Chapter 3: MEDIC!

"I think his condition's stable, but-"

"Hold it! I saw his eye twitch."

I sat up in a hospital bed. "Ow," I muttered, rubbing my head. A nurse in front of me glanced at her clipboard. "My name's Dr. Ziegler, I'll be your consultant on call today. How do you feel?"

"Everything hurts."

"Well, that's normal."

I rubbed my eyes and stretched. "What happened?" Ziegler shuffled around some of her papers. "Standard magic explosion. Now that you're awake, we should be able to discharge you in a few days." I squinted at her. "I can't use magic," I said. "At least I don't think I can." She looked up. "Really? Well, that's interesting…" she said. "Does your homeworld have magic to begin with?"

"Nope."

"Well then."

An assistant with long white hair ran over carrying a pile of documents. "I-I have the files you asked for, Ms. Ziegler!" "No need to rush yourself, Erin. You have to watch your heart and lungs," she chided. "Even something like an argument could push you over the edge." Erin blushed. "I-I'll be fine, Ms. Ziegler. Thanks for asking." She turned to me. "My name's Erin Turner. U-um, I'll be helping you recover for the next few days after this. Anything you need?"

I shook my head. "Unless you have a way to send me back home." After an awkward silence, she cleared her throat and studied her feet for a second. "Um…" Looking up, she said, "If you have anything else you need, just press the call button on the side." As she walked away, she seemed even more flustered than when she arrived.

Maybe that was too much to ask, I thought. I didn't dwell on it for too long however, as my mind turned back to memories of home. My little sister's probably waiting for me to read her another story before she sleeps… I wonder if I'll ever see her again. Wait a minute- Ziegler? That's familiar…

From inside my head, I heard a voice exclaim, "Hey, dumbass! At least try to figure out where you are first!"

Snapping out of it, I tried to sit up and look around, in spite of the dull ache coursing through my back. The room I was in was a wide, airy medical ward, with bunks and other equipment separated by fabric screens. One side of the wall was lined with tall windows that led out to a balcony. "This is pretty damn nice for a hospital," I inadvertently said.

"Yeah, it is," said a voice behind the screen to my left. I looked over, surprised that I'd even gotten a response. Usually when I talked I'd be overruled by some other, louder stream of conversation. "Who are you?" I asked. "Ah, my name's Nagisa Shiota," he replied. "You don't mind if I move this screen, right? I like seeing who I'm talking to." "Oh, not at all," I replied calmly. Of course, I said this while my brain's running at a million miles per hour, because I know I'm talking to someone who could kill me in at least twenty different ways.

Thought process at the moment: shitshitshitshitshit

"Um…" I tried to turn towards him more, but winced as another jolt of pain shot through my side. "Okay, I think I'll just stay down," I said. I flopped back onto the mattress, and looked back to see Nagisa studying me curiously. "Hmm." He brought out a notebook as he said this, and flipped through a few pages. "You know more than you're letting on, don't you." I felt a shiver going through my spine. "I… don't know what you're talking about," I said nervously. He narrowed his eyes. "Your behavior is telling otherwise. "Of course…" He adjusted his pillow as he said this. "I think you've got your own reasons for keeping a secret." Suddenly, he brought down his guard and laughed. "Sorry for putting you on the spot there, Jack. I just couldn't resist asking a bit- any assassin worth their salt has to analyze their target on the fly sometimes," he explained. "You do have a secret though. And from what I see, I think it's a big one." He leaned closer as he said this. "C'mon, tell me. Maybe it isn't as bad as you think."

I tried to change the subject by pointing something out. "How do you know my name?" I asked. He smiled. "When Izanami came storming into the medical ward all bruised, we knew something had happened. She dragged you here by the foot… it isn't everyday you see a god getting treated for injuries, you know. So… that means your power rivals that of a god. And a god of creation, too." He paused for a second to drink from a glass on a stand next to his cot. "Anyway, I just put two and two together and assumed it was something groundbreaking."

I looked at him, unsure of his reaction. "For something 'groundbreaking,' you're being awfully calm about this. Plus, I'm not even sure what I did." Nagisa looked up from his writing, surprised. "Seriously?" I nodded. He glanced back at his notes, seemingly disappointed in my answer. Then he shook it off, and prodded me again. "You still have one more thing you haven't told me." I sighed. "Keep this a secret, alright? If this gets out it could really change things, but it's not like I don't want to tell," I told him. Then I leaned in and cupped one hand to his ear.

"I know who you are," I whispered. "And at least half the people here." I pointed out people around the room. "Dr. Ziegler's a Swiss doctor from Overwatch. That's… Yoko Littner, I think. And that person over there is Roronoa Zoro from the Straw Hats, I think." I looked at him, unsure. "Did I pronounce that right?"

Nagisa stared at me as though I'd taken a bullet to the head and lived. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with excitement. "You did! Hold on, let me get this down…" I waited as he furiously scribbled in his notebook. When he finished, he flipped to a blank page and gave the notebook to me. "Here, write down everything you know." "Wait, hold on," I said. "I haven't finished. The reason I know…"

"...is because of my world. In my world, you're a character in a manga."

Nagisa looked confused. "So I'm a fictional character?" I shrugged. "You're here now, so I guess not. In my world you are, though." He mulled over my words for a second, and then a light seemed to go off in his head. "OH! So that's why you know so much! It's because they're all from books or games!" "Or TV shows," I added. "Actually, Izanami is the boss in this one mobile game I play-" "Oh, Monster Strike?" he guessed. "That was the multiverse project disguised as an AR game, right? So in your world it's a mobile game?" "Yep," I replied. "I guess I'll have to get used to seeing people right out of all the books and shows that I've watched." I turned to him suddenly. "You can keep this a secret, right?" Nagisa grinned. "Only if you answer my questions," I demanded. I saw his eyes glaze over in thought for a second, then they cleared as he decided. "Alright," he said. "What do you need?"

"Tell me where I am."

"You're in the Assembly."

"...tell me more."


"The Assembly is an organization committed to preserving balance in the multiverse. It was founded by one of the first "active" teams, which we just refer to as 'Origin.' They were the first ones to establish interdimensional travel, and also the first to recruit others from different worlds. As an active team, their duties are mostly exploration, or major missions. We're in the Assembly's main base- the 'Hub,' which is set in a pocket dimension- a small, stable world with actual boundaries. Actually, if you crossed one of the borders, you'd pop out on the other side; it's pretty interesting."

"Moving on- the people in charge are actually a different team called 'Council.' They don't actually control everything, they just supervise. It's an interesting setup, but it's surprisingly effective, because it gives everyone else here a sense . Each of them oversee different areas of the Assembly- Magic, Tech & Transport, Maintenance, EC Flow, Combat and Interworld Relations. It doesn't cover everything, but it works and that's what counts. You'll probably meet some of them later."

"The entire thing is backed by the Glass Corporation, which is based in what could be considered the 'closest' universe in a way. That involves the actual multiversal theory revolving around the fourth dimension as a state of probability- but it's kind of complicated, so I won't bore you with that. You look tired enough anyway."

I felt my eyes drooping. "Yeah, maybe I need some rest…" Before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep.

I woke up the next day to an empty bed on my left. When Erin arrived, I asked, "Where did Nagisa go?" She paused and then dug through a pocket. "He just left the hospital, but he wanted me to give you this note."

Once you get out, make sure to tell me more about your world. See you around.

-Shiota

I managed a slight smile. Maybe things would go my way.

"Okay, take two lefts, take a right at the quest wall and you'll hit the Info Desk."

"What?"

*Sigh* "Just take this map."

So there I am, outside the medical ward with my backpack (I'd taken it with me worrying about homework- stupid decisions) and a map. And of course, I have no idea what to do.

I looked around. The atmosphere seemed strangely subdued for a multiversal hub, then I realized it was about 5:30 in the morning. "The last time I woke up this early was for a school trip," I thought as I tried to navigate the maze of hallways. While making my way to the Info Desk, I caught a glimpse of what to expect. Alchemists and mages at work, swordsmen and archers training… a lot of stuff out of my league, of course.

The entire base seemed to be made out of some softly gleaming metal I later learned was called murdicium. Both the hallways and the floor reflected the light coming from the ceiling, giving the place an almost unearthly feel. As I neared the spot where the info desk was supposed to be, the hallway opened into a large rotunda with a glass dome. Sunlight shone down onto the floor from about 50 stories up, and the walls were either other floors of the base or giant screens reminiscent of Times Square in New York. Across the screens flashed announcements, adverts and news from across the multiverse. Down one of the other halls that fed in was a giant board that covered the entire wall of the corridor, covered in papers and the occasional holo-screen.

Even though it was only 6 in the morning, the Hub was quickly filling up. I walked to the middle of the room where the Info Desk was, a circular piece of order in the midst of the increasing chaos. "Um, hi," I said to the girl behind the counter. "I'm supposed to register for the Assembly?..." She looked up from her reading. "Oh, ok," she responded. She popped open a cabinet by her feet and pulled out what looked like a wristband. She tossed it to me, saying "Just hit the button on it and a screen should show up that helps you through registration. Good luck!"

I pressed the button, and a holo-screen appeared.

"Welcome to the Assembly."