Tag: sludgiona

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Sludgiona

The third Tarlaxian freed, after a fashion. Because of Megumi’s zeal to fix the multiverse and its people, Sludgiona’s been stranded in the 1984 Ghostbusters’ universe. Acclimation syndrome is a genetic disease where, if you’re traveling the multiverse, some universes are so different in their physical laws that they may assimilate you. Sludgiona has such an affliction and is now stuck in her current universe. If she tried to get back and rejoin her people, she would die.

Nowadays, she’s been cured and can safely travel the multiverse.

First time I made a slimy creature.

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Chapter 15

My group had arrived in our target universe. I must admit, my nerves were showing. “Okay,” I gulped, “let’s get moving!”

“Moon-kyung, are you all right?” asked Joshua.

“I’m not shivering because it’s cold,” I answered.

“You’re gonna do fine!” assured Tonje. I shook my head to clear my nerves.

“Come on,” I declared. “Let’s get going. We need to find the Tarlaxian crew and the Source.” We took to the streets and noticed something was…off.

“Everyone,” called Lukas, “can anyone tell me what that palace is?” He pointed to a palace evoking a massive crystal that dominated the skyline.

“Well now, looks like we know WHEN we are as well as where,” I mused.

“Not more time-travel!” groaned Batman.

“So, we’re in this universe’s 30th century,” mused Lacey.

“30th?” repeated Lukas.

“In Sailor Moon,” I explained, “when the 21st century started, Usagi Tsukino, Sailor Moon, became Neo Queen Serenity and made Tokyo the capital of Earth. She also found a way to slow down the aging process so people could enjoy a lifespan of 1,000 years.”

“How?” asked Batman. “What’s medical science like?”

“It’s not science that did it,” I replied. “Sailor Moon is a Magical Girl.”

“…Magic?” sighed Batman.

“I know it’s a little contrived,” I assured, “but that’s standard fare for Magical Girls.”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” called a woman’s voice. A quintet of women then ran up to us. They wore “sailor fuku” style outfits and had exotic hair matching their outfits’ colors. The woman who called out to us wore pink, even in her hair, and wore her hair like rabbit ears with a long ponytail behind each one. I knew her to be an adult form of Sailor Chibi Moon, Sailor Moon’s daughter. A woman in red wore her hair in an elaborate updo, revealing herself to be Sailor Vesta. A woman in blue had a bun on the top of her head and had a ring of braids with orbs dangling around her head, meaning she was Sailor Pallas. A woman with hair as pink as Sailor Chibi Moon’s had her hair in a bun with braids made into loops on the back of her head and ending in long ponytails. She was Sailor Ceres. The last woman in green and brown wore her hair in an elaborate updo with brown ponytails coming down. She was Sailor Juno. “You lot, a curfew’s in effect!” snapped Sailor Chibi Moon. “You can’t be outside while the Silver Enemy’s here at night!”

“Silver Enemy?” asked Batman.

“You know!” protested Sailor Vesta. “The Handle Heads!” Handle Head gave away who the enemy was!

“Where are they?!” I demanded, having read about how dangerous they are.

“Back there!” replied Sailor Chibi Moon. “So get to shelter and…” we rushed past her to where she pointed, “…and you’re doing the EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT I SAID! GET BACK HERE!” We ran down the street to confirm the Silver Enemy they were talking about. Rhythmic marching pounded on the pavement of the street as they patrolled the area, looking for any human to convert, to become like them. There was no doubt in my mind now; the Cybermen had invaded Crystal Tokyo. I didn’t see any Cybermen with black handles, so I could only believe a Cyber-Deputy was in charge of this group. One of the Cybermen spotted us and alerted his group to our presence. Every Cyberman turned to face us. I noticed the armor looked like a blend between 80’s Cyberman and modern Cyberman.

“We are the future,” droned the lead Cyberman, sounding like an 80’s Cyberman. “We are humanity 2.0. You will become like us.”

“Try and make us like you!” I challenged, burying my nerves before the fight. Like my daddy always said, “Friends may see your nerves, but your enemies must only see confidence.”

“GET OUT OF THERE!” shouted Sailor Chibi Moon.

“Your Highness,” I called, “I must ask you to trust us.”

“I…I don’t know what…” Sailor Chibi Moon was floundering at the idea that her identity was known.

“Madam, please, trust these people,” urged Lexicon. “They’re professionals when it comes to the Cybermen. Well, maybe one of them isn’t.”

“She didn’t need to know that!” I snapped as we fastened our belts. We then got ready.

“Henshin!” we all called. My Chronicle Driver spoke as we changed.

“Open! Turn! Imagine! The Spear of Lance!” We had adopted our Rider personas. As the belt announce, I became Kamen Rider Lance, a Rider based off of Korean armor worn during the Japanese invasions of Korea which ended in Korea’s victory.

“GET THEM!” I shouted. We charged the ranks of Cybermen and the battle began. The Sailor Senshi (Japanese word for Warrior) behind us gawked at how we charged the Cybermen.

“Wha…wha…how…I don’t…” floundered Sailor Chibi Moon.

“Are you familiar with multiverse theory?” asked Lexicon.

“…No, I can’t say as I am,” mumbled Sailor Chibi Moon.

“There are many realities out there,” lectured Lexicon. “Some realities are only observed. The reality these people came from observe your universe frequently, sometimes dressing up as you or your mother back in her time as Sailor Moon.”

“Hold on, are you saying that we have people watching us like we’re a t.v. show?!” yelped Sailor Chibi Moon.

“And hosting conventions dedicated to you lot,” confirmed Lexicon.

“…Wow,” breathed Sailor Chibi Moon. My team didn’t have time to react to her saying that as we were still too busy with the Cybermen. We were at a stalemate.

“Well, gaesaekki,” (son of a b***h) I hissed to my opponent, the purple highlighted Cyber-Deputy, “it’s a bit of a standoff.”

“Soon corrected,” replied the Cyber-Deputy. He turned to his troops. “Release the Cyber-Slammers.”

“Yes, Deputy,” confirmed a Cyberman as he keyed in a code on his gauntlet. Three monstrous Cybermen then arrived.

“Orders, Deputy?” asked one of the monstrous Cybermen.

“Display your prowess to them,” ordered the Cyber-Deputy as he pointed to us.

“Yes, Deputy,” confirmed the monstrous Cyberman. I noticed that one of the monstrous Cybermen had four arms, one of them had a tail and wings, and the one that spoke had four legs and three fingers.

“Sludgiona, please tell me that isn’t…” I gulped.

“The crew of the Tarlaxian scout ship!” replied Sludgiona. “But…how?! Cybermen require human parts! We’re not even REMOTELY human!”

“Such a limitation existed during our nomadic days,” explained the four-armed Cyberman, “but we’ve upgraded to convert ANY living organism, aside from amorphous life-forms such as yourself.”

“You’ve practically killed them!” snarled Sludgiona.

“Incorrect,” countered the Cyberman with a tail and wings. “We are Tarlaxian 2.0. Soon, we shall overcome the obstacles that prevent us from upgrading ones like you. We are Life 2.0. You will become like us.”

“…They’re people in the suits?!” realized Sailor Chibi Moon.

“Your Highness, I’m sorry, but yes,” I answered. “And, regretfully, everything they were is gone.”

“So you killed them!” snarled Sailor Chibi Moon as she pointed an accusing finger at the Cybermen.

“You are afraid,” observed the Cyber-Deputy. “You fear losing yourself to something greater. You fear not staying as the original Usagi Tsukino II. We can remove that fear. We can remove that pain. We can remove any emotion you view as negative.”

“And our positive emotions in the process!” argued Batman.

“Emotions are a hinderance to progress,” replied the Cyber-Deputy.

“But what about the desire to create?!” wailed Sailor Chibi Moon.

“We DO create,” answered the Cyber-Deputy.

“Only things that benefit the Cybermen!” I countered.

“Survival of the species is paramount,” dismissed the Cyber-Deputy.

“I’ve heard enough!” snapped Sailor Chibi Moon. She held her hand to her tiara and gathered energy into a disc. “MOON TIARA MAGIC!” she called as she flung the disc at a Cyberman. He was bathed in white light as the attack hit. The faded, revealing the Cyberman still standing. “Impossible!” breathed Sailor Chibi Moon. “You should have been dusted!”

“All attacks have been catalogued and adapted to,” replied the Cyber-Deputy. “Our new Cyber-Leader has been crucial to that.”

“New Cyber-Leader?” I quizzed.

“Our original Cyber-Leader was destroyed upon arrival in this universe,” explained the Cyber-Deputy. “Neo Queen Serenity was foolish enough to pursue this further.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” demanded Sailor Chibi Moon.

“You are the current Sailor Moon,” observed the Cyber-Deputy. “You have your mother’s original powers as well as your own. Why persist in pursuing something that is out of date?”

“Mom isn’t ‘something’! She’s ‘someone’!” snapped Sailor Chibi…let me rephrase, Sailor Moon.

“Now she is something more,” replied the Cyber-Deputy.

“Deputy,” called a Cyberman, “our new Cyber-Leader is ready.”

“Excellent,” answered the Cyber-Deputy. “Activate.” A bright light came from the parking garage entrance near us and blinded us before fading. My vision was still a little fuzzy, making me consider getting my current prescription contacts changed when this is over. From what I could tell, the distinctive shape of the original Sailor Moon stood before us.

“Mama!” called the current Sailor Moon. “It’s us! Over here!” My helmet began helping to correct my current vision, accounting for my current contacts, and cleared the picture. Neo Queen Serenity approached, well, I wished I didn’t see it. “Mama, what’s with the…the pants…Mama?” gulped Sailor Moon. My blood ran cold. What I saw was a chest unit, a silver undersuit, armor around the shoulders, legs, and arms, and a prosthetic right eye glowing blue! There was no further doubt in my mind. Neo Queen Serenity was upgraded into the new Cyber-Leader! Her hair was now silver and she had black dots on her buns instead of the black handles on her head that Cyber-Leaders usually have. “WHAT HAVE YOU MONSTERS DONE TO HER?!” demanded Sailor Moon. The Upgraded Neo Queen Serenity looked at us.

“So,” she mused, her voice being modulated, “a new member to the Vortex Riders. Otherwise, our information has proved accurate.”

“Sailor Moon, what do we do?!” called Sailor Vesta.

“We have to free Mama!” declared Sailor Moon.

“We’re outnumbered right now!” I argued. “We have to retreat!”

“But my mama’s their prisoner!” countered Sailor Moon.

“Not their prisoner, their LEADER!” corrected Lexicon.

“Orders, Leader?” asked the Cyber-Deputy.

“These units are surplus to requirements,” ordered Cyber Neo Queen Serenity. “All those declared to be nonessential to the survival of the Cyber Race are to be deleted. Eradicate them.”

“Yes, Leader,” obliged the Cyber-Deputy. The Cybermen then raised their weapons.

“Time we were somewhere relatively safer!” I decided as I summoned my steed. The others got the idea and summoned theirs. I further summoned Batman’s Bat Cycle. He grabbed Lexicon while Sludgiona joined me. The Sailor Senshi with us joined Outback, Kämpfer, and Swing while Herald B had two. We converted our steeds to bike mode and sped off while the Cybermen fired on us.

“Cyber Rider Battalion 3374 will pursue,” I ordered.

“Yes, Leader,” obliged the Cyber-Deputy. He relayed the orders and I felt, through the Cyberiad, the deployed Cyber Rider Battalion activate and pursue. They will be destroyed.

We sped through the streets, hearing the whining of engines coming up behind us. “WATCH OUT!” called Sailor Pallas. “THEY’VE GOT BIKERS!” I turned my head briefly a couple of times to see Cybermen pursuing us on hoverbikes!

“Jenjang!” (Damn it!) I swore. “FASTER!” We tried increasing speed, but that’s hard to do when dodging laser fire! Batman deployed a few smoke bombs, but the Cybermen adapted around that and continued pursuit.

“We have to get to the palace!” called Sailor Moon. “My dad should be able to help!”

“King Endymion, of course!” I affirmed. “He’s got help from the other side! Which way?!”

“Turn left!” directed Sailor Moon. We tried to, but the Cybermen blocked our path. We tried another direction, but the Cybermen blocked THAT path. Reversing would only lead to the ones behind us. We could only go forward and I had a feeling they were herding us to an undisclosed location so they could “delete” us. I tried desperately to look for an opening when…

“MARS SNAKE FIRE!” called a woman’s voice. A snake made of fire attacked the Cybermen behind us and destroyed them, causing them to give off their signature death rattle.

“SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!” shouted another woman. Electricity coursed through the Cybermen on our right, causing them to be destroyed while screaming.

“SPACE TURBULENCE!” announced a third woman. A large energy blast cleared the left for us.

“LEFT! NOW!” called Sailor Moon. The left was now clear as we headed to the palace unimpeded.

“Has the reason for the cessation of Cyber Rider Battalion life signals been identified?” I requested.

“The interference of three Sailor Senshi caused total battalion termination,” reported the Cyber-Deputy.

“Have they been identified?” I pressed on.

“Only by their respective attacks,” answered the Cyber-Deputy. “The attacks were Mars Snake Fire, Sparkling Wide Pressure, and Space turbulence, the respective attacks of Sailors Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus.”

“…Logically, the other Sailor Senshi of the 20th century are here,” I deduced. “Excellent. Prepare Conversion Chambers to receive them. The Vortex Riders and Batman are still surplus to requirements. The amorphous Tarlaxian is to be captured for experiments relating to upgrading her brand of life. Continue searching for the Source of Chaos.”

“Yes, Leader,” confirmed the Cyber-Deputy.

We arrived at the palace’s gates to see Sailors Saturn and Pluto greet us. Sailors Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus joined us a few seconds later. “Let them through,” bid Sailor Moon.

“What?” asked Sailor Saturn.

“They saved our lives,” explained Sailor Moon. “Let them through.” The gates opened and we went inside, parking our bikes in a designated spot and powering down. My vision was back to its blurry state, confirming I needed new contacts now. However, I didn’t need contacts to see that the palace looked more like a refugee camp! The Cybermen must have chased everyone out of their homes and Endymion opened the gates for as long as he could to keep the people safe. He probably couldn’t save EVERYONE, though. What do we tell him, his wife now commands the Cybermen? Speaking of which, Endymion approached us. Sailor Moon rushed up to him and hugged her dad.

“Lady, you’re all right!” Endymion sighed in relief.

“There were so many!” sobbed Sailor Moon. Father and daughter stayed in the embrace for a while. He then ended it and tried to get some answers.

“Your mother?” he asked. Sailor Moon looked away, ashamed.

“Neo Queen Serenity was altered by the Silver Enemy,” mumbled Mars.

“Altered?” asked Endymion.

“She’s their leader now!” elaborated Jupiter. Sailor Mercury came running up to us at that.

“Your Majesty, we’re getting a transmission from the Silver Enemy,” she reported.

“Let’s see it,” declared Endymion. An image appeared on a screen, displaying the interior of the Cybermen’s base with the upgraded Neo Queen Serenity standing in the middle.

“I am Cyber-Leader Gi,” she introduced. “We are the Cybermen. We will upgrade everyone to a level of perfection. You will become like us.”

“How?!” demanded Endymion. “We’ve scrambled all communications!”

“The knowledge Neo Queen Serenity possessed is now ours,” explained the newly christened Cyber-Leader Gi. “Your attempts at thwarting us are hopeless…Mamo-chan.” She said that, but there was no love in that phrase, only cold logic. The transmission ended, leaving us feeling very scared.

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Chapter 3

The Gateway opened to reveal Scorpainia stepping through. She had Turretorg, Technarain, Discornia, and Sludgiona with her. “I see you’ve had this place redecorated since I was here last,” observed Scorpainia.

“Looks a little…bright,” muttered Batman.

“Yeah, we needed to make it brighter,” I replied. “A few of us would rather NOT stumble with only blue lighting in a dark place. Some plant life also benefitted us. The oxygen generators were pretty taxed during the Vortech Wars.”

“And with the new lighting,” helped Lukas, “came a source of vitamin C, essential for us humans.” At that moment, the lights went off. “…Apparently, we need a better power source,” muttered Lukas.

“No, dudes,” called a surfer dude’s voice. “Just rerouting power!” The lights came back on as an R9 Astromech wheeled himself in. “Had a gnarly idea,” continued the Astromech, “that we could route some power from the sensors to the GUUUUNNS!”

“New guys, this is R9-D7, the only Astromech I know of that can speak Basic,” I introduced. “R9, these are the new guys.”

“I think the new guys are already familiar with the most RADICAL Astromech in the multiverse!” boasted R9.

“Remind me of his backstory again?” asked Liam.

“After the Vortech Wars,” I explained, “Vader left him behind. He was stuck on Vorton for a few weeks until X-PO found him. We fixed him up and installed vocal components so we don’t have to guess his beeping.”

“And it’s been awesome ever since!” cheered R9.

“R9,” called Emily, “quick question. How are the defenses going to shoot any invaders WITHOUT the sensors?”

“…Okay, so there ARE some holes in my idea,” conceded R9. “No need to be bugging or anything.”

“We’ll save modifications AFTER this adventure,” I suggested.

“Buzzkill,” muttered R9.

“All right, is everyone here for the briefing?” I asked.

“Wait, where’s Pup-X5?” asked Emmanuel.

“And Lexicon, for that matter,” supplied Sheela.

“We’re here!” called a woman’s voice. A large, gunmetal grey can with an antenna on top came in with a humanoid dog robot walking it. The dog robot was about Snoopy’s height. He detached the leash from the can and petted Kit-10. “Sorry about the wait,” remarked the can, Lexicon, a mobile datastore. “Pup-X5 insisted on getting a bite to eat. How you lot managed to install a stomach that can process food like you do, I’ll never understand.” Pup-X5 rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

“Well, you got here anyways,” I dismissed, “so thank you for coming. Now that we’re all here, X-PO, you may begin.”

“Thank you,” bid X-PO. He started up a PowerPoint with the Gateway. “As many of you know,” he began, “five Tarlaxian Jabarda class scout ships were deployed to scout for potential universes in case the Omega Protocols needed to be deployed again.”

“A future Tarlax 15?” quizzed Wyldstyle.

“Indeed,” confirmed Scorpainia. “I would have called you lot a little later, but SOMEONE decided to force the issue!” She glared at X-PO.

“We’ll turn him into a coffee maker later,” I joked.

“Thanks,” snarked X-PO. “Anyway, in the most recent logs, I discovered that they were going near five universes containing the Sources.”

“What IS a Source?” I asked.

“In this instance,” interjected Famine as she paused her snacking, “it’s the source of an aspect the five of us Horsemen represent. Each looks like a crystal ball, about the size of a human’s head, in our colors. Mine’s yellow, Pestilence’s green, Death’s blue, War’s orange, and Lacey inherited the purple one of Chaos.”

“Chaos?” I muttered.

“An apocalypse IS rather chaotic,” replied Lacey. “Besides, chaos is common when life exists.”

“Fair point,” I conceded.

“Does that mean we should call Lacey ‘Chaos’ instead?” asked Richard.

“Please, no!” groaned Lacey.

“Focus, please!” snapped X-PO.

“The Source Universes?” muttered Scorpainia. “What were they doing near there? They’re WAY too close to Foundation Prime. Besides, we’ve long established that they were inhabited.”

“We always look for universes with no life aside from plants on ANY of that universe’s planets,” supplied Sludgiona.

“What are the universes’ identifier strings?” I quizzed.

“5-P-L-4-T-0-0-N, D-1-5-N-3-Y, 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0, T-3-4-M-F-0-R-T-R-3-5-5-2, and 5-4-1-L-0-R-M-0-0-N,” replied Discornia.

“So, Splatoon, Disney, Super Mario, Team Fortress 2, and Sailor Moon,” I guessed.

“Bingo,” answered Death. “Splatoon hold my Source because they’ve invented a way to circumvent death in a weapon-using sport, Disney holds War’s as it’s very peaceful, given the chaos it usually brings, Super Mario has a cure for all, so it hides Pestilence’s Source, Team Fortress 2’s inhabitants don’t get hungry, so Famine could hide her Source there, and Sailor Moon brings order, so Lacey’s Source is safe.”

“So, the opposite aspects of your sources hides them,” I theorized.

“Exactly,” grunted War.

“But, as her Majesty asked, what were those ships doing there?” quizzed Technarain. “Their courses shouldn’t have taken them anywhere NEAR those universes.” Turretorg shuffled his feet. It’s not a quiet shuffle, given what his feet are made of.

“Turretorg,” hissed Scorpainia, “is there something you want to share with us?” No response. “Turretorg,” growled Scorpainia.

“I…I’m not at liberty to say,” stammered Turretorg.

“Not even to me?” snarled Scorpainia.

“…Sorry, but not even to you,” sighed Turretorg.

“That leaves us at liberty to speculate,” remarked Liam. He turned to Scorpainia. “You said they were near Foundation Prime, right?”

“They are,” confirmed Scorpainia. “As to why, I’ll let Death explain.”

“The Sources constantly project a barrier around Foundation Prime so no one, not even the Horsemen, could get to it,” explained Death. “However, if you’re clever enough you could find a chink in that barrier and get into Foundation Prime.”

“Vortech used me to that end,” remarked X-PO. “That’s how I got you guys into it.”

“So, when Vortech was beaten,” continued Death, “we reforged the barrier and shored up any flaws we could find. As such, using all five sources on the barrier will cause it to crumble and people could freely enter and exit Foundation Prime, restoring that square Vortech used to control the multiverse and bending it to their whims.”

“And, given the power we witnessed,” I guessed, “you didn’t WANT people to freely enter and exit that universe.”

“Exactly,” confirmed Death. “With all that in mind, those universes would make rather good defensive positions.”

“Hoping to control those universes?” Scorpainia asked Turretorg.

“Your Majesty,” sighed Turretorg, “I hope you’re not naïve enough to believe the Tarlaxian Senate DIDN’T want to use those universes.”

“No,” replied Scorpainia, “but I’m a little ticked that neither you nor the Senate brought the concern to my attention!”

“And?” quizzed Turretorg.

“And, if you didn’t tell her or your wife THAT,” hissed Moon-kyung as she nodded towards Discornia, “it makes us rather worried what ELSE you kept from her, or US, for that matter.”

“There wasn’t anything else to tell!” snarled Turretorg. “Their mission was to scout out potential universes in case the Omega Protocols were needed again. Yes, it WAS possible that they would pass by those universes. So, the Senate made it a secret parameter of said mission that, should they not find a threat to the Sources, they would gather data and intelligence relating to a defensive position to surround Foundation Prime. That is all!”

“It seems like a restructuring of the Senate is in order!” snarled Scorpainia. “I’d rather know about their concerns!”

“Well, from what I’ve picked up from a stray transmission,” interjected X-PO, “the crews of those ships weren’t too happy about that secret parameter either. Here’s something I picked up from the ship near 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0.” He played a video of an apartment with three Tarlaxians in it.

“Wait, I thought you said that it’s from a scout ship,” recalled Richard. “That looks like Linkara’s old apartment.”

“With the stuff he had, too,” muttered Livia.

“My doing,” answered Technarain. “I heard about nerds in that universe turning a house into a spaceship, so I wanted to get a good look at any potential bridge designs. Linkara’s old apartment seemed like a more functional choice. He seemed okay with it.”

“If we could continue?!” grunted War.

“Thank you,” bid X-PO. He started the video. A two-headed, six-armed woman in a glossy, black exoskeleton, a spider’s rear end above her butt, eight eyes in a ring on each head with the two largest ones in the center, and claws on her fingers was at a workstation. The annotations identified her as Spidarachnimpa. A woman with a skirt that looked like a snail’s foot sat on Spidarachnimpa’s left. She had a snail’s antennae in place of her eyes, a snail’s shell, and secreted slime all over her body. It didn’t seem to affect her workstation. An annotation called her Escargripam. In the kitchen was a Tarlaxian man with a humanoid body shape, a skirt of eight octopus tentacles, a ring of eight tentacles around his shoulders, and the head of an octopus with a beak where a human’s mouth should be. He was called Octorpindar. Spidarachnimpa’s left head spoke into a communicator.

“This is the scout ship, Tranzek,” she called. “We have just entered Mushroom World territory and are ready to carry out our assignment. All lights are orange. No sign of any problems. We look forward to hearing from you in an hour. Tranzek out.” She switched the comms off.

“I still can’t believe it!” griped Octorpindar. “I mean, a year of planning this venture, three months to get to the universe we’re supposed to be at, then, just a few days before we get there, Tarlax calls saying, ‘Hey! Can you deviate from your flight plan by about 2 more months and check out a universe near Foundation Prime that holds Pestilence’s Source?’ I mean…!”

“Steady on, Octorpindar,” interjected Spidarachnimpa’s right head.

“We knew this was a possibility,” continued her left head.

“Yeah, but,” grumbled Octorpindar, “they didn’t need to wait until practically the last minute to tell us! I mean if we manage to encounter Vortech’s prison…!”

“We won’t!” countered Spidarachnimpa’s left head. “We’ll be moving in parallel to the loop pattern and matching the velocity of the rift loop.”

“Plus we have automatic sealants,” continued her right head, “to take care of any pinpricks in this baby’s hull should any debris be caught in the rift loop’s orbit and flung at us.”

“I wish I shared your confidence,” remarked Octorpindar as he grabbed a sandwich from the fridge.

“Don’t worry about it, dude,” remarked Escargripam. “We’re not gonna find anything. I mean, the Doctor…”

“The Doctor!” interrupted Octorpindar. “There’s a Gallifreyan that is THAT arrogant to think they can heal their…!”

“The Doctor had practically tied Vortech’s prison into a pretty little bow!” continued Escargripam. “He’s stuck!”

“If he manages to wiggle out…!” protested Octorpindar.

“I think somebody’s a little cranky this morning,” remarked Spidarachnimpa’s left head as both turned to him.

“Somebody needs to sit in the comfy chair,” continued the right head. She tapped the unoccupied console as Octorpindar rolled his eyes. He entered the living room and sat down at the console. He looked around the apartment-bridge and sighed.

“This will never NOT be weird,” he muttered.

“We’ve been doing this for practically all our lives,” groaned Escargripam, “and you choose NOW to complain?!”

“We’re sitting in an apartment that once belonged to some nerd!” complained Octorpindar.

“We are sitting,” both of Spidarachnimpa’s heads snarled in unison, “on the bridge of the most advanced scout ship and we’re ready to make history! Now, I don’t care if it happens in a toilet stall or a nerd’s basement dwelling, as long as it gets us there and gets us home! So, put on your grown-up explorer boots and give me a read-out on engine consumption!”

“Sorry, sorry,” sighed Octorpindar as he checked his station. “Engine consumption’s nominal. Look, I’m just saying the multiverse can get crazy and weird.”

“Better weird than boring,” remarked Escargripam. She checked her station’s readings. “We’re approaching the Source Universe. Should be smooth sailing.”

“Belay that thought,” interjected Spidarachnimpa’s left head.

“Why?” quizzed Escargripam.

“I’m detecting a power signature out there,” reported Spidarachnimpa’s right head. They all looked at the reading on her console.

“How can anything have power this far out?” muttered Escargripam.

“Well, let’s find out,” replied Spidarachnimpa’s right head. “It’s about 170 cm in length, 89 cm in width, and…and coming at us in an attack vector!!” At this point, both heads were speaking in unison. “Hard about! Raise the…!” The ship lurched and tossed the Tarlaxian crew over their consoles. An explosion made the video end in static. We stood there in silence.

“…Are they…?” gulped Emmanuel.

“We’re STILL getting bio-signs,” replied Technarain, “so I don’t think so.”

“Now we REALLY need to rescue them,” I declared. “I had already decided to split us up into teams according to After Academy house, but I think a Keystone Bearer on each team would help.”

“And a Tarlaxian on each team,” interjected Scorpainia.

“And a robot,” called Kit-10.

“All right, then let’s get organized,” I affirmed. The teams went like so: Death, Haitao, Livia, Sheela, Colleen, Sophie, X-PO, Turretorg, and myself would go to 5-P-L-4-T-0-0-N to check on her Source, War, Gandalf, Michael, Hiroki, Irina, Alesandro, Charline, Kit-10, and Discornia would go to D-1-5-N-3-Y to check that Source’s status, Pestilence, Hongo, Emily, Mikhail, Tanisha, Liam, Amelia, R9-D7, and Scorpainia would use the Virginia to go to 5-U-P-3-R-M-4-R-1-0 and use its sensors to check that Source out, Famine, Wyldstyle, Richard, Emmanuel, Xiomara, Victor, Brenden, Pup-X5, and Technarain will confirm the Source’s condition in T-3-4-M-F-0-R-T-R-3-5-5-2, and Lacey, Batman, Joshua, Lukas, Tonje, Moon-kyung, Flora, Lexicon, and Sludgiona would check out 5-4-1-L-0-R-M-0-0-N for her Source. “Are the team assignments clear?” I asked. Everyone replied yes. “Then let’s hit the hay for now,” I declared. “It’s late at night and I don’t want anyone fighting their own fatigue on top of fighting whoever’s behind this.”

“Sleep sounds heavenly right now,” muttered Moon-kyung. We all retired to our rooms and hit the sack.

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 58

Our destination, Madame Megumi, was at the library, specifically, the basement. Xiomara, Hongo, and I had landed on each other. As we got off of each other, we heard voices. “This is hot, Ray,” called a voice, Egon’s voice, to be exact.

“They’re here?” asked Xiomara.

“Time to catch up with friends,” I declared.

“I don’t understand you, sometimes,” muttered Peter’s voice. “Why do you keep ghost snot?” We turned to bump into the Ghostbusters, sans Winston.

“Bonjour,” I greeted.

“Emmanuel! Hongo! Xiomara!” cheered Ray. “Good to see you! We got a call here that one of the ghosts that escaped is back here.”

“It WOULD happen after Winston took some time off to see family,” griped Peter.

“Listen!” whispered Ray. We stayed silent. “Do you smell that?” Hongo tried to puzzle that out, then gave up. We went through the maze of bookshelves to see the library ghost again! She was talking to Heather. “Two ghosts!” called Ray as he snapped pictures.

“Stop that!” snapped Peter as he smacked the camera down. The library ghost heard us and put a finger to her lips.

“All right, let’s see you boys in action!” whispered Xiomara. She then noticed something. “Er, where are your packs?”

“The Head Librarian was against having our packs here,” replied Egon.

“So, you went to a job unprepared?!” I hissed.

“So, what do we do?” asked Peter.

“Okay, I have a plan,” declared Ray. “I know exactly what to do.” We huddled and heard his plan. They DID have a trap but needed our help. When the plan was outlined, we got into position, ready to transform.

“Rider…” whispered Hongo. We WERE in a library.

“Henshin!” we all whispered. As we changed, we were shushed again.

“Okay! 1! 2! 3! GET THEM!” shouted Ray. The Librarian went scary again as we charged at Heather and her. Seeker and I swapped i.d tags for the Ghost one

“Ghost Steel!” announced our belts.

“KAIGAN! ORE! Let’s go! Kakugo! Go, go, go, GHOST! Go! Go! Go! Go!” called the Ghost Driver’s voice as the wardrobes changed us. The Librarian tried to phase through me, not a chance. I managed to grapple her and spin her around, flinging her into the bookshelves. She then regained control for a moment until Heather was thrown into her by Seeker. They squabbled for a sec until Heather noticed something and fled. The Librarian, on the other hand, was caught in the trap under her and sucked in. The trap shut and we all gathered around.

“The first seen in the box!” cheered Ray.

“Ready to go!” continued Egon.

“We be fast,” Seeker went on.

“AND SHE BE SLOW!” we all said. We then heard a scream. It was the Head Librarian. He looked at the mess we made. Peter then opened his mouth.

“Now, there WAS a second ghost,” he said. “So, until we get her, the bill will…”

“WHAT BILL?!” roared the Head Librarian as he grabbed an axe. “YOU IDIOTS TRASHED STORAGE!! I’M NOT PAYING A SINGLE CENT! YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?!”

“Yes, it means goodbye!” yelped Egon. We all ran out of the library, screaming!

“It’s on us, then!” called Peter as we went out the door and into Ecto-1. Ray turned the ignition on and we sped back to the firehouse.

“I am positive you broke several speed limits,” I panted as we got out.

“Would YOU like to return to a crazed Librarian?” asked Seeker as she cancelled her transformation. Ichigō and I followed suit.

“Hey, guys, what’s all the racket?!” burbled a voice as Sludgiona came up from the basement. She clapped eyes on us. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Emmanuel, Hongo, and Xiomara.”

“Hola!” called Xiomara. “How are things?”

“Doing all right, given the circumstances,” replied Sludgiona. She then turned to her current landlords. “Egon, I think I may have something.”

“On my way,” answered Egon as he took the trap. As they descended, Peter pulled Xiomara, Hongo, and I aside.

“Okay, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“We’re trying to stop a girl from coming back to life via destructive means,” replied Xiomara. “The necessary part for her is in this universe. Have you seen a quarter-circle around here?”

“Not in a while,” answered Ray.

“Sorry,” supplied Peter.

“Oh well,” I sighed. “Maybe Egon and Sludgiona saw it.”

“We’ll see ourselves down,” assured Xiomara. We headed down to see Sludgiona and Egon working on something.

“How about Coordinates 29 by 13 by 7?” asked Egon.

“Checking,” reported Sludgiona. She ran the data through and they waited for results. The screen flashed red. It read that the universal bio-print didn’t confirm with the one she was looking for. “DAMN IT!” swore Sludgiona. “The dimensional timeline…!”

“Looked similar,” interjected Egon, “but that’s most likely because it’s a parallel universe. It’s not one your people would inhabit. I think you would prefer to be with your people and not in a similar world.”

“It’s getting so that I may have to settle for that!” burbled Sludgiona. “Vortech traveled the multiverse to find Foundation Prime, most likely passing the one my people currently live in, yet, even with the blueprints I stole from him before I was enslaved, we can’t seem to find it!”

“We HAVE sent probes into other universes to collect even more possibilities,” called Hongo as he announced our presence. “We’re creating quite the map of the multiverse.”

“I’m only interested in ONE point on that map, and that’s where the Tarlaxians moved to,” hissed Sludgiona as she recovered from her startled state. “What brings you down here?”

“We need to ask you to help us find an Apocalypse Driver part,” answered Xiomara.

“Doesn’t Death’s student possess the complete Apocalypse Driver?” asked Sludgiona.

“The Four Horsemen made back-up parts in case one was damaged,” I explained. “Now, we have someone gathering the parts to resurrect herself.”

“And bringing doom onto the multiverse!” gulped Sludgiona.

“So, you know the implications,” I observed.

“Of course,” burbled Sludgiona. “I helped build the original parts. I’m willing to help in any way I can.”

“Très Bon,” I replied. “In the meantime, we need to navigate your universe. Dr. Spengler, do you think your team is willing to accept a few temps in terms of using the packs?”

“You mean practical Ghostbusting?” asked Egon. “We could use the help, since Winston is visiting family.”

“What’s this about temps?” asked Peter’s voice. He came down with Ray.

“Emmanuel and his team are requesting temporary jobs,” answered Egon. “I vote yes.”

“Well, we need the help,” replied Ray.

“Good, you three are hired,” called Peter. “There’re spare uniforms up top. They may be a little snug. Hope you can carry the packs.”

“We’ll manage,” assured Xiomara. We headed upstairs and got ourselves changed. You know me, I HATE pants. They are, how you say, restrictive as all get out! Still, I get to wear the Ghostbusters’ uniform! Any fan would LOVE to get into one of them! When we stepped out, we headed over to the spare packs. We tested them out, they were rather heavy. Still, we could manage, as Xiomara guessed. While we examined each other, Janine got a call.

“Hello, Ghostbusters,” she began. “…Yes, of course, they’re serious. …You again?! …Him again?! …Okay, just refresh my memory on the address. …Uh huh. …Yes, they’ll be discreet this time. …Okay, no problem. Goodbye.” She hung up. “SLIMER’S HAUNTING THE SEDGEWICK HOTEL AGAIN!” she shouted as she rang the alarm.

“Again?” protested Peter as we got into Ecto-1.

“Maybe he died there,” I suggested.

“He could have been a chef that died of a heart attack,” theorized Egon.

“Or a patron that clogged his arteries,” remarked Ray.

“Can we save the speculation until we get the spud again?” asked Peter. We arrived at the hotel and were met by the manager.

“Well, doing business with you again, this is great!” cheered Ray.

“I wish I could say the same,” hissed the manager. “I just hope we can take care of this quietly!”

“Yes, sir. Don’t worry, we handle this kind of thing all the time!” assured Ray. Slimer then knocked the manager over as our bosses fired their packs. We got them to stop soon enough.

“What the hell are you doing?!” asked a cleaning lady.

“Nous sommes désolés!” (We’re sorry) I called. “We thought you were a ghost.”

“You know,” remarked Ray, “it’s just occurred to me. We REALLY haven’t had a completely successful test of the temps’ equipment.”

“Oh, I see!” I snapped. “Give the new guys the potentially volatile equipment!” Slimer then shook his butt at us and went through the door. At that point, more ghosts blocked our path. We threw our streams at the ghosts and ensnared them quickly. Ray then threw the trap and I was given the honor of opening it. The ghosts were sucked in and we tried the door. It was locked.

“Only one option,” remarked Peter. He then used his stream to cut a hole in the door!

“Peter!” protested Egon.

“We need to get the spud quickly!” argued Peter. We went inside to find a clean ballroom. “Split up!” whispered Peter. We all headed in a separate direction. Egon and I were in the kitchen. Xiomara investigated the ballroom with Peter. Hongo and Ray started their search at the bar. After a few minutes, Egon and I heard the streams being thrown. Slimer then flew through a wall and hovered over the stove.

“Slimer, you KNOW the Sedgewick Hotel is off limits!” called Egon. “Come on, back to the Firehouse.” Slimer made various spluttering noises and shook his head a lot. “Slimer! Home! Now!” demanded Egon. I pulled out the walkie-talkie.

“Who shot at Slimer first?” I asked on an open channel.

“That would be Peter,” replied Xiomara. “We lost sight of him.”

“Egon’s arguing with him right now,” I reported.

“You know,” mused Xiomara, “I never realized how much of an ugly booger he was until I met him.” Slimer glared in my direction.

“I think he just heard that ‘booger’ comment,” I gulped.

“Don’t move,” instructed Xiomara. “He won’t hurt you!”

“No, but he’s gonna slime me!” I yelped as Slimer charged at me. He phased through me and…oh, mon DIEU! I have never felt so filthy! It’s a good thing I wasn’t in my dress. I was dripping in Slimer’s…you know what. Ugh! Egon collected a sample before helping me up.

“I’ve never known Slimer to be this agitated,” he muttered. “I’ll need to study his behavior once we get him back.”

“Does anyone have eyes on Slimer?” I called over the radio.

“He’s back in the ballroom, judging by the PKE meter,” replied Hongo. “We can’t see him.”

“We’ll converge there,” directed Egon. We did so and searched the place. Ray then looked up.

“There he is! On the ceiling!” he called. We saw Slimer flying around a chandelier, making a gooey mess of it.

“And he’s making a table float,” observed Hongo.

“Pardon?” I asked, looking around. Hongo was right, Slimer was making a table float.

“He’s never done THAT before!” yelped Peter.

“Something’s wrong,” muttered Egon. “We need to get him down!” We threw our proton streams at the chandelier, making it fall and making Slimer run while summoning another horde of ghosts. We got them trapped and went around the floating table. Slimer was inhabiting another table and hurling food at us.

“NOW WHAT?!” I shouted, getting frustrated. I then saw Xiomara bringing a cake to him! “What are you, a waitress?!”

“Well, back home, yes,” replied Xiomara. “Besides, Slimer can’t resist the sweet stuff.”

“Good point!” I said, realizing her plan.

“We distract him, then we trap him?” guessed Hongo.

“That’s right!” confirmed Xiomara. “Keep me covered!” We did so as Xiomara successfully delivered the cake. Slimer stopped his assault and started eating.

“All right!” called Peter. “THROW IT!” We did so, but Slimer escaped and started hiding in the covered serving trays. They rotated, but I kept my eye on the one Slimer hid in. I shot it and he fled to the bar, in a blender.

“Okay, I know this is mean to the little guy, but…” I snickered. I then switched the blender on. Slimer came out of the top, throwing it away, and fled into a portrait while the slime he left behind scattered everywhere! As soon as I managed to turn it off, we got covered in slime.

“…Very clever,” hissed Hongo, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“Sorry!” I sighed. Another ghost horde surrounded the painting. We got rid of them and fried the painting. We then fired on Slimer, who was getting worn out as he fled to a table and possessed it.

“That last shot took something out of him!” called Ray. “But, he’s gonna move! I need some room to put the trap down!” We turned the table into splinters as Slimer slowly moved up. “THROW IT!” shouted Ray. We did so and successfully ensnared Slimer! “All right, start bringing him down! Start bringing him down! You got him! Don’t cross the streams!”

“Hongo, shorten your stream!” directed Xiomara. “I don’t want my face burned off!”

“All right, I’m opening the trap now!” called Ray. “Don’t look directly into the trap!”

“Sorry, I looked at the trap, Ray!” I replied. Slimer was then sucked in and the trap shut itself.

“Well,” panted Ray, “that wasn’t such a bad first job for you guys, was it?” We were catching our breath at the time. We then picked up the trap and headed out.

“We came!” boasted Peter to the manager as he met us. “We saw! We kicked its ass!”

“Was it the same one?!” asked the manager.

“Unfortunately, yes, sir,” replied Ray. “And he brought friends.”

“I thought there was only one!” wailed the manager.

“Well, there wasn’t,” answered Peter. “Now, we took care of them and will still charge you the usual fee of $4,000, since the equipment is no longer new, but…” here comes the price gouging, “we had new guys working with us, so, an extra $1,000 dollars will get them started in future paychecks.”

“$5,000?” asked the manager. “I had no idea you would still use that absurd price. I won’t pay this time!”

“Oh, that’s quite all right,” I replied. “We can just put him back. He seems to love it here.” I made a move to open the trap.

“WAIT!” yelped the manager. He made out a check for $5,000.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” I called as we boarded Ecto-1.

“Well, that was an exciting experience,” chuckled Hongo. “Maybe I should convince Takeru to go into the business.”

“Oh boy,” I shuddered. “Let’s not go there.” We arrived at the firehouse and unloaded the ghosts into the containment unit. Sludgiona was down in the basement, talking with someone on her radio.

“Are you sure about that?” she asked. Emily’s voice came up.

“Of course!” replied Emily. “The bit of stuff you left on Megumi’s dress should be altered enough that it will cure you! You’ll be able to go home!”

“I WOULD like that,” sighed Sludgiona. She then saw us. “Ah, back already, I see. Emily told me you have a cure with you?”

“Oh, almost forgot. Pardon,” I apologized as I headed up to my locker. I took out a vial of Sludgiona’s ooze and headed back down. “Here,” I called as I handed it to her. She opened it and emptied the contents onto herself. She looked herself over.

“I don’t…feel any different,” she muttered. “Do I LOOK any different?”

“…Not particularly,” I replied. “I guess the test is if you can survive the rift energies.”

“That can wait,” declared Sludgiona. “At the moment, I’m expecting a call.”

“Okay, I’ll let you go,” replied Emily. “Hope to see you in person!” The call ended.

“Honestly, she’s a genius in the medical field,” muttered Sludgiona, “but I can’t believe she nearly broke rule 1 in Jurassic World!”

“You can explain why she couldn’t use her belt back there?” asked Xiomara.

“It was the fact she had a Foundation Element on her person!” answered Sludgiona.

“You mean, the Omnitrix?” I asked.

“Exactly!” confirmed Sludgiona. “While Azmuth may not know it, his greatest invention puts out energy that can overload machinery if it is used at all! Thank goodness, I installed various safety features in that regard! If the Vortex Drivers are within the user’s arm length of a Foundation Element and the user uses the Element’s power, the belt will shut down so the Element, a greater source of power, can be used safely.”

“Did you tell her that?” I asked.

“Of course,” replied Sludgiona. “I’m a genius. Now, if you don’t mind, I must wait for a call from Ms. Barrett.”

“Ms. Barrett?” asked Xiomara. “Dana Barrett?”

“The same,” confirmed Sludgiona. “She said she saw a Terror Dog in her fridge again.”

“Er…again?!” I gulped.

“You don’t think it’s Zuul again, do you?” asked Xiomara.

“Impossible,” I muttered. “She was beaten along with Gozer!”

“What ARE you talking about?” asked Sludgiona.

“Zuul the Gatekeeper is a worshipper of Gozer the Destructor,” explained Xiomara. “Since the host was Dana Barrett, it is believed that Zuul is a female. Vinz Clortho, the Keymaster usually accompanies her. Gozer, itself, is a force of destruction, with only one goal, to destroy the world. Last time Gozer was around, it took the form of the Stay Puft Marshmallow man. The Ghostbusters stopped its plans and saved humanity.”

“Wait, you said that this Zuul possessed Dana, right?” asked Sludgiona.

“I did,” replied Xiomara.

“…………DR. VENKMAN!” shouted Sludgiona. The Ghostbusters came rushing down.

“You didn’t tell them?!” I protested.

“Tell us what?!” asked Peter.

“Zuul’s back in Dana’s fridge!” answered Xiomara. “And SOMEONE didn’t research that creature enough!”

“Dana’s in trouble?!” yelped Peter.

“I’m sure we can take care of it tomorrow,” remarked Ray. “It’s probably stress. In the meantime, I gotta get some sleep. I’m dying.”

“True, you don’t look good,” observed Peter.

“I don’t?” asked Ray.

“Well, you looked better,” replied Peter. “I guess you’re right. Dana can fight Zuul off now.”

“She’s developed a resistance to supernatural possession,” revealed Egon.

“Then, in that case, Zuul may be wasting her time,” I sighed in relief. At that point, we heard a voice upstairs.

“…Cease and desist all commerce order! Seizure of premises and chattels! Ban on the use of public utilities for non-licensed waste handlers! And, my favorite, a federal entry and inspection order!” declared the voice.

“Oh no, not again!” wailed Peter.

“Peck?” I guessed.

“…Do you want some, er, coffee?” said Janine. Peck growled and shoved his way downstairs. We then got into a brawl with him and his men as they tried, yet again, to shut down the containment unit.

“Pecker,” I snapped, “I must question your sanity!”

“My name is Peck!” snarled the agent.

“You shut that thing down,” warned Peter, “and we are NOT going to be held responsible for whatever happens!”

“This time, you WILL be held responsible!” argued Peck.

“I sincerely doubt that!” growled Xiomara.

“Shut it off!” ordered Peck.

“Don’t touch!” I shouted as I grabbed a pipe, intending to swing it at the man. “I’m warning you!” Janine and another workman were just having coffee.

“I’ve quit better jobs than this,” sighed Janine.

“I must say,” remarked the workman, “I’ve always wanted to see your operations and I will admit, I’ve never seen anything like this before.” He leaned on a lever, the shutdown lever! The ghosts came out again!

“Not again!” wailed Peter. At that point, we heard another voice.

“WHERE’S THAT IDIOT, PECK?!” it bellowed. A woman came downstairs with Winston behind her. “WALTER PECK!” bellowed the woman.

“Mrs. Samson,” replied Peck, “I’m ready to make a full report on these clowns!”

“No, you’re not!” roared Mrs. Samson. “Didn’t you see the men clearing out your office?!”

“They told me they were moving me to a better office,” answered Peck.

“No, they were packing your belongings to get you out of our offices!” corrected Mrs. Samson. “The Environmental Protection Agency will no longer have you in our organization. You are to collect your belongings and empty your desk before 7:00 tonight.”

“…That can’t be right!” hissed Peck. “I want an explanation!”

“The EPA has noticed that you seem to harbor a vendetta with the Ghostbusters,” replied Mrs. Samson. “Yet, they comply with current environmental standards and…”

“Ma’am, they caused an explosion when I came to shut these snowball artists down!” snarled Peck.

“Walter Peck, I heard the reports from the men in attendance that day,” hissed Mrs. Samson. “YOU were the idiot that started that explosion, releasing spirits that these men have caught. Your vendetta is childish, your emotions are all over the damn place, and your repeating actions have caused us to question your mental stability. You are a poor excuse of a man and agent, Mr. Peck. You have no place in my offices or the Environmental Protection Agency.” She snapped her fingers. “Get this lunatic out of here. I need to turn this matter over to the experts.” Walter Peck was led away.

“Suit up?” guessed Winston.

“Yes, and head over to 55 Central Park West,” replied Egon.

“Spook Central again?!” yelped Peter.

“Well, it WAS where Zuul first started this mess,” I mused. “Shall we?” Winston got suited up and we all piled into Ecto-1. “Okay, whose hand’s in my eye?!” I snapped. It was really crowded.

“PKE arm, sorry!” replied Ray as we headed out.

Categories
Kamen Rider Vortex Kamen Rider Vortex Chapters

Chapter 51

I shook my head to clear the impact. My surroundings were…colorful, to say the least. It seemed like an American street in the 20’s. An elderly man came up. He wore a straw hat and a sash that said “Mayor” on it. He was bright and cheerful. “Good Morning!” he cheered

“…Good Morning,” I replied. “I am Hiro Adachi, who are you?”

“I’m Christopher George Weaver!” introduced the man. “The mayor of Main Street, USA!”

“USA?” I repeated. “I’m in America?”

“You look new,” remarked Mayor Weaver. “Are you moving in?”

“I’m…not going to be staying long,” I answered.

“That’s a pity,” sighed Mayor Weaver before putting on his happy face. “Well, in any case, enjoy your visit!” He headed off to his car where his wife was waiting.

“Really, now, Christopher,” she remarked as they pulled away, “don’t you think he needs a doctor?”

“He seemed all right to me,” assured the mayor. They disappeared and I ducked into an alley to raise Foundation Prime.

“Mayday!” I hissed into my comms unit. “Mayday! Mayday! This is a distress call! This is Hiro Adachi, resurrected!” I was met with static. “Damn!” I swore. “I need a Foundation Element’s power to boost the signal!”

“Found one,” reported the Rogue Driver. “Keep walking. I’ll get you there.” I shrugged, then walked down the street. Various cartoon characters were running by alongside humans. I then saw a large castle, white with blue roofs. I was told to go there. Near the portcullis across the moat, I saw a boy with spiky brown hair, oversized yellow shoes, and a goofy expression talking to a woman with blood-red hair, a teal sea star in her hair, and wearing a sea-green dress. She was accompanied by a raven-haired man in princely regalia. “The boy has it,” confirmed the Rogue Driver.

“Excuse me!” I called to the trio. They turned to see me.

“Who are you?” asked the boy.

“Where I’m from,” I chided, “it’s bad manners to ask questions before introducing yourself. In any case, that’s irrelevant. You have an object of immense power?”

“Er, yes, the Keyblade,” stammered the boy.

“Readings of this ‘Keyblade’ match those of a Foundation Element,” reported the Rogue Driver.

“Excellent!” I cheered. I then drew one of my pistols. “I’ll be taking the Keyblade, then.”

“Whoa! WHOA! Okay!” yelped the boy. He then summoned a large key with a yellow guard. “See? Here it is! FIRAGA!” He swiped at the air and threw a large fireball at me! I got out of the way and fired back. It ended in a shoot-out as we circled. The girl didn’t do so, so I wrapped my free arm around her and held the gun to her head.

“Hand over the Keyblade or her dress is stained with something grey, brain-matter grey!” I threatened. Then, it happened. She screamed, making me wince slightly, then…apparently, she wears heels as one of them punctured my foot! I released her and dropped my gun to grab my left foot and hop around in pain saying “ITAI!” loudly. She ran as fast as she could in her heels and dress and buried herself in her raven-haired friend’s arms.

“That was his wife you threatened!” snarled the boy as he charged at me. I grabbed both my guns and put my i.d tag into the Rogue Driver.

“Henshin!” I announced. I fired, making a red circle with my suit’s profile going sideways, and leapt through the circle. I became Kamen Rider Rogue once again and turned my pistols into their Shōtō (short sword) mode. I clashed with the boy again and again, until I “accidentally” loosened my grip on the swords. They were knocked out and the Keyblade was about to strike, but I grabbed the shaft. “Your blade is connected to you, no?” I remarked. “Let’s fix that!” I sent a surge of energy through the blade and it ran through the boy. After a few seconds, I wrestled it from the boy’s grip and stood over him.

“That won’t be in your hands for long!” boasted the boy. He held his hands out and waited for something. Nothing happened. “WHAT?!” yelped the boy.

“I severed your connection with the Keyblade,” I explained. “You’re unarmed and useless!”

“Give that back!” shouted the boy as he leapt onto my arm. I swatted him aside.

“Hello! Rogue Driver!” called a voice over the comms I missed hearing. “I detected a surge of energy! What’s going on?”

“My sweet eagle,” I replied, “your tiger is back!”

“Hiro-Chan!” cheered Igura. “Where have you been?! I’ve been looking all over the multiverse for you!!”

“Well, I’ve been denied access to Foundation Prime,” I answered. “Can Vortech give me a lift? I have two things of value to him.”

“I’m afraid he’s away,” replied Igura. “But, I can get you home!” A portal opened and I limped into it at top speed.

Vorton’s current atmosphere was tense, I won’t lie. We tried various methods to take our mind off the danger that Hiro presented. I toured Vorton and found various training exercises and recreational activities going on. In the Battle Arena, Hongo was training some Stormtroopers in riding speeder bikes. “All right,” he called, “on your bikes!” The troopers mounted their speeders. “All you need to do is weave through the trees and get to the other end, then turn around and return here. On my mark! 3! 2! 1! GO!” Three troopers took off, one’s bike exploded, and the last one didn’t go. The rider altered some settings, then found himself and the bike flying into the air. Hongo face-palmed. A rider crashed into a tree. One rider found himself turned around and crashed into the other rider. Hongo saw me. “Vader said these were the Empire’s finest,” he muttered. I commed someone.

“Requesting a cleanup and medical crew in the Battle Arena,” I called. The rider that went flying landed, hard. I then headed to the firing range to see Fred training some troops.

“Men, we may not see eye to eye, but you ARE the backbone of your Empire!” he declared. “Show me how you hit those targets!” The troopers readied their blasters and fired for a bit. “CEASE FIRE!” roared Fred. “Why are you idiots shooting from the hip?!”

“Permission to explain, sir!” requested a trooper.

“Permission granted!” answered Fred.

“Sir, the armor doesn’t let us aim, sir!” reported the trooper.

“Bulls**t!” swore Fred. He was wearing armor in his size. “I can easily…what the?” He couldn’t lift his gun up to line up his sights.

“I hate to say, ‘I told you so,’ sir,” snarked a second trooper.

“Then don’t!” snapped Fred. “What about spinal movement?”

“Sir, permission to demonstrate spinal movement!” requested a third trooper as he engaged the safety of his gun.

“Permission granted,” replied Fred. The trooper dropped his gun and tried to bend over, no dice. “So, none,” remarked Fred.

“I hate to sound needy, sir,” called the last trooper, “but our peripheral is practically nonexistent.”

“Is it now?” asked Fred as he put his helmet on. “Why, yes! Yes, it is,” he confirmed. He then took off the helmet. “So, we can’t aim, can’t see out of the corner of our eyes, can’t bend over…”

“And our armor is made of a material that is so weak, we literally die in one hit,” supplied the third trooper.

“That explains why you guys are losing,” commented Fred. I left that room and looked into another room to see Linda going through a drill with three Stormtroopers.

“So, you guys are supposed to be policemen as well as soldiers?” she muttered. “I gotta say, military police make me twitchy and our own boys in blue are near enough. Okay, here’s the situation: you’ve got orders to identify drivers on the street.”

“Why?” asked a trooper.

“What do you mean, ‘why’?!” snapped Linda. “You’re searching for someone or something!”

“How will we find the thing we’re looking for if we don’t know what it is?” asked the second trooper.

“NOW, we’re asking the real questions,” joked the third trooper.

“Seriously?!” called Linda “Fine, you’re looking for…” she then picked up an R9 Astromech, “this droid, right here!”

“Found it,” remarked the first. “Job’s done.”

“No! Come on!” shouted Linda. “Look, you’ve got orders to stop drivers and search for a droid. I will drive this speeder around the course, you stop and identify me. Are we clear?”

“Eeeyup!” replied the third trooper. Linda put the Astromech into the speeder, started the speeder, and went halfway around until the second trooper stopped her.

“Good day,” she greeted.

“How long have you had that droid?” asked the trooper.

“About a year now,” replied Linda.

“I’m gonna need to see your identification,” requested the trooper.

“I don’t think there’s a need for that,” answered Linda. The trooper then tried to be funny.

“We don’t need to see her i.d right now,” he called to his buddies.

“I’m not hearing this!” growled Linda as the troopers giggled.

“Oh, but you are,” replied the joking trooper. “Move along.” At that point, I made my presence known and made the trooper bend over backwards to look at me.

“If you nitwits try this sort of nonsense during our final battle,” I whispered. “I will scour your universe to find you! Are we clear?!”

“Crystal!” yelped the trooper. I released him and they tried again while I left. I remembered that I had an appointment and headed to the Gateway room.

“X-PO, I need a rift to the Ghostbusters of 1984,” I called.

“One rift, coming up!” replied X-PO. I headed to the Ghostbusters’ universe and wound up in front of Ghostbusters HQ. I knocked on the door and heard that it was okay to enter. Sludgiona was in a barrel reading a magazine next to a red-head named Janine, also reading a magazine.

“Hey!” I said, as cheerfully as I could, noticing the awkward silence. “How are things?”

“Slow, business-wise,” muttered Janine. “That’s fine though, since the boys are still trying to help Sludgiona here. Despite appearances, she’s very tidy and neat. A really valuable temp here.”

“Has Egon found your universe?” I asked Sludgiona.

“No,” she sighed. “Have any of your people?”

“No,” I admitted lamely.

“Figures,” she mumbled as she grabbed a soda.

“Look, we’re going to find it,” I assured. “It’s just that the multiverse is big and the maps we have are totally different, given that one is from Tarlax 13 and the other is from Vorton. We will find a common reference point and…”

“I didn’t ask you to come here to nag about that,” interrupted Sludgiona after she sipped her drink.

“Then, why did you ask me to visit?” I asked.

“I…” she was struggling to find the words. “I wanted to apologize.”

“…For what?” I asked.

“For…for everything! For fighting you, even after you freed me!” answered Sludgiona. “I don’t know, maybe I should’ve asked for help a while ago.”

“…Apology accepted,” I replied.

“Maybe if I asked you to help, I wouldn’t be stranded here!” cried Sludgiona.

“Stop,” I directed. Sludgiona looked confused. “I was the one who destroyed your declamation chip.”

“Might as well have been me,” mumbled Sludgiona.

“The only mistakes we’re responsible for are the ones we make ourselves, even in an emotional state,” I countered. “I was the one who let her zeal to free the multiverse influence that decision, and it was still the wrong one. We’ve all made mistakes in the past and we’re gonna make many more in the future. The only thing we can do is pick up after ourselves, learn from those mistakes, and move on. We can play the blame game after we died.” Sludgiona gave a sad smile.

“Those are…sagely words,” she mused.

“Is there…anything I can get you?” I asked.

“Not right now,” replied Sludgiona. “This dimension is starting to grow on me. I’ll talk to you later.” A little terse, maybe, but she meant it kindly. I summoned a ride home and toured Vorton again when I came back. Vader was taught Poker by Richard and learned quickly.

“Raising by 2,000,” declared Vader as he put 16,000 studs into the pot.

“Is that a joke, my lord?” asked a Stormtrooper.

“Do I joke that often?” asked Vader.

“I call,” replied Mr. Babineaux. His son, Emmanuel, was looking on.

“He has him!” he cheered to himself.

“Who has who?” I asked, startling Emmanuel. He recovered quickly.

“Papa, he has Richard, how you say, on the ropes,” he replied. I looked at Mr. Babineaux’s studs.

“What was the buy-in?” I asked.

“500,000 studs,” answered Emmanuel.

“He’s down to a quarter that now!” I observed.

“Not for long,” boasted Emmanuel. “He’ll get the pot.”

“What makes you so sure?” I asked.

“…Well…Poker is a…very deep…and involved game,” floundered Emmanuel. “Papa’s strategy will become apparent in a minute.”

“…You have absolutely no idea how Poker is played, do you?” I asked.

“…Non,” replied Emmanuel. “But, I HAVE gained a new appreciation for the game.”

“When?” I asked.

“When Papa started playing it as much as he goes to church,” answered Emmanuel. “He will be victorious and defeat Vader!”

“Vader’s gonna be tough to crack,” I observed. “Besides, Richard’s on a roll. For the past month, he’s won 202 Poker games of varying styles, even his weakest, Texas Hold-em.”

“Perhaps a wager is in order?” asked Emmanuel.

“I don’t want to bet against a man’s father,” I replied.

“Well, if the Queen is too afraid,” taunted Emmanuel. He only uses my position like that to try and get a rise out of me. It always works, I don’t know why!

“Name your stakes!” I declared.

“Loser buys the winner’s drink,” offered Emmanuel.

“It’s a bet!” I agreed as we shook hands. We then looked on. It was Mr. Babineaux’s bet.

“All in!” he answered.

“I’ll take you up on that,” called Richard as he went all in.

“Blast!” hissed the trooper. “I fold!”

“I fold as well,” replied Vader.

“Pretty bold move to go all in when you’ve lost three quarters of your buy-in in previous rounds,” mused Richard.

“Are you afraid a Frenchman cannot cover his bets?” taunted Mr. Babineaux.

“Perish the thought,” assured Richard. “I just hate to kick someone when they’re down. Let’s see ‘em because I think you’re bluffing and will lose!”

“Well, if it’s the rough stuff we’re doing,” answered Mr. Babineaux, “take a look!”

“A full house? Unbelievable!” gasped Richard.

“And there was no cheating from him,” reported Vader.

“Très bon!” cheered Emmanuel. He turned to me. “I’m a great lover of Chateau d’Yquem from Sauternes. That nectar is one of the gods!”

“I see I have gained a fan!” called Mr. Babineaux.

“Well, I hate to disappoint your fans,” countered Richard.

“…Quoi?” (What?) asked Mr. Babineaux. Richard revealed his hand. “A ROYAL FLUSH?!” protested Mr. Babineaux.

“And HE wasn’t cheating either!” remarked Vader.

“Good thing we folded, my Lord,” observed the trooper.

“203 straight games,” I counted. Emmanuel was red in the face. “Frenchmen don’t like losing?”

“No, we don’t!” confirmed Emmanuel.

“Well, we still have a bet,” I reminded him. “Oddly enough, I’m more preferable to Scotch Whiskey.”

“I will need to visit Scotland to get it,” replied Emmanuel.

“Oh, you can get it when this whole thing is over,” I assured. Emmanuel gave me a look. I left Emmanuel to fume and speak with his father to head back to the Gateway room. I noticed that the Brigadier was with Elphaba and Chell, but no Rusty. “Rusty still getting used to two legs?” I asked.

“Oh no,” replied Elphaba, “she’s just in the Simpsons’ universe.”

“By whose authority?!” I demanded.

“Ms. Sheela’s” answered the Brigadier. “She went with Rusty and Team 10 to investigate a…Plumber…distress call in that universe.”

“You know, I’m getting a little sick and tired of people going on little excursions behind my back!” I snapped. “Maybe I should just make a time-clock!” That was when the gateway opened. “Well, look who decided to…WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!” Sheela and her team were battered and bruised! They had two new guys. One of them was a young man, the other was a tall humanoid. It had a purple face with four eyes making the shape of a square on its angle, horns lining the face, no visible mouth, a white body with four red eyes on the chest, wings folded onto the shoulders connecting to the chest eyes, and black feet, lower legs, and left forearm. His right arm was colored green and ended in a vine like pattern on the upper arm. “And who are these two?” I asked.

“My name is Kazuraba Kōta,” panted the guy.

“And I am Reinrassic III, seventh son of the Noble Highbreed House of Derazza, direct descendant of the Pure Blooded High Order of Rarsect, and current Atasian Supreme,” introduced the alien.

“Reinrassic…Reiny?!” I yelped. “You’re the Highbreed Ben helped out?”

“Atasian,” corrected Reiny, “and, yes.”

“Everyone to the medical ward at once,” I ordered. “I want to know what went on.”