Dream's Reality
Dreams…stories…fables…myths…even comics and cartoons. All of them are said, "Not to be real". But what if every one of them was real, and what if some of them even found their way into other stories….what if we are another world's fable?
"I'll be late, I'll be late, I can't be late!" Panted a young boy, running at his full speed, seeing his goal, a slowly closing door, with a vengeful looking man smiling a cruel smirk.
"Late again, you lose 88," The man, named Azuma, said, knowing the boy wouldn't be able to get in as the door would soon close.
"Not yet!" The boy, Zero, said. At that moment, his hair seemed to glow with a brilliant radiance. He seemed to disappear, and reappeared in the room.
"That's a loss of thirty points, 88, for using EX. And I'll see you for laps later, one hundred, no dinner until you finish, and no using EX like last time."
"No fair, I would have gotten here sooner but.." Zero began.
"No, no buts number 88, now be quite or you lose twenty more points!" Azuma yelled, picking up Zero by the scruff of his neck and tossing him like a rag doll.
At that moment, Zero's thoughts seemed to drift away….Why am I always in such trouble…..He thought…..to get away….
In what seemed to be another world, a young man, not a boy, too felt his thoughts drifting away.
"Tenchi?" A green-haired woman called to the young man from about thirty feet away. She seemed to disappear, and reappear hugging him, instantly. "Tenchi, darling, what's the matter?"
Tenchi seemed a bit taken aback, and tried to push her off. At that moment, yet another, rather regal looking woman seemed to appear.
"Miss Ryoko!" She screamed. "GET AWAY FROM LORD TENCHI!" Ayeka was this woman's name.
….Why do I have all this trouble? Tenchi thought….and soon he once more felt himself drifting…drifting….
Yet again the path divulges…several times over it would…once to a universe without law….to the home of a spiky red haired outlaw….named Gene Starwind. He too made a wish to go away…..
And then we come to another world….a world where robotic armor is driven into battle. Where the hero is named that, and where people live in outer space on floating islands of metal and technology.
In a huge mansion, a young heir apparent with blonde hair was sleeping, watched over by a band of forty desert warriors. "Is the fever broken on Master Quatre yet?" one of them asked. Their leader, a bearded man named Rashid, told them no. He then asked them to leave the room.
"What is happening Master Quatre?" Rashid asked, as four people entered the room, the other Gundam pilots.
"If only…." Quatre said in his feverish delusion…."I were somewhere else….."
Back in the Universe of psionics and aliens, Zero had just finished his laps and, panting and sweating, finally got his diner, which, to Azuma's great pleasure, was cold and soggy.
"You're a sick, sadistic man!" Zero said, pushing his food around with his spoon.
"Why thank you," Azuma said, putting out a cigarette.
At that moment, a tremor shook GOA to and fro, as if it was.."AN EARTHQUAKE!" Zero screamed.
"Don't be stupid…." Azuma said, steadying himself in the continuing tremor.
What seemed to be a flash of light engulfed the room, and many people of various sizes and shapes and races appeared, all very confused.
"What the Hell is going on?" Azuma asked.
"That's what I'd like to know, buddy. Start with where are we?" A red haired man, named Gene, asked in his outlaw style. As a precautionary measure, he pulled out an odd looking rifle, and put in a bullet. "Don't make a move, this is a caster!"
"Gene!" A small blonde boy next to him piped up. "How many times must I remind you, CASTERS ARE EXPENSIVE!"
"What is a Caster?" The purple-haired woman, Ayeka, asked out loud, clinging to Tenchi.
"Hey, calm down, no need for such violent toys…" Ryoko said, charging her plasma blast.
"Enough!" A voice boomed through the hall, a beautiful woman walked in, her hair seemed to float of it's own accord. "This can all be very easily explained, but it will take time."
Soon everyone on GOA, including the Pilots and Repairers, Candidates and Staff, even those who didn't belong there had assembled in the Auditorium. The Head of GOA once again took the stand, with all the Candidates at attention, and the "guests" sitting in front of them.
"Candidates, Pilots, Repairers, Guests, we know this must be odd, but we ask you to bear with us. For those of you who don't know, we have determined that, however odd or strange, these people all come from alternate realities. They are to be treated as friends and guests, given every courtesy. We ask that those of you here new to this universe who meet the qualifications please enroll in GOA's training," he said interrupted by Azuma.
"How can people without EX or EO blood join?"
"Ah, an excellent question, as we have discovered from some blood tests on a few of these people, when in this dimension, their existence changes to match ours. Now, as I was saying, we ask all of the following people to join the training program, because as it stands, it may be years before we can find a way to send you back. These are the people who have cleared Age, Blood, EX, and all other requirements: Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton, Wu Fei Chang, James Hawking, Tenchi Masaki. While it can be your prerogative not to join, we really need your help. Also, two new candidates for Repair come from these guests, Ryoko Masaki and Ayeka Masaki. At threat of my life, they will both be Tenchi Masaki's repairers. DISMISED!"
"You have to be kidding me…" Duo said, very displeased. "Why do we have to wear a uniform….besides, it's rather odd looking."
"Calm down, this is an odd situation. But there's nothing that says we can't still be happy. I mean, what other people have the chance to cross dimensions?" Quatre said, already dressed in typical candidate uniform.
"Stop whining. If I can endure Reelena's frilly shirts…you can endure this." Heero said with his usual monotone.
Soon the group of strangers entered their first class, a live test by no other than Azuma, who introduced them.
"This is Heero Yuy, apparently in his home he was pilot of something much like a Goddess, he called it a Gundam, and chances are he has more skill than you, so show him some respect, especially you 88. These four are "Gundam" pilots too, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Winner, and Wu Fei Chang. Now this kid," He pointed to James, "Is James Hawking, and if you need an analogy, he's a lot like you Clay." Azuma said.
"Call me Jim." James said.
"Fine, and this is Tenchi Masaki, he's a Prince of a planet called…." Azuma looked at the clipboard, "Juri? Jural? Juno?"
"Jurai." Tenchi said.
"Fine, now welcome to the Pilot Training Program, you're here to learn how to pilot a Goddess."
"Can't be harder than piloting the Wing Zero, eh Heero?" Duo asked, as Azuma's face contorted into anger.
"Just because you can pilot some wimpy Gundam-thing doesn't mean you'll be able to pilot a Goddess! Now Duo Maxwell, try just a Pro-Ing." Azuma said, lighting up a cigarette and letting Duo into a Pro-Ing while Saki, who volunteered, acted as his Repairer in a match against Zero.
"Okay, number 88 and number 92, you may begin."
Azuma said, and Saki and Kizna started up the operation.
"Zero," Kizna said, "I'm activating the system, so don't get sick, okay?" She said.
"Honestly, what a wimp." Azuma said.
"I don't think you should call him that while he has any kind of mech weaponry." Heero said, realizing just how much weirder this world was getting.
"I won't lose!" Zero said, charging at Duo's Pro Ing with his blade out. At the last moment, Duo was able to avoid the blow.
"It seems to respond to my thoughts……"
"That's because it does, in a way." Saki said.
"Ah, so then I should be able to use some of Deathscythe's moves?" He asked out loud, as he took out his blade.
The two vessels continued, blow for blow, parry for parry, until Zero was left with one trump card.
"I hate to go this far but…." He said, as his hair began to glow, his Pro Ing began to move faster and faster.
"Sorry, but I can't let you catch me.." Duo said, as his braid began to radiate with light. At that moment, Duo's Pro Ing seemed to vanish from sight.
"Where did he go?" Azuma asked.
"He's still there….he's become invisible. Must be his EX reaction…" Saki said.
"I don't know what this EX crap is…." Duo began, sneaking up unseen behind Zero. "But I like it." His hair stopped glowing, and with one swoop of his blade, he claimed victory.
As both pilots made their way to the main room, Azuma greeted them in his usual manor. With took quick punches, Zero and Duo were on the floor.
"What is your problem?" Duo asked, bleeding a little.
"EX reactions aren't allowed here. Ask 89, he can explain this all to you."
"Man this place is strict….and what's with this tattoo?" Duo asked as he and the other new guys were listening to Clay.
"Well, we have to have the best pilots, and piloting depletes your EX, so when you do have an EX reaction, you can get in trouble for it. As for the tattoos, they allow you to be tracked anywhere in GOA. It's very strict because GOA is what all our future depends on."
"Still, do they have to be so…well…militaristic?" Quatre asked.
"Yeha, GOA is kind of a military..but you get used to it. So tell me about your worlds." Clay said.
"I'd like to hear about them too." Zero said, followed by Roose and Yamagi.
"Well in our world, people live in Space Colonies or on Earth, and there are things like the Ingrids called Mobile Suits. We haven't had to contend with aliens….just people trying to usurp the throne of the world." Trowa said.
"In our world," Jim began followed by Gene, the only male repairer, "People live on asteroids, moons, planets, anything we can simulate an atmosphere on, and there are three powers, the Space Forces, Outlaws, and Pirates. We're Outlaws. There are also some very powerful weapons called Casters- we have a few. They're magic powers sealed in bullets." Jim finished.
"In my world," Tenchi began, as Ayeka and Ryoko fallowed behind him, "there are living Spaceships, and a few colonies. We Juraians have a power to control life force, and there are a whole bunch of other races. Like Ryoko's a demon-and several hundred years old." Tenchi joked, as Ayeka chortled, Ryoko felt it needed to point out Ayeka herself was no spring chicken at seven hundred.
"Ah, here's my room." Quatre said, as the sign outside it said 93, 94, and 95. It was soon discovered that he would be rooming with Trowa and Wu Fei, while Heero, Duo, and Tenchi shared a room, and Jim and Gene got one of the few double rooms.
Zero was lying in bed, while Clay and Heid were still awake. "Guys….what do you think about all this stuff….you know, how Duo and all them got here?"
"Haha, it really is odd….but at the same time it's at least very cool to know this universe isn't the only one. I could say that it's very interesting."
"Just one more obstacle in my way to being a Pilot, so just shut up, I'm trying to sleep." Heid said.
"Oh Yeha?" Zero said, as Clay held him back so he couldn't inflict harm on Heid.
"So, have we found a cause yet?" A shadow cloaked man asked, as a giant fish swam behind him.
"Yes-While we haven't fully classified it, we have found the major possibilities." The head master of GOA replied.
"And they are?"
"It could be several things- A side effect from any one of the Goddess's EX reactions, especially Teela's, it could have been a collapse on probability waves…it could have been a similar EX synch rate or whatever similar ability their universes allow. The facts are, however, that in this universe everything about them has changed to conform with the laws of physics in our dimension. There's no EX in Starwind's world, but there are forces like it. The same applies to Masaki. As for the other five….I'm not sure. That's where the anomaly is. Anyway, they're here now and they make excellent candidates. One of the five, number 84, Quatre Rabarba Winner, actually left GOA on a ship to see if there was any metal known as Gundainium in this reality. We can learn from their technology, all of theirs. And the Masakis seem to demonstrate powers beyond EX that I simply can't explain."
Instructor Azuma had just caught up to Gene and Jim in the Hall.
"What do you want Old man?" Gene asked with his usual attitude.
"You've both been reassigned. As of now, your no longer Candidates. Gene Starwind, you've been appointed the new Rifle Instructor, and Jim Hawking is to be the new Technologies Instructor. Be happy we decided to keep you as teachers, lucky bastards, or you'd be thrown out."
"Whoa, calm down, we never agreed to this," Jim said, as he looked up at Gene to see him loading a Caster Bullet into his gun.
"Your really beginning to tick me off Gramps, so I think I'll show you just how good a rifleman I am." He said, pointing the barrel at a very stunned Azuma.
"GENE! A, we cant get new Casters here, and B, you cant just kill him!" Jim yelled, trying to jump up and grab the gun from his much taller partner.
"It's a Number 23, it's not lethal, even to Terrans." Gene said, pulling the trigger. At that moment, as energy gathered in the gun's mouth, Gene's hair began to glow with the light of….
"An EX reaction." Azuma said, looking taken aback.
"What the hell?" Gene asked out loud, amazed by his hair's luminescence.
"Gene, remember how that kid Clay told us about EX! This must be it. Instead of draining your life force, in this dimension Casters must drain your EX."
"Well I'll be." Gene said, depowering the caster as his hair lost it's glow. "So when's my first class?"
Dreams…stories…fables…myths…even comics and cartoons. All of them are said, "Not to be real". But what if every one of them was real, and what if some of them even found their way into other stories….what if we are another world's fable?
"I'll be late, I'll be late, I can't be late!" Panted a young boy, running at his full speed, seeing his goal, a slowly closing door, with a vengeful looking man smiling a cruel smirk.
"Late again, you lose 88," The man, named Azuma, said, knowing the boy wouldn't be able to get in as the door would soon close.
"Not yet!" The boy, Zero, said. At that moment, his hair seemed to glow with a brilliant radiance. He seemed to disappear, and reappeared in the room.
"That's a loss of thirty points, 88, for using EX. And I'll see you for laps later, one hundred, no dinner until you finish, and no using EX like last time."
"No fair, I would have gotten here sooner but.." Zero began.
"No, no buts number 88, now be quite or you lose twenty more points!" Azuma yelled, picking up Zero by the scruff of his neck and tossing him like a rag doll.
At that moment, Zero's thoughts seemed to drift away….Why am I always in such trouble…..He thought…..to get away….
In what seemed to be another world, a young man, not a boy, too felt his thoughts drifting away.
"Tenchi?" A green-haired woman called to the young man from about thirty feet away. She seemed to disappear, and reappear hugging him, instantly. "Tenchi, darling, what's the matter?"
Tenchi seemed a bit taken aback, and tried to push her off. At that moment, yet another, rather regal looking woman seemed to appear.
"Miss Ryoko!" She screamed. "GET AWAY FROM LORD TENCHI!" Ayeka was this woman's name.
….Why do I have all this trouble? Tenchi thought….and soon he once more felt himself drifting…drifting….
Yet again the path divulges…several times over it would…once to a universe without law….to the home of a spiky red haired outlaw….named Gene Starwind. He too made a wish to go away…..
And then we come to another world….a world where robotic armor is driven into battle. Where the hero is named that, and where people live in outer space on floating islands of metal and technology.
In a huge mansion, a young heir apparent with blonde hair was sleeping, watched over by a band of forty desert warriors. "Is the fever broken on Master Quatre yet?" one of them asked. Their leader, a bearded man named Rashid, told them no. He then asked them to leave the room.
"What is happening Master Quatre?" Rashid asked, as four people entered the room, the other Gundam pilots.
"If only…." Quatre said in his feverish delusion…."I were somewhere else….."
Back in the Universe of psionics and aliens, Zero had just finished his laps and, panting and sweating, finally got his diner, which, to Azuma's great pleasure, was cold and soggy.
"You're a sick, sadistic man!" Zero said, pushing his food around with his spoon.
"Why thank you," Azuma said, putting out a cigarette.
At that moment, a tremor shook GOA to and fro, as if it was.."AN EARTHQUAKE!" Zero screamed.
"Don't be stupid…." Azuma said, steadying himself in the continuing tremor.
What seemed to be a flash of light engulfed the room, and many people of various sizes and shapes and races appeared, all very confused.
"What the Hell is going on?" Azuma asked.
"That's what I'd like to know, buddy. Start with where are we?" A red haired man, named Gene, asked in his outlaw style. As a precautionary measure, he pulled out an odd looking rifle, and put in a bullet. "Don't make a move, this is a caster!"
"Gene!" A small blonde boy next to him piped up. "How many times must I remind you, CASTERS ARE EXPENSIVE!"
"What is a Caster?" The purple-haired woman, Ayeka, asked out loud, clinging to Tenchi.
"Hey, calm down, no need for such violent toys…" Ryoko said, charging her plasma blast.
"Enough!" A voice boomed through the hall, a beautiful woman walked in, her hair seemed to float of it's own accord. "This can all be very easily explained, but it will take time."
Soon everyone on GOA, including the Pilots and Repairers, Candidates and Staff, even those who didn't belong there had assembled in the Auditorium. The Head of GOA once again took the stand, with all the Candidates at attention, and the "guests" sitting in front of them.
"Candidates, Pilots, Repairers, Guests, we know this must be odd, but we ask you to bear with us. For those of you who don't know, we have determined that, however odd or strange, these people all come from alternate realities. They are to be treated as friends and guests, given every courtesy. We ask that those of you here new to this universe who meet the qualifications please enroll in GOA's training," he said interrupted by Azuma.
"How can people without EX or EO blood join?"
"Ah, an excellent question, as we have discovered from some blood tests on a few of these people, when in this dimension, their existence changes to match ours. Now, as I was saying, we ask all of the following people to join the training program, because as it stands, it may be years before we can find a way to send you back. These are the people who have cleared Age, Blood, EX, and all other requirements: Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Quatre Winner, Trowa Barton, Wu Fei Chang, James Hawking, Tenchi Masaki. While it can be your prerogative not to join, we really need your help. Also, two new candidates for Repair come from these guests, Ryoko Masaki and Ayeka Masaki. At threat of my life, they will both be Tenchi Masaki's repairers. DISMISED!"
"You have to be kidding me…" Duo said, very displeased. "Why do we have to wear a uniform….besides, it's rather odd looking."
"Calm down, this is an odd situation. But there's nothing that says we can't still be happy. I mean, what other people have the chance to cross dimensions?" Quatre said, already dressed in typical candidate uniform.
"Stop whining. If I can endure Reelena's frilly shirts…you can endure this." Heero said with his usual monotone.
Soon the group of strangers entered their first class, a live test by no other than Azuma, who introduced them.
"This is Heero Yuy, apparently in his home he was pilot of something much like a Goddess, he called it a Gundam, and chances are he has more skill than you, so show him some respect, especially you 88. These four are "Gundam" pilots too, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Winner, and Wu Fei Chang. Now this kid," He pointed to James, "Is James Hawking, and if you need an analogy, he's a lot like you Clay." Azuma said.
"Call me Jim." James said.
"Fine, and this is Tenchi Masaki, he's a Prince of a planet called…." Azuma looked at the clipboard, "Juri? Jural? Juno?"
"Jurai." Tenchi said.
"Fine, now welcome to the Pilot Training Program, you're here to learn how to pilot a Goddess."
"Can't be harder than piloting the Wing Zero, eh Heero?" Duo asked, as Azuma's face contorted into anger.
"Just because you can pilot some wimpy Gundam-thing doesn't mean you'll be able to pilot a Goddess! Now Duo Maxwell, try just a Pro-Ing." Azuma said, lighting up a cigarette and letting Duo into a Pro-Ing while Saki, who volunteered, acted as his Repairer in a match against Zero.
"Okay, number 88 and number 92, you may begin."
Azuma said, and Saki and Kizna started up the operation.
"Zero," Kizna said, "I'm activating the system, so don't get sick, okay?" She said.
"Honestly, what a wimp." Azuma said.
"I don't think you should call him that while he has any kind of mech weaponry." Heero said, realizing just how much weirder this world was getting.
"I won't lose!" Zero said, charging at Duo's Pro Ing with his blade out. At the last moment, Duo was able to avoid the blow.
"It seems to respond to my thoughts……"
"That's because it does, in a way." Saki said.
"Ah, so then I should be able to use some of Deathscythe's moves?" He asked out loud, as he took out his blade.
The two vessels continued, blow for blow, parry for parry, until Zero was left with one trump card.
"I hate to go this far but…." He said, as his hair began to glow, his Pro Ing began to move faster and faster.
"Sorry, but I can't let you catch me.." Duo said, as his braid began to radiate with light. At that moment, Duo's Pro Ing seemed to vanish from sight.
"Where did he go?" Azuma asked.
"He's still there….he's become invisible. Must be his EX reaction…" Saki said.
"I don't know what this EX crap is…." Duo began, sneaking up unseen behind Zero. "But I like it." His hair stopped glowing, and with one swoop of his blade, he claimed victory.
As both pilots made their way to the main room, Azuma greeted them in his usual manor. With took quick punches, Zero and Duo were on the floor.
"What is your problem?" Duo asked, bleeding a little.
"EX reactions aren't allowed here. Ask 89, he can explain this all to you."
"Man this place is strict….and what's with this tattoo?" Duo asked as he and the other new guys were listening to Clay.
"Well, we have to have the best pilots, and piloting depletes your EX, so when you do have an EX reaction, you can get in trouble for it. As for the tattoos, they allow you to be tracked anywhere in GOA. It's very strict because GOA is what all our future depends on."
"Still, do they have to be so…well…militaristic?" Quatre asked.
"Yeha, GOA is kind of a military..but you get used to it. So tell me about your worlds." Clay said.
"I'd like to hear about them too." Zero said, followed by Roose and Yamagi.
"Well in our world, people live in Space Colonies or on Earth, and there are things like the Ingrids called Mobile Suits. We haven't had to contend with aliens….just people trying to usurp the throne of the world." Trowa said.
"In our world," Jim began followed by Gene, the only male repairer, "People live on asteroids, moons, planets, anything we can simulate an atmosphere on, and there are three powers, the Space Forces, Outlaws, and Pirates. We're Outlaws. There are also some very powerful weapons called Casters- we have a few. They're magic powers sealed in bullets." Jim finished.
"In my world," Tenchi began, as Ayeka and Ryoko fallowed behind him, "there are living Spaceships, and a few colonies. We Juraians have a power to control life force, and there are a whole bunch of other races. Like Ryoko's a demon-and several hundred years old." Tenchi joked, as Ayeka chortled, Ryoko felt it needed to point out Ayeka herself was no spring chicken at seven hundred.
"Ah, here's my room." Quatre said, as the sign outside it said 93, 94, and 95. It was soon discovered that he would be rooming with Trowa and Wu Fei, while Heero, Duo, and Tenchi shared a room, and Jim and Gene got one of the few double rooms.
Zero was lying in bed, while Clay and Heid were still awake. "Guys….what do you think about all this stuff….you know, how Duo and all them got here?"
"Haha, it really is odd….but at the same time it's at least very cool to know this universe isn't the only one. I could say that it's very interesting."
"Just one more obstacle in my way to being a Pilot, so just shut up, I'm trying to sleep." Heid said.
"Oh Yeha?" Zero said, as Clay held him back so he couldn't inflict harm on Heid.
"So, have we found a cause yet?" A shadow cloaked man asked, as a giant fish swam behind him.
"Yes-While we haven't fully classified it, we have found the major possibilities." The head master of GOA replied.
"And they are?"
"It could be several things- A side effect from any one of the Goddess's EX reactions, especially Teela's, it could have been a collapse on probability waves…it could have been a similar EX synch rate or whatever similar ability their universes allow. The facts are, however, that in this universe everything about them has changed to conform with the laws of physics in our dimension. There's no EX in Starwind's world, but there are forces like it. The same applies to Masaki. As for the other five….I'm not sure. That's where the anomaly is. Anyway, they're here now and they make excellent candidates. One of the five, number 84, Quatre Rabarba Winner, actually left GOA on a ship to see if there was any metal known as Gundainium in this reality. We can learn from their technology, all of theirs. And the Masakis seem to demonstrate powers beyond EX that I simply can't explain."
Instructor Azuma had just caught up to Gene and Jim in the Hall.
"What do you want Old man?" Gene asked with his usual attitude.
"You've both been reassigned. As of now, your no longer Candidates. Gene Starwind, you've been appointed the new Rifle Instructor, and Jim Hawking is to be the new Technologies Instructor. Be happy we decided to keep you as teachers, lucky bastards, or you'd be thrown out."
"Whoa, calm down, we never agreed to this," Jim said, as he looked up at Gene to see him loading a Caster Bullet into his gun.
"Your really beginning to tick me off Gramps, so I think I'll show you just how good a rifleman I am." He said, pointing the barrel at a very stunned Azuma.
"GENE! A, we cant get new Casters here, and B, you cant just kill him!" Jim yelled, trying to jump up and grab the gun from his much taller partner.
"It's a Number 23, it's not lethal, even to Terrans." Gene said, pulling the trigger. At that moment, as energy gathered in the gun's mouth, Gene's hair began to glow with the light of….
"An EX reaction." Azuma said, looking taken aback.
"What the hell?" Gene asked out loud, amazed by his hair's luminescence.
"Gene, remember how that kid Clay told us about EX! This must be it. Instead of draining your life force, in this dimension Casters must drain your EX."
"Well I'll be." Gene said, depowering the caster as his hair lost it's glow. "So when's my first class?"