(April 21, 4:12 pm)

At long, long last, the first chapter of my new fic has been completed! well, it's not that new, as I've been working on it for about a year. (as you'll see from the opening discussion.) yikes. anyway, it may sound a little pompous, but I'm proud of myself with this one so far. hope you guys enjoy it, too!

Disclaimer: I own none of the anime or other brand-name-related stuff mentioned in this fic. Rose and Serena are fictional characters based on myself and a friend (who, coincidentally, also share their names with anime characters. Rose and Serena, I mean).

When Otaku Attack

chapter 1

"So did you see the new episode of Bleach last night?"

"Oh yeah, like I would've missed it. It was great!"

"Kinda creeped me out that Ichigo could turn into a hollow, though."

I shuddered at the thought. "And those wormy things, what the heck was that about?"

"Yeah, it's like they were just mouths with-- no, they didn't even have feet, forget it."

I laughed. You never really know what to expect with Serena.

Oh! Right. Well, I'm Rose. That other voice you see me talking to is my friend Serena. We haven't actually seen each other face-to-face in a few months since we go to different schools now, but there's one thing that keeps us in touch: anime. Something we both can't enough of. Our current obsession? Well, obviously, Bleach. Y'know, the one about the orange-haired guy who "sees dead people"? Yup. That Bleach.

Anyway, with winter break coming up, Serena and I were planning on hanging out soon. However, something was about to happen to us that would not only change our lives... but kinda mix up our plans.

"...You know what would be the coolest?" she suddenly asked.

"What?"

"If you could go into your favorite anime or something."

"Yeah! And then you could warn people about, like, if they were gonna die or--"

"Wait, wouldn't that screw up the story?"

"Oh. Yeah." I frowned. Of the two of us, Serena's the more logical thinker. For example: she's wondering if Scar is the father of Rose's baby on FullMetal Alchemist; I'm wondering why no one on Naruto is freaked out that Pakkun the ninja-dog talks. She thinks it's a given that nobody's surprised; I semi-squirm at the whole ScarRose concept. Or, feel free to make up an example of your own.

As I debated this with myself, I walked over to the brand new Bleach wristband I'd just bought earlier that day (It was Sunday, people. I'm not the type to cut school. Feel free to insert the "nerd cough" here.) and gently leaned my hand on it. "Seriously, though, that would be awesome."

"We should give it a try sometime," Serena joked.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I wish."

At that moment, the wristband slipped out from beneath my palm and hit the floor. "Ah, shoot," I muttered, crouching down to pick it up. Then the weirdest thing happened when I looked up.

"Uh... Serena--"

"Rose, I.. gotta call you back."

"Why, is there a big, scary black hole in your room?"

"Why would you say that?"

"Because there's one in mine, too."

I could hear her gulp on the other end of the line. "What do you think it is?"

I stood and looked more closely at it from a safe distance. "I don't know." Then I snickered, "Know what'd be weird?"

"What?"

"If it was some kind of anime portal."

She didn't laugh. The response I got, instead, was, "Why not? I mean, there's a black hole in our rooms. Who's to say it can't take us into an anime?"

It was times like these that I worshipped Serena's logic.

I grinned. "Wanna find out?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As I hit the animated ground with a rather painful THUD to the butt, I adjusted my wristband, looking around for something that would help me recognize where I was.

"Rose?"

I looked straight ahead... and there was Serena.

"OH MY GOD!" I squealed as she ran over. I stood up and hugged her. When I was able to release my grip on her, I exclaimed, "How crazy is this?"

"I know!" she replied. Then she glanced around the dark wooded area and asked, "So... where are we?"

I squinted, embarrassed. "I don't know, I was kinda hoping you would."

"You think we should walk around?"

After taking a moment to think it over, I answered, "Sure. You have your cell phone?"

She rose an eyebrow. "Okay, even if I did, I don't think we'd get reception in another dimension," replied the Queen of Logic.

I sighed. "Okay, c'mon." And with that, we took off.

We were walking for a good two minutes when Serena asked, "Why, do you have yours?"

"Yeah, just in case."

She stopped in her tracks. "You're kidding."

"Hey," I said in defense, "I always bring my bag with me. Ya never know. For example..." I rummaged through my messenger bag for a moment before finding, taking out, and turning on a flashlight.

Serena was clearly impressed. That, or completely dumbfounded by the fact that I carry a flashlight with me. "Wow."

Smiling, I blew a gust of air above the flashlight as a way of saying, "I'm good." "Shall we?" I said, now able to light our path.

Another few minutes later, a thought occured to me. "Hey, Serena, what are the odds that this even is an anime? I mean, for all we know, it could be, like... Ed, Edd 'n Eddy. They have a forest in that show, too, y'know. Like the one where the Urban Rangers went camping and the--"

She shook her head. "Uh-uh. Way too detailed to be Ed, Edd 'n Eddy. Besides, this place has sort of an anime vibe to it."

I snickered. "An anime vibe?"

"M-hm."

"What exactly does an anime vibe feel like? 'Cause I might have had one the other day and I'm not--" I turned to face her, but she was gone. I looked back to see her staring up at a gigantic tree, then walked over to join her. "...Holy crud."

"Yeah," replied Serena, her eyes glued to the tree.

"Is that a tree?" Stupid question, I know, but it was all I could think to say.

"Yyyup."

Then a lump on the side of the trunk caught my eye. "'The heck is that?"

"Don't know."

I shrugged. "I know how to find out." I jogged over to the lump, climbed onto it, and stood proudly on top. Well, it didn't really have a top; it was like a hill, so I was kind of on the side, but you know what I mean. "Hey, check it out," I laughed. Then I threw my arms out at my sides and loudly declared, "I'm Queen of the Wooooorrrld!"

Finally, I got Serena's attention. "Hey, be careful," she warned.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," I reassured her... before losing my balance. I heard a shout of "Oh my God!" from Serena as I grabbed the nearest thing protruding from the tree to catch myself. Unfortunately, I brought that down with me as I tumbled to the ground.

Serena sighed. "Told ya."

"Hey, I tried," I responded, holding up my failed support. "Did you not see me grab for the branch?"

"No, I saw it, but it looked pretty flimsy to begin with."

"So why didn't you sa--" It was then that I noticed the flashlight's glow reflected in the branch. "Do you see that?"

She leaned in to get a closer look. "Yeah..."

As the thought of what the heck it could be crossed my mind, my eyes nearly bugged out of my head. "Serena?"

"Yeah?"

"You said this was a tree, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"I don't think this is a branch."

I picked up the flashlight and slowly lifted it... to reveal two white dog ears twitching on the side of the tree.

Both Serena's and my jaws seemed stuck to our chests as the rest of our heads rose to look.

"Oh. My. God."

--

GASP! What awaits our heroines in the next chapter? heck, it's probably up already, go find out! but don't forget to drop me a review first! thanks! ;)