Depths of Dimensions/Part 1S

To Part 1J.
==Part 1: Heroes' Call==
It was about 6 PM in Trikon City, and cars were booing across the dark streets. One place several of these cars passed by was a large, white mansion with several doors and shiny gold lining everywhere; it was clear that whoever owned it wanted it to be as flashy as possible. Even the driveway was nothing modest; the front of the building had several, several meters of area, along with glorious gardens, pools, and fountains all over. Inside the wide, golden and black doors of the mansion was a large entrance room, covered with red velvet with a spiral staircase going upwards.
In a room nearby, there was a  long, rectangular marble table with six Mobians around it: a brown-eyed, brown-furred tiger with brown hair that fell to the sides of his head, a red-furred fox with orange hair that went to her shoulders, a yellow-furred ocelot with brown spots, a white-furred hedgehog with upwards-rising quills with two strands of hair on her forehead dyed pink, a white-furred rabbit with black hair all over his head, and a grey-furred bat wearing small, green glasses with black hair in a style to the rabbit's, except more flowing.
Mackenzie Hartley the Tiger slammed his hands on the table. He wore a yellow and black long-sleeved jacket, along with black jean shorts. "Alright, gang, what've we got on Alexia? It's been a few weeks, so I don't know what info y'all have. Let's get to it, people!"
White Ainekas the Rabbit raised his hand, relaxing his legs on the table. He wore a blue shirt that read in orange letters "I HATE ORANGE" and orange shorts, but that wasn't the most interesting thing about his appearance; he had black robotic legs with upwards spikes near the bottom and red lining. "Tina and I were trying to track Sephtis, but he's gone MIA. We had info of where he and his dad were hiding out, but recently, they just disappeared."
Tina Dante the Bat nodded rapidly. She wore a black short-sleeve undershirt and a red tank top, along with red pants. "Trust me, we were just about to find out if they knew anything, but as soon as we got a plan to encounter them, they just vanished! Kinda suspicious..."
Scarlet June the Fox let out a snicker. She simply wore a yellow crop-top and blue jean shorts. "You guys really don't understand the life of a mercenary."
Tina lowered her eyelids. "...maybe because we're normal people-"
"If you've got as big of a rep as the Brionas do, you better get moving around. Especially after the whole Luna fiasco-" Mac grunted, remembering the danger Luna'd put his younger triplet sister, Marlee, in- "-there's no way they'd stay long. Trikon is a good place to hide because there's crime everywhere here, but if they stayed much longer, it wouldn't take long for them to be found out."
Mac shook his head. "It would make sense with how they were on the move, though. They'd have to get going if they wanted to kidnap someone who wasn't even in the city."
Terra had been glaring at Mac for most of the conversation, but she lowered her disapproving glare. She wore a green vest with golden-lining and green boots with pink hearts on the front. "Rare as it is, Mackenzie-" Mac flared his nostrils- "-has a point. We don't have many outsiders in the Wild Wind Village, and one of the few ones we have had was Luna... who was associated with the Brionas." Terra clenched her fist. "I won't let this injustice go ignored."
"Yeah, I'm being paid for this, so I better get it done right!" Schnee Ainekas the Hedgehog interjected, slamming her fist down on the table. She wore a blue longcoat with a red undershirt and a red skirt. "I've used a bunch of the energy and Hyper-Go-On tech I have, but scanning everything within a 200 mile radius, there's nothing. Kaput." She crossed her arms. "Man, this is annoying...."
Everyone in the group of 6 sat in silence for a few seconds. After about five seconds, lightning began to crackle in the large entrance to Hartley Mansions, and everyone was jolted out of their thoughts. "Is someone breaking in my place?!" Mac yelled, running to the entrance. "I paid good money for this mansion, goddammit!"
The group all arrived at the entrance to see a large, cyan-colored portal open above the floor, which would directly drop whatever it contained onto the floor.
The portal itself.. Well, one of the objects it was transporting seemed to be a rather albino looking feline, a Maine Coon judging from the volume of hair at least. It was male, and very much covered in bandages that covered the arms, legs, mid section and even a large portion of the face. The only visible indicator that this one was alive and not an actual mummy was the ash grey fur with the occasional streak of yellow; one emerald eye and another that seemed to have been wrapped up in bandages. He seemed to be very confused, judging by the rather defensive stance he took as he glanced at the others whom were already in the mansion. “.... Where am I..? What’s with all the fur..?”
A few moments later a white hedgehog in a trenchcoat fell out of the portal as well, landing on his feet. He stood up and looked around, holding onto his sword to strike anyone who tried to surprise him.
"What was that?" He thought to himself "And where am-"
His eyes stopped and looked at Mac.
"Oh, hell." He muttered.
A gray wolf, wearing a white jacket, gray shirt, and black pants it deposited from a portal. He groans, and stands up, looking around at the surrounding area. "Whom's't?" He stood at 3'6".
Following the wolf was another wolf. A brown wolf who stood at 4'0", wearing a generic wizard outfit aside from the hat. He yawns, and looks around. "...This isn't a parade." He had a belt of various magical artifacts and potions.
Coming out next; another version of the first wolf, wearing a brown jacket over a black shirt and gray jeans. He's got a cute little fedora, and carrying two swords on his back, and two pistols on his hip. He stood at 3'7". He had a little side pouch, and looked around. He locked eyes with the first wolf. "...huh."
Popping out after was yet another wolf, this one standing at a height of 4'1", and wearing a blue tank top with twin blades on her back. Her pants were purple, and she wore nothing on her feet. She had black fingerless gloves. She calmly looked around at the area. "How strange."
An unrelated white Wolf fell from the portal yelling about something. He quickly cut himself off however as he took notice of suddenly being in the air and quickly shifted his momentum to land smoother. At closer look you can tell he has black stripes running vertically on his arms, legs and head, blue eyes and wears brown fabric arm guards. “What in the world.” he Muttered.
Lastly, out came a tiger, clad in white and blue knightly armor. He carried a large, buster sword-esque blade, which glowed with white energy. He gave an intimidating aura, with his height at 4'4". Most of his features were hidden by his helmet, though it was clear that his fur was white, and his eyes blue. "...what."
The portal once again spat up more Mobians. First, an orange fox that a few members of the original six may recognize, although he was older now and had a few differences. After that came a rather small Lynx girl in a skirt and sweater. Following her was a larger Lynx, who wore only a scarf, gloves and boots. The trio landed in a big pile of limbs and tails.
Mac's eyelids lowered when he saw the fox. Lee... I was sick of that damn brat! Scarlet, who noticed his anger, walked over to him and patted him on the back, which made Mac smile again.
One more being fell out, a pink chameleon. However, where her company had fallen in a heap, she landed upright, calmly looking around the room in hidden confusion.
Finally, four more Mobians fell out of a portal; a dog, an echidna, a lemur and a lynx, respectively. The echidna was the first to get up, taken aback slightly. "Uh... this place is new," he said.
Following them, a wolf in a red trenchcoat fell out of the portal. He had two metal straps on each arm and two more around his chest, and he managed to land on his feet. Following him, a female ferret in a tank top, a black coat and a cap fell out of the portal, landing on her back but quickly standing up and posing like she intended to do that.
”Does this happen when people go shopping?” The wolf asked in confusion.
”Well, not normally,” The ferret replied “I mean, that’s what people tell me...”
"Whoa, okay!" Mac yelled, motioning for the original six to take several steps back to make room for everyone. "That's... that's a lot of people. And what the heck is tha-" Mac pointed at the portal, which shortly thereafter fizzled out and disappeared, making Mac's eyes bulge. "B-But... it was just there!"
"We all saw, Mac," White continued, which caused Mac's ears to lower. White walked forward, now taking charge of the group. "Okay, let's start simple. What're all of your names, and where did you come from..." White scratched his chin. "Actually, no, sounds like you guys were picked up randomly. What were you doing before you got dropped into Hartley Mansions?"
"Hartley..? that means... You." The fox said, noticing him.
The Chameleon jumped off the pile. "I am Vane, these are Link, Raindrop and Lee." She said. "We were just about to enter a void-like dimension filled with angry elemental spirits."
The Maine Coon in the room scratched his ear softly, as if thinking about actually introducing himself to these strangers. Ranny did tell him not to talk to strangers.. But Ranny wasn't here, what the heck. Why not..? With that, he spoke in a hoarse tone. "... My name is Ishvati.. Uhh, I don't think I was this way before, as for what I was doing..? Ummm.. I think I took an attack that killed me in order to save a friend so he could put an end to someone.. I don't know, I hope the rest of the Onyx Wings survived."
"Name's Vendeta," The white hedgehog said calmly, adjusting his gauntlets "Vendeta the Hedgehog."
"You," The wolf in the trenchcoat growled "I know you. You're the maniac who tried to kill Natalie!"
"I've changed since then," Vendeta replied. "I'm glad to see you haven't."
"Like hell you've changed! Have you even been to say sorry to her?!"
"I'm Marcee!" The female ferret chirped, trying to defuse the situation. She gestured towards the wolf. "This is Oliver, but his superhero name is Dragen the Oblivion!"
"It's not a superhero name," Dragen muttered, folding his arms and looking away from Marcee.
"Don't worry!" Marcee said, ignoring Dragen's attempt at edgy antisocial behaviour. "Everyone else will use their superhero names, right?"
Vendeta stifled a giggle. "Anyway, I think we have bigger problems at hand than...superhero names." He looked over at Mac "Why are you always at the centre of these messes?"
Ishvy just stared at Dragen for a moment, nodding his head in slight sympathy. “Ah.. Super Hero name.. What’s a super hero anyways..?” Ishvy asked, glancing around the mansion with a hint of wonder. He had never seen a building so spacious before.. Was this what rich people life was like..?
The black furred echidna spoke up. "I'm Isaac, but most call me Venom. Probably cause of my powers... just a guess, though," he said sarcastically. Next, the grey dog spoke. "Me name's Jim. This here's me mate, Lena," he pointed to the lynx standing near him. "Hallo," Lena said with a wave. Finally, the blue sifaka introduced herself. "Uh, hey... name's Rain. Sup?" 
"My name is Kibo," The gray wolf in the white jacket said. "and I was eating lunch. Just kinda, popped into here, I guess?" The second version of him spoke after. 
"I'm also Kibo! Uhh, I guess I'm the same person as him?" He points to the other Kibo. "I just finished this gauntlet in a temple I was exploring, and was about to get this crazy bejeweled knife. Hope my wife's alright.." 
The brown wolf stretched. "Name's Ryador! I was training portal spells, I guess I connected to your's?" 
The light gray wolf in the blue tank top spoke after. "My name is Saturn, and I was training my swordsmanship. Those two;" She pointed to the Kibo duo, who looked a little surprised that she was a Saturn. "Are most certainly from a different timeline than mine. In my timeline, Kibo is my younger brother." Anyone who can see ghosts would notice the orange spirit of a cheetah in similar clothes to Saturn, floating around her. Her name was Aegis, but she was staying quiet. 
After those four, the white-armored tiger spoke. "My birth name is Tenebris, though I mostly go by Lux now." This caused more surprise to the duo of Kibos, and even the Saturn. "I was leading my army of magical constructs to finally take out my timeline's variation of those three." He pointed to the Kibos and Saturn. "I do hope Cartex and White Rose can handle them." 
”Well.. um My name’s Chase.” The white and black striped wolf began, a little overwhelmed. “ I was in the middle of fighting my archenemy in the mystic jungle when that portal appeared and I fell here. I know he didn’t do it, not in his power set.” Chase continued.  
Lee stood up, rubbing his head. "For once, this isn't my fault... my portal goes from one place, and back and that's it.... I think."  
"We might as well follow suit. I'm White, and the grey bat over there is my best friend, Tina." White pointed to Tina, who seemed pleased with her title.
"I am Terra Fauna of the Flora Cats tribe," Terra announced, standing with pride as she announced her own title.
"I'm Schnee, White's little sister," Schnee continued, upset Terra went before her.
"I'm Scarlet," Scarlet blankly followed, realizing she hadn't that much to say about herself compared to the others.
"And I'm Mac Hartley, owner of this place." Mac clapped. "Alright, as official leader of this group-" Mac stood proudly, about to announce his leadership before being cut off.
"Who decided that?" asked Terra, rolling her eyes. "Alexia is my sisterly companion, and if anyone should lead this group, it's me."
"I'm the one you guys hired, y'know! Shouldn't I?" Schnee piped up, waving her arms.
"That's only because you were too stingy to do it without pay like us, Sis," White argued, earning him a dirty look from Schnee.
"Will you guys shut up?!" yelled Scarlet, making the rest of them soften up and quiet down. "Obviously, we have bigger fish to fry than Alexia right now, no inside joke intended. We've literally got two of the same person!" Scarlet pointed at the Kibo's her hands alternating rapidly. "This looks like a dimension thingy, and if anyone would know dimensional stuff, it'd be Kennedy!"
"Why, thank you, Scarlet," a voice said near Scarlet, making her jump to the side. Materializing in a gradual purple light, a grey tiger with a similar figure to Mac was landing, with closed eyes and a relaxed posture. He wore a grey jacket with a purple undershirt, grey pants and white and purple-striped shoes. He opened his grey eyes, and he had bags under them. "I would like to lead this group from here on."
Mac folded his arms. "But-"
"Quiet, Mac. We're all in big, big, big trouble." Kennedy looked at each and every one of the new visitors. "You're all from different Zones, correct?" Not waiting for an answer, Kennedy continued. "My name is Kennedy McLeod, and I have the ability to travel through dimensions, which I referred to earlier as Zones. And, to put it simply, this is bad."
"Oh, really?" Mac interjected, but he was ignored by Kennedy.
"Let me explain: in the Lamak Zone, the name of this dimension, there were originally three gods. Sol, the God of Creation, Scale, the Goddess of Destruction, and Keira, the Goddess of Wisdom."
Mac's expression changed to one where he was thinking hard about something. Sol? I could've sworn we met someone like that when I was with Aorki... maybe it's a common name in the Solvage Tribe? Aorki never did tell us much about his tribe before he kicked the bucket.
Kennedy continued, "Sol would create planets and civilization, Scale would destroy them, and Keira would guide them to a perfect life. After a few billion years, however, the gods' pettiness came into play, and Sol and Scale entered an intergalactic war with one another. Keira, realizing they'd erase all of their hard work if it continued, used mortal and godly power to strip Sol and Scale of their godliness and banish them to the mortal realm.
Now that Keira had their power, she rationalized that one being containing all of it would inevitably lead to corruption, so she took a bit of both and then put them in separate stones, one for Sol's power and one for Scale's power. Furthermore, she created stones to counteract those stones in case they got into the wrong hands. Afterwards, based on what little information I have, the stones were scattered through time and space... until now.
Someone, somehow, has gotten access to Scale's stone, Katastrophe. They've been going on rampages through spaces, and destroying entire planets. The sheer thought of their power makes me quiver." Kennedy sighed. "However, they only have half of it; I can tell, because if they had the whole stone, then they'd be destroying Zones themselves. Now, I'm giving you all a choice. I'll need four teams; one to come with me to get the Oracle Stone, that counters Katastrophe if whoever has the half of it reassembles it fully, and three to set out for the rest of the shards. To my knowledge, there are eight of them out there... and I unfortunately have none of them." Kennedy shrugged, empty-handed.
"Will you join me? It's perfectly fine if you decide to stay here, in the Lamak Zone, it's the far safer option," Kennedy admitted, sympathetic for those who potentially didn't want to embark on the journey.
Terra was the first of the original six to speak. "Well, I sincerely doubt that this is not related to Alexia's disappearance. Call it a long shot, but... I can't just let this opportunity pass by, I can't go back to my village without her. She's practically Flora Cat family, and Flora Cats don't leave their fellow clansmen behind!"
"Rousing speech, Terra," Schnee complimented, walking to Terra and throwing her arm around her before pulling her close to her. "And Terra's my bud, so there's no way you're taking her and not me, ya dig? It's been a while since I've been in any action, anyway. This'll be a good de-rusting!"
"What the hell?" White questioned after the explanation, only to look at Schnee and Terra. "What the actual hell?! You guys are crazy! These are gods! Isn't that stuff someone like Sonic or one of those other famous heroes should handle? I have no idea if we'd be able to step to this!"
"White." Tina gave him a calming glance. "I know, I'm in the same school of thought that you're in, but it's alright! We agreed to help them find their friend, didn't we?" White sighed and nodded, and Tina continued. "Plus, if anything they've told us so far is true, I'm pretty sure Mac, Scarlet, Kennedy, and Terra have all been through a pretty good amount of crap. I have a feeling we'll be alright, but in the meantime, we're in!"
"I can agree to that," White responded with a weak smile. "I guess I'll finally be able to put these legs Schnee made me to use."
"YEAH!!!!" yelled Schnee, whose eyes glimmered in excitement upon hearing the possibility that White would be joining them. "That would be, like, one of the greatest moments of my life!"
Schnee jumped and hugged White, glomping him and knocking him over, to which Mac chuckled to himself in amusement. "Well, Ken, I'm pretty sure you already know what my answer is. I haven't been practicing these powers for the last six and a half years for nothing. I'm ready to hand out a few beatdowns now." Mac looked at Lee, and a sinister smile appeared on his face. "This'll be fun."
"Chill, Mac," suggested Scarlet, patting him on the back.
"That's rich, coming from you," replied Mac, sticking his tongue out playfully and making Scarlet roll her eyes. "And I'm the rich one! Oh, just imagine all the babes I'll meet in different dimensions!" He whispered to her, "Honestly, there's a few of them that fell in this pile right now."
Scarlet continued to roll her eyes, but even she couldn't hide a smirk as she jokingly pushed his face away. "Yeah, yeah, guess this could be fun. Kennedy, don't worry about Mac and I, we wouldn't give this up for the world."
To say that Ishvy was confused was an understatement, the young Prismite just could not process what had just been explained. Dimensions? Zones? Gods..? None of this made sense to him, and just trying to process it prompted steam to exit from his ears in a very literal fashion. “Ack! Use simpler words! Or better yet let’s not explain it again..! The only thing I got from this was someones doing some evil stuff, and you guys need help kicking their butts! Count me in I suppose..!” He.. Nodded, still scratching his head because he just couldn’t wrap his head around what was going on. At least he was willing to help.
The two Kibo's responded at once. "Hell yeah, I'll join." The white jacketed one spoke. "(W) I love a good adventure." Followed by the one with the fedora. "(F) Collecting weird ass gems is my job."
Saturn spoke after being whispered advice by the Aegis spirit. "I will join."
Ryador cracked his knuckles. "I might look like a squishy mage, but I love a good brawl." And Lux simply gave a nod about joining.
The Kibos begin playing rock-paper-scissors, something about giving one of them a nickname.
Venom smirked. "I haven't been in a good fight for a while. Count me in."
"I'm not going to stick to the background in this. I'm in, too," Lena said.
"We'll fight with you guys," Jim and Rain the lemur said collectively.
"Well, at least Kennedy is here." Lee spoke once again. "We've got a war back home to fight, but... as long as we're stuck here, because we are, might as well help you. I'm in."
Raindrop laughed, hugging Lee. "I'm sticking with him!"
"Sure, why not?" Link smiled, nudging Vane with his arm, who nodded in agreement. All four then took the same pose for some reason, with one arm raised in a challenging manner and their torsos turned slightly like some kind of weird team move.
” This is above my paid grade but I won’t just sit here and twiddle my thumbs, I’ll help in anyway I can!” Chase exclaimed, hitting his chest to empathize his willingness.
"Guess I'll be getting you out of your mess again," Vendeta interjected "I'm in."
"We're in too!" Marcee shouted. Dragen looked at her incredulously but knew nothing he said or did would make her change her mind.
Ishvy couldn’t help but stare at Link and Vane with a rather flat expression, a sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head as an indicator of just how puzzled he was. “... That was very weird and I question why you two chose to perform such an action.“
"Well, then, that's settled!" proclaimed Kennedy with a warm grin on his face. "Now, we'll need to find a method of interdimensional travel. I could take a few people with me, but then how would the rest of you manage?" Kennedy scratched his chin. "I could try coming back and forth, but that's a waste of time... if only-"
"Hold your horses, Ken!" yelled Schnee, jumping up and down rapidly. "Remember when you, Mac, Scarlet and Alexia went to that VA-TIO dimension?"
Kennedy nodded slowly, and Mac and Scarlet looked embarassed. "...yes...?"
"Well, to get Mac, Alexia, and Scarlet there, I made these dimension traversers... but I need a cool name for them. How about... the Realmmobiles!" Schnee shook her head, disappointed with herself. "Eh, it'll come to me eventually. But basically, they let you go through dimensions, and if I could get some of Katslakie-"
"Katastrophe," Kennedy automatically corrected, still listening.
"Katastrophe, whatever. If you gimme some of that, they could double as shard trackers and Zone teleporters!" Schnee pumped her fist in the air. "Hooray for being useful!"
"Well, I see no reason not to go along with that plan, as it works perfectly," Kennedy approved. "Nice job, Schnee. Clever as always." Schnee blushed, but Kennedy didn't notice, continuing. "Do you have them on you? If so, then we could go ahead and start the process. The sooner we can begin on the hunt for the shards and the Oracle Stone, the better."
Schnee sighed in disappointment. "Nah, they're at my lab in Terra's village place. If we head there really quickly, we could probably grab them! Could you teleport us there?"
"Chaos Control would weaken me if I went such a distance, and I don't even have a lock on the village's energy signatures," explained Kennedy. "And neither of us know exactly where to find the village?" Schnee sighed, confirming Kennedy's suspicions. Kennedy facepalmed quickly. "Oh, Chaos...."
"No need to worry, you two," Terra interrupted. "I could locate the village fairly easily. If I run, Schnee rides on her motorbike, and you fly, Kennedy, it shouldn't take us too long."
"It's a plan!" Schnee gushed, her fist pumped into the air once again.
"Alright, then, we'll be off to the village... though I guess it wouldn't hurt to take some of the dimension's new guests with us as well." Kennedy looked over the group. "Would anyone like to join us? Schnee can fit two other people on her bike, and I could carry two people as well."
"I'll go!" Marcee said excitedly "I've never flown before! Well, not with superpowers at least."
"Are you sure?" Dragen said, concerned "The people here are strong, I can feel it. It might not be safe-"
"C'mon, I can handle myself! I beat you, right?"
Dragen sighed.
"Fine," He replied "Just...don't get yourself killed."
Marcee hugged Dragen and went to join Kennedy.
Raindrop waved an armored hand. "I'll come!" Her hair flopped about as she rapidly moved her arm around like a fan trying to get a performer's attention. Her eagerness may have been tied to the fact she was smaller than pretty much everyone in the room, and would be easy to miss.
Ishvy just raised a hand, signifying that he wished to go along with the two. “Flying? Ranny always teased me about the fact that he could fly with his Raiment. Eh, what’s the worst that could happen?” Of course Ishvy had to speak those cursed words.
Original Kibs stretched. "Two things. One, his new nickname is Fed, so we don't get mixed up." He pointed to the fedora wearing Kibo. "Two, I'll go with you guys." He really just wanted to interact with a Terra, even though she wasn't from his timeline.
"That's four," Kennedy counted, beginning to levitate. He turned around ninety degrees and his eyes momentarily glowed purple as he threw his arm, and after that the doors to the mansion swung open. "Raindrop, Marcee, I'll carry you. Meet me outside; the sooner we can get this done with, the better for everyone in the universe." Kennedy proceeded to fly outside.
"You'll all be following me," Terra checked, making sure they knew before following Kennedy outside.
"Kibo, Ishvati, you two ride with me!" Schnee enthusiastically ordered before also going outside.
"Well, I guess we'll just wait for them," White rationalized, hitting his fist into his palm downwards. "I'm gonna get a bite to eat, follow if you want some food."
"I'll join you," Tina followed up. "Mac's butlers are the best!"
"...and the maids are hot," Mac added. "Anyway, I'm going to watch TV. If you feel like chilling, follow me to the theater room!"
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to relax from all of our hard work," said Scarlet with a smile, smiling as they went to the theater room.
"Should we be doing something?" Vendeta asked "If there's a group of people destroying planets, I want them out of the way as soon as possible."
"You got training facilities?" Dragen asked "I want to make sure I'm in fighting form to crush them into the ground, not that I'll need it."
Vendeta looked at Dragen sternly. "Kid, you have no idea what we're up against."
"I don't need to know," Dragen growled "Just let me fight!"
"That's it, we're going to the theater. Maybe it'll be dark there." Onyx said, unheard by anyone else. With a sigh, Lee begrudgingly gave in and headed that way.
Mac paused, listening to Dragen. "If you wanna train, go downstairs, we've got a huge place down there." He then went to he theater room, followed shortly by Scarlet.
Link walked up to Tina and White. "You wouldn't mind some help with cooking, would you?"
White smiled. "Sure! I can make some mean spaghetti... though Tina's way better."
"Aw, shucks," Tina added, embracing the compliment. "But sure, let's head to the kitchen."
Vendeta turned around and followed Lee into the theater, not planning on humouring Dragen any further. Dragen left to explore the mansion and find somewhere to train.
===Kitchen===
The kitchen was exquisite, to say the least; it had brightly shining lights and glossy white walls, with a large pantry. Maids were buzzing around in typical black poofy dresses, and assisting them were butlers carrying dishes to be washed. White and Tina entered, still shocked by the amount of energy going around in the room. 
"How long is it going to take this until it gets old?" asked White.
"Honestly, I don't think it ever will," answered Tina, flying to the pantry.
"So Mac owns all this?" Vane asked, walking behind them. Link was by her side, with his arm on her shoulder.
"Mmhm. He tells us all about it, but it's really his parents who are super famous," White explained. "Though I guess famousness doesn't really matter when you're dealing with people from a whole bunch of different dimensions." White turned to the duo. "Fink and Vane, right?"
"Link." The Lynx in question raised his finger.
"Yes, that's us... how do you know that, if I may ask?"
"Oh, I was paying attention when everyone was announcing themselves," White explained. "Link. Got it. Well, welcome to our universe."
"Alright, who's ready to spaghetti?" asked Tina, flying with several pots, unboiled pasta, and tomato sauce. 
"I am, most certainly." Vane grinned. Cooking was something she liked to do, especially for her home team. 
"Nice! I was able to convince some of Mac's workers here to give us some cooking space, so I'll just fly over there!" Tina flew to a stove, set out the materials, and put water in the pot before turning the stove on. "Wanna help, Vane, Link?"
"No offer for me? I'm offended," White joked, walking over.
"I know you just wanna eat, Alban," Tina shot back with a victorious smile, making White grin and flinch.
"I'll let Link open things, he's... good at that." The pink chameleon spoke.
As if on cue, Link became a brown blur, moving around the kitchen like a wind. Within a few seconds, every item pulled out was open and ready to be put in a pot. Oh, and Link had a soda from somewhere.
"Okay, Vane, I'm leaving you in charge of the stuff in the pot," Tina directed like a master. "Link, thanks for the supplies, that's super helpful!" Tina's ears lowered, and her glasses drooped down her face. "...but now there's not a lot to do but wait. Could you go to the pantry and grab some garlic salt? It might go well with the tomato soup."
"Thanks!" Tina took another pot and began to prepare some tomato soup. "Alright, thanks! Mind getting another wooden spoon and helping me watch it?"
Vane walked over to watch whatever pot she was supposed to be watching.
"So what do you guys do in your dimensions?" White asked, relaxing by leaning on a table. "You all seem like pretty normal people, so I'm guessing no super-gritty war veterans?"
"Gritty? No. But, there is a war of sorts taking place on our home. An army of energy beings misled by their leader into attacking our kind." Vane said.
===Theater Room===
The theater room looked just like an Earthling's everyday theater; several rows of reclining seats with a giant black screen, with popcorn and butter dispensers near the entrance. Mac and Scarlet nonchalantly went into it, and while Scarlet went to pick out a movie, Mac got some popcorn for the two of them.
Onyx had Lee sit off to the side where it was darkest so he could nap in the meantime. Lee himself tried not to draw Scarlet or Mac's attention.
Mac's bad mood instantly reappeared, and he walked behind Lee. "Hey, twerp," he called out. "Now you're following me?" 
A year and a half ago, Lee would have cowered and hid, but he wasn't the same kid Mac had met. Not anymore, and never again. "Believe me, with you is the last place I want to be. As long as you're alive, I have no business with you." 
"Tough talk," Mac responded, crossing his arms. "Looks like the pansy grew up a little. Or maybe it's fake confidence?" Mac looked down on Lee. "You weren't even close to being a threat the first time we met, what makes you so sure now?"
"I've changed a lot since we last met. Almost two years of trouble can do that to a person." He said.
"What." Mac pronounced blankly, the fierceness gone in his expression. "What are you, stupid? It's only been, like, two and a half months, it's still fresh in my memory."
"Um... do I look two months older?" He asked, spreading his arms to his side, causing his left, prosthetic one to whir.
"Oh...." Mac put two and two together. "Oh.... Do you even remember me, kid? Big scary tiger guy?"
"Of course I remember you, you tried to shoot a child." Lee said dryly.
"Hey, you all were strong enough to go on the Emerald hunt, you should've seen it coming," Mac replied with a shrug. It was clear that he hadn't really seen anything immoral in his actions and definitely wasn't going to apologize. "Whatever. If we're going to be on the same side, might as well get used to it. Odds are we're not going to be in the same group, anyway, and then you can go back to wherever the hell you came from."
"Fine by me." He said, the looked down at his lap. "Gosh, I hope everyone else is ok back home..."
Lee's shadow flipped Mac off. Mac grinned and walked to where Scarlet was sitting, jumping over rows of chairs and landing peacefully. It seemed an action movie was beginning, and it'd just begun a very depressing backstory, but Mac was too upset at just seeing Lee to really feel saddened.
Lee was honestly confused. Making allies out of enemies was something he did regularly, even with guys like Zero and Onyx, who at one point had been out for blood against each other in battle. So why did Mac piss him off so much? What was so different about him?
Vendeta looked on. What the heck was Lee talking about? Mac shooting a child? Sure, the kid was reckless, but he’d never heard of him being this much of an asshole before.
=== Training Room ===
When Dragen entered the training room, it was evident that whoever used it was a pro. It was a large green room, as large as a school's gym, with weight-lifting stations, treadmills, and sandbags everywhere. There was also a giant mirror on the other side of the room, along with a target that looked like it was used for accuracy practice.
”This is what the pros use, huh?” Dragen said to himself “It’s certainly better than Disaster Club, I’ll give them that.”
Chase, trying to get his bearings in this new world decided to explore the Mansion first. He went past the Kitchen thinking he didn’t have any business being their, walking through the corridors he noticed a door that wasn’t like the rest, it was reinforced. His Curiosity getting to him he pushed opened the door to the training room with a creek. His blue eyes quickly darting around taking in the area. “Whoo this is huge, oh hello there... uh Dragon right?” Chase said, in a tone of Aww he had seen Training areas before but rarely one like this let alone just in someone’s house. 
"Close enough." Dragen replied "Your Chase, aren't you? You here to train?"
”I was just exploring this place but yeah I can train, considering the end of the world thing.” Chase replied.
===Heading to the Wild Wind Village===
Kennedy waited for the four to exit the mansion, soon accompanied by Terra (who did some stretching) and Schnee (who revved up her three-seated motorcycle which was parked nearby).
Ishvy walked outside, expecting a niiiice breeze. What he got was his first encounter with the horrid wonders of modern transportation. Seriously, the moment he saw the motorcycle; he wandered very close to the machine and poked it, gauging it carefully as if it were alive. “What manner of metal abomination is this..? A dragon..? No, a Lindworm..?”
"It's called a motorbike," Marcee said in a deep and serious voice, walking out of the room with as badass a walk as she could muster. She then tripped over her own feet and fell over (making Schnee laugh), but managed to quickly roll and stand up before she landed face first on the ground. She smiled at Ishvy, her serious facade quickly fading "Your world has dragons? Like, real dragons? What are they like? Do they breath fire?"
Raindrop began examining the piece of machinery.. "Probably not as fast as the one from back home, but it looks powerful." She added, walking to the other side to look at it some more. Raindrop decided to not let it slip one of her best friends was a dragon... and also a pyrokinetic.
Kibs stretched, standing next to the bike. "You know, I can probably just run faster than this thing." He looks at the bike a bit.
”Motorbike..?” Ishvy pondered, tapping the bottom of his chin a few times while sounding out the word. “Moooootooooor Biiiiiiike.. Motor.. Bike..” He seemed lost in his own little world, for all of five minutes before he remembered that Marcee asked him a question, though he clapped at her ‘acrobatic’ display of grace. It reminded him of the time Sethyl.. And Ranny.. Okay no, that was nightmare fuel, nightmare fuel! “... I think we used to, they’re supposed to be big, they have scales.. They’re also apparently Facets now.. There was someone I knew who had a Facet like that, Locar.. He breathed fire, and shot it everywhere..” Frankly he was just rambling out an answer to Marcee’s question while looking suitably disturbed. Marcee still hung on his every word.
Schnee revved her bike up again. "You say so, foxy," she teased before revving the bike up again. "More room for Wassabi to get comfortable! What kind of dimension are you from if you've never seen a good ol' fashioned motorcycle!" Schnee admired it; it was painted pink with a simple white stripe in the middle, but she still adored it. "I don't know how I'd go without it."
Terra approached Kibo. "You're fast enough to keep up with it?"
"Wh- I'm not-" He engulfed in flames for a minute, and sighed. "new timeline, kibs, new timeline." He looked at Schnee, resisting the urge to hurl her off the bike. "I'm not a fox, I'm a wolf."
"Got it, Wolfie," Schnee corrected herself, giving Kibo a thumbs-up.
When Terra approached his mood was improved. "Definitely. Though, the fact you have to ask makes me assume you're not my timeline's Terra."
"There's.... another me?" Terra asked, surprised. "I knew there were multiple yous, but... you know a version of me?"
Ishvy actually yelped and stumbled over his own two feet, he was not expecting the machine to produce such a loud sound, as a result he landed on his ass. Only to push himself off of the ground and return to a standing position. This time staring at the bike warily, slowly entering the side car and sitting. “I haven’t seen a lot of things..” He muttered, looking a little down for a split second. “It is cool, really cool..“
Schnee momentarily did a wheelie with an ecstatic grin, trying to get a reaction out of Ishvati.
"Yeah, we're... well, best friends is stretching it since you love pounding me into the dirt, but yeah, we're close. Judging by Aether though, she's stronger than you. Do you have the Marvelous form?"
"...Aether? Marvelous?" Terra shook her head, even more confused than when she began the conversation. "No, I can't say I've ever even heard of them, so I definitely don't have it. Mac is the only person I'm aware of with a transformation that boosts his abilities."
"Oh, wow, really?" Kibs scratched his head. "Well, maybe I can show you it some time. Hey, have you fused with anyone? Or is that also not in this timeline?" He took out his phone, scrolling through his gallery.
"Fusion?!" Terra exclaimed, her fur standing up. "Me?! I suppose Kennedy was a fusion at one point, but it was between positive and negative Chaos Energy, if I recall correctly... this is certainly a surprise to hear. Your dimension must be interesting."
"Oh, yeah, look!" He shows her a few pictures on his phone. Him and his Terra hanging out, a battle damaged him and Terra leaning on each other with ecstatic grins, a picture of him, Terra and Skid, a picture of Marvelous Terra, and finally, a picture of Kira. "It's a pretty simple dance."
"...huh. That's a lot of pictures you take," Terra noted. "What's your name again?"
"Marcee, Raindrop!" Kennedy called out, flying to them. "How would you preferred to be carried?" Kennedy paused. "Okay, I'll admit that is an awkward question, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable before we get going."
"Uh..." Raindrop had only ever been carried by Lee before, so she had to think about this real quick. "Maybe by my arm? I can power it up so it doesn't get hurt."
Ishvy couldn’t help but let out a soft giggle, clapping his hands as a show of amusement in response to Schnee’s cartwheeling. “Again, Again~!” He chirped, so easily amused with Schnee’s acrobatics.
"Pfft, you're like a three-year-old," Schnee joked before doing it again. 
Ishvy just couldn't help himself, considering he was far from home and the friends he made. This was just a way to distract himself from the loneliness he felt. The fact that Schnee was humoring it honestly left him grateful, and he showed his appreciation by clapping.
"You can grab onto my back," Marcee said to Ken. She didn't want to fall out easily, but she was also very excited about going flying.
"Alright, then, enough with the tomfoolery," Kennedy lectured, looking at Schnee at Ishvati. "Let's get a move on. Trillions of lives are at stake." Kennedy grabbed Raindrop's arm and the back of Marcee's shirt before hovering, carrying them with relative ease. "Terra, lead the way."
Ishvati would nod his head, clearing away the warm fuzzies from that pleasant moment in favor of determination. His expression taking on a more.. Calm and focused outlook in contrast to his rather dopey and easygoing look from earlier.
"Of course," she responded, stretching a bit before blasting off as a yellow streak. Kennedy flew at speeds similar, and Schnee followed, leaving just Kibo.
Of course, assuming the motorcycle was being used, Ishvy wound up clutching the seat for dear life. The bandages that covered most of his face tearing off to reveal a rather soft looking muzzle that flapped with the wind; hair likely flailing everywhere as it was medium length and messy.
Kibs had reappeared with Terra pretty soon, easily matching her speed as a white blur. Terra ran next to him. "Wow, you are pretty fast... though this isn't my top speed."
"Mine neither, but I think my Terra's faster than you. My name's Kibo, by the way. My Terra usually just calls me Kibs." He runs in front of Terra, backwards. Mad lad. "I have more pictures of my universe-dimension-timeline thing, if you want. Do you have a Skid or Alexia in this timeline?"
"Alright then, 'Kibs,' I doubt there's another Terra faster than I-" Terra's blood ran cold when he mentioned Alexia. "I... there's an Alexia, too? That name haunts me... but yes, this universe does have one..." It was obvious in her change of demeanor there was something that she wasn't telling him.
He cringed at her calling him Kibs. "Ew, no, don't call me Kibs. That sounds weird, knowing my Terra." He caught on to her tone, and decided to immediately drop the subject. "Well, maybe I can teach you fusion or the Marvelous form?"
"I'm not interested in borrowing others' power," Terra said, immediately shooting down that idea. "But I would like some information on this Marvelous form. What exactly... is it?"
"Oh, my Terra's way more fun. Maybe this timeline's Mac would wanna learn..." He yawns. "Well, it's my Terra's unique spin on Aether." He becomes covered in a thick, white fire when he said that, as his form dispersed after. "Which is the element that coincides with Chaos. It powers the universe and junk, but you have this little burst form that powers you up a bunch for a short time. Well, it really hurts you after if you used it too long."
"Sounds useless," Terra bluntly stated, shaking her head. "But Aether is a natural energy that powers the universe? Sounds a lot like what Mac and Scarlet use."
Despite any potential difficulties in hearing that come about with running at high speeds; or any equivalent to such, Ishvati didn’t seem to have any difficulties listening in on Terra and Kibo’s conversation. Energy that powered the universe..? That was certainly a neat concept to Ishvy, though he did not butt in as it wasn’t his conversation anyways.
He holds out a hand, a white firey substance appearance. "It's the opposite of Chaos. In my universe, if Chaos hits Aether, they cause a big explosion. But if they combine together, they get tens of times more powerful. It's very versatile though, I could probably beat you just by augmenting my stats with Aether alone." Oof. "Probably wouldn't take that long, either!" O o f .
"I think that's a bit of an overstatement," Terra defended. "I'm the guardian of the Wild Wind Village, it'd be a shame if I went down so easily."
"Funny! But I'd say I'm around as powerful as your universe's Mac, and that's without Aether augmentation."
"Really? That's quite the challenge you're insinuating," Terra remarked. "Though that rick brat bothers me to no end, he is a skilled fighter. He was the reason we were able to defeat Luna and Konton, so I've learned to respect him in battle, at least." Terra grimaced. "I still aim to surpass him, however."
"Yeah, but you're not that close." Ouch. "But the point is, Aether's pretty useful! I could probably teach you some Aether techniques, and you'll be able to use the Marvelous form." He gives her a pat on the head.
"Huh. Perhaps you could show me something while Kennedy and Schnee are fixing up the teleporters?" Terra asked. "Normally I'd be against such... bluntness, but it's not everyday you get interdimensional advice. If I can get any stronger for my village, I will gladly take the opportunity."
"Nice! Well, we'll be there soon, uh, probably." He cracked his knuckles. "Sorry in advance for knocking you around."
"In the meantime," Terra began. "What am I like in your universe? I'd imagine the alteration between universes could have some very drastic differences."
Meanwhile, Kennedy looked down at Raindrop. "So, seeing as you posed with him earlier... I'm assuming you're a friend of Lee's?" he asked.
She giggled lightly, rocking on her feet. "Yup! Though, friend might be a bit... soft." The Lynx smiled.
"Ah! How adora-" Kennedy paused himself, and the lovely smile he was wearing turned into a professional smirk. "I mean, that's very sweet. Lee and I had gone on a mission... two months ago, I believe? Though it seems like he's aged extremely fast, unless the time in your dimension has moved on differently." Kennedy thought back to their adventure in VA-TIO. "Ah, yes, that hunt for the Sol Emeralds was wholly interesting."
Raindrop chuckled at his initial reaction, "He told me about that... Mainly about you, assuming you're Kennedy, Alexia and Rasha." She replied. "But that was... not two months ago?"
Kennedy was speechless for a bit, but then he figured it out. "Oh, time must move differently in your Zone. I don't think I've ever visited it before." Kennedy sighed, and then jokingly followed up with "I'm assuming things are just as chaotic for you all? I noticed Lee's new arm."
"Yeeep, things have been crazy for sure. He got that arm after this big scary bad guy named The Trickster thought it'd be fun to use a communications tower as a spear." Raindrop nodded. "You two should talk some after all this calms down, you'll probably tell good stories."
"Is his suit finally working?" Kennedy asked, remembering DT-1's failure two months ago. "When I met him, it wasn't exactly the most effective."
"Oh, the DT-1? Um, it came to life after someone used it to rip open a portal to a sub-dimension. There were some complications at first, but we call her Dee and she lives with the rest of us as a sort of adopted daughter."
Ishvy wound up tapping Schnee on the shoulder, having finally figured out that the little strap in the sidecar was great for keeping secured. But digressions aside. “Sooo.. Uhhh, what’s your story.. Uhh, Schnee..?”
"Oh, just a kid, the usual," Schnee answered, omitting large details. "I do some tech stuff here and there, and I have hammerspace, so that's fun." Schnee quickly glazed over that part. "What about you, Wasabi? You're certainly not from this time if you've never seen one of these hot rides before."
”... What’s a Wasabi..?” He asked, before just shrugging it off in response. “Just call me Ishvy, that’s what my friends called me anyways.” He started, before nodding his head in response. “I think i’m not from this time or world.. Whatever the word for that is, but everything is so different. I grew up in a desert where people killed each other in wars over the weirdest things, I was conscripted and I fought and fought and fought without any real purpose.“ Ishvy tried to explain, though like Schnee he was omitting a large part of the story himself. Was he ashamed of it, or did he just not know how best to bring it up was the question. “I.. Uhhh, actually met my friend and his group while trying to kill them, if that makes sense.. It’s weird I know, though if it helps any.. I think I’m seventeen; yeah, Ranny said I was around that age.”
"Wars are rough," Schnee offered, giving sympathy. "Sucks there are so many going on and there's little others can do about it but wait. And now you're pulled into this bogusness.... but hey, you get to meet the gang, so at least there's that, Ishvy!" Schnee gave Ishvy a thumbs-up. "And you said you're 17? That makes you the same age as Terra and I! What a coincidence."
Ishvy couldn’t help the small smile that formed, try as he might; Schnee’s positivity was infectious even for the mood Ishvy was in. Brushing away the sad thoughts and his lamentation over the other three people who made up the Onyx Seraph and their fates. “... Yeah, I suppose there is that..” He responded, though his tone was even and flat; it was admittedly very easy to tell that Ishvy was happy.
"But lemme shoot your question back at you. What do you do?" asked Schnee, genuinely curious.
“Oh..! Uhhh, it’s mostly mercenary work really; The Onyx Seraph was formed to help Ranny find his missing sister; but we need money for expenses and all that complicated stuff so we as a group fight for whoever paid the most.“ Ishvy stated, intentionally leaving out the fact that Mercenary work was the only thing he could do back home; simply because he didn’t know how to read or write.
"Oh, you're a mercenary?" Schnee re-asked, interested. "Those can be either good or bad. Mac and Scarlet are mercenaries, but I wouldn't like to have one of them against me. Do you have any lines you won't cross, or anything like that?"
”....” Ishvy was silent, actually having to think about the answer. Given his circumstances, the concept of morality was not something he ever really gave much thought to. Ranseith was the leader so he would follow his orders. But was there really a line he wouldn’t cross? It was hard, and Ishvy’s face actually look puzzled. “I.. I don’t know really, all I ever did was follow orders; I was comfortable with that. Not really sure if there is a line I wouldn’t cross.. I’m sure that there is though.” Of course, that was when a thought came to him in the form of a question. “Wait, why wouldn't you want this Mac and Scarlet up against you, are they strong..?”
"Super. Well, not as strong as Kennedy, but to a normal person they're terrifying." Schnee shuddered. "Mac wasn't always such a hotshot, though, him and I go waaaaay back. They're definitely better to have with you instead of against you, though, so cheers for them being good guys."
”Ohhhhh.. Cheers.” He nodded, in this particular case he didn’t quite emote. His vocalization of the word cheers was delivered in a rather flat manner, though to emphasize the meaning he did raise an arm up and perform a one handed ‘hurrah’ gesture. It wasn’t intended as sarcasm or anything as the concept of sarcasm flew over Ishvy’s head like a certain buff alien dude in a certain marvel movie set in space. “... It’s always better to have people as allies rather than as enemies.”
"Well, you used to hate me since I was close with... one of your friends, always acting like their protector, you kinda felt useless. When we fused for the first time and moved past that, you were a lot nicer, and we became pretty good battle buddies. You're gonna be my Maid of Honor in my universe, actually!" Kibo told Terra.
"You're getting married, I see!" Terra restated with glee, but then her expression softened a little bit. "...I feel like I accomplished something, even though it was your universe's version of me. Out of curiosity, how old are you?"
"I'm nineteen, though we met back when I was sixteen. I actually don't remember how old my Terra is!" He stretched. "I was actually having breakfast with you before I was portalled here."
"That makes you two years older than me, and..." Terra paused, and then groaned. "...the same age as Mac, 19. I'm already able to draw a few similarities between you two. Frankly, it's a bit worrying."
"Haha, yeah. Me, him, and one of my friends kinds tortured you with a couple shockingly bad puns." Oof. "Still, you just kinda seem like my universe's Terra before she became close with me."
"I admit, I have a low tolerance for stupidity, not calling you unintelligent or anything," Terra clarified. "And by taking your sentence into context, I presume that there is a Mac in your universe as well?"
"Really? My Terra would've called me a dumbass on the spot." He giggled. "But yeah, my universe has a Mac. A Mac way stronger than us. Kira could probably take him, but you refused to fuse to fight him. He makes this Mac look weak."
"A Mac even more powerful? Oh, gods, that sounds like a recipe for disaster. Is he around your age, too? I can't imagine the world somehow staying sane with all of the chaos that would erupt..."
"He's older than me. He teaches the fighting school you used to go to." He pets her head again.
"A school?" Terra scratched her head. "We have schools in the Wild Wind Village, but not for fighting. Sounds like she had a bit of an advantage growing up." Terra shook her head. "With such differences in our universes, I don't get how her and I could ever be alike."
"Personality-wise. Power-wise. Looks-wise. Fluff-wise." He dicks around with her hair a little. "But knowing her, and seeing you, you two are totally the same. You'll absolutely reach her level someday!"
"To expect otherwise would simply be false," Terra replied, prideful. "But don't touch my fur."
He touched her fur more.
Terra lowered her eyelids and moved to the side a bit, playfully shoving him over. Kibo rolled through the sand, got up, smiled, and immediately caught back up with the gang. "That's more like a Terra."
Marcee is too busy screaming with glee at being carried by a flying Mobian to care what everyone else is saying.
Category:Roleplays