchists I've groomed them into, then direction is the last thing they should ask for.  Chaos acts of its own accord...until it fails and I just lead what doesn't work to its inevitable end.  Like a mercy-killing on a coma patient who's already brain dead."

"Don't you DARE make what you do sound noble!" I roared.

"Perish the thought old friend.  Now...I think it's time you understood your situation."

"Why don't you tell us where you're sending us?"

"And give spoilers?  Ohhhh but the surprise is the best part of the chaos.  You'll find out soon enough.  And then when we meet up again...you can tell me, in great detail, what you think about your so-called best friend.  The show is about to begin."

"Tch!" Asriel grimaced as the Ultimate Annihilator's energy discharge emanated outward in a spherical shockwave.

For the longest time...nothing seemed to happen after the wave had long passed.

"Forget your batteries?" Asriel wrinkled his snoot. But he suddenly clammed up when he heard...the crack...then a lot more cracking.

It was a cracking sound like glass...no...far more...celestial and reverberating...sounding less...like something man-made being broken apart...no...it was like--

I was the first to see it.

"What have you done...!?" I saw the dimensional energy leak out from where reality itself was fractured....spider-webbing...and--!

Suddenly the whole "wall" of the environment broke apart like a mirror shattering and the pieces were sucked into what I confirmed was...the very boundaries of the Axis of Reality!

"Oh gods NO!" My eyes widened when I finally put the situation together.

Adonis nonchalantly leaned up against his cyber-gate that he had long closed and sealed shut. He waved tauntingly with a toodle-loo before, of all things...blowing me a mocking kiss with theatrical flair and an evil wink.

Asriel was sucked in first and me right behind him.

"ADONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!!" I screamed out.

Allouicious looked at his bare wrist like he was checking the time as he tapped his foot repeatedly before stepping away from the gate, turning his back to the event horizon and spreading his arms.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" He exclaimed before going into fits of laughter.

It was about that moment when Adonis' Cyber Gate shutter started buckling and something cleaved through it like a hot knife through butter. Moments before Daimyou and KOMMAND charged out.

Adonis waved as he spun like a fan, arms and legs out in an X-formation before giving a pair of rude gestures to the both of them...moments before the fabric of reality suddenly re-forged itself and the intense gravity well stopped.

"We're too late..." Daimyou tightened her fist.

"And we have no idea where they went this time...nor do we have ANY idea how to track them...I don't even know where to BEGIN this time around!" KOMMAND looked intensely worried.

Suffice to say...Asriel's and my experience was...unpleasant.

Somehow Adonis has basically affixed us to crosses, in an almost ceremonial crucifixion. Had this man...this monster ANY semblance of reference!?

"I can't get loose!"

"Neither can I!"

"At least he left our weapons!"

"I'm almost certain he did so on purpose.  Whatever he's sending us toward, he's convinced we won't survive...or maybe he's counting on us TO survive."

"Be...cause......he thinks that whatever's waiting for you is too horrible to just up and die from?"

"I've heard lamer reasoning out of him.  Cut and pasted from the super-villains book of overused tropes, no less."

"You have any idea--"

"None, Goat Son.  Whatever is in my past...it's all a haze...all...muddled.  I can't tell...if that's because of the tachyon interference...or...my own mental blocks from trying to forget and move on...either way, he could be right about some of those things I said...I......I am carrying a lot of baggage from times before.  But...the way he was talking...it was like he was implying that what I remember...is...not the only--"

I didn't get a chance to finish...it was weird, too. what I was about to say felt...some degree of meta. Like my guts were telling me there was that I was getting close to a fourth wall I didn't see. But that couldn't be...our world...our VGM-098 and everything of my past and present wasn't like that. Sure there were quirks and coincidences like...how all of the family and friends I knew had other dimension counterparts and how many of the people, places, and events I had experience existed on my own planet of origin...but...there wasn't anything to read into with that...right?

What...was this weird, nagging feeling? Why was I only 99% sure I was the one and only Volt Arcade all of us sudden? What was this...doubt? And where was it coming from? How did it connect to--

WHERE THE HECK WERE THESE QUESTIONS EVEN COMING FROM!?

"Volt...you've got that look again...you're deep thought process is in super overdrive mode!"

The ride wasn't getting any less chaotic. Though transparent and translucent circuit pipes and nodes...through wire frame floor and ceilings that stretched to infinity in all directions...through every possible pseudo-tunnel I'd seen ripped from the Twilight Zone to the Outer Limits to Dr. Who...to 2001: a Space Odyssey.......every conceivable warping and twisting of light, energy, space, time, dimension, and so forth was happening before our eyes.

Whatever was happening in my memories...in my soul...wasn't affecting Asriel.

And then...

* THUD *

I moaned a bit...

"We're...alive...and conscious this time." Asriel helped me back up.

"Yeah...and lost for the THIRD time in space-time." I brushed myself off.

"At this point why bother asking where we are.  I doubt we're going to find out from--"

I clicked on my visor...

"...Cryptosmasher?" I blinked.

"We have a connection to Neo Arcadia's quantum computer tower?"

"Yeah but...something's...off about it...my scanner's reporting the number of yotta-flops per second is...way too low.  It's like it's 20 years out of date and...this operating environment....it doesn't make sense...there's...but weirdest of all..." I paused. "This isn't UCIAT's logo.  It just says...Ultra Crew."

"What?" Asriel blinked. "Pass me the link."

I did so.

"I'm getting all kinds of compatibility errors too.  I mean the software is running adaptive modules to correct for the mismatches and such to try to handshake with what it's identified as our own systems but---"

"Azzy...you want to know something REALLY weird?"

"I think I know what you're going to say next..."

"Our home is Neo Arcadia City, right?  When...did it become...an entire planet?"

"......."

"And when did it get a sister planet nearby called Utopious?"

"A...pretty arrogant name to call it, don't you think?"

"Azzy, I got a bad feeling..." I started trying to sort through windows.

"Volt...you're going to want to see this..." Asriel suddenly projected a holo-window of a personnel file he was able to access.

"I borrowed Aunt Vi's I.D. to get in...and I decided to have a peek at our personnel files...I didn't expect to find myself in there and I didn't...but look who I did find."

He projected an image of Bunnie.

"Bunnie...Louise Rabbot?  Not Rabbotou--"  I read the name before I looked at the image...and my jaw dropped.

"Volt...is...that sensei?"

The person in the image...was at least two...two and a half feet shorter than she should have been. No blond hair...but definite head fur.

The eyes weren't emerald green. They were crystal blue. The nose was black instead of pink. The white parts of her fur weren't white but a light creme color.

There wasn't a pink headband.

Her one-piece swimsuit wasn't pink...it was purple.

About the only thing I recognized was the white gi.

"...wait...Louise..?" I suddenly looked a little confused. "I'm...pretty sure the Major would HATE that middle name..." I said offhandedly before Asriel interrupted my thoughts again.

"You got to see Aunt Vi...." He projected another image.

Our Violet was...short...but not terribly so. This Violet was...under three feet tall. Easily.

"Are we just...midgets in this universe?" I wrinkled my nose.

"Volt...there's a lot more personnel files in here than we have back home...and I think...some of them shouldn't still be here." Asriel turned up...of all people...

"Mario?" I couldn't believe it. He should be...well...long since retired. He only came around thanks to the Super Smash Bros. Nexus tournament.

"His...dossier is a lot lighter than it should be, too.  I can't find any records past...well what you call Super Mario 64."

"What?"

This back and forth of surprising discoveries went back and forth.

"I found Dad...but...I can't find...mom anywhere."

"I think I found her in a restricted file...but...read at your own risk."

Asriel gulped and did so. "This is...impossible." He looked at the photo of the gravestone. And the photos of the burned down laboratory...and the images from the symposium. "Mom...a Lycan?"

"No...I don't think so...apparently according this this she couldn't control her psychic powers and they went out of control and did something akin to twisting her into a version of Project: Wolf Child before...well...this." I looked at the grave.

"What is going on here?"

A momentary silence...then it both hit us. We certainly weren't on Neo Arcadia.

"Where....are we?" We both looked out at the giant hedge maze before us.

"Volt...I know this is going to sound strange but...we saw this...we saw this in a MOVIE."

"And I think I know which one..." I looked skyward as I heard the echoes of a girl's voice...that sounded like it was leaking in from another dimension.

And we heard her invoke his name...

Unbeknownst to us...elsewhere, somewhere in VideoLand...

General Leo's pace quickened as he continued through the forest. He charged into the warp zone, finding himself in the Palace of Power...

It was a short time later that the Princess of VideoLand had become his captive as the result of a misunderstanding.

Shortly  thereafter on Mega Land, Dr. Wright unveiled his latest creation, Mega Girl X..

While on another planet in Little Tokyo, Bunnie Rabbot and Princess Violet were walking the streets when something pulled Bunnie into it the moment Violet's back was turned.

What was going on and who was behind it?

Back in the maze...

"...you heard it say what I think it say, right, Azzy?"

"Yup.  Quote: 'It's so exhilarating being your hat.'   Exact words."

"That clinches it.  We're somehow in a telling of the Labyrinth.  That movie Aunt Vi showed us years ago on Movie Night.  With David Bowie."

"Yeah but...how is the Labyrinth connected to the...Omniverse?" I looked at the confusing star charts I had downloaded. "Asmyth might have something to say about this...and by say I mean yell at me." I rolled my eyes.

"You'd think seeing the movie would have helped us get through this maze."

"Wait.  I just realized...if this is the Labyrinth then we're probably headed toward Jaroth the Goblin King."

"Then we're missing our heroine--"

I heard a voice in the path next to us.

"That must be her--"  Asriel turned. "We should probably--"

When he looked back at me...he saw that I had blanched. That voice...it was younger but...it was...familiar...!

"Volt...?"

"That's...not...Sarah."

"What's wrong?  Why are you--"  Asriel shook me, trying to break me out of my catatonic state.

"Volt!" He hollered.

"Wha...what...?" I blinked when I finally snapped out of it.

"Oh thank goodness...you okay?  What was that?"

I hesitated a bit before  I replied... "I...don't...remember..." I blinked several times...not sure what that had just triggered.

"Are you alright...?"

"I--"  I started before something TORE through most of the hedge maze next to us.

"What the...!" I watched as the spiraling plasma blasts passed by us. I tackled Asriel to the ground, rolling away from the barrage of laser shots.

A moment later I looked up as someone skidded to a stop from a jet-powered dash.

"I don't believe it...!" I whispered.

"Where the hoo-ha am I?" I recognized the voice...it was younger but...with a Southern Drawl? No. I'd heard this SAME Southern Drawl before...it was the voice of the late voice actress, Christine Cavanaugh. But more than that it was--"

"Where are y'all, Vi-girl?" She muttered before dashing off again.

"Volt...was that....sensei?"

"Yeah...but...what was she...?"

"That Cybermorph form of hers...she was from neck to feet...in what looked like a fusion of a Mega Man X armor with Zero's "reborn" armor from X2 and later." Asriel stood up. "With a pair of beam sabers strapped to her back and buster cannons I've never seen before."

"What kind of a weird fan-fic version of the Major was that!?" I cocked my head.

"This world is weird--"  Asriel started before everything started...futzing up with streaks of TV static tearing through reality itself...the world flickering in and out with a white noise haze flashing in and out in between static hisses.

"What's going--"

Suddenly we were just outside of Jareth's chamber, looking in. There was Bunnie and...the girl...and others, too? Who were they all? I didn't recognize them from the Labyrinth...and then some of them...Asriel and I DID recognize from the Labyrinth. That was definitely Hoggle, and Ludo, and Sir Didymus with the girl.

But Bunnie? What was she doing with two Pokémon? Specifically...what was she doing with Mewtwo and Mew?

"...now fuse into Mew-three!"

"...excuse me...but WHAT." I deadpanned. This is getting to be more and more fanfic."

"Admittedly...it is a bit hard to swallow, best friend.  Can Pokémon even fuse--"

"Uh...I guess in this universe they can!" I pointed.

"This is crazy!" I looked as Mew-Three came into existence and bore down on Jareth...who nonchalantly reached over and advanced the hands of the clock all the way to 13. And that was when the circular trap door dropped out from underneath everyone followed by a massive pull that even yanked Mew-three out of his psychic flight.

"And you two...can join them."

"Wait, what--"

"Volt!  How is he seeing past the SPECTRE function--!"

And before we knew it we were tumbling down the chute that led to the Bog of Eternal Stench.

"Oh gods...it's in my nose and my mouth...I'm going to be nauseous, Goat Son."

"Don't give up, yet, Volt!" Asriel unfolded the NX Board. "Sorry for ditching you, old friend..." I heard him whisper to the board before pulling me atop.

We jetted off moments before I heard Bunnie scream something...then something rocketed past us.

"Hey, that's Gravity Beetle's Gravity Well, charged up!" I said before suddenly the reverse gravity pushed us off course while shooting the platform back up into Jareth's fortress, separating us.

"Hey!  We're--!"

"We're cut off." I smoldered, pinching my nose.

I heard the voices echo from inside the shaft before it sealed up. From what I heard...Jareth had fled the scene and had retreated to another part of his fortress.

"This is too weird." Asriel tried to get us on course. That was when the world static-ed up again.

"Azzy, we seem to be skipping through time..."

"How can that be?"

"I don't know...but I think this timeline is...eroded.  Whatever it is...wherever it is."

"Well...it does seem to be a wonky version of the UltraVerse.

When it cleared up again...

"Wha..here are we...now...?"

"Volt!  We know where this is!  This is Dr. Wily's Space Node!  It was in Aunt Vi's curriculum, a few months back when we were studying Monsteropolis' history."

"Mega Man World...otherwise known as Mega Man in Dr. Wily's Revenge." I looked out the windows.

"Space." I looked down at "Capcom World"...or was it "Mega Land"?

"You know we haven't really given rational thought to this.  What's Adonis' end game with this besides sticking us in a bunch of familiar-yet-not-familiar echoes of our own home?"

"I don't know.  He intends this to be some kind of psychological torture for me."

"Save for that girl back there having a weird hold over you...I don't really see how."

"Apparently we can interact with this world.  Jareth tried to send us to the Bog of Eternal Stench.

We heard the commotion down the hallways.

"Do those sound like the Robot Masters to you?"

"Those sound like the Robot Masters--"

"Should we--?"

"Stay out of sight and not interfere if we can help it?  Definitely.  By all means let's hope our SPECTRE functions are operating now."

That was about the time when Astro Man floated past us...in the opposite direction.

"C'mon!  Let's get out of here before Pirate Man drags us back there!  You saw what they did to the others!"

"These N-Team fools and their friends are more powerful than estimated." Tengu Man flew after his compatriot. "Cowards.  Attacking us en masse--"

"B-B-But in all fairness we were kind of ganging up on them, wave after wave--"

"Shut up, Astro Man."

"B-b-b-but we picked a fight n-not knowing--"

"Shut UP, Astro Man!"

"R-really, we shouldn't be--"

"GONNA HURT YOU!!!" Tengu Man's weapon snapped out as the passed through us.

A moment of silence before I heard the unmistakable sound of Remote Mine exploding down the hall where the two robot masters had retreated to.

"Soooo...I'm guessing Pirate Man is as much a cruel piece of work in this dimension as he is in ours?" Asriel wrinkled his snoot.

"Good observation..."

Another static wash  and we found ourselves in...

"CastleVania--"  I didn't get a word out as I saw what looked like Proto Man...or Break Man...tackling something through a warp zone...wait was he coming from the Space Node or leaving Dracula's Castle...

I didn't get a chance to process what happened and why Proto Man would be anywhere near a warp zone to CastleVania... because reality hiccupped and spat us out again. This time into...

"Skull Castle."

"Back on Mega World again." I frowned. "But something...is off." And then we turned the corner.

"Did...Flash Man decide to be naughty with his powers again?"

"No...this effect is WAY too strong to be Time Stopper.  He'd have to be in the vicinity to even use it.  But I don't see Flash Man anywhere."

We did see several robot masters frozen in place...in time...some even in mid-air that weren't even flight-capable.

"Hmm..." I looked at Bright Man. His Flash Stopper wasn't even energized. I knocked on the giant bulb and I was shocked when it didn't even reverberate. Yeah...time was stopped in Skull Castle...but why?

"Nothing about this makes sense, Volt.  And really we don't seem to be making any headway on this mystery.  There doesn't seem to be an end game to this...no rising action or semblance of..."

He looked at me and noticed my look.

"This actually...seems kind of familiar to something Vi once described from about 20 years ago...she called them message board RP's.  It's like...a story-go-round with multiple authors telling the same story by picking up from where the last one left off."

"That...sounds like a pretty cool concept.  Why don't we see stuff like that nowadays?"

"Couldn't tell you."

"But...why do you think this is like that?"

"Don't know...just a feeling...." I muttered before the reality changed again.

"Now where are we?"

"Looks like...in some kind of suburban home....were in an attic I think...converted into a bedroom.  Looks kind of like a place I'd live in if I were in my teens or twenties." I looked over. "Hmm...nice lab table.  It looks like it came from a high school chemistry lab." I wagged my tail. But then I noticed that the bed had no covers on it and signs seemed to indicate

"Man, look at all these video game magazines pouring out of this box on the floor next to the bed.  Nintendo Powers going back all the way to...1988." Asriel pondered.

"Wait...what year is this?

I looked around for a clock or a calendar. After a bit of checking, I tried the small TV/VCR combo hooked up to...of all things...a Nintendo Entertainment System with a nearby Super Nintendo Entertainment System and an N-64. Checking the VCR's internal clock I discovered.

"January 6th, 2001?" I cocked my head.

That was when we heard a commotion all the way down in what I thought was the basement.

"SPECTRE functions still on?"

Azzy nodded as we hurried down the steps  toward the dining room, kitchen, and living room. That's when we heard it.

"Where are we?" I recognized the girl's voice again.

"Home sweet home!" Another voice...all too familiar...because it was my OWN voice...but it sounded...younger.

"This is where you live?" Violet's voice. What? Unless Violet was wearing a human disguise, what I was I thinking bringing her into a human household...?

"Whoa.  What's happened to Bunnie, Garfield, Odie and me?" Vi asked.

"Simple.  You're in the 'real world'.  In the Omniverse and the Pocket Universe, we're all cartoons."

"Cartoons?" Azzy whispered to me as we stayed in the kitchen, just an easy peer down the staircase to the basement family room below. I could make out the sound of a computer tower but...its fan was a lot louder than I would have expected it to be and it CPU I sensed...was faaaar slower than...oh right. It was 2001. Of course it would be twenty years slower. Pentium series, maybe?

"I always wondered what we'd look like as 'live action' cartoon characters..." I heard Odie's voice.

"You like kind of cute as a 'real world' werewolf." The girl said in a flirting tone.

"You look cute as a 'real world' cat woman." I heard the...other me(?) say.

"Volt?  Are your blushing?" Asriel asked.

"Uh...!" I couldn't explain why I was all flustered.

"Wait!  If someone sees us--"  Bunnie's voice now. Still not used to that 14-year-old sounding Southern Drawl. Or Violet sounding like her...Samurai Pizza Cats prime universe counterpart......huh...some things were starting to fall into place but the picture was still missing 90 percent of its pieces.

"Are we going to get a look at the other you?"

"Not sure if it's a good idea or not.  Really...I don't know how this fits into Adonis' twisted and likely stolen plan...or if it even does at all..."

"I want to see!" Asriel grinned widely with Steven Universe star-eyes, sounding like he was ten again.

"Don't worry about the folks.  Parents are out and bro's at work.  We got the hole place to ourselves.  As for  and myself..." I heard him tinker with something electronic...wrist-mounted perhaps? A watch? And then I sensed the strange EMF flux.

"Wait...what did he say?  What was the girl's name?" My eyes widened.

"I...don't know...the sound just...stopped.  Did...you hear the same?"

"Yeah...it's almost like...no...it can't be that..."

"What?"

"Like...time itself has forgotten.  Like it was...erased from existence."

"Is that possible?"

"Well...stranger phenomenon have happened before."

"I'll bet Madam Fate has something to do with this."

"Undoubtedly."

Asriel glanced to the side, taking a glance though the dining room window.

"Hey...what's that in the driveway...?" He zeroed in on the white car. "A 92' Corsica?  Never pegged Volt for driving anything like that...looks kind of used, though."

"Azzy!" I warned. "We got incoming."

The first up the stairs was...

"Garfield...?" I was surprised by the use of the hard-light digital imagine disguise. In all my years I never pictured what Garfield would look like as a human.

"Huh...why does it make me think Ron Howard in his prime?  Like shortly after the run of Happy Days?" I muttered.

Odie came up next. "Yup.  Blond,  Glasses.  Kind of channeling both Owen Burnette from Xanatos' employ and my mentor, Egon Spengler."

Bunnie and Violet came up next. Their human disguises were exactly the same...though significantly shorter and more cartoonishly proportioned than our own Bunnie and Vi.

"Okay, let's get a look at myself..." My gaze sharpened as Asriel hurriedly joined my side as Violet drifted through our intangible out-of-space-time selves.

And low and behold...

My eyes widened. It was like looking in a mirror...that had reversed time...considerably. The me that was headed my way looked like he was in college. Sometimes I could...barely remember my college years at UCIAT...and other times...it was as clear as living it mere seconds ago. Had I been unmorphed, we'd be the same height, the same weight...the only difference would be his hair was perfectly jet black. Mine had a touch of the Reed Richards on the sides. Well, even the Goddess' contract wasn't going to take EVERY liberty when it made me immortal.

But that wasn't what troubled me.

"Lady Destiny...I don't understand.  Why is there...another iteration of me?  Your chosen knights and squires are supposed to be prime iterations.  Like that movie, "The One".  To quote Highlander...there can BE only one."

There SHOULD only be one. But why is there another UltraVerse AU within the InfinityVerse?

Answer me, Goddess Destiny and Goddess Fate...how many of your rules were FAKE?

His form collided with mine...and drifted right through it.

He didn't even sense me. And even if he could, I was sure his mind was occupied with other things.

"Wow you look...um...younger?" Asriel interrupted my thoughts.

And then the lady of the hour. Now who was this girl...?

I heard her turn the corner and step toward the staircase..

"What...?   No, no no!  Not now!" I gasped as the micro-glitches started culminating into TV static before it happened.

Oh yes. The dimension scrambled again...and now we were in--

"Saffron City?"

"Pokémon.  We're right in front of the Silph Company.

"Hey...that's Garfield and Odie over there...and they're sponsoring some kind of...charity event that involves taking turns battering a limo with a sledgehammer?" Asriel scratched his head.

"Heh...looks like fun." I mused. "I bet Violet would probably do this to Al Dente as a practical joke back home...somehow."

"Hey...isn't that Dr. Doppler from..." Asriel pointed as the Doctor took the sledgehammer to the car several times before torpedoing it with his flying Flame Tackle. And soon after all kinds of familiar faces from Gen-1 Pokémon started showing up....from Brock to Misty to Sabrina, to Lt. Surge...all the Gym Leaders and even the Elite Four.

By the time the event ended...

"I got to hand it to you, Odie.  We did great today."

"This is truly a great day for the orphanage."

"I just got to know...where did you find the limo?  I didn't think anyone would donate a stretched limousine like that for a charity event.  It was in such good condition I almost hated to trash it."

"Me?" Odie turned to Garfield. "I thought you provided it."

Both slow turned to the twisted, smoldering, leaking wreck behind them.

"Oooooooh." Asriel cringed.

"Awkward." I grimaced.

"Hey...what do you know...I just remembered something I got to do back at the Powerhouse Arcade."

"Umm.  Yes.  it seems my responsibilities require my undivided attention as well..." Both brothers discretely exited Saffron City. But then came the payoff that nobody but us would see.

Team Rocket leader, Giovanni suddenly stepped out of the Silph Building at the same time his chauffer left a nearby restaurant.

"..."  A gaping gasp of horror followed by. "MY CAAAAAR!!!"

"I hope this isn't coming out of my salary..." the driver sweat dropped.

Asriel and I both couldn't contain our chortling as we laughed our way into the next time skip. "Okay if this WERE a fan-fiction, THAT was much CERTAINLY clever writing.

"We're going to rack up so much bad karma laughing at his misfortune even if he deserved it." Asriel giggled. "If this is Adonis' idea of torture, he fumbled the ball on this one.

Another jump-cut later...

At some point we ended up in an iteration of Gravitron Park and crossed paths with Blue Crystas. Yeah...I only WISHED he were Gary Oak. Gary was full of himself and overconfident, but...he wasn't really that bad a guy, and he ended up maturing over time.

This guy was a bona fide scumbag.

As it turned out, he dared to make trouble at Gravitron Park. At some point he had run into what I could only guess was an alternate universe's take on the extended Light Family. Roll...with butterfly wings? And who was she with...? And...did they have a DAUGHTER? Named Iris?

Whatever the case, Blue knocked the kid down and was horrible rude before father and mother ended up putting the fear of the gods into him.

The last thing I remembered before the time skip happened was little Iris saying

"Mean man smell like poo-poo and pee-pee!" Moments before Crystas ran out of there...trying to cover his very soaked pants.

"Uhh...eww."

"Karma can be disgusting." Asriel admitted.

That was when the timeline hiccupped and landed us somewhere and some-when else.

I recognized it as Neo Arcadia City...

"Wait...headquarters ITSELF is the "Powerhouse Arcade"?  Not just a guilty pleasure room in Arcade Enterprises?" Asriel walked the corridors.

"Yeah...apparently it's even more of a cover story than it is back home.  It's got that Xavier School for Gifted Children Touch to it."

"I was thinking more like Mobile Armored Strike Kommand's gas station being a front for a military-grade base armed to the teeth."

I chortled as we drifted through the game lab.

"I'm starting to see the connection between Violet's need to press Nikita's NX technology into a giant Nintendo console tie-in." I tapped on the NX Switchboard's frame. Practically everything in the R&D department looks like it's doing a video game hardware spin on the Pro-Stars' gear. Look at this...Atari Lynx detonators? Game Pak capture traps...surprisingly very Power Team-esque...and all these generations of Accelerator Power Packs."

We quickly found the holo-simulator chamber. The last one was occupied.

"Huh...Pokémon Stadium simulation in effect?  I wonder who could be using it?"

"Let's find out." Asriel grinned as he diffused through the door, SPECTRE function still active.

I felt like Asriel was disregarding the age old advice about curiosity killing the cat  but...I was curious too.

Once inside, however...

"Garfield in a poke-battle?"

"And using a Mew...wait...doesn't this look...familiar?" I looked at Asriel.

"It's my final exam!" Asriel realized. "But...that's definitely not me with the Mewtwo...it's...Ash Ketchum?"

I looked closer.

"No...that's not Ash...that must be Red Silvers." Then it hit me. "He's joining Ultra Crew?" I cocked my head.

That was when the iconic moment happened where Red's Mewtwo landed a final attack, knocking out Garfield's Mew. A moment of silence as the clouds in the sky parted and the sun peeked through...and leading to Garfield's nonchalant thumbs-up.

"Wow...it...kind of changes things seeing it from this perspective.  I'm...not sure how I feel knowing that I'm...interchangeable among alternate universes."

"Don't say that, Asriel.  No one can replace you." I one-arm hugged him. Okay that was a sappy moment but...no less true.

Another jump skip returned us to Skull Castle, which had been cleared out.

We found ourselves in Dr. Wily's core room....where the doctor was trapped inside an energy jail coming from what looked like a modified Ghost Trap...no wait...this was from when Mentor and the others temporarily rechristened themselves the "Crime Busters" and took to the streets to solve New York's crime problem while paranormal activity was at an all-time low."

"Vhat a horrible day...I've lost my castle, those N-Jerks reprogrammed my robots to turn traitor on me, I need to change my pants and my alliance with Dr. Robotnik is probably ruined...vunderbar...this day cannot get any worse--"

Suddenly Wily patted his pants pockets down with a growing look of panic before he shouted those dreaded words.

"WHERE IS MY WALLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!?!?!?!!"

Asriel and I reeeeeally tried to contain our laughter.

Just a few hallways down, Yuffie was brandishing the wallet as she continued to walk with Red Silvers, Bunnie, Violet, my human counterpart...now unexplainedly a gold electric karate werewolf like myself....the Universal Detective and Mega Man and Pit.

"Heh.  Materia hunter (not thief) indeed..." Asriel mused as we both picked up the echo of their voices.

No sooner had he said that we found ourselves in some place new...and some place familiar...and some place I wish I could forget.

"Robotropolis!" I gasped, turning pale again. "But...this can't be.  ACM-001 and ACM-002 no longer exist!"

And that was when we noticed the place was a war zone...a war between Dr. Ivo Robotnik & Dr. Wily...against Andross and Star Wolf.

"What the...why would they be at each other’s throats."

I tried accessing Cryptosmasher for answers...and what I came up with was plausible as anything.

"Apparently Andross and Dr. Wily...really, really, REALLY hate each other." I shrugged. "REALLY hate each other for some reason.  Bitter rivals and apparently we're dealing with Andross from our dimension and Dr. Wily from an alternate Video Land...this just gets weirder and weirder."

And then I heard the unmistakable scream of Polly Esther as she came flying down from above and started laying waste to both sides.

"We should get out of here?"

"Like fast--"  I started before we jumped again to somewhere else.

"Cubies?" We were on Tetris in Video Land? But WHICH Video Land?

Inside Kevin and Lana were having lunch with...wait..."

"That's General Leo from--"  Asriel started.

"Never mind that...that's Lina Inverse and Gourrey.  Both from the anime, The Slayers?"

That was when I saw the girl again...and...someone else that my memories were telling me I knew.

"That guy with the Nintendo Power Glove on...that's sure not Lucas Barton." Asriel stated. When he didn't get a reaction from me.

"Uh...you know that guy?"

"I...should...but...it's all...unclear."

I think I snapped out of it when he tried to order a beer...and the waitress informed them that there was no beer on Neo Arcadia. Wait. We weren't in Cubies in Video Land? This was still Neo Arcadia City? Why did we have a Cubies in Neo Arcadia City?

And then the jumps through time and space started again...and again...they were accelerating. We were having trouble keeping up with what was going on! How this was all connected. By the time I got my bearings, it had advanced from January all the way to October...and beyond.

Then things got weird with time when it started shifting forward and backward...jumping around all over the place.......and then I realized...this is exactly what Sans had said happened during Genocide Timelines. What was the significance here?

Then I remembered...but that was when I remembered too late.

Finally the timeline came to a stop. By that point we had witnessed all kinds of weird things. From dealing with the Mazoku, Xellos Metallium to seeing a "Mecha-Mario" sent by Dr Cossack (in reality sent by Dr. Robotnik) to try to stir things up...to the rise of a young Pokémon Master in the making... And the fall of his bitter rival, Blue Crystas, who had tried to join Ultra Crew under false pretenses. There were other things going on as well...too many to name...but then...everything...just...

"Where...where did it all go, Volt?"

The last thing we witnessed was Dr. Ivo Robotnik headed on a prison ship to Wario Galaxy Prison and Dr. Wily being tried, convicted and found guilty of too many crimes to list, short of murder and NSFW crimes. But enough to bury him with several consecutive life sentences.

There was the departure of everyone back to their respective worlds.

And finally General Leo returning from where he had come from.

I shook my head. "I wonder...did this place really exist or...was it...just an echo of something that once was?"

And that was when another tear in reality opened up...and I saw HIM."

"Adonis!" Asriel snapped.

"Oh, Volt Arcade...so close to the truth...and yet you couldn't be farther from it at the same time."

"Come down here and say that." I commanded.

"Nah.  Having too much fun watching your minds get blown by things that may or may not have happened.  Did you say hi to yourself, Volt?"

"Wait..are you saying...?  No way!  There's no way that's me.  When STC agents become immortal, the Goddess' contracts given them exclusive rights to our existence.  All instances of us in other universes cease to be when they combine to form one ultimate iteration of us.  The one and only.  Even you're subject to that unbreakable rule."

"Unbreakable, you say?  Ah...every rule has a loophole.  You never looked for them.  You just upheld order like a good little dog of the state."

A Full-Metal Alchemist reference.

"Don't you know...there is always an exception to everything even if you have to FORCE it." Adonis mused. "I can't wait to see you try to figure out how I pulled mine off." And then we were pulled into ANOTHER alternate flip-side version of our InfinityVerse...

Sub-Entry 382: "Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality, Part 2 - CNRPG in ListBot's Realm":
OOC: This sub-entry is dedicated to Kelly Harris' gone-but-not-forgotten Captain N Role Playing Game mailing list at what at one time was known as ListBot.

"...again." I pounded my fist into the...grass...?

"Where are we?" Asriel asked. "I mean THIS time..."

A look around. "Asriel...look!  Some place familiar!  That's Spectacle Rock!"

"Yeah!  That means we're in Hyrule!"

"But...whose Hyrule?  What Dimension?"

Silence for a bit.

At first I thought the answers wouldn't come any time soon...

It was that moment...I sensed something...it was like a scent...but it was in my head...in my mind. Like I was connected to another...like myself.

Elsewhere...

A line of paw prints in the desert sands marked the path that the greyish wolf had taken, a shortcut toward his destination. An odd sight to see a wolf in Hyrule...much less the desert of all places. But not unheard of. One telling of the Legend of Zelda had spoken of the Hero of Legend having the power to transform into a four-legged beast. But no...this was not him. This was...different.

Occasionally the wolf stopped to shake the sand out of its fur.

It recalled that there were some cliffs ahead that might offer some shade from the heat. It would be nightfall before he reached there.

It continued toward its destination...as it almost seemed to sense...something or someone was up ahead.

My ear twitched when I heard it. Not the wolf...but something else.

I knew that animal sound. It was an Aquarus. Native to...at least one known iteration of Hyrule. Which era, I couldn't say without consulting my notes.

Wild creatures, yes...but this one almost sounded like...it was domesticated...and worried...no...upset about something.

"Investigate?  Asriel offered.

"Let's."

Asriel assembled the NX Kart and we Double-Dashed it.

"Volt.  I got something on my scanner glass.  It's...an electronic I.D. Something odd about it, but for all practical purposes it's--"

"An Arcade Industries Electronic I.D.?"

"Well...yeah.  According to this, it's the Royal Roadster."

"Vi's Mobile Armored Strike Kommand vehicle...(which she plowed through the entrance of our headquarters...)"

"Hey, be fair.  She was being controlled.  But yeah.  Only it's not registered in the M.A.S.K. database.  In fact I can't find any record of us having any correspondence with Matt Trakker or the M.A.S.K. organization at all."

"So if that is the Royal Roadster, then Violet's probably piloting it?"

That was when I heard the engine approach at high speed and then the next thing I knew something jumped a large sand dune, soaring over us and a number of Leevers--those bloodsucking, mobile plants native to the Gerudo Desert--around us.

"Whoaaaaaah..." Asriel looked up  seeing the underside of the car as it landed far in front of us and continued driving off.

I...don't think they saw us. At all.

Oh right. SPECTRE function. Getting forgetful, Volt.

"Where do you suppose she's headed in such a hurry?"

"Probably the same place that Aquarus' cries are coming from."

"Huh...?  What's--"  Asriel suddenly turned away from  where we were headed.

"What is it, Azzy?"

"There!  Up there!"

He pointed to the sky.

"I don't....wait..." I adjusted my visor.

A fireball in the sky...something piercing the planet's atmosphere.

"A space craft?  Headed toward Hyrule--"  Then my eyes tripled when I recognized the shape.

"An ARWING!?" I gasped in disbelief.

"Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Peppy, Hare, or Slippy Toad?  Possible Krystal, Bill, or Katt Monroe?"

"No...the electronic I.D. is...unrecognizable but the signal is closest to the "64" era so..."

"Whatever's going on in this iteration of Hyrule, it's attracting a crowd--"

That was when my ears twitched. It was coming from ahead of us...way ahead of us. In fact it was almost on top of the Aquarus, which seemed to be heading away from where the echo of its voice had initially placed us.

I whirled in time to see what seemed to a portal.

Asriel grabbed onto me as if he sensed my instinct was to hide. This of course reminded me that we were still using the SPECTRE function.

"Why so jumpy?  It's not like whoever's coming can see us."

"I'm...not really sure." I cocked my head. It was the second time I felt this weird instinct. This jumpiness. Like...I was hesitant to face whatever was headed my way...? Weird.

"Hey look.  It's a...girl."

"Yeah...a mage?"

"No, I don't think so, Volt....I think she's like Lupe.  I think she's a druid."

The woman briefly stopped in her tracks and looked toward our position.

"She...can't see us, right...?" Asriel covered his mouth, now sharing my nervousness.

"Does she...sense our life force?"

I couldn't see under the hood...but the momentary scowl indicated she was confused about what drew her attention. There was nothing there. She turned and headed toward the Aquarus.

"She seems to have gotten to the Aquarius first.  And she seems to be leading it back to where it came from--

That was when I saw the Royal Roadster come to a stop not far from the druid and the Aquarus.

"Bunnie and Violet." I muttered. "Well, at least we got some familiar--"

That was when the sudden electromagnetic trio of explosions in the sky sounded out in a familiar pattern.

"What...?  The Delorean?" I gasped. "No way--"

But what appeared wasn't the Delorean. It was a conglomeration of many familiar vehicles in the former X-Vault...Ecto-1 in particular...but spliced seamlessly with a Nintendo 64 console...some much so that the hood and the headlights...the entire front end of the car looked like an N-64.

It came in on what I could definitely confirm was hover conversion. It was so many mashups yet...it felt like a giant four-wheeled advertisement for the Big N's third console.

"What...the heck is that?"

"Heads up, best friend!" Violet grinned. "The Ultramobile is here."

"Yee haw, Vi girl.  The boss man himself is here." That Southern drawl again. Why was our Bunnie the only one with an oriental accent...and the only one who didn't sound like the late Christine Cavanaugh?

Asriel looked at me. "Ultramobile?"

We had no such car back home. If anything I considered its design...even a little ridiculous by our own Violet's standards. But...it seemed to be functional, traveling through time, space, and dimension.

And sure enough, out stepped Garfield Arcade......wearing that familiar Northridge letterman jacket. But the logo on it...an N-64 logo?

Also...the Ultra Crew insignia on the back...it didn't match our own. It was...different...almost retro.

Garfield wasn't alone, either. Joining him were--

"Pit and Rock?  They look familiar but...not quite the same.  Where are the seams on Mega Man's suit?  And...Pit's hair...it's still brunette but...more plain...it's not spikey at all.  Even his outfit looks...simplified and understated."

Asriel was right. Rock looked more..."classic" and less "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate/Mega Man 11". And Pit looked....well...like a Pit who was an angel of Myths and Monsters.

I was dividing my attention between the rabbits and the angel and robot and my familiar father-figure....and the Aquarus who seemed to be guarding someone...an elfin young man unconscious in the sand...a breached canteen nearby...and lastly the green-robed druid. I was also noticing the ARWING circling around from where it had come down from the sky. It was headed toward our position.

We were all going to converge on the same spot.

When we did, I could make out the conversation.

"...my name is Dr. Garfield Powerhouse Arcade.  I am a Neo Arcadia Ultra Crew Game Master and these are the members of my crew; they're from different corners of the Omniverse.  Our mission is to serve and protect the Omniverse and its inhabitants.  we extend our services to those in trouble when they are in an impossible scenario or they are unable to handle a situation with their own friends, abilities and resources alone.  In short, we're kind of guardian angels of sorts.  we ask nothing in return for our services for striving for peace freedom, and justice is its own reward.  I assure you our intentions are both honorable and peaceful  Each of us has his or her own story to tell."

Asriel blinked. "Wow.  Have you EVER heard Garfield talk like that back home?  That was...a huge mouthful."

"And he's freely dumping a lot of info on a total stranger out of the blue.  Chameleon used to say we had the same naive problem in UCIAT, but...not to this over-obvious scale."

Each of them introduced themselves but...Asriel and I already knew their stories...everyone but the druid.

"My name is Alia Naturewing.  I am a travelling Druid from the forest outside of Universal City.  Most people confuse me with the detective , but that's because we're a lot like each other in many ways.  I'm currently travelling all dimensions until I receive my mastery in magic.  It is an honor meeting so many good warriors."

She said with a bow. But I was stunned by what I had heard.

"Universal...City...?" I paled a little. "Alia Naturewing...?  That name..."

It was familiar but it wasn't the trigger. Also...she name-dropped...her. The detective. The...Universal...Detective...!

"Again, Volt...whatever we're experiencing keeps clipping her name every time it's said."

"I've already given your friend, Link, some medication, but it's only temporarily until he receives better medical attention..."

"So that IS a Link!" I rubbed my chin. But Asriel was already linking his NX Board to his visor...and he was one step ahead of me.

"I've got a data file from this Ultramobile.  That Link that they're talking about is...another universe's Link.

I tried to divide my attention between Asriel and the group...the Aquarus--that unicorn-dragon creature seemed agitated. But not at the Ultra Crew or the druid attempting to help the elfin boy.

No...something else was out there. Not the ARWING pilot or the source of the wolf paw prints that we hadn't happened upon but...!

From nearby...

The wolf sat down and watched while everyone was arriving, finding all this to be very unusual. Seeing that the Hylian and somehow gotten here seemed odd, but the wolf just watched anyway. When introduction started and the Hylian seemed to be getting help, the wolf listened in still, but began to look around at the surrounding desert. It had been in this desert before, and something didn’t seem right... that strange scent, and the familiar scent, the wolf had detected earlier was still in the air, even here. The wolf half-expected the introductions to be interrupted by one of Hyrle's desert creatures...

He wasn't the only one who sensed it.

Some sort of warning went off in Alia's head. She whipped around trying to figure out where the source of these strange vibes were coming from. She threw back her hood and let her long, brown hair fall to its true length, past her waist. By doing so, she gave her 6th sense a smore clear way to find that strange source.

"Is...something wrong?" Garfield asked.

My ears perked up as I sniffed. "Oh no..." I uttered.

"Volt?" Asriel looked at me.

Alia and the wolf had realized the same thing. Her golden-brown eyes widened with a dreadful realization; something was moving through the sands--something big and hungry--and was headed right for them!

And soon the alternate Bunnie chimed in; informing her own sixth sense picked up on it as well...and whatever it was, was big enough to eat an entire mob.

That was when the Ultra Crew all armed their weapons. But the one that stood out to me was--

"That...accelerator pack!" I can't believe I didn't notice the N-64 likeness of the tri-linear positron accelerator strapped to Garfield's back...one that led to a large power cord connected to the N-64 looking power pad on his belt buckle.

He grabbed it and pressed the oval logo switch above the start button and the whole thing fired up as the rounded dome shutters on top of the controller where the wire should have come out from; opened up. A neon orange plasma cutter beam saber ignited from the nozzle/barrel that popped out of the open shutters.

"That looks like one of my sabers but...like a way older model." Asriel looked at me.

I noticed Bunnie had partly roboticized and...summoned another amalgamation of X and Zero armors put together in a beast of a robotic body from the neck down. Violet had her Thunder Spear out. Pit was already wearing the Three Sacred Treasures...and Mega Man had Thunder Beam loaded.

There was a lot of group consensus and confident bluster among them all before the creature made its appearance.

Alia suddenly unbuttoned her green robe and let it drop to the ground, revealing her pure, shimmering white outfit, resembling a traveling dress...and a pair of white dove-like wings unfolded from her back. She immediately drew a long sword--a double-bladed katana that shown with a fierce light.

"It's coming closer..."Chaosbreaker only glows if anything evil comes this way."

"Whoa.  Lord of the Rings moment." Asriel mused.

Considering this was Hyrule...the approaching creature was likely a giant sandworm. If memory serves, one entry in Lupe's extended database qualified: a geldarm.

By this point Asriel was distracted by everything that he neglected to tell me what he had intercepted from the Ultra mobile’s onboard computers about this AU version of Link.

And low and behold the sand worm erupted from the sand and attacked. And everyone went to town on it.

As the battle raged on I intercepted a transmission by Garfield. It seemed he was calling for backup but splitting the team up. Where was he sending some of them...?

"We should lay low.  Not interfere with this timeline, right?" Asriel questioned.

"Yeah...yeah, probably." I noted...but I was distracted. By this time I sensed the wolf. And I think it sensed me...somehow.?

Was there something...transcending time and space that was allowing us to connect on some mental or instinctive level.

Thus...

The wolf had sat back and watched quietly while the battle began. Pit had indicated their weapons weren't geared for Hyrule.

I sensed the wolf turn and pad away a distance...before it happened. That glowing blue aura around it...what was this sudden power?

A moment later the wolf's form had completely changed to that of a humanoid garbed in grey and black...his outfit was similar to the Link from Zelda II: Adventure of Link...but without the hat, a different belt, shorter boots, and a headband that secured a grey cloth; no doubt to protect against the desert heat. And finally the lower portion of his face was covered with a black cloth which acted as a mask.

Calmly and relaxedly, he draw a bow...one right out of the first Legend of Zelda game...nocked an arrow and fired it straight into the Geldarm's head. All from his vantage point atop the cliff that he had staked out from.

That immediately drew some of the team's attention. As well as Asriel's.

The man simply spoke five words:  "Hit it in the head." And low and behold, Garfield relayed the command just as two more Ultra Crew agents arrived on scene via some kind of warp zones.

"Aunt Sally?"

"And isn't that the cashier from the pizzeria in Little Tokyo?  Francine--"

"Welcome to the party, Sally Acorn and Francine Tabbyworth." Violet welcomed them aboard.

At that moment, everyone did what I called the "Kitchen Sink" strategy. Because the absolute flood of weapons and attacks could have blown a city off the map. And as they flew toward the head, that was when the ARWING had suddenly touched down and I watched the hatch for its weapons payload open up before firing what I immediately recognized as a pair Nova Bombs.

"Oh crud...!" I suddenly tackled Asriel to the ground and covered our eyes.

The flash was blinding for a few moments but when we looked again, the worm uttered a final death wail before...dissolving in that familiar VideoLand 8-bit blip.

I'd noticed that Bunnie and Alia had left the party. I'd retroactively find out that they were going to investigate a fortress that they had learned about from Link's thoughts.

When the action died down, Asriel showed it to me--Link’s bio.

"Wait wait wait...let me see that." I held the NX board's screen close. This is what it read:

NAME:  Lincoln Anthony Brashion, "Link".

AGE: 17

Height: 5'9"

Hair: Dark brown, with reddish tinge.

Eyes: Dragonwood left green.

Weapon: Magical sword--Origin unknown--predecessor: Master Sword.

Other: Magical boomerang, bag of rupees, whistle/"recorder", clock, red candle, step ladder, magic raft, long bow, bombs, magic shield, magic book, Red ring, enemy bait, letter, water of life, magic rod, and the Triforce of Courage.

Clothing: brown pants and undershirt, green jerkin, green floppy cap, brown suede leather boots, matching brown gloves.

Abilities: Limited telepathy, limited short-range teleportation, musical talent, ability to use magical items.

''"Darren":  An Aquarus not native to Death Mountain. Darren became Link's transportation and companion after his loyal steed, Catherine was killed by the dam.''

"Yup.  Definitely no Link that's existed in the Hylian timeline.  At least in our universe."

A moment of pondering back and forth before Asriel asked about--

"That person...who was it that shot that arrow.

He was already gone...without a trace.

"It's strange.  I sensed him with my wolf instincts...and...his scene was very much wolf...but...something about him didn't...seem like any wolf, werewolf, or human I've encountered."

"But you have that look like you have a theory."

"Yeah...actually...it's more like a legend.  A traveler.  A mysterious traveler whispered in old lore among STC.  Most everyone thinks it's just a fable or fairy tale but......there are those of us who believe in the myth of the one known as Lone Wulf."

"Huh...something to add to Rotor's conspiracy theories?"

"There's...more...I think...he sensed me through the veil of time and space...a lot more definitively than the druid."

"Then...we've changed the timeline?"

"Maybe...maybe not.  It's hard to say how much of a temporal footprint we've left.  The butterfly effect is very temperamental.

A moment passed before...

"Wait!  The ARWING pilot!" Asriel reminded. We both whirled in time to see him leave the cockpit.

"Hey, what's up?  I'm Captain N."

Kevin? Kevin Keene? No...at least not our Kevin Keene or the other Videoland's Kevin Keen. This third one...dirty blond.

"So there is an alternate reality.  You must be the Kevin Keene from that third dimensional reality Odie discovered."

"The Dimensional Triumvirate..." I blurted out.

"Hey...you said there was another core dimension besides the UltraVerse and Universal City..." Asriel began before a confused Kevin interrupted our thoughts.

"Say what?"

Garfield started from the beginning and explained before suggesting a team-up.

"Okay, if that's what you want."

As Asriel and I took in the aftermath of the action that had wound down, another surprise dropped in. An ambulance in the likeness of a Game Boy handheld? In the same way the Ultramobile resembled its respective console...this one looked like one of those modded consoles...but done to a car. Seriously...how was this UC getting away with this kind of product placement...then again with Azzy's Switch Board, who were we to talk?

"M...Mom?" I watched as Nermal exited the Game Boy Ambulance, in cheerleader dress, sandals, and doctor's coat over top of it. Okay, our Nermal wouldn't just wear her old high school outfit while on the job, all casual-like, much less with a doctor's coat and stethoscope.

As the group settled on a plan to catch up to Bunnie and Alia, Kevin smirked as he was seemingly giving the group a large head start.

"Dudes, nothing is faster than me and my Glove."

I caught the briefest glimpse of a Nintendo Power Glove on his hand...but it was like no Power Glove I'd ever seen. If anything...it looked like it was an N-64 update. And then Asriel and I saw a blur that managed to overshoot alternate Sally's Overdrive Sandal speed.

"Huh."

"Yeah.  Huh." We both decided not to mention this to...oh right! Home! By now the Major and the others have probably been informed!"

As we watched the drama play out with Lincoln being treated in the Game Boy Ambulance, Nermal grew increasingly panicked before the scent of Lone Wulf returned. By the time I zeroed in on him, he had already entered the ambulance and seemed to be assisting Nermal somehow.

No sooner had THAT happened another portal dropped a second young druid in on Nermal. This one going by the name of Miya Goldenheart--apparently best friend of Alia Naturewing and a gifted healer.

"We have...so much to take in--"

But we didn't get the chance.

"What?  Here, too?!" I watched the sudden time skip.

When we looked again...!

"Uhgh...what did we--"  Asriel started. "...miss?" His eyes widened.

We were outside of a ghost house...in Dinosaur Land?

"Super Mario World?"

"Looks like it.  How much time has elapsed?"

"And what about Link...er...Lincoln?"

"Every time I hear that name I immediately default to the Loud House, Goat Son."

Asriel grinned. Then turned serious. "Whatever's going on, they must've fixed him up because look!" He pointed to where Lincoln was entering the ghost house with Pit and Rock. Though we'd find out they just went by "Kid Icarus" and "Mega Man"...just like the N-Team back in VideoLand.

And then the doors slammed shut...and the weather around us turned...REALLY nasty.

"Ughh...rain...and wind...and thunder and lightning." Asriel forged the NX gear into a hard light umbrella.

"At least it's not snowing."

"C'mon, let's--"  Asriel tried to drift through the door...only to--

"OOFF!  Oww...that...hurt!"

"This is...highly illogical and defies the laws of space-time physics.  What happened?"

Whatever force was inside the house...supernatural in all probability...it was somehow transcending space-time.

"What do we do?"

"Well, our first instinct is to help them, but STC protocol says let's not get involved or we could--

This little time-jump didn't last long. Before we knew it we time-skipped again.

"Wait!  What about--"  Asriel was reasonably worried about Mega Man and Kid Icarus.

For that matter what became of Violet and the others?

Now where were we...?

"I don't believe it...we're back here again?" This house...it was the same one we were in in the "Mirror Warp Underground" AU we left behind.

"Lucky."

I recognized that voice. The girl!

I dragged Asriel down the staircase. No way was I missing out on this.

Sure enough, she had landed on what appeared to be a couch. There was as recliner in front of it. A crude TV entertainment center at the far north wall, barely a few steps away from the couch and a table with the lamp on it. Opposite the table with the lamp was a small wooden rectangular table with several game consoles CRAMMED onto it. The latest ones appearing to be a Sega Dreamcast, a Sega Saturn, an N-64, a Super NES and underneath it an NES.

"This looks like something I would have owned--"  I whapped myself when I realized. "Duh.  It probably is--"

"Um, who are you?" I recognized my own voice come from the far south end of the room just in front of the door to the bathroom...in fact in front of a kind of makeshift computer desk area with an older model PC with a CRT type monitor, an older printer-scanner, and all kinds of other stuff that looked vintage.

Yup. Same 5'5", jet black haired, glasses-wearing Harry Potter-ish looking male in plain clothes.

"Uh, hi!"

I turned in the direction of the girl, who had already gotten to her feet. Waist-length golden brown hair, long Swedish legs...petite figure........wait a minute...there was...something familiar about her...familiar that I couldn't put my finger on.

Her hair was done up in a Roll-style pony-tail.

But the more I tried to study her features...the less I seemed to process...the more it seemed like her appearance was being muted...or censored out...?

"I'm .  Sorry for dropping in unexpectedly."

"Hi.  From the looks of things I'd say you had a bit of a falling out.  Are you okay?"

"A little shaken up, very hyper, both otherwise fine."

"Hmm...I didn't hear any doors of windows open, so that means you've arrived here by teleportation or magic of some sort."

"Actually SOMEONE decided to take the time and magic to put me here." the girl placed her hands on her hips, looking rather annoyed.

"I'm Neil Coleman.  College student, Supermarket produce clerk, internet user, MIDI-collector, and video game player.  And you are, again?"

Asriel put his hand on my shoulder. "I have a hard time picturing you as someone who stocks fruits and veggies." He said with a sly smirk.

I rolled my eyes.

"...what's a MIDI?" Asriel asked. Okay, NOW I feel old.

"Neil?  It's me!  "

"From the Captain N/Zelda Message Board?" That was when I noticed my younger counterpart look a little faint and definitely blushing in the cheeks.

"Shy around girls, on the other hand...that I'd believe." Asriel jabbed with a chuckle.

"Laugh it up, Goat Son.  You dating anyone yet?"

He clammed up at that...but still kept grinning.

I'd soon confirm that this girl was in fact the Universal Detective...from the Sister Universe. But...why was I having so much trouble remembering? And...why didn't this feel the same as when I did think of the former Universal City that Adonis had wiped out?

A long explanation revealed to Azzy and me just how much we had missed.

"We got jumped by a large group of moblins..  I wore myself out by imitating the Ginzusihio, aka Silver Imperium Crystal in the English version of Sailor Moon.  Two more members of my team, James Bond and Queen Serenity arrived there via a dimensional rip thanks to Raiden-sama.  After the battle, we took a break and I drank two cans of something called "Turbo Cola".  Alia called up and said that Chaos, the Fifth and Final head bad guy in the Japanese version of Sailor Moon had just been banished to the realm of no return by the gods themselves; Zander got turned back to a good Druid; and the greater evil managed to find us and split us all up--hence the reason why I'm here at your house."

The girl took a deep breath. "Sorry if that explanation was too long."

Asriel and I looked at each other. We were both way lost. But she did mention a greater evil and something about moblins--native to Hyrule.

Maybe this "Greater Evil" had something to do with the fortress that Bunnie and Alia went on to explore?

A lot of back and forth before younger Neil asked.

"So how do you want to pass the time while the Jump Gate charges?"

"Definitely video games."

Asriel muffled a chuckle.

"Girl after my own heart." I shrugged...a weird familiarity setting in...when I was younger I usually got the same vibe when I was out on a date with--

Again the timeline dropped us somewhere...and some-when...else.

"Yeow!" Asriel gasped.

"Hmm.  Warm in here." I wagged my tail happily.

"Oh gods...even Hotland was never this sweltering...how can you stand it?"

I reciprocated at Asriel bringing up Hotland so casually. It did confirm he had been there in his early childhood...but speaking of it like it was fresh in memory......yeah...we still had to talk about how much of my memories he had been bumping around in his head.

Conversely...I had a few of his memories that I was...reluctant to pry into, as well.

This couldn't be healthy for our friendship. Knowing each other's secrets but...too afraid to share what we were thinking.

"Fortunately, I have a good idea where we are now.  Inside Death Mountain."

"Death Mountain?  From--"

"I think it's Ocarina of Time." I rubbed my chin as I noticed the crescent moon emblem. They had a passing resemblance to flags of the Middle East on Earth. I didn't think much else into it. The matter at hand was far more pressing than debating Earth culture influencing game worlds.

That's when I heard it a few chambers down.

"Let me out of this thing!

Asriel looked a little on edge. It was obvious why. He recognized the voice as well.

"Ganon?"

"Oh boy...we're in for--"

"Francine, release him from the beam."

Garfield's voice now.

"Okie-dokie!" That sounded like Francine Manx. But if memory served correct didn't Garfield say her name was "Francine Tabbyworth?

""Sorry about the Gravity Beam. we didn't know if you were okay. We didn't have a stretcher with us."

"Hold up...are we...HELPING Ganon, the King of Evil?" I looked at Asriel kind of funny.

"There's...nothing wrong with extending help to those who need it...but...I get what you're saying.  Why is Ultra Crew helping a supervillain?"

"Or is it the other way around?" I narrowed my eyes as we picked our way through the corridors and came upon the open area.

"Heroes...always true to their word.  What happened, anyway... I don't recall doing anything that would knock me out."

"Link must've hit his head.  You were fine one moment then you suddenly collapsed as if someone smashed you in the back of the head with a Louisville Slugger...er...a club."

"I am STILL going to kill whoever made this life force connection between me and that boy.  I will not allow this to go unpunished."

Okay...we were a long way off from figuring out what this was about, but this was a clue that started to make things make a little more sense. I think Asriel was putting it together as well; what happened to Lincoln Brashion before.

And then the appreciation of the irony hit me so hard I almost smirked and let out a chuckle. Karma was a weird thing but if Fate was at play? Even for her this was the weirdest of her plot twists. When you think about it...what more could you say about a curse that connects two mortal enemies together? Like Tomax and Xamot, the identical twins of the terrorist organization, Cobra...it was a telepathic link (and a clever pun) where what happened to one affected the other.

Immediately, it occurred to me that Violet would be dying to know what would happen if Ganon or Lincoln got drunk while this curse was in effect.

That was when I could identify who was in the group.

Garfield? Check. Francine? Check. Ganon...er...check. Samus Aran? Didn't expect her to be here...but considering the Varia Suit, she was a perfect choice. And...

"Egon?" I cocked my head as sure enough I saw Dr. Egon Spengler in his jumpsuit and proton pack with the group.

"The more we see, the less I feel like we understand." Asriel shrugged.

"The more we see, the more I really don't want to hang back on the sidelines, outside of time and space.  But...as tempting as it would be to interact with them and learn a lot more..."

"Yeah....rules of time-travel." Asriel frowned. Asriel then recapped what he overheard while the two of us were conversing.

"Collecting Magic Bottles and a digital recording of the Song of Time?" I rubbed my chin. "Wow, preparedness really runs in the family.  It's eye-opening seeing Garfield in his prime as a Game Master."

"The readings are getting stronger.  The Moblin is definitely on the move...the heat's starting to affect the mapping unit.  I can't get a lockdown on WHERE exactly he is.  It looks like he's headed toward this Boss Key that Dragmyre mentioned."

"Dang!  We got to beat him to it!"

"If he finds that key he could awaken Volvagia and set the dragon loose on Hyrule." Ganon warned. "If Volvagia gets outside the mountain, it could burn all of this world to the ground.   Normally I might not mind that, but not when I'm not the one responsible!"

Asriel crossed his arms and shook his head while I rolled my eyes. "Old villain habits..." I grumbled.

This section of the timeline lasted longer and we were able to follow them all through the temple until we reached Volvagia. Though there were some intermittent skips which...left a few details for us to figure out...like why Simon Belmont was suddenly with the group?

"You know, we could probably study a lot from a good old fashioned boss fight." Asriel continued to hover on with the NX Switchboard while I made use of electro morph arcs akin to Fuse Man's short bursts of speed.

But in that moment the timeline hiccupped and we found ourselves...somewhere else.

"What?  CastleVania now?" I gasped.

"This timeline is really messed up, isn't it?"

"Yeah...it's really random...almost--"  I stopped abruptly. "Chaotic." I snarled just as Adonis's image appeared before us.

"You!" I snapped.

"Enjoying the walk down memory lane?"

"What are you talking about?  Nothing like this ever happened in the UltraVerse!"

"Oh ye of little clue...how much have you buried deep?"

"You plan, whoever you stole it from, lacks substance, direction, and a POINT." Asriel stared him down, rather calmly.

"Oh my...finally the goat is sounding less like a naive little cinnamon roll and doing a better impression of his late sister."

"Watch it." Asriel warned. "I'm just pointing out the facts.  If you've got an end game for this, I hope it's a better concept than just confuse us with alternate UltraVerse timelines that shouldn't exist according to Volt."

"And yet they do...or perhaps the did?  It's hard to sway which is the case."

"What are you babbling about?" I growled.

"This is the disadvantage of a white knight who didn't read the fine print of this game.  You think that there are rules.  That is by far the most amusing belief of yours that you've yet to outgrow."

"And you're fooling yourself if you think that the rules you don't believe in won't be enforced the moment you break one so taboo that you get the creators of the other dimensions you've crossed to--"

"You really think they can be bothered with trivialities after so long of abandoning their own creations for so long.  Is it any wonder why atheism is becoming more and more common?"

"There's a difference between atheism and nihilism, Adonis."

Why was he suddenly hung up on religion? Neither of us considered ourselves particularly religions...but even I had a line I considered blasphemy. That line was oddly enough the reason I had no qualms about disrespecting Madam Fate but that was a whole other can of worms.

"Whatever idea you have to torture us, it won't work.  We've already overcome our worst nightmares."

"You're so quick to be inclusive, goat boy.  But the difference in life experiences between you and your...heheh...best friend over there is nearly infinite.  Before this is over...you'll come to understand just how many wellsprings of bad memories, fears, and failures he doesn't even remember he's got locked away."

"You're bluffing." I growled.

"Am I now?  Well.  Perhaps I was too ambitious trying to break the both of you down at the same time.  If this pays off...breaking you first will be the more satisfying challenge, old friend.  Then the goat will be next while he embarks on the same struggle to snap you out of it...that you went through to bring him back in Edge City.

Things don't have to make sense to be working...but...uh...stick around. You'll wish they still didn't make sense when it all becomes clear..."

And Adonis vanished.

That was when we saw Princess Zelda...at least...I think it was Princess Zelda? At least...if it WAS her...this was no incarnation I'd ever seen before. Considering how acid-punk she was dressed to the point of being trashy....yeah. I easily believed that she was from the same realm as Lincoln Brashion.

"Volt, I just tapped into sensei...er...well...Bunnie's personal data computer com-link...aside from minor incompatibility errors, I dug up a name on her mission summary--Zelda...Edward...Thorton."

"Edward?" I arched an eyebrow and wrinkled my lip in a "what the heck" expression. "Definitely from Lincoln's realm."

Goat Son had jarred my memory. We just saw her go by and she wasn't alone...that was Captain Falcon from F-Zero with her! But...why are they in CastleVania...and why was Bunnie headed right toward them...when did Bunnie get separated from Alia Naturewing? Too many questions...and this broken timeline wasn't helping!

I sniffed around. "Someone else is nearby...smells like...half vampire, half human."

"Adrian Fahrenheit.  'Alucard'."

"Then they might have allies joining them soon.  They'll need it if they're headed toward Dracula." Asriel reminded me as we dove into the castle behind them. I could hear Bunnie's sandals clopping behind us. She would catch up to Captain Falcon and Zelda pretty quick.

It reminded me...that if the year was about when I thought it was...then the first Super Smash Bros. nexus tournament was STARTING around now. It felt like that could be another clue that fit into the big picture somehow.

The next parts of the timeline were riddled with jump-skips making nearly impossible to tell what was going on or who joined up when. But by that point we were traveling, unbeknown to the likes of Zelda, Captain Falcon, Princess Lana, Bunnie Rabbot, and Alucard. And we had reached the top tower of CastleVania 64. We arrived just in time for Malus to reveal himself. Some things were said, some mishaps were had, and at some point Lana had been temporarily turned into a vampire. Yeah...things were happening too fast for us to keep track of. When the timeline finally stabilized were all looking up at Dracula's true final form...a giant dragon-centipede beast. And were in a burning desert wasteland under dark blood red clouds.

Up to this point we had preserved the timeline...but Dracula's true form...saw through the veil of space and time...and Asriel and I were most certainly not exempt from being attacked.

At some point we had even been joined by UCIAT co-foundered, Ivan Vectorgraphinski...oh wait...in this dimension he was called Ivan Ninteganovski......okay...one's just as contrived as the other. But who am I to judge?

"WHOAH!  His fireballs are miniature atomic nukes?!" Asriel had yanked me onto the board and we went skidding  into the ground after wiping out almost a half a mile away. He'd gotten a good speed on the NX Board once when he saw the blast coming.

The others of the group had been blasted up into the air. And one by one, they all landed in a heap, with Bunnie on the bottom. They had gotten tossed as f

"I...think we should've brought Kevin after all..." Lana rubbed her head.

Which one? Our retired Kevin, the alternate VideoLand Kevin, or Glove Kevin?

Alucard was first to rise...and then I immediately realized he wasn't the Symphony of the Night version...but rather the Captain N surfer bum with the shades and bat-shaped skateboard...okay then. Call Wayne and Garth, because this dude's definitely not worthy.

It got hard to catch all of what was being said in between the barrage of attacks, but I could tell Asriel was cringing at Alucard's stoner surfer talk and accent.

At some point, however, Bunnie got wise that Dracula was attacking something or someone who didn't appear to be there...but I think she started to sense our presence.

"Whoever y'all are...ah don't think hidin' is the best course of action right now.  C'mon and join in the fisticuffs, sugah!"

Asriel and I looked at each other.

"The jig is up..." I sighed and we both yanked the Hazard Cards, once we were all behind cover.

"Who in the hoo-ha are--"

"No time to explain.  Just call me Volt and call him Asriel.  If we get a chance after this, I'll tell you what we're allowed to."

"We all seem to be on the same side." Lana knelt down, Power Scepter in hand.

"Let us keep the chatter brief, comrades." Ivan winged a pair of smoke bombs to cover our next dash out of the range of Dracula's attacks.

"Doesn't he ever die?" Falcon grimaced, striking a heroic defensive pose.

"He melted the Nexxus Armor's static probe!" Bunnie looked at the damaged parts of her Mega Man X armor.

"Allow me." Asriel converted the NX Board and displayed every Heads Up Display he could get a bead on...including everyone's life force gauges, weapons readouts, and other vital data...not to mention Dracula's life bar...and it was only half empty.

"Oh mah stars...so advanced!" Bunnie cocked her head.

"You shouldn't be laying eyes on it in this era...but all things considering, this isn't the first time we've mucked up a timeline by accident." I growled as I unleashed both of my twin plasma vulcans into Dracula's maw.

"I am in big trouble..." Falcon grimaced as he was nearly depleted.

"Here.  Bio-Cort ration." I quickly injected him in the arm. His life gauge immediately went up to full.

Asriel hopped on the board and fired up a huge Taiyoudama before lugging it down Dracula's throat.

"Azzy!" I magnetically reeled him in as Lana used the Power Scepter to bat away a shot that got too close to Zelda.

"C'mon...c'mon...!" I fired back with lightning and explosive horseshoe magnet constructs I had been figuring out how to make with my powers recently after experimentation in the Hazard Lab.

Finally Dracula gave up the ghost.

"No!  It cannot be!  ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!" And Dracula was sucked down into a gateway into what I presumed was Hell itself.

Moments later a warp zone opened underneath everyone else, while leaving Asriel and myself behind.

"Wait!  We didn't even get to say goodbye--!" Lana cried out, reaching for us.

"Ah don't know who they are...but ah hope we'll meet again...!" Bunnie said as she just accepted that they were going somewhere else while we were probably going to be stuck in--

* FLASH*

Our reappearance this time seemed to indicate we went back through the timeline by a short amount. Time was usually a linear progression, but I'd certainly seen many instances where it...took two steps forward and one step back.

We were outside of what seemed to be a meeting of Moblins...but they weren't...dullards like history books had painted them...they were unusually intelligent. Too much so to be normal.

Asriel and I had already integrated with the timeline so our presence was permanent. But we could still step outside of time and space with the SPECTRE function. So we did so. Once inside the meeting...Asriel's visor immediately picked up on some of the Moblins who...weren't actually moblins but Garfield and company using some outdated but still effective form of UCIAT digital imagine disguises. Convincing enough that they had fooled the people in the room.

We listened in and collected plenty more clues.

It was boring discussion about stomping out weaklings and recruiting others from Ganon's ranks who hadn't joined them. But what about set a disguised Ganon off was that they planned to make a move on the three Triforces; pretty much digging their already deep graves even deeper now that their "former master" was among them and primed to exact his revenge.

Asriel and I kept quiet, simply on instinct, despite the fact we had no temporal footprint here. I soon grew disturbed how much these Moblin traitors in Ganon's operation knew...and how effectively they were tracking everyone all over the realms--Lone Wulf was still with Nermal and Miya Goldenheart. They were well aware that Garfield and the others were attempting to find the "Moblin Traitor".

Then they name-dropped Dr. Wily and something about robot clones. That was definitely info we were missing.

It was right about the time that the treasonous faction began a toast to their "dearly departed former master"...which only pushed Ganon's temper to its limit. And that was when all Hell broke loose as Garfield and the team dropped the disguises and everyone prepared for an all-out war. But the moment Ganon revealed himself...suffice to say... a lot of Moblins lost their nerve...

And then it became a slaughter that even Goat Son and I weren't comfortable with seeing. This seemed...unorthodox for Ultra Crew to take part in but...I'd later deduce this was part of the temporary truce with Ganon. He would allow an alliance with...heroes...for a common goal...but he wanted REVENGE in return. Revenge on his forces who dared take another master over him. How and why Ultra Crew would make such a deal with the devil was...truly something to ponder.

When it all ended.

"That was...hard to watch." Asriel looked pale.

"Oh yeah." I cringed.

We didn't have time to rest on our laurels. Another jump skip landed us in the middle of the battle with Volvagia. Yet another of Ganon's servants who'd turned against him and was serving a new greater evil.

A spell of Ganon's while fighting the beast however somehow knocked our SPECTRE systems offline which meant.

"We've got more company!"

"Wait!  We're on your side!" Asriel held up his hands.

"Surely you will not be so naive to take the word of strangers we know nothing about!" Ganon warned, not trusting us. After all, we weren't part of the deal and it seemed like the deal was suddenly getting amended.

"I don't have time to explain, Da...er...Garfield."

"Okay my reputation precedes me.  You know my name and my crew, apparently.  But we're in a really intense battle and--"

"ONE-NINE-SEVEN-EIGHT-POOKY!" I suddenly said without warning.

"..."  Garfield looked me dead in the eyes.

"Only immediate Ultra Crew knows that code.  You've got explaining to do, later.  But for now...I can safely say I trust you my life.  All of our lives."

"Rock n' Roll!" Asriel fist-pumped as he reshaped the NX gear into his take on the Megaton Hammer.

"What's going on, Garfield?" Francine gaped.

"Hmm..." Egon rubbed his chin.

"I don't know...but he's definitely one of us...somehow."

"Perhaps he is from an alternate realm?" Simon spoke up.

Everyone looked at him, surprised by his insight. I was guessing Simon wasn't very bright in this universe but far more humble than the VideoLand one with the pimpy hair.

"Doesn't matter.  Just as long as they don't get in our way." Samus growled before unleashing an Ice Beam. "This freak is no Ridley!"

We all attacked the lava dragon. Asriel was quick to coach on deciphering its pattern, as Ocarina of Time was a favorite game of his...well, actually he liked Majora's Mask better but...I'm getting off track.

Finally the pressure of all our combined attacks including Ganon's deadliest spells eradicated the lava beast and its bones crumbled to black ash.

By that time Asriel and I were already being pulled into the next piece of the timeline.

"Hey..." I gave a half wave to Garfield. "Pretty high tech-cellent...huh?" I said, from an unknown instinct or memory. I gave a thumbs up.

Garfield's eyes widened for a moment...then he returned the thumbs-up before the breach between time segments sealed back up.

"Who were they?" Francine scratched the back of her helmeted head.

"True heroes." Garfield replied as if he had a subconscious thought about what had just happened.

A series of stops back and forth through the timeline would have us catching up to Kid Icarus, Mega Man, and Lincoln. Things happened, things were said, bonds were forged...and at some point they had un-submerged Bowser Koopa's abandoned Doom Ship from the bottom of the ocean outside of the island where Neon Castle had been left to collect dust.

To make a long story short? With elbow grease and a lot of tech from Dr. Light, the three of them had managed to rebuild the ship into a flying airship that Asriel described as being out of the anime, Odin: Photon Sailor Starlight/Odin: Starlight Mutiny. Even down to its solar sails. And they were flying it to parts unknown. And at another point even Gadget Hackwrench had joined up with them. My little sister existed in this realm, too? Only...now she wasn't my adopted sister. She was part of Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers...and Ultra Crew, too?

In between their adventures, Lincoln found himself in a pseudo version of Super Smash Bros. At some point Bunnie had gotten separated from Zelda while Lincoln had gotten separated from Kid Icarus and Mega Man. Only for Lincoln and Bunnie to join forces in a battle that took them all the way to Master Hand...at least one of them. It was all a blur and making less and less sense...just as Adonis intended. Bunnie ended up leaving the battlefield, now carrying the Triforce of Courage with her...but refusing to bond with it. She had every intention of returning it to Link.

At some point we jumped a lot farther into the future where we encountered the villainous Ninja Fetch'd...an evil Pokémon ninja who was able to go webbed-toe-to-toe with Polly Ester.

We'd encounter the name of pure evil--Ratamahoo and learn that he...or it...had Mother Brain under his/its control.

As it turned out...the last stop on the timeline would be the one that would bring it all back to my Earth counterpart and the Universal Detective girl.

By this time...several of the groups separated across realms and worlds had come together in the town of Ruto.

And it seemed the greater evil had resurrected one of Ganon's greatest creations and servants...Phantom Ganon. And he was out for a bloodthirsty slaughter with an army.

"Volt...!" Asriel pointed to someone on the frontlines with Garfield.

"It's you!"

Rather it was my younger counterpart, standing with the Universal Detective among the large ranks of allies all united under Garfield and Ganon.

I don't know why I did...but I wondered if I could make out my counterpart's scent. I wasn't prepared for my realization.

"My counterpart is...human."

"Well he's probably not--"

"No....I mean COMPLETELY human."

"Well...is it that surprising?"

Surprising wasn't the word. I suddenly felt worry. As a lycanthrope, I had powers to fall back on...but if he was going into war? If he was from Earth? I couldn't help but hope that he had some kind of ace up his sleeve besides the experimental Sega Dreamcast quadrilinear accelerator, power pad, and Dreamcast Chaingun Cannon he was hefting...barely.

It must be a universal thing for version of me to really like chainguns and vulcans...huh.

The battle was grueling and Phantom Ganon fought as a beast.

The heated exchange between Ganon and Phantom Ganon was beyond vicious and hate-filled. At every point each of us was finding Phantom Ganon far more powerful than we'd believe was possible. What greater evil had resurrected him and what power did they give him?

At some point even Lone Wulf went toe-to-toe with the evil phantom.

Asriel looked at me with those doe eyes...the ones glowing yellow. I knew what was on his mind. Justice. We had to help. We were already part of this timeline.

Asriel jumped it before I could undo my SPECTRE function.

"Who's that?"

"Don't know, but he's got wicked firepower!" Princess Violet assured Sally and Nermal.

"And took notes from Back to the Future 2." She added with a shrug.

I fiddled with my bracer. "C'mon, c'mon...!"

But in that moment the distraction came when I saw my counterpart blasted to the ground and he landed at my feet. I was still outside of space-time so I couldn't help him until I got the darn SPECTRE function to shut down.

Something had tumbled from his belt. Some kind of...power item I had never seen before in ANY game. Looked...custom-sprited...custom programmed. What fan game did he get that from...?

I had noticed the girl was in a tight spot as well. Phantom Ganon's forces were starting to push us back...knock us down...and moments from reaping their first casualties.

My human counterpart finally got up as the icon had been picked up and hot-potato-ed around during the chaos.

"It's now or never...!" He said before snagging the item and activating it.

I wasn't prepared for the transformation. There was a flash of light...a crackle of lightning...a boom of thunder...and the sound of clothing ripping...

"No way..." I realized it when my counterpart's scent changed.

I also smelled the ionic buildup. What I was smelling...sensing...feeling...experiencing...was my own powers......an echo of my own powers.

And the electromagnetic shockwave in the air was enough to jolt the SPECTRE function to start shutting down.

Before I realized it, he was bearing down on a downed Universal Detective.

"Oh no...no, don't you dare give in to the animal inside--!" I was suddenly scared that my other self wouldn't be able to handle the werewolf's nature...was this what Jon was always afraid of?

I tensed up as he opened his mouth and inhaled for what I thought was going to be a loud howl...when suddenly he grabbed the back of his neck and cracked his head to the side, the bones cracking a bit.

Silver gi and sandals...but no lab coat. No shirt and tie underneath. Hmm.

"Holy SCHNIKEES, that smarts.  Man, that transformation will give you suuuuch a crick in the neck!" He said, doing an impression of Robin Williams' Genie from Aladdin.

Wait. What? Okay that was totally a Violet move...but I felt relief. My younger counterpart was in control of himself, after all. Thank the Goddess. Also "holy schnikees" was still a thing back then. Nice. I wonder what other personality quirks I might share...?

The girl laughed a little nervously as my younger self extended a hand-paw to help her up.

He helped her to her feet and there was a momentary blush between them both...though it was hard to tell what with the fur covering it up...maybe it was an anime thing?

"Yo!  Volt!   Snap out of it and join the fray!" Asriel swooped in.

"Huh?  Is he talking to me?" Young Neil pointed to himself. The girl shrugged.

"I...believe he meant me." I sheepishly said as the SPECTRE function finally shut down.

"Whoa!  Double!?" The girl backdashed.

"What the...?!" My counterpart gaped in amazement. "Now we REALLY got to check the Gold Ninja Werewolf power item's source code.  Besides ripping my good clothes instead of morphing them, it's suddenly making a copy of me?"

"I'll...explain later.  Maybe.  It's...complicated.  Look.   The two of us are here to help and--"

"And were still in the middle of a battle!" Asriel hovered backward as he kept firing with the NX Zappers.

"Right."

"Let's get back in this!"

And things only got bigger and more intense from there.

It lead to the final climax of the battle where it ended with a callback to the sand worm from when this whole thing in the "CNRPG" Universe began. A move I had called "Kitchen Sink". And it all got topped off with my counterpart's finishing move. A move he called "Octuple Surge Fountain". A move where he had jumped into the sky and arced down as lightning which split into eight copies of himself in a weird fountain vase shape before converting through Phantom Ganon's form: piercing him in opposite directions with a thunderclap.

And this happened right as everyone else's attacks landed--from Garfield's terawatt shot, to Ganon's Dance of Blades coupled with his Technique of Darkness, to the Universal Detective's Raw Tilt copied from the Slayers, to Samus' Hyper Beam, to Simon's Item Crash, and too many other attacks to name. All converging on Phantom Ganon's dying (again) corpse.

When the light cleared and the smoke vanished, everyone was unconscious...but us.

I could tell this was not the end of the timeline...but Adonis had other plans for us.

I knelt down to my unconscious artificially-lycanthrope self. So this is what I was like in other iterations. My powers weren't even my own but electronically synthesized. But the girl...?

I looked at her. That ponytail...that figure...those eyes. I...know her...knew her somehow. Granted I knew she was the Universal Detective but...how did I know that? I felt like I knew the answers going into the Axis of Realities...but......now...I wasn't so sure.

"Volt...I think we have to leave again..." Asriel was already being pulled into the open breach into the Axis of Reality's chronoton flow...I could see the tachyons rushing behind him, like the inside of a Star Wars jump to lightspeed.

"And yet...only pieces of answers, yet again." I muttered as I let the gravity well swallow me up.

These adventures were getting longer. And this was only the second stop on this weird tour. Where were we headed next...and why?

Sub-Entry 383: "Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality, Part 3 - GameWorld...64":
(OOC:  This sub-entry dedicated to Christopher "Captain N Neo" Blair AKA Gundam Silverbolt, Rhodimus Prime, and Vash the Stampede.  If you're out there, this one's for you, old friend.  Hope you like it.)

I could only describe it as it was.

Post-apocalyptic.

This was...Video Land? Maybe?

We had landed on top of what I would later learn was "Electro Tower". And it was guarded by Electro Man. I think...that was supposed to be Elec Man? But it was...not him...and yet, him.

"This place is totally diesel.  And it reeks of being under an iron grip.

Adonis made his appearance again.

"Enjoy your little excursion of failures, old friend?"

"I'm not your friend, you psychopath."

"Yes, yes.   So you keep saying.  You just never appreciate what we have.'

"What we had died long ago when the real you died long ago." I snarled.

"What do you mean failures?  By my count that's two universes we survived.  And it looks like those other versions of our friends will be just fine." Asriel tried not to say it particularly smugly...but he was feeling that confidence. So was I but...I was also cautious.

"Yes...minor insignificances...but really...how many times did you reveal yourselves to them?  You've integrated with those timelines.  Very much discouraged against in S.T.C. protocol."

He was technically right...

"There it is...there's that look of doubt in your eyes, Volt.  That look that tells me you know I'm right and you know you added another set of mistakes to your pile.  Mistakes like--"

"Hold your tongue, jerk." Asriel cut in. "The only mistake being made is the one where you keep throwing us into new universes and not really arranging for us to be in any certain danger.  Just situations where we make the choice to intervene.  Something I'm sure you see as a compulsive addiction--needing to play the heroes.  Am I wrong?"

"Wow...you're just too easy to not appreciate as being a worthy contender for the bar I set as Volt's first partner.  Sadly, you're still hung up on that lost cause you call faith in him that he'll stay loyal to you when the chips are down."

"Take what you're selling elsewhere.  I'm not buying it." Asriel narrowed his eyes.

"We shall see.  Right now it's still unnoticed by your naked eye that he's already weakening like a small cuddly creature dropped in a vat of acid...first the fur, then the skin...and then what's underneath.  Metaphorically speaking."

"Gross.  And twisted."

"Everyone's a critic.  I consider it modern art, thank you.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Asriel put his knuckles to his hips.

"And there it is...already you're sounding like the weed...before long you'll be embracing him as your true self."

"Adonis.  Scram." I said forcefully before curling a lip and snarling.

He put his hands in the air in an "Okay, okay!" sort of gesture that indicated he washed his hands of it.

"Fair warning...things may get a little meta before long.  You might not want to know the truth beneath the truth.  After all...if the Goddesses, Destiny and Fate created the UltraVerse...who created them?"

"You're not going to confuse us with your meta-physics.  Just go."

"If you insist.  Oh by the way...did you take a moment to ask how your beloved crew are back home?"

"Tch...!" I started to lunge toward him. But he was already gone.

Speaking of...

"...so that's the story."

"How dangerous are the times we’re in when present and future must meet like this?" Bunnie asked her future counterpart.

"We're approaching the climax.  I think we both understand that better than anyone."

"The Commander and Asriel will have to tough it out.  We have no way to reach them, do we?"

Daimyou shook her head.

"Things are...getting equally intense over here.  Asriel would want to know about the latest developments between Angel Grove and New York City.  You most certainly know about Grand Master Splinters' sons and the paths they've crossed with Zordon's team of five...down from sixth with the unexplained defection of Tommy Oliver...and the surrender of his Morpher."

"It will only get worse."

"However there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.  For when the villains step up, in Violet's own words, the heroes step up in their own ways..." Bunnie mused as she looked at Master Splinter's photograph of his four turtles and their friend,  April O'Neill......morphed as Rangers?

"The Commander and Asriel would most assuredly appreciate this, would they not?"

"Perhaps when they return...we shall share this info with them."

"That said...I have been mounting S.T.C.'s forces for a counterattack against Chaopolis.  Regardless of what Adonis says...the Crossover Wars are not over.  Not by a long shot."

"Indeed."

At the same time...

"...keep me in the l-l-loop, err...KOMMAND, was it?"

"Don't worry, Alphie-baby.  This is just another bump in the road.  They've got this.  I mean...they survived a Genocide Run VGM-098, right?"

"R-right..........wait, what?"

"Ooooooh...probably didn't get a chance to bring you in the loop..."

"What...even...happened...!?"

"Oh.  Bad things.  People got slaughtered.  World got blown up.  Volt got his soul ripped out of him and shoved into the Prince.......y'know...bad things.  But hey, at least they were able to rewind the timeline with a Quantum Supercomputer's special ability, Return to the Past.  But, hey!  Everything's okay now."

KOMMAND's bed side manner still needed refinement.

"Oh, hey, how's the eighth fallen?"

"They've...left the ruins...S-Sans and P-Papyrus seem to be leading them th-through the puzzles.  Oooh!  They're going to f-finally b-be able to use my t-tile randomizer!  I c-can't wait to see how it performs."

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeah.......I'm sure it'll be..great..."

What she wanted to say was "I'm suuuuuure you won't be disappointed at all..." but I'd most certainly find out about it and we'd have a long talk about this.

Back to our predicament...

Before we knew it the dimension started futzing up...but this time it was different. It almost seemed like reality was...twisted upon itself in order to...flip itself over? If that made sense.

"Urghll...that was....unpleasant.  Huh?  We're not in Game World anymore?  But we just got here?  And...where is here?"

"I know this is going to son crazy, Asriel...but...it looks almost like...VideoLand merged with Earth."

"That actually sounds less crazy than the ideas I came up with.  What do you think happened--"  We both just happened to turn toward the sign very commanding, very demanding, very oppressive signs and unrecognized banners all over the place.

"I know we're outside of time and space with the SPECTRE function but...I can't help but feeling oppressed.  You're getting the same vibe as I am, right?"

"That this world is under the iron grip of a totalitarian dictator?  Yeah...it's looking like every sci-fi cliché in the book.  All that's missing is the "OH-WEE-OH! YOOOOOOH-OH!"  chant from the Wizard of Oz...and by extension Mother Brain's forces back in the other VideoLand.  The one that isn't in the UltraVerse."

"Yeah, you don't have to explain.  I get how it works, now.  I'm a rookie but I've got a grip on how these prime and alternate universe are."

The messages varied but they were short and to the point: the Commandant demanded everyone's compliance.

"It would be futile to ask "Commandant? Who the heck is that?"...wouldn't it?"

"You already know I'm as in-the-dark as you are."

"But we're going to find out one way or another, aren't we?"

"Let's let things progress.  I'm sure Adonis is already cooking up the next surprises."

We took our time worming through the crowds, noticing we were in a plaza area.

"Huh...that looks...suspicious." Asriel noticed the security force stopping someone claiming to be Icarian...in the company of someone cloaked.

"Hold it. State your name, home world, and destination."

"I am Carlmaximus, I'm from Mount Icarus, and that is our destination."

The guard pointed at Chris. "Him."

Carlmaximus shook his head. "He is a leper and is mute. I don't think you want him to lift that hood of his." As if on cue, the cloaked person started coughing sickly, and the guard let them pass. Carlmaximus lead him to the Mount Icarus warp, and they left Earth.

"Carlmaximus?  There's no why that guy is Icarian.  Is there?  I mean...no wings but...then again, half of Mount Icarus' population was mortal.  Gods and man living in peace, right?" I pondered.

"C'mon.  This looks like a clue if ever there was one." Asriel dragged me to the warp and we dove in, the guards none the wiser.

The cloaked person looked around as he and Carlmaximus exited the warp, and they made their way through the crowds.

"I know someone who can help you, he is a supporter of the Underground. Come."

He  followed Carlmaximus to a large building, and saw several people gathered at a large throne. Carlmaximus smiled.

"Swinfordicus!"

The people moved out of the way, and Chris saw a man in total black, wearing a pair of blue lens sunglasses, sitting on the throne. "Who calls the great Swinfordicus?!"

I was about to ponder this new information  but the other person interrupted me with:

"It is I, Fresno Bob!"

"A pepper?" Asriel questioned.

"A city in California?" I followed up. Neither of us saw the connection.

"Carlmaximus, my man. What news do you bring me?"

Carlmaximus sighed. "This person is in need of help. The Commandant is after his ass because some weird message was found in his Zelda 64 game."

Swinfordicus looked at the boy under the cloak with an amused look. "So, how can I help you, my good man?"

The dirty-blond sighed, and he handed Swinfordicus the printout of the Prophecy. "Read this, and you'll understand."

That voice...I'd heard it before.

"He sounds familiar...the guy with the Power Glove back there...you don't think...?"

Swinfordicus read the paper and stared at Chris. "This was in your game?"

The boy nodded, and Swinfordicus smiled.

"Dude, this is it! Carlmaximus, we must hurry and show this to his N-ship. And bring the kid!

The young man looked at Swinfordicus as Carlmaximus dragged him along. "Who you calling kid?!"

Swinfordicus smiled at the incensed young man. "Sorry my man, but when you live on a world where almost everyone else is half your size, it becomes a habit. I didn't catch your name."

"Chris Blair, but where are we going?"

A light suddenly went off in my head. Like something reawakened with the force of a thousand suns going supernova.

"It...can't be..." I had images of the...other dimension...the surviving one of the Triumvirate coming back to me.

Carlmaximus smiled. "To see his Mastership, the Great N."

"N? You mean... HIM?!!"

Swinfordicus nodded as he lead them to a warp. "Exactamundo, my good friend. Take off that cloak, it's stinking the place up."

Chris did so, and Carlmaximus stared at his right arm. There, strapped on Chris' arm, was a Nintendo Power Glove.

"Dude, where did you get that baby?"

Chris looked at the device. "Been there as far back as I can remember. I always wear it."

Swinfordicus looked at the Glove and whistled. "Dude, this is too good." He activated the warp and smiled. "Everyone in."

Another flip-twist...and now we were in...Abel City? No...Mega City? Megatropolis? Mega Land? What version of X's future was this?"

"Volt!" Asriel pulled me back on instinct as a nasty spider Maverick landed and launched another attack before...the incoming counterattack fired him to a crisp.

That was when I saw X...at least...I thought it was X...in a weird Ultimate Armor remix I had never seen before?

"Who the...!?"

He didn't stick around, but I did catch something muttered about Acid Arachnid getting wasted.

Asriel and I looked at each other and decided to follow him back to Maverick Hunter Headquarters. At least I hoped that was where we were going.

We were in store for some familiar faces...and at least one I wasn't expecting.

"S...Sigma?"

"But...he doesn't seem Maverick..."

"No virus readings detected.  I have to wonder why we're in an alternate Mega Man X telling, now?  This dimension can't make up its mind."

"Or Adonis is making it up for us."

"I'm confused on this whole Right/Light thing.  I mean...it was easy to figure out back home when it was just a Jangese translation thing when localizing the games...still kind of meta when I actually know and am friends with Mega Man...but Thomas Xavier Right...and Theodore Light?"

"I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall to figure out how this guy, Eric, suddenly became Mega Man X?  And why Sigma isn't Maverick in this universe."

Some investigation turned up plenty of interesting things.

"So this Chronus is this world's maverick big boss...interesting."

“I have the feeling we’ll cross paths with him before long—”

Yeah. Here we go again.

And there we were, back again in the Game World....but this time we weren't in Electro Tower.

"Game World again.  Somehow these sub-dimensions are all connected."

"Maybe they're like our on UltraVerse and how all these AU's seem to branch off our spoke of the Axis of Reality...?" I pondered.

"A spider web of spider webs.  Interesting." Asriel seemed to get it.

"CastleVania?"

"Looks like it."

We were interrupted soon by the approach of--

"Simon?"

"Wait...red-haired?"

"And...Scottish?" I twitched an ear as he charged right through us toward a rift opening up into a gateway...or warp zone.

"Huh...?" I looked through the warp and immediately saw Pit and Mega Man but...their designs were completely different...if anything...retro. Like how their characters might have originally appeared in 1986-1988...?

"How many alternate Videoland’s do you think there are in the InfinityVerse?" Asriel questioned.

"As many as there are Undertale AU's." I decided not to shy away from what I had been avoiding.

"..."  Asriel was silent at that but...I think he was beginning to catch on that I was...growing to accept our situation. Yet...he definitely had a sadness in his own heart...a regret over how hard I tried to ready this life-changing surprise on him when he was ready...and Adonis had the gall to spoil it.

"It's okay, you know." He patted my shoulder. "We have the rest of our lives to discuss every facet of it all."

He was covering up what was on his mind. But so was I...no matter how open we tried to sound to one another...we didn't know how to approach it. And quite frankly...it wasn't a good time to do so. When was it ever?

Azzy dragged me through the portal behind Simon.

And there she was. Princess Lana.

"Why? Of all times, now." Lana remarked. She turned around to see Dr. Light looking at her.

"Dr. Light, isn't there something you and Mega Man can do?"

Dr. Light shook his head. "I'm Sorry Princess Lana, but with Wily attacking Mega World, there's not much I can do. “Lana sighed as she looked at the attacking forces. "How much

longer until they break through the defenses?"

"About an hour." Dr. Light replied. Lana turn to a computer counsel and sighed. "I've got no other choice." She pressed a button, and a microphone slid up out of the counsel.

"Attention. This is Princess Lana. I know that you're own worlds must be as under attack as my own, but if Gannon gains control of the Palace of Power, then the other worlds will soon follow. It is for this reason that I am calling you to help me.

Mega Man and Proto Man from MegaWorld. You are the two most powerful robots in the Game World, and you fight Dr. Wily's forces. Gannon has control of Wily, and to stop Gannon is to stop Wily as well.

Pit from Angel Land. You are aware that Medusa serves Gannon, and that to stop one means a loss for the other. To help me in this hour is to defeat both evils.

Simon Belmount, of CastleVania. Your family has fought the evil Dracula for centuries, and Gannon is Dracula's master. I beg you to help stop Gannon and end their terror.

And of course, Link and Zelda from Hyrule. Gannon is from your world, and to stop him and the entire League of Darkness is to save all of the Game World.

Please, all of you, we need help."

Lana was surprised to hear several warps open up simultaneously, and she and Dr. Light turned to watch the very people she had just called for walk out of the warps.

Sure enough the Blue Bomber and the Red Rocker had appeared.

Simon's warp zone had opened up next. We slipped in behind him.

"Me Lady, my service, is yers." Simon Belmount remarked, dropping to his knees before Lana, his thick Scottish accent curling his words.

Link and Zelda looked at Lana. "Anytime, anywhere." Link remarked, obviously referring to Gannon.

Zelda nodded. "If we can stop him, the whole League collapses." The princess added in her soft voice.

Kana smiled at her friends. "Thank you all for comin...." She was cut off as the Palace shook, and Gannon's face appeared in the room.

Asriel and I whirled with everyone else. I tightened my fist as Asriel crossed his arms and scowled. "What do you want, pig-face?"

"Well, well, if it isn't Princess Lala! I'll give you one last chance to hand over the rule of the Game World to me, and the Great Warp!"

"You think he means the Ultimate Warp Zone?" Asriel whispered. I nodded. Obviously another change of this alternate universe.

"Never!" Lana replied. "We'll never give you the Warp!" She quickly activated a computer, and Gannon's image vanished.

"What are we going to do?" Mega Man asked.

The room suddenly filled with light, and a giant fist appeared.

"Never despair, for the Ancient Prophecy still has yet to be fulfilled."

"Of course!" Lana exclaimed. "The Legend!"

None of the others really knew what the Legend was about, only what it spoke of the Game World's darkest hour.

"In the Darkest Hour of the Universe, a young warrior from another world shall be brought forth to save two dimensions from Evil! He shall be known as the Hero! Evil will fear his name, and Darkness will retreat when he battles! Behold, the Great Warp!!!" With that, the entire room was filled with light, and everything went white.

I slipped on my ray bans as Asriel did the same after getting caught off guard for a moment. He We both stared up into the event horizon...we couldn't quite make out what we were looking at...but then we heard it from the other side of the portal!

"Kevin, I thought I told you to clean up your room!"

"In a minute mom!" Kevin Hayland yelled back. He was blasting his way through one of his games, Metroid, and was shooting several tube-ish devices. "Come on, where's that Mother Brain?!" he blasted through the last of the tubes and saw his enemy. "There you are!"

Suddenly, the screen went to static, and Kevin jumped up. "Oh no! Shelli! You better not have pulled the power cord again!" he yelled, and he jumped back as he saw a chamber that had a large fist hovering above the ground. "What the..." Lightning laced out of the screen, and he watched as his hands began to break down into wireframes. "What's happening!!" He pulled away, and grabbed the power pad he had been using, his other hand grabbing a Zapper. "AAHHH!!"

Lana and the others covered their eyes as the light continued to fill the chamber.

"What's going on?!" Simon stared at a huge rippling energy field that appeared in the air. "What in the world?"

The ripple seemed to be sucking in the light, and everyone watched as Kevin Hayland came falling to the ground. "OW!!" Kevin shook his head and looked up. "What happened?"

Dr. Light smiled as he walked over to the teenager. "Greetings, my name is Dr. Th..."

"Dr. Light? From Mega Man?! No way!" Kevin said as he got to his feet. He looked at his hands and stared all around him. "What happened to me?! I'm a cartoon!"

Lana smiled at the teenager. "Welcome to the Game World, uh, mister..."

"Hayland, Kevin Hayland, from Northridge." Kevin replied, and he looked at the others. "What is this, a video game convention?"

"What to do ye mean by that?" Simon asked. Kevin looked at the vampire hunter, a confused look on his face. "You're Simon Belmount, aren't you?"

"Aye, of CastleVania." Simon replied. "And enemy of Dracula."

Kevin looked to Mega Man and Proto Man next. "Mega  Man, and Proto Man?! Now that's hard to believe."

Mega Man smiled. "Considering you're from another universe, it might be." The robot responded.

Pit smiled at the teenager. "No, don't even guess. I'm Pit, from Angel land."

"The hero of Kid Icarus." Kevin remarked. "And you two...are Link and Zelda."

"From Hyrule." Link finished. "And you must be the Hero."

"HERO?!!!" Kevin thought. He looked down at his waist and saw  the power pad and Zapper. "Oh man, what's going on?"

Lana sighed as she began to explain. "Eight years ago, a warlord named Gannon from Hyrule began a war to conquer the Game World and get the Great Warp. Three years ago, he captured my father, King Marcus, and no one's heard from my father since. I had to take the throne since I was the only child he had, and for the last three years, I've been fighting Gannon."

Kevin couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Wait a minute, Gannon, from Legend of Zelda? Okay, this isn't making any sense here."

"We can't expect it to make sense right away." Link replied. "Look, we've been fighting Gannon for years, and now, you've been brought to lead us to victory by the Great Warp."

Kevin shook his head. "I'm sorry to disappoint you all, but I'm no hero. I'm only a high schooler who just turn sixteen a few days ago, I'm nothing special. Your, Great Warp, made some kind of a mistake. I don't mean to be rude, but I'd just like to go home."

I looked at Asriel, who looked back. "Deja vu, huh?"

"Seems every Captain N has this in common.  The reluctance to step up when the responsibility just gets heaped on you."

"Can you blame him, though?  What normal human high schooler has to fight a war and lead a team to victory?"

"I'm not one to talk." Asriel put his hands up. "One hundred and eight years ago I was just a monster prince...annnnnd...that actually sounds a little implausible now that I say it out loud.  I've...been in your world too long, haven't I?"

"It's your world, too, Asriel.  It's your world, too."

Azzy smiled warmly, understanding my need to comfort him and make him feel like he belonged.

"I'm afraid that's impossible. The Warp cannot open again for another thousand years."

Kevin spun around. "Who said that?"

Lana sighed. "The Warp itself is alive. And I'm afraid it's right,  you can't go back."

Kevin shook his head. "Wait a minute, why can't I go back? I want to go home, I'm not some, superhero, I'm just a kid who plays a lot of video games."

Dr. Light shook his head in dismay. "The reason you can't go back home is because the Warp can only open everyone thousand year. It's a sort of safety mechanism if you will. It's to ensure that your world doesn't find out about this universe."

"So I'm stuck here for the rest of my life." Kevin dropped back to the ground, filled with sorrow. "Man, why me?"

"I know now's not the time and it isn't exactly tactful in this moment of crisis...but I really want to tell him to just suck it up and accept your destiny." I shook my head. "But...you can't force acceptance.  Anyway...I think we both know how this is going to turn out...at least I hope that's how it happens in this universe."

The warp hadn't dissipated and...it seemed to almost be trying to zero in on......uh...us...? Uh-oh...

"There are many secrets kept within the Legend...but alas, the prophecy has dealt an unexpected hand.  Friend or foe, would you not reveal yourselves onto this plane of existence."

"We're made!" Asriel grimaced.

"Adonis is going to eat this up."

The group of heroes looked around the room, rather confused.

"Okay, this warp zone of yours must have a few screws loose.  I don't see anyone here but us.

"That's...impossible!" Lana gasped. "The Great Warp does not make mistakes!"

I looked at Asriel with pleading eyes. We can't keep doing this....we're screwing up timelines; leaving temporal footprints behind. We're leaking into the past."

"Do we have a choice?  We don't have any control over which realms and sub-realms we jump to...which points in time we go."

I'm getting the doe eyes...yeah...you know what? I'm pretty sure Daimyou would allow it anyway. What the heck...

And out came the Hazard Cards again.

"Intruders!" Simon poised.

"How'd you get in here?  The palace sensors should have detected your presence." Mega Man pondered.

Pit looked us over a little for a bit...then turned to Rock and Blues and nodded.

"If you work for Gannon--"  Link started.

"I don't think they're enemies." Zelda pushed Link's sword down.

Kevin on the other hand looked completely lost.

"I...don't recognize you...you guys aren't from any game I know..." He turned to Lana. "Maybe one of them is this Hero you'll looking for."

"Well I guess we might as well explain before this gets any more confusing.  I'm Dr. Volt Arcade.  A scientist, explorer and traveler of time, space, and dimension.  And this is my partner and companion, Asriel Tobias Dreemurr."

I withheld the part about being from the future.

"We...work for an agency that keeps track of time, space, and other dimensions.  But...really, we're just over glorified librarians." Asriel covered my tracks pretty well.

"We...weren't supposed to interfere in this timeline but...we keep running into anomalies like your Great Warp that can see use when we're outside of time and space."

"Outside of time and space?" Dr. Light questioned.

"Think of it like...shifting our atomic structure a micro-second ahead in time; rendering us physically unable to interact with a plane of existence...but still able to observe and record.  Or possibly destabilizing our molecular structure akin to being similar to a focused, non-terminal repeating phantasm."

"Ye would invade our privacy so callously?" Simon glared.

"I assured you we have loftier goals in mind.  Right now we're...kind of lost in between dimensions, trying to get back home."

"Join the club." Kevin had managed to stand up.

"Look...we've...encountered something similar to you in another realm like this on.  And I appreciate your situation, Mr. Hayland.  But you're only looking at it from one perspective.  Have you considered this?  You're inside the world's largest video game and you have access to great powers and abilities."

"What are you talking about?"

Mega Man looked at the devices that were on Kevin's waist. "What are those?"

Kevin looked at the game accessories and smiled. "Just toys." He said as he pulled out the Zapper and pulled the trigger, but instead of just a click like Kevin probably expected, a brilliant red laser blasted out of the Zapper's barrel. The beam bounced off several walls before expanding its energy and leaving blast marks on the walls.

"What?! What happened to these things?!" Kevin yelled.

Dr. Light walked over and examined the devices. "May I?" He took the Zapper as Kevin held it out, and the doctor looked over the gun. "It must have something to do with the energy harmonics of the Game World." Dr. Light remarked.

"Come again?"

Dr. Light smiled at Kevin. "I'm sorry. The Game World is much different from your world, it's laws of Nature and physics are drastically different. Apparently, when your, toys were brought through the Barrier, they were changed into weapons."

Asriel looked to me, wondering if our weapons might come up in conversation. He discretely backed up against the wall to hide the Nintendo Switch logo that Violet absolutely HAD to include on his gear.

"Anyway...like I'm saying...you COULD look at this as being trapped in another dimension with no way home....orrrrrr you could look at it as a way of getting out of taking out the trash." He said with a shrug.

Kevin looked at him funny.

"Sorry.  Just trying to help."

"Kevin.  We all have a destiny.  And while it sucks thinking that our life is pre-scripted...that we don't have a choice how it all comes to a head...how it all ends...what our ultimate purpose is.......that's the double-sided lie.  Destiny comes from the word destine.  That is...to carve out a path to a given end.  You can decide where to go from here.

I know they're all asking a lot...that it's a lot of responsibility to heap on your shoulders...but heroes are defined by what they choose when faced with adversity like this. I've spent my life disregarding what I want for the bigger picture of what's best for everyone around me. Altruism isn't an easy path, but it's the only one that'll save your soul, man."

"Hey.  Whatever you choose?  I'm rootin', for you.  Right now you just need a chance to prove yourself.  Not just to them...but to yourself.  Trust me on this." Asriel gave a thumbs up.

Kevin hesitated a moment before accepting Asriel's hand in a firm handshake.

The moment didn't last because...

"Oh no...we're being pulled out of the dimension again!" The world twisted around us as the realm started to flip itself.

"I'm sorry we can't join your battle.  We really want to but...we're not being given a choice." I lamented.

"But if we ever find our way back to you...we'll do everything we can to help you defeat Gannon."

I didn't have the heart to tell Asriel that I thought that this was one world...I didn't think we could assist. This was Kevin's destiny. And besides...the longer we stayed around here, the more likely Gannon would learn of our existence...and we'd play right into his sinister plan. One thing I COULDN'T forgive myself for would be if we were used by evil for a sinister purpose. I'd been exploited like that before. NEVER AGAIN. EVER.

"Volt...what's going on?"

I hadn't a clue.

We took a moment to assess what had happened before in Earth-VideoLand 64.

"Whatever the case is...those forces of this...Commandant are REALLY interested in this game pak's code.

"This dimension seems to have a weird dual identity.  Half the time we're in this...Game World.  I mean we were just at Electro Tower facing down Electro Man...at least I think that's this world's version of Elec Man."

"Yeah...and the other half we seem to be in this alternate "N-64" iteration of VideoLand.

"This child of light...I know him!  Somehow I know him.  I know he's directly connected to...to..."

I had said it before. The Dimensional Triumvirate. But now it was escaping me.

"You can't remember, either?  I'd heard you use the phrase but...now I can't recall it, either."

I shook my head.

Another momentary flip-flip, this time to an alternate Cybertron...before we were back here.

"Yeah...we're here again."

Back to VideoLand "64" again.

"Let's find out then." Asriel got aboard the NX Switchboard as I arc-ed as a bolt of lightning.

"We still haven't revealed ourselves in this sub-dimension, yet so the Hazard Cards should still be working." They ended up being reloaded automatically upon re-entry here. As long as we didn't integrate with the timeline they'd always be reactivated upon entry. But if we ever went back to Game World? Yeah...we'd be part of the timeline...and chances are Gannon would probably track us down.

Between Gannon and the Commandant, I wasn't quite sure who was the greater danger. Gannon was damn near all powerful with that Triforce of Power...but the Commandant? He was a complete wild card. With just an alias to go on...I had no idea what we could be dealing with.

"C'mon, let's follow this adventure--"

And then something familiar hit us. Another time-skip. TV static and all.

"Getting a little tired of this." I growled.

The frustration was building. It was what Adonis wanted. First confusion. Then failure to be discrete. Now frustration. He was definitely working my nerves and somehow he was pushing all my buttons. Yet, Asriel was doing just fine.

It didn't make sense, considering, that Adonis wanted him all along for his sinister purposes. So why...was Goat Son on the backburner? Why was he focusing on me...while...making Asriel watch? Was that the point?

This one, however was scattered with jump skips that made it hard to keep up with what was going on. But at least unlike the CNRPG and the Mirror War...we weren't jumping all over the place trying to keep up with several teams, trying to figure out how they fit into the big picture. It looked like we were really just keeping track of one...one variant of the same team; connected but different.

We'd experience several jumps to other sub-dimensions; most seemingly with no connection to VideoLand "64" and Game World....but something...felt familiar...like they all belonged in the same universe.

An alternate telling of Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts.

A Cybertron AU where that "Rhodimus Prime" moniker finally made sense.

A trip to another iteration of Trigun where that Humanoid Typhoon put the badass in badass gunslinger.

Back and forth until finally we landed at the climax of what seemed to be the default dimension; the Sixty-Four-Bit realm that Christopher Blair seemed to be the epicenter of.

We had played merry Hell trying to keep up and somehow we managed to stay completely discreet. And by some miracle...we did it without pulling the Hazard Cards.

By now we'd put a lot together and a lot made sense. But there was...some "meta" information that just didn’t' quite add up about these dimensions. And all throughout this trek through VideoLand/Earth...we kept getting clues about this...just being the curtain that was pulled down over the real show. That there was an...underlying story behind everything here.

But what?

"Now, let's find out who this Commandant is!" Asriel shoved up his sleeves, having been pushed so far as to throw off his jacket and toss it to me.

"Whoa, easy, Goat Son.  Don't let your temper get the better of you.  That's what I've been doing wrong during this whole trip--"

"I know what I'm doing." He assured before charging through the door and into the room...and then his gasp and utter confusion prompted me to follow.

"That's the Commandant?!  But he's just a--"

A soldier walked up and bowed. "Commandant, Captain N and the Neo N-Team are here."

The Commandant almost jumped up to blast the soldier but managed to resist the urge. "Send them in."

Chris and his team walked into the chamber, and Chris had to restrain himself from blasting the Commandant's guards. "Commandant, I am Captain N."

The Commandant laughed loudly, and the throne in which he was sitting slowly turned around to reveal the Commandant's face, which was none other than....

YOU!!!!! Chris' mind exploded with fury.

"Mark Moore!!!"

The Commandant jumped out of his throne, no longer laughing. "What did you call me?!" The name shocked him, he hadn't expected it.

Chris stared at the man in horror. "Gods, it all makes sense." The final memories fell into place, and Chris knew what had happened. "The knowledge of this universe's evils, the knowledge of the video worlds, it all makes sense."

"A human?" And...not that much older than...!"

The Commandant stared at Chris, unable to understand how this child knew this.

Chris merely shook his head in disbelief. "That's why your transmission felt familiar. It was almost an exact reenactment of Mr. X's transmission to the N-Team in 'Apocalypse.'"

"How do you..." The Commandant was at a loss. No one was supposed to remember the past. "Who are you?!"

Chris snarled, disgusted by what the man had done. "You may not remember me, but I remember you, Mark Moore. You were the owner of the Unofficial Captain N Homepage. You wrote fanfictions based on a Saturday morning cartoon from the early '90s called Captain N:The Game Master. But you had a problem. Your stories were contradicting, rewriting, and changing the show's characters. Now, it all makes sense."

"Volt...what's going on?  What are they talking about?  Everything just got...well..."

"Yeah...meta.  We're hearing something we weren't meant to be privy to.  Maybe...the truth of the real nature of this world...and its creator."

The Commandant, or rather, Mark Moore, couldn't believe that this teenager knew this.

"Who are you?"

Chris stared at Moore with resentful eyes. "I am Captain N, the Game Master."

Moore almost laughed again. "In your dreams. There is only one Captain N, and that's me." He smiled, and pulled off his cloak, revealing Chris' Northridge jacket, Kevin's Power Pad and Zapper on Moore's waist.

"I have the Power Pad and Zapper, and the Jacket, that makes me, Captain N."

Chris sighed, knowing that after so long, the man still didn't get the idea. "You still don't get it Moore. It's not the weapons, or the jacket that make a Game Master. It's the spirit and courage, the heart and soul that makes the chosen one a true Game Master. That's why I was chosen. Because I knew what it meant to be a Game Master. You still think that a Game Master relies on weapons and symbols. A true Game Master relies on his friends, not a Zapper or Power Pad. Captain N's not a title, it's a birthright."

Mark gave the teenager a funny look. "You know, how is it that you know who I am, but I don't know you?"

Chris frowned. "I'm the one who kept telling you that your stuff was completely wrong, especially that little Lana/Zelda thing."

Mark stared at Chris, then suddenly remembered what the boy was talking about. "I know you. Haven't thought about you since the transit. You're Blair."

"That's Chris Blair, now Captain N." Chris replied.

"You're not Captain N, I am."

X and Zero ran into the room and saw Moore. "Who's he?"

"Mark Moore, aka, the Commandant."

Zero looked at Moore and laughed. "He's the Commandant? Dude, what a wussy looking freak."

Moore snarled at Zero, and Chris smiled. "Where's Kevin?"

"He's alive for the moment. Where's your surrender?"

Chris felt like laughing. "Our surrender? Moore, you actually thought that we would surrender? Pleeease. That's like saying that Stacey could be Princess of VideoLand." He then smiled at the comment. "I forgot, you wrote that sort of thing once. And it sucked!!"

Moore snarled at Captain N and aimed his Zapper. "Now, you die!!" He fired, only to have Chris fire at the beam, deflecting it and hitting Moore with his own Glove blast.

"Nice, but pointless."

Asriel tightened his grip but he stepped back, joining me.

"The worst part of the job....watching from the sidelines."

"How do you do it?  Putting a lid on your sense of justice?"

I shook my head. "There are hard choices...and even harder ones."

Alisa ran through the fortress, following her tracker's signals to Kevin. "Come on, where are you?" She saw a cell that had its lock light on, and using her magic, melted a hole in the steel door. "Kevin!"

"Princess!!" Kevin was glad to see the girl, jumping up and dashing to the hole.

"Where's Chris?!"

"Fighting the Commandant! We've got to hurry!!"

Another time-skip and...

"What the...!  What happened!  Kevin Keene!" Asriel looked at the dying previous Game Master.

"Asriel, look!" I recognized the Triforces within the Commandant's broken throne.

"That's how he has so much power!" I pounded my fist into my palm. "It all makes sense!"

"Never mind that!  The Commandant's made in the Communications Room!  He has the ULTIMATE WARP ZONE OPEN."

This...was bad.

"No!! Earth belongs to me!!"

Chris nodded at his cybernetic friend and ran off to find the Warp. He found the chamber, walked up to the fist, and sighed. "Dude, how do I turn this thing on?" He placed his hand on the fist and saw a triple triangle symbol etch into his Glove's blast barrel. "What the?" Each triangle was a different color, the left one red, the right, blue, and the top one, green.

"I'm linked." Chris shook his head as he realized what it meant. "I'm linked to the Triforces." At that moment, Chris realized what he had to do. "With no Sun Stone, I'm the only thing that can activate the Warp." Placing his hands on the sides of the fist, Chris felt an incredible amount of energy flow from him and into the Warp. "Please work."

Suddenly, a great booming voice resounded through the chamber. "With a Glove of Power, and a Mighty Team, He will restore Terra to its rightful Realm!! Behold, the Ultimate Warp Zone!!!!"

Earth sat in the void of space. But unlike its previous place, this space was not a vacuum; instead, filled with air. The people of Earth went on with their business, when a ribbon of energy appeared in the sky. The ribbon expanded, and ripped open a hole, revealing a bright shining sun, several planets, a ring of asteroids, and a small moon with no mother planet.

This hole, this rip, was the gateway back to Earth's original Universe.

"NNOO!!!" Moore yelled as he watched Earth begin to fall back into its rightful dimension. "My empire!!"

"Your empire fell before it ever started." X replied, and he threw Moore to the ground. "Loser."

Moore stared at the Maverick Hunter and smiled. "I haven't lost yet."

Chris strained under the huge amount of power that was blasting through him. He watched as Earth was pulled back through the rift, and back to where it belonged. Swinfordicus and Carlmaximus ran into the chamber, and saw a blue warp opening up.

"You guys want to go home, this is the last call!"

Both of them shook their heads. "No way dude. We don't jump out on our friends."

Chris gritted his teeth as a huge pulse went through him. "I won't hold it against you, but this is the last chance for you to go home!"

Carlmaximus nodded. "And it's the only chance you'll never have! By staying here and fueling the Warp, you're stranding yourself here! We're a team! When one jumps, we all jump!"

Chris nodded, and the Warp shut, closing the last Warp to Earth forever.

Earth began to glow as it passed through the rift, energy crackling all over the surface. The people were at first frightened, but as soon as they had passed through the rift, they thought nothing of it, as if their memories of VideoLand were, well, erased, which they were. Earth's memories, had been restored.

Chris strained to stay up, and collapsed as the Warp shut down, Earth back where it belonged. "I did it. I, restored Earth."

Swinfordicus and Carlmaximus helped Chris back to his feet. "Dude, you okay? That had to drain you."

Chris nodded as he felt his strength return. "I'm alright, just, tired." He suddenly snapped his head up, aware of something wrong. "Moore, have to get back to Moore!"

X gritted his teeth as Moore grinned, a powerful blast beam focused on him and Zero. Alisa was trapped behind a forcefield, unable to help.

"Now, I win! With the power of the Triforce, I will destroy you all!"

"Think again!!"

Moore turned to the door and smiled. "So, Blair comes back, a failure."

"Wrong. Earth is back where it belongs, proving that I am Captain N, and you are a fraud!"

Moore smiled venomously. "Could a fraud do...THIS?!!" A bright white swirling Warp opened, and Moore jumped in. Chris swiftly blasted the beam, and shut down the forcefield, freeing his team. "We have to stop him! Come on!!"

I nodded to Asriel and he followed my lead. In we went...what awaited us was...!

The N-Team came blasting out of the warp, and Chris was shocked at their surroundings. "It's the Palace! But this area is gone!"

X quickly scanned the area. "Sensors indicate that this is the Palace of Power. The Palace of Power in 1989."

Chris looked down the hall and realized what was going on. "Mark's 'Captain N64'. He's trying to reenact the ending of his story."

Swinfordicus looked at his friend. "Dude, where is he going?!"

Chris looked to Swinfordicus. "To the beginning of everything." He snarled as he thought about what Moore was planning to do. "That son of a--!!!"

"I'm afraid we can't hold out much longer." Lana said sadly. She faced Kid Icarus and touched his hair. "Kid Icarus, your loyalty has never diminished."

"Just doing my duty, Your Highnicus." the archer replied.

Lana knelt in front of Mega Man and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Mega Man, you've fought bravely and well."

Mega Man bowed. "A pleasure to serve you, Your Worship."

Lana stood up and faced Simon, placing her hands over her heart. "Simon, you've been our anchor in a long and terrible storm."

Simon smiled, full of his huge ego. "I know."

Lana looked at all of them. "I thank you all for your efforts. I only wish it didn't have to end this way."

Suddenly the lights dimmed, and a bright glow came from the center of the throne room.

A bassy voice boomed throughout the room. "Do not give up hope yet, Princess, for the end is not yet near."

Lana gasped, then looked at Simon, who was holding her. He grinned widely, then frowned as she shoved him away. "Simon, let go of me." Simon was disappointed.

The four of them gathered around the pedestal and stared at the fist.

"There are powers beyond those that you can possibly imagine." The voice continued. "The Prophecy of VideoLand foretells of a young warrior, from another realm, who shall warp into this universe and restore peace to our realm."

The four of them stepped away from the pedestal as the fist rose from it and transformed into energy. The voice boomed once more, this time, speaking of another legend.

"Asriel...we're witnessing history in the making.  This is...!"

He nodded and we prepared to recite line for line the Prophecy.

But what greeted us was NOT the Prophecy either of us was expecting.

"In the year of Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Eight, A world known as Terra shall be brought into VideoLand from another realm, and a man of dark heart shall take control of this world with the aid of VideoLand's evil. He shall control the weapons and forces of Terra, and aid Darkness in conquering VideoLand.

"In the Tenth month of his rule, a threat to his power shall arise. A child who will regain his past and become the greatest hero in both realms. With a Glove of Power, and a mighty team, the Hero will restore peace, and return Terra to its rightful place.

"He is Captain N, The Game Master."

"Asriel!"

He was already charging through the Ultimate Warp Zone before the Commandant's warp zone had fully opened.

"Where are you going!?

"Trust me!" I charged after him, Commandant, about neck and neck with me...I think he noticed me because of the latent Triforce energy...but he was too focused on his goal.

Asriel arrived first through the TV set as Kevin Keene recoiled from the sudden unleash of energy.

Asriel pulled his Hazard Card

"Whoaaah!  What the heck...!?"

"Sorry about this." He shoved Kevin to the ground as Duke started barking angrily...moments before Mark "Commandant" Moore came through and aimed his zapper to take the shot at Videoland's prophesized Game Master.

"Oh no you don't..." Asriel held up the NX board and reflected the Zapper shot back at Commandant, forcing him back through the warp...just as Chris' gloved hand grabbed him by the back of the next and yanked him back through and into the Palace of Power Chamber Room where a startled Lana and everyone else were freaking out.

"Sorry about this, Kevin...buuuuut I guess you will be taking out that trash, after all." Asriel waved with a salute. "And sorry to you, too, Duke for being a little rough with your master.  It was either that or he'd have to go to the emergency room for a chest wound.  Anyway...see ya!" He dove back in.

"Duke ole boy...I think I've played enough for today.....or a week..." Kevin backed away from the dropped NES Advantage as the screen started clearing up. "I think I'll...clean up my room now..."

Back in the throne room...

Moore panted in anger, attention divided between the goat that got in his way, the werewolf that was now standing with a circuit plate in his hand and a charge of lightning in the other. And all of the N-Team present. But it was Chris that got the most attention.

"Just what do you think you're doing...?"

Chris smiled wider. "Using a program I never realized existed until now." Chris pressed the Program button and entered 64. "Let's see what it does." He aimed at Moore and was surprised that the Glove charged up a blast and fired, without him having to squeeze his fist. "Hell yeah!!"

Moore dodged the blast, returning with his own, only to have it deflected by an energy shield. "What?!"

Chris quickly sped past Moore, using every martial arts move he knew, pummeling Moore back. "I got two words for you!!"

Moore fell to the ground, dizzy and bruised from Chris' beating. "Uuuuhhhh...."

Chris picked up Moore by the collar and shoved his Glove's barrel into Moore stomach. "GAME OVER!!!!" He fired, sending Moore slamming into a wall.

"YES!" Asriel fist-pumped having since emerged out of the Ultimate Warp Zone with me following; Commandant and Chris passing by me twice in this rush.

Most of the eyes were on Chris...but Azzy and I occasionally got looks from the other members of the N-Team.

"I think...we're in for a final ride!" Asriel grabbed me as the universe twisted. Moments before Chris turned to me...and furrowed his brow...like he recognized me.

My eyes widened.

Then nothingness...

And then there we were.

"Coleman." I whirled away from where my eyes were affixed to Chris Blair through the narrowing breach between dimensions...and now I was staring at...another Chris Blair. Older. More facial hair.

No. He was probably an avatar of this universe's creator.

"Still the same old Dr. Arcade, eh, Neil?"

He was addressing me rather casually...by my birth name, at that."

"Hmm...your memory's eroded.  Not surprised.  Not after what happened.  Look...I'd love to catch up and say how good it is to see you...well...this representation but...I'm going to be blunt, man.

Your trash is in my dimension's memory echo."

"Memory...echo?"

"Your goddesses really got the wool pulled over your eyes, don't they?"

"Wouldn't be the first time, man." I shook my head. "I don't get it.   Why did you look like that version of you when we met last in Gravitron Park--"

My memory was coming back.

"When Asriel over there was 8 years younger?  That's easy.  Because that iteration was a dimensional echo.  An interpretation of how your universe's creator remembers me.  How they wanted to remember me.  Truth is...my creator and your creator haven't really kept up, despite reconnecting about five years ago.  It's things that happen behind the veil of our realities that...we're better off not knowing details about."

"Yeah...I...try not to think about 4th walls if I can help it.  Honestly dealing with meta worlds is...hard to do.  Even harder when it's not played up for comedy."

"I don't understand anything about this." Asriel frowned.

"Good.  You're better off not knowing...how things really are."

I had actually been tripping over myself wondering if I should be addressing him as Captain N Neo or Gundam Silverbolt, Vash the Stampede, or even Rhodimus Prime.

"Volt, this world is not necessarily how this universe's creator made it...you don't necessarily see it as how he saw it...you see it as how your universe's creator saw it.  And your goddesses made a game out of it before the dimensions drifted apart.  Before you...tried to stop being the King of Crossovers...a title you didn't actually get until the current UltraVerse."

That...actually started to cause things to fall into place. Then what we were experiencing was not necessarily the actual CN64 and its superimposed sub-universes...just the submerged memories of a previous version of the UltraVerse that the Goddesses resurrected for one of their past games....the past game that Adonis broke the rules on when he annihilated Universal City.

In that instance...the previous two universes we had been two were interpretations of THEIR respective creators. Not what actually happened once...but how those universes were REMEMBERED. Really...this was all so meta...and somehow all part of Adonis' plan.

If ever met the true creator of the UltraVerse...I'd have a lot of questions...and somehow I felt they'd harken back to the old hand-drawn web comic, Fanboy Otaku Gamer's Club and its later iteration Fanboy Otaku Gamer's Club Adventure; where its hero characters actually confronted their own creator after he...basically Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey-ed them...down to them actually coming back to life.

Why was I remembering this now?

Getting back to the point.

"Adonis did this once already."

"He's an anomaly.  And not the first of his kind.  There have been other instances of...creations that act independent of their maker's...script."

"Right.  Like Walt Flashman's Winchester Wolf?" I referred to an old case of my mentors.

"A villain that doesn't want to be controlled.  To the point of rebellion.  As much as a pain in the ass as the damn Mazoku."

Xellos Metallium's name immediately popped in my head out of nowhere. That was...something I recalled from Universal City. How curious...and relevant.

"Truth be told...I don't think Madam Fate can control him.  Nor...does she have any interest in doing so.  He serves her better when he acts of his own accord."

"Well that acting of his own accord, Coleman...is pissing off the wrong people in my universe."

"I know...it...just keeps going back to my oldest and worst failure--"

"You still beating yourself up over that.  Look, man.  I can tell you've moved on from the last "game" that your goddesses abandoned but...you haven't forgiven yourself.  And...really, you know they have to be a package deal.  Trust me.  You'll live to regret it."

"Advice for the man upstairs...assuming our universe is written by--"

"That said...you're going to have to have one more ride with us to kick him out of my turf.  You up for it?"

"As sure as the Electro Beam clamps onto Kevin Hayland's zapper and rearranges Ganon's ugly Terminator-looking anatomy."

"Y'know...I'd almost forgotten about that.  You're damn awesome, you know that?"

"Naaah."

Asriel just kind of stranded off to the side, looking like he didn't want to but in.

"I guess my memory's better in some areas than other.  I remember...the conversation about "The Game Master" and Diamond Animation...the whole inspiration and basis for Captain N.  I remember...a version of you telling me how it was on once, late night and...it sparked some kind of...argument with someone on a message board.  Y'know...the whole "Proof or S.T.F.U." ultimatum?  Anyway...

I've certainly come across a lot of alternate theories and plausible points of origin for Captain N the Game Master...for VideoLand. Asriel and I have been to the...unfinished, incomplete unstable timeline of "Buddy Boy". I know all about "Captain Nintendo" as the story went in an issue of Nintendo Power. I'd even recalled weird future connections to the Matrix trilogy that I couldn't help but draw comparisons to...

And yet...I don't know how I know all this? When did I ever discuss similarities between the Matrix and Captain N the Game Master?"

"You know more than you think, Coleman.  You just don't know it, yet."

"Deep." I crossed my arms, wrinkling my nose. It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but I knew he was right.

"Hang on a sec....yeah...okay, I'm going to assume I got passed some kind of message from our universe's maker, somehow...and now I'm a little more up to speed on who your horned friend is now, Neil."

The conversation went on until he decided to let Asriel ask a few questions.

"So...you're this universe's Captain N?"

"Well...one of a couple revisions.  Same as your friend, Neil...Volt as you call him...has been through his own revisions; probably with each of his universe's goddesses changing the game."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's like this, kid.  You both are convinced that the game has always been the game.  The one and only.  The Goddesses just start over on it every so often.  Well...in truth, they've actually been facing each other in multiple games.  Most of which have stale-mated and rather than admit defeat to each other, they start over and rewrite the game from the ground up.  They pack up the old game and its notes and archive it...never getting back to it.  At least until now.  That's how I see how it happens."

"Then...?"

"Yeah.  Your Undertale didn't even exist in the UltraVerse until the goddesses let another Emulation Rift Anomaly, as Coleman calls it...revise and retell the Ultraverse story."

"......just like the Legend of Zelda evolves as it gets retold..." Asriel pondered.

"Yeah.  Like that.  Neil's said that this is why it takes so much to actually damage his home world’s space-time continuum...VGM-098 is its current configuration, I think?"

Asriel's gears were grinding, but he was taking it all in. It all made sense. He was understanding better than I was.

"Then...I'm just the latest patch and update...?" Asriel  kind of looked down at his feet.

He made it sound undignified when he put it that way.

"Don't sell yourself short.  You've grown the UltraVerse's history and lore.  Where you go from here--"

"Is a choice you're leaving to me?  Keanu Reeves.  The Matrix ending.  Right?"

"Heh."

"I choose my own path...just as Volt chose his."

A moment of silence.

"So...I hear he punched out one of his Goddesses...." Chris mused.

"I guess that gets the cool stamp of approval?"

"He's gotten a little more badass...but--"

"Never be as bad as you?"

"You're learning, kiddo.  You're learning." Chris mussed Asriel's head fur.

"Hey come on.  I'm at least two years older than--"

"Then that version of me.  I'm not at liberty to tell you how old this avatar version of me is, dude.  But uh...minus your 100 years of confinement?  Yeah...I'm still your elder.  And don't you forget it."

"Oh yes, sir..." Asriel conceded, a little dejected by the situation.

You do you, Goat Son. You do you.

"So this world is an amalgamation of--"

"Of things your friend has probably seen, experienced, read, or even taken part in from the adventures of various other Chris Blairs across the dimensions.  Things all fundamentally connected and...trying to exist all at the same time in one plan of existence."

"Oh!  Like the strange versions of the Sailor Scouts and the mashup of Mega Man and the Transformers?"

"That takes me back to the Mandy Moore era..." Chris rubbed his chin.

"Who?"

"Never mind.  Before your time.  Neil might know the name if I jog his memory enough."

"Huh...you'd think after 8 years, I'd be used to being left out of the conversation and the inside-jokes."

"Kid...someday you'll have your own that you'll tease your younger peers with.  The cycle of life, y'know.  Don't uh...have too much fun with it."

"Yeah,  Too heroically aligned for that."

"That said, we've talked enough.  It's time you got back to your quest."

"Then you know...?"

"I know.  Don't sweat the fallen Triumvirate.  We all moved on.  But...I'm here for you man.  I'm here when you need me.  You got at least one of us still standing with you against your b**** of a Goddess."

I nodded with a sad look.

"Trust in your UltraVerse’s own creator.  Just as I trust in NeoVerse's creator."

"Is...that what we're calling it, now?"

"That's what you're calling it.  I'm sure my maker has a different name in mind but...this is just a memory echo universe.  The NeoVerse as your Goddesses remember it through his eyes."

"His...?" Asriel asked.

"You've spent too much time here.  Get moving, dudes.  This time without Adonis choosing your path.  That'll really piss him off.   You go on ahead without him, he'll have no choice but to follow you out of our dimension and into the next."

I smiled and saluted.

"I'll...see you again some time, old friend."

"You too."

And off we went into the breach that Chris opened up with his Glove.

"Who...was that...?" Asriel asked.

"A friend.  An old friend and a true friend.  Y'know...some parts of my past...are still worth remembering."

I could have told Asriel a lot about what I had recalled about him. The Wolverine Adamantium claws and skeleton. The fact that in addition to being Captain N, he was also simultaneously Link in this universe, too. So many thinks I couldn't help but be envious of. But, he had his thing, I had my thing. All things considered...my creator; whoever he or she or it may be...did a pretty good job with me...and our world.

But where did Chris send us...?

Somewhere back in the UltraVerse's own memories. And quite frankly...it was a memory that was probably more fragmented than the rest.

Sub-Entry 384: "Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality, Part 4 - Ultra Crew Movie 4":
I was staring into the abyss...but the abyss had its back to me.

Speaking in metaphor...what I really meant was...that I was looking at myself. Looking at me.

“…”

The sudden onlooker’s lab coat fluttered as he surveyed the scene, the voltmeters on the buckles of his sandals buried deep into the red zone. Angrily, his furry tail serpentined as he glared at the spot where Wily’s skullcar had once been.

“And this is where you’ve brought our endless rivalry…back to this place. You couldn’t have picked a worse place in time, space, and dimension for the chaos to resume. I never thought I’d be back here. Well…….it’s time to finish what our makers started and never finished. And no matter how much Madam Fate is counting on you to rewrite the end of this, I swear that I’ll ensure Lady Destiny brings this to the close we all intended. Or at least one we can live with…”

And the other "me" had just witnessed the Ultra Crew and its allies being banished...somewhere outside of time, space, and reality...to somewhere else where Dr. Wily--in all his Skullcar-driven madness had sent them--with Dr. Light's latest invention that he stole.

And now it seemed like the whole "Omniverse" was under the thumb of all the villains that had previously been locked up in this..."Wario Galaxy Prison".

"Finally something sounds familiar."

"And looks familiar.  This version of you could be your twin."

"And realizing that gives me a chill up my spine, Asriel.  I don't want to risk that he can see us.   Nor do I want to find out if having two iterations of me in the same place will cause...problems."

"It's weird, Volt.  It's like...suddenly that Mirror Warp Underground and CNRPG in the ListBot nebula...collided with our universe and the two are existing together."

"Yeah...but something's just a hair off.  It feels closer to modern times but...something still feels behind the times."

"What do you mean?"

"It almost feels like five years ago."

"But...that's when...!"

"Yeah.  When." I looked on remembering when this whole Undertale thing began...I had this feeling that it began when...this universe ended. But...why? What happened that this universe's maker just...abandoned it?

Then again...why did the other universes we'd seen end up abandoned as well? Why did their timelines come to an end? What...events happened that...lead to all of them feeling...incomplete. Like unstable timelines that just...stopped like Sans predicted would happen from all the timelines jumping around and such because of the power of reset being abused during the Genocide Timelines?

"We're not getting any closer?"

"I'm...not sure that our SPECTRE functions wouldn't cancel each other out.  He seems to be up to speed on what's going on here...but...I have a feeling we'd only complicate matters."

"And yet...we can't leave well enough alone, can we?"

"So many answers in Game World...or VideoLand...or...whatever you want to call where we just left."

"Volt?  This Dimensional Triumvirate that Christopher Blair spoke of?"

"My memories are corrupted from being forced back through all this...or...by Adonis' tampering...or who can say why.......but what fuzzy memories I do recall was...in the before times, as S.T.C. was in its younger tour of duty.  Can't say how many lifetimes ago that was...

We knew of countless other Alpha Dimensions...two of them, in addition to our own UltraVerse stood out as being...well, I hate to sound arrogant but..."elite". Not Prime Universes as we've come to know the term referring to "official canon" universes with a universal timeline and lore that transcends other iterations and AU's...but among the mightiest recognized.

The one we just left was the other surviving of the three."

"And...Universal City was the one that didn't."

"Yes."

"Chris said that his world's true creator has...been away from his creation.  Which, when I think about it is...kind of mind-blowing and meta.  The more I think about the possibility that we don't really exist, Asriel...the more I just want to believe...ignorance is bliss."

I was nervous to ponder about our own universe's "true creator". And whenever I thought about Universal City's "true creator", I got a feeling of fear and dread, wondering why they hadn't recreated their universe; brought it back to life. Why was its memory abandoned? What was it about that dimension that Adonis saw fit to torture me with? I mean...aside from the fact that I couldn't save even one life from that total genocide run.

"I'm with you on that.  I don't want to...not exist.  I mean...you know what I mean."

"Maybe that's why Bob tries so hard to believe in the User...and we pretty much confirmed to him the existence of Users."

"Volt, this conversation is getting way too real.  I see now why you don't like meta-physics and certain kinds of philosophy and quantum string theories."

"A protective lie it is." I sighed, putting my hands in my lab coat pockets. "Which brings us right back to the broken promise, doesn't it?"

"Stop that.  It's not doing you any good moping about it.  I've made my peace with the truth.  And we'll discuss it until we have a solution...but not until this war is finally over and Chaopolis is stopped for good."

"Volt!" Asriel got me back on task with my counterpart. I nodded.

I got close enough to listen in after Asriel reshaped the NX gear into an FBI-type surveillance microphone with the directional dish.

And what my counterpart had to say did nothing to reassure me about the nature of this universe, having been told about the "true nature" of the NeoVerse and the UltraVerse.

Alternate Volt shoved his hands in his lab coat pockets and continued watching, the darkness making him little more than a silhouette.

“Well. I guess meeting up with them all will become inevitable before this mess is back on track. Figures that A.E.O.N. protocol would be null and void from the get-go. How I managed to spend 1200 years outside of time and space while observing my other ongoing mission before I was discovered and slowly integrated into their time stream I’ll never know. But that’s the least of my worries.”  The scientist thought, narrowing his eyes.

“Since he’s involved, he’s probably already started leaking information from the future relative to this point and probably dropping names and events that no one’s ready for. When did it become so hard just to abide by Emmet Brown’s rule to not screw up future events with information on future events? Before long, he’ll have ME doing it too, and that’s really going to complicate matters.”  He pondered in silence as he narrowed his eyes.

“If there’s a fourth wall even left of this universe, it’s about to be completely disintegrated with what’s to come. My maker really let this story get out of hand with how self-aware it became. The huge and ever growing number of characters, the number of references to games which are definitely considered Retro now plus the celebrity reference drops and cameos upon cameos…well, the other authors were guilty of some of that too, but…”

Other Volt knitted his lightning bolt shaped eyebrows. “Who knows. Maybe all of them would still consider this little wrinkle in time charming because of all that. I mean everything in the 90’s was getting away with it.”

Volt number 2 stopped in mid step.

“But that’s not the matter at hand. The real issue is that this all around me is proof that our makers’ works became reality…or rather a reality. One of the many dimensions of the Axis of Reality, in fact. And now that…that bastard…is loose in this one--an abandoned reality…an unfinished fan-fiction collaboration at that and he’s seeking to wreck the history that led up my present self and universe and by extension what leads up to wherever the other authors’ creations took them. And if that happens everything from Worlds Apart to the Paradise Lost project will cease to exist. And probably whatever works the others created since this time. It’ll be a mess of paradoxes upon paradoxes in the Time-Space Continuum possibly endangering the whole Axis of Reality.”

Asriel looked just as freaked out by this revelation. We both wanted to deny it so bad...but...the evidence just kept pouring in.

Had the Universe been "Undertale-ing" even before there WAS an Undertale?

“Okay. Organize yourself. You can do that, right?”

Alternate Volt  shook his head rapidly, trying to compose himself.

“First things first. You know he’d never do anything logical; that would mean he’d have a plan. There is no plan. He just…DOES. Thus he’s probably wrecking the events of this opus out of order. Which means he’s probably janked up the ending by now. He could be hiding out in any one of the chapters…waiting to join up with the villains of this story and offer his services.”

A smirk crossed his muzzle. “They’re in for way more than they bargained for.”  He mused. Then he turned serious again.

“But the fun and games will end there. He’s got just as much access to future events, people, places, game worlds, and references as I do and can duck in and out of the time-space continuum as well as I can. There’s no telling who or what he’ll bring to the table. Though if I had to second guess him…he’d probably raid heavily from everything between 2005 and 2015. Great. Just what the UCIAT and their soon-to-be-allies need—internet memes and anime cartoons and video games that haven’t been made, dubbed, or compiled yet”  A grimace.

"Two-thousand fifteen.  Then he's at least 5 years out of date compared to me." I mused.

Asriel was already taking into account that five years ago was...well...that date. So...did this world end when Project Lost Dreemurr began?

Stop thinking in meta, Volt. That's what Deadpool does.

"And conversely our knowledge of the future is a danger to him as he's a danger to every one of these past universes." Asriel reasoned.

“I guess I should do what I do best and follow this logically. Step one: head to the next dimension in sequence. You know where that is. Hope his author left the door unlocked to his works. Chances are I might actually meet up with both him…or rather his avatar self and his alter-ego self. While there, observe and report per protocol as if this were a normal A.E.O.N. mission the Council would assign you to. Monitor for any events that have been changed or outside interference that might disturb the original events of their adventure leading up to the next dimension. If possible jump back and forth between realms and see if any of the other game worlds and rifts are being affected. Maybe check up on those foul-mouthed Junior Ultra Crew. I seem to recall they had a pretty significant role in all this.”

He rubbed his chin as he planned, sweeping his gaze around the destroyed and now abandoned area of the property a distance away from Dr. Light’s now empty lab. He could make out robot masters in the distance tearing the place apart and raiding its research. Probably at the behest of Dr. Wily.

“Step two: Since you and your author don’t know where the other authors are these days, it’s up to him to try to steer me through this, solo, from the outside and hope that he still has enough control over things seeing as how…that extra-temporal/dimension/spatial scum has probably evolved beyond his control. Hope he remembers more about his part making this thing and his characters’ roles in it than I do. Ironic since I am technically a soft reboot of…*ahem*…getting off track again. Right.”

He kept referring to his true creator as an "author". It sent a chill up my spine, somehow.

A pause. He had stopped over a long-abandoned empty E-Tank. It looked like it had been discarded a very, very long time ago.

“With step two, you’ll have to be on the lookout because eventually something WILL happen that will derail this whole shebang and you’ll need to be there to put things back on the tracks. Which means revealing yourself to them and then the clash of the eras will inevitably begin. You’ll just have to hope that your nostalgia can coexist with their nostalgia in between the fourth wall moments, the new faces that’ll likely drop in and the gaps you’re going to have to help fill in. Really hope I can keep the future references to a minimum. But with this universe taking on a life of its own, I’ll be doing it by shear reflex.”

A roll of the eyes.

“Step three: By then who can say what chapter we’ll be in. My maker remembers getting at least three of them some semblance of complete before…before the complications set in and the dust began to collect. So the plan is to keep pushing forward into unknown territory. Like a gap in a bridge.”

Standing up straight, he closed out his plan.

“And step four, if absolutely necessary…call in anyone from anywhere and anytime. Even your own crew members. They are SO not ready meet their past pre-reboot counterparts. Can’t be helped I guess. Not that I can’t say I haven’t secretly dreamed of the meeting of past, present, and future generations buuut…it’s still technically taboo by the Council despite the number of times it happened in all my other missions. *chuckle*  My author is still the self-proclaimed king of the crossovers…again beside the point.”

Another reminder to get back on task.

“And step five…well…I’ll get to step five when I come to it.”

The time-space-dimension wanderer put his knuckles to his hips and looked skyward. “Time to go…” He finally spoke. And with that he drifted out of time, space, and the Capcom World dimension…

I watched as my counterpart escaped off through the open seam in reality.

And as it was...we followed the other Volt Arcade through it...

That was when the Ultra-ception began. Asriel and I were two agents of S.T.C....following myself; a different iteration of an agent of S.T.C...within a breach somewhere in the Omniverse...

And we ended up between universes...outside of time and space...and somehow...? We were invisible to the large group that was now outside of time and space. How...how was this possible?

What...layers to this were covering us up?

And that's when we landed...on a giant asteroid in a giant abyss of nothingness. I think...it was a chunk of the world we just left behind. The world my counterpart had monologued to himself on. I think that world was Monsteropolis. Mega Man's world.

"Whoa...funky gravity."

"Yeah...it's not affecting them, though." I pointed to the large group with the disabled vehicles. and the crowd of people coming to...as they were now getting a taunting message from a group of villains across time and space. I recognized Wily immediately...and our universe's Ganon.

I immediately caught sight of Odie...and he was reactivating X and Zero?

At the same time Nermal was treating....!

"Chris...?" I gaped. But...we had just left him behind in the NeoVerse...! What was he doing...

No. He was only slightly older than the 15-16 year old that had become the new Game Master in place of Kevin. But...!

Asriel and I decided to listen in.

Nermal was already checking their vital signs. She gently probed the leader's neck, checking for a pulse. "He's alive..."

No sooner had the words left Nermal's mouth had the stranger's gloved hand clamped around her wrist, and his eyes flung open. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Please! Don't hurt me! I'm a doctor! I'm just trying to help." Nermal was released immediately. "Sorry. I mistook you for someone else."

"Apology accepted."

Garfield and Neil immediately stepped forward. "I'm Dr. Garfield Arcade of the Ultra Crew. I'm a Neo Arcadian Game Master born with the sole purpose of helping video world and cartoon world heroes who are trapped in otherwise impossible situations with no way out. And you are?"

"Chris Blair, Captain N Neo. Where are we? This isn't VideoLand."

"I'm afraid we're in a proverbial nowhere. We've all been exiled to Limbo itself."

"Wait, I'm starting to remember, the Commandant used a fragment of the Dark Triforce to fire up some kind of spell I've never seen before. The last thing I remember was getting hit with a red blast that nearly blinded me, then the world turned black..."

"We found you floating in space inside a blue shield of energy."

"Dammit! I can't believe that piece of sh-- got the drop on us! We should have been ready for a sucker punch like that!"

"It could have happened to anyone. Come to think of it, it did." Garfield grimaced.

"Wait a minute, did you say your name is Chris Blair?" Neil said, very interested.

"Yeah, why?"

"The same Chris Blair that wrote those kick-ass fanfics posted at Mark Moore's Captain N site?"

"Yeah, that's me," Chris replied.

"Holy schnikees! Those rewrites of Mark's works were great! I really loved that fanfic based on The Game Master. If only there were more of it to read. Man, an American Captain N anime. That's got to be the coolest thing ever."

"It's not a fanfic, it's all I remember of the movie, and there isn't much more from my end on it. Lots of luck finding a source. As far as I know, Diamond Animation was bought out by DiC." Chris then realized something. "Wait a minute. Rewrites of Mark's stuff? I've never done any rewrites of his stories."

"Oh."

Asriel looked at me.

"More of that...meta stuff...it's starting to scare me to think we could just be words on a page somewhere--"

"Azzy.  Don't think about it.  Think about it and it could drive you insane."

I think I heard Asriel whisper to himself. "Please...we have to be real...we just have to be..."

I decided to comfort him with a probable theory. It was...probably just being exposed to so much tachyon energy within the very epicenter of the Axis of Reality that it was making us question our own realities. What Chris said back there...couldn't be true, could it? I mean...we were just caught up in the moment of his universe meshing with ours, right?

I thought about Asriel's possible counter to that.

But...what about the times Flowey said...that this is all just a game...?

Where did the lies end and the truth begin, Madam Fate. Just how real did you and Destiny make us? How dangerous was the thinking to consider...who made the both of you...?

"Do I know you?" Chris quipped, his curiosity irked by the fact that Neil knew who he was.

"Maybe you might recognize my alias. Does the name Dr. Arcade of Neo Arcadia ring a bell?"

"You're Neil Coleman?"

"That's right." Neil extended his hand. Chris shook it and sighed. "If we ever get back to the Omniverse, remind me to introduce you to the original Captain N."

"Kevin Keene?!" Chris' eyes grew two sizes. "But, he's...."

"The Omniverse's Kevin Keene, but Captain N nonetheless." Neil thought of something. "Holy schnikees I forgot about your friends!"

"Are they okay, Nermal?"

"Same as Chris was, they're just unconscious. A little bruised and battle-scarred, but alive."

"Uhhgh...someone get the name of that...that...that whatever that hit me..." Eric Carlson said as he woke up. "Did I miss something? When did we get to Disneyland?"

Wait...Carlmaximus?

"Dude, we're not in Disneyland...or VideoLand. The Commandant sent us to some kind of Limbo, Dark Triforce Express."

"That is seriously messed up."

"It gets worse." Neil piped up. "Dr. Wily sealed off every warp zone in existence and joined forces with the Commandant, Mother Brain, Ganon, Seymore Cheese and some new villains I've never heard of. Dr. Evil, Rubius, and Zander."

"Dr. Wily?! But he's dead!" Carlson screamed.

"He means the Dr. Wily of their universe." Captain N Neo clarified.

"I guess I might as well introduce you to everyone, Garfield began. "You've already met Neil, Nermal, and myself. That's my adopted brother, Odie, that's Arlene, that's Ed, this is Princess Violet, Sonic, Tails, Bunnie Rabbot, Lucille Lambert, Sailor Moon, Mega Man, and Roll."

"Good to meet people who are on the good side for a change."

Mega Man took one look at X and almost fainted. "Who, who is that?!?"

"X, last creation of Dr. Light."

Oh boy...another Worlds Unite upon us. Or maybe...maybe this was the ORIGINAL Worlds Unite...if this...whole forgotten memories of the UltraVerse thing was true...?

"Dr. Light?!? That's my creator! If he's..." Mega Man gasped at the sudden realization. "Then he's my big little brother!!"

"In a manner of speaking," Neil replied. "Yeah."

"What about the red robot?"

"His name's Zero," Chris replied. "He was Dr. Wily's last creation, and, the only one of Wily's robots that Dr. Wily didn't design to be evil. Dr. Wily was hunted down and had no choice but to give Dr. Light help. He finally found his sanity but it was too late for him to enjoy it. Shortly after he built Zero, he died. Since then they've been the kick-ass commanding Maverick Hunters on MegaLand."

"And the girl?"

"Princess Alisa of Final Fantasy," came the quick reply from Chris.

"There is no princess that I know of in-- Never mind. Strike that last comment." Odie shrugged.

"Everyone used to call her Miss Jugsy before I arrived. My advice, don't even think about calling her."

Asriel turned away, deer-in-headlights expression. Yeah...still a cinnamon roll even though he swore up and down that he was.

I coughed and looked away.

I tried to connect to Cryptosmasher...AEON...anything. But as it turned out...the networks of this universe...were too primitive to interface with.

"Curses."

"We have no idea what the situation is back in their home..." Asriel looked worried.

"Or ours." What I previously felt was frustration. Now I was feeling my confidence start to slip away.

Sure we were leaving each universe and sub-universe no worse off than when we began...but we were also leaving each one with no clear idea what would come of our meddling. What butterfly effect had we caused? And...did it even matter if they were "echo-memory" universes...of a time that the UltraVerse...or Omniverse...whichever it was...got reformatted?

As it turned out, all over the Omniverse...*cough*...worlds were now falling under the control of this latest evil alliance.

"This world now belongs to Dr. Evil!  Surrender now or be stripped of your...moooooojo."

Meanwhile we watched as our mentors' counterparts were putting a plan together to escape Limbo and break into the Axis of Realities, which they believed could get them home by following a path through the other dimensions like the NeoVerse and...and...Universal City...back to the Omniverse.

I watched as everyone got acquainted while the tech savvy of the group worked on the..."Ultramobile". Still very N-64-looking in concept.

And by the time everyone's vehicles were put back together and room was made for the new arrivals.

And before long the vehicles fired up and headed toward the edge of the asteroid. It looked at first like they were going to drive off and into endless space but then...

Electricity swarmed over the apparatus on the Ultramobile and arced across to the Royal Roadster.

“It’s happening! It’s doing it! Ultracom’s driving the Dimensional System. We’re crossing over! WE'RE DOING IT!!!” Garfield’s eyes were wide open. He looked like he was on cloud nine. “I can’t believe it…after so many years…we’ve finally discovered the secret to traversing the fifth dimension. We’re entering another reality!!!”

Odie was just as ecstatic. He actually had tears in his eyes. This was the first time he EVER showed any emotion. “Ladies and gentlemen…welcome to light-years beyond the next level…”

"Ugh...did we really say that back during the bridge to 2000?" I shook my head. Asriel sweat dropped.

A moment of silence.

"Hitch a ride?"

"Totally." I nodded as Asriel handed me the NX Joycon and we converted them both into magnetic grappling hooks. Both of us kept a fair distance away before waiting until the last moment to pull the hazard cards and then snag the rear end of Ultramobile moments before it was pulled into the Axis of Reality and we were pulled in with it.

Once inside, we reeled ourselves in and clung for dear life to the car as it made its journey through...well...it was hard to describe in this iteration...but the tachyon flow was still there.

We didn't even hesitate to integrate with this timeline...yet my counterpart kept his Hazard Card in, unbeknownst to us.

If this was an earlier version of me...somehow...then my time with Asriel had certainly changed me. We didn't even hesitate. But he was saving his trump card...presumably for something more pressing. What could it be?

Wait. Of course. If we were here...so was Adonis...

Could it be...?

"Whoa...this is one wild ride." Asriel gazed as we passed through the giant crystal pipe. One of trillions in a massive web of webs spreading outward from the Axis of Reality.

Inside, I could hear the coms between vehicles and such as Garfield, Odie, and my younger "Neil" counterpart explained Sliders theory.

And finally we were dropped off after the longest of rides; having splashed through a giant mercury metal...planet...?...interconnecting the pipe to the main shaft.

And then we landed.

“We’re alive!!!” Serena gasped. Huh. The UltraVerse’s Sailor Moon was with them...how'd that slip past me?

“Yeah…but…where are we?”

“Dude, CB! We're back!” Matt exclaimed.

“Oh my god!” Princess Vi exclaimed.

What welcomed their vision had not been expected at all. From the looks of it, the entire video world they had arrive on was decimated, the sky permanently darkened with clouds, the ground scorched from long ceased attacks.

“THIS is VideoLand?!”

“Wha…what happened?!”

“It’s…it’s…” Tears welled in Tails’ eyes.

“How…how did this happen?”

Chris sighed, and spoke up. “I suppose I should start from the beginning,” he answered. “It began in the Earth year 1998. Back then, I was just a normal game player. One day something happened…a rift occurred and Terra was pulled into VideoLand’s reality…merging our worlds together. It was then when an evil force calling himself the Commandant rose to power. He screwed up a lot of lives, he killed the entire N-Team except for Kevin, nearly drove Dr. Light insane, and conquered our entire universe. What you see here is only a small sample of the hell he put us through."

The Commandant...the evil Mark Moore from Chris' universe...

"Anyway, everyone in VideoLand thought it was all over until...the people began to whisper rumors of another part to the Ancient Prophecy. The last half of the Prophecy was this:

“In the year of Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Eight, A world known as Terra shall be brought into VideoLand from another realm, and a man of dark heart shall take control of this world with the aid of VideoLand’s evil. He shall control the weapons and forces of Terra and aid Darkness in conquering VideoLand.

“In the tenth month of his rule, a threat to his power shall arise. A child who will regain his past and become the greatest hero in both realms. With a Glove of Power, and a mighty team, the Hero will restore peace, and return Terra to its rightful place. He is Captain N, the Game Master.

The Chosen One would possess a video game which contained the Second Prophecy. I was stunned when I discovered that message in my Zelda 64 game. It freaked me out, scared the shit out of me, and I ran.”

Garfield smiled. “The same thing happened to the Kevin Keene in our dimension.”

Neil also grinned. “Simon almost bit his finger off!” he chuckled.

“Anyway, Kevin told me how the Ultimate Warp Zone transformed his Zapper and Power Pad into weapons. It did the same thing to my Power Glove.”

“Hence the legend: with a Glove of Power, right?”

“Right.”

The cars speed through the post-apocalyptic video world. “Where are we headed?”

“The Palace of Power,” X replied. “Or what’s left of it anyway.”

Actually...it turned out in this universe it was called the Palace of Virtue.

Asriel and I had released the back of the Ultramobile and continued on NX Switchboard, having resized it for us to both comfortable ride it together. We lagged waaaay back to keep from being noticed, now that we were in this space-time continuum without the Hazard Cards active.

We tailed everyone to the ruins of the Palace of Power.

I began to notice how much more emotional these iterations of our friends and fellow Ultra Crew were. Lucille and Nermal crying their eyes out was one thing...but Pit, too? I'd seen him do the movie cliché of the "sexy cry" before...but not bawl like a child.

"This Commandant has to be the biggest piece of crap that ever existed." Sonic spit.

Oh. Yeah. Sonic and Tails were here too. As was Bunnie.

Chris explained the tale of the Commandant. We'd already heard it by now but...

Odie didn't take long to get to work restoring the Palace's power supply.

It was at this time that alternate Volt had caught up. Azzy and I ducked out of his hearing and smelling range. Thankfully his abilities were almost the same as my own so...figuring out how to fool myself despite him being out of space and time and not us proved easier than I thought.

Listening to the conversation brought up some more details that we probably could have heard in NeoVerse such as the "lesser-known Spamsalisus". Huh. A third party member with an Icarian name. Who'd a thought?

But he didn't stick around. He quickly jumped out of this dimension and back to the Omniverse to check on each of the worlds now falling under enemy control.

By the time Odie got communications up, X and Zero had already begun making contact with Maverick Hunter Headquarters. And by extension, Dr. Cain.

"...Dave?" I arched an eyebrow. Asriel and I looked at each other. At no point did I ever consider an AU where Dr. Cain's first name was David...but I stopped questioning what was plausible and went with the flow. There was just no stopping the feeling of surprise and confusion. Only reminding myself to get it together after the moment passed.

While we were preparing to follow the hunters to deal with Chronus and his new Mavericks...

Across the Omniverse, while it was an almost total rout...there were unexpected instances of people rallying to fight back as well as...unexpected alliances...

Corneria, Fox and his team begrudgingly await the landing of the four Balthi-II fighters as they stood next to their own Arwings. "Remember, they're here to work with us."

"Yeah," Peppy remarked. "And look what happened with Pigma when he worked with me and your father."

"Peppy," Fox snapped back. "Don't start. You can have at him when this is over."

As the four fighters landed, Andross stepped forward to greet Wolf Fearson, the leader of Star Wolf. "Ah, Wolf. Nice to see that you haven't gotten my nephew killed yet."

Fearson? I thought it was O’Donnell.

"Cut the crap," Wolf snapped, obviously as "enthusiastic" about this team up as Star Fox was. "I'm not in the mood for pleasantries, not after you drop this bombshell on us." He pulled off his gloves and frowned at Fox. "Nice to see you, MacCloud."

"Don't even start, Wolf..." Fox growled back, and surprisingly, it was Andross who got between them.

"Stop this pointless bickering now!" he bellowed. "Your rivalries can wait until Wily has been beaten."

Falco snorted. There was nothing he rather do than settle his "differences" with Leon right now. But, as Andross had said, it would have to wait till later. "Just as long as some people remember whose on their side for now."

"Are you suggesting something?" Leon snapped. "Bird?"

"You got a problem with it?! 'Cause I got five friends right here more than willing to back me up!!" the blue falcon snapped, holding up his clenched fist

"Enough!!!" Wolf yelled. "Far be it for me to say this, but your fighting is pointless and trivial! Now I suggest that you both shove it and save the pissing contest for when we go after Wily's forces!"

Fox actually had to raise his brow at that. It was very unlike Wolf to get in the way of Leon's hatred of Falco, and vice-versa. Normally, Wolf's attitude was "You make it or frag it." Basically, his opinion was that you do what you want, but you're on your own if it doesn't match the goals of the leader. For him to keep the two from trying to kill each other...

"As much as I hate to say this," Pigma spoke up. "Wolf is right. We don't have time for this crap."

Peppy, like Fox, was somewhat impressed with the actions of his hated foe. Maybe all that time in bacta tanks and getting his body healed actually made the old swine think about the larger scheme of things.

And still elsewhere four boys from South Park, Colorado had been unexpectedly drafted to assist with Wily's robots on the rampage. I...won't go into details...for your own sanity and to avoid bleeding ears.

Sometime later, Asriel and I caught up to where a lot of the team had been taking it to Chronus' mavericks. I was starting to wonder if anyone longed for the days when Sigma was maverick.

My younger self seemed to be enjoying his role in this.

Neil smiled a bit. Ever since he had first spoken to the Chris Blair in his universe, he had brushed up on the game "Wing Commander". It was then that he understood why Chris got jokes about his name; the hero of Wing Commander was named Chris Blair as well.

“Huh?” Neil suddenly whirled.

“What is it?” Arlene asked.

“I thought I saw someone,” he replied. He just barely caught the movement. “Hey! Come back here!” Neil took off. He could have sworn he saw a mysterious stranger dressed in gray and black clothing similar Link’s outfit in Zelda II outfit. He ran down the nuclear power plant hallway after the stranger.

He turned the corner. Out of the corner of his eye he just barely caught the tail and back paws of a gray wolf disappear around a corner. A wolf? Here? Neil dismissed the idea and concluded his eyes must’ve been playing tricks on him. Neil turned the corner—

“Wha…where’d he go?” Neil looked in every possible direction. “He’s gone!”

Neil was about to turn around and head back when he picked up a strange smell…but the weird thing was he perceived the “smell” in his head, not his nose. “What in the name of…” For a second a neon green glow appeared in his eyes. Neil didn’t notice it, however. Strange. Something about this mental “smell” seemed familiar to Neil. Where had he read about this phenomenon before?

“This is too weird,” Neil sighed as he turned and walked back to his friends. Neil had never considered himself to have a very good sense of smell. Above average sight and modest hearing but smelling? Neil shook his head.

From the shadows a pair of eyes pierced the darkness. The wolf kept its eyes on Neil. This one has a strange dormant power… he thought. This information may prove useful in the future. He may be of the blood of the…ancient race… The wolf retreated into the shadows—

“I had a feeling I’d bump into you here.”  Came the sudden, nonchalant voice of the scientist.

The wolf lept back with a growl.

“Really? Really?”  The lab coat crossed his arms, not really intimidated.

The wolf calmed…then assumed his human form.

“Lone Wulf.”

Asriel pressed himself up against the wall on one side of the hallway intersection...as did I.

"Lone Wulf?" He questioned, quietly. The area's machinery managed to drown out our voices.

"He gets around.  He must've jumped here from CNRPG World." I pondered.

"Should I recognize you?”  Lone Wulf replied, a little irately.  He was clearly not used to being taken by surprise.  If anything he was the one who did the surprising.  How had this person so easily gotten the drop on his stealth so quickly?

“Well, not to speak in riddles but your memory can’t be that short. After all…” The scientist stepped into the light and for the first time could be seen plainly, without the effect of the time-space continuum obscuring his appearance. “…this is a bit of turnabout for avoiding detection just now.”  A smug grin ensued.

“…”  Lone Wulf was obviously surprised…but it immediately clicked. “One shouldn’t tamper with time travel so frivolously.”

“At the risk of sounding arrogant, you don’t need to tell ME that.”

Lone Wulf took it all in. Yes…definitely one and the same. It seemed he had a grip on his power. The lab coat seemed out of place and hardly an accommodating garment for someone geared for adventure and possibly battle. And the martial arts attire underneath it with a button-up shirt and tie underneath the jacket…

“Why are you here? And why risk being seen by—“

“Regretfully…that is an outcome which has become inevitable. It seems Dr. Brown’s law about such…meetings…was just a theory with no basis. Otherwise the Time Space Continuum would have been destroyed long ago. No, my friend…this is more pressing. History is being changed. This whole…adventure is being changed as we speak. An outside force has come back to change the events and relationships that are taking place in this reality.”

Lone Wulf looked unphased. “I see. This is…unsettling.”

“And only going to get worse. The fourth wall is already crumbling around the time-space continuum. That’s the harmless side effect, mind you. I mean technically with Violet here and the Pizza Cats elsewhere, it was going to be broken repeatedly anyway but.....this world and many others’ realities are dictating that my author from a future time come back to this opus to guide me in finishing what he and the others and by extension every one of their characters involved in this…including you and the ones who they haven’t met yet in bringing this story to a close.”

The scientist, who wasn't me, cleared his throat.

“The real danger is what is recorded and history in my time; recorded but incomplete history. Corrupted by many things to begin with but now a dangerous enemy is trying to hammer the nail in the coffin which will destroy EVERYTHING. Thus…this world…this collaboration between authors, made very real, needs to be repaired. It needs…closure. A proper closure which will keep the Time Space Continuum intact.”

“A convoluted series of twists if any other. Am I to assume future information is being carelessly leaked into this time period?” Lone Wulf was surprisingly adept at figuring out this mess of jargon and exposition.

“By now? Yes. And the nature of this whole…set of universes coming together is making it even easier for it to do so. Time is bleeding into this world through both of us. I even find myself dropping unforeseen information, subconsciously without realizing it. And our mutual enemy is most likely going to do so…on purpose. The kind of future info that can severely destroy what few events my author does remember.”

Lone Wulf remained blank as a refrigerator and just as stoic. It was hard to remain so this new turn of events and this sudden revelation of “awareness” not by just the people he had been watching but the adventure itself. And the idea of him being a construct of an unseen author in an unseen “real” dimension was hard to swallow. But the tone of this being was unmistakable. The time-travel was evident and the strange super-awareness was not normal. And from everything happening around now getting further complicated, there was no doubt that what was really transpiring here was this time-space-dimensional being was asking for help...for allies.

“It seems our paths have crossed for a higher cause. Very well then. I will contemplate this new information.”

“You  need not say anything else, Lone Wulf. When the time comes, you’ll be there for me…and them. I do have to say though…it will prove nostalgic seeing certain…origins begin and run their course. Maybe I’ll even be allowed to reveal some green-light data without getting in trouble. ”

Lone Wulf narrowed his gaze. Out of his element when he was not the one with all the answers and most certainly not sure what to make of someone who circumvented his ability to stay out of sight and remain beyond the reach of awareness by all but the most gifted. But now was not the time for ego or competition. There was a higher calling and a prophecy to unravel. He would have his chance to be…mysterious.

“Don’t give me that look. If it helps I’ll let you in on…some of this future info. Things that I’d only trust you to carry with you into your author’s future.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Well…as Doc once said……well, I figured…what the Hell?”

The grin was unnerving…yet somehow reassuring. The mischief in that tone…was he implying that Dr. Emmet Brown was a mentor? It only seemed to make sense why he need not be lectured on the dangers of time travel. But the casual way he seemed to dance about it…perhaps he was now some kind of expert or authority. One who crisscrossed time streams and dimensions effortlessly? And while it wasn’t said there was something that seemed to indicate he was not the one in charge of this operation. The comment on the green-light data? An organization perhaps? Lone Wulf had to wonder just what kind of power this being was…allowed. "Alright, then.”  The prospect of information, especially confidential information set the stage for a favorable outcome.

“I’ll be in touch.”  The scientist slipped out of existence. “And watch over him until I get there…”

Lone Wulf stepped backwards into the shadows as his eyes drifted lower to the ground and the sound of four paws darting away vanished into the silence.

“Did you catch him?” Matt asked.

“Negative. He got away. But what’s weird…he disappeared into thin air.”  Neil scratched his head.

“Say what?” Eric quipped.

“That’s impossible. Every warp in the Time Space Continuum is under Wily’s control.

Neil wanted to tell them about how he “sensed” the stranger, but he wasn’t sure he believed it himself. For all he knew he imagined it. “Sorry. But he vanished without a trace.

“Neil’s right. My sensors detect no other lifeforms besides us.” X Light scanned the Nuclear Plant.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ve scrapped most of Chronus’ mavericks. We’re that much closer to Chronus’ fortress.”

I smiled to Asriel as we watched from the shadows. Things were looking up--

"Oh no!  Not now!" Suddenly time skipped on us. By a good amount...so much that...

"...what!  We're no longer in the NeoVerse?  Where are...!"

I blanched.

"...no..." I swallowed hard as I read the sign. "Welcome to Universal City."

It didn't take long to discover that the group had split up. One had gone toward the village of the Druids. The other toward the city itself.

Universal City. The name implied a city...but it wasn't just a city, any more than it wasn't just a planet...it was a whole galaxy...a whole universe. Hence...a universal...city.

"I would have waited an eternity to come back here...but..." I was feeling a loooot of things. And most of them weren't...particularly happy thoughts. Most of them were turned inward...aimed at myself for....things.

Was this just an echo of how I remembered it here? As brought to form in a lost forgotten memory like the other dimensions?

"Easy, Volt...easy.  We'll figure this out." A moment of silence before. "Should we...split up?"

Our hazard cards had reloaded. I think Asriel wanted to give me...time to cope. And he could use a little alone time to sort his own issues.

What could possibly go wrong?

Sure enough I ended up headed toward the village. I felt like...it would distance me from the Universal Detectives. I...admit it. I was afraid to go back there.

Which had Asriel headed toward the beach.

Elsewhere in Universal City, in the section known as Edoropolis (Little Tokyo)...

"...And I heard Usa-Hime-sama is at the beach, overdressed and hanging out with a bunch of strange people..."

"WHAT'S THIS ABOUT ME BEING AT THE BEACH!??!" Princess Usako Tokugawa's voice pierced the air.

Yup. Violet had a counterpart. And she was pretty much exactly how our Violet USED to be before meeting Bunnie...gods help us all.

"Usa-Hime-sama!!!" The 2 guards kowtowed automatically.

"You'd better tell me what you know about this right now! If there's an imposter masquerading as me I want to know about it! Speak up, already!!! I better get some answers really quick, or I'm going to start exiling!!!!"

"Anoo, Usa-Hime-sama...it kind of goes something like this...

Later...

"...And that's everything we know, your Highness."

"I'm going there right now and straighten this whole mess up! When I find the prissy little tart that impersonating me, I'm going to..." Violet's Universal counterpart picked up her Naginata spear and headed to the beach at lightning speed.

Speaking of Violet, her much shorter counterpart from the Omniverse had this to say...

"Okay that's it. I'm about ready to tear this kimono off! I'm so hot I'm about ready to spontaneously combust!" Violet complained.

Bunnie removed her gi jacket. Then she stopped and removed her sandals and trousers. She was wearing her pink leotard underneath with the wide belt around it. She folded up her outfit and tucked it under her arm. She picked up her sandals and hustled to catch up the others.

Violet sighed. "Lucky. And here I am without my swimsuit." Violet dropped her head and sweat dropped.

"Well look on the bright side. At least things are peaceful around here."

"DON'T JINX IT, COLEMAN!"

Neil slapped his hand over his mouth. "Too late," he muttered.

“Son of a--…”  The scientist facepalmed. “Silver tongue strikes again, as Peter Venkman would put it. And Madam Fate intervenes just because you tempted her…”

As it turned out my STC counterpart was already here.

"You're all just being superstitious," Arlene snorted. "The chances of something going wrong are..."

Suddenly screams of several young women pierced the air.

“…right now.”  The scientist finished his thought.

Asriel gasped as he heard it.

"Someone needs my help!" He threw down the NX Board and soared toward the screams.

"...pretty good, I'd say." Violet interjected.

"What's going on?" Matt asked.

"Sounds like battle time!" Eric was quick to arm his weapons. "Alright dipsticks, prepare to run and scream in terror from the wrath of the mighty Fresno Bob!!!"

Angry screams of "HAPPOSAI!!!!!!" filled the air and became louder and more numerous.

Asriel unfortunately...recognized the name...and immediately regretted toward heading in the direction of the angry women screams.

"I'm going to kill ya, ya old' ecchi!!"

BOOM!!!

Come back here and fight like a man, Happosai!!"

"I see something..." Violet squinted.

"What do you see?"

"It looks like...an angry mob of women chasing some old man...wait a minute...the old man has something in his hands...looks like..." Violet stopped short and sweat dropped big time.

"Looks lahk what, sugar?"

"Uh..." Violet stammered.

"I can almost see..." Neil stopped short. "Oh my goddesses!" He clapped his hands over his glasses.

"So what's the problem?" Arlene asked, irately. She adjusted her oversized purple horn-rimmed glasses...then about went ballistic.

"The network censor's going to have a fit!!!" Violet blurted.

"Dude! What's up with that?"

"Am I seeing things or does that old dude have about 25...!" Matt dropped off in mid-sentence.

"And he's being chased by their owners!!! Whoa...." Eric just kept staring at the sight. "Their very INDECENT owners, at that...!"

"And they look like they're ready to KILL him!!!" Bunnie gasped.

“Weeeelp…time to watch epic fail turn into epic win.”  The scientist shoved his hands into his pockets and took his time walking to the commotion.

"At least YOU'RE taking it in stride, other Volt." Asriel frowned, cringing at the thought of his innocence being tarnished.

And just a short distance away...

"You were right, B-chan! This is really great!"   smiled. She was clad in a one-piece bathing suit with a floral design on it, flip-flops, and shades.

"And no sign of hentai Happosai!" Riko Harmon Anderson added. She was dressed in a bright lavender bikini and the latest in-fashion sandals.

"Well, when I'm right, I'm right," Bronwyn grinned, wearing her usual black shirt and pants.

"Yeah. B-chan sure knows how to call 'em--ne, Kei-chan?" Rob added, putting his arm around Katie. He was wearing a T-shirt and pants.

"It's Katie to you," Katie said coldly, removing Rob's arm before she returned to reading her book.

The Universal Detective  tried not to giggle, but only partially succeeded. "Some things never change, ne, B-chan?"

"Sou da na..." (How true...)

"Surf, sun, and lots of fun! Nothing can possibly go wrong!" Rob smiled.

That was when they heard the screams.

"You just HAD to jinx it, didn't you?" Riko gave Rob a furious look.

"We should go and find out what the trouble is," Serenity interjected.

"Come on, let's go see what's going on."  led the way.

"My, my, all these lovely ladies wearing such lovely assets beneath all those lovely clothes!" Happosai commented as he reached the group.

"Ah! Get away from me you pervert!" Violet took to the air. She was definitely different than our Violet. Our Violet would have asked him to "preeeee-sent them" while looking below the waistline.

"Don't even think it," Chris growled as Happosai turned to Alisa next, his claws extending out to accent his words.

"You touch me and I'll snap your neck, you freak!" Alisa bellowed, reaching for her saber.

"Get lost!" Serena snapped when the old man looked at her next.

Happosai's gaze fell upon Bunnie Rabbot.

"What are y'all..."

Neil momentarily peeked through his fingers to see if Happosai or the angry topless women were gone. He immediately regretted it when he saw...."Holy schnikees!" He squeezed his eyes shut.

…and the fuse was lit…”  The time-walker started.

"S...sensei...!?" Asriel gaped before covering his own eyes. "W...whyyyy!?"

I'll...spare the details. This is...already beyond what I normally allow.

The Universal Detective was the first to arrive on the scene. As soon as she saw what Happosai had done, she gasped. So did Serenity...and Katie...even Rob look shocked.

"Holy sh--!!" the teenage guy gasped.

Bronwyn raised an eyebrow; she must've been the only sensible person of the group who actually didn't mind having Happosai around. "He chose a rabbit?" she commented. "And here, I thought he had better taste than that!"

"I'm going to go so medieval on his arse!!!" Riko bellowed furiously.

But the one who was the maddest was the latter's creator. "That's it! He's gone too far!" The Universal Detective roared as she produced her giant mallet. "I swear, I'm going to go Tira Misu on him right here and now!!!!" Her temper flared up way past Polly Ester point as she stomped on over to him.

Bunnie was in total shock. I couldn't tell you what was going through her mind.

Happosai was about to try for another unspeakable act of being...nauuughty...when...

"Happosai!!!!!"

"OWIE!!!!!"

Bunnie finally snapped out of her catatonic state...and turned very furious. She felt her eyes well up with tears as she began huffing in quick, unsteady pants. Her face turned beet red, and she gnashed her teeth and dug her fingernails into her palms. Sweat was running down her forehead in streams and her body was shaking and shuddering with pure, uncontainable rage. She immediately summoned her partially roboticized form and drove her knee right into Happosai's...

“Boom goes the dynamite.”  The scientist finished, flatly.

"Oooh!" Violet winced.

"That's gott'a hurt!" Alisa quipped.

"Damn!" Rob and Bronwyn both said in unison.

"EXPLITIVE DELETED!" Eric and Matt said in unison.

"Itai." Even Serenity cringed.

"Oh yeah, she's pissed!" Chris said, laughing a bit.

With that Bunnie launched into every martial arts move she could think of off the top of her head. She threw him into a hotel building several feet away where he crashed face first and then dropped to the ground. Bunnie pounced on him in an instant and continued beating him senseless. She slammed into the ground-HARD. Then finally she threw him into the air. Happosai went up, up, up and soared, higher, higher, higher and finally out of sight, disappearing into the stratosphere and ultimately out of the planet's orbit. Bunnie dropped to her knees and de-roboticized.

“And that is why you don’t mess with the counterpart of my former second-in-command…”  The lab coat donned wolf crossed his arms and thrust his head forward, rapidly.

“Mn. Mn. Mn. Mn.”  He grunted, with a good imitation of Mortdecai from Regular Show.

"Is...is it over...?" Asriel peeked through his fingers.

But as he did...he underwent a time-skip. And good timing because Serenity-chan happened to sense his presence.

Meanwhile...

In the Great Forest, Garfield's group drove on deeper and deeper into the huge woods.

"This place gives me the creeps." Tails scooted even closer to Nermal.

"It's okay, little guy." Nermal, however, was inwardly shivering herself.

As they drove along, the mouse stealth fully moved from tree-branch to tree-branch. That’s when she saw Nermal.

“Oh…! Nermal. My friend since Green Meadow Elementary…and all throughout High School. You haven’t changed at all..”

The grey-furred mouse got almost teary-eyed at the nostalgia. “How I wish I could talk to you right now…but our friendship must wait until the proper time, I guess.”

I stepped out from behind the tree, in shock. What? Mitzi part of STC? How? When? And at what point did my counterpart bring her here?

"Uh, Odie, just how big is this place?" Garfield asked.

Odie checked the information he had received. "According to the scanner, this forest is at least half the size of New York and Tokyo combined."

"WHAT?!" Half of the group yelped in shock.

"Half the size?" Zero echoed.

"How the hell are we going to get outta here if this forest is that big?!" Techno added.

"Actually, we happen to be nearing a very large lake that seems to be near the center of this forest," Odie glanced over the map created from the data he had. "And according to this information..." He stopped, then double-checked what he was reading.

"What is it, Odie?"

"My goodness...I don't believe it..."

"What?" Roll asked curiously.

"There seems to be a small, indigenous village on the other side of the lake, and..." Odie triple checked his data to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, my goddesses...the village is an exact center...of pure, nature-based magic."

Janus' head snapped up at that. "Magic?"

The magus from Chrono Trigger joined up? Well...now that I remember, didn't we also pick up Crono in the NeoVerse?

"Yes. If my calculations are correct...practically every man, woman, and child that is now or have ever been in that village...is very skilled in at least one form of magic, like healing and fire."

Silence.

"So...you're saying that the people we're going to encounter are sorcerers that have been born and raised on magic," Janus finally stated.

"That's right."

"Oh, my goodness," Lucille gasped.

Zero sat back down--hard. "I don't believe it..."

"A whole village devoted to magic..." Janus mused.

"Wow..." Tails gasped.

Ed was so shocked, he couldn't find anything quirky to say!

It took them another few minutes or so to reach the lake, and it spanned beyond the limits of normal eyesight both to their right and left. In fact, it might as well have been a small sea, because they couldn't even see the other shore! The only way across the lake was a sturdy, wooden bridge that was too narrow for the Ultramobile to cross.

"I guess we should hide the car here until we have to leave," X spoke up.

"Not quite," Garfield corrected him. "The Ultramobile can convert to hover mode, so we can easily cross the lake with no problem."

"Actually, you might scare most of our people at the village, especially the young children," a teenage female voice spoke up.

Everyone jumped and looked around in surprise.

"Who's there?" Crono called as he drew Rainbow.

A few dozen women stepped into view, forming a semicircle around the group. Some of them were no younger than 5 or 6 years old, while a few were about old enough to be grandmothers of the few teens among the group. They mostly wore skirts and dresses, and carried bows, staffs, and a few swords and knives here and there. But what really shocked the group was that every single one of the newcomers had genuine wings on their backs, ranging from the common chickadee to the mystical phoenix.

"Put your weapons away," the voice spoke again. "We mean no harm to you." The source was a young woman in a dazzling, sunshine-yellow dress that matched her golden amber eyes and accented her royal purple hair. Her rainbow butterfly wings glittered in the sunlight. She held in her right hand a quarterstaff made of white oak with a rainbow-color orb embedded on the top. This teenager seemed to be only sixteen, yet she held an air of grace and serenity beyond her years.

"Welcome to the Great Forest," she said. She bowed as she added, "I am Miya Goldenheart of the Natural Spirit tribe of Druids. It is a pleasure to meet such honorable warriors as yourselves."

"It's a pleasure meeting you," the rest of the group chorused as they also bowed.

“Honest to goodness druids. And without our own Ultra Crew Institute Action Team’s druid here to meet up with them. Which kind of makes me wonder why the Commander chose me instead of her?”

"Who might you be?" Miya inquired in the soft, calm voice she always used.

Those who had brought out weapons decided to put them away.

"My name is Dr. Garfield Powerhouse Arcade. This is my adoptive brother, Professor Odie Megabyte Arcade..."

"It's nice to meet you."

"...Dr. Nermal S. Gamepro, M.D..."

"Hello!" Nermal smiled shyly.

"...Ed Videomax..."

"That's my name; don't wear it out!"

Most of the kids and a few grown women actually laughed at that.

Garfield grinned. "That's Ed for you. Anyway, the girls here are Lucille and Roll."

"Hello," Lucille shyly waved and smiled.

"Hi!" Roll quipped.

"Name's X, and this is my partner, Zero."

"Yo!"

"Name's Crono, nice to meet you."

"And who might you be?" Miya asked as she turned to Janus.

"Ah..." Janus shook his head; strangely, he had been staring at Miya like she was an angel or something just as wonderful. "I'm Janus, Janus Zeal."

Miya smiled. "Well, it's a pleasure meeting all of you."

"It's a pleasure meeting you, too."

"I'm sure that it is." Everyone turned to see an old woman walk up to the warriors. She seemed very old and frail, but she held an air of authority and wisdom around her. She used a stick not only for balance, but also to help her find the way to them, since her white eyes couldn't see a single thing in front of their owner's face. "Welcome, warriors of other realms," she greeted them in a soft, yet very audible whisper. "We have been expecting you."

Miya gestured to the old lady. "Everyone, may I introduce to you Elder Seer Kaika Farsight."

Garfield was the first to bow in respect. The others copied him immediately.

Kaika nodded her head in acknowledgement. "My, what a very interesting gathering of people you travel with, little one." She slowly approached Tails.

"Are you talking to me?" Tails asked.

"Why, yes. I certainly don't see another male child in this group. Am I right?"

Tails' jaw dropped to his knee. "H-How did you-..."

"I have had visions since the portals have closed, and they were all about you and your friends." Kaika's blind eyes seemed to stare deep into Tails' own two eyes--and penetrate deep into his soul. "To be honest, I'm quite impressed at how skilled a young warrior like yourself can be during times of battle. In fact, I won't be surprised if you become a good and kind leader one day."

Tails' cheeks actually turned cherry red at that.

Kaika then turned to Roll. "You must be a humanoid robot, ne?"

"Yeah! I'm actually called an Android."

Kaika smiled. "I can also tell that you have had a deep longing to help your brothers as much as possible."

Roll gaped in shock.

"I may not see my physical surroundings, but there are other things I can tell that usually goes unnoticed. For instance, your memory is the sharpest I have ever encountered in any humanoid being."

"That's because I have a computer-type memory."

"That would perfectly explain it." When her eyes settled on X, they almost immediately started to fill with tears.

"Is something wrong?" Miya asked.

"You poor dear," Kaika said to the Blue Bomber. "Losing your brothers AND sire...I cannot help but feel sorry for what you had to go through."

X flinched from what she said. Not that he didn't appreciated her sympathy, but he never expected her to pick that up right off the bat.

"I'm sorry if I had caused a few old wounds to open-..."

"I-It's not your fault," X stuttered. "I...I guess I...never really got over that..."

"No one ever gets over the loss of a loved one, especially one's sire and dam." A tear rolled down the old, withered cheeks. "Hard times are in store, yet I'm sure that you will pull through with the help--and emotional support--of your friends and allies."

X smiled, though it was a bit bitter.

As Kaika talked to each one, she seemed to bring out their true feelings pretty quickly and helped them confront the memories that those feelings were based on just as fast. Ed and Lucille were pleased to know that they were just fine by Kaika's standards. Zero took a few minutes, but he finally got over a few things. Crono passed with little trouble. Nermal finally realized that she shouldn't worry so much about her friends.

Odie blushed when Kaika remarked about how shy he was, but he couldn't believe his luck when she mentioned that he might cease to be a dateless guy in the near future. And Garfield was surprised when she commented about his supposedly hidden streak of rebellion--and even more surprised when she actually approved it, saying that it was good character building!

When the old seer finally reached Janus, she stared hard at him for a few, long minutes.

"May I speak with you for a moment? I do not wish to discuss what I'm about to say in front of everyone else."

Janus blinked in surprise. "Uh...okay..."

They went off into the woods a bit.

"To be honest, I feel that you would be very much welcome in our village, especially by Miya and her family," Kaika spoke up.

"Why's that?"

Kaika smiled. "Well, because you yearn not only for your sister, but the one that's right for you...your soul mate."

Janus looked at her in surprise. "I-I wasn't aware of the latter."

Kaika chuckled. "True, but when one enters the area of their significant other, an inward, unconscious yearning for that other is set off." She patted Janus on the shoulder. "It would be an honor to have you as a permanent member of our community, young man."

"Just one question: Who is my soul mate?" Janus asked as they headed back to where the others are waiting.

"That...you must figure out on your own."

I reached up...and wiped the tears from my eyes. Huh...guess I...got some sand in them or something.

And then a time-skip...!

Azzy and I ended up playing cat-and-mouse until we finally got caught up. Much had happened. Many things transpired. Asriel met up with me as an attack had happened at the temple mansion residence of the Mayor of town. It had turned into a massive deal. But what drew Asriel's and my attention was the moment my younger self...who I only THOUGHT was completely human...morphed. He had gained my powers out of the blue?

No...they were different somehow. And it was confirmed when his form shifted from karate garb...to ninja...

If things hadn't gone off the rails before...they went off the rails as soon as Setsuna's Time Staff fell out of the sky with a message passing on Sailor Pluto's weapon...temporarily to whoever was worthy to wield it. And who should pick it up but Chris.

Another time skip out of nowhere dropped us off into a series of intermittent jump-skips....from members of our group unlocking "ancient druid artifacts"...to Sonic having an encounter with Xelloss Metallium...to my younger self...er...

I blinked as I wasn't prepared for him getting kissed on the lips by a cat girl--!

Wait...that's the unnamed Universal Detective! She can transform!? And furthermore...what just happened?

"Volt...?  You okay?" Asriel shook me. My memories were all a jumble...and I was a bit frazzled.

Oh gods...why did I feel reluctant to ever mention this to my lovely wife?

"Neil stood there for a few seconds, jaw dropping and eyes wide open. With that Neil jumped up into the sky, higher and higher, leaving a gold streak of light behind him. "YAAAAAAHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

With that he exploded into a HUGE fireworks display, the last firework exploding into a huge red heart. The sparks from the fireworks clustered together and reformed Neil Coleman, the Golden Ninja Werewolf. He drifted slowly back down to the ground, eyes lit up and sparkling anime style.

"Guessing...this is what you were embarrassed about?" Asriel broke my daze.

"Part...of it..." I looked away as my memories were going wonky. That...that didn’t' happen...did it?

Finally...

In the streets outside of Dr. Light's lab...we jump-skipped to the middle of a battle.

As more Ultra Crew and Universal Detectives got involved warp zones started opening up and Wily’s minion robots started pouring out.

“We got to deal with THESE pests, too?”  Ed chopped through a blader as it divebombed.

BLAM! Chris’ shot managed to send Ice Man tumbling end over end. “That should have fragged him!”  Chris was now sure something was wrong. It couldn’t be Chronus’ doing. This didn’t seem like his handywork. There was nothing in the Game World that could account for this kind of jump in firepower. Sure the robot masters were taking damage and their old tactics were still the same. But this was a new kind of cheating that he hasn’t seen before.

Alternate Volt tightened his fists as he glared at the situation. “This…I don’t know how, but I know…this never happened.”  Alternate Mitzi looked stunned by the assertation.

I looked at Asriel with a worried expression. He understood what I realized. Yeah...this other version of me and Mitzi had information about this timeline...information we DIDN'T have. They were able to avoid all the mistakes we'd probably made.

At that point Neil had managed to get out of the crater and counterattack Elec Man. Despite the vast numbers of allies banded together none of them seemed to have the firepower to put these menaces down for the count. And every time one got knocked down, he’d get back up. What had Wily done?

Alisa and Chris teamed up against Guts Man and it slowly looked like they would have an advantage until Fire Man headbutted Chris from behind, the flames igniting him for a brief moment as the shields immediately kicked in followed up by the Mutant Healing.

“You jerk!”

As Lucille’s missiles rained out and Sonic manage to spin dash himself free from the Ice Slasher’s effects the waves of smaller robots started to chip away at the large forces.

That was when Guts Man had recovered and snatched up Rock and Mega as they backed up a little too far from Bass’ attacks and soon found themselves each staring down Bass’ arm cannon. He meant business if he was going to unleash a double  Bass Buster.

“I’m the most powerful robot of all! You hear me?! You and your double are weak! WEAK! This is power! This is the great equalizer!”  Bass roared as his cannons began to charge with an unholy sound.

At the same time Elec Man had massed a growing ball of electric plasma that was now pulsing with a blinding tangle of electric webbing within its supercritical skull-shaped nucleus. And the buzzing it was making sounded distinctly like evil laughter. Laughter to match the crazed look in the robot’s eyes. It was very doubtful Neil would survive this.

Alternate Mitzi tightened her fists. “This can’t be happening…”

Alternate Volt gnashed his wolfly teeth…then snatched up his external A.E.O.N. link. “This is it. I’m calling you on this. Fate is screwing with us way beyond what’s called for. So I’m asking what’ever powers that be…  This is the ultimatum. What’s it going to be?!”

I cracked a smile at my counterpart's guile. That's telling her, "other me".

Other Volt looked at the screen.

“…”

Mitzi slow-turned to her former Commander.

“Mitzi…”  He uttered. Then turned the device toward her so she could read the message:  “Request…granted.”

“It’s go time.”  Volt lowered the smart phone with a devilishly confident look. Mitzi nodded in agreement as both pushed up their sleeves to reveal an A.E.O.N. bracer underneath. Both gripped the yellow and black striped plastic bar on the side and yanked hard, ripping the circuit card units out of the machines.

And they did it. They removed the hazard cards.

Elec Man began the motion to smash the whole mass of energy upon Neil’s head. The light burned hotter and brighter and Neil couldn’t keep his eyes open with how blinding it was. There was an intense crackle followed by a massive explosion…but when the light cleared.

“Heh…” Elec Man mused. Then his amusement turned to horror. “WHAT?!”  That’s when he saw it. The ball of energy was now…stuck where it hovered. As Elec Man tried to force it down upon his target.

“Is this what you’re capable of?”  Came the disgusted voice. And when Elec Man’s vision adjusted to see through the energy at what had stopped it.

“Who…what…how?!?”  Volt Arcade kept a blank look as the plasma ball hovered an inch from his open palm, the energy refusing to come any closer let alone touch the seven foot werewolf. From the ground his smaller counterpart could only gasp, seeing only the back of the one who came to his rescue. Slowly Volt turned to him…and Neil’s eyes bugged out.

“You’re…! You’re…!”

“Hey.”

“I…I don’t understand…”  Volt smirked briefly. “Was I ever so green?”

“I don’t care if there are two of you! I’m going to zap you! Nuke you! There won’t be atoms left of you!”

“Yeah, Elecky? The grownups are talking here. Buzz off.”

“Buh…buzz off?!? Do you know who you’re DEAAALING WITH?!”

“I see baby spark needs his bottle. Okay. If you’re going to be pissy then I need to prove a point. How about…this?”  Volt suddenly made a fist and punched into the sphere as a MASSIVE release of energy just seared down his arm and spread all over him completely. And Volt didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.

“Thanks for the snack.”  Volt grinned darkly after licking his wolfly lips. Elec Man was aghast in horror as he stepped backwards. “I hate to be ungrateful after such a nice electric goody. But I really hate bullies.”

 was almost as shocked as her capture. Bomb Man was taken by such surprise his grip on her hair had loosened. But she was too dumbfounded to counterattack the robot for threatening her life. “N-Neil?”

“Coleman?”  Chris looked surprised. Either his evolution was playing some crack headed tricks on his eyes or he was now seeing double…welll slightly more than double. This new werewolf on the scene looked like Neil but he was taller and wearing a lab coat. And he just took the equivalent of a miniature pulsar just now without even moving a hair. Bass continued to amass a plasma fusion charge in each arm, taking his reactor output dangerously into the red. He wanted the job done so intensely he didn’t even pay heed to the weird shit going down.

“NOW BOTH OF YOU DIIIIIE—“  The shots left his cannons at the same time…

Suddenly Alternate Mitzi blinked into existence, crossed her arms in an X formation then flung them out as something very green crystallized over them. Before Bass knew it, his blasts meant for Mega Man and Rockman had been deflected; flung off to the sides and melted massive holes through the buildings on each side of them. Mitzi remained stone-faced for a few good moments…before chuckling. The green hair ribbons she was wearing before were gone, though she hadn’t made any motions to pull them off of her trailing, bushy pigtails. But where the neon green hair ribbons were gone, now two insanely huge, neon green…jade-like arm overlays with firsts that would put the Hard Knuckle to shame were now wrapped around her hands and forearms. Like armored gauntlets. Big, intensely sparkling neon green gauntlets.

“You…you…YOU…YOOOOU!”  “Hey fin head. Your record’s stuck.”  Mitzi grinned.

“Who the heck is that now?!”  Rob hollered. “I don’t know…but she looks familiar.”  Neil switched his attention from his counterpart to the mouse.

Nermal peered out of the ruined front of the lab. “M…Mitzi?”  She said with a gasp.

“Hello. On behalf of our organization, you guys are mucking up past events. And being total asshats about it.”  Volt said plainly. “So we’re here to change history back and keep a Prophecy rolling.”

“You better count your math, fuzz face! There were a lot more of them and we still knocked them down like bowling pins.”  Fire Man challenged angrily.

“Ah yes. Which kind of raises some flags with me. And not just with the numbers game.”  Volt continued, still quite confident. “You know, I could have spent the duration of this mission completely out of the time stream. But you and your rust buckets had to muck things up, deviate from what you originally did in this timeline, and try to murder some good people while doing it. Now, I have every right to be upset over the last one. But right now, my partner and I are a little more concerned with…”

Volt put his hands on his hips and turned around. “How did you do it?”  He said rather coldly.

Bass pointed his arm cannon. “You’re the last person I’d ever answer to—“

“Yeah, I’m going to interrupt and politely refer to me as Arcade. Or Volt. Or even Alessandro. It’ll keep things less confusing with my counterpart still shaking off the stars over there.”

“Whatever!”

Bass fired off a shot

“Hmm. Quick decision.”  Alternate Volt said calmly as he’d already drawn what looked like a white, rectangular remote control with familiar Nintendo NES control pad layout on the top and a trigger underneath. The plasma blast was split in half as it struck the suddenly-materializing light saber beam that shot out from the black-windowed front of the device as the werewolf scientist gripped it one handed and very relaxedly. Both pieces of the shot passed harmlessly past Volt Arcade, shuddered and fizzled into unstable particles before dissipating harmlessly.

"Kind of inappropriate for an Ace Ventura quote but…what are you going to do for a one-liner, spur-of the moment.”

Garfield looked stunned. “An Ultra Saber without need of an accelerator pack? What kind of technology is this?”

We didn't get the chance for an answer because another jump-cut sent us to yet another sub-universe.

This time? Swingin' London. Our contact this time? One Austin Powers. Groovy, baby.

A while of investigating the city had yielded very little to go on and a lot of discomfort among most of the group.

“If I have to hear one more song by that mop-top quartet again, I’m going to—“ Eric snarled.

“You mean the Bea—“  Neil started but shut up immediately before he got the look of death. “Shutting up now.”  He finished.

“How do people not go blind with the assault on fashion sense.”  Bronwyn grumbled.

“It’s like everyone’s a pack of fluorescent crayons in this town.”

“I don’t know it’s got…charm.”  Katie assured. “Besides. The look worked great for Mysteries Inc. Daphne-chan and Fred-san wore it well.”   offered.

“Not wearing a scarf.”  Matt followed up.

“You mean an ascot?”  Neil questioned.

“One more crack like that and the next thing you’re going to say is ‘My as-cot beat to a pulp.’, Coleman.”  Matt sneered.

“Ugh. Bad pun.”  Katie shook her head.

Asriel stifled a chortle. "I thought it was funny."

“Focus, guys. This isn’t a sight-seeing tour.”  Chris reminded.

“The sooner we find this lead on Dr. Evil, the better.”  Eric wrinkled his nose. “And get out of these ugly zoot suits. What part of  “oh HELL no” didn’t the group understand when I said there was no way I was going to go into town looking like a beatnik?”

“It was either that or the hippie disguise with the sandals.”   reminded.

“I would have taken that one.”  Neil piped up before getting glares. “What’s everyone got against sandals?”  he thought. “I was starting to get used to them in my werewolf form.”

Asriel and I looked at each other and laughed.

“Hey…you hear something?”   asked.

“Just Coleman being Coleman.”  Eric fumed. ''

"No…she's right.  I hear it too…it sounds like…theme music?”

“Where’s it coming from?”  The Universal Detective looked around.

“This might seem crazy but…it’s coming from…all around us.”

“It sound like bossa nova…bossa nova being played on a piccolo?”  Neil scratched his head.

“Bossa nova…with soul?”   followed up.

“I’m starting to hear it too.”  Katie nodded.

“This is too weird. What kind of a weird world is this? Like some kind of bad movie?”  Rob shook his head.

“Uh…guys?”  Chris pointed at the growing commotion of growing numbers of English women gathering around a rather dashing man in a blue suit with black vertical stripes over top a red shirt covered in white polka dots, a blue ascot with white spots, Italian boots, thick glasses, and a distinct male-insignia medallion around his neck who seemed to be…strutting to the rhythm of the mysterious music in stride. And as he gathered followers his strutting soon turned to a full-on lively dance with several of the group around joined in, completely in sync.

“You have GOT to be kidding me.”  Eric watched.

“What a strange person.”  Katie shrugged.

“Strange?! This whole goddamn place is off its rocker. Eric slapped his forehead.

At that moment an English bobby strolled up, curious about the situation, twirling his nightstick a bit before giving the man in the blue suit and glasses an inquiring look…before he TOO joined in the swinging party.

“Oh what the f—“  Eric threw his hands in the air.

 couldn’t help but stifle a giggle. Neil just shrugged, finding it hard to fight back his own grin.

And the disbelief continued further as Austin took a moment to take snapshots of some of the lovely ladies, prompting them to pose like centerfolds with encouragement of “Work with me, ladies!” and “Show me love!”

“Is he—“

“Yes, Katie. Yes he is.”  Rob rubbed his eyelids.

“I could never imagine Darien doing something like this.”  Serena muttered offhandedly to no one in particular, not really making a point.

“Is this common behavior for the people of Earth? Because it’s kind of screwed up.”  Alisa eyed Chris.

“Uh, kind of wasn’t born at this point in time.”  Chris reminded.

The crowd of admirers soon got noticeably more excited as it turned into a chase which Austin Powers took enjoyment in leading them on, going into convoluted methods of hiding; whether by pretending to read newspapers conveniently splashing his image on the front page, wearing a fake beard while making a call in a phone booth, and then disappearing around the corner only to return with an impromptu marching band.

“Someone tell me I’m on a bad acid trip.”  Matt complained.

“Going to throw up at all this namby-pamby campiness.”  Bronwyn rolled her eyes.

“I think it’s cute.”  Katie smiled as she and  couldn’t help but start to dance a little themselves.

“Oh no…it’s contagious.”  Rob whined.

And just when the team was at their breaking point, a Jaguar painted in the colors of the British flag drove up as Austin pulled a rather lavish somersault into the passenger’s side seat as its female driver drove off leaving the crowd behind.

“So…?”  Rob started.

“Nah. There’s no way our man of mystery can be THAT guy.”  Matt shook his head.

“Spies don’t tell the world ‘hey look at me, I’m an attention whore in a town full of hippies.”  Eric agreed.

“C’mon. Let’s get a move on.”  Chris urged the group away from the sudden, unexplainable parade led by the spectacled swinger in the loud blue suit.

Universal Detective shrugged as Neil tried to make sense of what he just saw. Now was a time she wished she had James Bond’s advice to go on. What would he even think of this?

“Professor, I hope you got an update to go on.”  Chris dialed up Odie on the Nomad com unit.

“I have something to offer. An energy signature matching Washuu’s version of the Tachyon Amplifier has shown up on scans. The probes have been gathering intel since you left and I’ve found something hiding in plain sight that might have the answer to things.”

“In plain sight seems to be the general gist of everything in this crazy town. What have you got?”  Chris prompted.

“It’s called the Ministry of Defense. Founded by Her Majesty, it seems to be some kind of offshoot of Scotland Yard as an anti-terrorism program much akin to M-I-6.” “I see.”

“Unfortunately computer records in this world are magnetic-reel based and are not connected in any sort of network. And likely don’t even have cathode-ray tube displays, yet. Such information systems won’t become even remotely started until the 1970’s and won’t become particularly viable for even our equipment until at least another 20 years beyond that. Finding any information is going to require a more…direct method.”

“You’re basically saying some of us need to go Solid Snake into a secret government installation.”  Chris asked.

“Er…yes. Disregarding your need to bring up the Fox-Hound case…”  Odie continued.

“…it’s likely that they’ve either confiscated or developed tech that might prove useful if paired with Washuu’s incomplete Tachyon Amplifier. If anything we need to keep it out of Dr. Wily’s hands. And since this Dr. Evil is on board with his operation, he’ll no doubt be searching for it, too.”

“Right. So I guess this is the part where Garfield tells us to split up to cover more ground.”

“Generally how these things work.”  Garfield’s voice came over the coms. “Besides it makes you smaller, less conspicuous targets should Dr. Evil already be on the lookout for us.”

“One more thing, Doc. Professor. Any sign of ‘Coleman X’ who seems to have adopted your last name?”

Asriel held back a chortle.

"Hmm...wonder how they'd react to Coleman Z?" I chuckled.

A long pause.

“No. He hasn’t shown up yet.”  Garfield responded.

“Keep us in the loop then. Blair out.”  Chris then noticed Neil.

“Coleman X?”  He mused, noting Chris’ comparison to UC’s Mega Man and Neo N-Team’s X.

“Don’t push it.”

“Right, right. I got my fill of messing with the team leader earlier. But you are kind of setting me up, you know. I’ll be cool so you can maintain your badass image.”

“Good choice.”

"This has been...some ride, eh, Asriel?"

He nodded. "And all without us having to pull the hazard card once." He knuckle-bumped.

Our final stop jump-skipped us...by an unfathomable amount...because we were now in space...watching what I can only describe as every person we'd EVER allied with uniting as...machines and artifacts, and items from all over the universe...from EVERY universe was pouring in and combining like a massive transformer.

"Is...this really how the timeline ends?!" I gasped as I looked a considerable distance away from the massive...behemoth assembling...at another massive behemoth...Wily's Skull Star from the Stardroids...as it was undergoing its own transformation into....into...oh no...!

"Unicron..." Chris...or was it...Link, now? He glared as the Chaos-Bringer was coming to life...and we could see Adonis inside one of the eyes.

"Naughty naught, Volt.  You and your little goat friend thought you could deviate from the tour?  Papa spaaaaank!!!!" He taunted as the machine's clawed hand came toward us.

"Is that...Cryptosmasher?" I looked at the supercomputer tower had come from Neo Arcadia and transformed and assembled as part of the machine. I saw other things unite with it as well...the Megazords...Voltron...the Triforces...the Three Sacred Treasures...the Heli carrier from Marvel Universe...

Finally it seemed like the last pieces of everything--from ARWINGS to the Palace of Virtue, to a giant Austin Powers super megabot...everything I could have imagined the universe having...was coming together to form...

"Is this a joke...!?" Adonis pointed.

"Uh...did we just turn into a giant R.O.B. the Robot...?" Eric's eye was twitching.

"All that buildup...for THIS!?!"

Arguing amongst its millions of pilots ensued until Chris-Link called for order.

"Yo...it's not in its gestalt form, everyone." He said as he raised the Master Sword and jammed it into the center slot within the three Triforces on the floor.

My younger self--now unexplainably a wizard--looked at Universal Detective, shrugged and shoved the Staff of Wisdom into his hole in the floor.

And lastly, Universal Detective plugged her artifact into her platform.

The Universal Triumvirate’s prophecy was fulfilled...and with that we unleashed the true form of what had spanned across time, space, and dimensions...

"Heh...who would have thought...it was right under our noses all this time..." Chris-Link mused.

"Primus." He had scattered his essence to all over the InfinityVerse and now all every imporant item and artifact from far and wide was coming together to bring him back.

From where Wily's Cyberdrome castle once stood, the former Commandant looked up at the star in the sky that was us...and the one that was Unicron with Wily now a prisoner within it.

At the same time, incensed that he had been robbed, Ganondorf Dragmyre; the true King of Evil turned his back on the fallen Ganon of our universe. He sneered furiously that Adonis had cheated him out of his true resurrection. This was to be his time. He was supposed to be the big bad at the heart of this...but this usurper...! This Alloucious Adonis...! UNFORGIVABLE!

The rest of the multiverse's villains looked up at us with frustration...but also they know we were the last hope all time and all space and all existence itself had left.

Mother Brain fumed as Seymore cried out for Jerry Attrick to hold him. Bowser snarled and roared fire. Every villain we'd crossed was now behind us...for now.

Our battle waged back and forth, stalemating.

"Fatty Orson Wells getting winded?" Chris-Link taunted.

"Oooooooh...you....you are so pure...and so amusing..." Adonis cackled.

We ended up deadlocked in a hand to hand struggle.

"At this rate we're going to go on forever!  We have to shut this guy down!" Neil growled.

"But how?"  asked, back in her cat girl form.

"Wallow...in despair..." Unicron's voice boomed as his claws inched toward Primus' forehead. If he breached his skull, then we'd be sucked out into the vacuum of space.

"Isn't it about time for one of those McGuffixes to make everything better?" Sonic continued speeding up on the Cosmic Treadmill to give us more power.

"That only works in movies!"

"What do you think THIS is?" Ed joked, breaking what I figured was a fourth wall.

"No...!"  uttered as the claws started to pierce Primus' eye.

That was when it happened...a gold streak of light...coming from what was once Utopious, Neo Arcadia's moon.

"Huh...?  Who is that?"

"It...can't be!"

"Kenny McCormick?" Asriel raised an eyebrow. "And...why is that MASSIVE amount of psychic aura around him...?  Weirder than that...that aura...feels like Mom!"

He meant Callista Brighton. Was she an...all powerful godlike psychic in this universe?

Kenny's muffled scream raged as he pierced through Unicron.

"Oh that is so implausible that the plausibility engine made it happen..." Adonis complained.

Over and over Kenny pierced him like a laser beam before Primus unfolded his mighty sword...which split to form a rail cannon.

"Kenny!  That's your last 1-UP!" Neil cried out to him. "If you use that up, you'll die for real!"

Kenny mumbled something in response.

"You can't...!"  pleaded.

"Dude...do what you have to do, man." Chris-Link finally conceded. "May the path of the Hero lead to the Triforce."

"You're going to see so many naughty things in Heaven, Ken..." I comforted.

"You are a hero." <REDACTED> wiped her tears as Kenny positioned himself in the chamber of the Rail Gun rifle.

We all aimed it through Unicron's heart.

"Destiny...you...cannot destroy my...!"

"It's not your Destiny.  It's your FATE!" Everyone shouted in unison...as if that was a direct challenge to the Goddess herself.

Kenny seared out at well over the speed of light and pierced the hull...destroying the Dark Energon-infused Decepticon Matrix in the process.

The world went white...and Asriel and I went tumbling end over end......

Is this really how this timeline was meant to end...?

Sub-Entry 385: "Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality, Part 5 - Worlds Apart":
We finally awoke.

I just knew Adonis escaped. Somehow.

But where did we end up?

"Where are we now, Volt?"

"I don't know...but everything about this place...feels closer than ever to our own dimension.  But...I know it's not."

"From what I've been taking in...it seems like every version of Volt Arcade has a knack for crossovers....for bringing people together who were never supposed to meet."

"Right...like Bunnie and Violet?"

"If you mean the AU ones we've met so far...yeah.  When would Sonic the Hedgehog ever cross over with Samurai Pizza Cats?  That is, when you really think about it."

"I'm not sure how I know this...but there was a point that it almost did...or could have.  At some point we could have had collaboration between Sega and Bandai long before Project X-Zone."

"You mean...?"

"Once upon a time...they were going to call it Sega-Bandai day.  The companies were supposed to merge but...one day before the big day...they called it off and went their separate ways."

"Huh...so...these other versions of Sensei and Aunt Violet...in some universe, them meeting could have become...canon?"

"I'd like to think so...but...knowing what's behind the curtain of our UltraVerse and these..."memory echoes" and "emulation rift anomalies"...weird name......knowing this just feels like it's only making things too complicated."

Speaking of Bunnie and Violet...we now noticed we were in a dark room...with what looked like closed gateways--each marked with a Jangese elemental character.......wait...the Go Genso-Mon? From Rabbotou Dojo's feng shui garden?

And at my feet I almost tripped over...

"Major?"

She was taller than the other iterations of Bunnie and wearing the karate gi and sandals and headband...but still not as tall and more...cartoon rabbit-like than our own Bunnie Rabbotou. Like almost a prototype of her.

Asriel stepped over an unconscious Violet. Similar.

"Hey.  Volt?  Did you notice that the other versions of Aunt Violet looked...well...robotic?  Like having segmented joints?  And everything looking like...well...mechanical...yet still like  an anime cartoon rabbit with orange hair and such?"

"And sounding a lot like lesser-known voice actress Susan Glover?  Yeah.  I did kind of notice.  The weird thing is...I'm starting to remember that she had a counterpart in Universal City...Usako Tokugawa...Usa-Hime, for short."

"Aunt Vi's middle name and nickname?"

"And the weird thing is...in Edoropolis...that's what it was called in Universal City......its inhabitants.....actually WERE robots."

"Then there's influence on these other worlds, too?"

"Most certainly."

"Hey...there are others here, too.  I think I see...Miss Mitzi!"

"Yeah...and I see Kori...I mean Starfire."

"And this one...she looks kind of like...Channel 256's news anchor, Dottie Dog--"

"It IS Dottie Dog!  But...she's just a grade schooler!"

A better question would be...why they are out cold and in a place like this--

"What the hoo-ha happened...?"

Bunnie did a double take and her eyes widened by about two sizes as soon as she saw her left hand. "My arm...it's not roboticized anymore.  I'm--"

"Oh good!  Sensei's awake.  Huh...was she...always this height?  She's...shorter than I remember--"  Asriel started. "Wait...you don't suppose...?"

That was when Bunnie noticed what she was wearing.

"A karate gi and pink sandals." At that the realization that her legs were no longer roboticized hit her like a ton of bricks.

"She's not acting like herself...yet, she is." I rubbed my chin as I walked around her.

"I'm...whole." Bunnie wanted to jump up and scream out something to the effect of "The Bunnie bod' is back." but...something compelled her not to. She instead knelt down and bowed her head, uttering something in Japanese...JAPANESE?

"Oh my stars...how'd I learn Japanese?  And...why am I speaking without my Southern accent...?"

"She almost sounds like she's half-way between the ACM-001/002 version...and our Bunnie."

"You sure like playing twenty questions, sister." Came a rather irate interjection.

Princess Violet stood up and faced Bunnie.

"Are you the one who brought me here?"

Vi narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips.

"...."

Bunnie blinked. "You hard of hearing or what?!  Look at the crown, peasant!  Royal princess here!  And I'm commanding you to answer me!"

"Aunt Vi?"

"Albeit shorter."

"She doesn't act much like Aunt Vi...so rude!  And angry!"

"Actually...she...acts just LIKE your Aunt Vi...when she was much younger." I looked off to the side. "Bunnie...our Bunnie met her at her prime when she was...like this.  I'm...actually amazed you forgot about when she told you some years ago."

Asriel blinked...then it came back to him. "I always thought she was being modest but...wow."

"No.  I didn't bring us here." Bunnie answered coolly.

"At least tell me those three are friends of yours." Vi narrowed her eyes.

"........I've never seen them before in my life."

"Yeah, they're not our Bunnie and Vi.  Not if they don't recognize Mitzi...she's a little shorter, too."

"What's she wearing on her feet?"

"Saddle shoes and bobby socks.  A staple of the 50's."

At that the mouse began to stir.

"Oh, my head.  If Loony Bird slipped some of Billy Bob's Gasohol in the pizza sauce again, I'm going to.......to...."

At that Mitzi looked up and fell backwards.

"This wouldn't happen to be a pizza-induced nightmare would it?" She asked, timidly.

"No. I'm afraid it isn't." Bunnie replied.

"Welcome to the party, lady.  Apparently someone forgot to include the ruby slippers because Kansas has totally gone bye-bye." Vi crossed her arms.

"It doesn't look much like Showbiz Pizza Place either." Mitzi said, not realizing she was scooting away from Violet and Bunnie. At that she bumped into Starfire who awoke with a start and screamed, eyes lighting up all aglow with green Star Bolt energy. Mitzi screamed, just barely tumbling away from the resulting Starbolts.

"Who are you?!  Do you wish to do me harm?" Starfire hovered in the air, both hands energized with Star Bolt energy.

I nonchalantly looked to Kori/Starfire. "Starfire looks the same.  Even the same height."

"And the same powers." Asriel blinked.

"N-no!  I'm just a singer for the Rock-Afire Explosion!  I'm not a fighter!  Don't shoot!  Don't shoot!"

At that Starfire let the energy fade and hovered back down to the ground.

"Sincere apologies then.  Let me make amends for my misjudgment!  I shall recite the Poem of Apology--all 5,000 verses!"

We both looked at each other.

"And the same personality." We both said with a grin and a suppressed laugh.

"......."  Violet raised an eyebrow. "This kind of thing happen to you before?"

She asked Bunnie plainly. Bunnie shook her head.

"First time?" Bunnie nodded.

I pointed my index finger up and opened my jaws to speak...then slowly closed my mouth and let my finger drop back down, having changed my mind about speaking my mind. Yeeeeeeah. This situation...was far too familiar. Right, mentors?

"Er...thank you but no thank you.  Just help me to my feet and we'll call it even." Mitzi said attempting to be polite.

"Very well." Starfire did so.

"What's up with her outfit?  Saddle shoes?  That is SO four or five decades ago.  Someone forget to tell her sock hops went out in the fifties?" Violet whispered.

Bunnie frowned in reply to Violet's rudeness.

"At least tell me the network censors aren't having a fit over HER outfit.  I don't think they make skirts any shorter and her top doesn't cover her stomach and--"

Silence. "She's standing right behind me, isn't she?"

"Three seconds until the "standing-right-behind-me" cliché has its payoff from the moment I finish this sentence." I spoke right before--

"How dare you criticize my native Tamaranian attire?!" Starfire shouted, doing the suddenly-uber-giant, ticked-off anime head thing.

"Umm...I don't suppose it would help if I said I was sorry?"

Goat Son face-palmed. This version of Violet was...hard to deal with.

"Keep it down, would you?  I have such a headache..."

The dog groaned, rubbing her head. Dottie looked up at the other four and was quickly silent.

Our Violet would have made a comment about Isabelle getting lost on the way to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate...to which the Major would have thwapped her.

"I can't say I was expecting to wake up to this.  I think it would be a good idea not to tell Cousin Wilton about this when I get back to Green Meadow...IF I get back to Green Meadow."

"Well now we got TWO cheerleaders with hair ribbons.  And this one's carrying roller skates!" Vi groaned.

"Want to make something of it?" Dottie retorted hotly.

Whoa. Dottie got spunk. I wonder if our Dottie was ever this much of a hothead?

"Yeah.  Nice bathrobe, bunny-girl." Mitzi followed up.

"It's a kimono!  And neither of you better so much as smudge it.  This is real silk not that synthetic trash.  It costs a lot more than either of you could hope to put in your piggy banks." Vi snarled.

"Oh yeah.  THIS is getting us somewhere." Bunnie smoldered sarcastically.

"You ever hear sensei be blatantly sarcastic before?" Asriel turned to me.

I shook my head. Her disapproval was usually more tactful and subtle.

"Like you can talk.  What's with the pajamas?"

"It's a karate gi." Bunnie said simply.

"Riiiight." Vi wrinkled her nose.

"Can we stop fighting each other long enough to at least get introductions and figure out where we are and how we got here?" Bunnie questioned.

I chuckled with a grin. "And you say being a leader wasn't your destiny, Major."

"She is something." Goat Son forgot for a moment that the SPECTRE function was still on and tried to pat her on the shoulder.

"Oops....oh yeah...right."

"Fair enough." Dottie replied.

"Agreed." Starfire seconded.

"Yes.  Please." Mitzi nodded.

"Oh, alright.  Not like griping has got us anywhere anyway." Violet rolled her eyes. "You go first, puppy-girl."

"The name is Dottie Dog, thank you very much.  I'm a student at Green Meadow elementary.  What's your story, bunny-girl?"

"You will address me as Princess Violet Tokugawa, Dottie.  I am royalty so acknowledge it--"

"More like a royal pain in the--"  Dottie started.

"Ahem." Bunnie half-coughed.

"You.  Mouse.  Got a name or do I nickname you saddle shoes?"

"It's Mitzi.  Mitzi Mozerrella.  And saddle shoes are quite stylish where I'm from.  Better than what you're wearing."

"So what do we call  you, besides riding the boundary between PG and PG-13?"

"On my home planet of Tamaran, I was given the birth name, Koriand'r, but I am more commonly known by the name Starfire, and--"

"Yeah, that's fascinating.   I suppose our self-appointed leader wants to be called something other than Pajamas, right?"

Bunnie sighed and looked up. "My name is Bunnie Mae Rabbot.  And I never said I was leader of anything.  For there to be a leader there has to be a team, after all." She replied. "Point."

"Mae?" Azzy and I said in unison. "Maybe...short for Meiru?" He shrugged.

"No I think it's like the month.  Which is when her birthday is." I mused.

"Question is...why are we here?"

Asriel sensed it the moment I did...and we wish we hadn't.

"I think I can answer that." Came a voice from the shadows. At that Starfire gasped as a figure stepped into the light.

"Slade!" Starfire snarled before launching herself at the newcomer.

"What have you done with my friends?!  If you have hurt them--"  Starfire cried as she took flight and swung...her fist passing right through what was obviously a hologram.

"My dear Starfire you misunderstand.  It is not your friends I have done anything with.  It's you."

"Why have you done this?!" "All in good time.  And yet I have not introduced my other esteemed colleagues.  I believe your friends may already know them."

"In fact...I think some of us are very anxious to get reacquainted." Came another voice.

"Robotnik..." Bunnie gasped, taking a step back.

"No...it can't be...!" I gaped.

ACM-001 Dr. Ivo Robotnik/Julian Kintobor? Back again? He had...similarities to our Bunnie's description of the Director of Vortex Labs...but the Major's description seemed to indicate he resembled ACM-002's own Dr. Eggman--a robot that Robotnik gave the spark of life that somehow became the true Dr. Robotnik/Dr. Eggman when the dimension rebooted itself. It was...complicated.

The bloated scientist entered as if on cue. "Bunnie Rabbot...my unfinished work.  You've become as much a thorn in my side as that blasted Sonic the Hedgehog and Princess Sally."

"The pleasure's all mine, you overgrown crockpot of fat.  Someday I hope to be more of a rusty steel spike in your side than a thorn."

"Hold your tongue, rodent.  Your punishment has yet to begin."

"That was first class villain dialogue, Ivo.  I'm surprised you didn't add the maniacal laughter for good measure. Oh well, that's less screen time wasted." The almost foxlike rat grinned as he entered. Violet took one look and went ballistic.

"Volt...is that...?"

"Yeah.  Someone who should be DEAD and their skeleton chained to that palm tree on Extra's Island back in Edoropia.  Prime Minister--"

"SEYMORE CHEESE YOU GOUDA-SCARFING PIECE OF MOLDY PEPPERONI!  WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!?!"

Violet pulled out her spear and started slashing, slicing, and gouging and otherwise mutilating...yet another hologram.

"Fight fair you vermin!!!" Violet shrieked her attacks passing right through Seymore.

"..."  Dottie and Mitzi just stared. Even Starfire was a little confused.

"I believe this is what Raven means by the saying 'that girl has issues', correct?"

"I believe you're right, Starfire." Bunnie nodded.

"Suddenly I'm glad that we don't have supervillain enemies or rivals to deal with." Mitzi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well...that's not completely true.  Dottie said, looking around.  And her suspicions were confirmed as soon as she came eye to eye with...!

"Catchum Crocodile?  I knew you were a bully but what do you have to do with this?"

"The...guy that went to jail so he and his flunky couldn't attend Mitzi's class reunion during our vacation in Neo Arcadia?" Asriel cocked his head.

"Because this beats fixing the science fair any day."

"YOU were the one who sabotaged Hermie the Robot?  He wrecked the town because of your tampering!  I should have known your lame attempt to pass Leiland in a tin-foil covered suit as your science project was just a diversion you...you..."

"Your record's stuck, little girl." "I'm the same age as you so don't you give me static!" Dottie shot back. "Big talk for someone trapped with these four losers."

"HEY, YOU SHUT YOUR HOLE, SAWBLADE MOUTH!" Violet blasted.

"So I'm guessing Mitzi's nemesis will be Helen Annagrey Henny." I crossed my arms.

"Uh, Volt?  That doesn't look like Helen..." Asriel pointed.

"I guess that leaves me out of--"

"Mitzi...Mitzi...!"

"Who's there?" "You don't remember do you."

"Remember what?" "I'm not surprised you don't know me.  After all I AM your past." "You're speaking in riddles.  What do you want?  Who are you?"

"Wolf Pack Five, Mitzi."

"Wolf Pack--"

"That's right.  That's where it all began...and where it ended.  FOR ME!" At that the brown-furred mouse stepped into the light, taking a moment to fix her ponytail.

"You look like--"

"I AM you.  Or at least...I am what you could have been.  Before your image was redone!"

"..."

"You see I AM you, Mitzi...but you can call me by my original name...I'm Mini.  Mini Mozzerela.  And that's with one L, sweetie."

"It's...Mitzi's SISTER?" My jaw dropped.

"The one we haven't even met yet?"

"That...can't...be!"

"Yes it can.  It was before the grey fur and curly blond pigtails.  It was before the cheerleader outfit, pom-poms and saddle shoes.  I'm surprised you never asked Beach Bear or Fatz Geronimo about it.  After all...they were original members of the Wolf Pack 5.  Even your Rolfe DeWolf was Wolf Pack 5.  Back when he wore the formal outfit and still had the moustache.  Before his poor business decisions reduced him to that loud vest and bowtie and hiring the services of his cagey agent, Earl Schmerle."

"But.......why?" "Why?  Because I was merely your prototype.  Like Dingo Star--the WP5's original drummer, and Rolfe's "Wolfman" nickname they weren't meant to be!  Well...that's going to change, my transistor sister."

"She's...not making sense." Asriel was confused. "The way she's talking, you'd think she's implying she's an animatronic character.

I...didn't want to consider the thought that it could be true.

"But--"

"No buts, Mitzi.  You stole my very identity.  I could have been you but they had to alter me so much!  I couldn't even keep my name because some OTHER girl mouse already had the name.  Even the fact that it was spelled differently didn't change a thing!  My career was over and Rock-Afire Explosions' careers took off like a shot!  Fatz and Beach Bear moved on!  They hired some space dog named Duke Larue to replace Dingo!  Then came Billy Bob and Earl!  And it was completed when you stepped into the picture!"

"Guess it seems we all have people we have issues with...and who have issues with us." Bunnie narrowed her eyes.

"What's your game, you--"  Vi started.

"She is an impatient one, Big Cheese." Slade cut in.

"You get used to the name-calling after a while but the whining and demanding REALLY starts to give you the red hienie after a while."

"WHAAAAT?!?" Vi shrieked.

"You got a DEATHWISH talking about me like that, Seymore!"

"Oh can it, your highness.  Your sacrifice will make it a lot easier to clean up my reputation in Little Tokyo."

"What...sacrifice?" "You're a smart girl.  Riddle me this.  Little Tokyo mourns the loss of its one and only princess for its Prime Minister fought bravely and nobly to rescue her from dangerous villains but failed to prevent her demise and was barely able to escape home to tell his people the bad news." Seymore mused.

"So what's the deal?  You after our lunch money?" Vi snarled, practically foaming at the mouth."

"We were supposed to have lunch money?" Starfire asked.

"Really, Princess Tokugawa.  Such insults are undignified for the active ruler of Little Tokyo."

"Sit on it, tin head!" Vi shouted at Slade. "We're going to play a little game.  Consider it more of a life's test." Slade replied.

"We're sending you on a one-way trip through the Five Elements of the Ancients." Seymore mused.

"Each test will have five trials of death-defying challenges which have claimed the lives of many adventurers." Robotnik explained.

"And for laughs we're adding our own personal touches to some of these trials." Catchum gloated.

"And even if you survive these, we'll be waiting for a final confrontation to weed out the true losers.  We're going to reclaim our birthrights and send you to the fate you deserve." Mini pointed at the five theatrically.

"And when you've finally had the final curtain call, we'll cash in on the benefits.  We are SO going to make a mint with your destruction.  And then just because we can we're going to off your friends!" Seymore smirked.

"YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!" Starfire blasted, taking to the air and charging up her Star Bolts.

"Try hard, Starfire.  If you and your friends do not tread lightly, you will destroy each other long before you face us.  And that would be most disappointing." Slade answered calmly.

"Speak for yourself.  The less we have to deal with these peons, the better!" Seymore chuckled.

"Peons?!" Dottie protested. "Did your mommy teach you that one?  Must've been the only word short enough for you to learn to spell!"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, pooch.  Be a good girl and pick up your pom-poms and run along now before you get hurt."

"I'll pick up these pom-poms alright and jam them down your--"

"Time is ticking, you five.  I advise you make the most of it." Slade interrupted. "And if you don't, I'm sure you'll make great roboticized additions to my army." Robotnik cackled. All five of the villains faded away as the hologram shut off.

Silence.

Asriel looked at me.

"Welll...now we know the score.  And what this is about." He shrugged. "But I wonder how you fit into this...?" He pondered.

"Don't know.  This seems more like a Girl's Night Out." I shrugged.

"Well that's just GREAT!" Violet blasted. "From bad to worse to completely in the toilet!  I don't think this day could get any worse for me." Violet grumbled.

"What makes you think you're the only one having a bad day?  You better be able to prove the world revolves around you because it sure doesn't when I last checked." Dottie challenged.

"Don't start with me, pig-tails!"

"We are equally distressed." Starfire spoke up.

"I wasn't talking to you!  When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it!" "Calm down.  She was just trying to--"  "Don't you tell me to calm down!"

"Stop it, Violet." Bunnie demanded. "I'll rant and rave if I want, Pajamas!  I'm in SUCH a rotten mood!  I swear I want to tear something limb from limb!  I'll even settle for a stuffed animal or a small woodland creature!"

Starfire let out a scream as she envisioned such a cruel act, a cloud of anime sweat dots appeared around her accompanied by a matching anime action background.

"You know what, I'm not going to stand for your lack of discipline and your immaturity much longer."

"You want a piece of me, Bunnie?!?" "Fighting solves nothing."

"Talk to the FIST!" Violet cocked a fist and sent it toward Bunnie's head. In that brief moment Bunnie narrowed her eyes, an anime glint appearing in the right eye. But instead of taking the full force of Violet's punch...Violet suddenly squealed in pain as her knuckles crashed into something hard. Her fist had connected with a shiny metal robot fist connected to an equally shiny metal arm sticking out of Bunnie's rolled up gi jacket sleeve. Everyone else gasped in shock. Bunnie's expression remained grim and dead serious. And yet...

"Oh my stars...what happened?!  In that brief moment I focused and...something happened...I...I roboticized myself?!" She thought. "They're all just as shocked as I am...but they all seem to be under the impression that I knew what I was doing.  I shouldn't mislead them but it might be the only way to get Violet under control." Bunnie thought.

"Would anyone else attempt to fill Violet's shoes?" Bunnie snorted, hoping she wasn't coming off as too harsh.

"Uh-uh." Dottie shook her head.

"No arguments here!" Mitzi followed up.

"I do not wish to challenge you." Starfire added.

"Well?" Bunnie looked Violet straight in the eyes.

"...no..." She practically squeaked. Bunnie lowered her fist and her arm suddenly seemed to metamorph back to flesh and fur. Bunnie rolled down her sleeve.

"Okay." Violet turned away and clutched her aching hand in pain.

"We may have our differences and we may not like the situation.  But we're all each other's best shot at getting home." Bunnie shifted her eyes from person to person. "So.  Are we a team?  Or aren't we?"

Silence. Everyone seemed too scared to reply until.

"I will join the team." Mitzi overlapped her hand on top of Bunnie's.

"I'm in." Dottie walked over and did the same.

"If we are being held here by our enemies and we wish to return to our homes then our quests are the same.  I too shall be part of the team." Starfire followed the other examples.

"So.  How about it, Violet?  Are you in?  Or out?" Bunnie asked.

Violet gritted her teeth and remained turned away from everyone else.

"Darn her...why'd she have to hit my fist so HARD?!  I should just refuse.  I mean I'm not much of a team player.  But...I don't want to stay here...and I do want to get revenge on Seymore...and I've never walked away from a fight before...what would my mom think if she ever found out!  I don't want to be that sissy she kicked around the palace when I was just a baby again!" Violet cringed thinking of how one-sided her sparring practices with Empress Frieda were.

"Eh, whatever.  I guess I might was well keep the rest of you out of trouble.  We're a team, Pajamas." Violet overlapped her hand over the others'.

"Then let’s start acting like a team.  For that to happen we have to trust each other...and we have to believe we can win." Bunnie nodded.

"Okay.  I guess that makes you officially team leader."

"I guess so."

"So now what, Bunnie?" Mitzi asked.

"We choose our path." Everyone noticed that they were in dark, foggy room with five circular gateways in a star formation. Each gate had a Japanese character on it.

It IS the Go-Genso-Mon five elemental gates from Rabbotou Dojo.

"Well this doesn't help us." Dottie frowned.

"You speak Japanese.  At least that's what you were speaking when you woke up." Vi prompted.

"Maybe you read it too?" She shrugged. Bunnie stared at the Japanese characters.

"Yes.  I recognize them.  That one is Kaze, the word for wind.  And that one is Hino, the word for fire.  And that one is Mizu.  The word for water.  Those are Moku and Kinzoku, the words for wood and metal." "So which one do we take first?"

"I think...we should take Wind first." Bunnie said after a short silence. "Well...wind it is.  And hey, if you get us killed, at least you won't have to worry about Prisoner Island." Violet wrinkled her nose. With that the Gate of Wind opened and everyone stepped inside.

And then things were quiet.

"You know...that was kind of touching." Asriel tried not to be misty-eyed.

"Just goes to show that even in a situation like this...they'd all be friends....more or less."

"You know what hasn't happened for a while--"  I shouldn't have opened my mouth.

"Annnnnnnnnnd time skip.  Riiiiiight on cue..." Asriel said dryly.

And then the next thing we knew we were plastered against a metal wall with a roll-down metal gate in a room by gale force winds.

"What the...!"

"This...shouldn't be happening...!  We should be...!"

"Uh...Volt?" Asriel rolled his gaze toward the door we were pinned to...and that was how I noticed the pair of Hazard Cards that had somehow gotten dislodged from our bracers.

"Ohhhhhhh crap." I managed to say before the winds got even stronger, making it hard to talk...and making our faces...very imaginably hilarious. I wish I could say the two of us felt particularly amused.

"What's...going...!"

And then we saw the girls in battle...against Dr. Wily's Air Man robot master.

We were part of the timeline now. If any one of them spotted us, this would get complicated real fast.

It was too late and futile to re-insert the Hazard Cards...but we couldn’t just leave them behind to be found.

With a bit of strain, I magnetically gripped the cards and attempted to reinsert them in our bracers, hopefully without crushing them. There was just enough magnetic parts on them to get a grip.

Now I just had to toggle the SPECTRE functions on.

I kept eye contact with Asriel. This might sting a little...but if it worked...!

I pressed my fingers to the wall and arced a jolt of electricity through the door. Thankfully both our bracers were pinned to the walls, too, making electrical contact.

Azzy winced. Nothing that couldn't be healed with a first aid kit and apology later, right?

After a few attempts...Asriel's bracer engaged its SPECTRE function first. He dropped from the wall and was able to move around freely. And he quickly snagged my bracer's SPECTRE function.

"Thanks, Goat Son.  C'mon...!"

It was about that time when the winds suddenly died down as Vi's spear impaled itself between Air Man's fan blades.

And in moments...it was over as Bunnie unloaded the final arm cannon shot to Air Man's head...

...just in time for us to be swept through time again.

"What...even is Adonis trying to teach us with this...?"

"I don't think this is part of Adonis' plan..." I pondered as it was now night out...and we were traveling a sidewalk outside a stretch between cityscapes but not quite near the highway. Road side stuff and restaurants but everything seemed...generic.

"We're still off the rails?"

"Yeah...Chris really must've sent us way off course of Adonis' madness."

"I can only image how much "madness" he has right now.:  Asriel said with a Chara-esque grin.

"Good one." I knuckle bumped him.

It was right about that time I heard his stomach rumble.

"Was that a tiger?" I joked. "Oi...have we been gone that long...?"

"You know I could really use one of Mitzi's pizzas right about now."

"Ditto."

And then as if Lady Destiny had heard our pleas...wait, she totally did, didn't she?

We both looked up.

"The...Music Palace?" He questioned.

"I don't know how...but I recognize this place."

That was when a portal opened nearby.

"The girls!" I realized.

"Woo!  That's our best landing yet!" Mitzi cheered as she emerged first and walked from the portal.

"OOF"  Dottie did a faceplant and belly flop. "I disagree--"

She was cut off as Violet sailed through and landed on top in a sit. Starfire and Bunnie emerged moments later.

"So.  Where'd we end up?"

"Not sure, but it's night time." Sure enough it was dark out and the sky was lit up with stars.

"We seem to be in some kind of parking lot next to a big building on the side of a road." Bunnie observed as a few sparse cars drove up and down the street.

"Yeah...but what building?" Dottie asked as she dumped Violet off of her, picked herself up, brushed herself off, and walked around to the front. Then her eyes lit up as she saw the neon sign.

"Anyone feel like pizza and music?" She asked.

"I'm so for that." Violet piped up. "Where are we, Dottie?"

"It appears we're at a pizzeria with live entertainment.  Check out the picture of this cool Wurlitzer organ.  And there must be several dozen other instruments all hooked up to it!" Dottie pointed.

"Reminds me of a restaurant I knew about 11 years ago that burned down.  Problem is...I don't know how I remember it.  What's weirder is I don't sense anyone inside...yet everything seems to be in full operation." Bunnie pondered.

"Well, if dimension hopping has taught me anything it's that we should expect the unexpected...or at least the very weird.  Anyway...I'm starving, let's get inside."

"But if there's nobody here, who's going to make the pizzas?"

We followed them inside.

"Well...why don't we cook our own pizza?" Dottie volunteered.

"Say what?" Violet raised an eyebrow. "Do any of us know anything about pizza making?" Mass-sweat dropping all around.

"Well uh...how hard could it be?" Dottie shrugged. "Couldn't be any tougher than the time the gang and I made all those cookies with my grandmother's special recipe."

"Yeeeeah...and how did that turn out, Dottie?" Violet put her knuckles to her hips. Dottie was suddenly silent as the memories of the big fight she and the rest of the Get-Along Gang got into in the kitchen of Hoofnagle's Ice Cream Emporium came flooding back to her.

"Uh...swimmingly."

"You're a terrible liar, Dottie." I grumbled.

"You're a terrible liar, Dottie." Violet  said, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"Whoa...it's scary when we think alike." I didn't want to admit that Violet and I had...similarities on some level.

Dottie sighed and hung her head. "That obvious, huh?" Violet nodded in reply.

"We'll just have to wing it." Bunnie spoke up as she entered.

"Yeah." "Guess so."

Inside there was a short hallway leading to the cashier desk. A right turn led into a wider hallway with a pair of staircases leading up to the second floor balcony a pair of doors leading into the main room and a salad bar and buffet area at the far end. Some further searching eventually led to the kitchen. After drawing straws to see who would go first, Starfire started things off after she familiarized herself with the ingredients and preparation of a pizza. Once it was made she popped it in the oven and waited.

"I should compose a poem while I wait for it to cook.   I shall let my imagination soar with the gift of prose!  Yes, it is here and now I reach for that golden ring, and let my words take flight!" Starfire beamed. She cleared her throat and let the words flow.

"Pizza, pizza, thou art fair.  Thy fragrant odor fills the air. Of all the wonders from above,  Pizza 'tis thou that most I... IT'S BURNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Starfire cried out as she threw open the oven door and pulled out the blackened pizza and sighed.

"Epic fail?" I asked.

"Epic fail." Asriel replied.

"...we are so not going to eat well, are we?"

Prospect looked bleak.

"I give you an A for effort, Star...a D minus in home economies but an A for effort.  Violet held up scorecards with the respective grades.

"Well...uh..so what, cooking's not your strong suit." Dottie tried to comfort.

"You're up next, Vi." Bunnie shrugged.

"Alright.  I've been watching Speedy, Guido, and Polly do this long enough.  Stand back and watch a pro!" And when the door opened.

"Errr...it's a bit...uh...soggy."

"Is it supposed to be dripping?"

"Alright, alright!  I made a slight miscalculation!" Vi complained as she picked up her slice and it literally oozed into a puddle, cheese, sauce, crust, and all.

"Be still my beating taste buds." I deadpanned. "This is why we don't let her cook back home."

Bunnie tried her luck. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!  MY MOUTH IS ON FIRE!!!  AHHHH!!!!" Violet ran about, fire spewing from her mouth.

"Kill me..." Dottie collapsed, grasping her throat.

"Uh...I guess it is a little spicy." Bunnie sweat dropped. "A LITTLE?  That'll peel PAINT!" Violet roared.

Exactly what I expected.

Dottie went next. "Eww, eww, eww, EWWWW!!!" Violet spat as she stuck her mouth under the faucet and chugged gulp after gulp after gulp of water.

"It's not that bad!  You're just exaggerating to build yourself by tearing me down."

Dottie said and shoved a slice in her mouth...and then she turned green. Then she ran to the ladies room, holding her mouth. Moments later she came back, holding her stomach.

"I wonder if Globocide pest poison company would be interested.  I know this guy named Oblong who might be able to hook them up." I joked.

At that point all eyes were on Mitzi. A deep sigh. "Well...no pressure." Mitzi said as she got to work.

It was prepared, put in the oven and when it was taken out and cooled.

"Well...everybody ready?" "Yeah.  I've got the poison-control center's number and my cel-phone out and ready to dial."

Violet wrinkled her nose. "If I don't see you in the afterlife...I'm going to be a very happy Dottie." Dottie sneered at Violet.

"Let's actually sample it before we rush to judgement." Everyone bit into their slices at the same time, chewed and swallowed except Mitzi who was too nervous to do so. She hesitated, waiting for a response.

"Mitzi...that pizza..."

Mitzi's eyes widened.

"...was..." Bunnie continued. It seemed she was dragging her reply out.

"The most WONDERFUL thing I've ever tasted!" Starfire suddenly burst out as a pink anime backdrop covered with red hearts appeared behind her as she spun around in place.

"Hey...this IS great." Violet blinked, surprised.

"...you're just trying to soften the blow and make me feel better are you?" Mitzi asked.

"No way!  This is great!" Dottie replied.

"It ROCKS!" Violet devoured the rest of her slice.

"Mitzi...taste it." Bunnie urged. And so Mitzi did so.

"Ohhh...just like...Showbiz Pizza Place..."

Mitzi looked pleasantly surprised...almost euphoric.

"Well...I guess we know who the chef of our team is." Violet beamed.

"Three cheers for Mitzi!" Dottie urged.

"It's kind of heartwarming really.  Us coming together like this just to partake in something as simple as enjoying pizza." Mitzi smiled warmly. "It brings back memories of when the Rock-Afire Explosion really started taking off.  The birthday celebrations were especially nice.  I remember this one time--"  Mitzi stopped short as images appeared in her mind.

"Whoooah...Volt...?  What's happening?!" The world around the two of us...and Mitzi started warping around us until...!

She was onstage in her usual place on Beach Bear's left, pom-poms in hand. "Showbiz Pizza is proud to welcome the famous Dr. Arcade and his family and friends." Billy Bob announced as the spotlight shone down on one table in particular where an orange, black striped cat in a yellow shirt and jeans was seated. Joining him was a yellow-furred dog in a shirt, tie, pants, and a lab coat as well as a grey-furred, thin black-stripped cat in a skirt and blouse. And next to her was a gold-furred wolf child in in cute white karate uniform with a lightning bolt simple on the back. For some reason the girl cat and the wolf seemed to stand out to Mitzi...as if they had some kind of significance or importance. The lil werewolf child waved as the vision faded.

"Volt...you saw it didn't you...?" Asriel turned to me.

"V...Volt...?"

I held my hand to my face...and wiped the stream of tears. I found myself dropping to my knees.

"Volt..."

I couldn't have pushed this out of my mind...I couldn't have! This memory...it was too happy to just abandon...why....why...?

"C'mon...old buddy...come back to me." Asriel shook me...until I responded.

"Even when he's not getting to you...he's getting to you.  I understand how great a memory that was...but it's making you vulnerable.  You can't drop your guard like this.

I nodded, my ears had drooped.

Asriel helped me up.

"Mitzi?  Mitzi, are you okay?" Bunnie snapped her back to reality.

"It was another of these whacked-out visions we've all been having, wasn't it?" Violet asked.

"Yeah...it felt SO familiar...as if I've lived it.  The RAE has had a lot of shows, traveling the country but...what's so different about this one...?  And who was that gold-furred wolf child..." "Beats me.  Well we might as well enjoy the pizza before it gets cold."

"I can't help but these visions have a special meaning...as if they're guiding us to something...but what?

The girls transported the pizza to the main room where they had a chance to look at their surroundings a little closer. There were plenty of tables. There was an electronic number board to show which table number's order was ready.

There were a few other things as well. But what drew everyone's attention was what was along the main wall.

"Golly!  Look at the size of all those air bellows behind the glass." Dottie pointed. "I'm looking at what's above them." Mitzi said as she examined the huge glass window vanes that obviously opened and closed while the organ was in operation. Behind them were countless metal pipes of all sizes. There was a set of air bellows and pipes on each side of the main stage...but there was nothing on stage but a big hole.

"Strange." Bunnie rubbed her chin. Lining the area between the bellows and the pipe chambers were various percussion instruments, noisemakers and whatnot. And there were still more instruments lining the balcony from chimes and bells and whistles to a whole rack of trumpets in the corner of the upper floor. There were projectors and spotlights and a disco ball in the ceiling as well. On a ledge above the main stage was a beautifully crafted player piano and above it was a projection screen. And finally the whole balcony and most of the room was lined with chaser lights.

"Sincere apologies for interrupting the feast, but our friend Violet seems to be gone." Starfire spoke up. Sure enough Violet's spot at the table was empty and a few slices of pizza were missing.

"Great.  Where'd she go this time?" Dottie shrugged.

That was when the air bellows started pumping and the pipe organ came to life. And all four girls were shocked as the organ literally rose out of the hole in the balcony, turning a little clockwise then counterclockwise until it was in full view. And seated at the might console was none other than Princess Violet herself, playing the Overture of Phantom of the Opera.

"Not bad for a girl who had a couple years of private lessons, eh?" She asked as she spun around on the bench.

"Wonderful, friend Violet!  You are very talented!" Starfire applauded.

"I shouldn't be too surprised that a computer hacker knows her way around the ivories." Bunnie smiled.

"I think you've got a little bit of Broadway in you, Vi.  You ever think about going into Showbiz?  If Fatz ever needs a substitute keyboard player, you're welcome to join us for a jam session." Mitzi complimented.

"I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever in your world." Violet winked.

Asriel pondered.

"This universe..."

"Yeah...it's like they all came together from...Worlds...Apart..." I blinked for a moment.

"What is it?"

"N...nevermind.  It's not important."

Asriel watched as I went on ahead.

"Volt..." He was worried. Rightfully so. As was I. Along with a plethora of other emotions too numerous to sort. These memories...unlocking...

Where do the lies begin...and where does the truth end? Where does the truth begin and where do the lies end?

Lady Destiny. Madam Fate. What is this game of yours, really?

The five girls headed back through the gateway.

"Huh...?" MItzi looked at the extra large pepperoni pizza platter the girls had eaten. They'd eaten almost all of it...but...weren't there two big pieces left...?

"Strange..." Mitzi shrugged and caught up.

* HICCUP* I ate too fast.

"They won't miss it." I assured Azzy.

"It really is good pizza." He nodded, finishing his slice off.

And we were off...

As the girls braved the Elemental Gates, things took a turn when Dr. Wily sprung a cyber trap on them and banished Violet back to her own world, leaving the group without arguably the best person to have in a virtual world. Without their hacker...things got...rough.

After a while...I finally got my head on straight.

"At least he forgot about the conundrum with that Universal Detective person." Asriel muttered to himself. "But I can't help but feel...I know her, too.  Where have I met someone who looks like that...?"

Eventually the girls' adventure came to a head with confrontations against their foes.

Slade didn't end up fighting Starfire himself...rather he ended up setting her up against her sister, Kommand'r...AKA Blackfire.

But thanks to hanging around Bunnie and Violet, Starfire had a crash course on both the martial arts prowess and street smarts to defeat her.

Dottie had secretly used Violet's laptop to learn about the 21st century, having come from the 80's herself. And with it she had learned plenty to drag Catchum Crocodile kicking and screaming through an extreme sports competition that finally had him running away in a panic.

Mitzi ended up going toe to toe with Mini in a singing competition. While Mini led off strong with a rendition of "My Boyfriend's Back", Mitzi blew us all away with her take on Bananarama's "Venus".

Violet bested Seymore in a slapstick version of a full-armored samurai against samurai battle that stole scripts from Spaceballs, Wayne's World, and plenty more pop culture movies, TV, and tropes which ended in Seymore blasting off one last time.

Which left Bunnie to fight Robotnik's take on Mecha-Bunnie. A Bunnie Rabbot version of Sonic's nemesis, Metal Sonic.

But it ended when Bunnie surprised us all by using the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Blazing Bunnie and send the machine to the scrapheap and LITERALLY throw Robotnik through a warp zone all the way to Robotropolis.

"Is it over?"

"Not quite..." I watched as yet another counterpart of myself arrived to arrest Slade. And that WOULD have been enough but...

Everything just went completely haywire then when Ganon appeared and split the dimensions up like a pizza pie. Each world was now connected at an epicenter just like slices off a pizza.

And that was when the stuff hit the fan as enemies came in from everywhere...but at the same time...my counterpart summoned heroes from everywhere to.

Too many to count. Too many familiar faces.

Asriel looked to me.

"......okay...just this once.  With all the chaos...I don't think anybody's going to notice us."

And we shut off the SPECTRE function and dove into the free-for-all.

While we had been through a lot and as it turned out our quest was only half-way complete...these final moments in this Worlds Apart universe would be the highlight of our trip away from home.

The battle was long and intense. But most of all...GLORIOUS!

And when it ended, Asriel and I had snuck away in the confusion, no one the wiser.

"That was...really something else, Volt.  You...feeling better?"

"I...think so but...I can't help but think that we're in for a lot more than we bargained for.  We may have taken ourselves off course of Adonis' crazy stolen plan...but with that came the realization that we had put ourselves woefully off course from finding our way back home in all likelihood.

And I think that was starting to get to me subconsciously.

Asriel most certainly took notice...but said nothing. Furthermore...he still had no idea how he fit into this...torture that Adonis was arranging for me.

Speaking of which....!

Insert obvious gasp of surprise here...

"Adonis!" My eyes widened as he stepped through the gate.

For the first time...he didn't look amused.

"What's the matter?  Game not fun anymore?"

Oooh. That would have really stuck in Fate's crawl.

He uncrossed his arms, bend down and got in my face, nose to nose and spoke one word.

"Woof."

Then without warning he grabbed Asriel by the face and THREW him hard into the cyber gate behind him.

In my shock and horror I ran after him. Adonis didn't even take the time to say "fetch".

In that moment I should have realized...the cracks had started to show in him, too.

I think...whatever Violet did to him in her mind...?...it may have pierced him to his core, too.

Unfortunately, there was no time to debate that. We were off to yet another Universe...

Sub-Entry 386: "Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality, Part 6 - N-Fans":
(OOC: This sub-entry is dedicated to the memory of Captan N.net and N-Fans web comic founder and administrator, Webster S. Swenson, A.K.A. "N-Fnity". Taken too soon from us in 2007 from diabetic coma. We miss you, buddy.)

"What?  Elec Man's stage? "

I noticed we were at the top in his inner chamber.

"Hmmmm..."

No sign of Elec Man. But what I DID find was...

"This carbon-scored gash in the ground...this was made by a Beam Saber.  Zero?  Impossible.  Wily couldn't have been working on Zero this early on...let alone completed and activated him."

I was detecting other scents in the room. But they were scents that almost seemed to be covering up other scents. Like...like a false body or...avatars.

"Whoever had been here, there were a number of them.  A small group.  One of them got here first and others followed.  I...can't tell much more than that."

"Too bad we can't rewind time and see what happened."

"Well we DO have that kind of tech back at STC's armory but...it doesn't do us any good there and it requires serious paperwork and clearance.  I'm sure even Daimyou would chastise me for something so trivial that doesn't help our mission."

A moment of silence.

"I've learned something over the course of this year."

"Hmm?"

"This world...every world....at some point it all used to be so black and white.  It felt good just to save the day and make it a better place....but now...now it feels like we've been...doing the wrong things...for the right reasons."

I looked on. "Not the first time I've heard that said during this month.  Gadget...has been keeping me informed about the Phoenix Foundation.  Like how it's under new management.  She's asking Violet to check into this Russel Taylor but...despite how shady he seems, I have a good gut feeling about him."

"I guess I'll ask Gadget about it when we get back."

"Yeah...there's that optimism of yours, again.  Try...not to lose that, okay?"

"Volt, please don't be that way.  I know this whole ordeal is hard on you but...don't lose hope.  That's what's making your more vulnerable than anything."

"I know...it's just...he has a lot more ammo to use against me than you...and he's been torturing me for a lot longer than he has you.  With all due respect...you don't have an entire universe worth of lives snuffed out on your shoulders."

"..."

"...sorry...that wasn't cool."

"Volt.  I understand."

We looked around a bit.

"I am detecting residual traces of a warp zone."

"Hmm..." Asriel followed my lead. "Yeah, I got the energy signature right here."

"I can't tell how old it is but...the echo is still lingering."

"I think I can re-open it." Asriel's gaze brightened.

"Really?"

When was...the last time Asriel truly amazed me? Because--

"There we go!"

...he just outdid himself again.

"You really are a prodigy."

Asriel went on through.

"Hey, aren't you at least going to...scan it...and find out where it leads......."

Yup. Classic Asriel was back.

I shrugged and followed.

"CastleVania?"

"The Town of Aljibah!" Asriel recognized the section from Simon's Quest. I quickly pulled him in the alley so the "NPC" people wouldn't spot us and freak out.

I sniffed around. "I'm not sure why...the scents...the energy fluctuations...any clues to who was poking around Elec Man's power plant and came all this way to CastleVania.......they should have LONG since dissipated based on what I sensed back in his core room.  But..."

"But?"

"All signs are...as strong as if they were only made seconds ago.  But...if that were the case wouldn't we have bumped into them by now?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying...something is telling me these trails...haven't eroded even a little."

"Can you tell anything about the scents in the spot we're standing in?"

"Three of them.  All three male...but...the energy patterns and scents...almost seem to suggest that they bodies they're using are..............well...avatars."

"You mean like Blaze and Roxy?"

"Well...yeah but...far more primitive.   Like 8-bit primitive.  I've only detected something like this...once before."

"What, where and when, Volt?" Asriel cocked his head.

"More than 20 years ago."

Asriel crossed his arms and leaned up against the brick wall. "Anything special about then?"

"Well...I'm not sure if it relates but...back then the Internet of that time had a surge of...what we now call days "sprite comics".  One of the biggest of the time was called Bob & George and it made use of a lot of Mega Man assets."

"Oh!  You mean like someone photoshopped game characters into comic strips?"

"Exactly that, Azzy." I rubbed my chin. "This VideoLand we're in now...almost feels like we're in one of those."

I was feeling a little better now that Asriel and I had diverted each other’s attention away from our predicament. I'd gotten him invested in a time gone by,  an era before his time.

As we snuck our way through the back alleys of the town, we passed by Honest Dave's weapon shop...huh...I guess it existed in this VideoLand, too.

But the longer we explored, the more we noticed it getting darker until.

"Wait.  Hold up, Azzy." I stopped at a spot. "One of the scents...suddenly changed here."

I narrowed my eyes and squinted a little. "If I peek a little into the infrared range, I can see a signature here...a signature which looks like...it resembles.......werewolf feet?"

"One of them was a Lycan?"

"You don't suppose...?"

Asriel and I looked at one another.

"I'm going to try to reconstruct a 3D image." Asriel suddenly started fiddling with his Bracer and the NX gear.

"Okay, now you're really starting to amaze me.  Where's all this intuition coming from?"

"I don't know...I just feel really compelled to...y'know...take action and not just be along for an unguided tour."

He had a way with words. We were after all accidental tourists.

And soon he had assembled a hologram of three people. One looked like Link in gold clothes. One looked like Dr. Wily. But sure enough...the third was the spitting image of Werewolf the Last Warrior, Damon Blake.

"The computers can't pin down how long ago this was.  But..."

"What do you think they're saying?"

"Sensei could read lips.  I haven't got that far in my training, yet."

We both tried to make it out from the context.

"This is just...a guess...but something like......"Rule number one, Mark. Never underestimate the Harry Potter-look-a-like. I suggest you run."

"Oddly specific, Goat Son." I tried to cover up my chuckle. By then the NX's simulation broke apart.

"Mark...want to wager that's our "Commandant", Mark Moore?"

"Probably another iteration of the guy...but it looks like he got the short end of the stick, stuck in a Dr. Wily avatar." I mused.

A bit mor exploring.

"Okay...signs indicate they met up with the rest of the group that was with them before.  All together...I count six distinct signatures, counting "Mark".  One...no, two females.  One smells like she's in Light Labs model robot body...the other in a reploid body."

How was I getting this information just from scent? I mean...yeah, I was a werewolf but even for me this was oddly specific and plentiful information.

"Another...male...also in another Light Labs robot body.  And the elf and the werewolf.  The only one missing is obviously Dr. Wily avatar who ran off scared out of his wits."

We followed the warp zone which led us to a tree back in Mega Land.

"They stopped here for the night...but...it looks like they went back to CastleVania first thing in the morning."

"Probably to get this Mark guy." Asriel shrugged.

We kept following the warps but somehow we diverted to Mount Icarus, Angel Land.

And this somehow led us back again to CastleVania...and one last time to Skull Castle.

"Whoever these guys are they get around." Asriel took a moment for catch his breath, as did I.

"What all were they doing?" I questioned.

"We still don't know who "they" are.  And why they're using VideoLand avatar bodies."

"Maybe that's the only way they could safely enter this universe."

"Then why weren't we--"  Asriel turned a corner as we happened to notice the mirrored surface of the sheet steel in the castle.

"Hold that thought." I noticed our forms.

"Okay then." Asriel blinked as he looked upon his animated sprite form. All of his clothes and gear were preserved but...he looked like he had been sprite-ripped from a sandbox RPG on Steam.

I was one to talk though. I looked just as custom-sprited.

"You know...the way we are kind of remind me of Hedgehog for Hire or Mega Man Dies at the End." I rubbed my pixelated chin.

"So what's Adonis' reason for this?" Asriel wrinkled his snoot.

"Don't know." I shook my head.

"Weirder than that...how come we didn't notice we were in these strange forms until we saw our reflections. Why do we seem normal to each other but...like this in the mirror?"

"We were bound to run into a universe with strange physics sooner or later." I pressed my hand to the surface.

"Feels...normal...ish."

At that moment, my electromagnetic field fluctuated a bit as I stifled a sneeze...and then I saw the image tear away to reveal wire-frame and digital code behind it before it sealed back up again.

"Whoa.  It's like we really ARE in a video game." Asriel scratched his head.

"I guess it really isn't that strange that each VideoLand AU would be unique in its own way." I reasoned.

We explored Wily's core room for a bit. Asriel took readings while I sniffed around.

"There was a battle here.  Short.  Unimaginably short.  It smells like a Beam Sabre."

"I'll bet the girl in the reploid body is using Zero's form." Asriel pointed upward, looking his most Detective Conan-like in his expression.

"Then the one in the Light Labs bioroid body is probably using a Roll avatar......." I trailed off, getting a weird, familiar feeling.

"So...maybe their leader is using Mega Man's?  I mean we have a Dr. Wily and a Roll.  why not another from column A?"

"Maybe."

"So we can agree the last one is using a modded Adventure of Link sprite."

"And we've somehow deduced all this just from scans and sniffing around...literally.  This universe plays by weird rules."

After leaving Skull Castle, we somehow...back-traced the point of origin before Elec Man's power plant...to somewhere in Mega Land...and that's where we found it.

"Remnants of a Dr. Light teleporter?  Asriel looked at the apparatus.

"And...hooked to a reactor from Maniac Mansion." I looked at the broken machinery. I began repairing it until I could get the O.S. working again.

"Whoa...check this out!  A login!  And the password is set to "Remember Me".  I clicked and auto-logged in.

"Welcome back, N-Finity." The screen read.

"N...Finity?" I cocked an ear...before feeling that OVERWHELMING sense of deja vu hit again.

"Check it out, Volt." Asriel had plugged into the machine with his NX Board. "I have a transport log.  It looks like their group got a LOT bigger.  AND I have avatar names to go with!"

"Now we can get to the bottom of this.  Can you tell how long ago this took place?"

".....August 6th...2001...12:38 P.M. Eastern Standard Time." Asriel blinked. "Wow.  If you disregarded the 100 years I was in the Void, and adjusted Undertale's timeline for this universe's timeline......I wasn't even BORN yet."

"Mind-blowing."

"Holy crap, look!  I found something else...it's connected to somewhere else in VideoLand.  A much larger server system running in low-power mode.  And better yet...I can trace it back to the source!"

"You're going to make your Aunt Vi waaaay jealous.  I mused.

And so we traced our way back.

"I downloaded the master log of those teleporter coordinates and its target transported.  They're all using Avatar Aliases but you should have a look.

"Any real names listed?"

"No.  But I bet they're stored on the server where we're going."

"Very well then, Azzy.  Give me the down low on their aliases."

"First log up.  N-Finity.  Avatar type: Mega Man 7 main Mega Man sprite, Junk Shield selected.  Second up...Dr. Arcade...!?"

I looked at the name.

"Sprite type: Bernard from Maniac Mansion with an alternate of Super Werewolf from Werewolf the Last Warrior."

"Yup...totally forms I would have chosen if I were part of this group.  Which...technically I am...well...this version OF me."

Still not used to saying that. I intended to have a LONG discussion with both Goddess...if I could resist the urge to give Destiny dirty looks and the urge to make Fate eat her own teeth. I was going to get to the bottom of this memory echo stuff, yet.

"Third member...Zero...Avatar Sprite type: Zero...from Mega Man X4."

"Hmm..." I pondered.

"Fourth member is...<REDACTED>...!" Goat Son blinked and covered his mouth.

"That...that didn't just happen, did it?  I could have sworn I read the name and--"  He blinked again. "...and...it's somehow deleted from the log, too."

"It seems...nowhere in the Axis of Reality is able to remember this person's name."

"...sprite type: Modified Mega Man 7 Roll, using Mega Man 8 appearance."

"Well...she has a resemblance to the Universal Detective...but...why can't I remember?  What is this girl to me?" I couldn't figure it out. "Rather...what is she to my alternate selves?"

"I think they were an item."

"Ugh...I'll never explain THIS to the wife." I dreaded the thought of...of...huh...what was I just...thinking about just now? Can't...remember my train of thought. I think it was...the family.

Fifth member is listed as Chris "Captain N Neo". Initial sprite type: modified Link, from Zelda II: Adventure of Link."

"Yeah.  That's Chris Blair alright.

"Anyway...the last person here listed is classified as a "prisoner" and was dragged along for the ride...not sure why and what they were thinking letting a "prisoner" loose in VideoLand but...obviously his avatar sprite type is Dr. Wily from Mega Man 7."

"Yup.  I'll bet it's this Mark Moore guy." I shrugged.

"So...how long a list of additional people joined on?" Asriel projected the list...and my jaw dropped to the point of almost falling off of the NX Switchboard.

"That's a lot of N-Fans..." I gaped.

"Enough to form several teams."

Eventually we got to the right coordinates...and sure enough...

"That...looks like the Edison mansion from Maniac Mansion."

"Was it...really that big?"

"No...it looks like it's been greatly expanded."

"You know what else looks weird about it...?" Asriel brought us in closer. "Doesn't look like anyone's home."

We both hopped off an Azzy folded up the board. I instinctively pulled up the door mat and retrieved the key as I had played the game before, many times. I couldn't remember if I'd ever actually BEEN to Maniac Mansion in our own universe.

I unlocked the door and went in...and we were immediately greeted by a dusty musk.

"More than that...I don't think anyone's lived here in ages...!" Asriel gasped.

"It's...abandoned.  But then why are the energy signatures and the trails so fresh?"

"Just a theory but...what if trails and energy signatures don't fade away in this VideoLand.  I mean...it's a digital world, right?"

"That's so simple and plausible, it's probably true." I admitted. And as we entered...this growing feeling of dread and feeling of...abandonment...and failure...and sadness started to grow in me.

"This place is so big..." Asriel was distracted by the splendor of it all. "You know...Maniac Mansion is one game that I haven't played in Computer Valhalla."

"I...can't believe Violet never brought it up...much less I never recommended it.  Sure it's a point-and-click adventure ported from a PC game but...it was surprisingly quirky.  It really took me back to old B-movies in all their campiness and poor attempts at taking themselves seriously."

As we explored, I kind of expected there to be a walking green and purple tentacle. Possibly hamster residue in the microwave. All...tell-tale things of something that I'd rather not explain.

Sure there were staples of the game in all their glory, like a kitchen with a chainsaw hanging up and a refrigerator full of rotted food and dead batteries.

It was then that I realized...this wasn't the Edison Mansion. More like...a clever reproduction with heavy duty expansions and sprite mods.

This...place...it looked like Maniac Mansion...but...so much bigger. IMPOSSIBLY bigger...like a massive motel. And not just from the outside. Even bigger on the inside. But the "graphics". The appearance. This was...it had to be...most certainly Maniac Mansion. So...what was it about this place that didn't feel quite right.

"Looks like...this place really HAS been abandoned for a very long time, Volt."

"No kidding.  I can't sense power in this place.  I'm sure the water and gas is shut off, too."

I looked at my equipment.

"And...for a place that uses a swimming pool as a coolant system for a nuclear reactor...I'm...not picking up ANY radiation.  Not even from down below where there should be a murderous, radioactive, purple meteor in the basement."

"Huh..."

"And yet...this place is calling to me...it feels...really familiar."

"Do you think another iteration of you called this place home?"

"Only one way to find out."

After some exploration, Asriel led me to the back, where of course there was a pool...but there was also a shrine with a statue...a statue of a young man in a Mega Man suit I didn't...really...recognize...? Or did I...?

'"In memorandum...our leader and founder........Webster S. Swenson, forever known as N-Finity." Asriel read. "Dedicated to his memory, we the N-Fans christen this memorial in his honor that all may remember that he brought us together."'

In that moment I felt like someone had punched all the air out of my lungs. My heart and soul wanted to remember...but...this memory...why couldn't I recall this memory.

Before I knew it, I had dropped to my knees...and my eyes were streaming with tears.

"You...somehow knew him, didn't you?"

I looked up as Asriel and nodded sadly.

"But you can't remember...this reeks of Madam Fate."

"And Lady Destiny.  I bet...she intended me to find this all along."

"And I bet Fate intended for you to be haunted by it for eternity." Asriel crossed his arms, looking sour. I think he was catching on how much of an axe I had to grind with Madam Fate.

Asriel looked up at the statue. "I won't ask you who he was...because obviously you don't know that; this version of you.  Fate took your memories with this...stupid game of hers.  He sounds like he was a good friend."

"Yeah.  That much feels true."

Asriel gave me a moment. He waited for me until I came back inside.

"Let's explore the rooms.  Maybe we'll find something to take your mind off of things."

So we went up the staircase and began combing through the levels.

"If only we had a map of this place."

"I've been having my Bracer use echo location to try to put together a crude floor plan but...we have to explore a bit before it takes shape."

We checked a few rooms out. Unlocked. Most were empty and unfurnished. Not even wallpaper or carpet.

But the ones that were...

"This one belonged to an N-Fan going by the Avatar alias, "Bass"."

"Nothing of note inside.  All the personal belongings are gone and I can't really tell from the room decor if they were male or female.  Much less indication of a real name."

"I think we can surmise all of these "N-Fans" were from a version of Earth.  Even my alternate self."

A few other rooms yielded living quarters of one "Adam Stout". Another went by "Lalala Kirby". Still another referred to a "Zeldafreak" though a lone 16-bit photograph indicated they were using a Crono avatar from Chrono Trigger.

"Some of these partial notes in what might have been journals seem to indicate this huge N-Fans group was divided into teams.  This piece of paper makes many references to "Team Yellow".

"Hey check it out...!" Asriel called from a room further down the hall. "This one must've belonged to the leader of Team Silver.  And you won't believe what was in it!

Asriel held up the lone Poke ball.

"That's...not standard issue." I looked at the yellow and black stripes on it... "A logo?" I looked closer with a magnifying glass.

"Hazard Labs."

"Hazard Labs?  You  mean like the place where we do our weapons testing back home?"

"Trademark...Hazard Labs.  Cryptozoology Series delta-9 Poke ball series joint-licensed in connection with the Sylph Company and Hazard Labs.  Patent Pending, Professor Maxwell Hazard."

"Hazard..." I blinked. The name was ringing too many bells to list. I knew this guy, somehow.

I paced a bit. "I wonder...it may be related to a company Arcade Enterprises had dealings with under the pseudonym "Fizz Man Industries".  They sponsored a number of Luchador Mexican Wrestling type tournaments in Neon City and Brighton.

"An AU counterpart to your allies back home?"

"Yeah...it raises questions but...I'm not sure what kind of questions.  Nothing red flag but...I get this vibe that this Professor Hazard's correspondence with the N-Fans...was short-lived and ended on neutral terms."

"What do you mean?"

"Call it a gut feeling but...when I stare at this Poke ball...I keep feeling like...the Professor joined something that didn't turn out to be what he thought it was...and...he felt he had to duck out before he was in over his head."

"Hmm.  Humm?" Asriel picked up a book. "A Comprehensive Guide to Leafers". There was picture of a fire-breathing rabbit on the cover. Inside the cover read  "Property of Red Silvers".

We looked at each other for a moment.

Other rooms tuned up other clues. "This one belonged to someone named Mike.  Seemed to be using a Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor avatar from the SNES Home Improvement game.  Seemed he was on Team Tech Support.  And check it out!  He worked in collaboration with my counterpart, Doctor Arcade."

A while later...

"Find anything interesting?"

"References to something called...the Fifth.  I think...it's a dimensional prison.  It says it had a few occupants including the infamous Mark Moore.  There was data that seemed to include someone called "Disco Duck" was at large for a long time...the notes are vague but he was described as having...issues with playing by the rules and causing chaos.  Sound like anyone WE know?"

"Adonis." I sneered.

"I don't think this guy meant any real harm but his rap sheet shows he collaborated with Dr. Wily.  The real one over something involving revenge over being usurped and made a fool of by this Mark Moore guy."

"Wow."

"I found a different room belonging to someone named "Ran"."

"Wait!  Ran?  I know that name...Ran was...known for being the early Kenny McCormick of the Sprite Comic world at one time.  His robot design was so flawed everything could kill him.  So much so that he kept being cloned back to life.  But what's he doing with the N-Fans?"

"Don't know but...his room is very red and very...er..."

"Dedicated to Communism?  Yeah, that's Ran alright."

Hours passed and we'd barely scratched the surface of who'd come and go.

"...I don't feel comfortable in this room." I closed the door. "It's really...pink.  And it feels like it's pulling me into a flip-side dimension.  Aside from many mentions of the word "Xebnax"...something about it feels...creepy to me.  And it smells weirdly like...cows.  And...a giant pig, I think?

Also I think I brushed up against something that felt like a mass of tentacles that uttered something like..."BLEEBOR". On top of that...I think there was a Metroid hatchling floating around."

"Weird." Asriel shrugged.

"Also, whoever owned that room must REALLY like pink robes."

"Hey!  This one belongs to <REDACTED>!" Asriel paused and shook his head. Still not used to his voice disappearing for the time it took to say her name.

I hesitated and opened the door. Yeah...pretty much what I was expecting. And yet...so...familiar.

I notice a few things that...looked like anniversary gifts I had given to the Missus......no...it couldn't be that simple...could it?

"Volt!  Look!" Asriel fished out a diary.

"<REDACTED>'s Logs.  An N-Fan's Journal of our True Adventures in VideoLand."

Jackpot.

"Volt...?  Is it...really okay if we peek into a lady's diary?" Asriel's cheeks were red hot blushing.

"It's abandoned.  What does it matter now?  Besides, we're both adults here."

So...we opened it and read:

' 'Day One. August 6th, 2001 12:38 PM EST. My name is <REDACTED>, and this is my mental log of my adventures as an N-Fan.'

'What is an N-Fan? It’s not ‘what’, but ‘who’. N-Fans are the fans of a video game-based cartoon series that came out in ’89. The show’s called Captain N, and we, the fans, have borrowed that holy symbol of ours to call ourselves a name truly worthy of loyal minions of the almighty Game Master!'

'Okay, so I can be a bit dramatic at times. You would, too, if you’re also a big fan of anime! (aka Japanese animation)'

'Anyway, today started off rather pleasant, especially since there’s a break in the heat wave--finally! Doc Arcade, the one man who has caught my eye--and heart--offered a ride to N-finity’s house. The latter have found on a way to actually get to VideoLand, where our great hero, Captain N, lives with his video game pals like Mega Man. Naturally, I accepted my kind companion’s offer, and enjoyed a nice ride in his comfy little car while listening to Doc’s collection of 80s songs on a burnt CD. Ahhh, to be 4 and listening to the old Bon Jovi tunes again…but I digress.'

'We arrived at N-finity’s house and were greeted by the man himself as well as our old friend, Chris Blair. ‘N’, as the latter likes to call him sometimes, led us downstairs to his lab, where an old acquaintance, Zero, was waiting for us. She used to go by the name of Roll-chan, if I recall, but I don’t mind the change. In fact, it kind of suits her! ^__^'

However, the 6th and final member has not arrived yet.'

"This was written the day of the first transport log!" Azzy looked at me. I was blushing, now.

Continuing on... “Where’s the last member?” I asked.

'N-finity and Chris looked at each other. To be honest, they were the only ones who, up to that point, knew who our ‘mysterious’ member truly was. Zero, Doc, and I had no clue as to whether he’s a guy…or a girl.'

Suddenly, the alarms rang out, and a figure fell thru a chute and into a holding capsule right out of Mega Man X. Zero gasped in shock, and Doc’s eyes bugged out in horror.

'As for myself… “What’s he doing here?!” I hissed, a feline growl growing in the back of my throat. My fingers acted like claws as I tensed up, ready to pounce should he make one move near me.'

“He’s the 6th member,” N-finity stated.

“What?!” The three of us yelped in surprise.

'“Sorry, guys, but Moore wouldn’t leave N alone unless he came along,” Chris explained. Then, he chuckled and added, “Though, as you noticed, we took the proper arrangements for such a guy to journey with us to VideoLand.”'

“What is the meaning of this?” Mark Moore demanded.

“Just to make sure you don’t get too frisky with the girls,” Chris grinned.

“Grrr…I’ll get you for this, Blair!”

'“Sure, Commandant! Sure…”'

“And stop calling me that name!!”

'I couldn’t help laugh at that. It was too hilarious to keep penned up inside of me.'

'And that’s the point that we’re at. We have just hopped into the capsules and are ready to go!'

“Ohh, this is very exciting!” Zero grinned happily.

I couldn’t agree any more.

'“Let’s hit the continue button and go, go, go!!” Doc pulled one of his funny moves. Trust my boy--I mean, the local Harry Potter look-a-like to use his own catch phrase…'

“Let’s do this!” Chris nodded.

Moore just fumed a bit.

'I smiled. “Hit it, N-finity!”'

'And off we go! Hopefully, when I write again, I’ll be in VideoLand. Ciao!

Asriel and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"It's a good read.  And it tells me a lot about this Universal Detective girl.  But really...we got to come up with a name for her.  The universe erasing her name like this is getting spooky."

I nodded.

"Well...some of these entries she refers to herself as N-Finite Fangirl.  Let's go with that."

A pause.

"Hit the continue button and go go go?" He grinned at me with a Chara creepy face.

"Don't start." I growled, folding my ears back. Jeeze. If this was what my "past" self was going with no WONDER Lady Destiny and Madam Fate rebooted our universe so many times.

' 'Wow…what a ride! And here we are--VideoLand! Oh, this is sooo exciting! And now I look like Roll from Marvel vs. Capcom! Whee! That means that I can kick butt and still look as cute as ever! ^__^ Chris has chosen Link--no surprise there. Doc…well, some may see him as nerdy, but he’s very bishonen as Bernard! Sigh! Zero looks like…well, Zero! N-finity has taken on the look of a gray-armor, helmet-less Mega Man, which is rather neat. And Moore…I’m actually amused that he’s in the rather fitting form of Dr. Wily.'

'“Ack! Pervert!!” I literally kick Moore away from me. “Don’t do that!!” Ecchi! He peaked beneath my skirt! Grrr…if he does that again, I swear that flesh and blood’s going to fly!'

Now that our local pervert has put ten feet between him and me, I, along with the rest of the crew, turn to N-finity.

“Where to first?” Chris asks.

“Doc’s choice,” N replies.

“Bath Bubble Babes!” Trust Moore to think with his--

“Hyrule!”

“Elec Man!”

“CastleVania!”

“Sailor Moon!” Yes, I like Sailor Moon, but the original version of the series was created for teens--not for elementary students, so there!

“Doc’s choice!” N-finity yells.

“To Elec Man’s stage!” Arcade declares.

'Typical Doc. Mega Man’s one of his favorite heroes, ranking alongside with Sonic and Mario. Not that I don’t like the Blue Bomber myself--he’s my #1 robot-hero! ^__^'

'And we’re going to head on over to Elec Man’s stage on MegaLand! Ja ne!

"Well that explains what they were doing in Elec Man's power plant."

"Yeah.  Sounds like these guys were...just internet kids doing their thing and making their dreams come true.  I mean...they don't sound like they're fighting crime or saving the world or anything.  Just...goofing around.."

"Yeah.  It feels like such...simpler times."

We read on.

' 'No fair! Zero has already beaten Elec Man before we even got near his room! I wanted to whack him around a bit! I wanted to teach him what it’s like to face a weary gal with a head full of mad!'

'Wait…she said that it was too easy…way too easy… Well, for one thing, she’s in Zero form. But on the other hand…Elec Man’s the smartest and fastest of the first six Robot Masters. I wonder…if it was merely a test of what we can really do in our current bodies…but if that’s so…who on Earth could be testing us?'

“Well, we’re off to another video world,” N-finity announces.

“Which one?” Zero asks

“Chris, your choice.”

'“CastleVania, the Tower of Aljiba.” What? Not Hyrule? That’s a first for our group’s top Game Master!'

'“Specific, aren’t we?” N comments as he opens a warp to head to that land flowing with darkness and evil. Gulp! I suddenly feel very scared and very vulnerable. I hope we make it out alive! If this is the end…sayonara…

Nothing really to comment on.

' 'When she and Zero and I rejoined the rest of the group, the sun had already set, and dusk is slowly slipping into full night. Yet, neither Doc nor Moore appears to be around. I just shrug, not really giving a whole lot of thought to it.'

“Well, gang, it’s getting pretty dark,” N-finity comments.

“Yeah, we should probably get going,” I agree.

“Back to MegaLand for the night?” Chris pipes up.

'Hell, yeah! I’m not going to sleep here for da night!!'

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Doc rejoins us.

'Oh, my god! OMG! OMG!! Doc’s gone into his Golden Ninja Werewolf form! Kawaii!!! “Gooo…Doccy all big and furry…” My eyes are all sparkly now as my one true love stands tall under the lovely moonlight. Oh, Doccy-chan…'

'“Whoa, Doc! Like the change!” N looks Doc over.'

'As he opens the portal, I can’t help glaring at him in jealousy. Yet, if my honey-kins can impress someone who likes guys…'

'Well, we’re going thru the portal now…and we’re back in MegaLand, this time out in an area dotted with lovely trees. The stars are shining down on us from a cloud-free sky, and the moon glows in serene harmony.'

“Where are we going to sleep?” I ask N.

'“Under the stars and beside this tree, N.F.G.” Wow! I didn’t know N-finity could actually choose a spot that’s…romantic, in a way.'

“Mega night!” I tell the whole group.

“Mega night, N-Finite Fangirl.”

“Mega night?” Zero looks at me, confused.

“Night, night.” N-finity settles down on the grass.

“G’night,” Chris yawns and plops down next to him.

'And here I am, snuggled up close to my favorite gamer. Moore’s rather quiet for once, and Doc’s curled out not more than an arm’s length from me. Heehee! Maybe either one or both of us might roll over in our sleep towards us and…'

Well, good night!'

I couldn't stop blushing...and I couldn't explain why, despite my most likely theory being spot on. Which meant if it WERE true, then I had nothing to be ashamed to admit to the lady of the house......train of...thought....slipping again. Was this some kind of failsafe for my mind? Was this one of Madam Fate's twisted tricks? What happened to me in this previous incarnation. Yeah, I was starting to accept that my life wasn't the one and only I had lived before this damn contract. Who was I? Who the HELL was I!?

"So...now what?"

I had all the answers I ever wanted or needed as to where this universe's timeline began. What I wanted now...was answers to where it ended. What happened to the N-Fans? How did...how did we lose N-Finity? Why did we lose N-Finity? Is his loss why...we drifted apart?

And...did this explain this growing sadness and this gaping hole; this feeling of loneliness, regret, and self-blame inside me? Why should I feel responsible for any of this? My counterpart wasn't their founder and leader. He was just a guy who enjoyed the Mega Man games and caught the eye of a hyper happy-go-lucky...and...kind of cute...anime girl.

"Now?  More answers.  The ones we were looking for.  Not the ones that just happened to be lying around for anyone to find." I turned to the right side of the staircase. I grabbed hold of the gargoyle-shaped ornament and yanked.

With a mechanical ka-klunk, the hidden mechanism activated...and the secret door to the basement opened.

"Whoaaaa.  This is ever murder mystery cliché personified!" Asriel pointed to the doorway. "I got to play this game when I get back home!"

Heh.

We followed the path down to the circuit breaker room.

"Huh...you'd think a place like this would have a much bigger array of breaker panels." I wrinkled my nose. "Unless...this is just a placeholder for the real--"

And there was the doorway to the inner sanctum.

"A security door--"  I wrinkled my nose.

In went the USB cable. "Open sesame." Goat Son mused as the NX Switchboard unlocked it.

"...probably less messy than using my powers to override it." I tried not to let on that I was feeling less as of late.

"A laboratory." Asriel reasoned as we entered. "Dark.  Offline.  Abandoned."

"Not for long..." I pressed my hand to the main console and let the electricity build until the machinery turned on, and the lights with it.

The mainframe's operating system booted up.

I recognized the Light Capsule from Mega Man X1. I had a feeling it was only being used for its holographic projector but.

My theory was confirmed as it flickered to life.

"So...what do you think we'll find, Volt?"

And no sooner had he asked...

"That."

We both clammed up as Doctor Arcade's image appeared.

"My name...is unimportant.  But I go by the pseudonym, Doctor Arcade.  I am...the last of the N-Fans.  And this will be my final message as...I do not know where my fate will take me.  For once I shut this system down, I will make the choice whether to go back home...or live my remaining years here...alone.

'I am speaking to you, whomever you may be as the custodian of broken hopes and shattered dreams. A man, a shell of his former self who was part of something bigger once...but I have long since been abandoned when we...most of us moved on.'

'At one time we were united by a common interest in the tale of VideoLand and its champion, Captain N. It was a disorganized time back in 1996-1999 when...one stepped forward with one of the first sites dedicated to the fandom. A message board. A Captain N/Zelda message board. And from that board came a place for our stories to be written. Alternate Universes were born from our imaginations.'

'For a time...it was good...but it grew into anarchy and lawlessness as its administrator and moderator had less and less time to dedicated to it...and more delusional with his grandiose vision of what should have been accepted as...the new canon. The boards descended into an era of chaos, trolls, and bots. While at the same time he grew abusive toward the authors who had collaborated with him and contributed their works to his site.'

'Until finally we, the fans, went our separate ways and created our own Alternate Universes. For a time some of those AU's existed parallel to one another such as the CNRPG at ListBot, the Mirror Warp Underground, and the crowning achievement of one Webster S. Swenson...Captain N.net. On September 9th of 1989, one man did what no other game had done before: He became the game.'

'Who would have thought that his great vision would change our lives? So very literally. Who would have thought VideoLand existed? This was our own personal amusement park for our real adventures. This was our Valhalla. And it was great. Six of us were chosen to go for the ride. Five of us fans...one of us our prisoner--the infamous moderator and administrator of the fandom that he had tainted with his...not-safe-for-work continuation. May his "Season Eight" burn in Hell...but I digress. He would be our prisoner to stand trial for his crimes against fans and the authors.'

'Many others joined, either of their own accord...or by our summoning. Some for the love of the game. Some just to play by their own rules. Some for morbid curiosity. Whatever reason, we all assembled under one roof. This mansion. And low and behold the adventures to be had were many. In total...One thousand, nine-hundred, thirty-nine in total. How do you hold a candle to that?'

'Well. To be honest, even we couldn't compare to dimension like Bob & George and Life of Wily but...heh...listen to me talk about how we...slipped our stories onto the internet back home under the pretense of them just being stories...and not...live-changing...or scarring incidents....eheheheh......hehhhhh..."'

'"Oh my...your other self...he sounds so...defeated." Asriel looked at me...and then saw that my other self's melancholy...was contagious.'

"It began with the loss of Chris, I guess...not to say that...he didn't survive his battle with Ganon...I still believe he made it out okay.  But...despite wanting to believe he came back to us in the Labyrinth...it never was him.  It was...just...a construct of Web's mind that had to go full Charles Xavier facing his own darkness to prevent the rise of his own take on Onslaught.  To put it simply...having a subconscious second personality with a split-personality is...something I'd rather not explain if it can be helped.  A lot of us...NFG and myself really wanted our friend back.

'Then came the departure of Maxwell Hazard. Known to his closet friends under his real name, Daniel Leach, he was a...great friend and a mind I had the utmost respect for. But he had his reasons and Mike felt it was best to just let him go home.'

And then there was the struggle to save Ran's life after...well...if you're talented enough to find this message, then you can most certainly find my master archive of all 1,939 of our adventures.

'But we knew things were over with the passing of our leader and founder having passed quietly from diabetic coma in his slumber, having gone back home, himself leaving only his...soul-mate, Phoenix behind to carry on. Frankly...I don't know why I stayed behind with him and the Moo-Cows.'

'After that...we dropped like flies. We went our separate ways. Every last one of us..."'

The doctor looked at a closed box...the kind that usually had an engagement ring inside.

"Which left me to decide the fate of all that we had built in VideoLand.  Too much to disassemble...not enough help to turn it into a proper museum or memorial.  In the end...it will end up abandoned.

'I leave this message, not to dissuade you from following your dreams...only as a warning that...even working hard to make them come true doesn't mean that life won't decide when the dream is over. I just want you to be prepared and...don't make the same mistake I did and fail to recognize when it's time to move on."'

The Doctor was in tears by that point...as was I.

"What you do with this information and this mansion of a forgotten era is your choice now.  This is all I can do now...offer proof that we existed.  We laughed, we loved, we lived, we cried, we suffered, we endured...and I hope most of us had no regrets when we left it all behind.  For the sake of all of them, I'll carry those regrets into the next life.

'I've never been one to involve the gods and goddesses unnecessarily. But I've certainly had time to think in these last hours...that if our universe is ruled by a god or goddess or even two......I am living proof that in the end, we are just a game to them...and we can never, ever...have a true happy ending. What a depressing legacy for me to pass on. If there is such thing as Fate? Then I concede...she has...won. I don't want to play anymore. This is Doctor Arcade...signing out with a final two words:  Game Over."'

The transmission ended.

By this point I was on my knees, hanging my head, arms limp by my sides. The first universe was about confusion. The second about sloppiness and failure. The third...frustration. The fourth and fifth, we defied him. This sixth one? This was him doubling down and teaching me a hard lesson. A hard lesson in loss, despair, and abandonment. I was the one who was telling the Monsters that hopes could revive and dreams could be put back together if you had all the pieces...but who was I to talk when this past version of me had only DUST for dreams. How do you glue that back together?

"Volt...it's...just a memory.  This dimension is in the past, right?  You've already got another chance with--"

"Another chance to lose again." I sighed, beginning to accept that this was the truth. I'd been shown my track record.

"Don't talk like that...you can't let him win this."

"Win?  You mean like it's all just a game?" I retorted.

"That's not funny." Asriel furrowed his eyebrows at Flowey's words.

"No.  It's not." I turned and shuffled toward where the next breach opened up. By this point...I wasn't even fighting it.

This one...this one hurt. It really hurt. And I wasn't even really sure why it hurt now. I mean...this was a past life. This was...what Fate had been lying to me about, right? Why should I feel invested. Burn it down. Burn it all to the ground and move on. It should mean NOTHING to me, right?

Asriel could only watch as I went in first.

"Stop this, Adonis.  Stop this before it's too late.  Because if you take another step toward his memories...you're NOT going to like what happens next..." Goat Son growled, tightening his fist so tight his claws dug into his flesh, leaving him bleeding.

Good-bye, N-Fans Dimension. Thanks for the memories...but I don't think I'll be coming back. Not if I can help it.

Sub-Entry 387: "Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality, Part 7 - Hybrid Adventures":
(OOC: This sub-entry is dedicated to Oracle of Wuffing and the short-lived Hybrid Advnetures on what was once Captain N.net's forums/message board.  At only a mere 5 chapters, I joined on too late and it was gone too soon.)

My eyes snapped open.

"Where are we, Asriel?"

"Glad you're awake.  We outside...some place in what I think was once Video Land but...it's almost like decades or centuries passed.  We're behind a place called Speedy Ant's Warp Zone service...I think."

I remember hearing that term...at some point...but it just wasn't clicking.

The sting of the last universe hadn't faded any. I was still depressed.

"Volt, I've been going over the readings for this place with my bracer and...well...a lot of the data suggests this timeline is very short.  It came to an...abrupt end."

"Well that's just great.  Another Genocide Timeline."

Asriel winced at that.

"Hey...you know I've moved on from that, right?  I'm okay, now."

"Yeah...I guess that's all that matters."

"But doesn't it matter that you're not okay?"

"His plan's working, Asriel.  I don't know how to fight back." I admitted. "At this point I'm admitting what I should have far too late."

"C'mon.  Don't give up.  That's not who you are."

"I'm trying...I really am."

A moment of silence.

"We should...explore this world."

"Yeah."

"Volt?  If you...need some space to sort things out, it's okay if we split up."

"You want to go at it alone?  That's not like you, Asriel."

"Yeah...but you're not being like you and...I respect your privacy too much to be a cramp, even if accidentally."

"Azzy, you're never a burden." I pondered for a moment. "With...my memories still with you, I'm kind of surprised you're still--"

"Mom...added a couple mental circuit breakers to...hold back the dam, so to speak.  It's why I'm not constantly recognizing the things familiar to you.  It's why I don't automatically know your past....why I still am in the dark about what happened in Universal City.  It's why I'm not overwhelmed by all your trauma in addition to my own.  I don't want to pry if I'm not ready to learn your darkest secrets; despite them being locked in my own head somewhere.  We're best friends but...we both still have boundaries, right?  If you want to share, you would have already done so.

That's why I'm reminding you my ears are open even I'm not saying anything. Talk to me whenever you're ready...whenever you feel like it. And...please award me the same in return. Right now...I don't really have anything I'm ready to discuss, yet...but...maybe soon. This is the basis for how we kept our promise for so long."

"Asriel...you're still too good for this world." I hugged him.

"Okay.  We'll...go at it separately but...no longer and farther than we have to.  You're the only friend I have in this unknown universe...and..."

"Volt.  Please don't say that you can't lose me.  You'll never lose me and I'll never lose you.  Our bond is too strong for that."

"You...really have grown.  You really have matured.  Asriel...you've overcome your single greatest weakness."

"I'm still overcoming it." Asriel said as he hopped on the NX Board. "Take care of yourself.  And if you find anything interesting about this place...please share."

"Right back at you." I headed in the other direction.

Logically...we should be covering more ground. Sooo...I guess this log is going to split.

I headed away from Speedy Ant. Asriel stuck around.

Asriel was first on the scene when the first sign of life or at least the first person of interest made their appearance.

Oracle of Wuffing stood in a tiny room, crowded by some fifteen to twenty other travelers using the Speedy Ant Warp Agency. There was an awkward tension in the air as everybody's eyes focused on the currently locked door labeled "BemaniLand Security Check #3". Speedy Ant might have introduced safe dimensional travels to the masses, but as new lands were discovered, and as lands expanded requiring warp zones to travel within themselves, it was common knowledge that Speedy Ant lacked the work force to keep their business operating smoothly. Nonetheless, the concept of mass Warp Zone transportation seemed little more than a pipe dream for any other corporation, and Speedy Ant enjoyed a shoddily-ran monopoly in the business.

-Squish!-  -Squish!-

"Honey, don't touch that, you don't know where he's been!"

The blob sighed. that five-year-old daughter had been poking him at every interruption in their travel plans. What he wouldn't do to give her mother a piece of his mind. Discouraging him further was that the room was devoid of a clock, having only a few chairs which had already been taken by other travelers. He forgot to bring a watch, and what he knew was really some five to ten minutes of waiting was beginning to feel like hours.

BemaniLand. A place of entertainment for everyone. Yeah, right.

The Oracle pulled out his passport, triple-checking that he was still in possession of it. He then looked over a piece of scratch paper with an address written on it. A certain someone- a certain Mr. Big- had purchased this lot of land, and someone had to make certain that the construction on that property was running fine. Besides, Oracle of Wuffing was getting bored of his old hangouts and rivals... Plus, he figured that living in an actual building as opposed to a cave would have some benefits.

-Squish!-

That door better open soon.

The remaining travelers were getting equally irritated at the wait. Two particular characters started leaning against the door in an attempt to hear if anyone was behind it. A wiser person open and began eating a candy bar.

One hundred bottles of beer on the wall, one hundred bottles of beer...

Time passed. The candy bar wrapper lie crumpled up on the floor. some thirty bottles had been taken down and passed around Oracle of Wuffing's mind. And the little girl had poked the wuffiest guy in the room seventeen-

-Squish!-

Eighteen times.

"One of those days, huh?" Asriel pondered, his attention centering on the green thing, having phased through the walls into the security area.

Finally, the door opened. In stepped a red-uniformed, whisker-bearded character... Carrying a mop. He blinked at the people in the room and dropped his head.

"Shucks, there's an arrival now?  I'll go git the girls.  Y'all jus' wait here a bit."

The room, as full as it was, was now further filled with groans.

Having finally passed through Security Check #3, Oracle of Wuffing made his way to a glass elevator, which overlooked BemaniLand. In complete contrast to the restraining waiting room, BemaniLand could be seen in all of its glory. It had been rebuilt, better than ever, after a sudden earthquake around five years ago. All of its buildings were new, sleek, rounded, and business-like in a playful sort of way. Before the earthquake, BemaniLand was little more than a cult alley in between points A and C. Thanks to some generous philanthropists- word is that even the great Super Mario had a hand in- BemaniLand was becoming a thriving tourist attraction.

Paying no attention to the "Thank you for using Speedy Ant Travel, please come again!" attendant in the lobby, Oracle of Wuffing made a beeline to his scratch paper destination. Thanks to the tourist population, street maps were everywhere, and finding the building... Or rather, half of a building... Was a snap.

"Hey!  Sir!"

Being ignored due to his height was something Oracle of Wuffing had grown used to.

"I've been there once...I was kind of a runt when I was about 4." Asriel rubbed his chin.

"Sir!  Down here!"

"Sir!  I-"

As was normal procedure, he ended up climbing on top of a fence and waving his hands before someone noticed him.

"Who do you-"

"I'm, well, you can call me Oracle of Wuffing.  The proprietor of this establishment sent me to..."

He shuffled around his pockets a little bit.

"...Give you this.  I'm under the impression that he was under the impression that this building would have been completed by now."

The construction worker gave a quick glance over the card Oracle of Wuffing possessed, and then shook his head.

"Tough.  Just about nothing has been on time for this.  We sent notices that things were going slower than planned, but we never got anything back."

"Yeah," Oracle of Wuffing shrugged, "Sending things or travelling, everything's going slow these days.  Look, I just came from one of SpeedyCrap's I need to relax a bit... I'm a small guy, I can't get in the way of much-"

"You'd have to be insane," The worker squish-poked the blob where his nose would be, "to think you could relax in a building while it's being built."

"Poke me one more time and I will be."

"Just...think of it as a boop on the snoot." Asriel rubbed the back of his head.

In truth, maybe it was a good thing for Asriel to be out on his own. Sometimes absence made the heart grow fonder."

Hopping off the fence, and quite on his edge, Oracle of Wuffing walked inside the half-building. Sadly, the place wasn't yet furnished, and the only thing he could relax on was a corner of the room. In spite of the construction noise, he had a quick nap.

The delightful little nap was broken at mid-evening, by a violent pounding at the front door. Rubbing his eyes, Oracle of Wuffing pulled the door open- and was promptly almost stepped on by a tall man in a pin-striped suit, carrying what appeared to be a violin case and wearing a fedora on his pointy head. After the man entered, he looked around for the mysterious force that opened the door for him.

"Down here." the tiny green thing squeaked.

"Ah!  Es'scuse the intrusion, my good friend, my name's Francesco, and I'm here to make an offer you can't refuse."

"Get on with it."

"You're all about business, I like that in a ma- green... Thing.  I take it you're the entrepreneur of this fine establishment-to-be?"

"If-" Oracle of Wuffing yawned, "If you're talking about the guy in charge, that'd be me for the time being.

"Good, good, good!  Excellent.  See, I'm here selling... Well, you could say I'm selling insurance.  You's got insurance, don't you?"

"I'm really not in the mood-"

"Oh, but not just any kind of insurance," the smooth-talking Francesco interrupted, "I'm sellin' accidental insurance.  Y'know, some people think this BemaniLand's a great place, and you know what, it is.  But just the slightest- the tiniest- the teensiest little accident- and something's ruined your life forever."

Asriel furrowed his brow. He knew what this was.

"I dislike protection rackets." He crossed his arms. "They're some of the worst kinds of criminals." Azzy got closer.

"And?"

"And, you see, I'm gonna sell you somethin' so that you don't get any little unfortunate accidents, if you know what I mean.  It'd be a cryin' shame if, say, some constructor-types suddenly vanished, capisce?"

"Look, I just got here, I don't have much money on me, can you come back, like, next week or something, when I'm awake?"

"Oh, I see what you mean.  Though, if something happened between now and then... Well, let's just say that'd be just too bad, wouldn't it?"

Francesco left with a grin on his face, chuckling underneath his breath.

Wait, was he part of a- nah. Oracle of Wuffing stretched his arms out and scratched his back. Eat or sleep? Eat or sleep? I'll flip over it. Heads, I find some place to eat, tails I go back to sleep and worry about it in the morning. He then realized that he didn't have any coins to flip, in fact, he likely wasn't going to have money for some time. Sleep it is.

And so, Oracle of Wuffing slept for the night, somewhat hungry, in a half-finished, empty, and cold building.

But, hey, this beats waiting for security.

"I better keep an eye on this guy...sometime tells me he could be trouble...or someone who attracts it.  Also.....getting kind of a kleptomaniac vibe from him.  Let's see if I'm right..."

I can't say how many days ended up passing before Asriel and I contacted each other. Honestly...he had encountered far more excitement and learned so much more than I could have imagined. I think at some point even a time-skip or two occured around us while we were probably asleep. Either way...it would leave me with a lot of questions over how many people he had discovered, much less who was who among them Should I take solace in the fact that whoever may read this will be as lost as I am?

I guess only Asriel would ever truly know the whole story. He had bounced back great and was on top of his game; discovering so much, meeting so many, and having amazing life experiences again.

But me? It felt like it went back to the days of watching grass grow during my less interesting assignments as a field agent.

"...huh?  Azzy?"

"Volt!  Are you there!"

I had shades of his memory...rather..."His Memory".

"Volt!  Please answer--"

"S...sorry, Azzy.  I--"

"Volt.  You were dreaming of my memories...weren't you?"

"...why deny it." I sighed.

"I'm sorry...you don't have the same psychic protections I do.  How much of my....past are you experiencing."

"As much as you think I am." I admitted.

"Dude...."

"Don't feel sorry for me.  I'm bearing both our burdens without restriction.  Story of my life."

"But you're not bearing it alone."

"Azzy?  When did we start doing serious, dramatic conversations instead of bantering?"

"Since we got here.  Anyway...I have LOADS to tell you."

"Wish I had loads to tell you but...I literally got nothing.  I've been kicking around this place for days and I couldn't tell you anything more than when we just landed...and....Azzy?  I'm reading your Hazard Card is offline.........."

"Yeah.  About that..."

I sighed.

"Don't  feel like you have to explain anything.  I trust you."

"I can tell you've been surviving though."

"The White Knight contract means I can't die of starvation any more than being shot, hung, stretched, disemboweled, drawn-and-quartered."

"T.M.I."

"Sorry."

"I could use another slice of Mitzi's pizza back from the Music Palace." I sighed.

"Anyway...I found out a lot but...the one thing I haven't discovered is...what's this universe's connection to us?  How is this in any way related to the UltraVerse?"

"I don't have any answers to give, either.   Maybe Adonis threw us in this one just to troll us--"

The sky. A sea of chaos. And at the same time an ocean of order. Below it the multitudes

of the multiverse's populaces go about their lives, whether routine or the result of unexpected

adventures. In one area of time and space, stood Malarchy and company, nearing the end of their

encounter with the emotion deities. In another Rayn had an experience of his own, a momentary brush with Miss Bookmark. And still others were scattered across time and space. But unbeknownst to them all...

A bright light. No. Five. Five lights in the depths of the vacuum of space. Five lights aflame, each its

own color--gold, pink, cyan, purple, and green--all in formation. They rocket toward their target, their progress accelerated by the gravitational pull of the world the five where headed toward.

Down below...

The battle had ended. The goodbyes had been said. And Greg had left to begin the search for Geri.

Somewhen,  a brief discussion on the meaning of a single word had transpired. A momentary silence.

And then...

"Hmm?"

One of the group had decided to look up and notice the sky was on fire...no...something was falling from it. All clustered together the mass of multicolored light-fires descended at blazing speed. A meteor shower? If this was the case, it was by far the strangest one in existence. In a matter of moments the entire group was looking skyward. And no one could have predicted happened next.

"!!!"  Suddenly the five fireballs in the sky took 90 degree turns in completely different directions, a star formation.

"...oh seriously.  You just wait for me to get cocky, don't you, Madam Fate?" I growled.

"Volt, what's going......!.....never mind, I see it."

"You see it?  You're not far from me?"

"I'll get back to you!"

I grit my teeth and picked one of the five light streaks--the gold one. I felt...drawn to it.

The gold beam began to arc downward. KA-BOOM! Impact. The object had blasted right through the roof of the city's power plant and torn through much of the high voltage inner workings, eventually brought to a halt within the very belly of the main generator. Within that instant the very electrical life force of the plant and all the power grids it fed into, ceased,  plunging the city into darkness.

Inevitably, this disaster brought the power plant's worker staff to investigate, flashlights and tools at the ready.

"...!!!"

"What the hell is it?"

"Don't know."

The engineers and technicians were abuzz with murmurs, whispers, gasps, and such.

The "thing" was entirely metal,  while mostly comet-shaped held a faint resemblance to a mechanical coffin or a stasis capsule...or an escape pod. Its main body was silver and white with a lot of gold trim. It was mostly untouched save for charred markings, some burned paneling, and a little soot and ash. The silver parts were easily as shiny as mercury and what markings and identifiers were intact seemed to be numeric code. One marking stood out from the others...a logo, bearing the letters U.C. stamped over top of a big gold lightning bolt.

"Another U.C.I. logo variant?" I questioned as I had caught up to it and Kitty "Shadowcat" Pride-ed my way through the walls to the room outside the main generator area.

"Did it fall from the sky?" One asked.

"Don't touch it.  It could be white hot from entering the atmosphere." Another warned.

"Do I look stupid?  I ain't touchin' that." the first replied.

"Somebody's gotta if we're gonna get it outta there.  It's wrecked the main generator, man!  It ain't gonna fix itself, especially not with some space debris stuck in it." The foreman entered the conversation. The men bickered back and forth, unable to agree on a course of action. That was when...

"!!!!!!"

"Crap, the damn thing's doin' something!" An engineer cried out.

Sure enough, some mechanical parts of the machine began to whir to life and unlatch and unlock. It was opening up! Within moments its main hatch/door had unlocked and popped open, unleashing a fwoosh of steam and light. Cries went up of  "Can you see what's in it?" and  "Get out of my way, I can't see!", followed by "What in Technopia...?!"

"Technopia?" I questioned. Clearly a reference to our own Technopolis.

The smoke cleared and the noise died down...

"Wha...?"

"It's empty!"

I narrowed my eyes. "No.  It's not...." I sensed it.

"Aww, what a waste."

"So anticlimactic."

"Come on.  I guess we gotta notify the authorities and get a responsible party in here to get this thing outta here." The foreman rolled his eyes, clearly irritated by the whole mess. "Ah!  Hey!  Stupid static electricity." A technician yelped, jerking his hand back from a blast of golden sparks from what he had incorrectly assumed was dead wire.

"You okay, man?"

"Yeah.  Just latent electricity in the wiring I guess. "  The guy replied.

"Take it like a man, man." One of the workers said, adjusting his hard hat in the darkness.

"I hope this thing cools down so we can get the power--"

"Suddenly the lights came on and the rest of the machinery save for the generator roared to life.

"What the..."

"The emergency generators must've kicked in." Came the forced observation of another of the engineers. "Yeah, I guess." The first replied. "You don't sound very sure." Came the response.

"I don't know...something just doesn't seem...normal." The man eyed the lights warily.

How right he was.

"That's no emergency generator powering the electrical grid.  I recognize that electrical energy signature."

The hapless worker had no idea how right he was. Across the room, underneath a main breaker panel, within the 11-shaped holes of a lone electrical receptacle. A pair of puppy-dog brown eyes stared out, golden crackles of electricity swarming over the irises. "......"  As the workers clamored about the eyes continued to watch.

Once all the worker had cleared out and the damage was patched and the pod removed...

The Police tape was still up but the investigation was long since over.

The eyes continued to peer out of the socket--

I sighed and pulled the Hazard Card, walked over, knelt down...and knocked on the wall. Not the smartest or most strategic idea I've had but...I decided to yield to curiosity.

"So.  How long you planning on staying in there and keeping the Power Grid energized?"

And then a burst of sparks and electricity before out he emerged and electro morphed into that familiar face.

"Well.  I don't think we've been introduced, but I'm pretty sure we know each other." I sighed, letting a crackle of electricity run up my hand and a wave of magnetism become actually visible down my other hand.

He gasped and stepped back, recoiling in shock. "Who...how..."

"That just leaves why and when and every other question that could be asked.  Dr. Volt Alessandro Arcade, I presume?  Greetings.  I'm Dr. Volt Alessandro Arcade, but you probably already guessed that since it's your name, too.  No John Jacob Jingleheimerschmitz jokes, okay?"

He scoffed.

"You wouldn't find this situation amusing if you know what I've lost...what I've been through."

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say...your home planet has fallen, right? Personal experience is the best tool for prediction." Was I dishonest to leave out that my home had ALMOST bitten the dust but was saved at the last moment? Probably but I felt maybe being on equal ground would make it easier for the sympathy card to work both ways.

"They...they invaded...they destroyed Neo Arcadia...they stole all the hearts of its people.  Even I don't understand it, completely."

"And four of your team managed to escape with you?"

"You're sure informed, other me.  Are you from the future?"

"Future.  Alternate Universe.  Another world.  All of the above, really.  I'd explain more but...I guess Doc Brown's rules serve a pretty important purpose."

"How do you know Emmett Brown?"

"He was my mentor.  Along with Dr. Egon Spengler and too many others to list."

"What?!"

"I'm afraid I don't want to keep my partner and best friend hanging so...give me the condensed version."

To make a long story short...things started to make sense a lot quicker than I could have ever thought possible.

"...so this universe is a continuation of the Mirror Warp Underground universe?"

"...yeah...everything went wrong after Dr. Robotnik was intercepted while on the prison convoy to Wario Galaxy Prison."

I couldn't tell him that the timeline ended rather suddenly.

"So...who's on your team?  Chances are they're on my team in my universe, as well."

Elsewhere, the pink fireball had crashed down outside a camp ground. The local scouts had taken notice rather quickly. The scoutmasters struggled to keep the excited mob of children under control as they crowded around it. "Don't go near it!  It could be dangerous!" a Scoutmaster warned. A cacophony of "Cool!"'s and "Awesome!"s and countless other comments and chatter swept over the excited youths. This machine however was mainly pink and white with emerald green seams. Emblazoned on the machine within a golden ring, in blue letters were the words "Freedom Fighters". Painted in red underneath it the Kanji characters for "truth", "hope", and "honor". That was right about when the machine opened up.

"It's opening!"

"Someone get a camera, this is gonna be sweet!"

And the capsule opened, billowing out smoke before...

"Aw man!  That sucks!  It's EMPTY!"

"What a gyp." "Stupid metal space...thing!"

"This is the lamest thing ever.  And it spit out pink smoke!  That's really sissy."

The commotion continued on. And yet no one noticed the wisps of pink smoke gathering behind the trunk of a mighty tree and solidify into a feminine shape with rabbit ears. The glint of the metal of twin Shinobi Katanas extended from paired sheaths on her back. Only one feature of the dark silhouette was visible--two emerald green eyes. At that moment the moon came out from behind the clouds. The moonlight revealed the being was dressed in a white karate gi, pink sandals, and a pink headband. "......"  With a single fluid motion, the rabbit flung off her uniform and was instantly clad in a dark ninja outfit. She pulled the hood over her head, tucking her ears behind her back like a ponytail.

"Ninja vanish." She whispered.

With a mighty leap, the being turned nearly invisible, jumping with mysterious ninja speed and power across the treescape and into the wilderness...

Hello, Major. Or rather...alternate universe Bunnie Rabbotou.

Elsewhere...

"Something crashed into the Cybertopia Internet Cafe!!!" The people were already swarming to the scene of the impact.

"Oh man, get your camera phone, ready, this is gonna be an awesome photo-op!"

"Cybertopia Internet Cafe?  Isn't that right in front of the main local area network hub center?"

"Yeah, right next to the central supercomputer.  C'mon, already!"

It didn't take long for a city crowd to gather at the cafe where the cyan fireball had crashed down with explosive results. The bar and the surrounding tables and the PC's and laptops were demolished. There was the space capsule coffin-thing. This one was cyan and indigo blue with white trim and seams and sported an orange triangle with a logo featuring a white rabbit-like skull and crossbones with an eyepatch shaped like a floppy disk and teeth that resembled a keyboard and a ring of computer code around the triangle.

"Oh man, I'll bet this is gonna be like that movie with the giant robots!"

"Shut uuuup!  It's opening up!" And with that... "What the...!" "Like that movie with the giant robots, huh?  You dork." "It's empty!" "What was your first clue?  "Man. This sure ain't more than meets the eye."

And yet no one thought to look at the lone T-1 cable that was still intact leading away from the hub and routers still linked to the ruined PC or the tiny stream of cyan binary and computer code leading away from it.

Sooooo...we are going to address the elephant in the room that this was taken directly from the first Michael Bay Transformers movie where Ratchet had crashed down...right?

"Heheh...n00bz."

The stream made its way down the digital cable, winding its way through the circuits of cyberspace an into the main Internet Supercomputer building behind the cafe. Inside the data stream made its way to the main processor core. Within seconds the cyan energy leaked from the mainframe console and amassed into a humanoid shape, gradually forming into a wire-frame humanoid with rabbit ears. And soon the wire-frame solidified into an unmistakably humanoid rabbit in a turquoise and navy silk kimono; a jet pack designed and built into it, seamlessly blending into the back; its intake ports built like a lavish bow and its jet thrusters built like elongated, trailing ribbons but made an unmistakably ultra-light metal. She adjusted the tiny gold crow atop her short, carrot-orange hair, her ruby red eyes glimmering a  little.

"Hmm.  Nice digs.  Good bandwidth, decent clock speed.  Eh...not as good as the one I helped design back in Miranda, VGWorld, but hey.  It's a damn good computer."

Wait, wait? VGWorld? Was there an implication that...their universe was a flip side of mine? Like a predecessor to VGM-098? She said "Miranda" as clear as day.

The rabbit girl mused as she ran a diagnostic on the Wave Transer on her left wrist.

"I bet I'm nowhere near Pegasus, Leo, or Dragon or any other network satellite.  And whether I can connect to Cryptosmasher...?...that's...a serious doubt.  Sorry, old friend...I guess I couldn't protect the most powerful self-aware mega-computer in the Neo Arcadia Galaxy.  Hope you can forgive me.  I have to set up shop now...for an unknown amount of time, this will be my digital home.  Maybe with a little luck I'll find the others..."

Princess Violet. Good old reliable Vi.

At a large junkyard next to a condemned recycling facility...

"...who goes there?!" The old man exited his shack. "Quit yer yappin, you mangy four-legged flea taxi!!!" The old codger snapped at the Doberman pincher. "If I find the polecat that's smessin' around my junkyard, I'm gonna fill that sidewinder so full of lead, he'll have to be sold to a school as a year supply of pencils!", the geezer cocked his sawed off shotgun.

Sure enough a capsule had landed in the midst of the masses of scrap, its purple flames had extinguished in the explosion of impact. It was almost solid purple with a curious gear motif and a red and blue oval  icon bearing a pair of white R's divided by a thin yellow lightning bolt.

"What in Sam Hill is that there contraption?" The dirty old fogey eyed the thing as the dog continued to bark viciously.

"What's this goin' on here?" The man  raised his firearm as the hatch unlocked and opened. "All right!

I don't know who you are but git' on outta there!"  He tightened his grip on the trigger.  At this point the dog went ballistic, barking and slathering like there was no tomorrow.  "Didn't I tell ya ta shut your cakehole you stupid mutt?! The man lowered  his gun and grabbed the dog by the collar. "If'n you don't want me to toss your dinner into the garbage, you're gonna mind your P's and Q's so I can hear m'self think."

The vicious dog reciprocated, more concerned about its stomach than the intruder. "Now as for you, get on outta here--"  The junkyard owner looked all around the space within the machine. "Fry my hide!  There ain't nobody in there!" The dog whined and nosed at the craft. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, raisin' such a ruckus over an empty tin can.  I have half a mind to tan yer hide and make a rug out of it!"

The dog lowered its head for a moment. Then it started sniffing the ground. "Whatcha'll think that's gonna accomplish.  Ain't nobody could' slipped out of there and past the both of us." The stubborn geezer scolded. The dog paid no heed, pressing his nose to the ground and sniffing around. He was sure he picked up on a trail leading away from it. "C'mon.  We're goin' back to the shack and gettin' the police in here.  The sooner we get this mess cleared up the sooner I can sell this hunk o' lead and get some money in my pocket.  Money which keeps you fed, ya' galloot."

The dog continued to nose until that hand grabbed its collar and tugged. "Ain't got all day.  You better fer'git about them 'coons and start thinkin' about the size of yer din din portions.  Can't say I'm feelin' too generous after this wild goose chase ya led me on."

Had the man listened to reason, he and his security dog might have zeroed in on the lone five inch high intruder, hiding behind an empty can of Coo-Coo Cola, having scampered away from the craft.

Catching her breath, the tiny mouse clutched a backpack.

"Golly...it's just like home...disturbingly so."

Reaching down, she grasped and clicked the switch on the oval-shaped buckle on her belt. A white aura swept over her and within moments the mouse had grown from a five inch action figure size to a full-sized five foot humanoid size. "The Molecular Enlarger Belt...its blueprints were one of the greatest gifts you ever gave me professor." She smiled. "Now, to contact the others and--"  The mouse reached into her backpack and was suddenly horror-stricken.

She gasped. "Oh no...no, no, no...!  Oh golly no...the containment hatch must've malfunctioned after entering the atmosphere...it must've dumped everything in my pack out during the landing...I can't believe it.  I've....lost...all my inventions!" Gadget Hackwrench held back her tears. Then she saw it on the ground. "Oh!  My makeshift skateboard!"

She ran over and picked it up. It had been cobbled together from tongue depressors, match sticks, rubber bands, staples, a couple of tiny magnets, some odds and ends, and the wheels off a Tech-Deck toy skateboarder figure. And every piece of it was vastly over-sized for a mouse but exactly proportional for a human. Painted on it was the Rescue Rangers logo just like the one on her escape pod and etched under it were the initials G.H.

"Hmm...it's not much...but it's a start.  I guess now I have two goals.  Find all my gear and tools...and find the others.  But I'm going to need to find my PET to contact the others.  I guess I better get started.  Gee whilikers...one big adventure turns into another big adventure." Gadget looked around until she had managed to collect her knee pads, elbow pads, and her helmet--gutted from a tennis ball--from the junkyard. "Safety first." The mouse quickly hurried to the nearest paved road and put her board to use... "I'm coming, everybody...!"

So my little sister exists in this universe but...not as my little sister. As a Rescue Ranger.

I'd soon link up with her before I knew it.

"Well that's three of my team.  My skeleton crew and...Gadget." I withheld that she was my sister. Sure I was talking to my other self but...did I...er...he...really need to know that? "So who's the team's fifth?"

Elsewhere...

And finally...

The lime green flames had extinguished. But how long ago? The bright lime green and white escape pod was visually very damaged but identifiable. A green capital letter M was emblazoned over a large white patch of the machine. A logo in the shape of a red and orange jagged splash explosion bearing in elegant, bright yellow, underlined serif lettering the words "The Rock-Afire Explosion." Next to it was the words "Showbiz Pizza Place" in white text, rimmed with white chaser lights within red, rounded rectangular outlines like an olde time theater logo. And next to that was an icon of an Erlenmeyer Flask bearing the text "Toxic Audio".

"!!!"  The passenger opened her green eyes and came face to face with a plasma screen monitor readout on the closed hatch before her. A list of malfunctions and error messages had piled up in window after window. A prompt begged her to engage the manual hatch release.

"What...what happened?  Where am I...!  What is this--"   And she stopped short. "An escape capsule.  I remember...AHH!  It...can't be...the Doctor...the Professor...Dr. GamePro and Sergeant Pinball...are they all gone?!"

Questions flooded her mind.

"Okay.  Don't panic, Mitzi.  This is just another challenge.  You can do this.  A year of training has to count for something.  I mean...I'm not the same as I was when I first joined...right...?"

A pause.

''"Okay.  I've arrived in an unknown place at an unknown time under unknown conditions.  Step one, calm down.  Step two, prepare to disembark.  Step three, get inconspicuous.  Okay.  That's simple enough.  Engaging manual lock release and preparing to step outside." ''Mitzi Mozzarella reached up and grabbed hold of the rotary handle and forcefully twisted it to the right. A series of motors and ratchety clicks sounded out as another window opened up on the monitor and displayed 'lock released'.

"All right!  Now to engage the cloaking unit. "   Mitzi cheerfully clicked the switch on the switch.

"Cloaking unit on, no one will see me escape this capsule."

The girl pushed up with all her strength, forcing the hatch open. As soon as it was open...

Mitzi fluttered her mouse ears and sat up. A pair of conspicuous green hairbows were tied in the lengthy pigtails of her golden blond hair. Her grey fur was rustled but silky and silvery, glowing with good health. The Neo Arcadian mouse brushed off her white and green cheerleader dress.

"Now I've got to--"  Mitzi stopped short when she realized. "The cloaking unit hasn't activated?"

Mitzi pressed the switch again...and again and again. "Uh-oh." She uttered. "This is not good." Her ears drooped. "Cloaking malfunction." What few lights and display on the device when dark.

"Okay, this isn't a major problem.  I just need to get away before I'm seen--"  Her thoughts were interrupted at that moment as she looked up to see...

At the risk of being "that guy", I cut away to elsewhere to something not unrelated...

Gotou Miyasaki sat in a tiki bar on the edge of the sandsea in a forgotten world once prominent as a tourist attraction. But the sandsea overcame the real sea, and really, who wants to go visit a desert in the summer? He coolly sipped a dark green drink the color of his hair and felt the breeze around him. Around him was the bustle of desert civilization at its finest. He looked up at the news on a television on the other side of the bar.

The voice on the TV responded to the comment  with..."Yes, that's correct, Sally, it seems that the infamous Wizard of Darkness, known across the multiverse has indeed gone missing."

A woman's voice replied before her face was on the screen saying, "Thanks Jim.  This is big news to everyone.  Has his wife made an official statement?" And Jim's stark reply, "No, Sally, she hasn't."

Gotou listened to the voices trail off, "...thank you...  ...will keep you updated to any new advances..."

Gotou took a long sip and adjusted his glasses. In the distance, there was the sound of explosions. He stood up, adjusted his shirt, and walked with great purpose in the opposite direction. He tossed the bartender some cash, and then said, as if to himself, "Time to go."

But that scene would have little meaning to those who fought against Emotion itself.

Wythe rested, his back against a tree, Scarf curled up in a ball on his lap. His silver-grey hair moved with a faint breeze that turned the grass in waves. A shadow blocked his sun, and he looked up into the face of "Malarchy" Mike Masdeu. "Malarchy" asked, simply, "So where do we go from here?"

Wythe looked up, as if undecided. "I'm not really sure, myself.  Nessa had the only map to Zweihander Ai.  Two-handed Love.  What does that even mean, really?"

Mike responded, "Malarchy!  Well, we could always go with our contingency plan.  You know, go and do what we were all going to do before all this mess."

Epoch joined them, Pelle and Eaon following behind. "That's right.  We've still got unfinished business."

As if in unison, everyone looked toward a different horizon.

Asriel ducked out from where he had taken a moment to activate the SPECTRE function.

The silence was broken a short while later by Wuffy clearing his throat, "Ahem.  About that map, Scarfy..."

Wythe glanced over to Wuffy, Scarf stirred in her 'sleep.'  "Yes?"

"Well, you could kind of say I...  Well, that is to say, I sort of..."

"You stole the map, didn't you!?"

"Not exactly..."

Even though they were the words he wanted to hear, he was secretly hoping that Wuffy would tell him he had stolen the map. It was the one thing Nessa forgot. Wythe reflected - he was now a bodyguard without a body. As he looked down again, Wuffy cleared his throat again. "Ah... er... Well, I didn't steal it, per se.  I merely borrowed it for a while and, er."

"Yes...?"

"I guess I can part with this copy I made in crayon while Nessa was sleeping for ... say, 15,000 Golds?"

Wuffy brandished a copy of the map in his little blobby hands. Wythe didn't know whether to be proud of the little thief or angry at the extortion. But without hesitation, Scarf lunged at the open hand and snatched the map.

Wythe grinned, "What do you say we call that 15,000 golds my finder’s fee and call it even?"

Wuffy shrugs, "You can't win them all."

Pelle ran back up the hill from where he was standing, "I don't mean to interrupt, but what do you think of that?"

He pointed into the sky, where a green object was plummeting towards them.

Everyone ran in opposite directions and Wythe, who was so excited by Scarf winning over a copy of the map, barely got out of the way as the green pod crashed into the base of the tree he was lying against.

The smoke cleared and everyone gathered around the strange pod sunken into the ground at the base of the broken tree.

Wuffy scoffed. "What is this, Space Invaders?"

Wythe replied, "I heard about a world that was taken over by them.  We'd better hope our luck is better than that.  Those little bastards are fast."

Masdeu peered at the cracks forming in the surface in the shape of a door. "Malarchy."

Eaon perched on Pelle's shoulder, both staring intently.

Epoch drew his gun.

Everyone stood there, at the ready, waiting for something to happen. Minutes pass with everyone on edge. Five minutes pass. Then ten.

Just as Pelle was saying, "The suspense is killing me..." the door to the pod opened and the shape of Mitzi Mozzarella appeared before the group.

As she whispered, "I sure wish Gadget were here..." Masdeu looked up and said, a bit crassly, "An honest to God, living, furry.  Malarchy."

"He did not..." Asriel was all too familiar with that word having hung around Aunty Vi.

"Furry?!  Did he just call me a furry?!"  Mitzi was incensed.

The word would have meant anything but a vague visual description had Violet not once told her the common internet connotation of the word.

"Okay.  Maybe he meant no disrespect by it.  But if he so much as hints at anything PG-13 or worse, it's a 500,000 volt Green Stunner to whatever part I can tag first..."

Asriel patched me into the transmission. My doppelganger looked over my shoulder, mesmerized by my technology's quantum leap over his own. Was it really a good idea for him to be seeing this?

Mitzi looked over her shoulder.

"A tree?  I crash landed into a tree?  I'm glad Lupe Lycans isn't around to see this.  This doesn't exactly constitute "protecting nature".

"..."

"Okay...I remember...running down Electric Avenue, trying to meet up with the other Ultra Crew...we had all gotten the transmission to head to the Cryptosmasher building to board Goddess Electra's Quasar Pyramid...it was the only hope to retreat to, that Zeus and the Elder Gods might answer our prayers and save us from the enemy. I...I remember spying Volt, Violet, Bunnie, and Gadget...we were all coming from opposite directions toward the center of the city...the attacks were getting worse...I remember StarMan.EXE appearing on my PET and showing the news bulletin of the attack on the prison transfer ship--the one transporting Dr. Robotnik to Wario Galaxy Prison...did someone orchestrate his escape?  Was it connected to the attack on Neo Arcadia?!  I remember...they were closing in...and something...something happened on the Quasar Pyramid...five beams of light...one of them was headed toward me...a flash and--"

Wait...Goddess ELECTRA? My eldest daughter a GODDESSS? No way.

Mitzi blinked.

" ...They...couldn't bring us aboard...we were about to suffer the same fate as all the others that didn't make it.........they...they sent us to an unknown time, place, and dimension...they saved us but...oh no..."

A well-timed, half-coughed "ahem" broke her train of thought.

"Malarchy...that's what I heard the one say.  Is that his name?"

That was when Mitzi noticed Epoch's gun. "Eep...!" She whimpered, her ears drooping and her eyes widening..

"A gun!  *gulp* I hate guns!"

Strange. Our Mitzi didn't have a problem with them. It was Lupe who was afraid of guns.

"It's generally customary for a newcomer to at least give a name." Malarchy finally spoke.

"It's generally not customary to be greeted with a firearm pointed at you." Mitzi replied, on the verge of sweating bullets.

"Touché." Malarchy raised an eyebrow. He looked to Epoch and cocked his head to the side, signaling for the weapon to be stowed. This girl couldn't possibly be armed let alone a threat.

Epoch after a bit of hesitation, lowered the gun and put it away.

"Now.  Feel like 20 questions?"

"Are you going to give me the same liberty?" Mitzi countered.

"For a blond, furry, teenybopper, this girl's pretty sharp." Malarchy narrowed his eyes.

"Don't feel you're under any pressure or anything.  We've got all day."

"Well I--"  Mitzi started before she noticed the green blob had invaded her private space. "...hey!"

"Fancy LCD game you got.  Does this thing have Tetris on it?" Wuffy asked, examining the large hand held computer.

"That's my P.E.T.!  What are you--"

'''{StarMan.EXE} Hey! What's going on out there?!? Who in the Sega Nebula are you?! You're not Mitzi!"  The golden robot-like navi popped on the screen suddenly, actually managing to catch the Oracle of Wuffing off guard, causing him to actually drop the personal terminal.'''

"Volt, are you seeing this?  Mitzi has a personal terminal!  Like from the Mega Man Battle Network games."

"I see it, Asriel."

"What?  Is there something wrong with carrying personal terminals?  All of my team have them...well, except Violet who went and got herself a Transer from--"

"Mega Man Star Force.  Yeah.  We know."

"...Volt?  Are you talking to yourself over there?" Asriel asked before he saw the other me hovering over my shoulder. "Retracted."

"Whaaaa...?  Who's the sheep?"

"Goat." Asriel corrected flatly.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "You really shouldn't be laying eyes on him...yet." I added the last word off-handedly.

"Future stuff?"

"Future stuff."

"Oh."

'''{StarMan.EXE} Gah!!!! What do you think you're doing?!! Are you trying to crash my hard drive?! You can't just drop a Personal Exploration Terminal like that! Backup discs don't grow on cyber-trees! Where's my net-op?! Ooooh! If you were in here, I'd go supernova on you! You'd be seeing stars and have a headache the size of a quasar!'''

"That flushing sound I'm imagining right now is sensei gently telling me I've flunked the stealth portion of my martial arts training..." The mouse thought, resisting the urge to face-palm in exasperation.

Mitzi slipped out of the pod while everyone's eyes were temporarily on her portable computer. Feeling the cool grass between her toes, she quickly realized the obvious and reached into the pod and snagged her matching green sandals which she remembered she had in her grasp before...it happened. In her haste to leave her house that morning, she had only had time to grab a pair of bobby-socks and her favorite pair of saddle-shoes and stuff them in her gym bag along with changes of clothes and other essentials. She didn't even have time to slip on the sandals.

"Well, she's wearing sandals and not saddle shoes.  She is closer to the Mitzi we know back home."

Quickly she snatched up the PET before the Oracle could grab it again.

"Jeeze!  Haven't you heard of a thing called boundaries?  Do you see me going through your stuff?" Mitzi scolded and shoved the computer into the holder on her Varia Belt then quickly slipped the sandals on and adjusted the straps.

"And she's got the Thermal Belt...or Varia Belt, maybe?" I noted, zeroing in on the hardware.

Malarchy rubbed his temples for a moment, clearly exasperated by the awkward situation.

"Maybe we should start over and take this from the top?" The mouse finally suggested.

"That might be a good idea." Pelle and Wythe unexpectedly said in unison.

"My name is Mitzi Mozzarella.  I'm a Neo Arcadian."

"You don't look much like one of the followers of Copy X." Wythe retorted under his breath.

"Do we ever get tired of that joke back home?" Asriel chuckled.

"Focus, Azzy."

Back to Mitzi...

"Huh?  No, no.  Not that Neo Arcadia.  That pocket realm of Capcom World just happens to have a place with the same name.  Really.  Our planet had the name first.  Honest."

Mitzi had remembered the controversy over the name, having stumbled across an entry in the Ultra Crew Database while studying about the so-called Capcom World--a planet with countless pocket dimensions all superimposed over each other. But how did this person know about it?

"Okay, so you're from a planet called Neo Arcadia.  Are all people there talking animals?"

"It's very similar to Corneria or Mobius, but there are humans there, too.  And Angel Land-ers.  And Mobians.  And Edoropians.  And I think I remember a Tamaranian visiting once.  Come to think of it, it's kind of a hub for just about every race in the known Omniverse." Mitzi offered.

"Why are you here?" Epoch questioned.

"I wish I had an answer to that." Mitzi dropped her head. "All I know is...I don't know where I am or how to get back home...or even if  I have a home to get back to."

"What about your talking calculator there?" Wuffing inquired, having been unable to find anything else of value in the girl's pockets or the gym bag in the storage compartment he managed to open up. Just his luck the stranger would have to be penniless. Even the photograph of herself with some other anthropomorphic weirdos was unappealing at best.

"That's my personal terminal.  And you've met my Network Navigator, StarMan.EXE." Mitzi took a moment to slap the green blob's appendage which had gotten a little too close to her Varia Belt.

Granted it was far more eye-catching than the Personal Terminal and could be considered some impressive "bling". When it came to snooping around, he sure worked fast. But enough was enough.

"Cut it out." She growled.

It was then she realized she was the one answering all the questions. Oh yeah. Turnabout was overdue.

The little green blobs couldn't leave well enough alone. First the P.E.T. Then the gym bag. And now the Varia Belt...twice. *slap*  ...three times. That constituted strike three. Oh well...he was warned.

"Jeeze.  Could that Oracle of Wuffing be ANY more of a kleptomaniac?" Asriel considered darting out from behind the tree and giving him what for.

Quickly, Mitzi yanked her green hairbows free from her trailing pigtails and in a split-second, she had shapeshifted them into a pair of white and green pom-poms which found their way to the Oracle's arm.

And that was all that was needed for the neon green, high-voltage, electrostatic surge to race down the poofballs and into their target.

"Still feeling curious?" The mouse narrowed her green eyes.

"You know, suddenly I'm a strong believer in the philosophy, ignorance is bliss." The blob said rather, nonchalantly, coughing up a small puff of smoke.

Mitzi returned her Green Artifact hair-bows to their ribbon form and retied them and promptly prepared herself for any Lantern Corps jokes. While she considered herself decently patient, the encounter was wearing thin and she wasn't about to be on the wrong side of a police interrogation. And besides, she had to establish somehow that this Ultra Crew rookie had some backbone.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I'd appreciate it if I didn't spend any more of this conversation completely in the dark.  1) Where am I?  2) Who are you people?  3) Have you by any chance seen a peach-furred mouse with blue eyes and blond hair and purple mechanic's coveralls who answers to Gadget Hackwrench?  4) Is there civilization somewhere close by and 5) Anything critical I should know?   Please answer in any order you prefer.  I guess I suddenly have all day, too."

Oh yeah. Sergeant Arlene Pinball would be proud of her assertiveness.

Some conversation later, and my other half decided it was best if he pressed on and tried to find his team on his own. I answered what I could but...it left me with a dark realization:  Some iteration of our timeline...Ultra Crew failed to protect its home...and it was looking like the five of them were orphaned and stranded in an unfamiliar place in an unfamiliar time.

And that failure and loss reverberated in me; harmonizing with what was already eating me up inside. These timelines I didn't know I'd lived through...were lined with my failures and losses. And that was leading to despair.......just what Adonis had intended for me.

Goddammit...just goddammit.

Elsewhere...

Gadget continued skateboarding, unsure of her direction or destination. The mouse had gotten good at skateboarding; it wasn't that much different from surfing. Except the wipeouts weren't as soft a landing. But they were at least drier. And skateboarding didn't reminder as much of the misadventure she had learning to surf in the first place. Nice vacation. Not-so-nice company. Oh well...at least Gadget wouldn't be seeing...her...any time soon...well, except every time she looked in a mirror...which really sucked. In fact Gadget would go so far to say...it double sucked. She had to wonder what Shaka' Bake'a saw in her...besides a pretty face. It was the kind of thing to make you swear off coconuts, grass skirts, and luaus for a lifetime.

"Golly...I wonder where in the time space continuum this is?" Gadget thought aloud. "At least I'm not in the middle of nowhere.  Which in itself is a paradox because you have to be somewhere in time and space.  But then that would negate the theory of dimensional limbo in which everything has no definitive temporal or spatial coordinates.  But that's further disproved by the fact that one is able to transverse in any of the three spacial directions, theoretically infinitesimal.  But in being without limits it becomes impossible to define direction so does that mean nothing is really moving in the first place?  And if nothing is really moving in the first place, does that mean it's not getting anywhere.  For it get somewhere it would need to travel to a point in relation to its initial starting point..."

A pause.

"Where am I again?" She skidded to a stop and scratched her head, surveying her surroundings.

Nothing looked familiar.

*sigh*

Gadget resumed her traveling.

All this time skateboarding reminds me of the training sessions I used to have with Ariel Rastajive. Golly, she was the most fun out of the ten U.C. founders. I remember like it was yesterday. The time we spent on that video world...

Gadget thought of the skateboard shop owner. It was hard to miss his blue mohawk. Or the tattoo on his left arm which read "Semper Fi or Die". And especially his gentle encouragement when reminding them "This ain't no library!  Go skate!"

Ariel Rastajive had walked her through all the walks of boarding--the Race, the Jam, the High jump, Freestyle...and of course the Joust. Many called it beginner's luck that Gadget had defeated the skate shop owner's kid. She never did get a straight answer how he got the name "Bionic Lester", though.

"All this traveling sure is working up an appetite."  Gadget thought. But then she realized. "I don't have any money."

The mouse felt a short moment of defeat until...

Hey, maybe I could find a recycling facility. I did pick up a lot of spare parts at the junkyard. Maybe I could at least get some loose change. But that would only get me as far as a soda machine. And maybe a candy bar. Not exactly a healthy first meal but...

Gadget thought some more.

It would last a lot longer if I used the Molecular Enlarger Belt to shrink back down. A can of soda and a bar at mouse size goes a long way.

The mouse sighed.

You're not thinking long-term, Gadget. I'm really starting to miss Monterrey Jack's home cooking.

Gadget grimaced, realizing how awful her cooking skills were. She might as well empty a box of metal washers into a pan and douse em' with motor oil. It'd taste about the same as the last meal she attempted. The Capcom Worlder had never seen chipmunks turn that shade of green before. And Monterrey's reaction was not up for discussion--spoken aloud or otherwise. Golly, she wondered if Zipper ever truly forgave her for that.

She continued on her way, being sure to pick up empty bottles and cans or anything of interest along the way. And that's when she saw it.

"Now I've seen everything." Gadget looked at the vending machine like unit. Only it wasn't a vending machine. In fact part of it looked kinda like an ATM machine.

Paper...plastic...glass...aluminum cans. And a money dispenser...?

Gadget scanned over the instructions then shrugged and followed the touch-screen prompts. With nothing to lose she shrugged and reached into  her pack and fished out some various odds and ends and inserted them into the respective hatches/slots/holes. And sure enough after some time and patience, she had secured a hand full of coins and a few paper bills...and a big smile on her face.

A quick money-stop machine that's also a recycling bin. What a concept!

It was also rather convenient. Now was hardly the time to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was time to start surviving. Gadget slung her pack on her back again and skated off. It wasn't a grand amount but it was a start. With any luck she'd be able to amass enough to get by. Especially if there were more machines like this in this weird place. And who knows...maybe she'd find her friends and her gear.

Gotou stepped out of the Speedy Ant Travel Service building and into a world he'd never seen before. This didn't strike him as being unusual as his line of work required a lot of travel. But, he reflected, he probably should have checked the name of the World he jumped to. Oh well, can't be helped.

Lighting a cigarette from the pack in his shirt pocket, he took a drag, adjusted his sunglasses and peered around the empty streets. "Well, this place looks as good as any."

He pulled a thin white rod out of his pants pocket and presses the side twice. An illuminated green computer screen appears, as if a hologram. He taps the rod once more and another thin layer of green slides out - his keyboard.

"Computer, stats." An array of foreign characters splay out on the screen and Gotou makes a certain noise to himself. "Hmm, technology appears to be typical 21st century fare.  Sorry, DME, no new toys for you."

He thought to himself, briefly, and the made up his mind. Typing a brief journal entry into his database, he taps the side of the rod and the monitor and keyboard vanish.

"Best not leave a path...  DME, reconfigure - entry 001347654."

At his words, the rod emitted more green light - taking the shape of a rudimentary skateboard, but lacking wheels. Instead, there are four pivoting spheres. The rod remained visible in the center of the board. Putting it down, it hovered a foot off the ground. Gotou takes an uncertain step onto the board, and then places his other foot on board more confidently. He lightly kicks the side of the green light, which is somehow both solid and holographic at the same time, and the board jerked forward.

Travelling the empty streets, Gotou glanced at the chronometer on his left wrist. "If this things aligned properly, it should be about lunch time, but there are very few people out today.  How odd."

Regardless, he steered himself deftly through the back alleys. He was not sure where he's going, but he knew he'd know when he found it.

And then it happened. Going perhaps a little too fast, he careened out of an alley and right into Gadget Hackwrench on her makeshift skateboard who was also, perhaps, going a little too fast. There is a glorious crash and two bodies intersect for a brief moment before flying in opposite directions.

Gotou pulls himself off the pavement and dusts himself off. He proceeds to locate the little white rod, which is still, miraculously, in hoverboard mode. He pushes the rod and the green light off the board recedes back into the rod. He then looks at Gadget, who was still picking herself up. "You okay, mouse?"

I had arrived at that moment. Hastily I arc-ed to the top of a building to get a better vantage point, my electrical flux somehow crossing the dimensional barrier and causing the neon sign to flicker. No one noticed, though.

I got immediately defensive for a moment, forgetting that this wasn't Lil' Sister.

Gadget replied, "Golly, I'm so sorry.  I should have watched where I was going!"

Gotou said smoothly, "It's a no fault situation.  Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"I need to find my friends and figure out where I am..."

"Hm, our situations are partially reversed.  But it looks like you'll be no help trying to find a place to lay low.  Anyway, how's your board?"

"Oh, it's fine, thank you."

"Anyway, since we're strangers, we should probably introduce each other.  I'm Gotou.  Gotou Miyasaki."

"Gadget Hackwrench - the pleasure's all mine."

Gotou casually lit up a cigarette, looking all the time like one of those cigarette models from the 1950's Earth. Gadget covered her nose reflexively. She says, out of habit, "You know those things are awful for you on any world."

Gotou laughs, putting it out. "You could say I'm not at risk.  But for your sake, I'll make a note not to smoke in front of you."

I wrinkled my own nose. Gods, why haven't we eliminated tobacco products completely, yet? Ugh. Disgusting, addictive habit.

Gadget offered a curt "thank you," and peers around her.

Gotou adjusted his glasses, the sunlight reflecting off of them as he does so.

Finally, he spoke, "Well, little mouse, what say you we find your friends?  If nothing else, it'll give me something to do before trouble comes looking for me."

Gadget didn’t respond immediately, but since Gotou seems to be so confident and reassuring, she agrees.

Gotou smiles a coy smile and says, "Alright little mouse, where to?"

I deadpanned.

"She doesn't know any more than you do.  Should I intervene?  No.  There's no sense in corrupting the timeline any further than it already is.  Plus Asriel is already integrated with it so...hopefully he had the sense to stay out of sight.  Wait, what am I saying?  Of course he has the sense to stay out of sight.  He's the responsible one, remember, Volt?"

At that moment I realized I was the one who was losing his mind. Who would even hear me with the SPECTRE function on?

."..."  Gadget blinked. "Oh.  I hadn't thought about that."

"You don't know where to go?"

"I don't know where to start.  I kinda just got in this strange place a little while ago.  I don't even know where "here" even is.  On top of that I lost a lot of my equipment and gear."

"That's quite a lot of bad luck." Gotou observed. It was going to be a lot more difficult to help the mouse if neither of them had a starting point.

"Hey, I know!  Maybe one of my friends has a Personal Exploration Terminal online.  I could email them.  Better yet I could lock onto their signals with my hand-held Personal Exploration. "  Gadget's eyes lit up.

"Now we're getting somewhere--"  Gotou observed before Gadget cut in.

"...there's just one problem."

"..."  A pause. "Your computer is among the missing equipment, isn't it?"

"You're not going to get mad if I say yes, are you?  You are, aren't you?"

"I suppose it's just another bump in the road." To Gadget's surprise, Gotou shrugged it off.

"You're taking it rather well." Gadget observed.

"Maybe that should be our first priority.  Finding your computer terminal." Gotou thought aloud, not hindered by the obstacle.

"Hey, good thinking!  And I think I left it in standby mode so its processor should powered and running at its usual 450 GHz." Gadget said as if that was something she really needed to bring up.

Four-hundred fifty gigahertz? Were computers really this primitive at one time? What did civilizations do before quantum computing? Nanotomic Optical Lattice Adiabatic Colony supercomputers? DNA processors? Microwave Encapsulated Real-time Buckminsterfullerene Ion Trap Systems? Were any scientists of this era even testing rudimentary versions of any of them?

Oh well. It simplified things. Still...this was not a typical CPU operating standard for early 21st century. Photon-stimulated valence electron receptive crystal lattice or carbon-chain nanofiber parallel processor technology most likely. Efficient for the time but still from an era that was squeezing the very last life out of solid-state semiconductors and pushing the limits of protein-based wetware.

"Four-hundred fifty gigahertz?  That's a little more advanced than early 21st century, progress level 5.

That's well into the Information Age. No matter. It should be easy to lock onto a 450 GHz signal. DME, reconfigure--"

Gotou stopped short when he saw Gadget shuffling around in her backpack, collecting parts.

"What are you doing?"

"Way ahead of you, Mr. Gotou.  I was able to pick up some parts from the junkyard and some random things I found in some trash cans before running into you.  You wouldn't believe some of the things people throw away.  I mean like this...a perfectly functional USB wireless router.  I mean yeah, its casing's broken and some of the status lights are missing but the motherboard's completely intact.  And the air core inductor from a metal detector.  Oh and part of one of those Fuzz-Buster police radar detectors and parts from a microwave oven..." Gadget rambled on as she started slapping parts together, twisting wires and fastening connections together.

Gotou watched as the mouse quickly worked.

"There we go.  The range is kinda limited but the LCD screen from the broken iPod should get great resolution.  It should be able to pick up on the CPU no problem.  I only regret that I didn't have time to refine it.  But the sooner I find my PET, the sooner we can start looking for the others.  And besides, I could really use the company of my NetNavi, JunkMan.EXE right about now.  Golly!  I hope he doesn't think I've abandoned him!  That would be terrible!  I mean, he has this really deep-fear complex about being tossed away like...well, you know, junk.  He must be going out of his A.I. mind, worrying about me or even if he's going to end up as recycled intrinsic components and pseudo code."

"That's...quite an impressive feat there."

"Oh this?  Well, I guess so."

"You piece things like this together often?"

"Actually yes.  See, I’ve got this mind-bashingly high I.Q. and I get bored easily.  So I invent all these inventions out of spare parts.  Wanna see my sprocket collection?  Oh wait...my sprocket collection is back home on Capcom World back at Rescue Ranger Headquarters.  Never mind.  Cancel that.  Maybe some other time?”

Jeeze this girl liked to talk. Such a chatterbox. Kind of an air-headed ditz, too. But it was fairly obvious she was indeed intelligent...maybe to a fault.

"Some other time indeed." Gotou agreed.

Gadget switched the machine on. A cacophony of electronic noises and sound effects before it finally stabilized and the muddle of scrambled video graphics materialized into an identifiable image with numbers, graphs and charts.

"Not too shabby if I do say so myself." Gadget beamed.

The image flickered and fuzzed a little followed by a couple of warning errors and beeps. "Eh-heheh...still has a few bugs to work out." She added a little sheepishly.

Gadget hopped on her board once more. "I guess we...skate on in any direction until we get a signal."

It would have been far easier just to ask DME just to reconfigure into a more suitable scanner with far better range...but this mouse was feeling so confident and she was able to cobble a working device out of such primitive technology; a rather apt if not obvious sign of how she got the name Gadget. What harm could come of letting this girl follow her heart and her intuition? Besides...it could turn out to be quite the learning experience.

"And now you know why her name is "Gadget"." I mused before arc-ing to the ground and following them, taking shortcuts through street lamp and traffic light wiring.

Meanwhile Asriel had left the company of Wuffing's group to see if he could find either of the rabbit duo.

As fate would have it he'd find the camp site first.

"Memories." He muttered, subconsciously reaching for the boy scout neckerchief that he hadn't worn since he was a little goat in our big town.

He snuck about the trees, turning to both his Patience and Integrity Virtues for a boost in balance and speed.

His gaze focused on the pink escape pod. "Sensei?" he muttered.

At the same time in a cave nearby...

Bunnie rested her katana in her lap as she meditated by the fire...a lone chunk of silicon and plastic lay nearby on a leaf...with the smallest of tear drops beside it.

Bunnie thought back to the night it all began. How she stormed into Robotropolis, alone, and tore apart Dr. Robotnik's forces to get to the truth. All with the sounds of a certain black hedgehog's theme, "I Am All of Me" reverberating in her head.

For a lone moment, said Ultimate Lifeform watched from above his perch in Robotropolis, arms crossed and expression dour was he simply left her to her crusade of what he presumed was vengeance. A feeling and a mission he had been all too familiar with once when he was convinced that it was Maria's Wish.

When the smoke cleared and the devastation to Robotnik's core room had cooled off, an unscratched Bunnie Rabbot, clad in the battle-torn gi--having de-roboticized from the Light Armor hybrid she had summoned to unleash its devastating G. Crush to slag every last Swat Bot that had awaited her as part of the doctor's trap--simply stared down her enemy.

"...your rampage will not bring your family back.  I have long since recycled them after they failed me.  Such a waste of Robian hardware."

Bunnie remained unmoved by the words, but the Eggman's words were still stoking a raging fire beneath.

Bunnie walked calmly to the mainframe console...before piercing her fist through the machine and ripping its guts out...and finding the lone remains of a recycled set of processors. The last bits and pieces of her roboticized father and mother.

"YOU DARE TO STEAL FROM MY EMPIRE SO CASUALLY AND NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO SEEK YOUR REVENGE!?"

"Revenge is a fool's game.  And you cannot steal what is yours by birthright.  They gave me life, love, a home, as well as roots and wings.  You erased all that in the blink of an eye and a flip of a roboticizer switch."

"Do not turn your back on me, Bunnie Rabbot!  Do you intend to make yourself a greater threat to me than the Hedgehog and your princess?"

"You judge our threat levels unfairly.  We are all one and the same against a common enemy.  Do not consider one less a threat than the next.  We all will bring you to justice." Bunnie walked toward the exit, unimpeded.

"YOU WILL REGRET THIS!"

"I never stopped regretting.  You are the one who needs to learn regret.  And regret you shall when your time comes.  Amaterasu have mercy on your soul when the Sanzu River claims it for its own."

Robotnik's bellow echoed for eternity as Bunnie walked the path to outside of the mechanical palace to the extraction point where Sonic, Sally, and the other Freedom Fighters had caught up to her.

"Bunnie!  What the heck did you do in there...!?" Sonic gasped.

Bunnie held up her hand, closing her eyes. "I do not wish to speak about it, Sonic."

"Bunnie, we can--"

"I wish some time alone, old friend.  But thank you for your concern, Sally-chan."

"Bunnie..."

Bunnie walked off toward the route back to Knothole.

"What...happened to Aunt Bunnie, Sonic?"

"Dunno, T-2.  I guess...Ro-buttnik finally found out what happens when he pushes one of us too far."

"And ever since Bunnie got all those extra powers, she's easily become top-tier threat to him." Rotor scratched a tusk. "Meeting the Neo Arcadians really changed our lives."

"Especially now that they're asking Bunnie to join their team."

"But...I don't want Aunt Bunnie to leave!"

"We're not going to lose her, Tails.  She's just going to be part of something bigger now...and...maybe all of us will, too.  The hedgehog's getting interested..."

"Hmmph." Shadow turned away before speeding into the shadows.

Back to her reality...

Bunnie opened her eyes and took a deep breath before snatching up the melted chip fragments and bundling it up in a silk cloth and pocketing it.

"And so it was to be.  My fate will not have me.  I choose to make my own destiny."

At the same time...

Violet had begun programming, assembling, and compiling her new digital domain within the main internet server core at the city's internet service provider main hub. The supercomputer at the center was just what she needed for every aspect of survival.

"I'll call you....Nikita." Violet said as she executed one last keystroke, moments before her polymorphic phantom came to life.

"And you'll be my messenger to the outside world while I hide myself away in this lovely cyber-scape."

So...was this a connection to our own Dr. Nikita/N.I.C.O.L.E. Lynx?

One thing hadn't changed...Violet's taste in crystal-clear icepick-heel, strappy sandals. Anything to show off those toes, huh, Vi?

"And pizza pick-up is a go!" Violet waved as her servitor left the building through an open Ethernet Port before reassembling herself somewhere else in the city.

Violet had mastered the art of matter-energy conversion to its most digital iteration. Truly as brilliant as our own Violet.

And probably just as eccentric.

At some point I had managed to lose Gadget while Asriel had no luck tracking down Bunnie.

At which point we ended up meeting.

"Another time skip occurred while we were separated, Azzy."

"I know.  I had to play catch-up with everyone else involved in this."

"Now we know how Ultra Crew is connected."

"We better get on the run, quick, before Adonis tracks us down."

"Right."

"Hey...you feeling any better, Volt?"

"...can't...really say.  If anything I have more questions and more regrets."

"We have to do something about that.  You're a bullseye on a dartboard waiting to happen.  You know that don't you?"

"And I just can't be a fast enough moving target to keep out of range of his darts." I shook my head.

A barrage of time jumps hit us all at once.

"We must be at the timeline!  That's all that seems to be recorded--"

Again Madam Fate proved me wrong...because she allowed Chaopolis to slip a little of her own script in at the last moment.

"Somehow I don't think this belongs in this story..."

I looked up at the Egg Fleet approaching our heroes, having just endured a horrific series of battles against Dr. Robotnik's forces and his new allies...the ones that had supposedly ended Neo Arcadia.

"I think the bad egg is trying to muscle in on everyone else's turf to reclaim what's his."

"Hazard Time?"

"Yank em.  Even if this timeline is about to end, what have we got to lose by trying to save at least a piece of it."

Out they came, and out came our weapons and special abilities.

We ran toward the incoming action as Bunnie, Mitzi, and Gadget dug themselves out of the crater that they had been blown into with the front Egg Carrier's salvo.

"I don't want it to end like this." Gadget was in tears.

"I refuse to be bullied!" Mitzi roared.

Bunnie was ominously silent as Robotnik gloated at the helm of the bridge of his flagship.

"You got some diesel friends that know how to roll out the welcome mat..." Oracle of Wuffing's sarcasm was palpable.

My other self and Violet had been forced behind cover.

"This can't be how it ends." Other me looked to be at wit's end.

"If we get out of this, I’m sending Robotnik to Prisoner Island in a body bag!" Violet ducked behind a different tree as a missile had just overshot them.

"Our friends are going to die...and we've got nothing left..." Gadget sobbed, the broken remains of the last of her make shifted equipment lay nearby.

"If we're going down, we're going down swinging in the biggest blaze of glory!" Mitzi forged her Green Knuckledusters, both flickering and attempting to stay solid.

Closing her eyes, Bunnie seemed to be accepting her fate....or was she...?

"I know...I am not Tikal...I know I am not Knuckles.  I know I am not anyone who's ever used their power.  I know I am unworthy of it.  But that does not matter.  I will still call upon this power and pray that it answers me favorably.  Amaterasu please give us strength and not be slighted that I ask for help from a different ancient power."

"What are you babbling about, Rabbot?" Robotnik glowered at the view screen.

Bunnie took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

"The Servers are the Seven Emeralds.  Chaos is Power.  Power enriched by the heart.  Only you can do this.  I call out to the Master Emerald to grant us the power of the seven!  Bestow upon us our hearts' greatest wish!"

And that was when they came into existence...seven multifaceted gems, each of a color of the rainbow.

"The CHAOS EMERALDS!" Robotnik roared as his greed suddenly exploded full force. "All forces!  I want those emeralds, now!  Rip them from Bunnie Rabbot's corpse!"

"You can try...but you will fail." Bunnie glared as the emeralds started circling her...moments before she seized Mitzi's hand and Gadget's hand.

"What...!?"

"Miss Bunnie...!?"

And as the power encircled them.

"No.  Way." Asriel had stopped in his tracks amidst the others. To his credit, no one noticed his arrival, as they were all too focused on what was going on in the sky...and what was going on with the rabbit and the two mice.

"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it."

"Volt!  I know what happens when a Mobian like Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles uses the Chaos Emeralds...but what happens when a hybrid mouse like Mitzi and Gadget use them...!"

I didn't get a chance to answer. For in that moment, the light grew blinding.

When I looked again, Bunnie's fur was neon pink and she was sporting seriously big Starfire-length hair...like our own Bunnie. And those eyes...just as gold as Super Sonic's fur.

But that was second only to Mitzi, whose hair had turned white and her fur had turned gold...and her eyes piercing copper red.

And Gadget...whose fur had turned white and had turned neon purple as her eyes were now as copper red as Mitzi's.

All three of them were radiating a blazing fiery aura that threatened to crush everyone around them with their energy and pressure.

"Now...let's end this." Bunnie said, lifting off the ground and the two mice joining her in the air.

It was then, from out of nowhere I heard the song....from everywhere and nowhere; permeating every fiber of my being.

Asriel must've felt the same as he clutched his chest for a moment.

"Whoa..."

That song. A song that I could have sworn was by Crush 40...though I don't quite know how I knew that.

A song of heroes. A song of bravery. A song that spelled it to Robotnik...what they're made of.

I don't care what you're thinking

As you turn to me

 'Cause what I have in my two hands

Is enough to set me free

I can fight the feeling

To resist it over time

But when it's just too much to take

You sneak up from behind

Bunnie cybermorphed and took the lead, aiming both of her busters before unleashing what seemed like a cross between X4's Plasma Buster, X2's double Giga Shot, X1's Light X-Buster Wave, and X3's Cross-explosion Hyper Shot...all in one.

Is it me

You say you're looking for

Let me show you who I am

And what I'm here for

Try to reach inside of me

Try to drain my energy

Let me show you just what I'm made of

Mitzi reformed her construct into what I could only describe as a massive pair of halberd swords that seemed to have wills of their own. Like Cloud Strife's Buster Sword if it had been exposed to Rita Repulsa's magic wand. Only they seemed more like a Green Lantern conjured them.

Simple curiosity

Tries to take a bite of me

Let me show you just what I'm made of

Now

Gadget's entire backpack emptied out in a scatter of junk pieces, all rapidly swarming and orbiting her person before combining into a massive particle cannon chain gun. The storm of ordinance put even my weapons to shame.

Like a million faces

I've recognized them all

And one by one they all become

A number as they fall

In the face of reason

I can take no more

And one by one they all become

A black mark on the floor

One of the ships had been torn down to the shell of its bridge moments before that surviving chunk sailed into the ground and exploded, leaving only a black crater.

Is it me

You say, you're looking for?

Let me show you who I am

And what I have in store

Yeah. "What I'm Made of" from Sonic Heroes. I did recognize it as the girls soared off into action toward the Egg Fleet...and quickly went on an offensive rampage to tear each ship apart.

Try to reach inside of me

Try to drain my energy

Let me show you just what I'm made of

As the main cannon of the last flagship finished charging, it plastered the rabbit and mice into the ground where they seemed out of it for a moment until one by one they rose up out of it...each, rightfully pissed off.

You can't take another lifelong try

You can't take another try

The three of them rose up until they were hovering right directly in front of the Flagship's main cannon.

And it was starting to charge.

Mitzi and Gadget nodded to Bunnie who seemed to indicate that it was time to stop holding back.

The three overlapped hands before getting into formation...and taking off toward the cannon at full speed.

Lining up in formation, almost Power Puff Girls style, one after the other, the three of them started spinning in a triple helix spiral path...becoming like a drill, as their light contrails started to intensify.

Bunnie had turned nearly hot pink in color. Mitzi had turned nearly neon green. Gadget was a glowing bright violet. And all three of them were gaining speed and rotation until their contrails had spiraled together like a three-colored candy cane.

At the front of which they had exploded into a piercing arrowhead of pure, blinding gold light.

Try to reach inside of me

Try to drain my energy

Let me show you just what I'm made of

Try to reach inside of me (Show you what I'm made of)

Try to drain my energy (Show you what I'm made of)

Let me show you just what I'm made of

In the one millisecond instant before the main Egg Carrier cannon would have fired...the three of them had PIERCED through the whole ship--from cannon at the bow to beyond the stern and an unfathomable distance behind the ship.

And then the explosion that lit up the sky.

"CURSE YOU, RABBOT!!!!!!" Dr. Robotnik's scream echoed before it went silent...and the warp zone closed.

The debris of his entire fleet had burned so hot it was turning to carbon-scored metal ash with tiny blobs of steel and iron mixed with it before reaching the ground.

"Holy....!"

"YES!" Asriel fist-pumped. But he quickly caught himself and activated the SPECTRE function before anyone noticed him there.

Well...I guess this was a mission we weren't really going to take part in...we were just...casual observers...again.

Goes with the job. Lame. But necessary.

"Azzy!" I beckoned him over as the assembled groups started to gather again and figure out what next in the aftermath of all this craziness.

"Huh...?" Asriel was first to spot it.

If reality could be compared to a film-strip in a projector, then the film was starting to melt and tear apart. I could see the white hot breach in reality as the timeline was starting to come to an end.

After all that...all we could pull off was a last victory before this timeline just...crashed?

"Oh gods..." My ears drooped.

"Come on.  Let's--"  Asriel started before he caught the sucker punch to my face, sending me into another breach.

Asriel scowled angrily but kept his temper. "Let me guess.  Go fetch and you'll meet me on the playground after school?" he sneered.

"You're learning." Adonis snorted. "Don't keep him hanging."

"We're going to settle this.  Count on it." Asriel pointed straight at Adonis' nose before turning and charging through the dimensional breach.

"I'm counting on it.  But your friend mind not be in any shape to lend you a  hand after he spends a good amount of time in this dark corner of his past..."

As it turned out...he'd saved the worst for last. And gods and goddess help me...I would do anything to make this torture cease...

Sub-Entry 388: "Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality, Part 8 - Shadow of Universal City":
"Oh no...no...not this place..."

I was white as a sheet. But that was a better state than what we were looking at.

It drifted between chalk outline image...like the early depictions of how the Invisible Girl (Susan Storm-Richards) used her invisibility powers in the 1960's versions of Stan Lee's first animated take on the Fantastic Four....and translucent, yet black-and-white iterations of what was once there...to a flicker of full color...but no life.

It was an echo. A dead echo in every word of its definition.

"Volt!" Asriel charged out of the tear in reality and skidded to a stop. "I was worried I wouldn't catch up to--

He broke off in mid-sentence when he saw me in my degrading state.

"Volt?  Stay with me, buddy...stay with me."

"Azzy...I don't...I don't think I can keep it together." Mere moments arriving in this forsaken place and I was already in tears and shaking like a leaf.

"You were the one who taught me that my past can't hurt me if I only face it."

When...when did I ever teach him that?

"Well...maybe you didn't teach me directly, but it's in your memories!  And your memories are my memories, now.  I know mom put these psychic defenses into my head, but that doesn't mean I can't access them at will.  I'm sorry, but...I had to peak into them for wisdom."

"It's...probably for the best...  I don't think I have any right to lecture you about this...not anymore..."

"Come back to me, best friend.  You're really starting to worry me."

Asriel then noticed the kind of place we had landed in.

The whole sky was a cross between a storm cloud vortex, threatening to become an F-5 tornado funnel at the epicenter...and a black hole.

This was the state a universe or sub-universe was usually in after it had been decimated by what Adonis had pulled off.

But Universal City itself? It was having an identity crisis; a far cry from what we had barely seen in the UCM4 universe. I'd heard of ghost towns...but parts of this town were...literally ghost. Like parts of it couldn't decide to be solid...or ethereal with an aura. And some of it like wire frame outlines held together with translucent, opaque distortions in reality. I described it as light being bent and warped into an optic camo effect. It could be seen through but it wasn't completely invisible, either.

Parts were sparking in and out. Parts were tangled with cosmic lightning. And too many buildings were wrapped in coils of phantoms, wraiths, and ghosts.

Somewhere in town I noticed a dark red fountain of energy spewing similar phantoms into the air.

"Oh gods...I know that phenomenon...."

This universe's version of my mentors...their containment unit had exploded and was STILL spewing spectral energy into the sky? If this event had happened on the eve of Universal City's destruction, the ECU should have emptied out LONG ago...yet it was--

"Gozer." My eyes widened as a section of reality peeled away to reveal the Gozerian's temple above a familiar high rise.

But Gozer wasn't the ONLY conqueror I could identify in this universe. Elsewhere, I noticed Tokyo Tower...and atop its structure was Queen Beryl.

"That's impossible!  All of the villains of Universal City were reformed, including Beryl.  She had an offspring going to school--!"

Another section of the city was being torn apart by Dragon Ball GT's infamous Baby-Vegeta while the people possessed by the Tussles were heralding his victory over the fallen Super Saiyan 4 Goku.

Another part of the city planet was now in the grip of Wise Man, who had successfully won over Xander Goldenheart, having manipulated him with the murder of his sister--a death he managed to cast blame on the Universal Detective's allies.

Megatron sat perched on the makeshift throne he had made out of the caved in top floors of a massive high-rise.....in a scene right out of the Decepticon campaign of the Transformers game for Nintendo Wii, based on the first Michael Bay film.......wait a minute...that never happened in this universe. Universal City was gone BEFORE the first Transformers film released...wasn't it? Or...did it happen AS the first film was released? None of this was adding up.

I recognized this universe's version of Naraku in all of his spider-demon final form horror; hovering over what was once Karakura Town...somehow spliced with Kagome's own era city. Were Bleach and Inuyasha universes united in these remnants?

Asriel immediately picked up on former Justice League members at war with the Regime. It was definitely playing out the events of Injustice 2.

We both zeroed in on Bangora's Palace, squarely on this planet as the witch and her minions were in a victory song and dance number. Really...there's nothing quite more jarring than seeing Goldar and Scorpina's Japanese counterparts in a moment of NOT being stoic and intimidating.

In fact everywhere I looked, it was a massive crossover. Only...it was like the antithesis of what I had sewn as the King of Crossovers in the Ultraverse.

"Volt...what happened to this place?"

"This...this isn't right.  This is all wrong.  Even on its last days, this place...this universe had never fallen this far.

"Volt...we got to go somewhere away from this...we got to find help...someone around here."

"I don't...I don't think we're going to find anybody..." I was still shaking like a leaf. Seeing all this was cutting me to the core.

And the only thing that made sense to me was...this was all my fault.

And that was when he appeared in the sky.

"Adonis!" Asriel tightened his fists.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock.  Universal City has very little time left on its doomsday clock."

"What do you want!?" Asriel challenged.

"Must you keep asking that predictable question again?" The giant head in the sky cackled  The undead or nearly dead people were barely phased by his presence. It was almost as if he had them all under his sway.

"Admit it...you're just desecrating this planet's memories for your own amusement."

"I prefer to think of it as a bonus...that sweet, sweet cherry on top."

"Why you...!"

"Temper temper, boy.  It seems I'm getting under your skin now.  You don't want to leave yourself as vulnerable as Volt left himself, now do you?"

"You have no shame!"

"I don't?  Well then I guess I better start going commando--"

"That's not what I meant, you pervy psycho!"

This place...this accursed place...it was darkening our souls the longer we stayed in here. Had Universal City's fall really tainted it so profane that it could even wear away at the both of us so easily?

"I do love being the bearer of bad news but you won't find anyone in this city who will lift a finger to help you, boy.  This is pure, unadulterated judgement for your bestie's sins."

"What did he even do to deserve this?"

"He crossed Fate.  What do you think?"

"And that's justification for stepping outside of her own realm to wreck someone else's?"

"Who needs to justify what can make a game more fun?  We're all just chess pieces in the end and it doesn't matter if we're taken or broken.  Her knights live on, a new script takes the place of the last game.  We all have a good hardy-har-har in the end...well...some of us do."

"That's vile." Asriel's bones were cracking while I was avoiding looking my enemy in the eye...like...I was afraid of him...?

That was it...I was afraid of what was coming.

"Don't get so bent out of shape.  I'll be dealing with his second banana after I've finally made him realize what he's brought upon himself for abandoning his one and only true partner."

"You weren't ready, you Anakin knock-off.  And you know it."

"You flatter yourself if you think you're ready to step into my sandals."

"Coming from a barefoot lummox like you, that means very little."

Asriel caught himself. "What am I doing?  Since when do I trash talk?  This place!  This place is like--"

"Like concentrated evil?  The vast sum of every life I extinguished; lives who met an unjust end who left their mortal coil in a state of unfinished business, broken hopes and shattered dreams?  All the ingredients you'd need to make a city-planet full of angry, poltergeists and wraith who only know revenge.  And that, my dear goat...is the essence of making the first piece of the Chaopolis empire.  A world without law, order, and virtue.  Where suffering is eternal, and everything is in a constant state of war and conquering.  My god is it every beautiful!"

Asriel shuddered.

"It's too far gone to stop.  Even if you intervene in this world's destroyed timeline?  You can't save it.  It will drag you both down with it...what a delicious and delightful trap.  The perfect place to end your trip.  Look at it, Asriel. This is Hell.  This is MY Hell!"

Asriel grit his teeth...then grabbed me.

"C'mon, we're outta here!"

Adonis threw back his giant head in the sky and laughed. "Run all you want.   There's no place TO run!"

Block after block we ran, eventually escaping the main city and reaching the beach...where countless Terminator endoskeletons were mowing down anything organic; whether fighting back or retreating.

"Everywhere we go is a nightmare." Asriel grimaced.

"What did I let happen...?" I sobbed.

"Don't start that now, Volt!" Asriel snapped. "It's not doing you any good!"

He continued to drag me along, eventually we reached the giant druid village...at least that was what it USED to be...

What awaited us was a massive gaping chunk of the planet torn out...and we could see all the way down to the bubbling core at the epicenter...the bubbling, swirling purple and black, poisoned magma core.

"This place is looking more like Apokolypse!" Asriel held me back from falling down the pit.

That was where it happened...but...there shouldn't be ANY of the planet left after...after what Adonis had unleashed here. Not even a drop of the core should have been left.

The backlash of the chain reaction he created should have wiped out the entire galaxy and every galaxy beyond it. The whole space-time continuum coordinates should be GONE. Absolutely GONE. Why was this husk of a planet still around? Why was it in such disrepair?

Getting the heck away from that led us down stretches of road right out of the Mad Max...and that led us past what was once Hilldale...a stone's throw away from Hill Valley's Lyon Estates. And by gods...it was Back to the Future 2's Alternate 1985 realized. Down to the clocktower in Hill Valley's town, now turned Tanen's Pleasure Paradise Casino...to the many chalk outlines on the streets of what was once the Marty and Jennifer McFly residence.

"Why are so many of these places also in the UltraVerse?"

"But not twisted and evil?  It goes back to that theory from earlier...memory echoes that resonate in opposite universes brought together.  Sometimes over time...imitation breeds the sincerest form of flattery.  But between Universal City when it was in its prime and the UltraVerse?  Chicken or the Egg, Asriel.  I couldn't tell you whose AU versions of everything in both universes came first."

"Volt...please...what happened on that day?"

"If I go into details...I don't think I'll be able to recover from the PTSD I still harbor...but to summarize...Adonis invaded this world under STC's noses.  Fate withheld the information from us until she was ready for her script to play out.  I tried to go on ahead without authorization from the Council...and I was still too late.  She....she died in my arms moments before the whole universe was eradicated with the forbidden technology and sorcery he had combined for his doomsday device.  When I...awoke, I was drifting through space...in between dimensions.  Destiny informed me that...Universal City was erased...and its...maker was...not going to bring it back.  The...loss was too much for its creator."

"That's terrible!"

"There was no one left to apologize to...and that was the moment I stopped trying to go against the council...and became their broken dog to bark and sit up at their command...at least until I found ACM-001 in our universe.  And then the truth about the past that Fate and the Council covered up began to unravel.  That's when I started thinking for myself again...and that led to me...well...eventually finding you."

"So much...connected."

I had a seat on the rubble.

"You still don't remember her name, do you?"

"The cruelest trick Fate pulled was taking away the memory but leaving the guilt.  How am I supposed to cope with feeling guilty when I don't even know who I'm supposed to be asking forgiveness from?"

"Volt....you're too hard on yourself."

As time passed, the shadowy remains of Universal City continued to press down on us and threatened to darken our souls like the negatively charged mood slime flowing its way to the museum where Vigo the Carpathian slumbered.

Asriel was keeping my demons at bay. It was a temporary solution. One which Adonis finally swooped in and curb stomped.

"No...no, no...I can't re-live this." I watched a translucent image of myself  drift out from the veil of time, moments before the memory of Adonis' dark deed came to pace.

"NO!!!"

I watched as the Heart of the Childhood crystal went flying from her grasp, stained in her own blood...moments before Adonis' blade chopped it in half. He picked up one of the pieces and licked it suggestively before planting a wet kiss on it. "I guess if I leave you with half of this, it only proves I'm not totally...heartless."

My younger counterpart self could only watch in horror before the body went limp in his arms.

"Oh...no..."

He dried his eyes on his sleeve...just as the Dreemurrs all did.

Adonis chuckled as he stepped through the gate. "I'd uh...escape if I were you.  You only have five...four...three--"

And then everything went white moments before the echoes of  "OOOPSIE!  I COUNTED DOWN TOO LATE!" And then echoes of laughter before the vision...the illusion tore away--

"HURK!!!" I gagged as Adonis's hand seized around my throat. "And now the meat's thoroughly basted...time to cook this turkey..."

And he pulled me through to the other side.

"OH NO YOU--"  Asriel charged moments before he ran right into the fist...and he was out cold...

...when he awoke...

Goat Son gasped as he realized he was now deep in the center of the very epicenter of the universe between universes. The Axis of Realities...and he wasn't alone.

Only thing was...he wasn't with me.

"Here we are at the climax, boy.  And now you get a ring-side seat to the end of Volt Arcade, King of Crossovers.   The king can't die...but he will be begging to do so.  Long...live...the king..."

Adonis towered over Goat Son.

And where was I during all this...? Enduring my own personal Hell.

Sub-Entry 389: "Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality, Part 9 - Volt Faces His Nightmare, Asriel Vs. Adonis":
I couldn't bear these memories. And now they were going to be my undoing...I was isolated. Helpless from helping Asriel.

He was facing Adonis alone in the endless tachyon stream within the main shaft of the Axis of Reality...at least that was how our minds were able to interpret it. The truth was...it was debatable if even the Gods and Goddesses knew the Axis' true form.

All I know was...that Asriel was facing down what was likely a long, and torturous, slow death sentence.

It was...disgraceful for me to say but all of my despair and regret and most of all...FEARS had overwhelmed me to the point where only 10 percent of me was worried sick about Asriel having to face down that maniac, while wondering...what did Asriel ever do to you, Adonis? What had he ever done that was so wrong that you were willing to take things this far?

The other 90 percent...crippled with my own fears and failures and helplessness in the faces of the wraiths of Universal City's memory. And leading them was...her...the nameless one...the Universal Detective.

Had her death been...so profane that it erased her name from existence? Was she...like Gaster?

Did she...really hate me that much for letting her and her people down?

Druids to the left...Z-Fighters to the right...Sherlock Holmes and Super Sentai around me....Yoroiden Samurai Troopers behind me...the women of Tenshi Muyo! among them...the cast of Ranma 1/2 too...the entire School of Hoggwarts......Hobbits from the Shire of the Lord of the Rings saga......and so many Japanese counterparts of our own UltraVerse's people.

All of them dead and vengeful spirits...all crowding around me and looking so accusing.

This was...this was........this was.............this............was.........

* CRYPTOSMASHER EXTERNAL PERIPHRAL LOGGING DEVICE USER CHANGE. DATA LOGGING SWITCHED TO S.T.C. AGENT IN TRAINING ASRIEL TOBIAS DREEMURR-ARCADE *

I have to take over for Volt, now...his...logging system seems to be caught in some kind of redundant loop. That's what the system's telling me...but the truth is...he's frozen up...he's trapped in his own fears...and I can't help him...because I'm fighting for my life.

The last time I fought Adonis...it didn't go so well...I was beaten to an inch of my life before he forced me to break the promise...and absorb my best friend's soul...gods...he was more depraved than ever now...and out for blood.

He was foaming at the mouth and drooling with that crazed look...whiplashing and snapping his neck in unhealthy, spontaneous manner. He's truly lost it.

Adonis had pulled the two of us into the Axis of Reality.

"Finally.  Some alone time to settle things."

"Where...is Volt?  What have you done with my best friend!?"

Adonis simply pointed down...down...down...way down to the dimensional spheroid...husk. The shattered pieces and remnants of Universal City's echo. The malfunctioning, corrupted image of what once was, which Adonis had brought into existence as an undead echo. It was city-planet cemetery of angry wraiths and vengeful spirits that screamed at Volt like the shards and scraps of fuselage that had once been the Empire's second Death Star as it beckoned the approach of Rei.

It was miles and miles and miles below us...maybe lightyears away; and yet I could see what was going on as if it were right in front of my face. Were the tachyons carrying time itself? Were they bringing the very concept of "event" itself from the other side of this space-time continuum straight to us in a live-feed stream? How...how was this working?

No. That's not the question I should be asking. Was this your doing, Adonis? Of course it was!

"So that's how it is...you want me to watch him suffer during our fight.   That's depraved."

"I think of it as the best thing on TV to watch, little goat.  I already told you.  For immortal beings like him and me?  There is no finite...there is no end...there is only infinity.  And his suffering will go on forever.  You on the other hand...can very much die.  Which means our battle will come to an end.  In fact...that's the whole idea.

I hate the idea of anything being predictable. But this is a situation where even I can't doubt the outcome. You see, Asriel...what we have is a countdown. A countdown to your death!"

And then the invisible "floor" we were standing on...like a giant invisible lens that allowed the tachyons to diffuse through while anchoring us down.......gave way.

"AAAAAAAAAH!!!!!"

Adonis roared with maniacal laughter; the dark cackles echoing through the cylindrical tube that formed a wall between us and the endless spider-web of interconnecting dimensions outside.

"This will be the only plan I ever have...and it was the last one I concocted when I had become immortal--"

"And your mind shattered like a mirror."

"Can we not interrupt, junior?  I'm about to get to the best part.  You see...when we hit the bottom...that's when your life snuffs out...right before Volt's eyes.   Isn't that delicious?  The moment his best friend dies...is the moment he loses the will to keep surviving and Universal City's dead memories swallow him whole; to digest for eternity!  Never quite alive!  Never quite dead!  Just an endless nightmare of the contract forcing him to eat his own tail like an Ouroboros!"

"You're INSANE!"

"And I've embraced it faaaaar better than your Aunt Violet ever could."

"Don't you DARE call her crazy.  She's misunderstood and eccentric!  You're just a--"

"A what?  Is the word you're looking for...MONSTER?"

Curses...he went there and I walked right into that one.

"Talking isn't the solution to this situation, Asriel.  I think you know what you have to do...but can you do it without letting...HIM out?"

My eyes widened as I could feel Hyperdeath tug on my own soul, DEMANDING that I, in Bray "the Fiend" Wyatt's own words..."let him in".

"I don't have to become you to beat you!" I ignited the NX Sabres and wailed away for a good few minutes before he countered with his own take on the sabres...his own much larger, much more twisted, much more darker and blood red take on my own beam sabres.

And as we did...we plummeted. We tumbled endlessly through the sea of tachyon light streaks...like falling through a hyperspace jump out of Star Wars.

But truth be told? This was echoing more of Falling Down...the final battle against Dr. Weil aboard the plummeting Ragnarok in the conclusion of the Mega Man Zero series. In fact...maybe it was Adonis' doing but I could hear that music theme blast all around us, while the lyrics of Cyril the Wolf's vocal remix of it screamed in my own head as Hyperdeath sunk his claws deeper and deeper into my mind and my soul.

This was far more grandiose than facing Chara-Wraith. This was far bigger and more epic than my last clash with Evil-Chara. And it was echoing of my first clash with Adonis...as it ended in my defeat. And the odds were even LESS in my favor, now.

"I won't give in!"

One by one, I turned to my Virtue Powers. And one by one, they failed.

The Kindness pizza cutter? It didn't last even one parry.

The Patience watering can? It was smacked out of my hand where it burst apart against the wall with a splash and a hiss of steam and cyan bits and pieces.

I went tumbling end over end as my clones vanished, my Integrity Overdrive Gear bursting apart from Adonis' single punch to the chest.

Bravery Light's vanquish left me horrified as Adonis actually opened his maw and inhaled the light itself; the vortex actually pulling the light out of me to the point of nearly yanking my soul out with it!

With Justice I went through hundreds of weapon changes until the backlash of Adonis' counters racked up so much damage on my weapons that they slowly stopped being able to morph. I was finally left with a lump of yellow that melted and the drops got lost in the sea of tachyons.

Despite how the crystal tube that I perceived the Axis of Reality node seemed to have finite physical dimensions and thus limits...? It easily housed the BIGGEST Perseverance mech I could summon. And I thought big. Like ultimate, galaxy-sized, Gurren Lagaan-sized Anti-Spiral busting big. Big enough to swallow the Milky Way...or several. Impossible as it may seem, even without summoning a mech of his own...Adonis shrugged off my Big Bang, universe-destroying final attack...and completely blew away my powers like they were nothing.

Which left me to fall back on my last line of defense...the Determination Seraph. And one by one...he crushed each of my wings and tore off my halo.

So...that's it...after all that...this is what it feels like to be so weak that you can't protect your best friend from his eternal punishment.

I'm just a goat. A mortal goat. A goat that can die. A goat that SHOULD'VE died. I lived...just to lead up to this?

"NO!  I refuse to accept this."

"Desperation does not become you, Asriel.  How utterly disappointing that this is what he chose over me."

"Why does he keep bringing that up?  Why is he so fixed on a burned friendship...why is he...!?" My mind raced with questions.

A thought suddenly occurred...and it was a familiar one. Could it...be that simple? If it was true...then...! Then...!

I could see Volt below us...getting closer....! Somehow the speed we were dropping was accelerating. We were going to hit bottom in a couple minutes at this rate.

I had one recourse to try. Maybe my Virtue Powers failed me individually...but what if I summoned all of them at the same time? Was that even possible?

"Feel the gravity, pulling us closer!  Falling further!  As you prepare to face your death!" Adonis taunted. It seems he was channeling the same song in his head, too. Well then.

"You think you've got all this figured out, Adonis?  You want to turn my words on me?  Then here's a little something for your ears.  This game between Destiny and Fate?  It's not over yet.  Sensei would chastise me for not using my own words but...I don't want to fight, but I'll beat you if I have to  How many times has the world fell to war?  They often believe that victory's predetermined but nothing is certain, just hunger for more "

"Wonderful!  Such a stirring speech!"

"I'm not done yet." I cleared my throat. "It's not too late for you.  Turn back before fate leaves us all burned in the end.  We should never be defined by where we were set into life! Drop the facade, it's always been your choice!"

"What are you going on about?"

"You think life handed you a bad hand?  You're no more special than me.  It's not about what you're given, it's what you do with it!  And you wasted ever drop of your potential and just threw your gifts away for this!"

I was raging with a head full of mad and nothing left to try but something that could probably tear my soul apart. If I wasn't willing to give up everything for Volt, what did I have left to lose worth losing?

"It's time to wake up, Adonis."

I focused deep into my soul...tried to embrace each virtue...feel them all at once...bring them to the surface. And honestly...I had no guarantee this would even work...let alone what "it" even was. What was my end game? What was I going to accomplish.

I winced as I felt each fragment start to overflow...and it was overwhelming. It was more than I felt I could take. I was hitting my limits, one after the other...with no guarantee that breaking through them wouldn't break me.

Oh gods...I'm so scared...I'm so scared and alone..........no...........that's not what I'M feeling...that's what...!

"I see it all now..."

I wasn't alone. I was doing this for him. Doing this for them. Doing this for everyone. And yes...I was even doing it for me. And as crazy as it sounded...I was doing this for Adonis. For his own good...let this work.

My eyes were starting to burn as I felt all seven colors fight for dominance.

"Can't...let them fight each other...they need to...cooperate!  They need to...harmonize!"

"Do you think whatever desperate move you're trying to pull off, I'll just pull every villain's cliché and just LET you power up like this is Dragon Ball Z?  FOOL!" Adonis stabbed at me with his claws over and over as I tried to get it together.

"I...hear you laugh...muffled beneath all your sins.  I'll take it back, all the things that you have erased." I drew one more quote from Cyril’s music before I dosed him with a bit of the truth. "Only you're not actually laughing underneath...you're...!"

I didn't finish because my soul had reached critical mass and it was emerging from my chest.

"And there's my bullseye.  Goodbye, Asriel Dreemurr!  We're about to hit bottom!"

And then it ignited.

"I understand now...all the clues were there...Volt even said it himself...I have his memories with me.  Even when your lies are lies.  Even when you showed your true form...it wasn't really, was it?"

Adonis scoffed.

"The lies stop now.  Alloucious Adonis...just who the Hell are you!?" Asriel cried as his H.U.D. roared into existence, much bigger than it had ever been...seven times bigger and the only word on it was "SAVE". A single word, fighting to keep itself in one piece before the code underneath threatened to burst through the cracks and pierce it.

Asriel pressed the button with a resounding confirmation tone that echoed throughout the multiverse.

"That won't work on me!  Your last ditch effort?  USELESS!  USELESS!  USELESS!  USELESS!  USELESS!  USELESS!" He had gone full Dio Brando. But I wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

I wrapped my hand around the code as it my touch somehow turned it to rainbow liquid and it wrapped around my claws...my fingers...my hand...my whole arm. The rainbow spread across my entire body while the four letters...the word SAVE embedded on my knuckles.

I cried out with everything I had as I charged forth and broke through Adonis' defenses and punched him in the chest with everything I had.

The explosion that consumed us was deafening and all of the Axis of Reality "pipes" shook and vibrated.

"Your actions are going to destroy all of reality itself!  How delicious that in the end, I got you to do EXACTLY what I wanted you to do!  Now awaken and come forth, Neo Hyperdeath--"  Adonis suddenly cut off as he gasped with a wheeze.

I saw it form...a crack...a crack in his chest...a crack in this entire shell that was continuing to open up as light began to pour out.

"No...no...no!!!!" He clutched at it, trying to force it back closed. It was spreading...all over him.

I squinted to avoid the glare but it was all around me. I braced with my arms. I cringed at the overwhelming release of power and light.

What...what had I done?

When I could see again......my heart just stopped...my jaw dropped...my breath left me...I was aghast...no...not aghast...completely caught off guard. The answer was right in front of me all this time.

"I see it all now...!  It all makes sense...!  I had the answer all along and I didn't recognize it!  It was right there...it was always right there...!  You....you're...!"

Sub-Entry 390: "Into the Epicenter of the Axis of Reality, Part 10 - The Truth of Adonis Revealed"
What was revealed before me felt as cliché as it got...but it was the answer. The ULTIMATE answer. In that moment, everything became clear.

Why Volt was meant to meet me.

Why Volt chose me.

Why I mattered so much to him.

As the light died down I noticed time had stopped all around us...we were frozen in a moment where gravity seemed to remember to put a floor underneath us. And there...was my opponent, knocked to the ground...looking up at me...with rage and tear-filled eyes...crying. But angry-crying between fits of a tantrum. Dressed in...rags. Remains of a pair of pants and a torn, faded striped shirt barely hanging onto him. Barefoot. Dirty. That white hair was a long, ungroomed mess. Truly a forsaken orphan.

"Are you that surprised...?" The voice that greeted me...too familiar.

"In all honesty...no.  I'm the opposite of surprised.  I just can't believe I didn't figure it out."

"You stupid little goat...did you ever stop...to think whose DNA was used for that Unitrix?  The only DNA signature that could have ever been on that bracer."

The secret was out...Alloucious Adonis...was me! He was my human form!

As if by instinct I switched the Unitrix on, donning my human disguise. And it was like looking into a mirror...but my reflection was over 8 years younger in appearance. I had aged...but he hadn't. He was just a child! A scared and lonely child.

"That's what this was all about..." I realized when all the pieces fit together. "He said you were a prodigy...but I never put together that you were like me.  You were EXACTLY like me.   After all this time of not seeing it.  I understand.  I understand because I've been there.  I know.  I know that this is the real you.  This is who you are."

"And who's that?"

"Someone...who didn't want to let go.  Someone...so determined to hold onto their best friend...they would do anything and everything to keep them."

"Well doesn't THAT just sound familiar." Adonis seethed.

"You ARE me.  No...you're the me that would have been if--"

"Don't you dare say it!"

"If I hadn't overcome my single greatest weakness...if I had never learned the most important lesson about friendship and love.  If you love someone...if you truly ARE their friend...you have to be willing to let them go when it's time."

"No!  I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT!"

"The other versions of me...every Asriel that died.  They followed the script that Fate had written for them over and over...and it wasn't even her script...all of those versions of me...they didn't learn what I did.  They didn't understand what I do now.  And you're no different.  You don't get it.  You don't want to give Volt up.  You're obsessed with him.  You wanted him and ONLY him.  The same way you wanted him to want you and only you.  As the one and only friendship that the two of you needed."

"Shut up!  Shut up!  Shut up!  Shut up!  Shut up!  Shut up!"

"Adonis...Volt didn't abandon you...you abandoned him!  You don't see him as a friend...just as a possession.  It's like...you've been stalking him.  Cyber-stalking him from beyond space and time for so many lifetimes...destroying everything he held dear because you couldn't let him move on.  You couldn't move on."

"What do you know!?  You can't be his best friend!  You're a temporary lifeform made of "love and magic".  You'll grow old.  You'll die.  But that's just the tip of the iceberg!  You, Asriel Dreemurr...you're not even a real creation of this UltraVerse.  You're an AU pulled into this universe like every other trend that Destiny and Fate have followed throughout the  years.  Just adapting and padding this overly rebooted UltraVerse full of crossovers and fanboy moments!

I'm real! I'm the OC he needs with the credo "Do Not Steal" tattooed into my DNA! How many other versions of you exist spawned from that Annoying Dog."

"Man, you don't even have to go there.  I know who and what I am and where I came from.  And even if I am born of an AU...I choose to be the me-that-is-me not because this AU's true creator authors me to be so...but by my own free will.  Volt knows that because he lives the same way.  You and Fate have just forced him to forget all that and make him ashamed of acknowledging this...fourth wall you and he call it.

That's why you threw him into this journey through past iterations of the UltraVerse...these past games that the Goddesses finished or didn't finish. And the relationships he made in other universes--Mirror Warp Underground, CNRGP, Game World, Universal City, N-Fans, Hybrid Adventures--you invaded into their universes to make him look back and remember...remember everyone else that's gone their separate ways after the good times end. You didn't want him feeling nostalgic...you wanted him to feel regret. To feel abandoned. You wanted to convince him that he hadn't moved on like everyone else.

But you didn't count on me. Someone who didn't even exist in those universes and could appreciate them with unspoiled eyes. At the danger of sounding arrogant, I'm this generation getting to see what came before. It's all new to me and all fascinating. And I'm going to help Volt remember that while it all may be gone and forgotten by many, their memories now live on inside of me. I'm his time capsule, preserving what mattered.

I get it. I get that there's so much beyond what I'm meant to comprehend...that there's a very real possibility that none of us are even real. And we're seeing signs of our creators with these...fourth wall breaks and such.

However "meta" this adventure gets, I'm not going to let it make me start doubting who am and who I want to be. I am Asriel Tobias Dreemurr-Arcade of the UltraVerse. And I'm finally okay with everything that led up to this."

"Damn you...you speak like this is over!  But it's not!  This chaos will go on and on as long as its true creator wills it to do so!"

"And I'll fight that chaos as long as Madam Fate has half a script to toss at me.  Lady Destiny will provide the other half and Volt and I will carve our own path toward that destined end, whatever it may be."

"Blasphemous bovine...you are NOTHING to me!"

"And you are in denial.  I've reached out to you.  I tried to save you...but now I see it.  I see that you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved."

"Brilliant deduction, Mr. Impossible."

I let out a short laugh over the reference. "I wonder how many of us in this universe are guilty of never being able to use our own words...and quoting someone else.  But uh...that is the nature of the UltraVerse, isn't it?"

"Don't change the subject.  We're not done here."

"I think we are.  This battle is lost to you."

"So that's it?  You're just going to be THAT GUY?  You win one and you're just going to rub it in my face?"

"You know something?  I think...I just realized...winning doesn't really matter to me anymore.  I spent so much of my childhood with Chara wanting to win against her just once...needing that win even as the other versions of me became Hyperdeath...but now...now I'm just grateful I played such a great game."

"Game.......GAAAAME?!?!?!" Adonis was foaming at the mouth.

"That's what my world is, isn't it?  And really...that's what this whole existence for all of us is.  Just a game.  And you know...I could really use a break from it and share a pizza with my best friend down there.  Pretty sure he needs me right about now."

"Don't you go near him!  I won't let you have him!  He's MY partner!  MY best friend!  My--"

"WAS.  He WAS all of those things...but you forfeited all of that.  It was ultimately your choice...and look where it got you.  It is by your own hand that you've lost everything that mattered, not Fate's script, not Destiny's punishing, not because anyone did you wrong.

The Council may have been the horrible creatures that groomed you...but you made the choice to buy into it...and then turn against them for your own selfish desires. You stand here, defeated. Alone. Scared. And crying. A state that I know all too well. Do yourself a favor...and accept the hand that's offering you a way out. I'm not here to replace you...I'm here to SAVE you--"

And with that, Adonis slapped my hand away. HARD.

"......so...you've made your choice.  Then...we have nothing more to discuss.  I chose to save you...but you chose not to be saved.  I am truly sorry.  But this is the end."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Adonis was on his knees, clutching toward the sky....and slowly the pieces of his false shell attracted themselves back to him, forging the giant, hulking, twisted beast that he pretended to be all this time.

"I won't accept this!  I won't be beaten!  I won't!  I won't!  I won't I won't I won't I won't...etc..." Adonis charged at the "wall" of the tube and pounded on it.

"Hey!  Stop that!"

As he did, it started to cause a chain reaction in the surrounding tachyons passing around him as well as a massive instability in the part of the wall he was channeling all his power on.

Sparks upon sparks rained out as the corrupted bracer he was wearing started to go haywire.

"Adonis!" I reached out to him...but it was too late. The wall breached and twisted into a spiral as space folded upon itself outside, warped and twisted into a black hole....and Adonis was sucked in.

I slowly lowered my hand as my face fell...and I stepped back from the breach moments before it sealed up.

I was feeling a lot like X after Ferham jumped to her death and took the Supraforce Metal with her. The feeling of being unable to save someone...?....kind of reeks.

That was when time resumed around me and I began plummeting. I disengaged the Unitrix and pulled myself into a head-first dive like a missile, pulling my arms tight to my body.

It was a moment of mirroring Volt when he saved me in mid-plummet above Miranda Square Fountain all those years ago.

I quickly accelerated to terminal velocity and I saw the barrier separating the giant "crystal tube" from the reality of the broken world beneath me. I tumble-rolled and stretched into a Superman flight straight down before impacting in an Iron Man pose.

This...landing should have killed me. But the seven virtues must've still been in effect. My shockwave did managed to clear away some of the ghosts, wraiths and phantoms.

"VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLT!!!!" I yelled out as I charged through wave after wave of angry citizen ghosts and broken memories of people long since gone.

"Get away from him you...!"

Ghost Vegeta wisped away. The Samurai Troopers vanished with the Ancient One. Xellos Metallium faded away with that smug, closed-eyes grin.

Finally I got to the center where I saw the Universal Detective's hands around Volt's throat.

"Let him go.."

Her features...so familiar...I'd seen them before...in Miranda, somewhere.

"He's my friend.  Let him go." I repeated. I was...hesitant to attack her...not sure why.

"Come on.  You've been gone a long time now.  Let him move one.  He wants to move on.  I want to move on.  Whatever happened between you two in the past...just let it stay in the past."

She was looking at me but not releasing her grip.

"Don't leave the mortal coil with this on your soul."

A raspy growl.

"Please.  Just let him say goodbye.  On his own terms.  Just...please take this moment for the two of you to forgive each other.  What's it going to be?  Forgive?  Or do not?"

And then Volt's neck was released.

"A...Asriel?"

"It's going to be okay, Volt.  It's going to be okay."

One by one the remainder of Universal City started wisping away, turning to gold dust and rising into the sky

"I'm sorry." That was all Volt could say. "I let everyone down and...I'm sorry.  All I want to do...is say a proper goodbye."

Moments past. She bowed her head, closed her eyes...stepped back and overlapped her hands over top of each other in a sorrowful stance.

And finally she dissolved into gold dust with the parting words "Goodbye, Neil-kun."

And then...silence as the darkness left the husk of the dead world.

"Hey...Volt?"

"Asriel..."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"......in time."

A quiet moment.

"Wait!  Adonis!" Volt looked panicked.

"It's okay.  I defeated him."

"You WHAT?"

Okay, I know he didn't mean any offense. Truthfully, I was surprised what I had said, myself. But I guess even that wasn't truly accurate. I didn't beat Adonis...Adonis beat himself and lost a long time ago.

"Where is he?"

"He breached the Axis of Reality and got sucked into a black hole.  I don't know where he ended up."

"Then he's still out there." Volt sighed.

"Volt...we'll get him." I put my hand on his shoulder.

After a while...I could see he accepted this. I think I can turn it over to him, now.

* CRYTTOSMASHER EXTERNAL PERIPHRAL LOGGING DEVICE USER CHANGE. DATA LOGGING SWITCHED TO S.T.C. AND FOUNDER DR. VOLT ALESSANDRO ARCADE *

So...here we are. On the dissolving echoes of the memory of Universal City that Adonis had extracted from the UltraVerse's dimensional...memory, I guess? The same way he did with the other universes. So...really...they were just pocket universes. Did we ever really leave the boarders of the UltraVerse or was it just an elaborate sub-dimensional trap. If the latter was the case then really...they all were "pocket dimensions" in their own right.

"Volt...we still need to get back home."

"I wish I had ideas, but this time I don't have an idea for escaping this."

'I'm not one to rely on the mechanic of convenience but...maybe KOMMAND and Daimyou will find their way to--"

And low and behold...there was the breach.

"I do hope your faith in us was not shaken during your ordeal."

"WHAT'S UP B****ES!?"

"How...how did you find us?" I gasped.

"I would prefer not to disclose that information."

{Nicely done.}  I heard KOMMAND whisper. Subtle.

The look in Goat Son's eyes pretty much confirmed what was on my mind. Just WHO did they go to for help? Obviously not Destiny and Fate; pretty sure that was against the rules of the game.

Was Adonis right? Was there...another game master above them?

"Ahem.  Regretfully we do not know what has become of Adonis.  All that we do know is that his Black Knight Contract remains intact.  He draws breath so he may yet be a problem."

"Hmm..." Asriel rubbed his chin. What was on his mind? What happened in there?

"Right.  What's the situation back home?"

"The Crossover Wars are not as over as Adonis claimed.  If anything they've reached a fever-pitch and a stalemate.  And perhaps...their...ahem...chaos is our opportunity."

"Oh, you..." KOMMAND shrugged off the moment of Daimyou's humor.

"We should get you home as soon as possible.  Nikki's got something brewing in that nanite noggin of hers."

"You don't say..." Asriel seemed unusually smug...was there something he didn't know that I didn't?

"Volt...I think this is a turning point.  Things are going to get better."

"You know...despite all the Hell I've been through...all that you've been though...I finally think you're right."

"C'mon.  Home has never been so inviting.

It was. It really was.

Bonus Sub-Entry XXX: "One Last Question Answered, One Last Mystery Solved":
When was the last time I actually went home to my residence...my actual residence. Not the shop. Not the living quarters at UCIAT HQ? My house, my home, my humble abode. The place where my family and I truly resided in Miranda City.

I sighed as I tossed my house keys onto the key holder rack in the kitchen.

I pondered heading down as I peered down the staircase to the basement living room...but then I changed my mind and trudged through the dining room to the back hallway. Three paths. A study/rumpus room. A bathroom...and our bedroom. The kids rooms were still upstairs in the converted attic, though it wouldn't be long before they moved out to go to college at this rate. They weren't that much younger than Asriel when he first came to our city so...a couple more years of high school left at most.

I slipped out of my sandals and collapsed face down on bed and passed out, not even taking off the lab coat or getting changed out of the gi, necktie and shirt.

Some time had passed before the wife had come home and found me out like a light. She slipped her own sandals off and carefully climbed on the bed next to me.

She leaned over to my ear and whispered something that made my eyes snap open suddenly.

"You finally said goodbye to her."

I gasped.

Before I could ask how she knew about that.

"You really don't remember.  My goodness, Fate really is cruel to you."

"Lisa...I...!"

"Don't act like it's some kind of betrayal or infidelity.  It's fine."

"Wh...what...?"

"You really don't know?  Haven't you bothered to ask why she seemed so familiar to you?"

"Wait...dear...what are you saying...?"

Lisa got up onto her knees, kneeling down  on the mattress as I sat up. She demorphed and let her hair down...and then I saw it. I saw it clear as day.

"It was about time that you finally got the girl."

"Are you saying that you're...?"

"Let me explain, as your memory has long since been rebooted.  Technically...I shouldn't know the truth but...here it is.

I'm pretty sure I don't have to explain reincarnation, right? Actually, that's not quite accurate. If anything...you should understand how things work knowing that both Asriel and Chara were replaced with new incarnations when the timeline rebooted, twice now. Asriel for UTPR-3224, and Chara for UTPR-3235. And don't look so surprised. I take an interest in your research, too, you know."

I was...speechless.

"I can't say for sure when you and the original met.  Sometime in what was once 1997-98.  Message board in all probability.   It was kind of a game changer for Lady Destiny and Madam Fate, because now they could really play you as a "character" for their back-and-forth."

"......."

"But Fate grew weary of it so...she soft-rebooted the universe against Destiny's protests.  And from there, they began to capitalize on your title of being King of Crossovers.  There were actually other universes out there made by other author/creators like the one that gave the spark of life to Destiny and Fate.  We're not supposed to know this but...Fate was never one to adhere to rules if they could produce a more interesting script.  She's worn down the fourth wall on our dimension several times before, making every version of us kind of...meta, in a way.

But that's not important. What's important was that you and her...kept finding each other which unbalanced things. As the main character of our universe's story, you kept upsetting Fate's plans which forced her to go against the UltraVerse's maker. The last reboot Fate orchestrated was meant as a once-and-for-all end to your relationship with Universal Detective."

"Lisa...I..."

"The real reason you can't remember her is...because you've chosen not to.  The last correspondence you had with her was...so traumatic and heartbreaking you turned away and never looked back.  It was...the cruelest thing Fate had ever done to you.  So...Destiny went behind her back and made a new soul for this universe.  A spritely childhood friend who was orphaned just as her soulmate was but...had a different life after escaping our destroyed village.  But no less filled with hardships and challenges."

"Then you're...!"

Lisa shook her head. "I only share my name with her and a passing resemblance.  Nothing more.  We're not the same person, Volt.  We don't have the same soul.  I'm sorry, but she is truly gone.  I'm not selling myself short when I say that I'm what's left.   And what's left is the love between soulmates.  Passed on from one iteration to the next.  I'll never be here.  And I don't have to be."

"Then...why--"

"Because I think you needed to have a happy ending to this story as much as I needed one.  Fate brought you to her to destroy everything you held.  But Destiny brought you to her to say goodbye on your terms.  I'm your happy ending, Neil.  And you're mine.  Whatever happens next in this tale, we'll always have each other.  She...they...all of them can rest in peace now.  So what do you say? Are you ready to move on?"

This was all...huge. Life-changing. And now I didn't know what to do with all this meta "behind-the-veil-of-reality" baggage. But I think she was right. I just wanted the reality that was around us...this current UltraVerse...I wanted all of this be our one and only truth. No fourth wall nonsense. No getting existential over what may be or may not be. This was my story. Asriel's story. Lisa's story...all of our stories. And we intended to write it ourselves.

"Rest for a while, dear.  You've earned it."

"Yeah...I'm finally ready to start believing that.  And besides...there's something more important to consider."

"What's that?"

"We've got a long hard road ahead.  I think it's time we finally stopped playing around with Chaopolis...and really...really....REALLY...stuck it to them."

"That's the man I fell in love with." Lisa slid down out of her kneeling position next to me as I slid back down, the both of us lying next to each other.

An exchange of wolf licks to each other's cheeks and muzzles topped with a human kiss on the lips sealed the deal.

Goodbye, Universal Detective Lisa. Now it's my turn to move on.

CRYPTOSMASHER LOGOFF

END TRANSMISSION...

Chapter 40

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