Month: April 2022

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 10: Welcome to Vorton

Tails had transferred control of the gateway to the MSS-Enterprise. There were now five ships on a journey to Vorton. Optimus and his family took up positions on the Autobot Flagship, the Ark. Jazz joined in the fun and Optimus’ right-hand bot, Goldbug Magnus, was already in position with his wife, Arcee, and their daughter, Glyph, assuming their posts. The Nebulans were in one of the guest quarters. “All hands ready,” reported Goldbug.

“Now we wait for the others,” replied Optimus.

Because of the nature of the mission, Shockwave and her Mini-cons, Laserbeak, Ravage, and Frenzy (once Soundwave’s), took up positions on the Nemesis. “All decks report ready,” said Megatron as he took up the comms position while Galvatron sat in the Captain’s Chair. “The Ark’s standing by too.”

“Captain, there’s a space bridge opening near us,” reported Ravage. “Small one bearing 2-1-0 Mark 1-7-5.”

“Source?” asked Galvatron.

“It’s from Cybertron,” replied Megatron as he got Ravage’s readings. “The Bridge Passenger is hailing all ships.”

“Open a channel.” Megatron dutifully did so.

“This is Thundercracker Korrug, Leader of the Seekers,” came the call. Shockwave ran a Spark Check. “I heard that there was a fleet gathering around Mobius for a rescue mission. Nemesis, permission to board?”

“Spark Check confirmed,” reported Shockwave. “It’s Thundercracker.”

“Permission granted, Thundercracker,” said Galvatron. “Welcome aboard. Meet us on the bridge.”

While Thundercracker boarded the Nemesis, the Enterprise was awaiting its readiness update. Sira and her family were onboard, as were Sonic and his family and Shadow’s family. Rouge and Knuckles also joined them Tails and Cosmo worked on the gateway controls. “All decks report ready,” reported Shadow’s tactical officer.

“Gateway controls are locked in,” said Tails.

“We open the gateway on Optimus and the Faker’s command,” declared Shadow.

“That’s right, Faker,” chuckled Sonic. The tactical officer just rolled their eyes.

On the Glanthelantir, Glanthel was in awe. “I never thought I’d be out among the stars,” he remarked.

“It’s exciting for us all,” replied his CMO.

“All decks ready,” reported the tactical officer.

“We await the final checks,” directed Glanthel.

“I can’t believe I became a Mechanica AFTER this kind of experience!” Endea giggled. “And I still work in space!”

“It’s exhilarating, isn’t it?” asked Arsha. “Being among what was once forbidden to us.”

“Maybe we should start a space program ourselves,” mused Bashoon.

“All decks standing by,” came the tactical officer’s report.

“Signal our readiness to the fleet,” ordered Endea.

“Fleet’s reporting ready,” said Shadow’s comms officer.

“Let’s do it to it!” cheered Sonic. Shadow groaned at that phrase.

“Enterprise is ready,” said Goldbug.

“Let’s roll out!” declared Optimus.

A massive dimensional rift opened in front of the fleet. Once it was opened, all ships flew in.

Several rocks in space floated silently. They were connected by various scaffolds and tubes. In the center of it all was a rock with a massive gateway and five different shields with different patterns on them. This was the Main Vorton Gateway, the last of the Great Gateways of the Vortonian people. Right now, four people and a robot stood by it. One was a woman wearing orange pants and a white tank top advertising Aperture Laboratories. This was Chell of Portal. The second one was a woman dressed like a Dalek, complete with gunstick and plunger in her forearms. This was Rusty, a former Dalek. The third was a green-skinned woman dressed in black and wearing a witch’s hat. This was Elphaba Thropp, the former Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. The last person was a Cyberman without his helmet, revealing a man with gray hair and a moustache. This was Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the Brigadier. The robot, identifying as female, had one eye, an antenna on each side of the head, pincer claws, and a hover skirt. This was Portal Operator Omega, known as POmega. “Fleet’s on its way,” reported POmega.

“Open the other end,” directed Elphaba. A fleet-sized dimensional rift opened, and the fleet arrived in orbit around Vorton. Once the rift closed, Arsha, Bashoon, Delselii, Geltar, Farmee, Yufantel, Hejema, Torya, Optimus, Megatron, Sky Runner, Firestorm, Galvatron, Goldbug, Arcee, Glyph, Sira, Sandy, Sonic, Silver, Daniel, Shadow, Maria, Trema, Llyra, Galen, Kong, Hot Rod, and Override beamed down. The ones who came to Vorton before looked as the new arrivals goggled at the place in wonder.

“So this is where the magic happened!” chuckled Delselii.

“Awesome, isn’t it?” asked Arsha.

“Daddy, you never said how amazing this place was!” Glyph said to Goldbug.

“It was something you needed to see for yourself,” replied Goldbug.

“Welcome to Vorton, everyone,” greeted the Brigadier. “I trust the trip was comfortable.”

“It was fine, Brigadier,” replied Optimus. “Now, let’s get to work. We gotta get back into contact with Beyond City. Perhaps gain some allies.”

“First off,” suggested Shade, “we should probably gain some intel. Can we send some sort of probe to this Beyond City?”

“As a matter of fact, we can,” replied POmega. “We just wondered if that was a good idea given that it can’t be hidden all that easily.”

“If we can somehow make it so that the probe is cloaked, we can easily get the intel we need,” decided Shade.

“That’s my girl!” chuckled Shadow as he ruffled her quills.

“But where are we gonna get the tech needed to cloak it?” asked Bashoon. “It’s not exactly cheap OR legal tech in my world.”

“Leave that to me,” replied Megatron. “Shockwave’s been developing cloaking technology. I’m sure this would be a perfect test for it.” Just then, they heard a couple talking as they approached.

“I’m telling you, we gotta get help!” urged a Scottish man.

“And I’m telling you to have faith!” replied a woman’s voice. Arsha’s ears flicked.

“I know that voice,” she muttered. A Naga woman with a red tail then slithered in with a dark-skinned man.

“Palma, there’s no way-!” The couple stopped when they caught sight of everyone. “…Ah, so that’s the game, eh?” asked the man.

“Arsha?” asked the Naga.

“Palmarta?” asked Arsha.

“By the Ones, it IS you!” The two women then hugged one another. “It’s been too long, I thought I’d never see you again after…well…” The Naga, Palmarta, faltered.

“Your nephews and nieces got out of there,” assured Arsha. “They formed the Palmarta School for Singers during Reconstruction.”

“Reconstruction?! Then…we won?!”

“We won! Dr. Borg drained Oyed and the Divine Ones of their Divine Mana and made them mortal, so we took that opportunity to get rid of Oyed and then we stopped Dr. Borg’s experiment to make herself and her fellow Councilors the new Divine Ones thanks to the Divine Mana they drained. Now they’re dead and me and my lovers got married and we’re ruling the-!” Palmarta hugged Arsha again.

“Your Hi…Your Majesty, you have no idea how much I worried about that! I kept having nightmares and screamed myself awake! …And woke up Liam in the process.” She gestured to the man she came in with.

“I promise you,” assured Liam as he stroked her back, “it really was no bother. Anything for my wife.”

“Wife?” asked Arsha. “You’re married?!”

“It was such a romantic first date!” sighed Palmarta happily. “It was during an After Academy Prom. Our eyes drifted to each other, and we silently came together and danced the night away, all in bliss!”

“That was the second time we met, you numpty!” called Liam. “The first time we met, you were drunk off your scaled arse!”

“Okay, so I didn’t have a good coping mechanism for post-death!”

“I appreciate seeing the truth come to light,” rumbled Megatron, “but we have business concerning your home, Mr McIntyre.” Liam recognized that voice.

“Megatron!” he hissed.

“He’s here at my request,” said Optimus. “Sonic and I visited the Realms, then Arsha visited us, then we tried to raise Beyond City only to be met with interrupted communications, so we had to come here to assess the situation and possibly find a solution.”

“We’re thinking of sending a cloaked probe,” explained Arsha. “Apparently, Shockwave’s got the cloaking tech.”

“Well, as long as Ms. One-Eye doesn’t think of dissecting me or Palmarta, we’ll help her make the probe.

The cloaked probe was constructed. “Cloaking device functions within expected parameters,” Shockwave reported.

“Uploading last known dimensional coordinates to probe computer,” said Rusty. “…Coordinates uploaded. Launching probe and opening a rift.” She pressed the launch button, and the probe flew into a rift.

“All we do is wait,” muttered Optimus as he drummed his fingers. Farmee amused himself by making cloud balls and arranging them in various patterns.

“You know, having fought in a war,” remarked Arsha, “I figured I’d get used to it during peacetime. Guess not.”

“I don’t think you need to wait that long,” replied Maria.

“Why’s that?” asked Optimus.

“We’re getting a visual.” A holographic display of After Academy in its current state appeared in front of everyone.

“Are…are those…shield walls?” asked Optimus.

“That’s part of the Siege System,” replied Liam.

“I take it that’s not something the average student thinks they would see,” guessed Megatron.

“Aye, so if that system’s up, After Academy’s in deep shite. It blocks all normal communications channels and severs us from the rest of the multiverse.”

“That explains why we couldn’t get to Beyond City,” mused Optimus.

“But what kind of enemy would warrant that?” asked Farmee. “Would they really be that dangerous?”

“The fighting needs to be contained,” replied Arsha. “In that instance, Beyond City was smart. But that still leaves the identity of the enemy.”

“Hold up, the probe’s detecting a vessel,” said Maria. “Pulling up visual now.” She keyed in a few commands and got the image of the vessel, a gray cube with circuitry on its hull and green light coming from inside. The instant Optimus saw it, his internal Energon nearly froze.

“Oh no,” he breathed. Megatron arched an eyebrow.

“That’s not what I think it is, I trust?” he asked.

“Given that the F.N.S knew a Klingon Dahar Master,” replied Optimus, “I think it is.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Farmee.

“That cube,” explained Optimus, “is the standard patrol vessel of the most malevolent enemy to the United Federation of Planets. It takes technology and people and assimilates them into a collective mind of cyborgs, suppressing any and all individuality.”

“Does this collective have a name?” Optimus growled as he said the name.

“The Borg!”

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 9: What About Megumi?

After the Cybertronian kids met the Mechanicas, Arsha spoke with Optimus and Sonic. “You visited our world,” explained Arsha. “Can we visit yours?”

“Of course!” replied Sonic.

“We’d be honored to have you!” agreed Optimus. “Bring as many as you want!”

“Thank you!” said Arsha. “I know a few people that want to go!”

The people accompanying Arsha were her spouses, Geltar, Farmee, Yufantel, Arsha’s parents, Malnar’s parents, Teefmanam, Pofomofo, Endram, Bashoon and her family, Endea, and Glanthel. Optimus made a call to Mobius. “Angel Island, this is Optimus Prime,” he said. “Do you read?”

“Loud and clear,” replied Tails’ voice. “We’re ready to test out the ship-sized rift.”

“We’re all ready here. Go ahead.” A massive portal opened in the sky.

On the Endeavor, Endea grinned in the Captain’s Chair. “I went through a few of those things before I became a Mechanica,” she said, “now it’s time to see it with my own eyes. Ms. Lakurta, take us through.”

“Aye, Captain,” replied the Drow woman at the helm.

Optimus and his family were in the Endeavor’s cargo hold. “How you guys holding up?” he asked them.

“Cramped!” grunted Sky Runner. Seekers like her had slight claustrophobia.

“This trip will be finished soon,” promised Optimus as he put a reassuring hand on her knee.

On the Glanthelantir, a Drow/Incubus Blender turned to Glanthel. “Endeavor’s moving into the rift,” he reported.

“Talokan, follow the Endeavor,” Glanthel ordered his robot helmswoman.

“Aye, Sir,” answered Talokan as she keyed in the necessary instructions.

Arsha and Bashoon looked out the observation deck as the Glanthelantir entered the portal. “This is a change,” mused Arsha.

“Not for me,” replied Bashoon. “I saw the rift whizzing by from an observation deck as an Ensign.”

“Oh, come on, I know you were on the bridge at one point.”

“Didn’t like that view. I preferred the usual one.”

“…You know, I can see why.”

On Angel Island, Tails continually checked his equipment. “Tails, will you knock it off?!” protested Knuckles. “It’s gonna be fine!”

“It’s one thing transporting people across universes,” replied Tails, “It’s another to transports ships!” Just then, everyone heard the roar of engines. They looked up to see the Endeavor and Glanthelantir come out of the rift. Knuckles grinned and Tails breathed a sigh of relief. He then called the two ships. “Incoming vessels, welcome to Mobius,” he said. Knuckles then took the call over.

“This is the CRS-2784 Endeavor,” came the comms-person on the Endeavor. “Thank you for letting us visit.”

“This is the CRS-4987 Glanthelantir,” came the Glanthelantir’s comms-person. “We are grateful for visiting your world.”

“Endeavor and Glanthelantir,” said Knuckles, “you are each being assigned a flight path to Dry Dock. Please make your way there and we hope to see your crew.” The call ended and Knuckles headed off to Dry Dock.

The two ships landed safely and their crews and passengers disembarked. Knuckles and Rouge shook hands with everyone. “It’s great to see you again, Arsha,” said Rouge.

“And good to see you too, Rouge,” replied Arsha. “I see you’ve acquired new jewelry.”

“Yeah, but it was a legal acquisition.” Arsha arched an eyebrow, remembering Rouge’s reputation as a jewel thief.

“She’s not lying,” assured Knuckles. “My old treasure hoard became hers when I married her.”

“Ah,” said Arsha. Sonic was being checked over by Tails when a call came through.

“Your Majesty,” said his butler, “The Flame and Nitro Convoys and Supreme Councilor are here.”

“Ah, crap!” groaned Sonic. “I forgot about the meeting!”

“Did we intrude?” asked Arsha.

“Gotta take care of some royal business,” replied Sonic. “Won’t be a minute.”

“May we join you?” asked Bashoon.

“Sure, might as well see the other allies we’ve got,” said Sonic.

Arsha was already familiar with the Nebulan woman, Trema, but she never got to see her son, Galen, or his family. Right now, one of Galen’s spouses, Llyra, was leading Galen and Trema to a meeting place. Trema goggled as she saw Arsha. “Well, I’ll be a Decepticon Headmaster!” she breathed. “Arsha Royana!”

“Trema, was it?” asked Arsha. Trema picked Arsha up.

“It’s been too long! How are things?”

“Doing well, Trema. Finally became Queen of the Realms!”

“No kidding?! Awesome! I trust things are nice and boring, politics-wise?”

“Oh yes, they are.”

“That’s good. Same here with my son and his spouses. Speaking of which,” she turned to Galen and Llyra. “Galen, Llyra, I’d like you to meet Arsha Royana, Queen of the Realms! Arsha, this is my son, Galen, head of the World Watchers.”

“Hello, Your Majesty,” greeted Galen.

“And this is his wife, the Supreme Councilor of my planet, Llyra.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Llyra.

“Good to meet you two,” replied Arsha.

“Did Sonic invite you?” asked Trema.

“Actually, he almost forgot about this meeting when he and Optimus brought their families to visit the Realms. We then entered the rift to visit your universe and Sonic invited us to see this meeting.”

“Well, you’re about to meet a few more friends of ours.”

The room was large enough for people of Transformer-height to stand in. The people currently attending sat at a conference table for all people. “Who’s left?” asked Amy.

“Just the Velocitron and Animatros delegations,” replied Llyra. Just then, a gorilla knuckled into the room. Its fur was a dark-purple and it had pale purple skin. It also had blue optics like an Autobot. Arsha arched an eyebrow.

“Erm…what’s with the monkey?” she asked.

“Ape, Ma’am,” corrected the gorilla.

“Kong Primal!” greeted Optimus. The gorilla then transformed into a bipedal robot. Arsha blinked.

“W-Why does he-?” she asked.

“He DOESN’T look like Optimus!” hissed Sonic. He then leaned in to whisper. “Seriously, those two hate being compared to one another. So, whatever you do, don’t call Kong ‘Optimus Primal’!” As soon as Sonic finished, two race cars rushed into the room and transformed into Hot Rod and Override of Velocitron.

“And the stars are here!” cheered Hot Rod.

“And we’ve got a new one here,” said Override as she pointed to Arsha.

“Everyone,” said Optimus, “this is an old friend of mine, Queen Arsha Royana. She hails from another universe.”

“Well then, welcome to our universe, Arsha!” greeted Override. “Name’s Override.”

“And I’m Hot Rod,” finished Hot Rod.

“We’re all here then, so let’s see how things are going,” said Sonic.

The meeting dragged a bit, as most meetings do. “Okay, next up,” said Amy, “the upcoming budget for the galactic fiscal year. Poozit relocation utilities are way above projections, guys.”

“Nebulos has got an excess of galactic revenue,” replied Llyra. “We can foot the bill, especially when it comes to the Poozit vermin. Next.”

“Animatros’ tourism business is booming,” remarked Kong. “We can step up when Nebulos falls short.” Llyra arched an eyebrow.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“All right,” said Optimus, “let’s all agree that we’ve got this covered. What else?”

“Well, it’s not an official part of the agenda,” replied Amy, “but there’s the dimensional rift we successfully made. I just have a few concerns about it.”

“And they are?” asked Optimus.

“Well, two different-sized rifts should have attracted Megumi’s attention, yes?” Optimus and Arsha looked to each other.

“She’s right,” muttered Optimus. “The Vortex Riders are practically dimensional cops. Why haven’t we seen them?”

“Maybe they haven’t gotten the reports yet?” mused Arsha. “I mean, time flows differently for different universes.”

“Yeah, but the rifts make the two universes line up. So, either they’ve retired or…”

“Or something’s wrong.”

“Well, we still have Vorton and Beyond City’s telemetry data,” replied Sonic.

“Vorton?” asked Override. “That’s just a myth.”

“It’s no myth, Override,” replied Optimus. “I saw it with my own optics. In fact, I saw Vortech himself.”

“We should try and contact Beyond City first,” declared Arsha. “That IS Megumi’s home.”

Once the meeting adjourned, Tails programmed in the data for Beyond City. He kept getting an error message. “Damn!” he growled. “Something’s wrong! I’m gonna try and contact Vorton.” He keyed in the necessary commands. A voice then came through.

“This is Vorton,” said a sharp, military man’s voice. “Unidentified gateway operator, you are attempting to breach our security without proper clearance. I would rather you identify yourself, but I can come over there if I need to.”

“Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart,” replied Tails, “this is Miles Prower, AKA Tails, from Mobius. I am here with Optimus Prime and Arsha Royana. Please confirm that this is a friendly universe.”

“Standby,” replied the Brigadier. There was a silence along the comms. After a minute, the Brigadier returned with a friendlier but still militaristic tone. “Sorry about that, Tails old chap. You sound older. Enough time must have passed in your universe. You say Optimus and Arsha are with you?”

“That’s right. We’re trying to get to Beyond City.”

“I’m afraid Vorton lost contact with them hours ago.”

“Brigadier, it’s Optimus,” interjected Optimus. “What do you mean you lost contact with Beyond City?”

“Exactly what I say, Prime. Something has attacked the F.N.S so hard that they had to destroy their base and their gateway. We sent a probe into that universe, but it has yet to return. I’m trying to raise Chizara at this point.”

“Brigadier, this is Arsha. We’re coming over there to help. We’ve got ship sized rifts at the ready.”

“Roger that. I await your arrival.” The call ended and everyone got ready.

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 8: Reunion of Two

“So, again, we’re using the Master Emerald because?!” snapped Knuckles, the Echidna Guardian of the Master Emerald of Angel Island.

“Because there’s not enough power to fuel a dimensional rift through the Bridge Portal Generator, even when it’s set to Space Bridge,” replied Tails as he wired equipment to the Master Emerald.

“So use a Chaos Emerald!”

“Oddly enough, only the Master Emerald can reliably put out that kind of power.”

“Knuckie,” teased Knuckles’ wife, Rouge the Bat, “it’s all in good fun! Besides, didn’t you say you wanted to spar with Malak again?”

“But do we REALLY need to use the Master Emerald?!” argued Knuckles.

“Sir Knuckles,” interjected Sandy’s mother, Sira Mayworth, “can we really afford to go to other planets right now? With the Poozits infesting the galaxy?”

“Besides,” supplied Sandy’s other mother, Natalie, “I’ve always wanted to see the Chizarans again.”

“All right, the equipment’s all set up,” called Tails. He turned to Optimus and Megatron. “Any questions or gripes?”

“Just one question,” answered Megatron, “why am I going to the Realms? The Decepticons aren’t exactly on good terms with Arsha and her crew.”

“Because I want you two to try and make peace,” answered Optimus.

“Optimus-!”

“That’s an order from your Prime.”

“…You enjoy that way too much, for my liking.” He turned to Tails. “No further questions.”

“Hold it!” called Sonic as he, his family, and Optimus and Megatron’s families came running up. “You’re not going without us, are you?”

“I was about ready to call you guys!” chuckled Optimus. “Kids, Nightbird, this is your first incursion into another world, yes?”

“Daddy, just promise me,” urged Firestorm, “that we’re gonna be all right.”

“If the coordinates are correct,” replied Optimus, “we’ll be among friends.”

“Rift points are set,” called Tails.

“Away we go, then,” rumbled Megatron.

“Tails, do it!” called Sonic. Tails activated the machinery and a blue portal opened.

“That’s a dimensional rift, all right!” chuckled Optimus. “Let’s roll out!” Optimus, Megatron, Sonic, and their spouses and kids went into the rift.

Arsha and one of her husbands, Lardeth, were talking to her Over-realm in-laws, Endram, Teefmanam, and Pofomofo, three of Lardeth’s parents. Lardeth had wrapped Arsha up in his clouds as they cuddled. “So, I got to thinking,” mused Arsha, “with Rulamer marrying into the Forsornas, we need to learn a little Felansi dancing ourselves.”

“You go ahead, I have two left feet,” chuckled Endram.

“Oh, horse-pucky!” replied Teefmanam. “I’m the one with the terrible dancing.”

“I don’t know, you two danced just fine when Endram married us,” mused Pofomofo. She then turned to Lardeth. “What about you? How did they dance?”

“I think I was more interested in the dessert table that day,” chuckled Lardeth.

“…Fair point.” Pofomofo was about to say something else when a commotion came through the castle. Arsha and Lardeth got up and looked out the window to see the guards gathering at the south wall. Arsha then made a call to Malnar as she was touring the south wall at the time.

“Malnar, what’s going on?” she asked.

“Arsha, you’re not gonna believe it,” replied Malnar, “but I think a dimensional rift just opened up! It’s just near the wall and-!” The answer was interrupted by yelps from Malnar and the guards.

“Malnar!” called Lardeth.

“I’m all right! Something just hit the wall and…oh my word!”

“What is it?!” asked Arsha.

“It’s Sonic and Amy! They’ve got other hedgehogs, Blackarachnia, one that looks like an Optimus fanboy, three more female Transformers, and one that has the Decepticon symbol on his chest!”

“What are they doing with a Decepticon?” asked Lardeth.

“We’ll find out!” declared Arsha. “Malnar, where are they now?”

“They’re…well…unconscious,” answered Malnar. “They came out of the rift and hit the wall at high speed. There’s a pretty sizable dent in it, but it’s still standing.”

“We’ll be right there,” replied Arsha. She ended the call and she and Lardeth headed to where Sonic and his companions impacted. A woman with fox ears and nine cow tails, Arsha and Gorfanth’s daughter, Geltar, approached them.

“Mama, what’s going on here?” asked Geltar.

“If I’m right,” mused Arsha, “old friends from beyond the Realms.” The new arrivals groaned as they got up. Sonic opened his eyes and looked around. He then saw Amy picking herself up.

“Easy!” he urged as he helped. “I got you!” Blackarachnia then got up and picked up the “Optimus Fanboy” and the female Autobots with them. The Decepticon then woke up and helped his compatriots up.

“Scrap, that hurt!” rasped the Decepticon. Arsha’s eyes goggled. She recognized that voice.

“You!” she snapped. “Megatron!” Megatron then turned to see her.

“Ah, Princess Royana,” greeted Megatron.

“That’s QUEEN Royana to you!” snarled Arsha. “Archers!” Archers then leveled their arrows at him.

“Whoa! Hey!” called the “Fanboy”. “Put those things down!”

“Now, that voice, I remember fondly!” chuckled Arsha. “So, you and Megatron got upgraded, hm?” Optimus smirked.

“Sure did! Boy, we’ve got a lot to tell you!”

“…Just you Autobots and Sonic, right?”

“No, Megatron and his family too,” replied Blackarachnia.

“Why? Megatron’s a threat to the Realms. All Decepticons are.”

“Therein lies why we all need to talk.”

Geltar, Farmee, and Yufantel spoke with Sky Runner, Firestorm, Silver, Daniel, and Galvatron. “So you guys are from another Realm?” asked Farmee.

“I guess so,” replied Galvatron.

“And your dads fought each other?” asked Geltar.

“Yeah, a sibling rivalry that went too far,” answered Firestorm.

“Come on, it was more than that!” protested Sky Runner.

“And one of you time-traveled?” asked Yufantel.

“Er, more like a version of me from a different timeline,” replied Silver. “At least that’s what everyone says.”

“…Right, sorry,” said Yufantel as she shook her head. “It’s just a little hard to take in. A world where there are robots that can think and feel as we do, a different type of Anthros, aliens, the laws of magic working differently than ours…”

“You think that’s crazy?” asked Daniel. “Elves, dwarves, a considerate high class, ships that have organic extensions, it ain’t normal!”

“Not to us, no,” remarked Sky Runner.

“…Yeah, different versions of normal for different people, I guess.”

“And I thought the 3V2R was a bedtime story Mama Arsha told us when we were kids,” muttered Farmee.

Speaking of the 3V2R, Arsha and her spouses were finishing up their story. “So, after the eclipse faded, the Talkwen Stone sucked all the Divine Mana out of them and dispersed it across the Realms, constantly making new Realms,” regaled Arsha. “They became mortal, and we managed to slay them, leaving Dr. Borg for last. I had the dubious honor of killing her and then, after a rest, we went through reconstruction and Malnar, Lardeth, and I became the new rulers of the Realms, then I proposed to everyone, and we became the rulers of all the Realms.”

“That’s no easy feat,” rumbled Megatron.

“No, it isn’t,” replied Malnar coldly.

“So, what about you guys?” asked Arsha. “When did you start families?”

“Just after our war ended,” answered Optimus.

“And it’s really over?” asked Lardeth. “You two stopped fighting?”

“Well, it was a rather convoluted road,” replied Nightbird.

“You see, like you guys, we had a creator and destroyer,” explained Blackarachnia. “Turns out they were two halves of the same being that wanted to see if light or darkness will prevail and used us as lab rats to find out. We fought his dark half once.”

“That was when Sonic and I were getting together,” interjected Amy.

“After the destroyer’s defeat,” continued Megatron, “the real guardian of the planet, Gaia, woke up. Optimus and Blackarachnia married, then we all went to Cybertron the long way as Starscream shut down the Space Bridge Network. After a few fights, we learned about Primacron and that Starscream was Primacron’s first creation.”

“That screechy loudmouth?” asked Lardeth.

“That was our reaction too!” replied Optimus. “So, anyway, we get wise to Primacron’s plan, Starscream got ticked and informed his masters. Then we freed a supercomputer and put it into an organic body-”

“Vector Sigma did that himself,” reminded Megatron.

“Right, he did, sorry. After that, we convinced the Galactic Council to fight Primacron’s forces with us and we won by freeing Gaia’s moms, Lux and Umbra. With them free, we beat Primacron.”

“And then you signed a peace treaty?” asked Arsha.

“…Not…immediately. Megatron and I had one last fight before that.”

“Optimus won, but official records say that Cybertron was tired of fighting itself,” explained Megatron.

“So, we made reparations with our universe and now we’re part of an interstellar alliance,” finished Optimus.

“I’m glad things worked out for you,” said Arsha, “but I’m not so sure as I’m ready to forgive the Decepticons’ actions when they first came to the Realms. Knock-out and Ratbat’s destruction of a Fae Town still echoes in my mind and let’s not forget what Soundwave did. So, Megatron, if you have an apology on the Decepticons’ behalf, save it until I’m in a better state of mind about that.”

“…Very well,” replied Megatron.

An hour later, Optimus and Arsha were hugging each other as friends would. Megatron stood by and looked. Galvatron and Geltar approached him. “Mr. Megatron!” called Geltar. “I’m gonna be showing Optimus’ kids and your son around the shipyards! They wanted to meet Endea and Glanthel! Want to come?”

“You kids go without me,” grunted Megatron. “I’m fine here.”

“All right then, see you later!” replied Geltar.

“You mind going on ahead?” Galvatron asked Geltar. “I need to talk to Dad for a second.”

“Sure thing! Meet me at the North Wall when you’re done!” Geltar then left the two bots.

“You want to say something?” Megatron asked his son.

“Dad, you’ve always said for me not to repeat your sins,” replied Galvatron.

“…What does that have to do with-?”

“What about you making amends with the Realms? That’s what Optimus asked you to do.”

“Galvatron, some sins will follow you to the grave.”

“From what I read from history books and what I gleaned from your teachings, that only happens if you let them. Come on and interact, that might help you get SOME peace.”

“Son, I don’t know if I told you this, but even when I was an Autobot, I wasn’t the most sociable of bots. I’m fine being alone on this one.”

“…All right, but I think you’re making a mistake.” Galvatron then headed off. Megatron rolled his optics.

“I thought I was the parent,” he grumbled.

“Even parents need to learn from their children as much as their children learn from them,” said Nightbird’s voice from the side. She was leaning against the castle walls like he was.

“Would you stop that?!” snapped Megatron.

“Have to practice my stealth skills somehow,” chuckled Nightbird. “Our son IS right, though. You ARE making a mistake. I wasn’t there when you first came to the Realms, but what I DO know is that if you don’t at least try to make amends like you did back home, the Realms will NEVER forgive you.” She then headed off.

“…I hate it when you two are right,” muttered Megatron.

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 7: Face to Face

“Where are my manners?” chuckled the Romulan Borg. “Feudal Nerd Society, meet the Lords’ boss; Khan, the Author, better known as Kamen Rider Weaver!”

“Very good hype man work, Sonavok,” praised the new Rider, Weaver.

“Sonavok?!” snarled Guard. “As in Baron Sonavok?! The one who sent schlock to MNN for me to read?! The same schlock I refused to read?!”

“Oh, that’s why you weren’t in your usual time slot,” remarked the Romulan Borg, Sonavok. “You were fired. Personally, I would have preferred execution, but that’s impossible for the inhabitants of this universe, isn’t it?”

“Enough,” demanded Weaver. He turned his attention to Megumi. “I would advise you to-” He didn’t get far as Kaitlyn, Kamen Rider Spark, leapt at him with her own sword drawn. He dodged the attack, then pulled out a book and wrote something in it. “‘Once the book was closed,’” he read the passage aloud, “‘one of the drones surrounding the place grabbed Spark by the throat and squeezed.’”

“What?!” yelped Kaede, Kamen Rider Shade. Once the book was closed, one of the drones surrounding the place grabbed Spark by the throat and squeezed. Spark gasped for air as the drone strangled her.

“STOP!” shouted Emily, Kamen Rider Touché.

“Cause and effect,” replied Weaver. “Resistance begets violence.”

“Then we won’t resist!” begged Royal. “Just please! Let her go!” Weaver nodded to the drone. The drone released Spark and her transformation was cancelled, leaving her to gasp for breath as Shade checked her over. Kaitlyn patted Shade’s arm in assurance.

“What are you doing here?!” demanded Joshua, Emily’s husband, Kamen Rider Outback. “What do you want?!” Weaver then pulled the handles behind his belt’s spider out of their slots and changed into his normal persona of Khan, the Author, a young man wearing a brown coat, Panama hat, and aviator shades.

“I seek the Sources of the Apocalypse, the Sources of Flourishment, and the 3V2R prizes of Megumi, Optimus, and Arsha,” explained Khan. “Their collection will prevent evil from rising.”

“We’re not exactly conquerors!” snarled Touché.

“I’m aware,” replied Khan. “But your actions have tempted evildoers to try. Besides, your many contradictions fascinate me. They will prove useful in creating the New Multiverse.”

“We won’t serve you!” declared Royal.

“Serve? Unlike the petty despots infecting the multiverse, I don’t require your survival to put my plans into motion! If anything, your presence will only encourage further resistance. There is no place for you in the New Multiverse. I only require pure heroes and pure villains. All other factions are remnants to be discarded.”

“Why?!” Khan smirked as he answered Royal’s question.

“You lot value stability as I do, but you fail to permanently stop chaos in its tracks. I will see to it that the New Multiverse has heroes that know how to get the job done.”

“What, by killing?!”

“If need be. You, of all people, should understand that killing a villain is necessary.”

“Are you kidding?! I hated it when I hasten Death’s domain! It makes me feel like I failed her!”

“And yet, if you didn’t, Vortech would have made the multiverse his Lego set. Besides, did you not consider that, perhaps, Death’s domain NEEDS to be hastened at points? To finally make justice, mercy, and duty the truth?”

“It already is!” The Author scoffed at Megumi’s insistence.

“You believe so?” he asked. “Take every single universe out there and grind them into the finest powder and sieve it through the finest sieve. Then show me one atom of justice! One molecule of mercy!” Just then, a black mist erupted from the ground. The mist then formed into a Kamen Rider modeled after the Grim Reaper.

“You pervert Sir Terry Pratchett’s words as bad as an Evangelist perverts the Bible!” hissed the Kamen Rider in a woman’s voice. This was Death as Kamen Rider Death. She then summoned a black mist and surrounded the partiers. They all vanished, leaving Khan and his soldiers to their own devices.

“New Castle Nerd Skull is unimportant,” remarked Khan. “Let it exist as a monument to failure.”

“Author,” said Sonavok, “I know you’re connected to us, but I figured you could use a verbal report. The Juggernaut reports that the city has been taken and Flora and her husband fled the Mayor’s Mansion.”

“Then Phase 2 is complete,” declared Khan. “Beyond City’s defenses are irreversibly compromised. Begin Phase 3 and install our puppets.”

“As you command.” Sonavok vanished in a Borg transporter beam.

The partiers and Death appeared in After Academy, the main school for Beyond City’s universe. Everyone was in the main courtyard. The rest of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse and their heralds were there too. A blue-haired woman in a cloud dress and a rose in her hair was talking with a woman with raven hair and chalk-white skin. They saw the partiers. “Ah, good, you’re here!” sighed the raven-haired woman, Lacey Atmadja, the new Horseman of Chaos.

“What’s going on?” asked Royal as she and the rest of her Riders powered down. “Our party just got assaulted by Borg with emotions and individuality.”

“I’ve been doing some research on them when they drove me and Swalmu out of the Mayor’s Mansion,” replied the blue-haired woman, Flora Damfel, Lacey’s herald and the Grand Mayor of Beyond City. “They call themselves the Lords. Their leader, the Author, appears to be in possession of a book that can make whatever is written in it come true.”

“The Tome!” whispered Death.

“You know about this book?” asked Megumi.

“It’s a very dangerous book, believed to be a tool that can rewrite the multiverse! I thought it was guarded!”

“It was,” replied a new voice. A pale, blond man in a dress then arrived. His name was Jandro Dormu, a Vampire once from Arsha’s world. “Brendan and I did a bit more research. It turns out the Lords were taken from their universe and given a Unicomplex to surround the Tome, but they were severed from the Collective and they were directionless for a while until this Khan character took control and made them all into a new XB Collective.”

“XB?” asked Megumi.

“Apparently, it’s something former Borg are called. Khan is supposed to be a student of Anansi, whoever that is.”

“…Anansi?” asked Death as her brow furrowed.

“You know this person?” asked Jandro.

“Every Horseman has met him once or twice.”

“I don’t think I did,” remarked Lacey.

“He’s not someone we associate with. Last time we saw him was when your predecessor died at Vortech’s hands. He’s the Keeper of the Stories, a spider deity that’s notorious for his trickery.”

“So, you DO remember!” cheered a voice. Everyone turned to see a man with eight black eyes, six arms, a spider’s rear, and a wooden cane. “I see not everyone knows me, though.”

“Wait, you’re the guy who tricked his boss into giving you a box,” recalled Megumi.

“Ah ah ah!” corrected Anansi. “I didn’t trick Nyame, that’s a death sentence. I simply used my wits to pay his price so I could have that box. Within that box were the stories, and I felt humans needed them. Good thing too, otherwise you humans would be bored. So, I believe the phrase is ‘thank you’.”

“No, we’re not subjecting ourselves to your rendition of You’re Welcome!” hissed Death. “We had a deal, Anansi! You would stay out of our way, and we would stay out of yours!”

“As Jandro mentioned, Khan was a student of mine,” replied Anansi with a slight edge to his voice. “His presence here means he seeks a way to Vorton and secure a path to Foundation Prime. He’s my problem and I intend to deal with it, but it looks like I could do with your help.” Death stared at him…then laughed.

“Th-thi-i-hee-hee-hee! Thi-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, this is too rich!” she guffawed. “Anansi is asking for help!”

“Considering both mortal and immortal life is at risk, yes!” hissed Anansi.

“Why?”

“Perhaps, if I could explain!”

“Yes, perhaps you should!” Anansi drew in a breath before beginning.

“Because the Author intends to use Megumi, Optimus, and Arsha’s 3V2R prizes to make a special clock that can send its maker anywhere they want. If he attaches it to the Tome, he can rewrite history for that universe alone. Worse still, if he gets the Sources of the Apocalypse and Flourishment, then he can rewrite all of creation all from the comfort of Foundation Prime.”

“That’s why he attacked New Castle Nerd Skull,” guessed Megumi. “He knows about the Gateway leading directly to Vorton. We gotta destroy it!”

“We can do it here, but the Lords are gonna see us!” warned Lacey as she and Flora sat at a pair of computers. They logged into the private network of the F.N.S’ base of operations.

“Go to the file called ‘Batcave’, located in the ‘Wayne Foundation’ folder,” directed Megumi. “There should be a program called Knightfall in there.”

“I found it!” called Flora. “Problem is, so did the Lords!”

“I’ll keep them off you!” replied Lacey. Flora opened the program and her screen changed to two microphones.

“It’s got two vocal passwords!” growled Flora.

“Richard, that’s our que!” called Megumi. She clicked on the record button. “This is Megumi Hishikawa, Feudal Nerd Society Queen. Engage Knightfall Program. Execution code 1. Vocal Password: Travelling Queen.”

“First Password: accepted,” reported the program. Richard then clicked on the second record button.

“This is Richard Saunders, Feudal Nerd Society King. Engage Knightfall Program. Execution cod 2. Vocal Password: Hank Aaron.”

“Second Password: accepted,” replied the program. “Knightfall Program is in effect.”

“We’ll keep the Lords off the program’s back!” said Flora.

“Author!” called a Lord drone. “They’ve engaged the Knightfall Program and another user is joining the effort to keep us from executing it!”

“I’ll handle that,” replied Khan. He wrote something in the Tome. “‘At the sound of the Tome snapping shut, the-’” He didn’t get very far as an explosion rocked the base. “DAMMIT!” swore the Author. “It’s too far along! Evacuate!” He and the Lords then vanished.

“Knightfall Program: complete,” reported the program. Everyone sighed in relief.

“That’s Vorton cut off from them,” said Megumi. “Thank you, Batman.”

“And we’re without allies,” remarked Richard. “Without a way to Vorton, we can’t accurately raise our friends like Chizara.”

“Or the Realms,” reminded Jandro.

“Or the Autobots,” supplied Lacey.

“…You know, having Optimus AND Arsha would help,” mused Megumi.

“Well, they both have the technology,” said Death. “I mean, the Realms are sub-dimensions that run together, and people cross the barriers between them freely. And with Sonic around, the Autobots have a concept of how to cross into parallel universes, so we might get help anyways.”

“We can’t just wait for them to save us at the last second!” argued Richard.

“Unfortunately, that’s the only option available to us,” replied Megumi.

“You can’t be serious!”

“With Flora’s home compromised and us having initiated Knightfall, we can’t get help. The only choice we have is to wait out the Lords’ occupation of Beyond City and fight them at every turn until help from Vorton arrives, either by the Vorton Team’s call or by them stumbling onto Vorton. Either way, we can’t call for help. We’ll have to go with guerrilla warfare in order to free Beyond City. We strike from the shadows.” Richard couldn’t really argue with Megumi’s logic at the moment. It didn’t mean he liked it.

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 6: For Your Entertainment

Emily Williams, Richard’s twin sister, checked the unconscious Doctor’s hearts-beat as her brother and his best friend, Michael Archer, looked on. “Hearts are beating normally,” she reported. “She’s clearly breathing.” She then waved a scanner over her. “Mental activity’s a little off…but that’s probably because the brain’s still rewriting itself. It’s coming along nicely. All in all, from what you’ve told us, Michael, this is probably her most stable regeneration yet.”

“Thank goodness,” sighed Michael. He then recalled that Jack was telling his story to Richard’s family. He had already told them about how a companion of the Doctor’s, Rose Tyler, had made him immortal.

“So, there I was, ankle-deep in Dalek dust, and she goes off without me. Apparently, the TARDIS didn’t exactly like me, cause only Time Lords are supposed to be immortal. I still had this.” He revealed a strange strap on his wrist with a touch screen on it. “I used to be a Time Agent. It’s called a Vortex Manipulator.”

“The cheap scooter of all time-travel devices,” snarked Michael.

“All right, so it’s not the TARDIS!” grumbled Jack. He then continued his story. “I figured 21st Century Earth would be my best bet to reunite with the Doctor, except I got it a little wrong. Got to 1869 instead, then this thing burnt out, so it was useless.”

“Q.E.D,” chuckled Michael.

“I had to live through the entire 20th Century to wait for a version of her that would coincide with me.”

“That would have made you more than a hundred years old,” remarked Lisa.

“And looking good!” chuckled Jack. “I based myself near a rift in Cardiff and waited for her, then I get a signal and met up with the Doctor again (using a new body) and then got the full story from her, him rather.”

“That unfortunately happens with the Doctor’s companions,” said Michael. “They change so often that she runs the risk of forgetting us.”

“OI! I DO NOT!” shouted a new voice. Emily was sitting by a fully awake Doctor, her arms folded.

“I was trying to tell you guys that she was up,” she said.

“And you, of all people, Michael! I thought you were one of my biggest fans! I don’t forget my companions! I can’t!” snarled the Doctor. “I always check on them when I can!”

“…I suppose that’s true,” chuckled Michael, still a little put out that the Doctor looked like an old companion. It wasn’t the first time the Doctor got a face from someone else, but he never recalled any of them being from former companions. The Doctor then got a good look at Michael.

“You’ve changed,” she muttered.

“You can talk!” scoffed Michael. “Which regeneration is this?”

“…I can’t recall.” The Doctor thought hard for a second. She then brightened up. “Oh well, no use chin-wagging! Let’s see what this all looks like!” She looked in a mirror and gasped. “…I don’t believe it!” She smiled. “I’M FINALLY GINGER!” A frown then crossed her face. “And loud. Very loud. Still, rough with the smooth and all that! The eyes and chin are a definite improvement. …As for the nose…well, I’m not sure.” She turned to Michael. “What do you think about this nose? Ah, never mind, I don’t need you to be so nosy!” She chuckled at the joke. “Still, got many things to do. Come on, Jack! Got to make sure peace is the norm. Dona Nobis Pacem and all-!” The Doctor returned to the mirror in horror. “…I know this face! Why do I have Donna’s face?!” She then shut her eyes tight and strained.

“Holy! There’s an energy spike in her body!” yelped Emily.

“Doctor, stop!” Michael grabbed the Doctor’s shoulders and shook her. The Doctor opened her eyes.

“I can’t wear her face!” she insisted. “I’m not THAT important! What if I bump into her?! That knowledge will come back into her head, and she’ll burn to a crisp!”

“That won’t happen, Doctor,” said Jack, his face downcast. “She’s…she’s already gone.” The Doctor gave Jack her full attention. “She had a heart condition. No one could save her. She had a DNR. Donna’s…she’s gone.” The Doctor stumbled to the coffee table and steadied herself on it.

“D…Donna’s…dead?” she asked. “I mean…I never thought…”

“That’s what I tried to tell you before the Sontarans invaded.”

“…Was your universe not ready to let go of Donna?” asked Michael. The Doctor considered his words, then looked in the mirror.

“…Donna Noble, I know you’ll never remember me again, but I promise I’ll make you, the most important woman in the universe, proud!” She then took a breath, then adopted a smile. “…Could I have fish fingers and custard? I’m starving.”

“Actually, Doctor,” said Megumi, “a few of us are gathering for a party at New Castle Nerd Skull. You and Jack want to join?”

“A party! Sounds excellent! Jack, the F.N.S really knows how to throw a party!”

“Just keep the flirting to a minimum,” urged Michael.

“All right, all right!” Jack sounded a trifle disappointed. As everyone got ready to go, Megumi thought back to other old friends.

“…Haven’t heard from Optimus or Arsha in a while,” she muttered.

Not everyone in the F.N.S could make it to the party. It seemed to be an equal mix of old and new members. As everyone chatted amongst themselves, the music began. It was Hobbit music, a song that played during Bilbo Baggins’ 111th birthday. A few had gotten into the spirit and danced along. Megumi’s nephew, Sora Hishikawa Elizondo, the son of Megumi’s brother, Hiroki, and his wife, Xiomara, looked on at the dancers. His sister, Gabriella, sat by him. “Come on, mi hermano!” she urged. “Ask Sweemar for a dance!” She pointed out one of the blue haired, cloud-dress wearing women dancing by herself. Sora thought about it, then sighed.

“I think I’ll just have another piece of cake,” he muttered.

“Oh no, you don’t!” laughed Gabriella. She then playfully shoved Sora into Sweemar’s arms and the two danced. Gabriella laughed a bit at Sora’s misfortune.

“So, there I was,” the Doctor regaled a man and a woman in a cloud dress, “surrounded by three monstrous Ogrons! They were arguing over how to execute us for the Daleks’ sake, whether they would boil us, or shoot us, or simply slit our throats! Well, they spent so much time on the whyfores and the wherewithals that, the instant the sun rose, boom! The Judoon arrested them all!”

“And the Daleks used these Ogrons as slaves repeatedly?” asked the man, Tom Williams, one of Emily’s twin sons.

“They really ARE insane,” chuckled the woman, Leemii, as she cuddled Tom.

“Well, they ARE Daleks,” mused the Doctor.

Over in a tent, Kaitlyn was helping Tom’s twin brother, Sam, in lighting a firework. Sam held the match to the fuse and lit it. “Got it!” he cheered. Kaitlyn then panicked!

“You’re supposed to stick it in the ground!” she hissed as she shoved the firework at Sam.

“It IS in the ground!” replied Sam as he shoved it back to her. The shoving went back and forth as they argued.

“Outside!”

“This was your idea!” The firework then launched itself into the air, carrying the tent with it and blowing two charred people back. The firework then exploded in a brilliant display of color. Kaitlyn and Sam picked themselves up and watched the whole thing.

“Cool!” breathed Kaitlyn.

“Let’s get another one!” urged Sam. They then felt someone yanking on their ears.

“Why is it,” grumbled Emily as she pulled on Sam’s ear, “that whenever there’s trouble…”

“It’s always you two?” finished Richard as he pulled on Kaitlyn’s.

“Daddy, Aunt Emily, we can explain!” begged Kaitlyn.

“Hey, who’s the Borg cosplayer?” asked a Mobian Monkey, Henry. Everyone turned to see what looked like a Romulan Borg drone.

“…We’ll discuss this later,” Richard growled at his daughter and nephew as he and Emily released their respective kids’ ears. Megumi approached the drone.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” began Megumi. “I’m-” The drone quickly grabbed Megumi’s chin. Richard and a few other partiers rushed to get it away from her, but other drones arrived and restrained them. Megumi’s captor stared long and hard, then smirked.

“You’ve changed,” he remarked. “But dropping the eyeshadow and changing your outfit won’t save you, Megumi Hishikawa. The Author has plans for you, Optimus, and Arsha.” Megumi shoved the drone away and her partiers got out of their captors’ grasp.

“Riders, with me!” she called. Those that she called for had summoned a belt, either by pulling it out of their pockets or just using magic to form it. Those that pulled the belts from their pockets strapped them on and their belts spoke.

“Vortex Driver!” they all announced.

“Crysta Driver!” called the summoned belts. The Vortex Riders then pulled out small blue discs and inserted them into the belts while the Crysta Riders pulled out crystal spheres and pressed a button on them.

“Spark!” called Kaitlyn’s.

“Shade!” announced Kaede’s.

“Devil!” shouted Sam’s.

“Architect!” finished the one belonging to Michael’s son, Adam. The four of them then inserted the spheres into the belts and closed them up. Everyone then struck a pose.

“HENSHIN!” they all shouted. The Vortex Riders then spun the wheels on the belts and a ring based on the wheel formed beneath them and attached armor as the belts changed their outfits into black undersuits. The Crysta Riders were surrounded in mist colored like their crystal spheres, then lightning struck them and the mist vanished to reveal them in their own Rider forms. They had all become Kamen Riders!

“Whoever you all are,” snarled Megumi, Kamen Rider Royal, “you can face it! You’ll never get our power!” She rushed at the Romulan drone and summoned a sword.

“‘When the voice stopped talking,’” called a new voice, “‘a spider-themed Kamen Rider blocked her sword with his own.’”

“Eh?” asked Royal. When the voice stopped talking, a spider-themed Kamen Rider blocked her sword with his own. The sword appeared to be modeled after a snake with the mouth serving as the cross-guard and the tongue serving as the handle.

“Does it look like my soldiers and I need YOUR power?” asked the Rider in the same voice that predicted his actions. He then drove an uppercut into Royal’s jaw, sending her backwards.

“MEGUMI!” called Richard, Kamen Rider Guard, as he dashed to assist his wife.

“Okay, that’s new!” grunted Royal.

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 5: Home Life

A six-armed woman with a spider’s rear end ran her duster across the last room in the house, the living room. She checked every possession and every piece of furniture to make sure it was dust free. When she finished, she smiled. “Now to finish it all off with a good old-fashioned vacuuming session,” she said. As one of her arms set the duster aside, the one below it plugged the vacuum cleaner in while another arm grabbed the handle and a fourth switched it on. Once the cleaner spun to life, one of her arms pushed it back and forth while two of them kept the cord out of the way and another two lifted the furniture as needed. Once that was done, she admired her handiwork, then headed to the kitchen and emptied the cleaner of the dust it picked up. The instant the cleaner was put away, she heard keys go into the front door’s lock. “And there’s Megumi and her girls, right on cue!” chuckled the spider woman.

“Hello, Lisa!” called her employer.

“Hello, Megumi!” replied the spider woman, Lisa. She headed off to see the three women that entered the house. Two of them wore gray sweaters, ascots, and skirts with massive amounts of petticoats while the third wore pants, a jacket, and tie. They all had Japanese features when it came to the face. One had straight, long, black hair and brown eyes while the remaining two had short, wavy, pumpkin-orange hair and green eyes. The woman with black hair had blue petticoats and ascot, the pants-wearing woman with orange hair had a blue tie, and the remaining woman had yellow petticoats and ascot. The black-haired woman was Megumi Hishikawa, the pants-wearing woman was her daughter, Kaede Saunders Hishikawa, and the last girl was Kaede’s twin sister, Kaitlyn. “And how were classes today?”

“They went just fine,” replied Megumi. “It was an easy day today. Just did some free writing in all of them. Managed to meet with the girls early today!”

“Did that help your lunch date reservations?” asked Lisa as she took their bookbags.

“Actually, there was another factor that helped,” replied Kaede. “Someone had cancelled their reservation, giving us a spot.”

“And let me tell you,” chuckled Kaitlyn, “it was a fantastic place! I see why Famine recommended it!”

“She recommends a lot of eateries,” remarked Kaitlyn. “It’s kind of her thing.”

“All right, girls,” Megumi called to her daughters, “we still have to get ready for the party. Go get dressed and make yourselves up. Lisa, I trust you’re coming?”

“Madam, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” replied Lisa. “I’m sure that the Wayne Foundation will make a slight donation.”

“Alfred told me Mr. Wayne won’t be attending,” replied Kaede.

“What? Why?” asked Megumi, disappointed that one of her old friends wouldn’t come.

“He’s got a meeting with the headmaster of Damian’s boarding school.”

“Hold on!” giggled Kaitlyn. “Batman has a parent-teacher conference?! Is he in the PTA?! Tell me he’s in the PTA!” She cleared her throat and held her pointer fingers to each side of her head. She then spoke in a rasp. “We need more chaperones for Homecoming. Who needs to be convinced to sign up?”

“…You wouldn’t say that around Bruce, would you?” asked Megumi.

“…You wouldn’t tell, would you?” gulped Kaitlyn, dreading the potential Bat-glare. Megumi smirked. Kaitlyn dashed off to get dressed. Kaede headed off as well. Megumi strolled into her bedroom and opened her closet. She found the dress and swapped her After Academy uniform for it. After she adjusted everything, she opened a small cabinet containing various hair adornments and pulled one out before making her way to her vanity. She then washed her face, dried it, and put on fresh makeup. After that was done, she pinned her hair ornament to the left of her head. Once she was done, she blew a kiss to her reflection, then got up and left the bedroom. She found Lisa in a different maid outfit, Kaitlyn in her princess outfit, and Kaede in her detective clothes.

“Time, Lisa?” asked Megumi.

“We’ve still got two hours to kill before Richard gets back,” replied Lisa.

“In that case, I’m switching on the news.” Megumi switched the t.v. on, then arched an eyebrow as the news anchor was NOT the one she expected. “Er, Kaede, could you help your mother solve a little mystery?”

“I was hoping I heard wrong,” muttered Kaede. “So, it’s NOT Dad on t.v.?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“But this is his time slot, yes?” asked Kaitlyn.

“I thought so.”

“It’s definitely his time slot,” confirmed Lisa.

“Er, guys,” gulped Kaede as she looked out the window, “I see Dad coming up the drive and…yep, he saw me and he’s not looking all that happy.” Megumi dashed to the door (an amazing feat with all those skirts) and opened it to let her husband, Richard, in. He looked broken.

“Hello, everyone,” he muttered.

“Richard, what’s wrong?” asked Megumi. Richard didn’t respond immediately. Kaede switched the t.v. off as Richard sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands. He breathed slowly before speaking.

“There’s no easy way to say it,” he said, “but I don’t want any sit com shenanigans. Megumi, Kaede, Kaitlyn, Lisa, the single man of the house is now unemployed.”

“You didn’t quit, did you?” asked Kaede.

“Believe me, after today, I wish I did. I saw what the teleprompter was gonna say. It was continual praise about this ‘Baron Sonavok’ and how he’s a much better leader than Flora is!”

“But no one knows who this guy is!” protested Kaitlyn.

“So, I put aside my request for a raise to confront my boss about it. I told him that there was no research involved in the teleprompter’s transcript and he asked me if our viewers really cared!”

“We do!” argued Lisa.

“That’s what I said, and he called me an ungrateful ignoramus who has no reason to work in MNN, saying he had a replacement for me if I didn’t fall in line. I called his bluff…and saw my replacement.”

“So, the man we saw in your time slot’s your replacement, huh?” growled Kaede.

“And he went out of his way to give me an actual pink slip titled ‘walking papers’ just to rub salt in the wound!” Richard pounded the coffee table in front of him as Megumi placed her hand on his back. “The man makes me want to murder people!”

“He had no business firing you!” hissed Megumi. She then took a breath. “Does your unemployment leave this house?” Richard steadied his breathing.

“Like I said, I want to avoid sit com shenanigans, but I don’t want to tell everyone,” he explained. “Let’s keep it with immediate family and those who took the time to watch at least a snippet of my old time slot.”

“We can certainly help you find a job,” offered Kaede. “I know the police station could use a news anchor for their news channel.”

“I believe After Academy is also looking for a news anchor for their channel,” recalled Lisa. Richard smiled.

“I don’t know how I got so lucky to have a family like you,” he sighed.

“You survived two encounters with Vortech and had parents that excelled in teaching you respect,” replied Megumi.

“…I’ll tell Mom and Dad you said that,” said Richard, “and I think they’ll be flattered.” Just then, a wind kicked up in the house. “Okay, did I leave the door open?”

“No, it’s shut,” replied Kaede. A noise then filled the house. Megumi and Richard’s eyes popped open. Kaitlyn then arched an eyebrow in confusion.

“I know I heard that noise before, but-!” An object then materialized in the room. It was a blue box that said “Police Public Call Box” on all four sides around the top, just under the light that was flashing. It had two windows on each side, just under the police box signs, and one side had a door handle. There was a sign near the handle that said “Police telephone free for use of public. Advice and assistance obtainable immediately. Officers and cars respond to all calls. Pull to open.” There was a circular sign on the other side of the door handle that advertised “St. John Ambulance”. Kaitlyn goggled as she recognized the box. “Now I remember where I heard that sound before.”

“Yeah, you and past versions of the Vortex Riders used it as a taxi in Hill Valley,” recalled Richard.

“Daddy!” protested Kaitlyn. The door then swung into the box (despite the sign saying pull to open) and a man carrying a woman then fell out.

“Doctor!” yelped Megumi. She checked the man’s pulse, then frowned. “That’s funny, I thought the Doctor had two hearts. I’m only getting one…no.” Her face fell. “Damn. He’s dead.”

“The lady’s got two hearts,” said Lisa as she finished checking the woman’s pulse.

“I’ll get Emily and Michael,” declared Richard as he got up, eager for some activity to distract him from his woes for the moment.

“Lisa, help me get the woman to the couch,” directed Megumi. “Girls, put the man-” The man then gasped loudly, as if he was sucking in air desperately, and grabbed Megumi’s arm out of reflex. Megumi shrieked in surprise. The man’s breathing evened out. He then looked at Megumi and grinned.

“Hey!” he greeted. His accent was American. “Name’s Captain Jack Harkness! And you?”

“Dn starr,” mumbled the woman.

“I was just saying hello!” protested Jack. His face then fell. “Look, weird question, but is there someone who can help a Time Lord?”

“Oddly enough, there is,” replied Megumi, having gotten over her fright. “My husband’s calling her right now. I’m Megumi Hishikawa.”

“Ah, so YOU’RE the Hero of the Vortech Wars,” remarked Jack. “The Doctor was talking about you just before she regenerated. I didn’t get a chance to see what she looks like now.”

“Well, here she is.” Megumi and Lisa hoisted the new Doctor up onto the couch. She had ginger hair and Jack goggled at the face.

“Hold on, that face was one of her old companions, an old friend of ours before she had to have her mind wiped!” he explained. Richard got off the phone.

“Emily and Michael are on the way,” he said to Megumi.

“Good. We could use some answers about Jack here,” said Megumi.