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After everyone had finished eating, the group’s mood improved considerably. Quinlan and his cronies were working faster and more efficiently to clean up the garden. Since Quinlan was the necromancer, he was in charge of cleaning up the bones. Apparently, necromancers can manipulate bones. Who knew?

Charmy and Gwen worked on repairing the shrubbery and flowers with nature magic, while Toni and James filled the holes in the lawn and patted down the dirt. After that, the other mages would handle the gardening aspect. Ko-D mostly gathered the bones into manageable piles for Quinlan, and the two other Chrono Spanners were trailing after you and K8-E. You’d been trying to get her alone, but Corrina was very adamant about staying by your side. If K8-E was annoyed by this, she didn’t show it.

Initially, you and K8-E were content with having a picnic in the tiny part of the garden that hadn’t been completely ruined. But soon enough, you got tired of watching other people work while you ate. It made you feel bad, so you got up and went for a walk with K8-E.

“Your dimension is so different from mine! And you look so young! I always remembered you being old while I was growing up.” Corrina said as she circled you, walking backwards as you and K8-E moved through the courtyard. Marcy wasn’t far behind, but she seemed far less interested in the conversation.

But, seriously. What’s up with kids calling anyone older than them “old”? It was downright disrespectful.

Wait...was that an old man reaction? It felt like one. It suddenly occurred to you that responding at all to a jab at your age group was the reaction of someone who was sensitive to the topic. You won’t rise to the bait this time.

Then again, that was probably the way any child thought of their parents. They were completely alien beings to them. It was impossible for a kid to believe that their eternal guardians had once been their age, or younger.

Yup. Babies were delivered to parents by storks, and parents just sprouted out of the ground like wrinkly old potatoes.

Banishing your straying thoughts, you brought your attention back to Corrina. “Didn’t your dad show you his highschool yearbook or something? Is he too embarrassed about that awkward phase we went through? Did his last longer than mine?”

God, you hope not.

Corrina’s face fell, and she suddenly went silent. It was like your questions just knocked the wind out of her sails.

She shrugged, her eyes shifting to the side. “I mean...he wasn’t around for me to ask him that stuff.”

K8-E gasped. “Is he…?”

Corrina shook her head. “No. He’s just away from home a lot.”

“If by ‘away from home’, you mean he is going out of his way to fix everyone’s problems whilst neglecting his family, then yes. He is ‘away from home a lot’.” Marcy cut in, her gaze somehow growing colder as she stares into the distance at nothing in particular.

(Cont.)

Corrina glared at her. “It’s not like that! Dad works hard to keep peace in the galaxy. Both me and Mom understand that.”

But even as she said it, you could tell that she wasn’t entirely convinced herself.

Marcy shrugged, and kept walking.

You pitied Corrina. Whether she knew it or not, she was using you as a surrogate to replace her real father. It wasn’t exactly healthy, but there was nothing wrong with humoring her a bit.

Then again, you really wanted some time alone with K8-E. And there weren’t a lot of opportunities to be romantic with two alternate future tagalongs hot on your heels.

What do you say?

>”What’s so different about your dimension and mine?”
>”What’s your mom like?”
>”What about you, Marcy? What’s your family situation?”
>”Can you guys tell me more about Chrono Spanners? How many of you are there?”
>”Sorry guys, but do you think we can talk about this later? Me and K8-E are kind of in the middle of a date.”
>Write-in.

>>5039449
>>”What’s so different about your dimension and mine?”
>”What about you, Marcy? What’s your family situation?”
>”Can you guys tell me more about Chrono Spanners? How many of you are there? Or at least what kind of person to wxpext next?"

>>5039449
>”What’s so different about your dimension and mine?”
>”What’s your mom like?”
>”What about you, Marcy? What’s your family situation?”
>”Can you guys tell me more about Chrono Spanners? How many of you are there?”>”What’s your mom like?”

>>5039455
>>5039463
Writing...

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You’re pretty sure that it wouldn’t be wise to leave her behind when you’re the alternate counterpart to her already absent father. Besides, you’re a bit curious to see what her dimension is like.

“What’s so different about your dimension and mine?” you said, slowing your pace to allow her to keep up with you.

Corrina took a good look at her surroundings, nodded solemnly and turned to face you again. “For one, the flow of magic is a lot less...congested.”

“Congested? Is that the correct phrasing for the sentence she was using it in?” K8-E asked, looking to you for confirmation.

You shrugged before looking back at Corrina. “What did you mean by that?”

Corrina seemed to consider your question for a bit. “Sorry. That might have been a weird analogy. It’s more of a ‘feeling’ than anything. The mana fields are so strangled here. Kind of like a balloon slowly releasing air through a pinched opening.” she said with a shrug. “This environment is a bit mana deficient, and that influences how certain species’ develop on different planets. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just...different.”

You weren’t sure how to respond to that, but you had a feeling that Corrina couldn’t explain it very well, even if you inquired further on the matter.

”Well, what’s your Mom like? Olumar, I mean.” you asked.

Corrina blinked at you, probably surprised that you had correctly guessed who her mom was. You struggled to suppress a smile.

“She’s doing good! I’m surprised you know her.” she said, with an incredulous look on her face.

“Yup. She’s currently our nanny.” you said.

“She’s great with the kids. And sometimes she even handles the housework for me!” K8-E chimed in, not missing her chance to sing Olumar’s praises.

Corrina was initially stunned by this revelation, but she seemed pleased to hear that you were on good terms with her mother’s alternate counterpart.

“I guess some things never change, huh?” Corrina laughed to herself, her face beaming as she nurtured her pride in her mother. “After dad got her out of that lamp, she got much more active around the house. I had to force her to sit down sometimes. Something about having legs all of a sudden made her incredibly eager to break them in.”

You frowned at her. “How’d you get her out of the lamp?”

Corrina’s face lit up. “Oh! That’s easy! All you have to do is-!”

Marcy runs up and delivers an elbow to Corrina’s ribs, cutting her off before she has a chance to spill the beans. The blue girl shot her a death glare, but Marcy kept her usual flat expression and shook her head silently.

Corrina didn’t explain any further.

“What about you, Marcy? What’s your family’s situation?” you asked.

(Cont.)

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The android’s eyes swiveled towards you before her head turned. Nearly all of her movements were uncanny in a way that you had trouble describing. Like...the girl didn’t hesitate. She had zero wasted movements, and you never had to wait very long for her to reply or react to something you said or did.

“My progenitors were you and your Omnitrix’s artificial intelligence. You enjoy addressing her ‘Trixie’, while I commonly address her as ‘Progenitor’ or ‘Creator’. Although, I have been instructed to address you as ‘Father’ at your behest.” Marcy explained.

You and K8-E exchanged a glance. You got married to your AI? How’d that happen?

“According to my progenitors, the two of you developed a mutual attraction to one another soon after my creator began developing her personality matrix. You had kept your relationship a secret from your family. That is, until my creator received a body of her own.” Marcy continued. “And at that point, it became rather difficult for the two of you to hide your mutual attraction from anyone that possessed the ability to see. Or hear. Or feel distinct vibrations late into the night-”

Before she could continue, Corrina quickly covered Marcy’s mouth. Surprisingly, the android still tried to speak even with her mouth covered. She barely made an effort to remove her friend’s hands.

Desperate to change the subject, you cleared your throat and latched onto your final conversation topic.

“Can you guys tell me more about the Chrono Spanners? How many of you are there? Who should I expect to pop up next?” you said, speaking a little faster than you intended to.

Marcy and Corrina ceased their struggle and exchanged a glance, before composing themselves to speak in a dignified manner. “Oh! Last time I checked, there were thousands of us, so I can’t exactly make any accurate guesses. The Chrono Spanners are an interdimensional peace-keeping organization that focuses on aiding the residents of alternate timelines by making minor improvements here and there.” Corrina explained, regaining some of her enthusiasm from earlier.

Marcy nodded in agreement. “When a Chrono Spanner is recruited, they agree to participate in activities that might aid in moral reinforcement, as well as the betterment of interdimensional communities. Direct intervention against the natural flow of a timeline is frowned upon, but it is allowed, so long as the Chrono Spanner does not interfere with a fixed point in time.”

“Oh, so you guys are more like interdimensional Boy Scouts, mixed with Green Lanterns.” you conclude. Marcy and Corrina exchange confused glances.

Corrina shrugged. “Sure?”

“So, is all of this really allowed? Is Paradox okay with you guys running around in my dimension unchaperoned?” you asked.

Corrina frowned, but Marcy was the one to reply.

(Cont.)

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“What we are doing here is not strictly against the rules, but it will most certainly end with all of us being reprimanded by our guardians and progenitors.” Marcy said, glancing at Corrina, who was now looking guilty.

“How is this not against the rules? I’ll be lucky if you guys don’t wreak complete and utter havoc on my timeline’s future?” you said in an exasperated tone.

Marcy shook her head, before pressing a button on her wrist and pulling up a complicated-looking graph. “Your timeline is in a near constant state of flux. It is quite concerning. Past a certain point, there are zero fixed points in time. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

You and K8-E frowned.

“What does that mean?” K8-E asked, looking worried. “Is that bad?”

Marcy’s eyes focused on K8-E. “That is entirely dependent on your perspective. All it means is that your timeline will not be affected by the mere actions of several Chrono Spanners.”

Corrina stepped in this time. “It’s like we’re scooping up water in a pail, while a tidal wave is headed for the beach. It won’t make much of a difference.” she said, far too casually.

A shiver ran down your spine. And from the look on K8-E’s face, you could tell that she was only able to mildly suppress the horror she must be feeling.

“Is something terrible going to happen? If so, can we do anything to prevent it?” she asked.

Corrina and Marcy conferred with their gazes alone, and their expressions were a mix of apprehension and...fear? Yeah, that was it. They were afraid of something.

But before they could say anything else, a rapid beeping noise interrupted the brief period of silence. It startled everyone, including them. The sound was coming from the devices on their wrists. They were glowing orange.

Corrina looked around frantically. “W-what’s going on!? Is there another anomaly somewhere?” Corrina said in a panicked tone.

Marcy shook her head slowly. “It is merely a feature of our ‘Recall Function’. It would appear that we have revealed too much ‘sensitive information’.” she said calmly, without a hint of panic in her voice.

“No! But I wanted to talk some more!” Corrina whined as she punched multiple commands into her watch, to no avail.

Marcy, on the other hand, turned to you and bowed her head. “It was a pleasure to meet you both. Should either of us be allowed to return, I would like to engage in conversation once more. I am sure my progenitors would enjoy that, as well.” she said, as the corners of her lips curled upwards slightly. You thought it might have been the closest the girl could have gotten to giving a smile.

And before you can even respond, the two girls disappear in a flash of light. It was almost similar to the teleporting effect from Star Trek.

K8-E gasped. “They’re gone…”

(Cont.)

You remain quiet, your mind still fixated on what they almost mentioned. Why the hell won’t anyone talk to you about this!? It’s infuriating!

“Where do you suppose they went?” K8-E said, clinging to your arm.

You pushed your anger to the back of your mind and forced yourself to meet her gaze. “Probably back to their base. I’d bet they have a huge one like the Council of 10. I have no idea why Paradox keeps the organizations separate, though. It sounded to me like we had similar goals.” you argued, placing a hand over K8-E’s curled claw.

There were too many questions swirling around your head right now. You should do something to clear your head. It’s a good thing that this wedding has a ton of reception activities.

What will you do?

>Play some Outdoor Lawn Games with K8-E!
>Attend a wine/spirits tasting. You don’t think you’ve ever seen K8-E get tipsy.
>Head over to the Photo Booth!
>Check out the Tarot Card reading table.
>Play a few rounds of ”Dare...or Dare”!
>Paint your own picture using darts and paint filled water balloons.
>Write-in.

>>5040295
>Check out the Tarot Card reading table.

>>5040295
>Check out the Tarot Card reading table.
>Play some Outdoor Lawn Games with K8-E!

>>5040295
>Play some Outdoor Lawn Games with K8-E!
>Bring some drinks, lets get Kate tipsy,
Afterwards
>Check out the Tarot Card reading table.

>>5040295
>Play some Outdoor Lawn Games with K8-E!
>Head over to the Photo Booth!

>>5040300
>>5040329
>>5041185
>>5041260
Writing...

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When you pointed out the Outdoor Lawn Games, K8-E was practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

You started out with Ring Toss, which K8-E was exceptionally good at. It took you a little while to get the hang of it without Trixie there to calculate trajectories, speed, drop-off and the like, but you eventually got close to beating K8-E in a few games.

The result was a bit better when you moved onto Corn Hole. Once you got used to the weight of the bean bags, you managed to score a few wins on the Kineceleran.

She seemed excited by the idea of being able to beat you at something, but you got your revenge in Connect Four and Giant Jenga. Those blocks were absolutely massive! Although, you appreciated how their abrasive texture made the blocks easier for K8-E to grab. It was a thoughtful addition, you had to admit.

And then, you both met your match when you moved onto Croquet. K8-E had trouble holding the mallet, and you were frustrated to find that the people who played before you had set the hoops up to be crooked. When you went to fix them, another couple wandered over and asked if you’d be interested in a friendly game of doubles.

You and K8-E accepted, but she still continued to struggle with the mallet. Eagerly, you offered to help her with her strokes. She regarded you with confusion at first, but when you walked over and reached over to plant your hands on her wood mallet from behind, she immediately understood.

With your hands over hers, your warm breath on her neck, her hips pressed against yours...you traveled back in time. Back to that bowling alley you brought her to on your family vacation.

“Doesn’t this remind you of our first date?” she asked, suddenly forgetting herself as she sank into your arms. You were worried that you’d have to hold her up, but she was still managing to balance on the heels of her pearls.

“It does. That game of ring toss reminded me of when we met up at that theme park.” you said in an intimate, hushed tone. “That dress of yours was absolutely stunning.”

K8-E was giggling to herself. “Better than this one?” she asked, looking back at you with a devious grin on her lips.

You planted a kiss on her cheek. “Oh, don’t make me choose.” you said, feigning an agonized expression. This elicited a laugh from K8-E.

The two of you continued to play through the game, despite how much the other couple had been staring. And to your surprise, K8-E didn’t get embarrassed from all the attention. Neither did you, for that matter. You were both very different people from the ones that entered that bowling alley back then.

The idea had improved your mood considerably as you played through the rest of the game. Unfortunately, the other team lied about being beginners, so they ended up winning in the end. However, neither you nor K8-E were flummoxed about it. You had fun, after all. And that’s all that matters.

----------

(Cont.)

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After you got tired of playing lawn games, the two of you decided to investigate the tarot reading table that the croquet couple told you about. It was surprisingly crowded.

Sitting at the table was a young alien woman wearing a stylized wetsuit with pink frills. Inside her helmet was a steady supply of water being continually filtered and cleaned at regular time intervals. Surrounding her were her female friends, eagerly awaiting the reveal of the final card.

A wrinkled old hand reached for the card and slowly flipped the card, milking the drama for all it was worth. Everyone around the old woman was practically holding their breath.

Her hand flashed in a blur of motion, and everyone gasped, despite not knowing what it had actually meant. The reader still had to interpret it for them after all.

“Ah! How lucky for you!” the tarot reader exclaimed as she waved her hands. “Strength, in the upright position!”

Her voice was raspy, and strained. No doubt from having to ham it up with these gullible customers all day.

“What does it mean!?” the amphibious girl asked with bated breath.

The old woman across the table smiled. “It means that you must stop depriving yourself of happiness. In order to succeed in love, you must pay more attention to your base desires. Indecisiveness can be just as harmful, if not more so, than a rash decision!” the tarot reader advised. “When you come to a crossroads in your life, listen to your heart, and find out what it is that will truly bring you joy in your life.”

The alien woman squealed, along with the rest of her friends. She reached over the table, grabbed the woman’s wrinkled hand and began to thank her over and over again. She was more than overjoyed. Actual tears were coming from her eyes. At least...you think there were? Her eyes were pushing out air bubbles, but it was hard to tell when her entire helmet was filled with water.

You knew that women loved this fortune telling thing, but you didn’t think they’d go this crazy over a simple reading. It’s all mind games at the end of the day.

K8-E shared none of your apprehension, and pulled you over to the table. As you got closer, the woman took notice of you and flashed a warm grin. The expression didn’t match with her heavily lined face. One of her eyes had a whitish green color to them, and you were certain that she was unable to see out of it. Her silver hair was peeking out from under her ornate silken hood, adorned with various gold, oval shaped pieces of jewelry.

Soon enough, the previous customers cleared out, and K8-E sat you down into the chair. Now that you were here, you couldn’t exactly object. There’s also the fact that you were the one to suggest coming here in the first place. And there was no harm in entertaining the woman and any curious onlookers for a little while.

(Cont.)

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“Hello there, dearie.” said the tarot reader as she gathered up the cards on the table and reshuffled the deck. Despite her advanced age, the old woman was quite dexterous. She reminded you of those Las Vegas casino dealers you’d see on Youtube. “What is your name?”

You chuckled nervously as her blind eye seemed to focus on you for a second. Maybe she was just wearing colored contacts?

“My name’s Wade. And this is K8-E.” you said, pointing at your lover. K8-E waved at the woman excitedly, and the tarot reader returned the gesture with far less urgency.

“Well, it is a pleasure to meet you both. You may refer to me as Jadwiga. Have you ever had your fortunes told before?” the old woman asked, clasping her hands together.

You and K8-E shook your heads, and the tarot reader’s smile seemed to grow wider. “Well, there is actually a procedure to this sort of thing. First, you must ask me a question. It doesn’t have to be specific, but it should be open-ended and focused on you as an individual.” she explained.

You opened your mouth to speak, but then, the tarot reader put a finger up to stop you.

“Please, take a moment to consider your words. Break down your life’s problems into manageable chunks and try to figure out what you yourself have the power to change.” she said.

You began to ponder her request. It wasn’t hard to think of the things you wanted to improve in your life, but you couldn’t exactly tell her the true nature of your problems. Of course, you could always withhold information.

Yes. You could ask questions about your career(Plumber/Superhero), your social life(Intergalactic Relations), or your love life, which is surprisingly normal.

What will you ask?(Each question will prompt a new tarot reading.)

>”How can I resolve this workplace issue/problem?”
>”How can I balance my career with my personal and family life?”
>”What lesson do I need to learn to overcome my challenges?”
>”What is the biggest obstacle that stands in my way right now?”
>”How can I heal broken friendships?”
>”What can I do to strengthen my relationship with my soulmate?”
>Ask a question with someone, or something, specific in mind.(Write-in.)

>>5042040
>>”What is the biggest obstacle that stands in my way right now?”
>”How can I balance my career with my personal and family life?”

>>5042040
>”How can I balance my career with my personal and family life?
Actually like this one a lot.

>>5042040
>”How can I balance my career with my personal and family life?”
>”How can I balance my career with my personal and family life?”
>”What lesson do I need to learn to overcome my challenges?”
>”What is the biggest obstacle that stands in my way right now?”
>”How can I heal broken friendships?”

>>5042052
>>5042129
>>5042326
I'll take the most common questions from these votes. Writing...

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You shrug and decide to ask a basic question to see what she comes up with.

“What’s the biggest obstacle standing in my way right now?”

The tarot reader smiles again, and she places the large deck of cards onto the table, having shuffled them multiple times already. “What a wonderfully intriguing question, dearie. Now, if you would be so kind as to cut the deck for me.” she said, gesturing towards the cards.

You nod, and grab what you assume to be a stack of cards that roughly rounds out to 30, before placing it back down next to the other deck. The old woman nods approvingly and reaches for the deck.

But the moment before you removed your hand, you felt a tingling sensation along your skin. It nearly made you jump, but before you could ruin the deck, the tarot reader’s hand was already on it.

With a dramatic flourish, she spread the cards across the table, face down. And slowly, she let her boney index finger hover along the row of cards, before she picked her first tarot and flipped it over.

The King of Swords, Reversed.

“Oh my…” she gasped.

“What is it? Is the result bad?” K8-E asked, gripping your shoulder tightly as she fussed over you.

The old woman considered this for a moment, and then shook her head. “It is not inherently bad, no. But it is highly unusual to draw this card first. It warns of a great danger. Not to your health, in a physical sense, but to your moral integrity.”

You frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

Jadwiga inhaled deeply before continuing. “You are in danger of being blinded by self interest, of having your good-natured spirit compromised. A fall from grace, so to speak.” she said, nodding grimly, before revealing the second card.


The Ten of Swords, Upright.

You smiled a bit, wondering what this one could possibly mean. Upright Arcana were usually good, right? You looked up at the tarot reader...and saw the pale expression on her face.

“Two sword cards? I thought you said you shuffled this deck.” K8-E said with a quizzical look about her. Jadwiga simply opened her mouth, closed it again and gulped.

“It is...quite rare.” she said, looking up at you, and then down at the cards again, shaking her head.

“What’s it mean?” you asked, getting a bit frustrated that you had to keep asking.

Jadwiga’s eyes flicked up to you and she used both eyes to give you an assessing look. Soon afterwards, her expression became softer.

“It means that your obstacles will wear you down to the bone. It signifies exhaustion. Reaching the limits of your abilities. In your efforts to care for others and make a difference in this world, you will give everything that you have. It will not be enough, but no one will be able to claim that it was due to a lack of effort on your part.” she explained, not looking happy in the slightest.

(Cont.)

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K8-E’s grip tightened on your shoulders. Before this, you briefly explained to her that this was just something that people did for fun. It’s not meant to be taken seriously. So...there’s no reason to worry.

You placed a reassuring hand over hers, and it seemed to calm her down.

Jadwiga stared at you and K8-E, and then sighed, before revealing the next card.

The Hanged Man, Upright.

One of Jadwiga’s eyebrows went up, and you eagerly awaited her interpretation.

“Ah, something good. You’ll be pleased to hear this.” she said, regaining some of her vigor from before. “The Hanged Man represents the need to meditate on one’s actions thus far. You will not have the ability to liberate yourself through independent action. Your fate will no longer be in your hands.”

You and K8-E exchanged a nervous glance. “And...that’s a good thing?” you asked.

The tarot reader nodded. “Being isolated is not always a bad thing. It gives you time to form resolutions as you prepare for the moment you are freed. One must possess the wisdom, patience and optimism necessary to overcome their limitations, and endure suffering and humiliation, in order to gain something useful from the experience.”

You sighed in relief, and K8-E’s grip seemed to lighten on your shoulders. “Well, that doesn’t sound too ba-”

Flick

You looked back across the table to see the tarot reader drawing another card, placing it on the table, and rearranging them to form a diamond pattern. Now, she really was smiling.

“You are quite the interesting young man!” she exclaimed, revealing the final card with a solid flick of the wrist.

The Wheel of Fortune, Reversed.

For a moment, you and K8-E just stood there in stunned silence. You didn’t know what to make of it. All you knew was that “reversed fortune” sounded bad!

“Fear not. For this card is not always interpreted as being bad.” Jadwiga said, shaking her head. “You will experience a great downfall, the likes of which you have never seen or experienced before. And it will break you. But from those pieces, you will rebuild and come out of it stronger than ever!” she shouted, raising her hands into the air and startling those passing by.

You held your breath, daring to smile for a brief instant.

“But,” the tarot reader continued, her finger held up to silence the two of you. “In order to rebuild, you must start from the beginning. You must go back and reflect on what it was that brought you this far, as well as the people who helped you along.”

You waited for her to say more, but it didn’t look like she intended to.

“Wow…” you gasped, leaning back into your chair, only to notice that you’d been sweating. You could feel it on your back.

(Cont.)

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“That was...intense.” K8-E agreed, feeling much of the same energy that had been coursing through your veins. You could feel her excitement through her hands.

“I’ve got another question!” you said quickly, surprising even yourself. When exactly did you get so drawn into this whole tarot reading thing?

Jadwiga chuckled lightly, gathered up her cards and began reshuffling them. “By all means, dearie. Ask away.” she said with a wide grin.

“How can I balance my career with my personal and family life?” you asked.

The tarot reader nodded solemnly, as she finished shuffling the deck. Once she’d placed it onto the table, you reached for it again and cut the deck. And just like last time, you felt that weird prickling sensation.

Jadwiga smiled. She spread the cards out on the table in a fan pattern and prepared to draw the first tarot.

The Eight of Coins, Upright.

“The Eight of Coins tells of great popularity or success in one’s profession. Their wares or services are so high in demand that they rarely have time for anything else. This, of course, warns of the dangers of workaholism. I sense that you are in danger of having your identity be consumed by your profession. Be wary that it does not continue to sap away at your precious free time to spend with friends, family, and most importantly...yourself.” the tarot reader explained.

Your jaw dropped. You and K8-E quickly exchanged glances. That sounds just like you! How’d she know!? This is insane!

Noticing that you were barely able to contain your enthusiasm, Jadwiga moved on to the next card.

The Two of Wands, Upright.

“Ah, yes. There is a very common correlation between these two tarot.” Jadwiga observed. “The Two of Wands tells of an internal split, a battle of opposing forces within oneself. This can often be the cause of self-doubt.”

“What can we do!?” K8-E gasped dramatically. You nodded frantically in agreement.

“Make important decisions! Stop fretting over every little thing.” Jadwiga advised. “When you see a problem sprouting up in your personal and family lives, pull it out by its roots! Especially the long-standing conflicts and obstacles. Direct and immediate action is often the best solution to most problems.”

You and K8-E began nodding at one another and applauding Jadwiga for her well-timed spiritual nourishment.

She cut off the applause by raising her hand, and then went to grab the next card.

The Sun, Reversed.

You and K8-E gasped as one, but the tarot reader reassured you with a toothless grin.

(Cont.)

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“Believe it or not, The Sun cannot be interpreted negatively by traditional methods. All this means is that you must take a moment to count your blessings and give credit to those who have contributed to your success and happiness. Perhaps finding a way to give back to the community will grant you even more blessings in the future.” she said, wagging a wrinkled finger at you.

You and K8-E had tears in your eyes at this point. You rubbed at them, blinked a few times and-

----

You blinked at the old woman, no longer as frantic as you once were. What had gotten you so worked up? You narrowed your eyes at the tarot reader, and noticed a shimmering outline around her body.

She had an aura. An exceptionally powerful one, too. It was contained, but fought to break free like a rabid dog biting at its cage.

Has she been manipulating you somehow? Was there some trick that you missed?

Your thoughts were suddenly cut off when Jadwiga drew another card.

The Queen of Cups, Reversed.

The tarot reader gave you a warm smile. “When the Queen of Cups is reversed, it is meant to warn you of the danger of taking on the brunt of your emotional weight by yourself. You must share your pain, open yourself up to your peers and loved ones so that they might help you bear the burden. That is what families are meant to do. Share the good times, as well as the bad.” she said, clasping her hands together in a gesture of pride.

K8-E was still crying, and you were examining the tarot reader with far more scrutiny than before.

What will you do?

>Shield K8-E with your aura.
>Suppress the tarot reader’s aura.
>Pretend to be under her spell and retreat from the stand as soon as you can.
>Channel mana through your Crown Chakra and push back against her enchantment.
>Directly confront the tarot reader about her use of actual magic.
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>5042976
>Pretend to be under her spell and try to scrutinize her.

>>5042976
>Suppress the tarot reader’s aura.

>>5042976
>Pretend to be under her spell and retreat from the stand as soon as you can.

>>5043044
>>5043106
Writing...

File: K8-E SK8R.png (3.24 MB, 3500x5000)

3.24 MB PNG

You immediately stop glaring at the old woman and make an attempt to salvage your smile from earlier. You have no doubt that this woman is quite powerful. More powerful than you, Gwen or Charmy. The fact that you can tell that just from looking at her is a bit unnerving, but you’re grateful for the knowledge.

And so, the best course of action would be to pretend that you’re still under her influence until you can get away from her.

You flash her a brittle smile, praying that she hasn’t noticed a change in your aura or something.

“Wow! That was such an incredible experience. I never knew that having your fortune told could be so exciting.” you said, feigning enthusiasm to the best of your ability.

Jadwiga seemed pleased by this. Her lined face and harsh eyes softened ever so slightly. And now that you were paying attention to it, you were sure that she was somehow using her aura to interfere with yours. Some sort of emotional manipulation, maybe? You hadn’t thought it possible, but you guess it made sense when you considered how a skilled aura reader could perceive the emotional wavelengths of others. This was possibly a more advanced version of that.

“Ooh! Me next! I wish to ask a question.” K8-E shouted with genuine enthusiasm, raising her hand and bouncing up and down.

Jadwiga gestured towards the seat, and your girlfriend nearly threw you out of the seat to take your place. The speed through which she replaced you in the chair nearly made your head spin, but through sheer adrenaline, you were already moving to prevent the tarot reader from reshuffling the deck.

“No!” you shouted, and both women looked up at you in confusion. You cleared your throat before continuing. “We can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done here, and I’d love for you to do the same for K8-E here, but we really should be going.”

K8-E frowned at you. “What? Surely we have enough time for just one more reading.” she pleaded, her sharp claws digging into your flesh. You were worried that she might draw blood if she clung to you any tighter.

Jadwiga chuckled, already reshuffling the deck with admirable manual dexterity. “She is right. This will not take long, child.”

“On any other day, we would. Believe me. But we really need to get back to our son.” you said, looking at K8-E imploringly.

K8-E snorted at you. “Ko-D? He will be fine. Gwen and Charmy are there with him.” she said, dismissing you with a wave of her hand.

Alright, this enchantment is starting to get on your nerves. Seeing as how there isn’t a non-suspicious way to drag K8-E away from here, you’ll have to abandon quite a bit of subtlety.

Without warning, you grab K8-E’s arm, pull her up out of the chair and scoop her up into your arms before she has a chance to protest.

(Cont.)

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“Sorry, but we’re really in a hurry.” you said to the fortune teller as K8-E began to squirm and struggle in your arms.

Jadwiga eyed you warily, but nodded nonetheless. “Come back anytime, child. I wish you luck on your journey.” she said as she waved at your retreating back. If you hadn’t known any better, you’d say that the tarot reader sounded slightly amused at the end there.

-------

After a minute or two, K8-E had finally stopped kicking and screaming. Besides the fact that you looked like a kidnapper, you thought that you made a pretty clean break back there. Jadwiga made no effort to pursue you, and her aura seemed to retreat once you’d walked far enough away from her stand.

And now that K8-E was sobering up, you forced her to sit down when she displayed how lightheaded she had gotten.

“Oh...what happened?” she groaned, leaning against your shoulder while rubbing her head.

You affectionately stroked her back, but prayed silently that she wouldn’t throw up all over your tux. You still had to return this to grandpa later.

Suddenly, K8-E’s body tensed up.

“What’s wrong?” you asked. And a moment later, you saw what had alerted her. Slowly approaching you, were a pair of alien children. Specifically, an Incursean and a Raskadarian.

And when you saw the color of their uniform, you moved your hand towards the Omnitrix wrapped around your waist. The Incursean put a hand up and shook her head, before nudging the alien next to her to raise his hands in surrender. He growled, but did as he was asked.

You looked at K8-E, only to be surprised to learn that she had been suppressing a smile. The way that she was looking at the Raskadarian led you to believe that she very much wanted to pet the adorable creature, but most people know to refrain from touching one without their permission, lest they be electrocuted to death.

Cautiously, you removed your hand and waited for them to make the first move. The Incursean kid was the one to speak first. She was admittedly rather adorable, having dark green freckles along the bridge of her nose, and wearing a pair of comically large spectacles.

“Pardon the intrusion, father. Me and my companion are faced with quite the conundrum, and you were the only person we could think to turn to.” she said in a slightly nasally tone.

You sighed, and rested your head on your hands. “Why couldn’t you go to your father in your own dimension?”

The Raskadarian shook his head. “He is far too busy for the likes of us. We would only get in the way of his great conquest.” the boy lamented.

The Incursean nodded in agreement. “Indeed.”

“Alright, so what’s the problem?” you asked, leaning closer.

The Incursean fished out a datapad and began plugging numbers into it. When she showed it to you, you thought your head would spin from the sheer amount of data that was moving across the screen.

(Cont.)

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“Both of our respective empires are experiencing something of a resource shortage, and the only way to offset this is to begin mining on remote worlds to fuel our transport vessels.” the green girl explained.

“The problem is, we don’t know where to look. Our scanners aren’t powerful enough to penetrate the debris that floats in the atmosphere of our candidate planets, and we can’t afford to waste time.” the Raskadarian said.

“Okay. And how am I supposed to help with that?” you said, forcefully lowering K8-E’s hand as she subconsciously reached out to grab the Raskadarian.

“Where we come from, you never joined the Plumbers, and as such, you never gained access to their secure database.” The Incursean said, pushing up her heavy looking glasses. Actually, they were more like goggles. “Their database should contain detailed information on the resources available to trading companies and miners that might pass through those sectors.”

“You will grant us access to the Plumber’s database, or else!” the Raskadiarn threatened, pointing a sharp claw in your direction. Despite this obvious threat, K8-E couldn’t help but squeal in delight from hearing how squeaky his voice was.

The Incursean forcefully lowered her companion’s hand, shaking her head in disapproval.

What will you do?

>”I’d like to know more about your ‘empires’ before I commit to anything. What will you use these resources for?”
>”Why don’t I take a look at the specs for those scanners and see if I can improve them a bit?”
>”Maybe your use of resources is just inefficient. Run the numbers by me real quick.”
>”There’s no way that I’m the only one throughout the multiverse with access to this information. This is just ridiculous.”
>”Sure. Which planets were you planning on mining?”
>”No. I’m not doing that. I’m very sure that one of your empires consists of planet destroying nomads.”
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>5043419
>”I’d like to know more about your ‘empires’ before I commit to anything. What will you use these resources for?”
>”Why don’t I take a look at the specs for those scanners and see if I can improve them a bit?”
>Jokingly say ”There’s no way that I’m the only one throughout the multiverse with access to this information. This is just ridiculous.”

>>5043419
>”I’d like to know more about your ‘empires’ before I commit to anything. What will you use these resources for?”

>>5043419
>”I’d like to know more about your ‘empires’ before I commit to anything. What will you use these resources for?”

>>5043876
>>5045891
Writing...

File: 18144d9602ae5284ccf7d310a(...).gif (249 KB, 250x200)

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The Incursean girl nodded, finding this acceptable. The Raskadarian wasn’t so agreeable. But given how he was unanimously outvoted, the tiny critter just crossed his arms and let out a huff.

“My name is Fay’Vor. I am the daughter of Empress Attea.” the Incursean said, pushing her goggles up. “She and my father rule the Incursean Empire, which now oversees the majority of the Milky Way’s criminal activity. My mother insisted upon ruling with an iron fist, but my father convinced her to regulate any and all criminal activity, effectively shutting down major criminal organizations and pulling them all under one umbrella. Through a miracle of financial wizardry, countless bribes and a series of doomsday weapons, we have finally brought peace to the galaxy!” Fay’Vor proudly proclaimed, throwing her arms out in dramatic fashion.

K8-E scoffed and turned her head. Everyone turned to look at her.

“Do you have a problem with the way I delivered my report?” the green girl asked, with not a little hostility in her voice.

K8-E crossed her arms and scowled at the little girl. “Oh no, I believe that your Empire has managed to seize unimaginable power where you come from. What I don’t believe is that your Empress uses that power to maintain peace and bring prosperity to the galaxy.”

Fay’Vor furrowed her eyebrows. “I speak the truth! The most illegal practice that you will find in my timeline is the occasional smuggler. We are unable to prevent small organizations and independent criminals from breaking the law.”

K8-E rolled her eyes. “Yes, I am sure that your mother told you how great and wonderful your empire is. And I am certain that she allows you to see the many benefits that people earn from bowing down and surrendering their freedom to her.”

“I’d advise you to watch your tone, Kineceleran. Or else-”

“Or else, what!? Your people’s army is not even from this timeline. You have no power here.” K8-E snapped, now standing on her feet again.

You calmly tried to de-escalate the situation. “It’s alright, K8-E. We’re just here to listen to-”

In an instant, she whirled on you, and you shrank back a bit.

“Why would you listen to an Incursean!? They are planet destroying monsters! They nearly destroyed ours! They fired at my children!” she shouted, exploding in a way that you’ve never seen from her. She’s never lost her cool like this.

“From what she has told us, this Incursean Empire is not very different from our own. They rule with brute force, and anyone that doesn’t comply is either vaporized or crushed underfoot.” K8-E continued, her voice growing more and more tense.

(Cont.)

File: So_I_Start_Blastin.gif (5.22 MB, 484x312)

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Fay’Vor ground her teeth, and you almost thought you heard a growl come from her. “Those are blatant lies! We are preventing the galaxy from destroying itself! Peace cannot exist without an established order being actively enforced.” she argued.

The two of them went back and forth, and you slowly backed away from their heated exchange. It was starting to draw attention.

Suddenly, you heard someone with a squeaky voice clearing their throat. You looked down, only to see the Raskadarian boy standing right in front of you.

“I am Gunter Brighu Wakeman! Son of Coco Brighu Wakeman and Wade Wakeman, heir to the Raskadarian Outreach!” the Raskadarian proudly declared, letting out a deafening bellow that belied his tiny stature.

“Uh, nice to meet you, Gunter. What’s the Raskadarian Outreach?” you asked.

He nodded, and folded his hands behind his back, almost as if he had expected this question to come up. “The Raskadarian Outreach was formed when The Great One’s victims signed a treaty to integrate their culture’s and armies. Together, they continued to grow their numbers, until eventually, they formed the great nomadic space fleet known as the Outreach Program.”

To be completely honest, that sounded like a rather massive, and impressive, undertaking. What Gunter described was a bigger version of Coco’s recent alliance with the people that The Great One decimated.

“As you can understand, a colony like that consumes a great deal of energy each day. More resources would allow us to expand the Outreach even further throughout the galaxy.” Gunter continued. “That is why I require your help in accessing the information stored in the Plumber’s database.”

Now that both parties have made their arguments, who will you help?

>Help Fay’Vor. You might not like Incurseans all that much, but you feel like they’d be a better alternative to letting criminals roam free.
>Help Gunter. His Outreach Program sounds genuinely helpful for those who no longer have a home. You can’t find a good reason to turn him down.
>Help them both! They seem like nice kids, and you’re sure that they wouldn’t be allowed to remain Chrono Spanners if they had evil parents.
>Turn them both down. You aren’t sure that you can trust them to tell the truth when you don’t have any solid evidence to prove their statements.
>Tell them that you intend to use Paradox as an intermediary before making a decision. He’d know better than anyone if one of them were lying.
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>5046117
>Help them both! They seem like nice kids, and you’re sure that they wouldn’t be allowed to remain Chrono Spanners if they had evil parents. Sure they might get stupid ideas and hurt people like Quinlin did but they're probably good at their core

>>5046117
>Help Gunter. His Outreach Program sounds genuinely helpful for those who no longer have a home. You can’t find a good reason to turn him down.

>>5046117
>>Help them both! They seem like nice kids, and you’re sure that they wouldn’t be allowed to remain Chrono Spanners if they had evil parents. Sure they might get stupid ideas and hurt people like Quinlin did but they're probably good at their core

>>5046174
>>5053368
Writing...

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After hearing both their arguments, you’ve decided to help them both! And when you expressed your desire to do so, you didn’t fail to notice the incredulous look on K8-E’s face.

The kids, on the other hand, were absolutely ecstatic. Even Gunter was wagging his tail a bit.

“You are just as wise as I was told to believe.” Gunter said with an approving nod. “Your assistance in this matter will greatly assist my people’s colonies.”

“Indeed! This is excellent news.” Fay’Vor said, a wide grin spreading across her freckled face. “Now, we shall cross reference your access codes to see if they remain the same in our respective dimensions. And if they aren’t, then they should be somewhat close to the codes you were given.”

The little Incursean pulled out her datapad and brought up the relevant data she’d been referring to.

“Sounds good. Let me see what I can do.”

To your surprise, the Plumber access codes remained the same, even in a different dimension. You suspected that this could be considered a breach of security, but there aren’t a ton of people that have the ability to travel between dimensions.

With the Plumber’s sector reports and geological surveys at their disposal, you started listing off potential planets that they might be able to gather resources from. Some of them had already been checked, but there were many more that they hadn’t even considered. Like that planet the Omnivore had been targeting.

The two Chrono Spanners eagerly took notes and latched onto your every word. It was almost endearing.

The scowl on K8-E’s face served to remind you that these two were likely to become would-be planet conquerors in the future. In fact, there’s a decent chance that they’d been lying to you in order to gain access to sensitive information, and you don’t really have a way to confirm that, aside from visiting their dimensions when you’ve got the time.

But you’re pretty sure that they wouldn’t be allowed to remain as Chrono Spanners if they had a shady background. At least you hope it wouldn’t be allowed.

And sure, they might abuse their power or hurt people like Quinlan did, but they’re probably still good kids. You’d very much like to believe that.

------

After you were done, both of them expressed their heartfelt gratitude and promised to use the information you had given them to aid those serving under them. They disappeared soon afterwards, making that one of the more brief encounters that you’ve had with a Chrono Spanner today.

Once you were sure that they were gone, you finally decided to address K8-E. She had been silent the entire time, shooting you dirty looks when she thought you weren’t looking. Now, her arms were crossed and her tail curled beside her leg.

Yup. She’s pissed.

(Cont.)

File: K8-E Halloween.jpg (1.88 MB, 3741x3741)

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“How could you just give them what they wanted? The Incurseans and Raskadarians are infamous for having destroyed whole entire civilizations! How do you know that they weren’t lying, or being lied to by their parents?”

“I don’t. I just have to believe that Paradox is a decent judge of character. I don’t think he’d let them stay as Chrono Spanners if they were the type to abuse their powers.”

K8-E’s eyes narrowed.

“And the Quinlan boy? He is a Chrono Spanner, and he and his companions abused their powers just earlier today. I believe that you have far too much faith in this ‘Paradox’.”

You opened your mouth to interrupt her, but you couldn’t think of a very solid counter-argument. Admittedly, this whole organization seems to be very lax about its rules.

“Such gross misconduct should not be allowed when its members possess the ability to influence people’s futures. They are all playing with the lives of others, and you’ve done the same by relinquishing that sensitive information.” she said, pointing a claw at you.

“What do you mean?”

“You just changed the fate of countless aliens without so much as a second thought. And it was a decision that was made on blind faith.” K8-E said, her tail thumping the ground in frustration. “I just don’t understand how you can decide the fate of so many people in an instant. That isn’t normal, Wade.”

What can you say to diffuse this situation?

>”I always intended to follow up on this. I’ll ask Ko-D and Paradox what they think about those two.”
>”If you want, we can both visit their dimensions sometime to see if they were telling the truth. I need to see it with my own eyes.”
>”You think these decisions don’t weigh on me? People are counting on me to make these types of decisions all the time, and I hate it. The pressure is insane.”
>”I wasn’t giving them weapons. Their people need to eat, just like we do. And I wasn’t about to let anyone starve or suffer just because they might abuse their power.”
>”You’re right. I shouldn’t have rushed it. It’s just...I don’t want to assume that everyone’s a bad guy just because I don’t know them. It might be naive, but I want to give them that chance.”
>Write-in.

>>5053845
>”I always intended to follow up on this. I’ll ask Ko-D and Paradox what they think about those two.”
>”If you want, we can both visit their dimensions sometime to see if they were telling the truth."
>”I wasn’t giving them weapons. Their people need to eat, just like we do. And I wasn’t about to let anyone starve or suffer just because they might abuse their power.”

>>5053845
>”I always intended to follow up on this. I’ll ask Ko-D and Paradox what they think about those two.”
>”If you want, we can both visit their dimensions sometime to see if they were telling the truth. I need to see it with my own eyes.”
>”You think these decisions don’t weigh on me? People are counting on me to make these types of decisions all the time, and I hate it. The pressure is insane.”
>”I wasn’t giving them weapons. Their people need to eat, just like we do. And I wasn’t about to let anyone starve or suffer just because they might abuse their power.”
You’re right. I shouldn’t have rushed it. It’s just...I don’t want to assume that everyone’s a bad guy just because I don’t know them. It might be naïve, but I want to give them that chance.

>>5053845
>”I always intended to follow up on this. I’ll ask Ko-D and Paradox what they think about those two.”
>”If you want, we can both visit their dimensions sometime to see if they were telling the truth. I need to see it with my own eyes.”
>”You think these decisions don’t weigh on me? People are counting on me to make these types of decisions all the time, and I hate it. The pressure is insane.”
>”I wasn’t giving them weapons. Their people need to eat, just like we do. And I wasn’t about to let anyone starve or suffer just because they might abuse their power.”

>>5053867
>>5054049
>>5054522
Taking the most common options. Writing...

File: K8-E.jpg (45 KB, 786x1017)

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All of a sudden, the reassuring smile falls from your face, and you take on a much more dour expression.

“You think these decisions don’t weigh on me? People are counting on me to make these types of decisions all the time, and I hate it.” you said, looking her right in the eye before continuing, lowering your voice. “The pressure is insane.”

K8-E’s expression softened, and you could almost see the concerned thoughts forming in her mind.

“It’s not like I was giving them weapons. Their people need to eat, just like we do. And I wasn’t about to let innocent people starve just because they might abuse their power. It isn't right.” you said, casting your gaze around to see if anyone was listening in. “I had always intended to follow up on this. I’ll ask Ko-D and Paradox what they think about those two. And if that isn’t enough, I’ll take you with me when I go to visit their dimension. I need to see it for myself.”

K8-E folded her arms and gave you a crooked smile. “And what do we do if we find out they’re lying? Are we expected to topple both their empires by ourselves?”

You returned her crooked grin with a genuine one, and then shook your head. “No, we’ll have backup. I’m taking your advice.” you said, moving closer to her and taking her hands into yours. “I’m done with going it alone. I used to think having the Omnitrix meant that I was the only one who could hold everything together.”

K8-E smiled up at you. “And now?”

“Now...I’ve got you. I’ve got the kids, the rest of my family, my friends. I’ve got so many people willing to risk everything for me, but that’s also why I need to be careful.” you said, squeezing her hands tighter. “I just get so scared sometimes. The thought of you guys running out there and getting hurt because of me…”

You didn’t finish the sentence after you broke off, on account of K8-E pinching your hands with her claws. You nearly yelped out of shock.

She laughed lightly. “Then let us protect you as you protect us. We do not wish for you to get hurt, either. But if you see us as so much of a burden that you fear we would interfere with your work…”

You shook your head furiously.

“That’s not what I-!”

K8-E shushed you with an extended black talon.

“If you continue watching my back, then I shall do the same for you. Does that sound acceptable?” she asked, speaking softly now.

You nodded, and she did the same, seemingly satisfied.

“Good. Now, let us return to the party.” she said, taking your hand and leading you back towards the estate.

As you struggled to keep up with her staggering pace, K8-E glanced back at you, looking pensive.

“I am not upset with you for helping the Incursean girl. I simply did not want you to blame yourself if she took advantage of your trust.”

You gave her a sheepish look.

“To be honest, I probably would’ve felt worse if I had just sat back and did nothing.”

K8-E rolled her eyes, but even she couldn’t fight the smile forming on her lips. You are the man that she fell in love with, after all. And this was just typical Wade.

--------

By the time you got back, you were surprised to learn that everyone was now preparing to eat. That was usually done after the actual ceremony, but the average Kineceleran metabolism demanded otherwise.

And so, you and K8-E were now piling food onto your plates and hurrying back to your table. There were others there waiting for you.

Who were they?

>Charmy and Gwen. They came to your rescue, so they deserved to be fed.
>The Chrono Spanners. Quinlan and his gang worked up quite an appetite out there.
>Mel-NE and Jess-E. They were pretty nice to you before, and you enjoy their company.
>Zo-E and another Kineceleran that you didn’t recognize.
>Write-in.

(I got my Kineceleran names mixed up earlier! The bride of this wedding is Natel-E, not Jess-E!)

>>5054714
>>Charmy and Gwen. They came to your rescue, so they deserved to be fed.
or
>The Chrono Spanners. Quinlan and his gang worked up quite an appetite out there.

>>5054714
>>5055136 +1

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5055136
>>5056984
Gotcha. Writing...

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With Charmy and Gwen agreeing to find their own fun elsewhere, you decide to let the remaining Chrono Spanners have a nice hearty meal after all their hard work. Out of the four, Quinlan seemed to be the hungriest, even more so than Ko-D, despite the vast differences in their metabolisms. Maybe casting magic ate through your energy reserves. Or maybe he just had the appetite of a teenage boy.

Quinlan and Toni tore into their food like animals, making a mess of the clean tablecloths and leaving Ko-D and James thoroughly disgusted by their lack of table manners.

“Hey guys?” Ko-D began, scratching his helmet. “I know that these suits are stain-proof and all, but don’t you think you should...I don’t know, slow down to breathe or something?”

James shook his head, delicately cutting into his meat with a fork and knife. “Believe me, it’s best to pretend that you don’t know them. Even Paradox had a formal meeting with their parents, just to make sure that they had been feeding them in between missions.”

Quinlan briefly looked from his meal to regard his companion, not bothering to swallow his partially chewed food before opening his mouth. “It’s never good to waste free food. They’re going to throw this away if we don't eat it!” he exclaimed in outrage.

Toni nodded in agreement, and K8-E seemed interested in how she could eat so quickly without ruining her makeup. Maybe it was a future thing.

You shrugged and cut into what you assumed was a vegetable of some sort. “Well, it isn’t going anywhere until after the reception. I heard that they were gonna dispose of the leftovers via Gourmand.”

Toni shook her head in disgust. “That’s pretty much the same as throwing it away. Gourmand’s don’t even taste their food! They just swallow it whole!” she exclaimed, and Quinlan nodded in agreement. These guys were sort of in sync when it came to matters like this.

James wrinkled his nose and pursed his lips when a scrap of Quinlan’s food flew a little too close to his plate. Ko-D was similarly wary of catching any stray scraps.

“I don’t think either of you guys have much room to talk.” Ko-D groaned as he inched his already stacked plate further away from the two.

Quinlan looked up, seemingly appalled by Ko-D’s insult.

“I’ll have you know that I am merely a ‘focused eater’. My refined palette requires me to concentrate on my meal in order to fully enjoy its subtle notes.” Quinlan said, completely ignorant of Toni snickering at him with her cheeks full.

James rolled his eyes. “Maybe you should 'concentrate’ on not flinging food everywhere.”

You and K8-E exchanged glances and smiled. As much as they liked to bicker, you could tell that these four were good friends. It’s only been a bit more than two hours since Quinlan and his friends jumped you, but it almost feels like everyone’s already forgotten about it.

(Cont.)

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The group traded barbs for a while longer, and eventually, you and K8-E joined in on their casual banter. They really did seem like good kids. Some were a bit misguided, but you recognized some redeemable qualities in them.

And now that you had the chance, you figured that you’d ask Ko-D about Gunter and Fay’Vor.

“Hey Ko-D, I was wondering if-”

Just then, Ko-D went pale. He froze in place as he tried to stare at something over your shoulder. You frowned and turned to see what it was, but you didn’t notice anything unusual.

James noticed it too. “Everything alright?”

“Do you have an upset stomach?” K8-E asked.

Ko-D’s mouth was moving, but no words were coming out. Even Quinlan and Toni had stopped eating to look at him now.

Cautiously, you reached out to shake his arm, causing him to jump and let out startled yelp. It was not that he realized everyone was staring at him in concern.

“Ko-D? You feeling okay?” you asked.

He tried to nod, but you had the distinct feeling that the young Kineceleran had seen something that had truly shaken him.

“I’m, uh…I’ll be right back.” he said with a flat expression. And before any of you could respond, he had already run off. You briefly saw a blue blur rushing out of the room, but no one else in the room seemed to pay it much mind. You guessed that was pretty normal at a Kineceleran wedding.

“What was that about?” you thought aloud, and everyone else either shrugged or shook their heads.

Suddenly, a piercing shriek interrupted your moment of silent contemplation. It didn’t come from the direction that Ko-D ran in, but even you had to admit that the timing had been uncanny.

Panicked murmurs rang throughout the reception hall, and there were already more than a few Kinecelerans rushing to see what had happened. You and the others ran over as fast as you could, and when you got there, you were at a loss for words.

The area that they’d set up for the wedding ceremony was a complete and total wreck. Chairs were toppled over and smashed, the decorations were torn to shreds and stained by a dark red substance.

Save for a few horrified gasps, the crowd had been completely silent. And that’s when you noticed the bride to be, walking to the forefront, hands covering her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. She was visibly shaking, and she looked like her legs would give out at any moment. Luckily, someone ran up to catch her before she fell to her knees, her frail form wracked by ragged sobs.

Without another word, K8-E went to comfort her distraught sister. Others were trying to let the groom through, while the rest attempted to salvage what they could from the wreckage.

(Cont.)

Sensing someone kneeling down at your side, you slowly turned to see Quinlan examining the red substance, a scowl slowly forming across his face. Then, he turned up to look at James and shot him an almost imperceptible nod, before rising to his feet and slowly making his way out of the crowd.

What will you do?

>Transform into an alien.(Which one?)
>Try your very best to clean up what’s left of the decorations. Maybe you can even get Quinlan to make some new ones.
>Grill Quinlan for information. He definitely knows something.
>Ask around to see if anyone saw what happened.
>Look for Ko-D. He was acting strangely before he ran off.
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>5057117
>>Grill Quinlan for information. He definitely knows something.

>>5057117
>Grill Quinlan for information. He definitely knows something.
Look for Ko-D. He was acting strangely before he ran off.

>>5057215
>>5057766
It's been a hot minute since we got any new votes, so I'm just gonna combine these. Writing...

File: Lucy_OV_Tabber.png (308 KB, 500x576)

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Before Quinlan could get too far, you reached out, grabbed his shoulder and forcefully turned him around. And from the looks on their faces, he and the rest of his posse were clearly startled by your aggressive behavior.

“Hold up. You know something, don’t you?” you asked, narrowing your eyes at the white-haired necromancer.

He floundered a bit, pretending to be offended by your accusation. “Why is it that every time something goes wrong, everyone always assumes that I am to blame?”

You glare at him and tighten your grip on his shoulder. Quinlan winced, and swatted your hand away. The look in your eyes made it clear that you wouldn’t let him off the hook that easily.

With a sigh, his shoulders slumped. “We don’t know anything for sure. It’s more of a sneaking suspicion, really.” Quinlan admitted, putting his hands up to placate you.

“Either way, I’d like to hear what you guys think.” you said, letting your expression soften a little.

Toni’s telltale playful grin reappeared on her face as she leaned forward. “We think that this is probably The Founders’ handiwork. They’ve got the only Lenopan Spanner that we know.” she said, ignoring the glare that Quinlan was shooting at her.

“That would be Laurie. She’s the daughter of Lucy Wakeman.” James added.

You raised an eyebrow at that.

“Lucy? As in ‘Lucy Mann’?”

Everyone nodded, with Quinlan only being a heartbeat behind them.

At this point, you were too used to the process of dramatic revelations to be surprised by them anymore. You felt like some poor schmuck on the Jerry Springer show.

“Tell me more about these ‘Founders’.” you demanded.

Quinlan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“As we’ve told you before, there are many factions within the Chrono Spanner organization. One of such groups refer to themselves as ‘The Founders’. They believe that they might be able to create a string of ‘perfect timelines’ through careful and calculated manipulation of one or more timelines.” he explained.

“And they’ve chosen to target my timeline?” you scoffed, finding the idea to be laughable. “What makes them think that my timeline is anywhere close to being perfect? I wish I had their optimism.”

James shook his head this time. “It is likely that they found something that they consider to be desirable in their idealized timeline. By changing a key event in your timeline, they are able to create branching timelines, through which they can carefully influence future events going forward.”

“And they’re going to accomplish that by ruining this wedding?”

The three of them shrugged.

(Cont.)

File: Big chill and baby.jpg (43 KB, 550x797)

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“I do not presume to understand what goes through the mind of a Founder.” Quinlan said. “All I know is that they have an unusual amount of influence with our most seasoned members. If Laurie is here, then it’s likely that the others are here as well.”

“Shouldn’t your watches have detected them if they showed up?” you asked.

Toni giggled, and the rest of you turned to look at her.

“That doesn’t always work, you know. Any experienced Chrono Spanner could tell you that it’s a better idea to arrive ahead of time if you want to ambush another Chrono Spanner. That way, no one would be able to tell that they’re about to be invaded.” she explained, an innocent smile still on her face.

You blinked at her. That was actually a genius countermeasure for a time traveler that wanted to jump another time traveler. You didn’t like the amount of politics that were involved with being a dimensional cop. Everything sounded needlessly complicated.

James nodded in agreement with Toni, while Quinlan silently fumed at her indirect dig at him.

“If that’s the case, then it’s likely that the Founders have been hiding here for a little over two weeks. That’s the minimum amount of time that it takes for someone’s temporal resonance to completely disappear. We would have detected their presence otherwise.” he said, thinking aloud.

“Then they must have known that we were coming on this exact day.” Quinlan growled. “I really wasn’t in the mood to quarrel with Founders today.”

“Well it looks like we don’t have much of a choice.” you proclaimed while crossing your arms. “I need you guys to find Charmy and Gwen, and track down these Founders. Do you think you can do that for me?”

Quinlan frowned, but he nodded along with everyone else. He and Toni were the only ones to nod reluctantly, though.

“We’ll contact you if we find anything.” James promised, before turning around and racing away from the crowd.

Quinlan groaned.

“Ugh. You don’t even know where to begin looking…”

Toni snickered to herself and chased after the two of them on all fours.

You watched them leave and then turned your attention back to K8-E and her sister. The bride-to-be was still weeping in her arms, and the groom was desperately trying to salvage the situation.

As much as you’d love to help with the cleanup process, you were more worried about Ko-D. He was acting strangely before he ran off earlier. And considering this whole Founder incident, you didn’t like the odds of him running into trouble along the way.

But before you left, you informed K8-E of what you intended to do. She agreed that it was the sensible thing to do, and told you that she would stay with her sister for a while.

(Cont.)

File: commission___jetlag_by_ri(...).png (282 KB, 894x894)

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You nodded and offered your condolences to the bride and groom before you ran off towards the reception area. A feeling of burning frustration took root in your mind, pushing your body to move faster. There was no way that you were letting anyone ruin this wedding.

---------

Considering how you had no idea where Ko-D had gone after he’d run out of the reception area, you found yourself racing through the halls desperately reaching for a Kineceleran in a Chrono Spanner uniform. He could be anywhere by now. You weren’t even sure if he was still within the estate.

-----

After about 8 minutes of frantic searching, you finally stumbled across him. Your future son was sprawled out on the floor, completely unconscious. At least you hoped it was just that.

You knelt down beside his unconscious form and shook him violently.

“Ko-D! Are you alright?”

He seemed to stir after about a minute of vigorous shaking. And after another minute, he’d finally sat up again.

“Ugh...Wade…?”

Your shoulders slumped as you sighed with relief, releasing a breath that you hadn’t even been aware that you were holding.

“What happened…?” he asked, rubbing his helmet as he winced in pain.

“That’s what I want to know, buddy.” you said, gently rubbing his back.

Ko-D opened his mouth, frowned, and then closed it again. “I...I can’t remember.” he confessed, seeming troubled by his inability to accurately recall the events prior to his incapacitation.

“One minute I’m getting up from my seat at the dinner table, and then...nothing...” he continued. “I don’t even remember leaving the room. I hope I didn’t draw too much attention.”

“Oh, I don’t think you need to worry about that, man.” you said, giving him a sympathetic pat on the back.

Something strange was definitely going on. Why did Ko-D run off like that? What did he see? And why couldn’t he remember any of it?

How will you proceed?

>Tell Ko-D to join the others in pursuing The Founders.
>Tell Ko-D to assist in cleaning up the mess outside.
>Tell Ko-D to take it easy for a while. You don’t want him getting injured again.
>Join everyone else in pursuing The Founders.
>Attempt to track down Ko-D’s assailant.
>Borrow Ko-D’s Spanner bracelet and travel a few minutes into the past before The Founders trashed the place.
>Call in more backup. You’re getting a little outnumbered here.(Polaris/Rattletrap, Trxie, Olivia, Kevin)
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>5062921
>>Tell Ko-D to take it easy for a while. You don’t want him getting injured again.
>Call in more backup. You’re getting a little outnumbered here.(Polaris/Rattletrap, Trxie, Olivia, Kevin)
Tricia
>Attempt to track down Ko-D’s assailant
With either moniter lizard, wild mutt, or blood rush. They're our best trackers

>>5063014
>>5062921
Woops, meant Trixie, not Tricia. Stupid auto correct

>>5062921
>>5063014 +1

>>5063014
>>5063451
Roll 1d100+20, bo3!

Rolled 92 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5063627

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>5063627

>>5063682
>>5064218
For the sake of moving things along, I'll take these.

File: AD_(385).png (612 KB, 1280x720)

612 KB PNG

>112!

“I’m gonna find the person that did this to you. And in the meantime, you’re gonna take it easy for a while.”

Ko-D’s eyes went wide.

“What!? B-but I can still-”

You interrupted him with a hand, cutting off whatever sorry excuse he was going to spring on you.

“No buts, young man! You’re going to march back into that reception room, sit down and do nothing until I say so. Got it?” you demanded in an authoritative tone.

Ko-D seemed outraged by your decision, but he couldn’t find it in him to argue the matter.

“...Yes, sir.” he grumbled with his head held low.

You helped him up until he was on his feet again, and watched him disappear around a corner with supernatural speed. Although, you noticed that he was moving a little slower than usual. And that was good.

When you thought he was out of earshot, you moved your hand towards your belt.

“Hey Trixie, are you reading me?” you thought. It only took her a few moments to respond.

“Yes, Wade. Is something wrong?” she replied. And you were immediately comforted by the presence of your partner. Whenever you were too far away from her, you felt like a part of you was missing.

Now that she is using the majority of her processing power to operate her new body, you had to admit that you were beginning to feel a bit lonely.

“I need you up here. There’s a lot going on at this wedding.” you confessed. And due to your mental link, you didn’t need to waste time explaining the situation. Trixie simply read your mind and assessed the situation from there.

And although she didn’t mention anything about it, you felt her lingering on the memory of you meeting Marcy for a bit longer than you would’ve expected.

“Hmm. How intriguing…” she said. “I am curious to see what these ‘Founders’ have in store.”

“We can ask them after we stop them from ruining this wedding.” you declared with a resolute expression...until you remembered that Trixie couldn’t see your face right now.

“Then I shall be there shortly. Please refrain from doing anything rash before I arrive.” she advised.

You gave her a teasing laugh. “Come on, Trix. Do you even know me?”

Somehow, you felt a telepathic sigh before she cut the connection. You had no idea how long it would take for her to show up, even with her enhanced speed. You estimated that it would take her at least 20 minutes to half an hour. So you had until then to do something reckless and stupid.

In a single swift movement, you slid open your Omnitrix’s faceplate, selected an alien and slammed your hand down onto the belt’s core. And in a burst of violet light, your body underwent a dramatic transformation!

(Cont.)

File: Spoiler Image (244 KB, 720x544)

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Your limbs grew shorter, but the muscles beneath your skin grew much bigger. And out of that flesh, grew green, tough scales and spines. Multiple eyes sprouted out of your face, and your perfect teeth stretched until they formed rows upon rows of razor sharp fangs. Your nails grew into serrated daggers, and a long, thick tail sprouted out of your back.

You’ve become Monitor Lizard!

Once the light dissipated, you climbed up onto the wall and allowed yourself to blend into your environment.

It’s time to catch the goon that cleaned your son’s clock!

-----------

Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard at all for you to track the assailant by their scent. But that wasn’t due to any overbearing odor or anything like that. You simply remembered where you had encountered this individual before. It felt like forever ago, but you distinctly remember meeting a poser with self-esteem issues on the day that you fought The Great One.

Yep. For some reason or another, you were picking up The Heir’s scent. And while he might not have been responsible for knocking out Ko-D, you couldn’t help but think that this was far too much of a coincidence for you to pass up.

So within a few minutes, you’d tracked his scent to an area that was designated for the caterers to relax. There were a lot of people in the room, mingling and laughing together, but you doubted that Eon’s cronie was anywhere near this social. So, you followed the trail back out the lounge area and retraced your steps, until you found another trail that you had nearly missed.

The Heir had recently been in that room, but he had left just as quickly.

You flicked your tongue out as you slithered along the walls and ceiling, deftly avoiding any and all contact with anyone in the hallways. The air tasted about right. You were on the right track!

-----

Eventually, you found a young man, not much older than you, standing at the end of a hallway by himself, dressed in the same uniform as the rest of the caterers. He had dark skin, green eyes, and short, cropped hair with the sides shaved. And swirling around him, was the strongest source of The Heir’s scent.

Currently, he was examining a hexagonal orange crystal with great interest. You had no idea what it was, but the item in his hand wasn’t what drew your attention. Something about this guy...it felt so...familiar? Like you’ve met him before, even with the mask off. It was a strange feeling. But not something that you had the luxury of dwelling on right now.

He hasn’t noticed you yet. What will you do?

>Sneak up on him and hit him with your paralytic tongue strike.
>Snatch the crystal out of his hands.
>Take a moment to examine him through the many spectrums of light available to you.
>Time out early and confront him directly.(Write-in.)
>Remain silent and continue to monitor his movements.
>Write-in.

>>5064345
>>Sneak up on him and hit him with your paralytic tongue strike.

>>5064345
>Take a moment to examine him through the many spectrums of light available to you.

>>5064345
>>Take a moment to examine him through the many spectrums of light available to you.

>>5064519
>>5064710
Writing...

File: Monitor Lizard.jpg (164 KB, 1024x1449)

164 KB JPG

(Apologies for the delays!)

At first, you considered taking him out right then and there. But now that you thought about it, you were being presented with a rare opportunity to observe this man without him being aware.

And so, you crouched low to the ground and cycled through the many spectrums of light that were available to you. Ultraviolet didn’t tell you much. This kid was surprisingly clean. It was actually sort of unusual. Everyone was supposed to have a decent amount of dirt and grime caked onto their skin, hair and clothes. But this guy was as fresh as a daisy. It took the use of your microvision to spot the little specks of bacteria that he’d been gathering just from his time here today.

X-rays didn’t show anything unusual. He was definitely human. No surprises there. Nothing other than the armor plates floating around just under his clothes, of course. At least now you were able to confirm your suspicions.

And Infrared was-

Hmm…

His body temperature was normal, but something about that stone in his hand was bothering you. And that’s when you switched to Gamma Vision.

If you hadn’t already had your sneaking suspicions, you might’ve gone blind. That weird crystal was giving off energy signatures that made your suit’s fusion chamber look like a night-light! It was a wonder that it didn’t fry him upon contact! Would it do something to you if you touched it?

Before you could get any closer, The Heir’s hand became covered in thick, azure armor plates. Thinking that your cover had been blown, you went deathly still...only to discover that his attention was still solely focused on the crystal.

With a light hum, the crystal floated up from his hand and became encapsulated in a small containment bubble of some sort.

At this point, he was already tearing his clothes off and equipping the rest of his suit. But that wasn’t what worried you. It was his next few words that made your spines stand on edge.

“Set a course for the Mothership.” The Heir said into his bracelet. And without delay, a small, swirling portal began to form in the middle of the hallway. He was trying to escape!

Didn’t he know that the Chrono Spanners could detect temporal anomalies? They could be racing over here to stop him anytime now.

No. Of course he was aware of that. He simply didn’t care, because that crystal was so important to him that he would risk capture for it. You sensed it’s power earlier. An artifact like that could be devastating in Eon’s hands!

What will you do?

>Snatch the crystal away from him with your tongue.
>Toss him away from the portal!
>...Follow him through the portal.
>Let him go for now. You’ve got enough things on your plate right now.
>Swap to another alien.(Which one?)
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>5065290
>>Toss him away from the portal!

>>5065290
>Toss him away from the portal!

>>5065386
>>5065470
Writing...

File: 03f1b8951b84044ca3e01ab72(...).jpg (53 KB, 564x797)

53 KB JPG

Feeling that the time for careful observation was over, you stretched your tongue towards The Heir, wrapped it around his torso and flung him backwards, away from the portal.

He shouted in surprise, and the crystal flew from his hand now that he was tumbling on the floor.

Once he’d regained his balance, his head shot up, and you could tell that he was glaring at you through his mask. And that was the weird part. Even though you moved after striking at him, he was looking directly at you now. Not slightly to the left of you, or somewhere in your general vicinity. His eyes were firmly locked on you, even though you were still camouflaged.

“You!” he exclaimed, not noticing that the portal had collapsed already, having grown unstable without his careful calculations to uphold it as it searched for a clear path through the ever-expanding multiverse.

The Heir rose to his feet, his hand now hovering cautiously over his Omnitrix. Was he waiting for you to make the first move?

“Believe me, I would like nothing more than to eradicate you right here and now. But for the moment, I have other matters to attend to.” he said, hissing through gritted teeth. And for only a second, his head turned to the right of you. Rotating one of your eyes, you saw the crystal hovering above the ground, still trapped in that fore bubble that he’d created.

What will you do?

>Time out and try to talk to him. Or, try to talk to him as Monitor Lizard.(Write-in.)
>Rush him and target his bracelet. You don’t want him warping out of here.
>Try to ensnare his right arm. He won’t be able to touch his Omnitrix.
>Snag the crystal and run. He might not want to leave without it.
>Swap to another alien.(Which one?)
>Write-in.

(Side note. Monitor Lizard can’t speak, but he might be able to have Trixie translate his thoughts for him.)

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>5066203
>>Rush him and target his bracelet. You don’t want him warping out of here.

>>5066203
>Snag the crystal and run. He might not want to leave without it.

>>5066203
For the sake of a tiebreak I'm switching from >>5066886 to >Rush him and target his bracelet. You don’t want him warping out of here.

>>5066760
>>5068802
Writing...

File: deki8eu-960c2efa-767e-449(...).png (2.21 MB, 1260x1782)

2.21 MB PNG

You really thought about giving The Heir a piece of your mind, but then you remembered that Monitor Lizard can’t talk. So instead, you lunged forward.

While you wouldn’t be able to tell from his appearance alone, Monitor Lizard’s species is surprisingly agile. Part of this is due to them being able to make efficient use of their powerful muscles to move in short bursts of blinding speed. And judging from The Heir’s slow reaction to your surprise attack, he probably didn’t know about it either.

Failing to select an alien in time, you managed to put the boy off balance. In an instant, he was on his back, and you were on top of him. The Heir swiped at you in a panic, which made it even easier for you to get your jaws locked around his wrist. Not the one that had his watch on it, but the one that had that shiny piece of alien tech wrapped around it.

You crunched down on the bracelet with all your might, reassured by the fact that he was wearing enough armor for you to not have to worry about breaking any bones. And with it out of the way, The Heir won’t be able to portal out of here without time to repair it.

The Heir began thrashing about wildly, kicking at your stomach in an effort to get you off of him. Normally, you wouldn’t feel a thing, but his augmented strength gave his kicks a little more, uh…”kick”.

And while you were distracted by that, you somehow failed to notice him fiddling with his Omnitrix. What you thought was desperate struggling, actually turned out to be The Heir slamming his wrist to the ground and using it to push down his Omnitrix’s core.

And in a burst of blinding emerald light, The Heir changed into a Loboan! He was more muscular than your average canine alien, and noticeably more viscous-looking.

That’s about when he split his mouth into four parts like a banana, exposing dozens of razor-sharp teeth and blasting you with a supersonic howl at point blank range!

The soundwave slammed into your chest like a truck, sending you flying backwards. Your claws created sparks and deep marks along the floor as you slid away from your opponent. Thankfully, you managed to slow yourself down without losing your balance. However, your ears were still ringing, and you had a throbbing pain in your chest. Another hit like that might put you down for the count.

You bared your teeth and growled at The Heir, and he returned the gesture with far more hostility. But for some reason, his snarling face was slowly twisting into a wolfish grin.

At first, you were confused, and a bit wary of him. And once your tinnitus had started wearing off, you finally heard it. It was a familiar repetitive beeping sound, directly followed by a droning noise and a flash of golden light that enveloped your entire line of sight.

Once the light had faded, you knew exactly what was wrong. You were human again, and The Heir had nothing but time on his hands.

Slowly, deliberately, the Loboan skulked towards you with murder in his eyes.

(Cont.)

What will you do?

>Channel mana into your Root Chakra, draw your sword and clash with The Heir!
>Restrict his movements by encasing him in your armor plates.
>Create a clone and have him rain down blaster fire on The Heir.
>Create a clone, project your aura into it and use it as a decoy.
>Draw him in close and hit with your handheld arc launcher.
>Bombard him with elemental magic!
>Suppress The Heir’s aura.
>Retreat!
>Write-in.

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

>>5068989
>>Restrict his movements by encasing him in your armor plates.
Muzzle him up
>>Channel mana into your Root Chakra, draw your sword and clash with The Heir!

>>5068988

>>5069141 +1 but also contact Trixie and have her bring as much help as fast as as she can

>>5069141
>>5069168
Since we've already got two consecutive votes in such a short amount of time, I'll call for the roll order while I'm still up. Hope you guys don't mind.

Roll 1d100, bo3!

Rolled 83 (1d100)

>>5069197

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>5069197

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>5069197

>>5069362
>>5069632
>>5069634
Taking these! Writing...

File: Sonic_Howls.png (1.27 MB, 1280x718)

1.27 MB PNG

>83

Inwardly, you curse and send out an S.O.S. to Trixie. You’re not sure if you’ll be able to hold him off until your belt recharges, but if you can last that long, then your trusty partner might be able to bring backup when she arrives.

Banishing any negative thoughts, you extend a hand and activate your Biosovortian Repulsors, sending shards of reinforced metal at the bipedal wolf alien. He slashes at them with his claws, deflecting the piercing metal projectiles. However, he fails to account for the shards changing their trajectory mid-flight due to your careful manipulation.

The dark metal warps and shivers, before coiling around his mouth and locking together to form a sturdy muzzle. The Heir pulls at the contraption desperately, but before he can get his claws under them, you’ve already drawn your sword and lunged towards him!

Channeling mana into your Root Chakra, your movements were far quicker than your average human. With a single mighty push of your legs, you were sent flying in The Heir’s direction. Your arms blurred, and it was all the Loboan could do to bring his hands up in time to block the attack. He was nearly too late, using his claws as a parrying tool to avoid most of the damage.

In reality, you had been using the Earth Stance to avoid dealing any mortal wounds to the beast. It honestly surprised you to see that your sword didn’t slice right through his claws and continue on to hit his face. Maybe it’s because an animal’s claws are still considered to be a part of their bodies in a biological sense. Either way, you knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep that up forever. You’ll get through his defenses eventually.

The following exchange occurred within 3 or 4 minutes of your initial clash, but it felt like an eternity. Time stretched, and the two of you became a blur of motion as you attacked, defended and parried. Neither of you were willing to give an inch.

For the most part, you relied heavily on a mixture of the Water Stance and Earth Stance to ward off his attacks and avoid cutting his hands off in the process. And to your surprise, you were met by an equal level of tenacity from The Heir. Knowing that you were making an effort to avoid hurting him too badly, the young scion used this to his advantage. His attacks were brazen and he was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that he could get away with throwing his weight around and overcommitting every now and again. He was like a fighting game player that rarely ever blocked and threw out random abilities with the knowledge that his armor would protect him through it.

This guy was getting a little too cocky for your liking. It was time to teach him that he could still be punished for his brazen conduct.

(Cont.)

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After his following swing, you changed up your tactics. Instead of falling into the flowing patterns of the Water Stance, you immediately transitioned into a mix of Fire Stance and Earth Stance. You disabled your suit’s safeguards, and swung for the area of his chest where his other arm was resting next to. Your arms blurred, and your suit hissed in response to the strain you were subjecting it to. And with a resounding crack, you struck a solid blow to The Heir!

He howled in pain, but it was more of a muffled sound that he made in his throat. That muzzle was still firmly locked around his jaws.

Clearly enraged by this, he began swiping away at you with reckless abandon, giving in to his alien’s ferocious nature. While this detracted from his overall coordination, it also added an element of unpredictability to his attacks. As such, you had no way of knowing that he would feint his next claw swipe and pounce on top of you instead!

Feeling like an ironclad ragdoll, you fell to the ground, squirming around on your back and fighting desperately to get back up. The only thing that prevented The Heir from tearing you to shreds was the sword that you had pushing against his jaws. And even then, his claws still raked the surface of your armor, tearing away chunks of metal and complex circuitry in the process.

In a panic, you brought your knee up, catching him in the lower back and sending him tumbling over your head and sliding across the floor. He quickly regained his footing, and so did you. But whatever you did must’ve rattled him. Because right now he was rubbing his head and-

Click!

You watched in horror as a silvery piece of crushed metal dropped to the floor. The Heir flexed his jaw once, twice and then a third time, before he adopted that same wolfish grin from before.

Shit! He got the muzzle off!

The Loboan inhaled deeply, his chest puffing up with the sudden intake of air, and you could already guess what was coming next.

You had already begun to move before you could properly process the information. Channeling yet more mana into your Root Chakra, you pushed off of the ground with one foot, sending yourself flying towards The Heir. Your lungs were burning at this point. It had been a while since you’d fought this hard in human form, and casting spells in tandem with your sword techniques was more difficult than you’d expected.

You stretched out your sword, hoping to clear the distance between you and the scion before he could unleash his devastating sonic attack. And that’s when something miraculous happened.

Without your consent, your gauntleted hand went flying, with your sword still in it! And right before The Heir released the shout that he’d been building up, the sword struck him square in the solar plexus. Thanks to your Earth Stance, he hadn’t been impaled by the blade.

(Cont.)

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The Loboan choked, staggering back as he let out wheezing coughs. For the most part, you knocked the wind out of him, but that didn’t stop a portion of the sonic scream from knocking you backwards.

In truth, it was more of a blast of strong wind, so it was far more tolerable than what he’d hit you with before.

Looking up, you saw your hovering hand returning to you and dropping your sword into your lap. Now that’s weird. You didn’t command it to do that either. Unless…

“...Trixie?”

The hand bobbed in the air ever so slightly.

“I am with you in spirit, Wade. However, if you wish to make use of my body, then you will need to wait several more minutes.” she thought.

Oh! She must have used your Bio-Reps to manipulate your gauntlet after she’d launched it at him. That’s actually really damn clever!

>Congratulations! You’ve unlocked the Wind Stance!

Maybe now you might be able to swing your sword at range. That might prove useful someday.

But just as you thought that, you noticed The Heir slinking away and running behind the corner of a hallway. And he took the gemstone with him! That big hairy coward actually ran!

“You would do well to remove yourself from your current location, Wade. I detect multiple lifeforms approaching your position.” Trixie says.

Ugh. Of course you’d attract attention with all that noise you made earlier. And your Omnitrix is still recharging. This is all starting to get real messy.

"I have already alerted the others to the situation, and several of them are already on their way to you now." Trixie added.

What will you do?

>Flee the scene and regroup with your friends.
>Conceal your aura and continue your pursuit of The Heir.
>Coordinate with your friends and have them cut off The Heir's escape.
>Have Trixie do an identity search on The Heir. You feel like you know him from somewhere.
>Try to get in contact with Paradox. You are officially fed up with people invading your dimension like it's a damn Youth Center.
>Write-in.

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

>>5070183
>>Have Trixie do an identity search on The Heir. You feel like you know him from somewhere.
>Coordinate with your friends and have them cut off The Heir's escape.

>>5070183
>>5070671 +1

>>5070671
>>5071203
Writing...

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“Hey Trixie, can you do an ID search on the Heir from what we’ve seen of his face?”

“Certainly. I will now begin cross-referencing data between the various organizations that occupy Earth.”

A part of you wanted to tell her not to bother, since The Heir isn’t from your dimension. But there is a slight possibility that he might have an alternate counterpart living in your dimension. So instead of standing around having an argument in your head, you removed your armor and made yourself scarce. You’d have a hard time explaining this mess without revealing your identity.

—-----

After contacting your team, you learned two things. The Chrono Spanners had encountered The Founders and were now engaged in combat. That was slightly concerning. Only because you were wondering whether The Heir was aligned with their faction.

No, the bad news came when Ko-D confirmed that The Founders had deployed some sort of temporal distortion field that prevented any time travelers from leaving or entering your dimension. That meant that you weren’t getting any backup anytime soon. Alternatively, that also meant that you only needed to deal with the group that your friends were fighting.

Thankfully, Charmy and Gwen were available to assist you in cornering The Heir. He caused quite an uproar by scampering through populated areas like a wild animal, but your resident mages were able to box him in with mana barriers. Of course, he jumped over a few of them and narrowly avoided others, but that was better than him lashing out and hurting innocent people.

Eventually, you managed to trap him in a small, lightly populated room with no other windows, air vents or exits. As the three of you approached him cautiously, the Loboan let out a deep growl. His grip tightened on the orange gemstone…and it began to glow?

Suddenly, Ko-D’s voice fills your head as your comms crackle to life.

“Wade! I just remembered! Don’t let him use that crystal! It’ll take-”

The crystal’s blinding light flared, filling the room and overwhelming everyone inside. You heard screams. One of them was coming from you. You clutched your head and-

—--------------

You woke up, stared up at the ceiling in confusion and rubbed at your bleary eyes. Where are you? How’d you get here? And why are you wearing a tuxedo? Did you get drunk last night? Last you checked, you weren’t old enough to drink, and you’re certainly not putting anything in your body that’ll have long term effects. No, something else was going on here.

You struggled to your feet and took a moment to take in your surroundings. The room you were in had been heavily decorated, and thoroughly trashed. Must’ve been some party.

(Cont.)

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Looking around, you noticed that you weren’t the only person who’d passed out on the floor. There were several others, and all of them were of varying age groups. The guy with tan skin seemed to be close to your age, and he was dressed formally. The lightly dressed hot chick looked to be a little older than you, and…

Oh God. Is that…a kid!? Why was there a kid here? Was she someone’s kid sister? Who the hell dragged her along? Did she have something to drink, or…did someone give her something?

Oh man, you’re totally going to prison if this ever gets out. Maybe you could sneak away, and no one would know that you were ever here. Yeah, that’d work. You were probably the most coherent person in this entire house right now.

As you turned around and began tiptoeing in the opposite direction, the little girl’s peculiar looking watch caught your eye. It was rather bulky for a normal timepiece, so you’d assumed that it was some new tech fad that you hadn’t caught onto yet. But it was kind of strange how all three of them were wearing one, all in different colors. Were you the only one at this party without a goofy looking watch or bracelet? You were starting to feel a bit left out. Were you even cool enough to be at this party? Maybe you should feel grateful for having been invited.

It was a strange feeling to have to debate your place in this theoretical social hierarchy, but you had more important things to do. At least, you thought you did.

What will you do?

>Wake up the guy with tan skin. He might be able to shed a little light on this situation.
>Check on the hot girl. She’s wearing sunglasses, and you can’t really tell if she’s breathing or not.
>Pick up the child and carry her to a couch. You don’t want to leave her sleeping on the floor.
>Check your pockets and see what you’ve got on your person.
>Get to work cleaning up this mess. This isn’t your house, and you’d feel like a dick if you left it as is.
>Sneak out of this room and explore the rest of the house.
>Write-in.

>>5071434
>Check on the hot girl. She’s wearing sunglasses, and you can’t really tell if she’s breathing or not.
>Pick up the child and carry her to a couch. You don’t want to leave her sleeping on the floor.
>Get to work cleaning up this mess. This isn’t your house, and you’d feel like a dick if you left it as is.

>>5071434
>>5071464 +1

>>5071464
>>5072270
Writing...

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First and foremost, you should check on that hot chick over there. You’re not sure whether she’s breathing or not.

Carefully, you creep closer to her, kneeling down until you can better diagnose her condition. Man, she really is beautiful. Must’ve been one of the popular girls, like a cheerleader. That hideous bag of hers is questionable, though.

You briefly consider performing CPR, but you’re pretty sure that you aren’t qualified to do so. Plus, she might be the type to press charges, even if you were trying to save her life.

And so, you’ll keep things strictly professional. You lower your head until it’s pressed against her chest, checking her heart rate.

Yup, it’s beating. A bit faster than normal, but nothing life threatening. Is she still sleeping?

You get up and wave your hand in front of her face, just in case. But right before you were about to leave her alone, she reaches up and grabs your hand.

You freeze, unsure of what to say or do to placate the girl. She frowns slightly, sits up and lets go of your hand.

“Don’t do that. It’s annoying.” she groans. The white haired girl looks around the room, rubbing at her head. You couldn’t help but think that she was just as confused as you are. “Where are we? Why’s it so dark in here?”

You smiled, reached over to her and pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. The girl froze, a look of shock and mild embarrassment on her face. Her pale face was starting to turn red.

You cleared your throat nervously and averted your gaze. “There. Better now?”

The girl stammered for a bit before she could find the right words to reply. “Y-yeah. Thanks…” she said, brushing a bit of hair out of her face.

Why did you do that!? Are you always this familiar with strangers?

“So…” the girl began, looking a bit more relaxed now. “What’s your name?” she asked.

You smiled at her, opened your mouth to reply and…came up blank…

“I, uh…”

You frowned. It’s normal to forget things when you’re nervous, but you’re not stupid enough to forget your own name in a pinch.

The girl started to look concerned. You were even more concerned. Come on, man! Everyone has a name. And yours is…

Nothing. Not even an inkling of an idea.

“...I don’t know. I don’t know my own name…!” you breathed, struggling to prevent yourself from hyperventilating. Is something wrong with you?

“Hey hey, it’s okay.” the girl said in a comforting tone, placing a hand on your arm. “We’ll figure out who you are, together. My name’s…”

She paused, and then frowned. You stared at her. She shook her head, slapped her hand to it a few times and grunted.

“I…I don’t know, either.”

The two of you stared at each other. The panic was beginning to set in now, and neither of you could deny that it was getting to you.

(Cont.)

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But instead of screaming and running around the room, you decided to do something productive. Being productive felt good. It felt…right, somehow. Moving your body gets your brain moving.

You went over to the young girl, scooped her up and found a nice, comfy couch for her to sleep on. She only stirred a bit when you set her down. After that, you proceeded to clean up the room that you were in. Thankfully, there was a nearby closet with cleaning supplies stored inside.

The work mostly consisted of picking up broken plates, sweeping up broken glass and mopping up spilt drinks. Nothing terribly difficult. The pretty girl, on the other hand, had been pacing back and forth the entire time. It’s not like you’d expected her to bend down and help you clean, but having to work around her was starting to get a bit annoying.

“Okay!” she shouted, before pointing to you. “So, neither of us remembers who we are.”

You nodded slowly. “R-right.”

She nodded back. “And so, the first thing on our agenda is to figure that out.”

“I would’ve thought that the first thing would be to figure out where we are, how we got here, and who the rest of these people are. Do you know them?” you asked, pointing at the tan guy and the little girl.

The pretty girl shrugged. You sighed and went back to cleaning. That is, until you heard a loud crash coming from deeper in the house. You and the other girl froze.

“Maybe it’s one of our friends?” she suggested.

You considered it, and found that her suggestion had merit. That made sense. It had to be another one of the partygoers, and hopefully, someone with a memory that retains information prior to the last few minutes.

“I’m gonna go check it out.” you said, setting your broom aside and walking towards the source of the noise.

—----

You learned two things during your time exploring this house. First of all, it wasn’t a house. No, a better word to describe it would be “mansion”, or “estate”. This place is friggin' huge!

Either you have very rich friends, or you were attending a fancy gala gone wrong. The second thing that you’ve discovered is that there’s almost no one here. For some reason, You and the other guys in that room have been left alone here. You think there might have been a bunch of people staying here at some point, but they’re all gone now. It looks like they left in a rush too. Was there some sort of emergency or-

THUMP

Suddenly, a hulking, dark figure leapt into the middle of the room, but you took cover too quickly to see exactly what it was. Those are some crazy good reflexes that you’ve got.

(Cont.)

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Peeking out from behind an overturned table, you were shocked to find…some guy in a werewolf costume? You might not remember much, but you’re almost certain that it isn’t anywhere close to Halloween. And it looks so realistic, too. The mask is moving like a real animal’s face would when he goes to sniff the air or lick his nose.

Oh man. This isn’t one of those furry conventions, is it? Were you that kind of person before you lost your memory? If so, then you’d rather not get them back.

Regardless of the cosplayer's kinks, they’ve done a phenomenal job creating their costume and doing their makeup! You seriously can’t tell where the costume begins or ends. It’s almost like they’re really some freaky…animal hybrid.

You suddenly get a very bad feeling in the pit of your stomach. The costume looks too natural. Far more realistic than any modern movie CGI or special effects that you’ve seen. You’re…actually not sure if it’s a costume or not.

What will you do?

>Cower in fear and wait for them to go away. They’re either a bloodthirsty monster or some weirdo in a costume.
>Play dead. Maybe it'll leave you alone?
>Step out of hiding and make contact with them.
>Throw a bottle as a distraction, and sneak away slowly.
>Look around for any weapons that you might be able to use.
>Write-in.

>>5072528
>Look around for any weapons that you might be able to use.
>Step out of hiding and make contact with them

>>5072528
>>5072541 +1

>>5072541
+ 1

>>5072541
>>5073224
>>5073294
Writing...

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Desperately looking around, you find a plethora of forks and butter knives, but nothing outstandingly lethal in a pinch. Fortunately, you manage to spot a broken table leg with a few nails sticking out of it.

Yes! That’d work nicely.

Slowly, you step away from the table and rise to your full height, your makeshift weapon ready at your side. As soon as you do, the werewolf’s head whips around in shock, their ears perking up as their entire body goes rigid.

You’re very sure that masks don’t do that. And so…that would make this person a real-life, genuine werewolf! That is so rad!

You put on a nervous smile, trying not to let a hint of your internal freak-out show on your face. Assuming that this creature doesn’t eat you alive, this might be a momentous occasion for human history. This (hopefully) non-violent encounter might just define mankind’s interactions with supernatural creatures from now on. And if you play your cards right, you might earn yourself a cool werewolf friend! How many people can say that they have one of those!?

“Uh, hi…” you said with a stiff wave.

The werewolf got up on their hind legs, standing up straight without issue. It was a lot taller now. For a bloodthirsty beast, it had outstanding posture.

The creature’s glowing yellow eyes flicked to your makeshift weapon, and then back to you. It bared its teeth and let out a deep growl.

You felt the low rumble reverberate through your entire body, and it made you stop dead in your tracks. Not wanting to anger the creature any further, you made a show of setting the weapon down on a nearby table, where you might be able to reach it if negotiations break down.

“Everything’s okay. I’m a friend. So let’s maybe…put away the claws and fangs.” you said, speaking in a placating tone.

As if it had understood you perfectly, the werewolf closed its hands to hide its claws. It was no longer growling, but the corners of its mouth were shifting slightly. Actually, now that you were able to get a closer look, you were pretty sure that its mouth had sections that were capable of moving independently from one another. Could that be an evolutionary trait that allowed them to consume larger prey? You’d have to find that out later.

In this very moment, any fears that you might have had were heavily outweighed by your curiosity.

“D-do you have a name?” you asked hesitantly, inching closer to the creature. It blinked at you, not moving a muscle.

“Right. You probably can’t talk while you’re transformed. My bad.” you said, laughing nervously. “I guess we can use hand signs or drawings to communica-”

“Garon.”

(Cont.)

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You took a step back. The aforementioned werewolf that had just been snarling and crawling around on all fours, had just answered you with perfect punctuation and clarity. In fact, you were pretty sure that he was looking at you like you were the stupid one! Not that you were an expert on the facial expressions of supernatural creatures. There were just some expressions that were widely considered to be…universal in most cultures.

The werewolf, named Garon, was now staring at you expectantly. Was this your cue to introduce yourself? That would obviously be the polite thing to do. Only, there was one problem. You didn’t even know your own name.

Slightly embarrassed, you rubbed the back of your head and let out a sharp breath. “Oh…oh man. Wow. It’s nice to meet you…Garon.” you said. He nodded slightly, still giving you that expectant look. You could sense a great deal of intelligence in his eyes. Were werewolves commonly this smart when they transformed. Because if so, Team Edward has their work cut out for them.

You chuckled at that, not actually sure of what it meant. A ghost of a memory, perhaps?

“I’m, uh, actually not sure what my name is…yet. I don’t suppose you would know anything about me.” you said, chuckling nervously.

Garon’s eyes went wide at this, and his four mouth slits spread apart as if to express genuine disbelief. He searched your face, looking for any trace of deceit. And then, finding what he was looking for, he relaxed and crossed his arms. All of his gestures were very human, and very surprising to you.

“You’re serious. You really don’t remember anything?” he asked, sounding mildly annoyed.

You shook your head. He growled in response.

“Unbelievable.” he sighed, pressing a hand to the side of his face. “Can you even use your Omnitrix properly?”

You tilted your head at him. “Omniwhat?”

Garon groaned with displeasure. “Then Clover was correct in her assessment. That wave of magical energy has scrambled your memory completely.”

Magical energy? What happened to you? Why’s this Garon guy talking like he knows you. Were you already friends beforehand? Was your life more exciting than you thought it was? And what’s this Omnitrix thing-

“Fear not. I shall rectify this.” Garon nodded, his eyes burning with what appeared to be resolve. It’s hard to tell when he doesn’t have visible pupils.

“Really!?” you said, brimming with excitement from the idea of having your werewolf companion assist you on your journey of self discovery. “You’re gonna help me get my memories back? Do we need a magical artifact of some sort? Ooh! What about a magic ritual!?”

Your joy hit a dead stop when Garon unfurled his claws, raised his hand, and took a step towards you.

(Cont.)

“In my experience, I find that fear is a wonderful motivator for learning essential skills in life. All that adrenaline coursing through your veins, your heart hammering in your chest. I’m sure that something will come up once you’ve been faced with a proper life-or-death situation.” Garon explained, a wicked grin on his face.

You backed away very slowly, feeling all of those symptoms that Garon had just listed.

“H-h-hold on a minute. Let’s talk this out. That peace treaty is still on the table.” you pleaded, holding your hands up as you inched closer to the weapon that you’d placed on the table.

What will you do?

>”Let’s not get hasty! I’ll let you bite me, and we can become werewolf bros!”
>”...Can I at least upload a picture of you to the internet in order to preserve this moment?”
>”And here I am with no silver bullets on hand.”
>”You never answered any of my questions. Who am I? What’s an Omnitrix?”
>Dive for your weapon.
>Write-in.

>>5073414
>Dive for your weapon
>”You never answered any of my questions. Who am I? What’s an Omnitrix?”

>>5073414
>>5073424 +1

>>5073424
>>5073753
Writing...

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In an instant, you turn around and dive for your weapon. At the time, you thought that you would wipe out completely and slam into the table like a complete and total idiot. But no, you’re actually more athletic than you gave yourself credit for.

Upon grabbing hold of the weapon, you pulled your shoulder towards the floor, broke into a roll and landed in a crouched position, with both hands firmly planted on the makeshift bat’s grip.

Slowly raising yourself up from the ground, you shot Garon a hostile glare. But to your surprise, he’d barely moved from his original position. He didn’t make any effort to chase after you when you went for your weapon.

“You never answered any of my questions. Who am I? What’s an ‘Omnitrix’?” you asked, frowning at that last word.

Garon smirked. “Explaining who you are would take far too long. For now, though, I can give you a name.” he said, lowering his hand, but leaving his claws out. “Wade Wakeman. My father.”

A jolt ran up your spine as soon as he said that name. No. Not “that” name. Your name.

Yes. Your name’s Wade! You know your own name! How could you forget something so simple?

Suddenly, your thoughts froze. Did he just say that you’re his father!? How old are you? How old is he? Do werewolf cubs grow faster than normal humans? What if you’ve been a werewolf this entire time, but you’ve forgotten how to transform!?

Or, you had a kid with a werewolf, and Garon here inherited her curse. Either that, or this guy’s been messing with you this entire time.

All of a sudden, Garon’s credibility had started to drop in your mind.

“And if you’ve never seen an Omnitrix, check that device around your waist.” Garon added with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Your hand shot down to your waist, and you paused, as you found the gaudiest belt that you’ve ever seen in your incredibly brief life. What is this thing? It has the same design as those watches that everyone else was wearing. Is “Omnitrix” a stylish new brand of some sort?

Just as your hand brushed across the belt’s hourglass symbol, it slid open, revealing a holographic display with multiple emojis and icons swirling around in a circle. Although, you can’t really get a good look at them. If this is supposed to be a smart device, then it was a terrible idea for someone to make it into a belt. Maybe the blame falls on you for even purchasing something this stupid.

“Time’s up.” said a gruff voice in front of you. It was Garon, and he was now standing directly in front of you, casting a large shadow over where you stood. You hadn’t even seen or heard him move!

Panicking, you stepped back and swung the makeshift bat as hard as you could. With a sharp crack…your weapon broke!

The fine wood cracked into thousands of little splinters as it collided with the side of his head. Even the nails had been bent somehow!

(Cont.)

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“Uh...whoops?” you squeaked, glancing up at Garon with a guilty expression. The werewolf simply brushed the splinters out of his fur and let out a low growl.

Okay. Gotta act fast! Need something. Another weapon. Anything!

Maybe you can call for help on this stupid belt phone! But which one is the call function? These icons aren’t helpful at all.

Which icon will you select?

>A bug with big teeth.
>Some rock guy.
>A rodent of some sort.
>A vampire?
>A dinosaur.
>An arrowhead?
>A whale.
>A crocodile.
>Jason Voorhees?
>A piranha plant?

>>5074322
>A rodent of some sort.

>>5074322
>A rodent of some sort.

>>5074579
>>5075483
Writing...

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Not knowing what to do, you blindly select the little rodent icon. It’s not like any of those other icons were any more helpful. Suddenly, a cylindrical button pops out of the center of the belt. Just how complicated is this thing? You just want to make a simple emergency call!

Frustrated, you mash down the button…only to be enveloped in a bright flash of violet light. The high pitched whine from your belt nearly drowns out your screams. And in that moment, something incredible happens.

Your body shrinks considerably, and a thick coat of brown fur grows over your skin. Your teeth and nails become sharper, and your blood burns in your veins.

A jolt of energy courses through your body, invigorating you! You’ve become…something else. Something familiar.

When the light fades, you find that Garon is nodding in approval. He’s also much taller than he was before.

“A fine choice.”

“Dude, all I did was press a button.” you replied, in an unusually squeaky voice. What the hell happened to your voice!?

You look down at your hands, and then your feet. Something’s wrong. When the hell did he force you into a fur-suit? Was your werewolf theory right all along? But if that was the case, then why are you so cute and cuddly?

Panicking, you grab a nearby metal tray and examine your face, only to find a cute and fuzzy face with large eyes and a cute button nose staring back at you. You gasp, twitch your nose a few times, and bare your fangs. To your absolute horror, the face that was reflected back at you mirrored your every move. You dropped the tray with a scream.

Was that you? No, it can’t be you. That’d be crazy. And why do you look exactly like the icon that you selected? Did that device change you somehow?

“It would seem that transforming into one of your favorite aliens wasn’t enough to jog your memory.” Garon said, shaking his head. “Maybe this will jar them loose.”

The werewolf took in a large breath, and then let out a hellish howl that sent you flying backwards! It wasn’t a direct hit, but your ears were still ringing from the sheer volume and pitch of the supersonic howl. Luckily, you managed to regain your balance by digging your claws into the floor. And just in time too. Garon was preparing to hit you with another one!

Can werewolves just do that whenever they want? And did that guy just call you an alien?

Something was burning in your chest. It didn’t feel like anger or grief. No, it was far more intense than either of those. It was almost like an itch that you couldn’t help but scratch. It danced along the surface of your skin and crackled to life when it touched your fur, just begging to be let out.

What will you do?

>Close the distance and sink your teeth into Garon’s thigh.
>Jump up and claw at his face with your newly acquired claws.
>Grab that metal tray and toss it at his face.
>Release the energy building up within you!
>Run away!
>Write-in.

>>5076253
>Release the energy building up within you!

>>5076253
>>Jump up and claw at his face with your newly acquired claws.
>Release the energy building up within you!

>>5076253
>Release the energy building up within you!

>>5076266
>>5076621
Roll 1d100, bo3!

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>5076769

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>5076769

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>5076769

>>5076873
>>5077018
>>5077303
Writing...

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>81

Unable to fight the feeling any longer, you let out a desperate cry and released the energy that had been building up within your very core. Filling your vision, was bright blue, crackling energy that arced out every which way, indiscriminately zapping everything in sight. But the majority of it was now enveloping Garon’s body.

The aforementioned werewolf’s body jerked involuntarily, and his jaw was now clenched due to the constant muscle spasms he was being subjected to. When you saw his face, wide-eyed and a face wrinkled by pain, you couldn’t help but pity the creature.

Digging deep, you attempt to exercise some form of restraint over your power. It was a lot simpler than you’d anticipated, too. Sort of like turning off a faucet or flipping a switch. By your mental command, the energy receded back into you. Despite having pumped out an insane amount of energy from a creature of your size, you were completely unharmed by it. In fact, your entire body was like a simultaneous conduit and generator.

Garon, on the other hand, was unsteady on his feet. His hair had been standing up, and he still had that wide eyed expression on his face that reminded you of a deer being caught in someone’s headlights in the middle of the night. Swaying to and fro, the werewolf fell backwards and collapsed into a smoldering, groaning heap of singed fur and sinuous muscle.

Now that you were out of immediate danger, you had time to reflect on what had just happened. Garon called you…an alien.

You stared at your hands, still small and fuzzy as ever. He said that you’d “chosen” an alien, which insinuates that you weren’t an alien before. Did that belt somehow “transform” you into an alien? If that was the case, then it might stand to reason that Garon was an alien as well. That would explain that weird howl that he did and his intelligence.

But that doesn’t explain why he called you his father, or why he attacked you. There’s more to this mystery than he let on, but you can’t exactly question him while he’s unconscious.

On that note, you wonder what his plan had been for after he’d been zapped. Did he overestimate himself, or underestimate your power. Would you ever return to human form? Maybe you could select your human form again from the list of icons.

Finding the belt’s symbol around your neck, you gave it an experimental poke. Nothing happened. You gave it a few more pokes, with equally uneventful results. Out of frustration, you began pulling on it, biting at it, and then finally, slapping it.

A flash of golden light engulfed your vision, and you let out a surprised scream. Once it faded, you were surprised to see that you were once again a normal human being!

Somehow, all of this was starting to feel very familiar to you. Somehow, you had the impression that you’d done this before. Before you lost your memory and forgot who you were.

(Cont.)

You were now completely convinced that “Wade Wakeman” was far more than an ordinary human. Or…maybe you were, actually. Come to think of it, there wasn’t a single person in that room that didn’t have one of these devices. Could they all do what you did? Was it just completely normal to be able to change into an alien whenever you wanted?

The only one that didn’t have one of these Omnitrix thingies was Garon, and he was already some type of werewolf alien creature. You had to gather more information.

Looking around, you noticed that the room you were in was far more spacious than you’d originally suspected. There might be other people here. People that can answer some of the burning questions that you have. Or, there could be more crazy aliens roaming around attacking people on sight.

What will you do?

>Venture deeper into the estate. You need to find an exit, or at least single friendly person that’d be willing to help you.
>Wake Garon up and ask him a few questions.(Write-in.)
>Experiment with this belt some more.
>Return to the others and check in on them.
>Write-in.

>>5077960
>Wake Garon up and ask him a few questions.(Write-in.)
"Okay, you've had your fun, now tell me in detail who I am, what exactly is going on, and why you called yourself my son."
>Return to the others and check in on them

>>5078120
>>5077960
+1

>>5077960
>>5078120+ 1

>>5078120
>>5078810
>>5079116
Writing...

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Not feeling satisfied by what little you’d learned from Garon’s brief explanations, you decided to wake him up to grill him for more info.

Looking at him now, you could see that his body was covered in scars and dark grey fur. There was a pretty gnarly scar over his left eye too. If he was young enough to be your son, then your parenting techniques were decidedly Spartan in nature. Garon had clearly seen his fair share of battle, and it had taken a toll on his body as a result.

Growing impatient, and a tad bit agitated, you started lightly tapping the side of the alien’s face. He simply growled and turned his head away.

You then used a hand to cover his mouth and nose at the same time. He spluttered and flailed about, but ultimately went back to snoring once he’d split his mouth into four segments in order to avoid suffocation.

Finally, you gave up and slapped him hard across the side of his face. Garon woke with a start, glancing around the room with a wild look in his eye.

“Okay, you’ve had your fun. Now tell me more about who I am, and don’t skimp on the details this time. Why’d you call yourself my son?” you asked, not pausing in between inquiries.

Garon let out an exasperated sigh and scratched at his chest. “That is a very broad question. The former, I mean.” he said, regarding you calmly for someone who’d just been electrocuted.

“Why’s that? Do I have some super long backstory, or something?”

Garon shook his head and then pointed a claw at you. “You are my father. But not ‘you’ specifically.”

You tilted your head and squinted at him. Noticing your obvious confusion, Garon decided to elaborate further.

“In my future, you are my father. But here, you have yet to marry anyone.”

Your eyes went wide, and you were pretty sure that your jaw was hanging open.

“F-future…? D-did you come here from the future?” you asked, struggling to retain your grasp on the situation.

Garon nodded. “It is an alternate future, yes. A branching timeline that was created by the endless possibilities that your interactions have brought forth. No one’s future is ever set in stone.” he explained.

“So let me get this straight. You’re a time-traveling alien wolf-man.” you said, still unable to overcome the massive hurdle that was borne through a severe lack of context in this conversation.

Garon paused for a moment, and then nodded. You fell back onto your butt and tried to stop your head from spinning. This was all too much to process. There are way too many implications to unpack! If this were a novel, the readers would be berating the author for shoving in too many tropes and genres all at once. Garon wasn’t giving you any room to breathe!

(Cont.)

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“Now you know why I cannot simply explain who you are. There are countless possibilities in the multiverse, and your life is likely far different to my father’s.” Garon said, now looking a bit bashful for some reason. “Admittedly, every Founder should have sufficient knowledge of their target timeline and the central figures that exist in it. However, I am a relatively new recruit, and I was likely only recruited to pad out their ranks. I suspect that a senior Founder would be more knowledgeable about the subject.”

Garon kept talking, but you were having trouble paying attention. There were far too many thoughts racing through your head right now. Aliens!? Time travel!? A multiverse!? I mean, come on! There’s no one in their right mind that wouldn’t geek out over something this incredible!

Either not noticing, or not caring, Garon continued to casually roll you over with groundbreaking revelations.

“At the very least, I can tell you what is most common with alternate versions of yourself.” Garon offered. “You were initially created as a clone of the late Max Tennyson, a legendary Plumber, to serve as a living weapon for the Galactic Council. But due to the intervention of an unidentified group, you were taken from their facility and placed on Earth to be raised as a normal human. Some way or another, you received an Omnitrix. The method of you acquiring such a device is always different, and increasingly rare. Among the Chrono Spanners, your children do not even account for 1% of our ranks. And even then, it is not always a guarantee that you will acquire an Omnitrix in your youth.”

At this point, you were almost ready to curl up into a ball and let your brain shutdown due to information overload. But there was just one question that you had to ask, no matter the consequences.

“...Why would anyone bother to create a clone of a plumber? Was there that much of a need for service workers in the galaxy? Why not just hire someone else? And in what world does the clone of a plumber count as a ‘living weapon’!?” you asked, an incredulous look on your face. At this point, you were beginning to wonder if this time-traveling alien werewolf was taking the piss out of you.

Garon frowned, clearly frustrated by your lack of understanding. “This will not do. I believe we will get far better results if you spoke with Clover. She would undoubtedly have a way to reverse your sudden amnesia.” he considered, scratching at his chin.

That doesn’t sound like a terrible idea, actually. Talking to someone with a smidgen of tact and an actual idea of who you are would be incredibly helpful. But on the other hand, you’re not sure if you should be so trusting of strangers that only claim to know you.

You doubt that Garon is lying. He might not have the capacity to be anything but brutally honest. But the rest of these “Founder” people might have more than a few dubious motives.

(Cont.)

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Nevertheless, you’d do best to check on those guys from earlier before you make any decisions.

“Maybe later. I woke up with some other people, and I think they might be like me. They all have Omnitrix thingies, and one of them has amnesia, like me. I need to let them know what I’ve learned.”

Garon considered this, and then nodded. “It is as I suspected, then. Please, allow me to accompany you so that I might assess the situation for myself.” he carefully suggested.

You eyed him warily, but you couldn’t quite think of any reasons for saying no. If he wanted to kill you or eat you, then he would’ve done so earlier. And if he tries anything funny, then you’re certain that a whole room full of Omnitrix wielders should be able to take care of him.

“Fine. Just…let me walk in first.”

Garon agreed to your conditions, and then followed as you walked back to where you woke up.

—--------

As you entered the room, you were surprised to find that the tan guy was now awake and openly conversing with the hot chick. They were examining a floating orange crystal of some sort. But once they had registered your presence, both their gazes fell on you.

The hot girl ran over to you almost immediately, looking relieved. “You’re okay! That’s great!” she exclaimed. “We heard some weird noises over there, and were debating about running over to check on you.”

“Did you find anyone that can help us?” the tan guy asked as he approached you.

Your eyes darted over to where Garon was hiding, just out of sight.

“Oh yeah, I met someone, alright…” you said with a grin. And moments later, Garon made his presence known. Waltzing into the room without a care in the world, the alien wolfman froze as soon as he saw the tan guy. He was shaking for some reason.

The two people behind you jumped out of their skin, practically scrambling for cover, or perhaps, for a weapon.

“OH SHIT!” the tan guy exclaimed.

“Traitor!” said the hot chick as she pointed at you accusingly. “Why would you bring him here!?”

“K-Kenny…! It can’t be…”

You looked at Garon strangely, wondering what it was that he was freaking out about.

The look of shock and horror on the hot chick’s face when she heard Garon start talking was absolutely priceless! Kenny, on the other hand, had a different expression.

Pausing, the tan guy cautiously inched towards Garon. “Wait…you know who I am!?” asked the guy named Kenny. “Please, I need to know-”

“Kenny! How are you here? They told me that you died! This is a miracle!” Garon laughed hysterically.

All of you froze at that. Kenny’s face was now very pale.

“I…died?”

(Cont.)

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Before he could inquire any further, however, Garon was on his hands and knees, lowering his head to the ground. “Please, you must allow me to bring you back to the other Founders! They must be made aware of your survival.”

“Founders? Are they like your friends?” the hot chick asked. Unfortunately, Garon had been ignoring her completely up until this point, so she hadn’t received a name.

Garon nodded fiercely. “They are my comrades. And they were yours once.” Garon said, looking at Kenny. “You were our leader, Kenny.”

You didn’t think that it was possible, but Kenny’s eyes somehow got even wider. So far, all of your backgrounds have been so colorful and interesting. It was like you were living out a drama or something.

Suddenly, a loud yawn interrupted your conversation. It came from the young redhead that had just woken up from her nap.

Stretching with her eyes closed, she nearly tripped over Garon’s tail on her way over. And once she opened her eyes, all of you winced as she let out an ear-piercing screech. That girl seriously had a pair of lungs on her.

Garon immediately rose to his feet, waving his hands apologetically as he approached her. However, this only served to frighten the girl even more. At the end of her wits, the young girl swayed for a bit, and then fainted out of stress.

Garon’s tail fell between his legs as he began fretting over the unconscious girl.

Feeling someone’s eyes on you, you turned to find Kenny staring at you. His expression was a complex swirl of emotions that you couldn't quite decipher.

“Do you think we can trust him? Should I go to meet these ‘Founder’ people?” he asked.

What will you do?

>Go to meet The Founders. If they’ve got answers for your questions, then that’s all the motivation you need.
>Examine the crystal in the middle of the room. It hadn’t been there before.
>Take this time to get Garon to reveal everyone’s names.
>Explain to everyone how their Omnitrix thingies work.
>Go out and explore some more. Maybe you’ll run into someone else that can help.
>Write-in.

>>5079226
>Go to meet The Founders. If they’ve got answers for your questions, then that’s all the motivation you need. Plus they're our only lead so far.
>Explain to everyone how their Omnitrix thingies work.
>Take this time to get Garon to reveal everyone’s names.

>>5079226
>>5079270 +1

>>5079270
>>5079482
Writing...

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You paused to consider, and then nodded. “I think we should meet them. They’re our only way of finding out who we are right now.”

Kenny pressed his lips into a flat line, but he nodded in agreement. Like you, he had his reservations about the whole thing. However, no one could know how you truly felt at this very moment.

Most people would consider this entire experience to be endlessly terrifying. Losing your memories, being assaulted by a monster that wants you to go meet his alien monster friends. You should be shaking in your boots.

But instead, you feel exhilarated! You can’t wait to find out more about yourself, your companions and the world that you live in.

Not wanting to make any hasty decisions, you decided to confer with the two girls of the group. The hot chick had been tending to the young girl’s unconscious form, taking care to keep Garon from getting any closer to her.

The white-haired girl didn’t seem too jazzed about the idea of following an alien werewolf to meet his other alien friends, but you expected as much. And just like Kenny, she understood why it was absolutely necessary to do exactly that.

It was strange. Despite you barely knowing anything about this woman, you felt like you could trust her with a great many things. But more than anything, you felt comfortable around her. You had to wonder, did the two of you know each other before losing your memories? That would certainly explain why you woke up in the same room.

Were you perfect strangers? Acquaintances? Friends? Best friends? Something…closer?

Shaking your head, you make an effort to push those efforts to the back of your mind and hide your flushed expression. You’ve got more important things to be worried about right now.

Turning to Garon, you clear your throat to get his attention. “Okay Garon, we’ll go with you to talk to these ‘Founders’.” you declared.

His face visibly brightened, but before he could say anything, you interrupted him with a raised hand.

“But,” you continued. You’ll have to tell the others what their names are, and explain what these Omnitrix thingies do.” you said, pointing at your belt.

—---

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Garon to determine the identities of the others. The young redheaded girl was named Gwen, and the hot chick was commonly referred to as Charmcaster, or Hope.

However, she didn’t seem to like the sound of the name “Hope” and instead demanded to be called Charmcaster. To her credit, it sounded like a very majestic title.

(Cont.)

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Now learning how to use the Omnitrices, that took far longer than Garon had appreciated. You showed them how to select their aliens, finalize their transformation, and cancel them early. This led to multiple experimental transformations and some light sparring matches. All of which ended in devastation, one way or another. All of a sudden, the room that you’d cleaned after you woke up was now far filthier than it had been when you found it.

After a few transformations, it was discovered that the Omnitrices required time to recharge after a transformation ended. Less time spent transformed meant less time spent recovering that lost energy. That is, unless, a large amount of energy was exerted by the user whilst transformed.

It was all very fascinating, but Garon lost his cool when you and everyone else started asking for information on alien transformations based off of the countless icons displayed on the alien selection screen.

Begrudgingly, the five of you set off to meet The Founders. And on Garon’s insistence, Kenny brought the orange crystal with him.

—--

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Charmcaster was the first to break the ice. “So, if I’m called ‘Charmcaster’, does that mean that I can use magic?” she asked while hunched over and wiggling her fingers.

Garon nodded, but kept facing forward. “You are a very powerful witch. More often than not, your children inherit your power as well. Although, I despise both of them.” he growled.

Charmcaster went rigid all of a sudden. “I-I-I have…kids? Two of them?”

“Quinlan and Sylvia Wakeman. They originate from separate dimensions, but for all intents and purposes, they share the same blood.”

You frowned at that statement. “Isn’t Wakeman my last name?” you asked.

Garon stopped walking, turned around, and gave you a flat look. You glanced over at Charmcaster, who was now quickly turning away, her pale face turning beat red. You were of a similar complexion. Kenny, on the other hand, thought that the situation was hilarious.

“Wade and Charmcaster sitting in a tree~.” he began singing, but then he frowned. “Your name’s way too long, dude. It throws off my rhythm.”

“Why don’t we give her an abbreviated nickname, like, uh…Charmy?” you suggested.

“Really?” Gwen asked, rolling her eyes. “Why do we have to come up with a nickname for her nickname?”

Charmy shrugged. “I don’t know, I kinda like it. It’s cute, and mysterious. Just like me.” she proudly declared, pointing a thumb back at herself.

In unison, all of you rolled your eyes and kept walking. And when you exited through a pair of double doors at the end of the hall, you stopped and stared in awe!

(Cont.)

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A countless number of criss-crossing platforms, staircases and walkways ran in every direction from where you stood. Most of them were openly defying the laws of gravity. It was like you walked right into an M.C. Escher painting!

Beyond all of this, beyond the physical aspect of this nonsensical realm, you saw a blank canvas, dotted with various colors and abstract shapes that slowly rotated around you.

“Whoa…!” Kenny squeaked.

“This is so…trippy.” Gwen remarked. Her expression seemed to be stuck between some mix of amazement and primal fear

Garon was the only one among you that wasn’t slack-jawed. He grunted. “This is likely Clover’s doing. In terms of raw power, she is far stronger than any of us. That’s counting Quinlan and Sylvia as well.”

“Are they Founders too?” you asked, trying to break eye contact with a giant floating eye in the sky.

“Sylvia is indeed one of us. Quinlan, however, is…undecided.” Garon shrugged. “To my knowledge, he has not joined a faction thus far. But in my personal experience, I find Quinlan to be far more tolerable than his sister.” he admitted with a slight smile.

And without another word, Garon began walking up a flight of stairs that led him to an upside down walkway. He seemed completely unperturbed by this development. Nor did he slow down to wait for you all.

Cautiously, slowly, you climbed the upside down staircase and followed in the wolfman’s footsteps. Charmy was attempting to cast magic spells, Kenny was examining a broken bracelet on his arm, and Gwen was taking a moment to absorb her surroundings. You were doing the same, honestly.

Suddenly, off in the distance, for only a brief moment, you saw a flash of violet light. It made a high pitched “pinging” sound. And mere moments later, your Omnitrix created a similar flash and pinging sound, almost as if it were in response to the signal. The phenomenon sent a tingling sensation up your spine.

“What was that?” Gwen asked, clearly having witnessed the event.

“I don’t know. I-”

Before you could continue, Garon stepped in front of you and put a clawed hand between you and the set of stairs leading in that direction.

“Garon?” you said.

He snarled. Not at you, but at whatever was creating that signal.

“We must leave this place immediately.” he growled through bared fangs.

You and the others exchanged concerned glances, and then looked back at that light. You had no idea of what was going on, but you were certain of one thing. Something, or someone, was out there, and they were calling to you. The question was, whether they were friend, or foe.

What will you do?

>Flee the scene with Garon and the others.
>Run towards the source of the signal.
>Stay where you are and wave at the flashing light to get its attention. You want to get a better look at whatever this thing is.
>Transform into an alien and prepare for the worst. (Which one?)
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:

>A bug with big teeth.
>Some rock guy.
>Zipmunk
>A vampire?
>XLR8
>An arrowhead?
>A humpback whale.
>Knuckle Duster
>Jason Voorhees?
>A piranha plant?

>>5080539
>>Transform into an alien and prepare for the worst. (Which one?)
>A bug with big teeth.
>Flee the scene with Garon and the others.

>>5080539
Oh if only we knew all our aliens, Echo Echo would let us handle both

>>5080706 +1

>>5080706
>>5081583
I nearly had a heart attack when I had to write the result for every single option during that Halloween special. Admittedly, I think it went pretty well when I was swapping between perspectives.

I sort of want to get back to writing season specials at some point. But before then, I'll have to come up with more ideas for the next spin-off special.

Also, writing...

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Feeling the intensity from Garon’s stare, you decide to choose an alien before anything happens to you.

Sliding open your belt’s faceplate, you brought up your selection wheel once more. Considering your circumstances, you didn’t really know much about these aliens or what they were capable of. Garon hadn’t been willing to sit around and explain what each species did in between Omnitrix cooldown periods. So until you get some answers from The Founders, you’ll just have to keep winging it.

Satisfied with your selection of the bug with big teeth, you push down on the cylindrical button. And in a burst of violet light, your body undergoes a drastic transformation!

What was once your flesh, becomes hard, scaly chitin. Your skeleton warps to accommodate for your newly elongated insectoid limbs. Your eyes and teeth grow considerably larger, and you could feel a large pair of wings sprouting out of your back.

Once the light faded, you were suddenly overcome by a bitter, piercing chill. It not only ran up your spine, but it permeated your entire being. But somehow…it didn’t feel unpleasant. You took comfort in it; let it flow through you.

You didn’t feel the need to shiver, but you still felt the desire to cover up with something. And just as you had that thought, your butterfly-like wings wrapped around you like a cloak.

“...Cool.” you said in a raspy whisper.

The others would’ve followed your lead and transformed right alongside you, but their watches were still on cooldown. They had transformed quite a few times during their training sessions before leaving with Garon.

Suddenly, the light began drawing closer, and the vibrations coming from your Omnitrix began to intensify. Running alongside the source of the light, were two streaks of blue light. Actually, it’d be more fitting to refer to them as “blurs”. They were incredibly fast!

“What are those?” Gwen asked, pointing at the blue streaks.

Garon’s scowl deepened. “Kinecelerans. Here to cause more trouble, no doubt.”

“So they’re bad guys? Maybe we can stay and help you fight them off.” Charmy suggested.

“NO!” Garon growled. The sheer volume of it made Charmy freeze up. After a moment, the werewolf reclaimed his senses and cleared his throat. “I cannot risk your lives in an unnecessary confrontation. Let us depart from this place.”

Kenny hesitated, but then nodded. “He’s right. I don’t want to fight these things with our watches in recharge mode.” he said, lifting his wrist up to display a bright orange hourglass symbol.

“Good call.” Gwen agreed, seemingly growing more and more worried by the second. “Now let’s move, before theyAHHHHHH!” Without warning, Garon scooped her up, placed her on his back and ran in the opposite direction on all-fours.

(Cont.)

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Making note of Garon’s immediate retreat, you unfurled your wings, beat them twice and took to the skies. On your way out, you grabbed both Kenny and Charmy, and held them in both arms. You were surprisingly strong for a frail bug alien. You began to wonder if this alien had any unique or interesting abilities, aside from flying. However, it was hard to concentrate right now. Mostly because of the fact that you were being chased, and from Charmy shouting made-up spells names and waving her hands at your pursuers.

By most human(and animal) standards, you were very fast. Faster than you would’ve thought for a creature of your size. You were easily taller, and wider, than either Charmy or Kenny, but proportionally, you were still rather thin and lanky. Unfortunately for you, however, your pursuers were much faster. If you had estimated correctly, it’d be less than a minute before they caught up to you!

“They’re gaining on us!” Gwen shouted, before pressing a hand to her mouth. She looked rather queasy from being flung about by Garon. The wolfman was swinging, climbing, and crawling his way through this literal concrete jungle.

Kenny squinted at something in the distance. “Who’s that?” he asked.

A wolfish grin spread across Garon’s face. “They are an ally! One of the Founders!” he declared.

Upon getting closer, you were able to see a few defining features. The “Founder” was a young woman with long black hair, pale skin and dark makeup. She wore a sullen expression, along with a loose hoodie and a long skirt. But none of that was what made her appearance so striking. In her nose, mouth and ears were multiple piercings of varying design and color.

When Garon swung past her, she didn’t even bat an eye. Nor did she turn her head or eyes to look at him.

“Laurie! We need a distraction!” he shouted.

The girl known as “Laurie” rolled her eyes and brought her hand up to her face. Tapping one of the piercings, you watched in awe as the jewelry began sinking into her flesh. The skin around her face rippled and warped around them. It was so unnatural, and not to mention painful-looking. But, Laurie didn’t seem to mind.

“No, duh. Why do you think I’m here?” she muttered in an unenthusiastic tone. And right after you passed her, the girl’s body bulged and stretched, reforming itself into a blob of dark purple matter.

“Whoa! What is that!?” Charmy shouted as she pointed at the shifting mass of goo that had once been Laurie.

“Don’t worry! She’s a Lenopan!” Garon said, thinking he was being reassuring. But to all of you, that meant absolutely nothing. “They are fearsome warriors. I doubt our pursuers would be able to overwhelm her.

“I hope so…” you said, looking back at the battle. The blue blurs were now engaging Laurie in battle. It more or less looked like a giant muck monster was trying to squash a couple of lizards.

(Cont.)

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The figure that had once been emitting that flashing purple light now stood atop a flight of stairs, staring in your direction. She was a well-proportioned blonde young woman with a black and purple bomber jacket. She was perfect, like a picture of a model that had been put through multiple camera filters and processed through some high-end editing software. But it wasn’t her striking beauty that stood out to you. It was the pained expression on her face. The blonde woman that had failed to catch you looked absolutely miserable. And there she stood, watching you fly away until you couldn’t see her anymore, paying no mind to the mud monster rampaging behind her.

The image struck a chord with you, and it stuck in your mind, even after you’d escaped their clutches.

—---

When you arrived at where the rest of The Founders were staying, you were immediately greeted by three enthusiastic kids. One of them was a girl with white hair that clung to Charmy desperately, and the other two were blondes that pestered you relentlessly. Both of which shared many of your physical features.

Normally, you would’ve pondered the implications of that, but you were far too distracted by the aliens in the room, and the room itself.

Whereas the abstract space outside the room was blank and cluttered by random architectural placements, this room was bright red, and filled with wooden chairs and beautiful paintings that you couldn’t quite comprehend. There was no other furniture. Just a mountain of wooden chairs, large paintings on walls and a colossal chandelier dangling from the ceiling. And sitting atop that mountain of wooden chairs was a slim, green creature with female proportions, flat facial features and flowing green hair that reminded you of the tail of a comet. If you had a word to describe her, it would be “ethereal”. Her body was almost a completely solid color of dark green. Her eyes were completely blank, and there were no teeth in her smile. It was like her facial features had been penciled in.

Standing around you were five people of varying races. The white haired girl, the two blonde kids, a boy with purple skin and snake-like tendrils on his head, and a rather wide fellow wearing winter gear and a visor.

Right now they were staring, but not at you. All eyes were locked on Kenny. He was rather confused, but they were all in a state of complete and utter disbelief.

“So it’s true after all.” said the green woman sitting atop her throne of chairs. “Ken Tennyson has returned to us!” she proclaimed with her arms held wide. She spoke with an accent. It was clipped, and a bit stiff.

The others cheered and rejoiced, including Garon, who howled along with them.

Then, the woman’s eyes slid over to where you stood. “Oh! And let’s not forget the infamous Wade Wakeman!” she said with a smile and a wave. “Hi, Daddy.”

(Cont.)

Your face went red, and you could feel the other’s eyes on you. What will you say?

>”I’m guessing you’re the leader. Are you an alien too?”
>”I was told that you could help us get our memories back. Is that true?”
>”Garon says that you’ve been redecorating. What exactly is happening here?”
>”Can you tell us more about Kenny?”
>”Earlier, there were some people chasing us. Do you know what they want from us?”
>”Why do you guys call yourselves ‘Founders’?”
>”How many kids do I have around here!?”
>”I’m sorry, but can you help me figure out what my aliens do? Garon doesn’t want to.”
>Write-in.

>>5081782
>>”I was told that you could help us get our memories back. Is that true?”
>”Earlier, there were some people chasing us. Do you know what they want from us?”
>”How many kids do I have around here!?”

>>5081782
>”I was told that you could help us get our memories back. Is that true?”
>”Earlier, there were some people chasing us. Do you know what they want from us?”

>>5081782
>>>”I was told that you could help us get our memories back. Is that true?”
>>”Earlier, there were some people chasing us. Do you know what they want from us?”
>>”How many kids do I have around here!?”

>>5081816
>>5082945
Sorry for the delay. Got kinda busy and I had to catch up on sleep.

Writing...

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Feeling flustered, you attempt to shake off your embarrassment by asking a question that’s been burning in the back of your mind for a long time now.

“Just how many kids do I have around here!?”

The room fell silent, as every Founder present in the room raised their hands. Your jaw dropped.

Charmy was glancing over at you suspiciously, and Kenny was leaning over to whisper in your ear.

“Is the, uh…is the redhead one of yours too?” he asked in a hushed tone, glancing at Gwen out of the corner of his eye.

“What!? No! Of course not.” you exclaimed. But then, you began to doubt your obviously flawed memory. “I mean…I don’t think so?” you said with a shrug.

“Keep it in your pants, bro!” Chamy shouted from behind.

The other white haired girl laughed at that. It was a squeaky noise that couldn’t quite be described as pleasant. “My name’s Sylvia. Where I come from, you and her get married and have a bunch of babies.” she said, pointing at Charmy. Apparently, it was now her turn to become flustered.

“And I mean ‘a lot’. Like, a lot a lot! I can’t even count the number of times that I walked in on you guys just slapping into each other. In the future, can you do me a favor and make a habit of locking your doors?” she asked, all while maintaining that sickeningly sweet smile on her face and making a “slapping” sound with her hands.

You and Charmy were deathly silent, forgetting to even breathe. Your faces were burning, and you were desperately trying to avoid locking eyes with her.

The other Founders were groaning, and some were laughing. But Sylvia just kept going!

“Oh, who am I kidding? You guys treated the whole house as your bedroom. I’ve caught you in the kitchen, the attic, the basement, the living room.” she said, counting on her fingers. “Sometimes I think that you only sent me off to join the Spanners so you could have the house to yourselves.”

Finally, someone put a hand in front of the childish chatterbox to stop her from embarrassing you any further. It was the alien with purple skin. He was one of the ones that’d been laughing.

“That’s enough, Sylvie. Spare the man his pride.” he laughed, wiping at a non-existent nose. Sylvia seemed puzzled, but the alien ignored her. “I’m Miles. You and my Mom hooked up after you rescued her from some racist humans that were trying to deport her back to her home planet. After that, she swept you off your feet and the two of you went cruising around the galaxy.” he explained.

Out of everyone in the room, Miles was the most relaxed. He wore a red vest with a white bodysuit underneath. Sylvia was similarly dressed, but her bodysuit was cut and tailored in some places, making it more revealing than the others’.

(Cont.)

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Miles pointed over at the two blondes hovering beside you. “That’s Brodie and Stacy over there. They’re kinda like interdimensional siblings. Considering how Stacy’s mom is your cousin and Brodie’s mom is your cousin’s identical clone.” he said, casually waving away an implication that almost sent you reeling.

The eyes of everyone in your group immediately snapped to you. There was something different in their eyes, like they were seeing you for the very first time. It was a reevaluating look that only caused the knot in your stomach to twist and churn. All at once, they took a step away from you.

You began waving your hands frantically. “A-are we at least second or third cousins…?”

Miles shook his head slowly. “First cousins.”

You winced, and curled your hands into fists. “Ooh…” you hissed.

Why in the hell would you have a kid with your own cousin!? That’s just…you’re not that kind of-!

“Oh, but you and your cousin ain’t blood related. Did I forget to mention that part?” Miles said with a chuckle, clearly reading the situation for what it was and enjoying every second of it. “Since you were adopted, your cousin is really just some girl that you hang out with a lot.”

All of you breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief, and you could feel your stomach finally unknotting. It was still a bit weird, but at least you didn’t have to worry about breaking the law or inbreeding.

“Oh come on, Miles!” shouted the big guy called Brodie. He was wearing a domino mask and a utility belt for some reason. “I wanted to be the one to tell him that!”

Miles shrugged impassively, and Stacy rolled her eyes at Brodie.

“Oh, scream in his ears some more, why don’t you. Because that’s just what we need. A daddy that’s deaf in one ear and has bad fashion sense.” she said, gesturing towards you without looking at you.

You raised your finger to state that you had no intention of sleeping with your cousin, and then paused. Did she just insult your fashion sense?

“Hey! I woke up with these clothes on.” you protested.

Stacy looked you up and down, her face remaining stony and impassive as she scanned every wrinkle, tear and stain. “Clearly.”

Stacy was certainly more stylish than the rest of her companions. She wore a silver, padded coat with a shiny, chrome studded belt wrapped around her waist.

“I meant that I didn’t pick them out personally.” you said, growing a bit frustrated.

Then, Stacy surprised you with a smile. A genuine one. “I know. Just make sure that you fix it up a bit before you return it. That tux is really special to someone.” she said. And without another word, she turned around and walked away.

(Cont.)

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So this tux really is a rental. You don’t know how to sew, so you’re pretty sure that you’ll have to pay out of pocket for this one. You sure hope that “Wade Wakeman” has some cash squirreled away somewhere.

As you continued to scan the room, your eyes naturally fell onto the only two people left who hadn’t introduced themselves. The guy wearing winter gear, and the glowing green lady, who you assumed was the one that Garon called “Clover”.

Regaining some confidence, you stepped forward to address her. The guy in winter gear looked like he wanted to stop you, but Clover waved him away with a lazy hand gesture.

You stopped when you were right at the foot of the mountain of wooden chairs that she’d been seated upon.

“I was told that you could help us get our memories back. Is that true?” you asked.

Clover smiled, and nodded. “With enough time, piecing together your shattered memories should be a simple enough task. Although, I still have no idea what caused such an event in the first place. Even from here, I could feel the raw power dripping off of that spell.” she said, dropping her smile and adopting a much more meditative expression.

You couldn’t help but smile at that. She was willing to help you, all because she knew you in an alternate dimension. Having this many connections could be convenient for you in the future.

“That’s great! Thank you so much. We really appreciate-”

Clover raised a hand to interrupt you. “I will help you, but it will have to be after our business here is concluded. It will require all of my focus to rewrite the fundamental laws in a localized area.”

“Fundamental laws?”

“Gravity, physics, etc. With a bit of precise tinkering, anything can be rewritten, but it cannot be unwritten.” Clover explained, without really explaining anything at all.

“Huh.”

Somehow, you got the impression that she wouldn’t elaborate any further. It was like she was staring off into some faraway place that you couldn’t see.

“Oh, there’s actually one more thing I wanted to ask you about.” you said, and Clover’s eyes seemed to refocus on you once more. “Earlier, there were some people chasing us. Do you know what they want from us?”

For a second, Clover frowned. And just as fast, her lips curled into a smile again. “They must have been trying to take your Omnitrices from you. Do be careful with them. Despite what Garon might have told you, they’re quite rare and valuable.”

The werewolf growled, but said nothing more. Feeling that Clover had once again retreated to that faraway place that no one else could see, you decided to take your leave.

If you were being entirely honest, you had thought that Clover would be able to answer your questions more clearly. You actually have more questions after that conversation!

(Cont.)

But…you should be grateful that she promised to help you and the others as soon as she’s done with…whatever it is that’s happening here.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted Miles slipping away from the group, carrying a metal tray filled with snacks and junk food. He was actively looking around to see if anyone was watching him closely, so you instinctively pretended to be looking somewhere to the left of him. Seemingly satisfied by this, you just barely caught him stepping through a door and into a hallway.

Was there someone else here? Either that, or he just didn’t want to be followed.

Right about now, everyone else was engrossed in conversation. Charmy and Gwen were having a good time talking to Sylvia and Stacy, while Brodie and Garon had managed to corner Kenny and were now grilling him for info that he couldn’t provide.

What will you do?

>Follow Miles.
>Attempt to speak to the guy in the winter coat.
>Mess with the Omnitrix a bit more. You want to know more about these aliens.
>Ask someone to accompany you on a quick exploration of the area outside.(Write-in.)
>Talk to Kenny about that crystal that he’s been carrying around.
>Write-in.

Aliens Discovered:

>Big Chill
>Some rock guy.
>Zipmunk
>A vampire?
>XLR8
>An arrowhead?
>A humpback whale.
>Knuckle Duster
>Jason Voorhees?
>A piranha plant?

>>5083611
>Talk to Kenny about that crystal that he’s been carrying around.
Mess with the Omnitrix a bit more. You want to know more about these aliens. A piranha plant?

>>5083611
>>Talk to Kenny about that crystal that he’s been carrying around.
>Mess with the Omnitrix a bit more. You want to know more about these aliens.
>Ask someone to accompany you on a quick exploration of the area outside.(Write-in.)
Charmy and Kenny

Wade Wakeman? Any relation to Nora Wakeman, mother of the XJ Sisters?

>>5083611
>>>Talk to Kenny about that crystal that he’s been carrying around.
>>Mess with the Omnitrix a bit more. You want to know more about these aliens.
>>Ask someone to accompany you on a quick exploration of the area outside.(Write-in.)
>Charmy and Kenny

>>5083918
>>5085322
Writing...

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You found Kenny struggling to keep up with the Founder’s enthusiasm upon meeting him again. Apparently, they had all been good friends before he supposedly disappeared. You couldn’t blame them for being excited, but for a guy who had no idea of who he was, you could imagine the whole experience being more than a little overwhelming.

As soon as he noticed you approaching, Kenny said a few words to Garon and Brodie. They glanced at you, and then back at him, and left looking mildly disappointed.

“Thanks for that.” Kenny said, an appreciative smile on his face. “All I’ve heard since I got here are stories about how great I am, or all the good times that we’ve had.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Kenny shrugged. “I don’t know if I’m that person anymore. I don’t know if I can be the person that they want me to be. These guys might as well be talking about somebody that I’ve never met.”

“Their stories haven’t dug up any repressed memories?” you asked.

Kenny shook his head. “A few things here and there, but for the most part, I’ve got nothing. At this rate, we’ll have to start from scratch and rebuild our lives from there.”

You frowned at him. That idea was in no way appealing to you. To just lose your treasured memories, the connections that you made with family, friends and loved ones. It was like Wade Wakeman had died, and you showed up to take his place. The thought was far too sad for you to entertain it longer than was necessary. You shook your head.

“Clover promised to help us recover our memories after they were done with their business here.” you said.

Now, it was Kenny’s turn to frown. “Are you sure that we can trust her?”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s hiding something, Wade. I don’t know what it is yet, but I know that there’s something being withheld here.” Kenny said with utmost certainty.

“Even if that were the case, we don’t have a lot of options here. If anything, she’s our best bet at surviving here with those other aliens chasing after us.” you argued.

Kenny’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything further. Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out that orange crystal from earlier.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but what is that thing? You’ve been holding onto it for a while.”

Kenny slowly rotated the crystal to examine it from another angle. “I have no idea. It was in my hand when I woke up. Something tells me that it’s important to me, somehow. It’s just a feeling, though.” he said through narrowed eyes.

Just like Kenny, you suddenly found yourself being drawn into the crystal. Its reflective surface was like a deep pool that threatened to drown you in its shimmering radiance. But at the same time, it promised you everything and more. There was something so compelling about it.

(Cont.)

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Unfortunately, Kenny noticed this and tucked it back into his jacket before you could get a better look.

“For now, let’s keep this thing a secret from everyone else.” he suggested.

“You think they would try to take it from us?” you asked.

Kenny shrugged. “Dunno. But I’d like to find out what it does before it comes to that.”

“Can’t argue with that. In the meantime, do you want to try exploring the outside while we wait for Clover to be done with her thing?”

Kenny smiled and nodded. “Sure thing. I could use some fresh air. Is it just gonna be us?”

“I was thinking we could bring Charmy too.” you said.

Kenny’s eyebrow rose, and a playful smile spread across his lips. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? If you need some time alone, I can-”

You clear your throat and nervously glance at Charmy. “No no no! It’s totally fine. We’re just friends.”

Kenny’s smile grew, and he wrapped his arm around your shoulder. “I don’t know. That’s not what I heard from Sylvie. I’m not sure if the two of you could resist ‘slapping against each other’ for much longer.” he said in a hushed tone.

Your face turned bright red, and glanced over at Charmy, who happened to be stealing a peek at you at the time. The two of you locked eyes for a moment, and then you quickly looked away. Kenny laughed, clearly finding the whole thing hilarious.

Shortly afterwards, you approached Charmy about joining you on your expedition.

“Hey, so uh-”

“Hey, what’s-”

The two of you began speaking at almost the exact same time, stopped, and then stared at each other.

“Sorry, what were you-?”

“My bad, you go-”

Another pregnant pause hung heavy in the air. This time, though, Charmy made a zipping motion around her mouth and gestured for you to speak.

“Me and Kenny were gonna go exploring, and we were kind of hoping that you could come with us.” you finally said.

Charmy nodded happily and gave you an “okay” hand sign.

“Cool. Then I’ll just, uh…” you began to say, but instead of finishing your sentences like a normal person, you slowly backed away from her and turned in the opposite direction.

Ugh! What was that!? Are you five years old or something? Were you this bad at talking to girls even before you lost your memories?

—-

Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, you decide to throw yourself into your training until the others are ready to leave. Apparently, Charmy wanted to learn a few spells from Sylvie, and Kenny was working on dragging information out of Brodie.

You, on the other hand, had planned on mastering this Omnitrix if it was the last thing you did. It was the only positive thing to come of this whole experience, outside of meeting your newfound friends.

(Cont.)

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Not wanting to waste anymore time, you began cycling through several more transformations in the alien selection menu. First, you tried out the big rock guy. His abilities were surprisingly versatile, and you felt a sense of familiarity and comfort from assuming his form. Next, you tried the arrowhead icon. And as it turned out, the alien had nothing to do with arrows! You completely misread it!

The second alien had an odd shape to it, and there were these weird little orbs floating around your head. It took you a little while, but you managed to figure out that said orbs allowed you to manipulate the weather in a localized area. It was rather fun to mess around with his ability, but you were soon made to stop when Garon insisted that you were making a mess.

Now, for your last alien, you decided to pick the piranha plant thing. And to no one’s surprise, he was a giant plant thing that controlled plants. Specifically, he grew plants on his body and sent them into the ground. The training session for this alien was also cut short, due to Gwen insisting that you smelled awful.

Once you had timed out though, you realized that something was very strange about this whole process. In your mind, you were coming up with names for these aliens without really thinking about it. It was almost as if you were pulling a key out from under a fake rock.

The information had always been there in your head, and you knew it was on some instinctive level. You’ve done all this before. All you were doing now was retracing your steps to find something that you’d lost.

The old you was still in there somewhere. You just had to find him.

—---

“Wait! Where are you going?” Gwen asked as you were about to head out the door.

“We’re gonna go exploring.” Charmy answered with a shrug.

Gwen gave her an incredulous look. “By yourselves? Were you not paying attention when we were almost captured by those blue thingies?”

The other Founders were starting to look over at you now. You had hoped to be able to sneak away without causing too much of a fuss. You grimaced, but tried not to let it show on your face too much.

“We’re not going far. Don’t worry.” Kenny reassured her.

“Yeah, we have these.” you said, flashing your belt at her.

Gwen sighed and then crossed her arms. “Fine. Just…be careful, okay?” she said, looking worried.

You all nodded and turned to leave. To your surprise, no one moved to stop you. Clover glanced in your direction and gave another lazy wave of her hand, but did nothing more.

—---

To your surprise, the environment had changed slightly from when you had last seen it. The abstract shapes in the distance had more definition. More depth, somehow.

The flat grids were forming little bumps and growing little plants and rocks. You even tripped over a few that you hadn’t seen prior to bumping right into them.

(Cont.)

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You were convinced that Clover had something to do with it, but you had no idea how she could. Garon briefly mentioned her species to you earlier. Something called an Anodite.

You were vaguely aware that you’ve been casually interacting with aliens and supernatural creatures like it was the most normal thing in the world. But then again, maybe it was. Some part of your lizard brain had been rationalizing and coping with this information overload with considerable ease. You were getting very used to this, despite the fact that these aliens were beating you over the head with revelation after revelation. And even though they looked vastly different from you or your friends, they were still people, just like you.

Feeling proud of yourself for not being an amnesiac racist, you nearly ran straight into Kenny’s back.

You were about to berate him, but you froze when you saw the haunted look on his face. You followed his gaze, trying hard to figure out what had spooked him. And you nearly jumped when you saw what looked like a pack of massive, muscular big cats that had wide mouths filled with several rows of razor sharp teeth! And they were running right towards you!

Each one was easily taller than an average human, and wider than you were tall. You wanted to run, but you doubted you’d be able to outrun these things on wide open terrain.

What will you do?

>Transform into an alien.(Which one?)
>Stay and fight!
>Stand your ground and try not to look afraid.
>Beckon to them with a warm smile. They might be friendly.
>Try to lose them on the upside down spiral staircase.
>Write-in.

>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>A vampire?
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>A humpback whale.
>Knuckle Duster
>Jason Voorhees?
>Snapdragon

>>5086197
>Beckon to them with a warm smile. They might be friendly.

>>5086197
>Stand your ground and try not to look afraid.

>>5086197
>>Stand your ground and try not to look afraid.