The next day, after breakfast, everyone gathered in the Gateway Room on Vorton. “Minna,” called Megumi, “I didn’t want to use this method as it always weirded me out, but it’s the best method we have on making our teams. Rusty, are the dimensional coordinates set for it?”
“All five have been programmed into it,” reported Rusty.
“Into what?” asked Galvatron.
“Oh, I’ve always wanted to play that!” giggled POmega.
“Gather in a circle, everyone,” called Megumi.
“Would someone please explain to the Goblin here,” called Bashoon, “what’s going on?”
“How about the newer Vortex Riders?” asked Barbara’s father, Henry Zhou.
“Or their kids?” quizzed Brittney.
“Oh, it’s that time, hm?” asked Flora.
“POmega, do it,” called Megumi.
“Everyone, it’s time for the old Roulette Reader!” cheered POmega. A circular trapdoor opened and revealed a screen with two arrows coming from the center. “This thing reads the dimensional coordinates, accounts for all dimensional data, and decides who is most qualified to go to a certain dimension! It was used during the Vortech Wars to help decide who would go with the Keystone Bearers when there was a seven-person limit on the Gateway! Everyone, it’s time for a bit of Visitor Chance!” Game show lights then flashed as holographic showgirls appeared and danced. The Gateway Pad was also flashing in different colors as the arrows spun around in different circles. “And the ones ready to go to Universe 8-3-N-1-0 are…!” called POmega. The arrows stopped at various people before turning again as POmega rattled off the names. “…Amelia!” A woman with a veil over her hair bowed and smiled. “…Arcee” Arcee gulped. “…Arsha!” Arsha chuckled. “…Charline!” A woman with the same color of skin as Fordelam nodded. “…Foresna!” Foresna smiled nervously. “…Galen!” Galen punched his hand in readiness. “…Glyph!” Glyph giggled and clapped her hands. “…Kaede!” Kaede adjusted her hat in confidence. “…Lisa!” Lisa smiled and showed her fangs. “…Lobstornias!” Lobstornias stroked his mustache. “…Megumi!” Megumi bowed in acceptance. “…Optimus!” Optimus smirked. “…Orbak!” Orbak checked the wheels of his chair before giving a thumbs-up. “…Rosadera!” Rosadera curtsied. “…Sandy!” Sandy adjusted her gloves. “…Shadow!” Shadow grunted and folded his arms across his chest. “…Sky Runner!” Sky Runner jumped excitedly. “…Sonic!” Sonic jogged in place with a smirk on his face. “…Sora!” Sora gulped. “…Torya!” Torya gave a thumbs up. “…Willmef!” Willmef cracked her knuckles. “…and Xiomara!” A woman in green put a reassuring hand on Sora’s shoulder.
“You’ll do fine, mi hijo,” she assured him.
“The team heading to T-H-0-M-4-5-4-N-D-F-R-1-3-N-D-5 will consist of…Amy!” Amy summoned her hammer and rested it on her shoulder. “…Azuliterii!” Azuliterii ran her hand through her hair. “…Blackarachnia!” Blackarachnia flexed her talons. “…Brittney!” Brittney checked her makeup in a pocket mirror. “…Daniel!” Daniel practiced his kicks and punches before adopting a ready stance. “…Emma!” Emma’s tail twitched as she smiled. “…Endram!” Endram adjusted his arms. “…Falnii!” Falnii took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “…Flora!” Flora gave a nervous smile. “…Glanthel!” Glanthel saluted. “…Goldbug!” Goldbug swung the Magnus Hammer before pointing it out in front of him. “…Hanako!” Hanako’s tails flicked. “…Hejema!” Hejema giggled in happiness. “…Irina!” A woman in blue and orange twirled before stopping and curtsying. “…Kaitlyn!” Kaitlyn winked in triumph. “…Kong!” Kong Primal pounded his chest and roared like his beast mode. “…Richard!” Richard pointed as if he was gonna make a home run. “…Sira!” Sira coyly fiddled with the ribbon of her hairpiece. “…Swalmu!” A man in a cloud dress, Flora’s husband and the father of their children, fanned himself. “…Teletraan!” Teletraan’s android body smirked. “…Thundercracker!” Thundercracker projected lightning between his hands. “…Wilson!” A Mobian Quokka, Katrina’s father and Amelia’s husband, gave a wide grin. “…And Yufantel!” Yufantel made a cloud ball and ran it along her arms.
“Something sounds familiar about that universe’s identifier string,” muttered Teletraan, “but I can’t put my code on it.
“The teammates for 4-D-R-3-X-1-4 will be…Bashoon!” Bashoon’s ears flapped. “…Cosmo!” Cosmo giggled. “…Dinara!” A woman in yellow, Michael and Irina’s daughter, gave a flirty look. “…Elmpam!” Elmpam wagged her tail. “…Emily!” Emily flicked her braid. “…Famine!” A gaunt woman with golden-yellow skin quickly polished off her bucket of popcorn before punching her hand. “…Firestorm!” Firestorm nodded in cocky amusement. “…Fitri!” Fitri spun around and smiled. “…Gabriella!” Gabriella did a small Flamenco Dance routine before she finished with a swish of her skirts. “…Geltar!” Geltar made a cocky smirk as she held her hand under her chin. “…Lacey!” Lacey adjusted the flower in her hair before smiling. “…Llyra!” Llyra flashed her claws and teeth. “…Malnar!” Malnar made a small fireball and held it aloft. “…Maria!” Maria pulled a wrench out of nowhere and twirled it. “…Moradelia!” Moradelia smiled and sighed contentedly. “…Natalie!” Natalie used her duster like a sword and made a few slashes. “…Override!” Override gunned her engine in Robot Mode. “…Palmarta!” Palmarta shimmied. “…Rojenthi!” Rojenthi punched the air. “…Rouge!” Rouge chuckled in her usual sultry manner. “…Scorpainia!” Scorpainia’s tail swished and stopped as the tip was above her head. “…Sophie!” Henry’s wife and Barbara’s mother, a short woman with white hair, clapped in approval. “…Trema!” Trema ran her fingers along her hat’s brim. “…And Verdutha!” Verdutha chuckled happily.
“It’s been a while since we visited them,” Moradelia told Rojenthi and Verdutha. Her teammates nodded in agreement.
“Heading to J-4-K-4-N-D-D-4-X-T-3-R are…Adam!” Adam twirled a pencil between his fingers. “…Brendan!” Jandro’s husband, a Vampire like him, stroked his dress’s skirts. “…Death!” Death spun her scythe. “…Delselii!” Delselii laughed like a certain Frankenstein monster from a certain sit-com. “…Eelinape!” Eelinape knelt and put his fist to the floor. “…Farmee!” Farmee checked his gloves and pearl necklace. “Frenzy!” A Decepticon of human height primed his gun and made a “come at me” pose. “…Galvatron!” Galvatron placed his hand over his Spark, then stood at attention. “…Gorfanth!” Gorfanth swished his tail and his ears flicked. “…Henry!” Henry adjusted his doctor’s coat. “…Jack!” Jack flashed his usual flirty grin. “…Jandro!” Jandro chuckled as he adjusted his hair-rose. “…Jason!” Jason saluted as his French dad, Emmanuel, would. “…Joshua!” Emily’s husband and Sam and Tom’s father, a man with a cravat and hat, adjusted his sleeves. “…Knuckles!” Knuckles banged his fists together. “…Lardeth!” Lardeth twirled before posing. “…Liam!” Liam sang a snatch of Loch Lomond. “…Megatron!” Megatron adopted a battle stance. “…Pofomo!” Pofomofo checked her nails in confidence. “…Hot Rod!” Hot Rod leveled his arms and aimed his pipes ahead of him. “…Sam!” Sam swung his katanas. “…Tails!” Tails smirked as he hovered in the air. “…And the Doctor!” The Doctor twirled her sonic screwdriver.
“Looks like a father-son mission, Dad,” mused Galvatron. Megatron nodded in pride.
“That leaves only Team T-M-N-T, consisting of…Agus” A Mobian Komodo Dragon man, Lacey’s husband and Emma’s dad, checked his claws. “…Barbara!” Barbara giggled happily. “…Elgrad!” Elgrad puffed his chest up. “…Endea!” Endea clapped happily at her next new universe. “…Fordelam!” Fordelam smirked and put his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. “…Hiroki!” Hiroki bowed in the usual Japanese manner. “…Jazz!” Jazz did the Michael Jackson Lean. “…Katrina!” Katrina’s tail twitched in nervousness. “…Laserbeak!” Another small Decepticon polished his armor. “…Leemii!” Leemii smirked as she curtsied. “…Michael!” Michael drew his sword and swished it. “…Nightbird!” Nightbird twirled her Sai. “…Pestilence!” A green woman with warts all over her body aside from her head then fluffed her skirt before folding her arms across her chest. “…Ravage!” The last small Decepticon, modeled after a humanoid panther, then twirled his guns before chuckling. “…Shade!” Shade winked and made a cute pose. “…Shockwave!” Shockwave checked her wrist computer, then adopted a ready stance. “…Silver!” Silver floated in the air thanks to his psychokinesis. “…Sweemar!” Sweemar adjusted her hair before smiling. “…Teefmanam!” Teefmanam adjusted her headset before striking her usual greeting pose when she streams. “…Tom!” Sam’s brother, a police officer, checked his gun before nodding in readiness. “…Twaldar!” A male Elf, Charline’s husband and Fordelam’s father, raised a rock from the floor and punched it into dust. “…And War!” An orange-skinned woman with battle scars all over her body and face then roared before drawing a large sword and leveling it at an invisible enemy.
“We have our teams now,” said Megumi. “It’s time to decide who the leader of each team is.”
“Do we?” asked Katrina.
“Katrina, sweetie,” said Amelia, “I know the implications don’t sit well with you, but this is a time of war. We need to have a command structure.”
“Those that wish to lead, remain where you are,” directed Megumi. “Everyone else, you may leave.” The ones who threw their hats into the ring were Arsha, Lobstornias, Megumi, Optimus, Shadow, Sonic, Endram, Goldbug, Kong, Richard, Emily, Fitri, Geltar, Llyra, Malnar, Brendan, Farmee, Galvatron, Megatron, Hot Rod, the Doctor, Hiroki, Jazz, Leemii, Ravage, Silver, and Tom. The Roulette Reader spun its arrows and rested.
“Team 1 will be led by…Megumi!” cheered POmega. “Team 2’s leader is…Richard! Team 3 will have…Emily as leader! Team 4 will be commanded by…Farmee! And Team 5 will have…Hiroki as leader!”
“With that,” called Megumi, “here’s the plan; each team will go to Vorton to be deployed to their universe. They then do what they can to get their respective Flourishment Horseman and Source. Once done, the next team will be deployed the next day. While that team is away, the rest of us will help in reconstruction. We can’t afford to leave the Horsemen of Flourishment to Khan and his forces. We HAVE to save them.”