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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.

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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.

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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.

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 4: Data Retrieval

Optimus and Sonic headed to the Space Colony ARK with Shade. As their shuttle docked, they noticed Mobius’ flagship, the Enterprise, docking with it as well. “Dad’s home!” called Shade. She dashed off the shuttle, leaving Sonic and Optimus to chuckle. They followed Shade and saw her hug a black and red Hedgehog, her father, Shadow. Shadow was hugging her back. “Daddy, it’s been too long!”

“I told you I’d come back,” replied Shadow, his gruff tone softened with affection to his daughter. A yellow Hedgehog woman, Shadow’s wife and Shade’s mother, Maria, then arrived.

“Welcome home, Shadow!” she greeted as she pecked him on the cheek. Shadow pecked her cheek in return.

“It’s good to be back,” he said.

“That can’t be Shadow,” Optimus muttered to Sonic.

“Maybe a clone took his place,” mused Sonic. Shadow saw the two and immediately scowled.

“And the Faker and Kid decided to barge into MY house?” grunted Shadow.

“Never mind, it’s the real Shadow,” chuckled Sonic.

“What are you two doing here?” demanded Shadow.

“We needed to check with Teletraan,” explained Optimus. “We started talking about the Convergence and wondered if we still had the necessary data to try and cross universes again.”

“Convergence?” asked Maria.

“It’s where our world temporarily merged with two others,” replied Shadow before he turned back to Sonic and Optimus. “Why do you two want to do that?”

“We never got a chance to talk with Arsha or Megumi since Hot Rod arrived,” said Sonic. “We just miss them.”

“Teletraan’s on Cybertron right now,” remarked Shadow.

“Well, there’s the subspace comms channel between Mobius and Cybertron,” reminded Optimus.

“All right, go ahead and use it,” grunted Shadow. “It’s not like diplomats need it!”

“Ah, don’t be such a sourpuss!” chided Maria.

Optimus and Sonic made it to the comms room and connected a subspace call to Teletraan’s Cybertron servers. His avatar popped up. “Hey! How goes it, guys?!” he greeted when he saw the two.

“Hey, Teletraan! It goes well!” replied Optimus.

“That’s great! What can I do for you?”

“Teletraan, this is a long shot,” explained Sonic, “but we were thinking about the Convergence and-”

“Ah, the Convergence,” sighed Teletraan. “You know, the only bad thing about that was that War’s servant was just as nuts as her at that time.”

“Yeah, X-PO called you unsophisticated, didn’t he?” recalled Optimus.

“You know, I thought about it too when I transferred to the new Autobot base. I had a chance to check over whether or not I still had the data concerning multiversal travel.”

“And?!” asked Optimus and Sonic.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you guys,” muttered Teletraan. “The only data I had was when Blackarachnia crossed over to Moebius. The other universes we visited, Beyond City and the like, they’re not there.”

“Scrap,” muttered Optimus.

“I’m sorry, Prime.”

“It’s all right, we kind of expected this.”

“You know, maybe Tails or Shockwave still have that data.”

“I know where Tails lives, but Shockwave vanished from us a while ago.” Sonic then winced.

“Actually, she didn’t vanish, per se,” he explained.

“You know where she is?” asked Optimus.

“No, but Tails has been in contact with her. It’s a sort of trade deal. He sends her Energon and she sends him copies of all her research to date. He hasn’t told me and Amy where she lives, but we figured that, as long as she’s not a threat to us at the moment, we don’t need to know.”

“Then let’s start with him first,” declared Optimus.

A two-tailed Mobian Fox man looked through his papers and read the reports of his business. Right now, the figures were going up. He seemed satisfied and was about to use that data to make a presentation when his buzzer sounded. He pressed the button. “Yes?” he asked.

“Mr. Prower, your wife is here,” said his secretary. The Fox, Miles “Tails” Prower smiled.

“Send her up!” he said.

“Yes, sir.” The call ended and Tails looked to his office door. It only took seconds, but it felt like hours to Tails. A woman with a rose on each side of her head then entered the office. This was his wife, the Seedrian, Cosmo Prower. “My flower!” he said.

“My mechanic!” returned Cosmo. She and Tails then embraced each other and kissed passionately. Once the kiss ended, Tails looked his wife up and down.

“You’re looking great as usual!” he said.

“You’re looking quite dashing yourself,” mused Cosmo. “How’s business life?”

“Doing quite well. Sales are going up and production’s increasing. How about your business?”

“Flowers are still flying off the shelves,” replied Cosmo. “How about you, personally?”

“Oh, I’m hanging in there. Would like to be with you all day every day, but that’s just not how business life works.”

“Same here.” They leaned to each other for another kiss when Tails’ buzzer rang again. Tails and Cosmo groaned. “I believe the phrase on this planet is ‘Murphey’s Law’,” grumbled Cosmo.

“Yep, and it never fails. Just when things get interesting.” Tails pressed the call button. “Yes?”

“Mr. Prower, Optimus Prime and King Sonic are asking to see you,” reported his secretary.

“A social call?” asked Cosmo hopefully.

“Have them meet me and Cosmo in the courtyard,” Tails directed his secretary.

“Yes, sir,” replied the secretary. The call ended.

“Let’s go see what they want, shall we, dear?” suggested Tails.

“Perfect idea, my love!” answered Cosmo. Tails took Cosmo’s hand and they left the office.

Sonic and Optimus waited in the courtyard of Miles Electric’s main HQ. Optimus was in his vehicle mode and had activated his holo-form. They were looking in a display case containing two star-like objects. One was red and had three points while the other was yellow and had eight points. Optimus, being the Star Trek nerd he was, pulled out a tricorder and took a reading. “…They’re made of Energon crystal,” he muttered, “but the power in them is compacted somehow.”

“How did Tails make them?” asked Sonic.

“With Shockwave’s help,” explained Tails once he and Cosmo approached them. “They’re called Energon Stars and they tap into more power than a Transformer’s consumption of cubes would allow.”

“Good to see you again, Tails!” chuckled Optimus. He and Sonic hugged Tails, then Cosmo. “So, those Stars are from Shockwave’s research?”

“Her research AND mine,” elaborated Tails. “It was a collab-effort.”

“Well, we’re gonna need her help OR yours,” said Sonic.

“So, this ISN’T a social call?” asked Cosmo, slightly disappointed.

“I’m afraid not,” said Optimus. “We thought back to the Convergence and wanted to see Megumi and Arsha again. Teletraan didn’t copy that data over when he transferred out of the old base.”

“I only have the equipment,” winced Tails. “As to the data concerning their universes, you might have better luck with Shockwave.”

“Where is she?” asked Sonic. Tails winced again.

“She’s…at Olympus Mons,” he finally revealed. Sonic didn’t have a full grasp of Mobius’ solar system.

“Where’s that?”

“On Mars, if I’m right,” remarked Optimus. Tails nodded in confirmation.

“…Why not move to Mobius?” asked Sonic. Tails breathed a little easier as he explained.

“She wasn’t all that eager to live on our noisy planet where interruptions would plague her, like Mobians or Autobots. Besides, she has a reputation of conducting cruel experiments on live test subjects, so she figured living somewhere barren like Mars would keep her from being tempted to conduct those kinds of experiments these days.”

“If she’s not receptive to Autobots, maybe a Decepticon should visit her,” mused Optimus. “Megatron’s alt-mode can enter and leave a planet’s atmosphere. He might have better luck convincing her to fork over the data.”

“We should tell him about that,” suggested Sonic.

On the red world of Mars, at the base of the famous extinct shield volcano of Olympus Mons, stood a purple female robot with a visor over her optics, giving her a cycloptic appearance. She stood alone, needing some space from her smaller roommates. She listened to the winds rushing across the Martian surface and past her frame. She cycled air through her olfactory apparatus and sighed. Her solitude was interrupted by the roar of jets. She looked up and saw the outline of her faction’s symbol with wings. She then made a call to the jet. “Lord Megatron, I was not expecting you,” began the cyclops robot, the Decepticon Chief Scientist, Shockwave.

“I have some scientific inquiries I need to make concerning other universes,” explained the jet, Megatron. “May I land?”

“Very well, my Lord.” At Shockwave’s permission, Megatron’s front split down the middle and each half rotated and deployed feet at the wider parts, becoming legs. His arms rotated from the top of the jet to the sides as each jet engine housing on the side pulled away from the housing in the middle and became shoulder pads. The middle jet housing then folded to the back, taking the cockpit with it as it tucked itself into the housing. Megatron’s head then popped up and he landed in a superhero’s landing pose. “…Doesn’t that hurt, my Lord?” asked Shockwave.

“You get used to it after years of landing like that,” explained Megatron. “And my son is the Decepticon Lord, it’s just Megatron for me. Mr. Megatron, at the most formal.”

“Very well. You said something about other universes. Do any universes involve Moebius?”

“Optimus and Sonic were thinking more of Megumi and Arsha’s respective universes.”

“I thought you wanted nothing to do with them after the alliance between us, Dr. Borg, and Hiro turned out to be an utter fiasco.”

“I don’t, but Optimus and Sonic wanted to see Arsha and Megumi again, now that this universe is calmer.”

“…Well, I cannot fault that. I have the data on those universes and how to get there, but not the equipment.”

“Tails happens to have the equipment, but not the data.”

“Then I will send that data immediately.”

“I’ll just signal Tails and you’ll have twice your usual Energon shipment.”

“Megatron, wait a moment.” Megatron stopped and looked at Shockwave. “Why are you helping them?” Megatron sighed.

“…I suppose…to make up for what I did.”

“…In my experience, that kind of journey lasts until you die.”

“I know, but I might as well make a start now. …I don’t really look forward to meeting them again, especially Richard. I don’t think he would forgive me for using his wife as a bargaining chip like that. Still, I have to make the attempt.”

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 3: More Than Meets the Eye

In another world beyond the Realms, a game court was being used. It was a basketball court made for giants. Right now, said giants were playing the game. The giants were metal and had various vehicle parts attached to them. Right now, a red and blue robot with antennae on his helmet and smokestacks on a backpack was dribbling the ball to the other team’s hoop. “He shoots, he scores, what a star!” boasted the robot. He then passed the ball to a shorter robot with a car’s front for a chest unit. The shorted robot dribbled the ball.

“You watch, Prime!” called the shorter bot. “I’m about to do a lay-off!”

“It’s called a lay-up, Jazz!” corrected the red and blue bot, the Autobot Leader, Optimus Prime. “And watch out for Sky Runner!” A female robot with jet wings then popped up in front of the shorter bot, Jazz, and tried to prevent a shot.

“Yo! Megs!” called Jazz. He passed the ball to a male robot with alien jet parts, the former Decepticon Lord, Megatron. Megatron dribbled the ball a bit as his son, another bot with jet parts, Galvatron, tried to block his shot. Megatron then saw an opening for one of his teammates. He and Optimus locked optics and Optimus grinned. Megatron quickly passed the ball and Optimus leapt up to the basket, twisted in the air, and dunked the ball behind his back!

“GAME!” called a woman’s voice. A black-armored robot woman, Optimus’ wife, Blackarachnia, came running up. “And that’s 27 for the older generation and 26 for the young’uns!”

“Slaggit!” swore Galvatron.

“Language!” rebuked Megatron.

“I have to admit,” panted Optimus, “I almost lost that one!”

“It was rather hectic, I must admit, us going against our own kids,” mused Megatron.

“Sorry,” interjected the jet woman, Sky Runner, one of Optimus and Blackarachnia’s daughters, “are we gonna gloss over the fact that Uncle Megatron said ‘language’?”

“I know, I know,” grunted Megatron.

“Well, I don’t know about you bots,” called Jazz, “but I’m eager to see that Moboball in action.”

“What IS that, anyways?” asked Galvatron.

“You heard of Calvinball?” quizzed Blackarachnia.

“Yeah, I have all the Calvin and Hobbes collections.” Galvatron then made a connection. “Ah, it’s Mobian Calvinball.”

“It’s Mobian Calvinball,” confirmed Blackarachnia.

“Then let’s go see it,” declared Optimus. “Oh, and everyone, we want clean language here! Can’t hurt Megatron’s audio receptors too badly!”

“You know, Prime, it’s talk like that that makes me want to shoot you again!” growled Megatron.

“Careful, Dad, that’s almost a cuss!” chuckled Galvatron. Megatron cycled air through his olfactory sensors.

“That’s not going away any time soon, is it?” he grunted to himself.

A silver hedgehog with five quills sprouting from his forehead, Silver, poked his head around a tree and eyed a flag. He then got out a tennis racket and a badminton birdie. He hit the birdie and it hit the flag. “That’s three points!” he called.

“All right then,” called his pink brother, Daniel. “The score is six for me, ten for Shade, eight for Sandy, and four for you!”

“I already HAD four!” protested Silver. A red hedgehog girl, Shade, then breezed past in a potato sack with a human woman, Sandy, in hot pursuit. Silver saw a chance. “Hold it, Shade!” he called. “You just ran into the No-eyes Sector! You’re gonna have to cover your eyes!”

“No-eyes Sector?” muttered Shade as she and Sandy stopped. “I never heard of that. Where is it?”

“You can’t see it,” replied Daniel. “It’s unseen.” Shade covered her eyes.

“How do I know I went in it then?”

“You can’t see anything, right?” asked Silver.

“So…how do I get out?”

“Someone bonks you and the boys on the head with the Moboball!” called Sandy as she bounced a ball on their heads. “I get two points each!” Shade, Silver, and Daniel then chased Sandy all around the field.

“That was a rotten rule!” shouted Shade.

“I wasn’t even gonna add that!” growled Silver. “I decree no more headbonks!”

“I’ll show you!” called Daniel. “You just ran into a dizzy spot! You have to spin around for a minute and then try to walk a straight line!”

“Sorry,” called Sandy, “but this dizzy spot is in an elder zone, so the eldest of us has to spin. Start spinning, Shade.”

“Oh no, you don’t!” argued Shade as she pulled out a card with a rose on it. “I invoke my Return to Sender card! The person who tried to deflect the punishment is unable to avoid it! So spin!”

“That’s not fair!” wailed Sandy.

“You know the Moboball rules,” chuckled Daniel, thankful for the save.

“Yeah, yeah,” grunted Sandy. “Anything we make up goes. Well, you’ll pay for this.” Sandy started spinning and getting dizzy. “This game lends itself to certain abuses.” Shade then looked at her discarded potato sack and grinned.

“Guess how you get out of the spot!” she chuckled. She then shoved the sack over Sandy’s head.

“HEY!” Sandy abruptly fell to the ground as Optimus and his family headed up to them.

“Hey guys!” he called. “Who’s winning?”

“Wait, where are Sonic and Amy?” asked Blackarachnia. “I thought they were playing with you.”

“They were serving a penalty,” explained Silver. “Unnecessary flag-swiping.”

“So, where are they now?” asked Optimus. Sonic and Amy then came up to Megatron carrying a big bucket of water.

“…Your Majesties, wha-?” Sonic and Amy cut off Megatron’s question.

“This is a poem, please do as you’re told,” began Sonic.

“And here is a bucket of water, ice cold.”

“Take this water,” grumbled Amy, “and dump it on we.

Don’t hesitate, do it a.s.a.p.” Megatron arched an eyebrow, then grinned. He then dumped the contents of the bucket all over Sonic and Amy.

“I’ve been waiting years to do something like that!” he cackled.

“You kids just wait until YOU get a peril poem penalty!” Sonic called out to his sons and their friends. “You’ll be sorry then!”

“Well, until then, you two better make up for all those points you lost!” taunted Silver. As Sonic and Amy ran off after their kids, Optimus chuckled.

“Sweet Gaia,” he said, “it’s nice to see them like this.”

“Hey, Megatron!” called Jazz. “He said a bad language word!”

“Let it go, already!” snapped Megatron. “Sweet Chaos, you always-!” Megatron stopped as Amy was replaced by someone else in his optics. He rubbed them and saw Amy again. “…Royana?”

“Megatron?” asked Optimus, concerned for his brother.

“Sorry, I thought Amy was that kitsune friend you made.”

“You mean Arsha?” asked Optimus.

“Who’s Arsha?” asked Sky Runner.

“A princess from another universe I made friends with,” explained Optimus. “Her world, ours, and another world briefly merged with ours during an event called the Convergence.”

“This was when I led the Decepticons down a darker path,” supplied Megatron. “I made an alliance with Arsha’s enemy and a man named Hiro Adachi, leader of Shocker Rift. Without question, that event was an unmitigated disaster! I met with Daleks, Kamen Riders, cyborg fairies, and this whole thing was just after Nemesis Prime’s bid for power!”

“So, you had enough of alternate universes after that,” guessed Galvatron.

“MORE than enough, dear boy. Take my advice, stick to matters in THIS universe. Other universes are not your concern.”

“Come on, I’m sure it wasn’t all that bad,” remarked Optimus.

“Optimus, I don’t know if you remember, but Hiro planted a torture device in my head and Dr. Borg wanted to dissect the Decepticons!” Just then Sonic, his family, Sandy, and Shade came up to them.

“Hey guys!” called Sonic, now looking dryer. “What’s up?”

“Just chatting,” explained Optimus. “Telling our kids about the Convergence.”

“Ah, the Convergence,” sighed Amy happily. “And the 3V2R! Remember when you and Arsha forgot your fight terms?”

“Fight terms?” asked Galvatron. “3V2R?”

“Yeah!” answered Sonic. “Optimus got third place in a fighting tournament!”

“It’s called the 3V2R, hosted by a race called the Chizarans,” explained Optimus. “I fought in a second one after the second war and got first place prize.”

“Oh, then you can’t fight in it anymore?” asked Amy.

“‘Fraid not.” Optimus then got a faraway look. “You know, given the war, I’d bet that they tried to contact us only to get nothing.”

“We WERE focused on something else at the time,” replied Megatron. “Primacron and Starscream leap readily to mind.”

“…Yeah. I guess I miss them.”

“Well, now’s a good time to try and call them up,” suggested Sonic.

“Do you have a means of calling them?” asked Sky Runner. Jazz winced.

“We did, at the old base,” he said.

“Scrap!” muttered Blackarachnia. “Unicron probably destroyed it when he smashed the old base.”

“Perhaps he saved that data,” mused Megatron.

“I’d be very surprised if he did in the chaos of transferring out of there,” remarked Optimus.

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 2: Trip Down Memory Lane

The next morning, Arsha was standing on a balcony overlooking the Mid-realm castle garden. She wore only her nightdress, not thinking about her dressing routine until she got her thoughts in order. As she looked out, the incident where her parents looked different for only a moment was still playing in her mind. She stood there, staring off into space, not noticing Bashoon approach. “Captain?” she asked. Arsha gasped and whirled around. She then calmed down when she saw Bashoon.

“Hey, Bashoon,” she finally said after getting over her slight fright.

“Arsha, I wasn’t attempting to sneak up on you,” remarked Bashoon. “Something’s on your mind.”

“…Bashoon, do you remember how we got the Master Wand?” Bashoon goggled.

“Haven’t thought about that thing in a long time,” she replied. “But yeah, I do.” Bashoon smiled. “It was nice seeing other universes. Hey, remember that wanderer you beat in a circus tent?”

“That I do,” chuckled Arsha. “Or when Optimus Prime and I had our 3V2R round together? We both forgot what the terms of victory were!”

“What prompted this trip down memory lane?”

“…I thought I saw Megumi and Richard last night. They were dancing where my parents were. It’s the first time I thought of them in a long time.”

“When was the last time you did?”

“It was during the Summit before the Final War. I figured I’d see her and Optimus again and they’d get a tour of the Realms. …That was until I got the news of Andwayla’s death. Then the Final War happened and…well…”

“Other priorities took over.”

“Something like that.”

“I tell you what, we dodged a magic blast there. Imagine if Dr. Borg remembered that the Wand was in the Vaults.”

“Yikes! I don’t think we’d even be here talking about it! She and the rest of her council might have ascended to godhood permanently if that happened!”

“Her loss, our gain. It wasn’t just winning the War that was on our minds though. Reconstruction and motherhood come readily to mind.” Arsha smiled as she thought about her children.

“Yeah, those were really big priorities.” Arsha looked out again. “…I wonder if the Endeavor still has entries on them.”

“Might be buried in the Captains’ Archives,” remarked Bashoon.

“I’ll see if Endea can pull them up this afternoon,” decided Arsha.

When she finished the morning’s duties as Queen, Arsha headed to the Largandra Shipyards and found the Endeavor and Glanthelantir moored at the docks. Arsha saw Endea standing by her hull. Endea saw her and waved her over. “Arsha, I need to talk about something,” she said.

“What is it?” asked Arsha.

“I’ve been looking through my old databanks for yucks. I looked through the Captains’ Archives and found several entries about a shape-changing prime robot and I can’t find any correlations from when I first became a Mechanica.” Arsha quickly guessed what, or rather WHO, Endea was talking.

“That particular bot was from before Denstra took Oak’s place,” she explained. “His name is Optimus Prime and he’s an old friend of mine from beyond the Realms.”

“Beyond the Realms?” repeated Endea.

“That’s right. You’ve heard of multiverse theory, yes?”

“Yeah, that there are other groups of Realms separately contained from ours.”

“It’s a fact. I saw the other worlds and Optimus comes from a world where life is similar to a Change-a-tron series.”

“So, Optimus is a Change-a-tron?”

“Transformer, actually. He leads his version of the Justitrons, the Autonomous Robotic Organisms of the planet of Cybertron. Autobots, for short. Years ago, the Realms briefly merged with Optimus’ universe and another one where our third friend came from in an event called the Convergence. Our third friend’s name was Megumi Hishikawa, and she was the leader of a group called the Feudal Nerd Society. They also called themselves the Vortex Riders as they could become armored superheroes called Kamen Riders. Three from our world joined them and are now living in her world.”

“Wait, three people from the Realms didn’t fight in the Final War?!”

“A Zephyr man named Swalmu, a Vampire man named Jandro, and a Stone Elf man named Twaldar. They couldn’t have known the Final War would start. Five from Optimus’ world also stayed with Megumi. They all felt like there was nothing for them. Swalmu was just another face in the crowd that was overlooked, Jandro was the last of the Grelnak Clan of Vampires, and Twaldar had sought emancipation from his abusive parents. Megumi’s home gave them purpose and peace. I couldn’t deny them that.” Endea then cleared her mind of any ire towards them.

“No, no. you’re right. Sorry. I was thinking they were cowards. They couldn’t have…so, wait, why couldn’t we get their help?”

“Two factors leap to mind. One is that we were a little more concerned with the Realms’ survival and the second is that I didn’t ask Megumi and her team for universe crossing technology. In all honesty, it was for the best. It kept the War contained here. Besides, it also kept the Master Wand out of Megatron’s hands.”

“Megatron?”

“Optimus’ brother and leader of the Autobots’ enemies, the Decepticons. A very brutal faction of Transformers. Wanted to conquer their whole universe.”

“Sounds like they were in a war of their own.”

“They were. The sad part is that I don’t know if it’s over for them.” Endea then recalled something.

“Hold on, did you say ‘Master Wand’?”

“During the Convergence,” explained Arsha, “Megumi, Optimus, and I participated in a tournament called the Verse Vs. Verse Rumble Royale, the 3V2R. It was hosted by a godlike race called the Chizarans and the Master Wand was the first-place prize. I won that tournament and got Realmfleet to store the Wand in the Vaults.”

“I’m surprised Oyed didn’t learn about it.”

“Dr. Borg may have forgotten to tell him. Either she didn’t want him near that kind of power, or she forgot it herself.”

“Either way, we dodged a magic blast there.”

“You, Bashoon, and I are of the same mind.”

As Arsha and Endea talked, Glanthel overheard the whole thing. He pondered about what Arsha said about other universes and her travels before the Mechanica Rise. He headed to his ready room and made a call. An Orc man’s face appeared on the screen. He had a prosthetic eye and ear. “Glanthel!” greeted the Orc, Admiral Rokalla Borkshorm. “What can I do for you?”

“You can help clear something up,” replied Glanthel. “I overheard Mom and Queen Arsha talking about an old legend that Her Majesty retrieved.”

“An old legend? When was this?”

“It was during an event called a convergence.”

“Ah, not A convergence, THE Convergence.”

“So, this 3V2R thing was real?”

“As was the prize Queen Arsha won. We have it in the Vaults. Thought she was going nuts about other universes?”

“Call me paranoid, but after…after Dad’s death…”

“…I know, son. Mental health IS a must.”

“I know the doctors and therapists tried everything, but I feel like I could have done more. And given the damage to my own psyche after that incident…I’m surprised the doctors called it war-shock for me.”

“Seeing death like that tends to make one feel like they’re on a battlefield. I assure you, though, Arsha’s mental health is all right.”

“That’s good to know. Thanks for the help, Sir.”

“Anytime.” Glanthel ended the call and looked out the window.

“…I wonder what those other worlds were like,” he mused. “Actual Change-a-trons. Different versions of Sailor Riders. It sounds like a little slice of the Heights to me.” As he pondered, he bounced an orange ball.

Categories
Journey Through Wonder story

Chapter 1: Where to Begin?

A woman in a pink dress and nine fox tails rested on a grassy hill and had a writing pad in her hands. She wrote on the pad with a quill, then looked up as if she were searching for the words. “Where to…ah yes!” she said. She then wrote again and read her writing aloud. “‘Concerning…Citizens. Despite…what politicians…may say…the citizens…of our great…Realms…are…the backbone. Without…their…hard work…there…would…be…no…kingdom…anywhere…in either…the…original…Three…or…the-’” Her writing was interrupted as she heard a man and woman singing together. She peered down the hill and saw a carriage being pulled by a horse with a ten-armed woman with dog-features and wearing a wedding dress. At the woman’s side was a man with a red eye on his tunic. The fox-tailed woman headed down the hill and raised her hand to stop the carriage. “You’re late,” she remarked. The man stared the woman down.

“An Emboramii is never late, Arsha Royana,” he said with a slight rebuking tone. “Nor are they early. They arrive precisely when they mean to.” The dog-woman also stared the fox-woman down. They all stared at one another. …None of them could keep a straight face as a warm smile sprang onto their faces.

“It’s great to see you again, Orbak and Elmpam!” cheered the fox-woman, Queen Arsha Royana, as she leapt into her in-laws’ arms. Once the embrace broke, the dog-woman, Elmpam, chimed in.

“You didn’t think we’d miss Yufantel’s Tour’s End Ceremony, did you?” she asked with a smile. “I promised all my grandkids I’d see them come home and I’m not about to break that promise with my youngest grandkid!”

“How’s the family these days?” asked Orbak as the carriage got moving again. “I hear they’re all pitching in.”

“Your daughter’s idea,” replied Arsha. “Malnar insisted we all get involved with our kids’ respective returns home.”

“That explains the big order I got a week ago,” chuckled Orbak.

“Welmaf and Eemaf also got pretty big orders too,” said Arsha. “They got here two days ago.”

“Ah, good, some help!” replied Elmpam.

“Half the Realms are invited to tune in,” continued Arsha. “The rest will probably tune in anyways. Other than that, life here in Largandra goes on, pretty much the same way it’s been since this Age of Unity started. People and goods come and go, with change coming a bit slower than I would personally like.”

“That tends to happen when peace replaces war,” remarked Elmpam. “There’s no real urgency for survival anymore. Now we focus on thriving.”

“In all honesty, though you may not like the pace of change at the moment,” mused Orbak, “I’m enjoying it. These days, we’re making things made to endure the ravages of time, passing down from one generation to the next.”

“I guess I’m still a little antsy,” muttered Arsha. Her in-laws each arched an eyebrow. Arsha then realized she revealed something she didn’t mean to and decided to explain. “To be honest, I’m getting a bit odd lately. I mean, more than I would consider usual for me. Lately…lately I’ve been feeling Dr. Borg’s metal hand on my shoulder.”

“Didn’t you decapitate her?” asked Orbak.

“Orbak!” admonished Elmpam.

“It’s all right, Elmpam,” assured Arsha. “And I did, but it feels like her ghost is watching me, always right behind me. …I don’t know, maybe I should see if Thengo’s in town.”

“Just like her,” mused Orbak.

“…Her?” asked Arsha. Her in-laws then looked elsewhere as if it were nothing important. Arsha grinned. “All right, keep your secret!” she teased.

“Secret?” asked Orbak.

“I know you’re talking about a member of my old crew.”

“Goodness me!”

“You know, before last year, people held us veterans in high esteem.”

“Indeed?”

“Never had any accidents or did anything too crazy.”

“If you’re referring,” remarked Elmpam, “to that incident during the Summer Solstice, Orbak and I were barely involved. All we did was give Dr. Borontho a little nudge out of the door.”

“Whatever you call it, the Morgonthor trench has labeled you both Disturbers of the Peace.”

“…Did they now?” muttered Orbak. He pouted comedically. Arsha and Elmpam laughed, then Orbak joined in. Arsha then saw a carriage stop.

“Orbak, Elmpam, I’m glad you could make it,” she said as she hopped off.

“So are we, Arsha!” replied Elmpam as their carriage went on.

The Ceremony was held in the park Arsha had hers. The aisle was lined with the ship’s new crew and Arsha, her spouses, and all 17 of their kids that had already completed their tours were at the head of the aisle. Walking down it was a young woman in a cloud dress and wearing a pink bodice. She stopped in front of the Royanas and knelt. “Yufantel Royana,” said Arsha, “you have been away from home for five years now. You have served Realmfleet and expanded your knowledge. What have you learned?”

“I’ve learned that the people are the real movers and shakers of the Realms,” replied Yufantel, the youngest of the Royana children. “Without their help, I would be nothing. I vow to do everything in my power to make sure they are happy.”

“Your tour has been instrumental in your growth,” declared Arsha. “We have no doubts that you will lead us well when you ascend to the throne. Rise, Yufantel Royana, Crown Princess of the entire Under-realm!” The crowd clapped as Yufantel turned.

“Everyone, it’s been a long time since I first set foot on the Grelnak as a kid,” she said. “I never thought I would be able to command effectively, but I was happily proven wrong. Now, I wish my successor luck! May he command better than me!” She turned to an Orc/Centaur Blender man.

“I’m surprised you want me to be better than you,” chuckled the new Captain.

“Look, let’s be honest,” replied Yufantel, “I didn’t exactly come onto the Grelnak with a humble attitude. You, on the other hand, have that in spades. Good Luck, Captain Nartugh!”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” The new Captain then trotted off with his new crew in tow.

Once the ceremony ended, the Royanas had a party celebrating the fact that all 18 of their kids had finished their tours and learned something to help them be better leaders. The partiers were the Royanas, the kids, the grandparents, and family friends. A Genie woman popped up in front of Arsha. “Your guests have arrived,” she announced.

“All right!” cheered Arsha. “Domesta, I wish for you to bring me to the door!” Domesta snapped her fingers and Arsha teleported to the castle door. She opened it to reveal a Goblin woman, a Homunculus man, their daughter and son, a woman in a gray dress with pale-gray skin, and a man in purple clothes and dark-gray skin. “Welcome, welcome!” greeted Arsha.

“Great to be here, Captain!” chuckled the Goblin woman, Bashoon Barmek. Her husband, Delselii, then shook Arsha’s hand.

“Great to see you too, Your Majesty!” he said.

“Oh, come on! We’re all friends here!” Arsha chided slightly. “No need for titles!”

“Hard habit to break,” chuckled the gray woman, Endea, the living extension of the Endeavor.

“Endea, great to see you again!” cheered Arsha as she hugged Endea. She then got a look at the man with her. “Is that little Glanthel?”

“Not so little anymore, is he?” said Endea.

“Good evening, Your Majesty,” greeted Glanthel, the living extension of the Glanthelantir.

“Like I said to Delselii, no need for titles!” Arsha looked Glanthel up and down. “My word, you’ve gotten so big! The last time I saw you, you were barely up to my knees!” Glanthel gave a small smile. Arsha then looked Bashoon and Delselii’s kids. “And we can’t forget the younger Barmeks! Hejema, how’s the Homunculus Pet business?”

“Doing great!” replied Bashoon’s daughter, Hejema. “Homunculus pets are selling like hotcakes, especially in the Under-realm!”

“And Torya, how’s the life of a College Wizard?”

“It’s a little hectic,” replied Bashoon’s son, Torya, “but I can manage. I’m a Vorsholstein AND a Barmek.”

“Good to hear! Now, come in! Come in!” Arsha and her guests went inside and the party began. As the music for the dance played, Arsha looked at her parents, Elgrad and Hanako. She then did a double take. For a moment, Elgrad was white, beardless, and had a full head of pumpkin-orange hair. Hanako also shrunk, lost her kitsune features, and wore blue. Arsha rubbed her eyes and her parents were back to normal. Her son, Farmee, then came up to her.

“Standing alone, Mama?” he chuckled. “That ain’t like you!” Arsha was snapped out of her thoughts.

“Er, Farmee, sweetie, this is gonna seem weird,” she said, “but did you notice anyone going missing?” Farmee arched an eyebrow.

“N-no, can’t say that with any honesty.”

“…All right.” Arsha rejoined the party, leaving her son confused. Hejema then tapped him on the shoulder and pointed her thumb towards the fireworks. Farmee nodded and grinned with Hejema. Time for some mischief!