Prologue - That Familiar Feeling

[Maelys Knight]

[Smash Gate - Hub world]

When trouble strikes, heroes rise to defend the weak. But can aggression always be met with courage, or will the wicked overpower the forces of good?

---

Peaceful as always, the great mechanical platform had numerous individual traversing it's central chamber, but never enough to fill the large expanse of golden floor and ornate pillars. The walls of the gate stood high and strong, though there was no ceiling to support. The endless void of the Rift shone through the top of the platform, daring any brave adventurer to try to explore it's depths. The Rift wasn't the reason people came to the Smash Gate, however.

The Gate was veritably massive for one reason, it's walls were lined with large metal rings, inside which sat the main focus of the Gate. Portals took up most of the walls of the Smash Gate, many glowing blue with an active gate, some that sat dormant, empty of their portal, and a few were closed off by physical means.

On opposite ends of the circular platform were branching hallways, each lined with inactive gates. It was from one of these hallways that portals began to flicker, turning on for only a moment to deposit a hapless entity, then promptly shut off. Nobody knew why they would shut off abruptly, but for all intents and purposes, the individual who had dared to venture into that mysterious blue ring in their home world would now find themselves indefinitely stuck in this world.

Meanwhile, in the center of the platform sat a small circular building of sorts. The outside had a kiosk desk wrapping around most of it, and a large sign rose up from the center of the roof, proclaiming it's name; Smash News Network. TV screens were stationed on the wall behind and above the counter, and were currently showing clips of various fights, periodically displaying the Smash News Network logo.

The activity from the hallway was quickly noticed, but something seemed to be going on already. As a reporter prepared to greet the newcomers, a Lakitu dashed from the building and over to a portal, disappearing through the gate. Moments later, the reporter would make their way over to the group.

---

You arrive at the Smash Gate after inspecting a strange metal ring in your world of origin. A member of the Smash News Network will explain what's going, feel free to stick around and get info, or scream "FUQ DA POLICE" and Yolo into a portal. Your choice.

[Dark Lord Maxi]

[ Earth 22XX (different axis in time) ~Superhuman Era~ ]
-Blue Alexander-

[ BGM: The Long & Forgetten ]

Years ago Genesis Alexander, along with 9 others, were experiments created by the former evil organization Justice to create the next generation of humanity. They became the superhumans of Justice, but they defected against their creators and killed each and every one of them which created many turns of events. After the founder of Justice was killed, Abdol and the Dark Rebellion were defeated once and for all, and Genesis' dark side Dark Genesis was sealed inside the fellow superhuman Alicia Yagami, Genesis started the organization of peace New Justice. Also, Genesis and Alcia had a son, Blue Alexander, the first newborn superhuman.

Years later, Blue had recently been ranked into the military of New Justice and has taken missions day after day. However, his father Genesis rushed to take on an urgent mission by himself, leaving everyone and his son behind without any notice. It was now the fifth day since Genesis' disappearance, and Blue started to grow even more worried then ever. Not taking the chance of losing the only family he has left, he left without official orders to find his father and bring him back home. Tracking the last of his father's coordinates, it lead Blue to a known city in ruins that had suffered from the destruction of the former Justice Organization long ago. This city was a memory Genesis didn't want to remember, so why would he come here? Blue had got off his motorcycle to investigate the city to find any leads.



Moments later, Blue had spotted the ruins of the former Justice's Headquarters, with the doors already busted open. Did Genesis enter there? There was only one way to find out and Blue walked into the darkness of the building turning on his flashlight from his gun. There wasn't much of anything around but rusted machines, broken glass, and lights that flickered every so often. He'd then walk in front of an opened elevator path that lead to both the upper and lower floor. Blue peaked through the deep levels of the path and saw flickering light, which then gave him the idea of hoping from wall to wall until he landed safely to the lowest level of the basement....which, while there was a tad rusty hallway, everything else was surprisingly still in good shape, just a lighting problem.

Blue cut on the switch and the lights turned on, revealing the lights of the hallway and farther down, a large door that said "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY"... yeah like that meant shit to him anyways. Blue walked down and saw that the pad to open the door was already shot at, which could only mean Genesis had to be here. Blue then punched the pad and suddenly the large door opened, revealing a gigantic lab.

[ BGM: The Cistern of Sin ]

This lab was the bowels of the long forgotten organizations' evil experiments, sad to have been destroyed once and for all. Genesis must've remembered this and came to conquer his hurtful past, or was there something else going on that he didn't know about? Blue walked through each section of the room with the most highest technology beyond humanity, some even consisting of ancient artifacts not even recognized on this planet. Blue couldn't believe his eyes what he just seen, but it all stopped once he came upon a metal ring that was once covered in yellow hazardous warning plastic, but it seemed to have already been torn down, probably but his father. It was then that the agent slowly reached his hand to the large ring and with a simple touch, his amplification triggered the circle to slowly activate creating a blue portal-like energy. Blue had stepped back a little, but this was the closest thing to evidential that he father was inside this portal. Determined, Blue closed his eyes and gripped his hand....

"I'm coming, dad."

Walking in, the ring's energy had started to fade the instant Blue walked inside.




[ Smash Gate ]
-Blue Alexander-

[ BGM: Good Luck ]

A small forcefield of light would create from the end of a hallway, revealing Blue laying on the ground before disappearing with no way back to his home. Blue had struggled to get back up on his two feet due to the intense force of the transport. Bent to the floor, he was at least about to get his sight as he looked around the strange place he was dropped off to. The place was odd that's for sure, nothing he was familiar with, but nothing that was to be feared either.

Eventually, Blue finally managed to get back up on his feet as he leaned against the wall, checking his digital map. Everything was blank, revealing "Area Unknown", damn it he thought but was calm then a usual stranger to a new place would be. His father had done otherworldly missions before back in his time, maybe this one was one of the world's he visited before maybe? who knows. With that, Blue spotted a building further down the hall with a mechanical setting around and about and started to walk.

" Yeah....I'm definitely in trouble when I get back to headquarters, ANYONE HERE?! "

Hopefully there was someone around. It was the beginning of the search for his long missing father.

[Angel]

THE KINGDOM OF AVALARON

♫ "Cover me, comrades!" A young elf girl shouted to two men some ways behind her, glancing back at them for a single moment before gripping the broadsword on her back with both hands. Her movements were fluid and almost unrealistically smooth as she was nearly instant in fighting stance, and then a moment later already charging straight towards her foe.

Her foe in this case was hard to miss, a loud and and intimidating looking dragon. The kind whose wings beat out hurricanes, whose landing caused tremors the next town over could feel. The exact same kind this elf warrior lived to slaughter.

"W-Wai--.." one of them started, before he stopped himself. It was too late. They had the beasts attention.

These brave warriors had to adapt on the fly, forced forward by their companions fiery courage. "Trust me dear friends, we shall make short work of our foe, you have my trust!" she spoke, her blood already gleaming with the unmistakable color of dragon's blood. She stood strong, her eyes never leaving the dragon as she kept her sword pointed in it's direction. She wasn't going to back off. He could come and get her.

- - -

YET ANOTHER EARTH - 2018

♫ "Seriously Katie, what the hell?" a voice was ringing in her ears, a voice that just made her laugh.

"Hehehe.. sorry!" The sound of clacking buttons, as an athletic but feminine hand danced along buttons, guiding what she saw in front of her. The sound of a plastic cup being raised, the loud slurping as someone took a drink.

"That's bullshit, if you were sorry you would stop doing it. Every. Single. Time." The voice was the annoyed tone of a friend, certainly frustrating.. but there was a unmistakable tone of laughter that Katie could sense. He was having fun. She knew it.

"I just believe in us Charlie! We got this!" she made a cute smirk stretched across her face as the teenagers face as she continued to take swings at the digital dragon in front of her.

- - -

While his daughter was playing her sword and sorcery style game on her PC, Ivan was watching slightly from her bedroom door. He had just dropped off her food, a greasy cheeseburger, fries, and a soda.. and had lingered at her bedroom door. He glanced around for a bit at everything around.. thinking about the joy he felt in this room. It was a jumped mess of styles, interests, and clashing aesthetics.. but it was lively and loud. Bright, immature, but fun. This room was his daughter, and so it was place that he loved very much.. even if it could use some airing out.

"Anything else, bug?" he said, smiling at her. She waved him off, her hands moving to the headphones as she muted the call for a moment. "Nah dad, thanks." and gave him a thumbs up, before returning to her play. He was glad.. both that his daughter was satisfied for now and that.. well, he supposed it was just the madness in his own mind.. but the question had brought up his own dad worries.

He knew his daughter was never satisfied. Never fully. Not just in the topic of tummy filling either, but in all things. He hesitated for a moment, then started to walk out of the room.. and sure enough, he heard her voice calling out to him..

"Ketchup!?"

- - -

Katie vaguely heard her father laughing as he left the room. She pondered for a moment what he found so funny, but not enough to distract her from the larger thoughts of her game. Specifically the annoying argument she was still having with her friend. The one s started with her rushing into a Dragon encounter they were a bit unprepared for.

"All I'm saying is you can trust me guys, I won't let you down." She said, taking a bite of her burger. A softer voice, their more shy friend, asked what she was eating, but she didn't respond to it because her other friend.

"I'm not saying you aren't good Katie, but this is the kind of encounter we can't afford a slip up in. I would have rather been more prepared." He said, which just made her snort.. of course. So lame though! This fight was going to be the most fun right now. A real challenge! Life was so dull and nothing was happening and.. she.. just wanted to experience a rush. Have some fun.. not just waste hours. That was the last thing she wanted. The EXP was better after this encounter anyway.

"Well be fine guys.." she said, trailing off from the rest of the sentence she was about to say.

Something odd had appeared in the corner of her eyes, a shimmer as it caught the sun that pulled her away from the game. What she found was intruiing and strange because she knew her room inside and out. This shouldn't be here. This.. strange ring.

In her house full of future tech, strange glowing rings weren't exactly the most strange thing.. but when they just decide to appear in your bedroom you start getting a bit suspicious. Did someone active some sort of protocol she didn't know about? Curious and not about to be pulled away, Katie rushed right in. She had a moment anyway.. the dragon was still circling back. She had a second to look at it.. her finger touched it..

....

"Katie!? Katie!? Shit! Shitshitshit.. Earth to Katie!? Katie!? Are you there!?"

~~~~

THE SMASH GATE

♫ It was a new experience, to feel so uprooted from where you were currently standing. She got total, "Beam me up!" kind of feelings from it, like her entire body was fighting to stay together. Maybe it wasn't even staying together, maybe she was being torn apart. She felt her heart beating quick as panicking feelings started to wash through her, and she could only stare forward. Where was she going? What had happened?

Would she ever get back home?

Then it was like the intense blue, and the motion blur, and all of it just stopped.. and Katie could see again. Except she was in a whole new place.. a whole new world. She could tell at a moment. Even the air felt different. The sky was different. This was not home. This was not even Earth. She knew it. Everything fit too well, in her heart of hearts she had always expected it one day. Her dad was from the future. Her mom was best friends with aliens. Whenever she had ended up.. however she had ended up here, she knew this is was where she was supposed to be at this moment.

All Katie knew is that in the pit of her stomach, that panicking feeling was started to be replaced by something else. As she glanced at all the strangeness around her, and noticed an unfamiliar face, and felt so.. confused. One thing was clear. Something big had just happened. Something cool. Something amazing! She was alive! She was fine! She had been teleported from her world and was now on an alien planet!

Excitement was bubbling as the girl looked like she might literally start jumping for joy. She rushed right over the other person in the area and spoke. Some blonde blue looking guy who looked.. looked so alien! Not only that he looked ready to fight. "Hey! I'm here!" she said, not exactly sure whatever she was here for. "What are we doing!?"

Not exactly the best questions, but they were exactly where she already was. The how's and why's just didn't matter. She wasn't about to get teleported to a new world and not get herself involved in whatever was happening. No.. she had to jump right in.

[Kismet]

SPLAT.

Steph. A. LePod rocketed out of the gate like a gooey asteroid from space. And like an asteroid, she was here to make an impact. But not so much the kind of impact that ruined things for the dinosaurs and more like the kind of impact that makes people turn their head. The kind that makes people go “wow, that squid is going places.”

So chum, you better believe that Steph knew exactly what she was doing when she rocket jumped into that portal. Probably. She knew she was leaving home. She knew she was going someplace unknown and new and maybe even dangerous and crazy. But sometimes a squid has to do crazy.

So it was with a resounding SPLAT that she arrived at the smash gate, and with a triumphant “woomy!” that she leapt from her ink puddle and triumphantly appraised her surroundings. They were neat. Super neat. Pillars that extended into an infinite sky, rows of gateways, and a real expensive looking floor. This place was pretty fresh for sure. But even more important was the fact that she wasn’t alone.

“Oh wow, I thought I’d be the first for sure” she said, the surprise clear in her voice. She put her hands on her hips and looked her company over. “My name's Steph. What’s wrong with yer heads? Where’s yer tentacles at?”

[Dark Lord Maxi]

[ Smash Gate - Central Hub ]
[ Blue, Katie, Steph ]

[ BGM: So People Can Be People ]

Right when Blue had yelled out to the open space of what appeared to be the central hub of this place, a girl in pink had rushed over to him much to his surprise. She didn't seem hostile so he didn't bother to take out his weapon, not that he had the energy to do so anyways due to his adventure and the sudden "trip" to this world. He was kinda tired from spending hours of searching, but at least they lead him here so far. Anyways back to the girl, she seemed excited to see a stranger she didn't know, was she even human or even from this world....? She was nice though to greet him so he wasn't gonna be a dick to her unlike the authorities back at headquarters.

"Hey, soooo I take it you're not from here either judging by that question....honestly I don't even know where to go."

She was the closest thing to human he was ever gonna see thus far, because of the next encounter that started of with the gooey splat of ....a squid-like girl? Now this is where things began to get wierd. She left an inky puddle when she landed and judging by her appearance she definitely wasn't human but like him and the girl, she also seemed to not know where she was. When the squid girl spoke, at least it was in the language he could understand, but.....

"Uhhhh....tentacles? I don't think we have those.... right? He asked confusingly looking at the girl in pink wondering if she understood the squid girl. Nonetheless he disregarded that and introduced himself. "Ermmm anyways!.....I am Agent #13 of the New Justice Organization, Blue Alexander, I'm gonna assume you guys don't know this place either, though I come from Earth in the year 22XX. I was on a mission, but ended up here thanks to some kind of device that looked like a metal ring." He wasn't great with new people, but if he was gonna be stuck here, he might as well learn some new things while he's around.

[Nynx]

[Minarai, Growlgate]
[Candykoon]


"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing"

As she came too from a long restful nap she found herself starting up at the sky. The clouds were quiet puffy, like a cotton ball freshly picked off the fields. A nice warm breeze whisk through the fields giving her a nice warm feeling. A feeling that can only be described as nostalgic. Before this she use to be a farmer tending the fields and carrying for the animals that wandered too far. It was a peaceful them back then. One without too many cares or worries. Work hard and receive the fruits of your labor. This is how the world use to work. She missed the good old time when people could understand each other through the merits of their efforts. Only through her prayers could she hope such times would find their way back into the hearts of the people. "Candy, it's time" A familiar voice from her headset spoke as she took the strain of grass she was chewing on out of her mouth. She took a few moments to stare at the sky one last time before reaching toward her ear to respond. It was finally time to do what she came here to do and it would be her efforts that would be witnessed through the thousands that come after her.

"Understood" She responded as she turned over to face her mounted sniper rifle overlooking the cliff. She took her position, resting her finger softly on the trigger. She looked through the scope to see a rather large village filled with many soldier patrolling the roads. Lots of military vehicles drove in and out of the main entrance. A few higher ranks could be seen in some rooms, talking with other soldiers. Her orders were to kill specific officials as soon as the attack started. With the arrival of autumn each official would be here to discuss domestic affairs. This tiny sting was created to take out their communications network for future attacks. One group taking out specific structure while another taking out officials. After moments of waiting the signal finally came, coming in out with an airstrike demolished a large number of buildings. The soldier scrambled to see what was going and the officials peeked out of the window into the sights of anxious killer.

Her finger pressed the trigger, quickly dropping her target. The official next to him confused over the whole situation met how comrades fate moments later with a single shoot through his left eye. She quickly picked up her weapon and began running toward the ocean. Her mission was done but if any skilled soldier saw those shots they would easily pin-point her location. A boat was waiting for her on the water. All she had to do was get there before dying. Screaming men could be heard in the background which moments later was followed by gunshots toward her area. She took to the trees, panting the whole way through. Her adrenaline was pumping. She could feel her heartbeat with every step. As she got to a small path leading down to the beach she was met with gunfire from a single individual who was giving chase. A familiar face and a familiar enemy. A man known as Zane.

"You won't make it out of here alive Candy!" He said still firing shots at her location while giving chase. A stray bullet hit her left arm causing her to drop her rifle. Taking her sidearm out of her holster she returned fire, causing him to take cover for a moment. She managed to get through the path and ran full speed down the beach until the boat was within eyesight. A man was sitting within the boat, the person whom she had come with and a wonderful friend. He kept a hood on his head to avoid notice from anyone who happen to see him. She waved her had to get his attention and signal him to start the boat. That's when he turned to her and removed the hood on his head. The removal of the hood revealed not her friend but another familiar face and another familiar enemy. His hand quickly pointed a gun to her, firing 3 shots which landed right into her chest. She fell face first into the sand, her chest throbbing in pain. As the two men approached her couldn't find the strength to roll over and see their face. She didn't need to see it, nor did she need to. She completed her mission. The only thing she had to do now was accept her death and accept all that she accomplished so far. The men rose their guns, pointing directly to her head. Moments later shots were fired, her last thoughts praying for her allies victory.

[Llyya Forest,Bedroom]
[Niapet]

"Goddammit, Motherfucking Bullshit" Nia said as she threw the controller right into a wall. The voices from her headset quickly filled with roaring laughter. She was absolutely fuming at this point. She planned out that attack for several months getting the resources and the gear to achieve such a goal only to get gunned down before she escaped. She couldn't even blame the game company. If only thing she could only blame herself for not anticipating outside help even though she knew she had trolly friends to begin with.

"Get Rekt Nia" One voice said taunting her. She really wanted to just reach into the computer and choke the living shit out of him. Though instead she felt that she should simply calm down and take a breather. She took a deep breath, letting the thoughts of murder melt away as she responded to her buddies on the other end.

"Alright that happened. I'm going to take a long walk guys. See you later" Nia said as calmly as she could. Most of the voices still laughing from the whole incident. A more charming voice, her good friend Vixes told her that he would help her make a new character and regain the gear she once had. She thanked him before signing off and setting her headset down. She walked out of the room still feeling angry over what happened. Months of work down the drain over the smallest miscalculation. It was infuriating to her that she must start over. However it was the price to pay for failure. She walked into the front yard to check out the Koi pond. They were fat enough for a quick snack but she didn't really feel like eating right now. She sprinkled some food into it and made her way into the shrine. Before she entered there was a shinning light that suddenly appeared. Peeking in to make sure it wasn't another pesky phantom she saw a strange device in the middle of the room. She had no idea what it was but curiosity always dictated that if you find something strange, always stick a private part into it. However being flat chested, all she could offer was her body. Since she was already clothed she did a few stretches, touched her toes and before she knew it she hoped onto the platform. Upon entering two rings began circling around her and glowing before transporting within a beam of light. Moments later she appeared within a strange new area filled with strange new things. She didn't really know how to describe it other than she knew she wasn't in Kanses anymore. Though despite the unfamiliarity, she felt really excited. New things to explore, new things to tinker with and more importantly more things to add to her collection. This feeling was exactly what she needed to cure her foul mood. This feeling, which filled her with such excitement was the greatest!!

[Angel]

- - -

KATIE

Katie was just brimming with glee, as giddy as they possibly could come. Discussion started to happen all around her, and every word felt right still. She still was sure she was in just the place she should be.

Yep. This was where Katie belonged. She was going to have whatever these guys were having.

Not only had she arrived in a strange new world, but brand new things started popping out right behind her. A strange sort of kid.. who kind of looked like a squid. Squid Kid. A real Cutie Pie with a captial C.

Unfortunately for competing cuties, Katie was cute with a capital K-tastic. She wasn't about to be undone. "What, these don't count?" Katie said in response to Steph's confusion, grasping her pigtails and flopping them in quite the 'Aren't I the cutest thing?' sort of manner. Her little statement squeezed in between Blue's awkward response to the question and his introduction, like a chirpy little chime. The rest of the time watching Blue speak with her hands still gripping her pigtails..

She snorted, her face one of utter disbelief at the things he was saying. One might think the sort of dumbfounded expression on her face would hardly be cute, but you would be wrong. Katie was always cute. Even if you weren't appreciating it at the time.

"Really?" she started, sounding for a moment as if she was about to question Blue's statement.. but then laughing. "What the shit?! For real?!" she looked.. happy. At the very least. Really amused and really happy. The words he spoke were not of the world she left, of boring taxes and death.. but sounded far more at home in a comic book. Maybe a video game. Definitely her dreams..

Okay, was this a dream? This better not be a dream again.


- - -

PRISCILLA

The darkness was cold and unforgiving.

Although in that way, Priscilla found it no different then her own world, her own reality. Cruel and unforgiving, in a way that broke her heart.

She hadn't been conscious of her ring, when it appeared to her.. or at least she hadn't seen it the same way others saw it. Priscilla saw it as a door. A door just in the middle of nowhere, with no wall or visible place it was leading to.

Priscilla knew though, it was leading away from here. She knew because it seemed to radiate a heat that was unfamiliar to her. Promising her land away from the cold that she had become so deeply apart of. It was escape. It was.. possibility.

She took her first steps into this new light, finding it welcoming and warm.. yet strange and a bit frightening. This light might be full of possibility, but it didn't mean she wasn't.. frightened. What if this world was like the one she had just left? Full of hurt.. full of pain.. full of misunderstanding.

She felt the presence of her friend, Quinn. She was still getting used to feeling him deep within her.. as if he was literally wrapped around and inside her very essence. He.. literally was, both physically and spiritually. The presence was supportive.. and certainly helped to make her feel safe.

She felt shy as she entered this world, full of all sorts of different people. For a moment she wanted to slink away, because she heard loud voices. 

Still, she remained hopeful.. she also noticed that actually had arrived just before someone else. A strange cute looking thing. She didn't know what this thing was, she didn't know that it was called Nia, but she did know she wanted to say hi. She waved her (literally) bony fingers at Nia, embarrassed that she still hadn't adapted to using her other hand for this.. and then said. "Hi there. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She focused a moment on the loud voices that she could still hear from before, especially the loud voice of a brightly colored girl around her age a bit ways away. She.. she was very excited about something, wasn't she? The volume she was speaking at hurt a little though..

- - -

! ! ROVER ! !

Seeing the travelers was enough to make him feel inspired. Fresh faces! A new beginning! This was the kind of thing Rover lived for! This cool cat was one always on the move.

One of his favorite things about traveling was seeing fresh faces about to go on a journey for the first time. He had seen a lot of nice folk starting new lives for themselves, and he just loved getting a little piece of that. The excitement! The wonder! Even the unsure and the frightened faces spoke to him. This was where he belonged.

The stone architecture of the gate was intimidating to Rover, although certainly snazzy in it's own right. The building that was towering above them all was playing stuff out of one of those action TV shows or something.. expect he knew the contest going on was real. Or something. Rover really never stuck around for the details about that kind of thing. His job was to bring details and ask questions, and that's what he did.

Although they were certainly excited to meet each other, Rover found a moment of to break in the conversation. He walked up and waved at them all, making sure he had their attention before speaking. "Hey, if you all don't mind me if I squeeze into this conversation for bit?" He said, and moved right in the middle of everyone. His footsteps were so small but nice sounding, as he tapped along the stone. "Nice to meet you all. I would normally ask for the time, but time's a bit funny here. I got November 8, 2012 12:00pm, but everyone seems to be changing time just by coming here. Seems like I see that a lot.." and Rover paused for just a moment to ponder that thought for a moment. It was certainly strange how time always seemed to change.

There was a slight pause, and then his eyes grew wide. "Oh, right! You all must be excited to figure out what's happening huh? I hear that!" he said, smiling. "You're in luck! This is the best place to figure out things around! The Smash News Network!" he said.. a bright and friendly smile on his face. He thought this was place pretty cool and was sure the folk here would find it cool too.

"I'm usually the one asking the questions, and I got a million of them.. but I get the feeling you guys might have questions first. So go ahead and ask one question everyone, and I'll do my best to answer it." He looked expectantly at them.. planning to let them all ask their questions and he would just save time and answer them at once.

[Aphelion]

[Terios, ?, Somewhere near and under the Quadrant Mu 4-3 Connector]
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Exhausting. Not even the faint flickering blue glow of the lights overhead, nor the cracked lit screens of the ancient PRAPEN seemed to erase this… mental exhaustion. Now where was the vaunted side effect of focus from the blue light? Apparently, nowhere to be found, just as his mental joke lacked an audience for not even he could find any humor in it. Sadly enough, it would have to go unvalued as he found that his sense when it came to jokes… was apparently acquired. He thrummed his fingers on the edge of the makeshift interface, the silent whisperings of the bared wires vibrated, linking together with those draped across the floor. Pale green, sickly… greedy, one was cut only to linger in the limbo of the machine. For once, perhaps he felt a sense of solace, only on the account that the muted buzzing of words, phrases, and emotions could be considered a distraction. The temptation to rip a few choice metaphysical wires out of his body was rising, some of them were stripped utterly bare, degraded, frayed… and knotted. It would spare his mind from ever having to parse the information. Even down here, there would be wires, too close to the middle to spare him from either topside or the continuous labyrinth of layered city beneath. And they, these rampant emotions that he could not truly even call his own pressed against his conscious, willing, desiring to be freed. A dangerous proposition, yet, tantalizing… a cathartic release that would temporarily soothe the additional source of exhaustion. Truthfully, he did not know if it was merely the nature of these metaphysical wires to aggregate together as a form of resource transport or if it was detecting potential, seeking to tether it to the machine.

Perhaps both, a prospect that warranted further investigation when he wasn’t as… wired nor as disgustingly… vulnerable. Mentally, yes, he would admit that for the moment he was… vulnerable.

They were divided… unsurprisingly so. These fey moods often took his teammates and no doubt he must seemed to be Titania in all of this… he refused to relate himself to Oberon even if the title was more… appropriate. Yet, this was not the case… his policy had magnificently backfired on him… he did not realize that he had strained the inherent trust of the other members as much as he had. Their bliss was tied to their ignorance, yet Tribus in particular… had struck true although he was unsure if the mentalist had even realized it. It should have come as no surprise that… this particular question came up, he had not made many attempts of late to keep up the appearance that eventually a certain form of revenge could be extracted against her. Revenge and a rescue. Both of which were ultimately futile… in moderate success he had raised a possibility, an if… yet, in his haste he had funneled no resources towards that if. Tribus, if he knew truly… he’d rather not consider what would occur for assuredly he would be considered insane, even if all of them instinctually reached for the machine. It was a subject most personal to all of them, he should have expected it coming up sooner rather than later, yet just as they reared to accomplish the impossible, he in a manner fell into the same trap. The fact remained that after their… escape… which was considered extremely “fortunate” or “lucky” although he personally knew better, that facility had produced results. Results that she was interested in. They numbered five.

If miraculously they had managed a rescue, and managed to die in the process…. He had to remind himself this was theory, not a proposal. Then they and their rescues would not be able to maintain themselves for more than a day. There was an echo of sorrow there that he allowed himself to feel, yet that was the truth of it.

Logic and rational would not be effective on this matter, it would only serve to sever the bonds and bring about their own deaths. That he could not abide, yet, to speak as if he did not care about the matter was more than a little disheartening. A moral dilemma of sorts, at both ends impossible goals to obtain. Only one though would have any merit. He clawed at the edge of the interface, its metal far too thick to leave even a scratch on with his fingers. Slightly cathartic, if not utterly childish and worse. It demonstrated a lack of control on which the bubble of unowned emotions leaned on. Lingering on the topic would inevitably lead down a certain rabbit hole that he had no intention of following. Mental lists did wonder as a distraction from the… heart so to speak and he began to mentally tick off the number of parts remaining to even attempt to fully prepare PRAPEN… far too many, which was for once a convenience. After all, recalling the rather lengthy list was a chore in its own right, a menial mental task. Some parts were easily “accessible” in theory. Theory, rarely equating with reality, a harsh lesson, yet one in which the exact opposite of such a statement also contained some truth.

PRAPEN was still… incomplete… would likely remain incomplete unfortunately, yet, through alterations, its currently minimal processing power could be tapped into. Minimal on the account that the remaining computing power remain inaccessible, many of the silicon CUpc quantum microprocessors were… well “fried”. One of the parts so to speak that was readily accessible on the account that they were quite available to the public. Alas, he was quite excluded on that matter. The arm of PRAPEN turned as he quickly attuned his personal interface to the closed network. Designation: THALES. Gate of course unknown… not at all surprising considering whom or rather the meaning of the designation. The school of inquisitors. It was of course then that he noticed the flux in the surrounding area. A flux of ether, aether, in such close proximity. It was alarming to say the least, considering that there was very little left to extract from this level… though that was nothing in face of the visual he was treated to.

Whatever piece of mind he had managed to gather was shattered promptly, and quite thoroughly so.
A gate had appeared.
In the middle of their safe house.

As in something had just effortlessly teared a hole through the space time continuum and that creature? That type of creature wasn’t really even a creature… and there was no point in deluding himself. That creature, was now here... and thus none of them would survive. Or so he would have continued that line of thought, if he hadn’t felt an immediate counter reaction through the wires. Which presented a counter argument to the current hypothesis presented in microseconds… that this was not a result of the antibodies of the machine. The manner in which the wires thrashed, inconceivable… granted he was pulled along for the ride and was promptly strung up in the air. Fascinating, yet also exceedingly painful as he continued observation. With the amount of ether erratically pulsing through the wires, it almost felt as if the slight conscious of the machine had been… dare he think it? A notion that one could claim to be inconceivable, yet, he on principle denied such a notion for there was no other choice other than to succumb. Admittedly, he was in a great deal of pain as he was acting as a conduit, but at the moment the very idea of pain was abstract for distinguishing himself had become his priority. Pain was not a concept a machine could understand. The ether refused to dissipate… unfortunately… as he observed passively…. That is of course until, the erratic manner in which the wires dispersed Ether became a steady pulse and the connection of the machine could not shield that fact from him. Pain, broke through.
The gate needed to be dissolved, or else there would another one with a true “demon” rather than an anomaly. The code was far too complex for him to decipher, beyond any capacity he had, yet, carrying data was the purpose of a wire. As a conduit, he knew that its data was gathering. Disconnect. Disconnect. Disconnect.
>FORCE:CUT

‘01010111 01101000 01101001 01101100 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100101 01100001 01110010 01110100 01101000 00100000 01110010 01100101 01101101 01100001 01101001 01101110 01100101 01110100 01101000 00101100 00100000 01110011 01100101 01100101 01100100 01110100 01101001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110010 01110110 01100101 01110011 01110100 00101110’

A thought that resonated throughout his entire being, disperse the ether, cut the wires, without a conduit, another gate could not be formed. That thought being the only barrier between him and the machine. Disengage. Severed the wires, not without feedback, though with pain as a constant, it became the same, the acquired data stalling his ability to process, the input too large. Aware that he was moving, he managed to approach the anomaly…. Absorb the ether. Whispering words from mangled wires…’Small words, from a small cog, trying to attack what it doesn't understand’… a sense of recognition of self, and thus of current purpose. Attack. Absorb. Sabotage. Recognition in these words in conjunction with the gate.

‘01100011 01101111 01101100 01100100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101000 01100101 01100001 01110100 00101100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110011 01110101 01101101 01101101 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110111 01101001 01101110 01110100 01100101 01110010 00101100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01100100 01100001 01111001 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101110 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01110011 01101000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01100011 01100101 01100001 01110011 01100101 00101110’

[Smash Gate, ?]
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Attempt to absorb ether failed. Multiple waveforms detected, visually confirmed, distortions detected within range of several feet approximate to core of theoretical gate. Closure necessary. Matrix beginning to reform. No available data on variant gate, alteration of waveforms emitted. Effect? 5% effectivity. >Course of action? Force connection with: GATE -> Assimilate as CONDUIT: DATA OVERLOAD-> POSSIBLE CLOSURE. RESULT:FAILURE ->GATE:EXEC CUT-> CLOSURE: SURROUNDINGS UNKNOWN. Breathing raggedly, he… began to readjust to the notion of having a body, to being himself again. While his eyes recognized that he was no longer underground… the opposite in fact as it was too bright chemical photosynthesis had begun at an increased pace, Terios was once more a passive observer. Not that he desired to be, more so, because that was all he could be at the moment, as he continued to attempt to parse the broken code internally all while processing physical data that returned with a sense of self… a sense of being. Innately his body stiffened, acting upon base nature, hair rising as basic sensory analysis revealed that he was not alone, that there were several bodies present in the room. None of them matched records. Unknown entities. As the strain of data lessened, the more he became… aware. The gateway through which he had arrived had dissipated and died… there was no thrum beneath his hand, no tension, no tendrils that reach out towards him. A dead machine… it struck him as strange, then again so did the seeming absence of ether. No, it remained, in low concentrations… just as there were few wires, limp, writhing on the floor with some communicated emotion that his mind could not comprehend or rather would not. System shock.

Sickening… eyes narrowed as he began to make out features, bile rising in the back of his throat as from some instinct some piece of data bile began to well up in… his throat. At the wires, some part of him emulated a scoff as these pieces were disconnected or rather had not been connected, perhaps attempting to form some matrix… without belonging. An idea that was not associated with heresy in his mind. Yet, as that realization came to pass, he felt disgusted at both them and… himsef? Yes, the latter was true as well.

Humans. Non self, non… self? Yes, non self, in every way possible. Hatred. Mockery. His awareness growing, he kept to the very back, to himself, as though he ached, his mind, his self-made itself know as he bared his fangs slightly…. Cornered and above ground. A combination that never had been particularly good in any sense of the word, nor were they connected, they were untouched by the machine. In essence, these were ignorant humans who were pleased to perpetuate horrors large and small, allowed to live within the veil… and thrived sadistically…. Nothing else was telling him otherwise, no sense of recognition. Excited humans. Although as to what eluded him, or rather the reason why…. From the snatches of conversation he had heard while he was attempting to hold the self together, they were excited about arriving here, to a new world. Insane. Was their lives so idyllic that these humans… and mixes of could simply walk away from their life… for adventure? Ha… adventure. A great desire to twist his lips into a snarling smirk demanded to be obeyed, though he knew better to give into such… passive aggressive attitudes. The idea itself he would have mocked at if a strange cat hadn’t walked on two legs into the room… and was talking. It was twisted to be surprised by the appearance of a humanoid cat, yet he himself was of a similar nature at least in terms of speculation.

… To say he had questions was an understatement, yet, he kept to his corner, his… gate, his hearing more than capable of picking up the conversation from afar while remaining at an acceptable distance. There was equally a desire to brain the nearest human… to put it lightly, only tempered for the desire for an explanation.

Time was of the essence, not that it ever hadn’t been, but if this was truly another world (which he was skeptical about), he needed to return as quickly as possible… he would not waste his time, nor his energy on a world that he held no attachments to. If it was possible. The abnormality, the gate mechanism seemed to have interfered… with… hopefully enough. His ears perked up at the word Network… a source of information…. He could work with a network far better than he could with… humans. That and he was watching… a cat… chat with them, blithely giving information… for free.

That alone should have shown how ill this… supposed new world was.
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[Kismet]

[Smash Gate]
{Steph A. LePod}

Oh wow there was a whole lot going on, but Steph was on top of it. You think a little meet n’ greet is more chaotic than a Turf War? You think some introductions and weird-headed jabronis were gonna throw off an Inkling's game? Not on yer life, chum. Steph was on this like ink on the mat. Like seagulls on French fries. Like purple on an Octoling.

Yeah, this was fine. This was neat. She just had to keep her cool and-“Whadya mean Agent 13!?” she asked, spinning towards Blue and throwing her hands in the air. “Just how many people did that old coot rope inta this? Did he send you? He did, didn’t he! Cuttlefish sent you here to steal all the glory!”

Steph jabbed an accusing finger at Blue, squaring her shoulders and planting her other hand firmly on her hip. Steely resolve flashed in her eyes and you better believe she looked fierce, squiddo. “Listen here Blue, I ain’t about to go down in history as the second Inkling ta…to…wait a minute.”

Steph lowered her arm, tilted her head to the side, and just kinda looked at Blue. Then she looked over at Katie. Then back at Blue. Then at Katie. There was a thought, just out of reach, that she was trying to get to. Some bit of data stored away in her brain that she knew she needed, but couldn’t remember the way to. What could it be? Something Blue had said had tickled it loose from its resting place, but it hadn’t quite worked its way to conscious recognition yet. She raised her hand to her chin and drummed her fingers, squinting at Kate.

And let’s be real, Katie was looking pretty fresh herself. Just look at that coordination! Her weird stringy head things took some getting used to, but they were kinda stylish in their own right. You never really saw black ink, for instance, and it was real cool to see on Katie’s head like that. And it shined so nicely in the light! It was even kinda arranged like an Inkling’s tentacles, so it wasn’t too off. Whatever thought Stephanie had been trying to remember, it was long gone. Buried by the glossy sheen of Katie’s hair.

“Yeah, actually, hold on” Steph approached Katie and inspected her hair, nodding in approval. “I guess they’re just like really skinny tentacles, in a way. You’re like a…floppy anemone. Is it always black? Is it poisonous? Are you poisonous?” Steph stepped back, but her eyes lit up like Christmas. Somewhere in the back of her brain she realized “venomous” was the right word, but she was rolling with it. It’d be so cool if Katie was poisonous. Was that what all the bright colors were for? She bet that’s what all the bright colors were for. She opened her mouth to let out the flood of questions building in her mind, when suddenly -

Cat.

Steph’s jaw dropped open as Rover strolled up and started introduced himself. “AAAAAH!” She rushed over to him and examined him closely, disregarding all notions of personal space. “Another cat!” she shouted excitedly, jumping up and down. “I didn’t know there were more of you! I thought Judd was the only one! Do you judge matches too? You’re so much thinner than him! Are there more? Are there more cats?”

She decided that, for the time being, she would keep it a secret that she had fought for Team Dog during her first Splat Fest. That was a need-to-know kinda thing.

She turned back towards the others, beaming. Oh she was gonna be famous for sure. She’d found a real live cat! She’d have to make things real clear for everyone else. Who even knew if these weirdos knew how momentous, how stupendous this discovery was? She saw that more weird headed people had arrived, but she had to focus

“It’s a cat!” she said triumphantly.

[Nynx]

[Smash Gate, Best Character Ever, #Niapet]

Upon feeling this strong sense of happiness Niapet's eyes gazed upon this interesting new environment. The golden floors that spanned throughout the structure was just asking to be waxed for selective individuals to slide on. The ornate pillars required a young girl's warming embrace as she spin around it numerous times. All these mystic portals, cosmic like ceilings, and strange new people. She was super excited to check everything out and super excited to find some interesting new items. Her little fists rose to her chest in the grandest of joys. Well until she was greeted by an unusual character.

"Hi there. It's a pleasure to meet you." Said this strange girl with seemingly bone fingers. Niapet didn't know how to react other than the usual way someone would act in this situation. Her mind instantly thought "Shit", she took a defensive stance and reached behind her for something that obviously wasn't there. She took a moment to relax, take some deep breaths and remind her self that she was not left for dead. She returned to a casual stance waving nervously at this thing in front of her. She didn't really know what else to say really. I mean what could you say or do to an undead creature other than bludgeon it to death. However she assumed that she probably entered a new world with various new people that inhabit it. It was probably best to keep the violence and gore in check until it was properly required. So until then Niapet decide to treat this thing as a normal humanlike being.

"Hello there. I'm Niapet. How may I address kind looking flesh eater". She said with a smile. An afterthought occured saying that her greeting was a bit rude but she ignored it somewhat. If this thing had feeling she would simply correct herself later. It was still really strange to see undead here. There may be more strange looking individuals in this place. Unless she wanted to anger a mob, it would be wise for her to be as nice as she could. Besides if she ever needed some help, some materialistic aid or a meat shield, friends would always be there. Time to form the weirdest looking party ever!!

[Dark Lord Maxi]

[Smash Gate]
[Blue, Katie, Steph, Priscilla, Niapet, Rover, Terios (keeping distance)]

[ BGM: What's My Name ]

After Blue's introduction, the little girl who's name was still yet to be identified, her laughter then turned into that of excitement, as if she's never seen an agent before. Granted, he wasn't exactly a normal human, being the hybrid of two superhumans, but from the other surroundings.....it was normal enough. After the girls outburst, Blue smiled nervously with his left hand placed behind his head. Did she like, what his autograph or something to take back home....or was it the "Love at first sight" kinda thing? Blue wasn't really much of a ladies man, nor did he care. Anyways, it was then that his formality had cooled down into a more relaxed mood, seeing that everyone this far weren't hostile at all.

"Haha uh yeah pretty much, fighting crime....kicking ass.....saviiing the human race from evil....all that yada yada haha....."

Then out of nowhere, the squid girl appeared towards him and started boasting about some Cuttlefish business that he was mistaken for due to his agent number. From how she said it, Cuttlefish must've been a rival of some sort trying to take the glory. As Blue listens to her more and more, it gets wierder, the only thing that was normal about her was her English....kinda. When she paused and turned her attention towards the little girl, Blue stepped back alittle bit just to observe what was going on in her brain. She examined her hair mistaking it to be "venomous" like that of tentacles which caused Blue to look at her dumbfoundedly, what the hell is she doing....? He'd then lean towards the wall out of nervousness with his arms crossed to try and hide his ponytail to avoid......examinations. *Gulp*

As moments passed more people started showing up from different worlds just like he did. A small fox girl in Japanese attire they call "kimono", and a shy zombie girl with a snake around her. He didn't get their names, so he figured he'd observe everything from a distance and think about what really matters. In thought.....

[ BGM: I Work Alone.... ]

"They all seem like really nice people, but....I can't risk getting strangers involved in this matter, maybe if I can get to that building I can get some info about my father... "

Suddenly, there was a humanoid cat that squeezed into the crowd that appeared to be...happy to see new people, as if this stuff was daily to him. Then, things started getting interesting when he started talking, first mentioning where they were of some sort. The Smash News Network, which was what ran things around here. The cat must be an employee here, he thought... he'd walk up to him with the obvious question as to where his father was, but he stopped for a second. His hand started to electrify abit, what's this?

Blue had started dialing a digital code from his left glove and then a small transparent screen had opened up above it. The screen showed a beeping signal that tracked energy which had bursted moments ago from another spot within this place. Jonas's powers given to Blue did involve data hacking, but Blue only learned how to use Amplification and that's how it remained....but for some reason the electricity reacts to distortions....maybe that was it? Regardless, it was a strong source indeed. According to this screen, this flow had been recorded moments ago during the conversation with the girl and the squid. He used his left hand to trace the source using his electric powers. As the spark got stronger, it was a distance away from the crowd of people when his hand pointed to that direction.

With the cat probably getting everyone's attention, Blue had walked away heading towards to location of the recorded source.