Unity/Chapter 5: Not Again

==A Note for the Readers==
Even though I, ReensRedux, will be authoring the majority of this chapter, Nitro will be placing his input as he sees fit.
Hypothetically, this chapter happens after Reens returns from Secret Discord and Sneer gets back from Depths of Dimensions. Reens' grandfather, Anthony, will make an appearance, as well as her friend (soon to be bf) Jeremy Hawkes. There may be spoilers involved. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
==Chapter 5: Not Again!==
The Zone between dimensions, flowing with beautiful pictures of the different worlds contained in them, was truly a sight to behold. Each picture teemed with life and beauty. For Sneer the Hedgehog, the pictures couldn't compare to the dimensions themselves. However, the picture of her dimension was nothing more than a lie.
Sneer landed softly in front of her family's Mexican restaurant. It was being repaired for the damages it had taken, and it felt like no one had even noticed her absence. She went to the door and noticed her grandparents, working as usual. "Abuela? Abuelo?" They didn't look up from their work, but Carmelita grunted.
"Where have you been? We have to get the restaurant up and going again! Get to work!"
Sneer sighed. "I go to another dimension and nothing ever changes..." She pulled on an apron and started cooking the meat for tacos.
A few hours later, Sneer leaned against a table and wiped her forehead free from sweat. She was glad to be back to a somewhat normal routine, though admittedly, she missed the people who had been with her on the journey. People like Tranq, Schnee, and Lena, who supported her. She also still felt guilty for Scarlet's 'death'. If I had just done something different... she thought, looking down at the table. If I could have stopped it...
Sneer shook her head. "Well, at least I won't be doing any more dimension-hopping for a while." She took out her phone and swiped the screen, showing a picture of her and Reens together. Reens was holding up the phone and grinning wide, while Sneer was pulling away disgusted. "And I won't have to see you for a long time, 'sister'."
"Stop just standing there, Sneer!" Carmelita snapped. "We have customers!" She turned to the customers and pulled the sweetest smile she could muster while Sneer grunted, moving back to the cooking station.
"Still, it would be nice to see her for a change... and maybe next time... I could stay."
"What are you blabbering about?" Lorenzo asked, lifting a fallen table off the ground.
"Nothing," she sighed, flipping the meat.
"That better be telling me the truth, missy," her grandmother added, handing her some tickets. "Table 5 wants loaded nachos and grande tacos, Table 1 wants loaded tacos and grande nachos, and Table 3 wants plain nachos and tacos. Don't screw this up!"
"Okay, Abuela," Sneer replied, hanging the tickets above her. Mama and Papa must be rolling in their graves seeing me like this, she thought sullenly as she left the cooking station to refill drinks and water glasses.
"Sneer! Don't waste time! These customers are hungry!" Her abuela grunted, grabbing the water pitcher out of Sneer's hand. "I'll do this; you go on back there."
"But I was almost-"
"Don't talk back to me young lady!" her abuela snapped. "Go back there and get their orders done!"
Her fists clenched, Sneer stalked back to the cooking station, brow furrowed. Her grandfather made no efforts to comfort her but watched her as he greeted more guests.
After making the three orders, Sneer carried each of them to their respective tables.
"Um, this isn't what we ordered," the peacock at table 3 said, eyeing the food. "We wanted the plain tacos and nachos, right babe?" Her boyfriend, a hawk, nodded, then snapped his fingers. "Get us the right order, now." "This is your order," Sneer grunted, pointing to the food. "These are plain." "Uh, no they're not," the peacock argued. "They have lettuce and tomato in them. We wanted plain." "The lettuce and tomato are in the plain tacos," Sneer growled, facepalming.
"Yo, server!" Another customer from Table 1 called out. "Where's our grande nachos? We wanted grande nachos but you gave us loaded nachos." Holding in her frustration, Sneer walked over to the table and smiled as wide as she could. "Those are the grande nachos, you wanted loaded tacos and here they are. Anything else I can help you with?"
An irate customer from Table 5 got her attention. "The service here is so bad," a walrus said to his friend. "They gave us the completely wrong order! I don't know why you even picked this dump." His friend sighed and got up from the table. "Well, just leave it there. We aren't coming back anyway." "Maybe next time we'll have better service somewhere else!" All of her tables left, their uneaten orders still steaming on the tables.
Sneer's eye twitched. I gave them the right orders like I was supposed to, she barked in her mind. Are people so stupid they can't tell the difference between grande and loaded?! She took the orders from the tables and loaded them on her arms. Her abuela walked past, saw the orders, and grabbed the back of Sneer's shirt, yanking her back.
"What did you do to them?!"
"I didn't do anything. I gave them what they wanted and they didn't eat them, so there. I did what you wanted, so I should still get paid."
"Hmph. If I were paying you like you think I should I wouldn't have docked these meals out of your pay," Carmelita huffed as she let go of Sneer's shirt. "You go in the back and eat them. Next time, you do exactly as the customer says, no questions asked. Got it?"
"But I don't want-"
Lorenzo tugged on Sneer's ear stud, taking it out harshly and making her wince. "Listen to your Abuela when she's talking to you! Now go back there and eat them!"
Sneer's eyes watered as she slunk to the break room and bit into a taco. I wish you were here right now... she thought, sobs escaping her lips.
Carmelita sighed, shaking her head. "Lorenzo, are we... are we too hard on her?"
Lorenzo looked towards the break room and sighed. "She needs to learn the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows. It's not like the fantasy worlds she keeps telling us about."
Carmelita slumped into a chair and rubbed her eyes. "She just needs time."
"How much time do we give her?" Lorenzo asked, sitting in a chair next to her. "We don't have all the time in the world. The restaurant is failing as it is," he continued, rubbing his temple. "If we don't keep it afloat then we'll be kicked out of our lease. And with that damage coming out of nowhere, we've been set back a few months with repairs. And Sneer..."
"We're all she has," Carmelita finished for him, slipping her hand into his. "She can gripe and whine all she wants to but there's nothing she can do. Still, perhaps we have been too harsh with her. All the stress of the restaurant and bills and trying to help her live."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed, and he got up from his chair abruptly. "Stay here, I'm going in to talk with her." He walked briskly to the break room before Carmelita could say anything else and opened the door calmly. Sneer was still sitting in her spot, the plates of food only half finished. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she looked up, blinking.
He closed the door, but not all the way, and sat in a folding chair across from her, picking up a bowl of nachos and beginning to eat them. "Sneer," he began tentatively, crumbs falling from his mouth, "I wanted to talk to you about today."
"There's nothing to talk about," Sneer snapped back, glaring. "You said your piece already, or you would have if Abuela hadn't said it first. If you want to say something go ahead and spit it out."
Lorenzo sighed and put his arm across the table, holding her left hand in his. Sneer pulled it away quickly, resuming her stare. "Look, I know we were hard on you today, and all I want is to apologize to you. We ... we weren't fair to you. It's been pretty stressful over the past few days - months, even - and we were taking it out on you without thinking."
Sneer laughed, but it wasn't a regular laugh. It was sharp and brittle. "That's the understatement of the year! I cry for about twenty minutes and all of a sudden you're wanting to apologize to me? Yeah, you weren't fair to me. But it wasn't just today, right? It was yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, and so on and so on!" She bit into another taco, her eyes never leaving Lorenzo's.
Swallowing thickly, Lorenzo continued. "Sneer, listen to me." He took her hand again and held it tightly. "I'm doing the best I can to apologize to you, and you won't even let me get a word in edgewise. We've been taking our stress out on you and we want to stop that. We're doing our part but you need to pull your weight too."
"Oh, so now I haven't been pulling my weight?!" Sneer grunted, letting go of Lorenzo's hand and swiping the rest of the food onto the break room floor. She got up from the chair and towered over Lorenzo, her eyes narrowed and teeth clenched. "I have been busting my arse for you two ever since I was old enough to start working. I wanted to go to school, go to parties, do something besides work, and sleep cooped up in my room. But no, everything I did had to be for you! Everything I earned, for you! Everything I've sacrificed, for you! All my insecurities, my pyrokinesis, my feelings were swept under the rug for you! And you're telling me that everything I've done doesn't matter anymore?!"
She pushed her finger into Lorenzo's chest, making him wince. "You can lie to yourself all the hell you want, but you're not going to lie to me anymore. I've had enough of the lies, the tears, the sleepless nights because of you." She paused, sighing. "I still love you as my grandparents; that won't change. But you no longer have control of my life. Enjoy your precious tacos, Abuelo. They're worth more to you than me."
Lorenzo jumped up from the table as Sneer slammed open the door, her face hardened. Carmelita tried to grab her by the back of her shirt but Sneer pulled away, pushing Carmelita into Lorenzo harshly. She ran up to her room and stuffed as many of her things into a large suitcase as she could, along with the necessities and her phone. Looking at her room one final time, she grabbed a stuffed animal and shoved it into the suitcase, zipping it up.
Both Lorenzo and Carmelita tried to stop Sneer from leaving, but Sneer ignored them as she walked out of the restaurant. Making her way outside, she took a moment to breathe and pulled the handle on her suitcase, walking towards the bank to change some things on her account. One thing was certain... Sneer was free.
----
Even though she was free, Sneer was slightly worried about where she was going to go next. She had plenty of money saved up, but she didn't know if it was enough to rent a home or get an apartment. She didn't know who to turn to if she had an emergency, or whether or not she should get another job. All Sneer knew was that she had plenty of time to figure her life out. At least, she felt like she did...
----
Reens, however, had never seen the Zone between worlds. One could say she had rarely been to another world before. Currently, she was grabbing a stack of boxes that towered a little above her head and loading them into a small moving van. Her grandfather, Anthony "Tony" Thorpe, also carried some boxes, though they were lighter.
"Are you sure you can handle living by yourself, sweetie?" he asked her, setting the boxes down. "We won't be there, you know."
Reens set down her boxes and laughed. "Aw, Grandpa, don't worry! I won't be alone. My friend Jeremy lives near the apartment complex I'm gonna be living at, and he promised to look after me, right?"
Tony shook his head and sighed. "Well if you ever need me, you still have my number and address, right?"
Reens nodded. "Yup!" She kissed him on the cheek. "Tell Grandma Espie I love her, okay?" With a grin, Reens hopped into the moving van and left Tony behind to drive the second moving van.
Jeremy Hawkes, a friend from Reens' days at school, stood in front of her apartment complex, waving for her. "Reens! It's, it's been forever since, since I've seen, seen you! How, how are you?"
"Jeremy!" Reens grabbed him in a fierce hug. "Aw, I've been great! How are you?"
Jeremy gently pushed her off of him. "Uh, I'm pretty, pretty good, yeah. Hey, want some help?"
"Sure! I'd love some help." With a grin, Jeremy walked with her to the van.
Unbeknownst to any of the group, something red and blue had started to descend from the sky. Yet, it was so far away that nobody could see it. If anything it looked like a shooting star or a rocket that was entering the planet's orbit. As it made its way across the sky the star split in two, and each made their descent.
The red item had managed to land on the roof of the moving van Tony was driving, being on top of the driver part instead of the bed of the van. However, he couldn't hear it as the item sounded like a branch just scraping the side of the moving van.
As for the blue one, it landed just outside the apartment complex. Behind it actually, bouncing off of some trees before landing in a shrub behind the complex.
"How about I, I start getting some of these boxes?" Jeremy asked, lifting the latch.
"Sure, I'll just unlock my door. Now where did I put my keys?" Searching her pockets, Reens walked over to where the item was. Something shiny caught her eye. "What's that?" She walked behind the complex and bent down, finding the item. "Wow," she said, blinking in surprise. "It looks like a... sapphire or something! But why would someone just drop a sapphire here?"
"Hey, where'd you go, go Reens?"
"Oh, sorry Jeremy! I accidentally tossed my keys over here! I'll join you in a second!" Reens looked both ways before pocketing the gem. "I should keep this just in case. Somebody might be looking for it."
Tony, on the other hand, had just parked when the other gem rolled on the roof. "Hm, odd. Must be a branch or something?" He looked up and scratched his head. "Doesn't look like a branch to me. It's too... shiny. Hey Jeremy! Why don't you get this rock off the van, huh?"
"Sure, sure, Mr. Thorpe."
"I've told you a thousand times, just call me Tony," Tony chuckled as he gave Jeremy a boost.
Jeremy saw the 'rock' and took it. "Huh. Wonder where this came from?"
"What'd you find, sonny?"
"Uh, just a rock, Tony," Jeremy fibbed as he pocketed the gem. "The sunlight must've reflected off the chrome and made you think it was shiny."
"Oh, well, that's disappointing," Tony replied as he opened up the back of the van. "Let's get these taken care of."
A few hours later...
"Well, looks like you're all settled, settled in, Reens," Jeremy stammered as he set down the last box of her things.
"Yup! Once all these boxes get unpacked I can redecorate and get a job!"
"A, a job? But I, I thought you already, had one, Reens."
Reens shook her head. "Nope. I gotta fill out some applications online. I worked with Grandpa Tony, and at a few other places, so hopefully I have enough experience."
As he was leaving, Jeremy paused at her doorway. "If you need anything, I'm right next door, okay?"
Reens grinned. "Sure thing!"
Once Jeremy left, Reens sat down on the couch that had been there when she moved in. It was old and smelled musty, but it was comfy. She took out the 'sapphire' she found and looked at it closer. "It's so pretty," she mused. "Whoever lost this would be pretty upset by now."
She touched it gently, rubbing its surface. "Why would someone just leave a sapphire lying around like that anyway? It's like they didn't even know it went missing or something!" Looking at it a few minutes more, her stomach rumbled. "Good thing I went grocery shopping while Jeremy and Grandpa carried in the last boxes," she said as she reached into the freezer for some pizza rolls. "Maybe I can research what kind of sapphire this is while I eat."
She pulled out her laptop and plugged it in, then went to the microwave and cooked her pizza rolls, humming as she went. She also started to unpack some of her boxes, pulling out a large comforter to place over her couch. "Now that that looks better, I can start figuring out what kind of sapphire this is," Reens managed to say around a pizza roll in her mouth. She plopped down on the couch and opened her laptop to a search engine.
As she was doing that, the gem was emitting a glow. Yet, this glow was different and something out of the norm. The glow got a little brighter for a few seconds, giving it a light blue color, and then grew dim afterward. Another thing that was off was that the gem didn't emit any heat even though it produced light. discharged an arc of electricity that locked her computer and froze it. It then entered an abrupt restart cycle before allowing her to gain control of it. When she did, she would be surprised to learn that all the text on the screen had become an unfamiliar language. Alongside that, the gem nearby was completely dim, maybe even lifeless. Yet, unknown to them, the gem was emitting a sound wave they couldn't hear and it would soon gain some unwanted attention.
"Uh... this is freaky," Reens said to herself after everything had happened. She tried rebooting her computer again, but the strange text still appeared. "I hope Jeremy hasn't had anything like this happen to him."
"What the heck is happening?!" Jeremy asked, as his gem went through the same process as Reens' had. "This is like something out of, a sci-fi movie!"
The gems stayed dormant for a few seconds and then lit up. Much like earlier, they didn't emit heat, but they also didn't get any brighter than what their eyes could tolerate. However, both computers started acting like they had minds of their own. They logged in to Reens and Jeremy and opened up a document program where the only things that were written in English were what was coming up on the screen. All it said was "OpenAlert.mp3 Ok or Cancel?" For both Jeremy and Reens.
Reens blinked and clicked OK on the screen.
Jeremy hesitated before doing the same thing on his screen.
"Something really weird is going on here," Reens mumbled to herself.
"Maybe that'll give me answers," Jeremy continued Reens' thoughts from his apartment.
When they both clicked "OK", the file opened to show a pitch-black window which also had the same commands in the upper left side of the window, being minimized. Full screen, and close. Then slowly a white dot forms in the center of the window and stretches out until it forms a horizontal line and turns green. Then the sound came on. The sound that came on was indiscernible to anyone who listened to it. It didn't sound like any known language, let alone the vocal tones and sound effects. Then something else happened. Upon hearing the noise, the document started showing the same text again, but then became translated on its own.
The messages were translated for them, and the result was none too pleasing. It was a transmission that sounded like an emergency message. "This message is for all able-bodied individuals and must be met with a response. You are in danger and must be transported to Safehouse Orion immediately. Your world is going to be harvested for either the gems or the resources you have. My name is Savannah Alexis Myers from Safehouse Orion. Setting message to repeat. *A long buzzing followed by a rewinding sound is heard.*
Reens' ears twitched as the sound came on, then folded backward as the message came through. "Safehouse Orion? Where the heck is that? And... harvested?!?" Reens looked over at the gem she had found. "So... someone wants this sapphire I picked up now, huh? Otherwise, they wouldn't be invading my world to get it," she mused out loud. "I've never even heard of Ms. Myers... I wonder if there's a way to communicate with her back. I'm not sure how."
Jeremy, on the other hand, completely freaked out when the computer did its thing and translated the messages. He hid behind his couch, only emerging again when it was finished translating. "S-Safehouse Orion, Orion?" he stammered with a hushed tone. "Where, where in the world could that be? Reens, she's, she's in danger! Her, her and the rest, rest of m-my world is gonna be, be toast! But what in the world for?" He then noticed his gem. "All of this for, for a ruby? Reens, if you're, you're safe, then I hope I can, can meet you there," he finished with a sigh. "I have to find out where this Safehouse is."
The gems didn't act up this time, but the machines did. The keyboards for both computers started warping and shifting, all until the center of the keyboard was exposed, showing a medium-sized circular opening that opened up and let a noticeable tower stick out from the computer. The tower then emitted a hologram of a female wolf as she stood on the keyboard directly in front of Reens and Jeremy.
The hologram then started talking. "Hello? Can you hear me? Is everything all right?!!" She said.
"Whoa!" Reens yelped, jumping out of her seat and crashing to the floor. She sat up again, a little woozy, then shook her head. "Wait, hold on, slow down. Are you Savannah?" She gingerly scooted up to the laptop and hologram. "I got your message earlier."
Jeremy simply stared as he shook his head. "I gotta stop eating Twinkies before bed," he groaned with a facepalm. "Poor Reens... Maybe she made it to this 'Safehouse' already." He blinked and ran his hand over the hologram. "Amazing... Safehouse Orion must have incredible tech!"
Savannah was talking to both from their computers. "Yes, I am Savannah. I sent you the message. I was only able to interface with your computer by temporarily overriding LOKI Station's far-reaching COM systems. I need to access your computers because a couple of friends of mine talked about you. Reens was it? He seemed to speak highly of you. But that doesn't matter. I need you and your friends, and anyone else you have nearby. There is a massive threat coming by. I'd teleport you sooner, but I need to synchronize the Transpatial Matter Transporter to your computers. I need you two to keep the computers online so I track you two. Remember this." Savannah said as the hologram deactivated.
"Well, Grandpa Tony already left to go home... and Jeremy..." Reens shook her head and sighed. "He's up in his apartment, so I don't want to just disturb him like this. I'm not sure if anyone else I know is near me."
"You... 'two'?" Jeremy asked, scratching his head. "Maybe Reens isn't there already. Maybe she's still here with me?" He tapped his foot. "Well, as long as the computer's online I shouldn't worry."
The Gems started to glow as the computers found themselves glowing the same colors as the gems they had next to them. Savannah could be heard talking through the computers.
"Alright, I'm having Nicole initiate the process. She says it is encrypted, so it may be a while. But, be careful with who you trust. Some individual enemies can create an outer shell to like you or others. Do not be paranoid, just be alert." Savannah says.
"Jeremy," Reens thought out loud again. "Should I get him? And my grandpa doesn't live near here... and Sneer... But if there are people who want to hurt me..." She looked over at the Gem warily.
Fumbling for a weapon, Jeremy grabbed the nearest thing, an aluminum baseball bat, and held it next to him. "I haven't played baseball in years, but if someone's gonna hurt me... or Reens... I can't let that happen!"
"Gather as much as either of you can before the decryption process is complete. The teleporter can only work once after the activation. Bring the gems and anyone else you can." Savannah says to them. "When the decryption is complete I need you two to hold the gems and find an electric pylon. That'll amplify the signal and make teleportation easier. (Static) My signals are breaking up! Remember what I--(Static) Nicole, keep working at it!! " The signal finally gives out, but the computers are still on.
A sudden knock startled Reens, and she jumped to the door to see who was there. Her grandfather stood outside the door, holding a small box.
"Sweetie, I was just about on my way home when I noticed this box I left in the front seat! It has some more of your things in it, so I thought I would return it to you before I left."
Reens ushered him inside and took the box from his hands, letting him sit on the couch. "Thanks, Grandpa, but I would feel better if you just stayed here for a little longer."
"Why, sweetie? What's the matter with-" Tony paused as he looked at the gem, then at Reens' computer. "... Is there something I should know?"
Reens' cellphone rang as she tried to call her boyfriend, Leonidas, but he wasn't picking up. "Leo, c'mon, c'mon, you have to be there for me. Please, Leo..." At last, she heard his voice, but it turned out to be his answering machine. She groaned and dialed a different number. "Pick up, please, sis..."
Sneer's phone vibrated in her pocket as she waited at a bus stop. She almost ignored it when she saw Reens' face on the screen. "What do you want?" she snapped quickly.
"Sneer, I can't explain everything right now, but something bad is gonna happen to the multiverse and I don't know what it is but there's these gem things and a hologram lady and something called Safehouse Orion and I know you're probably in a different dimension right now but-" she stopped to take a breath - "would you please come to my dimension and go through a portal with me?"
Blinking, Sneer looked at the phone in disbelief before she answered. "Um... are you... drunk right now?"
Reens groaned again as she continued. "Sneer, I'm serious! Have I ever lied to you? Ever?"
She didn't get a reply at first but eventually heard an exasperated sigh on the other end. "Look, I'm at a bus station right now, and I'm not sure how to get to your dimension from here, but I'm gonna do what I can."
Jeremy decided to call Leonidas as well, who picked up on the first ring. "Okay, this might sound weird, but the world is gonna be screwed soon and there's these gems and a lady in a holograph and a satellite or something called Safehouse Orion and-" The phone clicked on the other end as Jeremy received a busy signal. "Dammit, Leo!"
Savannah returns as the computer screens once again change to the gem's corresponding colors. "Hehe. Sorry, everyone. Nicole had run into a firewall and it cut off my signal. But right now the decryption process has reached 19%. How's progress on your end?"
Tony blinked as Savannah came on screen while Reens hung up on her cell phone. "Everything's going well so far. I have my grandpa here and Sneer's trying to get here too. I haven't had any resistance yet either, I guess."
Jeremy groaned. "B-basically, I'm here, here by myself now. I only s-stop stuttering when, when I'm in danger I-I guess... A-Anyway, Leonidas won't, won't pick up the phone and I don't have anyone, anyone else to call. No one's t-tried to break in or anything..."
"I'm sorry to hear your friend didn't want to come. Well, not much has changed aside from the decryption process at 21%. Nothing out of sorts to report. " Savannah said to Jeremy and Reens.
Soon, they both get knocks on their doors. This wasn't planned as they had no intention of having company over.
Tony got up and moved to the door, looking through the peephole. "Reens, were you expecting company?" "Is it Sneer?" Reens asked, joining her grandpa at the door. "I'm not sure..."
Jeremy blinked, then cautiously approached the door. "Um, L-Leo? Is, is that you? I wasn't expecting you, you to change your mind so fast..." He looked through the peephole, slightly on edge.
Reens and Jeremy got a response from the other side of the door. "Hello? Apartment Security. I've heard complaints of a power surge. Want to investigate your apartment."
Sneer was currently on a bus, tapping her fingers impatiently on the edge of her seat. I hope this hunk of metal can get me to her apartment, or at least a portal or something. How else am I supposed to just pop up in her dimension? Sheesh, dimension travel is a beast...
While Sneer was in the bus, another passenger sat across from her, a female wolf in a business uniform with a grey briefcase with what appeared to be a futuristic design. She has her long hair going down to her shoulders in a silver color. Her main body fur was white. But she was wearing wire frame glasses with black lenses, obscuring her eye color. Looking to the left and right, she leans a little forward to Sneer, "Hey." She whispered to Sneer.
"Apartment Security? Um, I didn't file a complaint..." Reens said cautiously. "Do you have any ID or something?"
Jeremy immediately locked the rest of the locks on the door and covered the peephole with his finger. "D-don't you guys usually, um, call first or, or something?" he asked. "I didn't hear, hear anyone else complaining."
Sneer shifted in her seat slightly and looked across to the wolf, immediately on edge. Her quills flared as she whispered back."What do you want? I'm not in the mood for whatever you're trying to sell me, so spill it or buzz off." She considered using her pyrokinesis to scare the wolf but decided not to for the safety of the other passengers.
For Reens, she heard the guy saying, "Yes, ma'am. I'm Ruben Mathias the Cat. I'm here regarding a power surge. Wanted to know if you are alright. Got reports of lightbulbs exploding and some fuses being blown. An electrician is already on his way. Can I come in?"
Jeremy still heard him on the other side of the door, seemingly unfazed by the door now heavily locked. "I'm on watch for this area. There's no need to be afraid. Just want to be sure you're alright."
With Sneer, the wolf leaned in and whispered "Do you believe in alien robots existing?"
Tony and Reens looked at each other confused. Reens gulped before opening the door a crack. "Thank you for your concern but we haven't had anything electrical wrong just yet. You can look around, but that's it."
Jeremy removed his finger from the peephole and started unlocking the locks on his door. "I still, still don't f-fully trust you, you very much m-mister, but as long as you're, you're just here to check electric, i-it shouldn't take long, r-right?"
Sneer blinked and rolled her eyes. "I've just gotten back from an inter-dimensional war, so, yeah, alien robots wouldn't phase me a bit. Sheesh, I have the robot part down already," she smirked, showing off her left arm. "Alien, shmalien." 
Ruben opened the door, dressed in a security uniform, complete with everything a guard might need. "Thanks, ma'am. My apologies for this. Just following the procedure. " Ruben opened the door and just looked around the room, not taking a step in. It wasn't until he saw the blue gem sitting idle near Reens' laptop that, looked at it in bewilderment. "Well color me perplexed. That's quite a beauty you got on the table ma'am. Did you win the lottery or something?" 
With Jeremy, he saw the guard nod his head and turn the knob, opening the door and just scanning the room. The guard looked exactly like anyone would expect one to be. But as he scanned the room he saw a distinct red glow coming from the center of the room, near Jeremy's laptop. "Huh, would you look at the size of that thing? What store did you get that from, kid?" The guard asked. 
With Sneer, the wolf woman looked at her and just rolled her eyes under her glasses. "Noted. But this time, your dimension may not be able to stay the same forever. You see, I'm here to send a message to let you -" 
The wolf girl stops speaking as something in the distance, sounding like an explosion, is heard. It sounded like it was from in front rather than behind. 
Reens shook her head. "Nope, not a lottery winner, unfortunately. Just kind of lucky I guess." She looked at him warily, not willing to tell him where she had found the gem. 
Jeremy grimaced. "D-don't call me, call me kid," he said with a slight edge to his voice. "And I didn't get it from a store..." 
Sneer jumped up slightly from her seat and looked in the direction of the explosion. "Lemme guess. Are those the robot aliens you were talking about just now?" She clenched her fist and prepared to summon a fireball. 
For Reens, the gem started glowing again, getting Ruben's attention. "Ruben" had a bit of a nervous look when the blue gem shot a large blue beam at Ruben, slowly exposing him as an alien robot. Its cover blown, it made a mad dash for the blue gem, attempting to claim it. 
With Jeremy, the red gem started charging up energy until it became a white silhouette and then released a strong burst of energy to knock Jeremy on his back, the guard and made the room a mess. The guard wasn't the guard, but rather an alien robot when Jeremy would get on his feet. 
The wolf said, "Dammit, they're here. Ma'am, I got to get you--" She is cut off again as more explosions are heard, only this time they either hit the bus or came close to it. The bus would try to swerve to avoid any further damage but then started rolling after making a hard left, causing it to roll end over end 8 times before coming to a complete stop, battered and busted. 
Reens jumped in front of the alien, drawing her plasma blaster and charging it up. "Grandpa, get behind me! I can't let this creep get the sapphire! I don't know what he is but he's dangerous!" She also drew her sword out of its sheath and stared the intruder down. "You wanna make a move or should I, huh creepy?" 
The robot didn't respond and instead grabbed her blaster, attempting to destroy it. 
Jeremy groaned, rubbing his head and slowly getting up. He gasped at the 'guard', then grabbed his aluminum baseball bat and attempted to hit the alien in the head with it. "G-get out, out of my apartment, you creep!" 
The robot then charged at him, extending a hand trying to grab his neck. 
Sneer had flung herself over the wolf as the bus had rolled over and over, still clinging onto the wolf as the rolling stopped. If she wasn't scared before, she sure was now, and both of them were placed in front of Reens' apartment building. "Damnit... am I... are we... dead?" Were the first words out of Sneer's mouth. Her eyes were clenched shut, not wanting to see bloodied, injured, or worse, dead, bodies around her. 
The wolf, holding on to Sneer, said no as she got to her feet. Looking around, the bus had been totaled, and bodies were strewn about. "We need to leave." She then carried Sneer as she forced open one of the bus doors with her shoe. 
Reens smirked. "Big mistake," she chuckled as the blaster started to heat up and fired directly into the alien's face three times. "Good shot, sweetie!" Tony said, swiftly grabbing the gem himself. 
Jeremy yelped as the robot's hand swiped at him, then used his baseball bat to hit it back. "Back! Back, you fiend!" 
Sneer opened one eye and blinked. "Hey, that looks like Reens' place. She told me about it in her email. If I know Reens, she's probably kicking a roboalien's butt right now. That is if they've reached this dimension yet..." 
A loud noise started coming from the apartments until the robot Reens was dealing with had been forced out of her apartment, after taking a nasty beating, with some rust on the armor and a couple of joints. The robot stumbled out of the window and gave Reens an eyeful to the chaos unfolding in front of her. 
Jeremy managed to bat the robot away from him. The machine then tried to grab Jeremy's bat with one hand and then tried to punch him in the chest. The robot then spoke to him saying "Give me the gem." 
With Sneer and the wolf girl, the wolf girl watched as the robot tried to get back on its feet. Gently setting Sneer down, she then walks over to the robot and opens up the briefcase, revealing a stasis canister she had been saving in the event of making eye contact with an attacking anomaly. 
Reens gasped and rubbed her eyes, not believing what she was seeing. "Cheese and crackers..." she breathed in a whisper. Tony, still holding the gem, came to her right side, also looking in disbelief. "Sweetie? I don't think we're just fighting against one little robot..." "Sneer!" Reens cried, looking at the destroyed bus. 
With a grunt, Jeremy fell backward, the bat being yanked out of his hand. Landing hard on the ground, he gripped the gem with his other hand before being punched in the chest. "N-no way, you bastard, bastard alien!" 
Sneer's ears perked up, hearing her name being yelled. "R...Reens?" she asked weakly, looking over to the wolf. Reens ran to her dimensional sister and embraced her gently, with Sneer slumping against her. "Oh my god, I didn't think you would make it," Reens sobbed into Sneer's shoulder. "Honestly, I... I didn't either," Sneer replied. "The wolf chick... she saved my ass." 
The wolf girl throws the stasis canister at the robot, causing it to create a small blast radius that is potent enough to shut it down for a short while. "Alright. That should keep it at bay for a while. We need to..." The wolf girl stopped as she turned to face Sneer, only to see her accompanied by two other characters. She was about to say something when she noticed the blue gem still glowing in Tony's right hand. 
Yet a loud noise could be heard coming from Jeremy's room, only to hear the sound of the window breaking and watching Jeremy stare back at another robot dangling him beneath his muzzle two stories above them. Jeremy couldn't scream due to the choking grip the robot had on him. 
Reens wiped her tears and looked at Sneer, then perked her ears up and gaped. "No! Jeremy!" She readied a plasma blast and aimed at the robot. 
"Sis, slow down," Sneer cautioned her. "You might hit him if you aren't careful!" Jeremy choked as the robot held him, trying to hold on to the red gem as it was slipping from his hand. Tony looked over at the wolf and held the blue gem out to her. "I take it this might help us?" 
The wolf girl said with her back facing Tony, "If it is a diamond shape, then yes." She then looked up at the robot dangling Jeremy from the second floor. She looked at the gem, then back to the situation. The wolf girl then said, "One of you stand where I am and hold your arms and hands out. I'm going at it. Keep that gem close, because if either of these robots gets a trace amount of energy, they will attack. Speaking of which, keep the robot dangling your friend busy til I get there." The wolf girl ran inside and pulled a small Nucleon Blaster. 
They nodded, and Sneer decided to keep the robot holding Jeremy busy by taunting him. Tony kept the gem close to him while Reens went to where the wolf had stood and put her arms and hands out as she said. Jeremy almost dropped the red gem but tightened his grip and was able to swallow a bit. 
"Ptfffbbbbt!" Sneer said, sticking out her tongue at the robot. "C'mon you bag of bolts! Come and get me! Plbbbbt!" Reens stood where she was, nervous. "Just keep holding on, Jeremy!" she shouted up to him. Jeremy couldn't answer but nodded as much as he could. Eventually, Jeremy passed out from lack of oxygen, and the red gem fell from his hand toward the ground below. Tony leaped up and caught it before it could fall, and now he had both gems in his possession. 
The wolf girl could be heard in the room with the robot. "That's enough, shifter. It's over." 
The robot looks back inside the room. The robot punches Jeremy in the gut once before letting him drop. 
Reens caught him before he could fall, and she strained to hold him before dropping to her knees. "It's okay, Jeremy, I've got you." Jeremy didn't answer, so Reens tried breathing in his face to give him some oxygen. She also began doing CPR on his chest while healing him with her heart energy. "C'mon, breathe!" 
Sneer stopped taunting the robot and ran over to Tony, who still had both gems. "What are these rocks supposed to do anyway?" Tony shrugged and held them tight. "I don't know for certain but those robotic aliens want them pretty badly." "I hate those things," Sneer muttered. "They're downright ugly." 
The group heard several shots ring out as Jeremy's would-be executioner fell out the window. The wolf girl jumped out landing gracefully on her feet. The would-be executioner tried to get to its feet only to be met with a blast straight through the optical computer. Permanently shutting it down. 
She turns to the group. "Threat level minimized. Are you guys alright?" She asked. 
Jeremy moaned before reaching up and touching Reens' face. "R-Reens?" Reens paused and placed her hand on her chin, eyes welling up with tears. "Jeremy! You're okay!" She hugged him gently while crying. Tony walked over to the wolf and held out both gems to her. "I don't know what to do with these." Sneer simply crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "So what do those rocks do again?" 
"They serve a purpose," the wolf girl answered vaguely. 
Grunting, Sneer gave the wolf a dark glare. "I know they serve a purpose. What purpose do they serve?!" Reens helped Jeremy up from the ground and began walking with him back to her apartment building. "Sneer, why don't we just go back to my apartment so we can meet up with Savannah?" "G-good idea, Reens," Jeremy replied. "I agree with my granddaughter," Tony echoed, placing both gems in a pocket. 
The wolf girl nodded. "Savannah, how much longer?" The wolf girl asked through a communicator under her jacket sleeve. 
"Not much....done! I will meet you in the apartment!" Savannah said to her. 
"Excellent. See you soon." 
The wolf girl hung up."She'll meet us in the apartment." 
The group entered Reens' apartment, which had a few shards of broken glass on the floor that had fallen from Jeremy's window. Reens settled Jeremy on the couch and readied her laptop. "Savannah? You there? We're all together now, and the gems have been secured for the time being, so if you're gonna beam us up you might wanna be quick before robotic reinforcements come back." Tony shifted nervously on his feet while Sneer simply crossed her arms again and glared at the wolf. Even though she saved my ass from that bus, there's something about her I just don't feel right about... 
The gems in Tony's pocket started glowing and levitating. The two gems then fire a beam of their respective color to the wall to the left of the wolf girl. The wall ends up giving way to a hole as it grows to meet them at their height. 
Savannah steps out. "Greetings. Everyone." She turns to the wolf girl. "You did well, Terri. You go on in." The wolf girl nods and walks through. 
"I've tried to find some pylons to use. But, they've been destroyed. So here I am. I will bring you guys over." Savannah said. 
Jeremy's eyes widened as he tried to jump off of the couch, but got up too fast and groaned. "Jeremy, slow down, okay son?" Tony said, helping him up and walking through the hole with him. Sneer looked at Savannah curiously before crossing her arms and entering through the hole. Hanging back a bit, Reens nervously gulped before walking in after Sneer. Gosh, my stomach's feeling queasy... I don't know why, but I don't feel right... 
Just as Reens and Sneer entered, and Savannah was about to enter, Savannah was pushed in by a robot, and the Gems that were floating from earlier were taken, closing the hole behind her. 
"Lady Vultra, the targets are secure. Returning to Station." The voice said as it warped away.
The hole the group entered leads directly inside Orion Station. 
No one said anything at first until Sneer whistled and clicked her tongue. "Holy mackerel," Reens added with a gulp. "Not what I was expecting." 
Savannah perked up. "Indeed. Everything you need regarding security, maintenance, and the like can be found here. Feel free to have a look around." 
At this moment, a red hedgehog and a pink fox walk into the room. The hedgehog looked at them with a surprised look. The fox just smiles and waves. 
Jeremy nervously waved back at the newcomers while Tony tipped his hat in a friendly hello. "So I take it we aren't going to be alone?" Sneer asked in a bit of a joking way. "If whoever sent those robots to our dimension has anything to say about it, probably not," Reens replied with a slight grimace. 
Savannah nodded at that question. "Yes. There will be more that are here. For now, I will have Nicole escort you to the barracks for some rest. We need you in peak condition, everyone else is already there." Savannah said. "Nikki, be a dear and show them to their place, please?" She asked. Nicole performed a curtsy and said: " Of course." She ends her curtsy and makes a hand gesture, implying for them to follow her. 
They followed Nicole, with Reens at the end of the line. She looked around a bit nervously, tugging at her braid. "I know that look," Sneer said. "What's the deal?" Reens blushed. "Nothing." "Don't, don't be scared, Reens," Jeremy said in a comforting tone. "We'll be a-alright." Tony lagged behind a bit to place a hand on Reens' shoulder. "There, there, sweetie. We'll be fine." 
Nicole looked back at Reens. "Indeed. You guys are undetectable in this station. I promise you'll be alright." Nicole said with a smile. She then calls out the doorway. 
Reens' nervousness lessened but didn't fully disappear. "Well, that makes me feel a little bit better," Sneer smirked. "There's the sis I know and respect." 
Raven looks at them and nods. 
Savannah chimes in. "I have the entire facility rendered invisible to every radar they could have. No one will find us. At least for now. But, do hurry on. We all need to rest." 
They all started walking a little faster, with Sneer helping Jeremy after she noticed his limp. Tony walked beside Reens and smiled at her, trying to make her feel comfortable. When they reached the barracks, Reens sighed in relief. 
"These will be your resting quarters. Make yourselves at home. I'll be back later to see if you need anything." Nicole said as she hurried off. 
Sneer settled into her bed, pulling out her suitcase, which had somehow not gotten damaged in the bus crash. Tony settled in a bed near her, while Reens and Jeremy settled in beds near each other. "These, these beds are nice," Jeremy said with a smile. "Better than that crappy couch," Sneer added. "Hey, once I get enough money I'll buy a better couch," Reens replied with a huff. Tony laughed. "Why don't we all just relax for a bit, hm?" 
Nicole returned. "I see you guys are already in your beds. Do you guys need anything?" 
Reens' stomach growled. "If you have any food, we'd like some, please," Tony asked with a gentle smile. "That's all we need at the moment." Sneer shook her head and pulled out a book from her suitcase. Jeremy lay down in his bed with his arms behind his head, thinking. 
Nicole nods and hurries off. She then appeared about 30 minutes later, with some pasta, some cooked hamburger meat, some cheese, and some other dairy products. "Here is what we have." 
Sneer took the ingredients and began mixing them in a bowl, turning them into something similar to spaghetti. "There we go," she said after she was finished. "Bon appetit." Reens divided the food into portions, and they all started eating. "You, you can make a m-meal out of anything, right, right Sneer?" Jeremy asked with a mouthful of pasta. Tony didn't say anything but gave her an appreciative nod. 
Nicole stood in the room for a few more minutes before walking out of the room. "I'll be back in a little bit, just going to join up with Savannah, let her know you guys are eating." 
They nodded, and Reens swallowed her mouthful of pasta before sighing. "Am I the only one who has a bad feeling about this whole thing?" Tony looked over at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" Jeremy asked with a mouthful of pasta. "This whole thing just gives me bad vibes." Sneer rolled her eyes slightly and got up to join Reens on her bed. "Look, if anything happens to us, it happens. Don't worry about it." "B-besides, that Nicole lady said, said we're safe," Jeremy added. 
After a little bit of time had passed, Nicole came in. "All set." 
"We're ready for anything," Reens replied to Jeremy, getting up from the bed. She placed the dishes in a pile. "Ah, nice to know," she replied to Nicole. Sneer rotated her arm and stretched her legs out a bit. Tony and Jeremy both got up. "Where to?" 
"Savannah wants to see you all in the central hub. She has Raven with her to brief you all on what you can do to help maintain the place, or at the very least prepare and practice for future objectives. She asks that I escort you all there." Nicole said. 
"Lead the way then," Sneer replied before Reens could say anything. Tony and Jeremy agreed with her, and Reens agreed, although hesitantly. 
Nicole directed them onto a nearby elevator as the door shuts them. They go down at least five full floors to the central hub, with Savannah and Raven already there. 
"Greetings Everyone. " Savannah said with a smile. "I take it Nicole has helped you with getting acquainted with your quarters?" 
"Yeah, they're comfortable," Jeremy said, with Sneer nodding in agreement. Reens crossed her arms a bit and nodded also. "So what sort of stuff do we have to do here?" Tony looked over at Reens and hushed her. "Don't be rude." 
Savannah raised a hand. "At ease. We have an assortment of weapons and artillery in the armory located in your quarters. We also have a training room where it is strongly recommended to practice against the enemy. We do have a repair bay for any robotics or even enhancements and a medical bay for biological issues. Lastly, there is a crafting station on Deck 3." Savannah said. 
"A repair bay will be useful," Sneer replied with a smirk. "Reens can enhance our robotic arms, right?" Reens nodded, as Jeremy fidgeted nervously. "I'm not so sure about this whole 'training' thing, you know. I-I'm not really, really a fighter. And Tony's kinda -" "Don't you dare say 'old', sonny! I might have a crick in my neck but I can still tear apart a robot!" Tony interrupted, earning a snicker from Sneer. 
"Of course, spend as much time as you feel you need when you're there. " Raven said. 
"Oh, and Jeremy, we could also use some extra tech support if you're interested. I can have you work with Nicole. She'll help you get acquainted with the material. We can also provide you with weapons and a suit of custom terabyte armor if you need it, Tony." Savannah tells them. 
Jeremy nodded as Reens cracked her knuckles. Tony nodded and smiled as Sneer rolled her shoulders. "Well I dunno about you guys, but I'm ready for a training sesh." "Why don't we spar a bit first beforehand? I'm not sure what these robots' weaknesses and stuff are right now, so we should at least warm up," Reens suggested. 
"Exactly. Jeremy and Nicole will meet you in the tech station. Tony, I will join you in the armory to help establish what suit of armor you prefer." Savannah said. 
The group split into their separate ways, with the girls heading to the training room to spar, Jeremy finding his way to the tech station, and Tony making his way to the armory. Once Sneer and Reens were out of earshot, Sneer groaned. "Finally, I was getting stifled in there." 
Eventually, Reens and Sneer made it to the training room, Jeremy made it to the tech station, and Tony made it to the armory. 
Reens whistled as Sneer smirked. "I am gonna love this place. How about we go a few rounds with some of those training robots?" "Sounds good," Reens replied with an equal smirk. "Bet I can beat up more than you!" "Game on!" 
Jeremy looked around the tech station, interested in the gadgets and gizmos that were around. "Reens would love this too." 
Tony looked up and down several suits of armor as he entered the room. 
Reens and Sneer began taking out several robots, using both their aqua/pyrokinesis and their robotic arms to their advantage. Jeremy began fiddling with some spare parts. Tony finally chose a suit of armor that looked like it would fit him perfectly and tried it on. 
The suit was a Bulkhead-class Suit that fit him very well. On the outside the armor was an earthly brown color on the helmet, torso, arms, and legs. The inside was made of a leathery material under layers of alien metals and familiar metals. The boots felt a little heavy when he tried to move. Aside from that, he felt like he was a couple of inches off the ground. Yet, it wasn't like he was flying, more like standing on some type of elevated platform. The boots were secured by some joints, clips, and insertion points, linking the pieces of the boot together. The boots had a more bulky look to them, with large shoe openings, and cylindrical leg pieces to secure the shinguards. 
the torso was just as bulky as the boots but had a more stylized approach. The chest, abdominal, back, and pelvic plates felt very sturdy and snug, only feeling loose when they were put under enough pressure. The shoulder plates were triangular in shape and thick in density. The plates were stretched upward till they were just past the earbuds for the helmet. Interestingly, the metal covering his derriere also forged some armor for his tail, implying that the suit was made of living metal. 
as for the gauntlets, they weren't as bulky as the rest of the armor, but they were just as fitting. On the knuckles of the gauntlets were hexagonal parts that appeared to be 3 inches tall and 1 inch wide each. The shape itself felt like it was made of heavy metals. The outsides of the knuckles were laced with tiny hooks that seemed to be for ripping things open or grabbing things too small or delicate to be carried normally. 
Lastly, the helmet was about as fitting as the rest of the armor. The back of the helmet altered itself to wrap around Tony's quills. At the top, the helmet becomes flat and rectangular with the fore sticking out enough to act as a visor. For the mouthpiece, a speaker was present, able to speak fluently and clearly. The metal shifted to cover Tony's ears as well. Lastly, one antenna-like structure on each side of his head stuck out and reconnected to the flat boxlike peak of his helmet. Category:Fanfiction
Category:Nitrogen218's Universe
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