Disclaimer: I do not own Kyo Kara Maoh.

Pairings: Yuuri x Wolfram

Our Once Upon a Time

By V. Shalyr

6. Another World

Murata Ken, newly named Great Sage at the Temple of the Original King, stood frowning at the ghostly figure reclining upon the steps leading into the inner temple. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Shinou turned to grin at his Sage. "It's traditional."

"No, it's not. It's only ever happened once in the last several hundred years."

"It will be good for them and for this kingdom."

"Provided "this kingdom" doesn't have a heart attack when they disappear."

"Do you doubt my intentions?"

Murata adjusted his glasses and sighed. "No, I just wonder what you hope to accomplish by sending the new king away so suddenly after he's just been crowned."

"What I hope to accomplish…" The spirit of Shin Makoku's first Maoh looked thoughtful. "I suppose you could say that I want to show them a different kind of world."

"Is this a test?"

"Yes and no." Smirking, Shinou rose to his feet and gestured for Murata to follow him. To be honest, there were multiple reasons for his decision. Giving the new king and his fiancé a glimpse of another kind of life was only one of them, if an important one from a long term perspective. "Come, they're here."

"And you're sure they'll be able to find their way back?" the Sage persisted, unwilling to just let the matter drop. He disliked being kept in the dark, especially by this particular spirit.

But Shinou either didn't hear him or chose not to answer.

.

When Yuuri and Wolfram arrived at the Temple, a note on the door directed them towards one of the inner courtyards. This particular courtyard had a water fountain in it, Yuuri noted—a water fountain and nothing else.

"Where is everyone?" he wondered aloud, scanning the very obviously empty courtyard. They hadn't seen any of the Temple regulars on their way in either, which was definitely strange.

"This had better not be someone's idea of a prank," Wolfram muttered, resting a hand on the hilt of his sword and scowling. He didn't like the eerie feeling crawling up his spine. Something wasn't right here.

"Wolf, somehow, I don't think we're the kind of people that people tend to prank." Not if they valued their lives anyway, though perhaps that wasn't saying much with the insanity that seemed to run amongst some of their acquaintances. "And even if someone did dare to prank us, I don't think they'd be stupid enough to try it in Shinou's Temple."

"Maybe if it was someone in the Temple," Wolfram muttered, though he supposed Yuuri did have a point. "I still think we should leave."

Yuuri started to reply but stopped, turning towards the shadows between two of the courtyard pillars. Dark eyes narrowed. "Who's there?"

At Yuuri's question, Wolfram turned to face the same direction, drawing his sword and raising it defensively. For extra measures, he sent fire racing along the edges of the blade. He hadn't heard anything and he still couldn't see anyone, but he trusted the double black's senses. "Whoever you are, you'd better show yourself or else!"

But before he could make a move forward, the water of the fountain suddenly began to ripple. A mini whirlpool began to form, expanding outward rapidly. Not giving either Mazoku time to react, a sudden blast of power from the darkness sent them tumbling right into the waiting, churning water.

Yuuri had expected to find the stone tiles on the fountain floor right away, but instead, they fell deeper and deeper into what seemed like an endless ocean. He made a desperate grab for Wolfram, his fingers briefly grasping soft fabric before the force of the whirlpool tore them apart and threw them into blinding whiteness.

.

Cold.

That was the first sensation Wolfram became aware of as his consciousness resurfaced. He hated the cold and the way it ate into his bones as if trying to steal the fire inside him. And yet there was something different about this feeling, sluggish and almost soothing in its familiarity.

Forcing open his eyes, Wolfram found himself staring at a stretch of clean sand. He was lying on what appeared to be the shore of a vast lake, half submerged in the shallows as if he'd been washed up there. The sun shone high and bright in the sky though he was sure it had been nighttime when they'd fallen into the water.

They.

The realization hit him hard and he jerked up, casting around frantically for his companion. "Yuuri? Yuuri!"

Scrambling to his feet, Wolfram staggered along the lakeshore, ignoring his drenched clothes and the sand that clung to him. But try as he might, he couldn't find the double black anywhere and there were no signs that anyone but him had been lying in the sand. Had they been separated? Come to that, where the hell was he? There weren't any lakes like this near his mother's castle, Wolfram was sure of that. So how had he gotten here? Yuuri—he couldn't still be in the water could he?

Trying to squash down his growing panic, Wolfram was just about to run back into the water to search when a shout drew his attention to a path leading through the trees that surrounded the lake on one side.

"Hey, you over there!"

The brown-haired man waved at him, hurrying across the dunes. Despite the high sun, the man wore a loose, short coat of some thin, wrinkly, orange material Wolfram would have thought would clash with the color blue. And yet the blue of the man's pants defied this notion, rough and slightly dusty though they were from trudging through the woods. And those shoes. Suffice to say, Wolfram had never seen clothes like his before. The blonde took a wary step back when he came to a halt in front of him, painfully aware that his sword had gone missing between their visit to the Temple and his waking up on this beach. He must have dropped it when they were attacked in the Temple, or maybe the better word would have been "pushed".

"So you must be the cause of the disturbance," the man said cheerfully, regarding Wolfram with open curiosity. "Our surveillance equipment picked up on a portal in the lake and a visitor. Judging from the state of your clothes, I'd say you fit the bill."

"What are you talking about?" Wolfram demanded, not understanding this at all. "Where am I and who are you?"

"You don't know?" The man frowned a little. "I guess that means you didn't mean to come through the portal, huh? You're on Earth."

Earth. Where had Wolfram heard that name before? Of course it was the name of an element, but that didn't seem to be what the man meant. Earth…

When the answer finally hit him, Wolfram's mouth fell open in shock. Impossible! That other world those books Yuuri was so fond of were supposed to be from—Earth. Yes, he could remember the old librarian telling him about it when they'd first run across those books in the castle archives. Wolfram had thought the old man had made all that up about the other world, scoffing at the very idea. It looked like he owed him an apology when he got back—if he got back. He didn't even know how he'd gotten here to begin with. And Yuuri…

"Oi, you okay?" The man regarded him with growing concern the longer he stayed silent.

Lunging forward, Wolfram grabbed the front of the taller man's coat and shook him urgently. "You said I came through a portal. Did anyone else come through the lake with me? There were two of us. We fell into the water together."

"Hey, calm down," the man said, alarmed, lifting his hands in a defensive manner. "I'm sorry but there was just one signal, which means you're the only one who came through this portal." He continued hastily, grabbing Wolfram's arm before the blonde could turn and run back into the lake. "But this wasn't the only portal our equipment picked up. It's entirely possible that your friend ended up arriving through one of those. We've had a lot of problems with…well, a lot of things lately though, so this was the only portal that we could be completely sure of."

Wolfram bit at his lower lip. If that was the case then Yuuri had to be somewhere else in this world.

His companion put a hand sympathetically on his shoulder. The blonde teenager seemed greatly distressed as well as lost. "Why don't you come back to headquarters with me and we'll try to sort all this out."

Mutely, Wolfram nodded. It didn't seem like he had a choice.

.

Yuuri was nota happy demon king.

He had opened his eyes after falling into the whirlpool to find himself standing alone in the rain. The towering buildings that lined either side of the street were nothing like any buildings he had ever seen before, and while trying to find someone to explain where he was, he'd almost been run over by a huge, horseless, metallic carriage. When he did manage to intercept some passers-by, they were usually either too busy to stop and answer him properly or looked at him like he was crazy. On top of that, he seemed to have lost his fiancé. The thought of Wolfram being lost in a place like this was even worse than being lost in it himself.

Sighing, Yuuri peered out from beneath the awning of a brightly lit shop, watching the rain fall. He hoped that Wolfram was all right, wherever he was. He hated it when it was cold, unsurprising all considered he was a fire Mazoku. Though he'd told Yuuri once that he no longer hated the rain. The double black didn't think he'd be arrogant in claiming the credit for that. The thought made him smile, but the smile disappeared a moment later. He really had to find him before anything bad happened.

Yuuri was just about to head back out into the storm when the shop door beside him opened and a middle-aged woman emerged, her arms full of grocery bags. She gasped when she spotted the soaked double black and almost dropped her purchases.

"Oh my, are you okay, young man? You'll catch a cold if you wander around in weather like this! Do you need a ride home?"

Yuuri laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, I'm afraid I'm not from around here and I'm rather lost. I don't really have anywhere to go."

Somehow, he didn't think she could give him a lift back to Shin Makoku. If he had to guess, and he had pretty good instincts, he'd guess that he had somehow landed in another world.

"You poor boy." The woman frowned. "Well, we can't have you getting sick in this rain. If it's okay with you, you can stay at my house for awhile—at least get into some dry clothes. I was just heading back to make dinner."

Yuuri nodded politely, offering a grateful smile. "I'd appreciate it, thank you. I'm sorry for being such a bother."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. Akai and Akami will be happy to have a guest anyway. Come on, luckily, my car's not that far from here."

The "car" turned out to be one of the metal vehicles Yuuri had previously seen roaming the streets. He hesitated for a second before getting into the seat beside the driver, but she seemed like a good woman and he didn't think she meant any harm. Besides, if there was trouble, he always had his Maryoku. And all his senses grew even sharper when it rained.

"So where are you from exactly?"

Yuuri considered this question for a moment, unsure how best to reply. Still, it didn't seem like there was any reason not to tell the truth. "Shin Makoku."

The woman took her eyes off the road for a second to give him a bewildered look. "Shin Makoku? I've never heard of such a place. Is it a nearby district?"

"Ah, it's a kingdom, actually."

"A kingdom?" If anything, his companion seemed even more confused by this. "Are you sure? I didn't think we had kingdoms anymore."

Well, that was certainly different. If he hadn't known he was far from home before, he definitely knew now.

With a soft sigh, Yuuri leaned back in his seat and turned his head to peer out the window at the rain sheeting past the glass. "Would you believe me if I said that I'm from another world?"

The reaction he received wasn't exactly the reaction he was expecting. Instead of laughing or maybe asking if he had lost his mind, the woman's expression cleared and she smiled brightly.

"Oh, that would make sense then! But in that case, you'd better talk to my husband when he gets home. He knows more about these things than I do."

Yuuri turned his head back around to stare at her. "Huh?"

"He always said that his father's family came from another world. So maybe he'd know how you can get back to your kingdom. He's working late tonight, but don't worry. We can eat dinner first and he'll be back before you know it."

.

"You are from Shin Makoku, correct?"

Wolfram glared across the huge conference table at the black-haired young man seated at its other end. It was almost startling how many people in this world had ebony hair, though this man's eyes were brown as opposed to black like Yuuri's. Jamie—the man who had met him at the lake—had introduced him as the leader of this so-called "headquarters" which probably meant he was someone important. All the same, Wolfram wasn't at all sure he liked him and he tended to manifest his discomfort in the form of irritation.

"How do you know that?" Wolfram certainly hadn't told him.

"Well," the man—what had Jamie called him? Kimura?—drawled thoughtfully, "you're obviously not from this world and, on top of that, you're a full blooded Mazoku. Shin Makoku really is the only place you could be from. You see, there aren't a lot of full blooded Mazoku left in this world. One of those is our current Maoh, but he has been missing for several weeks now and we've been asking our ancestors for assistance. I had a dream some nights ago that told me some people would be arriving from the demon kingdom to help us."

Wolfram raised his eyebrows, inclined to believe that the man was a bit mad. He and Yuuri had heard of no such thing. As far as he knew, they'd been world-napped. No one had asked them for help with anything and ending up in this place had been an accident, hadn't it? Unless…

"What kind of dream was it?"

"Mm, there isn't really much to tell, though the man who spoke to me did bear a remarkable resemblance to you."

Shinou. Of course, he should have known. Who else would have the power or the inclination to send them to a place like this? Sometimes, Wolfram rather resented his resemblance to the old king.

"Fine then," Wolfram said reluctantly, "so if we help you find your Maoh, we'll be able to get home?"

"I would imagine so, seeing as only the Maoh has access to any Maryoku on Earth. It's one of the properties of this world that make it different from yours."

Great, so he didn't have his sword and now he didn't have any Maryoku either. Subtly, he gestured with his hand under the table and concentrated, just to check the truth of this. Sure enough, nothing happened. It was like trying to grasp at air. How did these people survive? No magic and he'd yet to see someone carrying any bows or swords or other weapons. How did they protect themselves? No wonder these people were having problems. As things stood, Wolfram wasn't liking this world at all.

Though come to think of it, perhaps if the Maoh here could use Maryoku, Yuuri as Shin Makoku's Maoh would be able to access his too.

"Of course, I'm not sure how you can actually help us."

Wolfram bristled at the tone of his voice, but he had a far more important worry at the moment. Fixing the older man—well, he lookedolder, but Wolfram supposed that didn't mean very much in this case with him being half Mazoku—with a disgruntled but slightlyless hostile gaze, the blonde leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "Before we talk about anything else, I want to find the other person who came through the portals with me."

Kimura nodded, that infuriatingly amiable and—in Wolfram's eyes—slightly condescending smile never leaving his face. "But of course. I'll organize the search parties right away tomorrow morning."

For a long time after the man had left, Wolfram remained in the conference room frowning at the tabletop. That was how Jamie found him.

"Hey, is something the matter? You look…" He trailed off, trying to find the right words. "Bothered."

Wolfram grunted but didn't reply.

"Why don't we talk about it over dinner? You haven't eaten anything since you arrived. You've got to be starving."

Wolfram opened his mouth to deny it, but just then his stomach gave a loud, unmistakable rumble. Embarrassed, he shut his mouth and stood up.

"This way. Since it's your first time here, I guess I'll just pick a restaurant. There's a nice place just down the street from here—pretty decent food and good prices."

"But I don't have any money," Wolfram protested. He hadn't exactly been expecting to need any for the ceremony, and he doubted the stores here would accept Shin Makoku coins anyway.

Jamie just waved him off. "Of course you don't. Don't worry about it. My treat."

Neither of them spoke again until they were seated at one of the corner tables in the small café. Jamie had picked the place both because it was close to headquarters and because the people who frequented the place were unlikely to question Wolfram's strange clothes or foreign appearance. Unfortunately, this didn't stop people from staring—not that Jamie could blame them. The blonde was really quite stunning, and even though he'd never thought the word "beautiful" particularly suitable for men, the Mazoku was just that.

Wolfram himself ignored all the stares in favor of examining the contents of his steaming platter, far too accustomed to the attention to take notice of it anymore. There was only one person he wanted that kind of attention from and that person wasn't here right now.

Jamie dug into his own order with gusto, finishing half of it before asking again, "So why the frown?"

"I don't like him." Frankly, Kimura gave him the creeps. Wolfram always found himself wondering what lay behind that smile of his. It reminded him of the politicians back home, only worse because he hadn't had to deal with them himself.

Jamie shrugged and chuckled at his bluntness. "He can come across as a bit…well, hard to read. Don't let it bother you. He really doesn't mean anything by it. It comes from being the kind of businessman he is."

"Businessman?" Wolfram repeated, puzzled. "I thought he worked for your Maoh."

"Oh, he does, but you see, we don't have kingdoms here like you do. In our world, his Majesty is more the head of a—ah—great organization. We do business in all sorts of different areas, and at the same time, provide services, support, and regulation for people with Mazoku blood."

So the kingdom as a sort of giant economic corporation and service company? Wolfram shook his head, taking another bite of the food on his plate. This really was a very strange world.

.

Yuuri sipped from the warm cup of tea in his hands, regarding the two children perched on the chairs across the table from him with amusement. The twins Akai and Akami certainly looked very much alike, both with pale brown hair and hazel eyes full of curiosity set in features still rounded by youth. Yuuri presumed that they took after their father, as opposed to their mother's darker complexion.

Squaring his shoulders, Akai leaned forward on the table to scrutinize Yuuri's features. "Are you really a demon? Only Daddy says his father was a demon from another world."

So these two did have a little Mazoku blood. Yuuri had thought as much when he'd first laid eyes on them after stepping into the house. He was starting to think more and more that he did know where the whirlpool had sent them after all. Only this place wasn't exactly how he'd imagined it from reading all those books.

"Would it surprise you if I told you that I am?"

The little boy considered this for a moment, his entire face scrunching up in thought. "No. We didn't believe Daddy when he told us at first, but then we met Grandfather. He looks even younger than Daddy now."

"He does, huh? Well, that makes sense. We Mazoku age five times slower than humans."

Akai's eyes went wide. "So how old are you then?"

Yuuri chuckled. "I'm about eighteen from a human perspective. Would you like to do the math?"

Akai went cross-eyed, muttering under his breath. Then his mouth fell open in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me. You're ninety? But—that's ancient! You're reallyold."

The double black coughed lightly, unsure whether he should feel offended by this comment. He wasn't old! But he could see how a mostly human boy would think so. From a Mazoku perspective, human lives always seemed so brief. And yet they managed to get through so much in the time they were given. While Mazoku matured and lived their lives for five times as many years, they also did so five times slower than their shorter-lived counterparts.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Akami asked suddenly. Yuuri opened and shut his mouth, completely losing his train of thought.

"What?"

Her brother smacked a hand to his forehead. "What kind of question is that to ask someone? Sorry about her, Shibuya-san, just ignore her. She's always like that when we meet new guys."

Yuuri laughed. "It's okay." Turning to the little girl, he smiled kindly. "And no, I don't have a girlfriend. My fiancé would be very upset."

Akami looked momentarily disappointed, but brightened up almost at once. She'd never been one to dwell on disappointments. "Is she pretty?"

"Ah, "she's" a "he" actually. And yes, he's very beautiful."

Yuuri knew for a fact that he wasn't the only one who thought so. Wolfram had had more than the normal number of suitors before they'd made their relationship public, a fact that had annoyed Yuuri a great deal more than he liked to admit. Even Wolfram's infamous temper hadn't been enough to keep them away. At least the number of people openly pursuing the blonde's affections had decreased once it had become known that the two of them were together. There weren't a lot of people stupid enough to fight Yuuri over Wolfram's hand, especially not after having seen him on the practice fields. Yuuri was no slouch as a swordsman—well, not anymoreanyway. Great teachers and countless hours of practice and determination had honed his skills to the point where he could fight even Conrad Weller to a draw. Wolfram had been extremely proud of him when he'd accomplished that. But of course, that wasn't the frightening part. The frightening part was that Shin Makoku's 27th Maoh was the most powerful Maryoku user the kingdom had ever seen, perhaps even rivaling the Original King himself. Even if Yuuri wasn't generally prone to being smug, he couldn't help but be secretly pleased about that. There had to be someadvantages to being the king. Besides, he had worked incredibly hard to get to where he was! He rather thought that he'd earned the right to be a bit smug.

Yuuri's thoughts were brought back to the present by the sound of someone choking. "Hey, you okay?"

Akai nodded, slamming his juice cup down and grabbing for the napkins which his sister had calmly handed him. He turned a shocked gaze towards Yuuri.

"Your fiancé is a guy?"

The double black stared at him in confusion. "Yes?"

"But how is that possible?"

Yuuri was definitely confused now. "Why not? I asked him to marry me and he said yes."

"But it's not allowed."

Yuuri's confusion was rapidly changing into annoyance. Not allowed? That implied that there were rules. And by the sound of it, silly rules at that.

"I don't see what the problem is."

"Only guys and girls can get married," Akami explained, though she seemed a lot more curious than disturbed. "Or at least that's how it is in this country."

"That's ridiculous," Yuuri said firmly, frowning. Who had ever heard of a law like that? "Where I'm from, you can marry whoever you want. It doesn't matter if it's a woman or a man. Besides, just because someone is a man or a woman doesn't mean you automatically love them more or less. That's common sense."

Of course, Yuuri's mother was a bit of a romantic, but everyone in Shin Makoku, human or demon, understood the logic of that.

Akami cocked her head to the side, swirling the bright orange liquid around in her glass. "I agree with you, but not everyone in this world does. Most people don't, actually. But I guess people can just be strange like that sometimes. And people change."

Both her brother and Yuuri stared at her this time. She sounded like she'd put a lot of thought into the matter, or maybe other matters related to it. Perhaps she would become a philosopher when she grew up.

The slightly detached atmosphere her speech had created was broken by their mother's cheerful call from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready! Akai, Akami, come help Mommy carry the dishes over."

.

Wolfram lay awake in bed staring at the ceiling of one of the spare rooms in the building Jamie referred to as "headquarters". He couldn't sleep. It felt strange to be alone and these strange surroundings only added to his unease. These people seemed good enough, but he'd never given his trust so easily and he still couldn't shake the nagging anxiety in the back of his mind that kept all his senses on high alert as though he were sleeping in enemy territory. Rolling onto his side, he peered through the darkness of the room they'd given him at the closed door. Yuuri was also somewhere out there in this foreign world, somewhere beyond that door.

No, he couldn't just wait around for these people to help him, search parties come morning or not.

Mind made up, Wolfram threw the covers aside and hastened across the carpet, easing the door open and glancing down both sides of the corridor outside to make sure he was alone. He hadn't seen anyone carrying a sword since arriving in this world and he didn't have his own sword with him either, but maybe he'd be able to find a suitable knife or something in the kitchen. They had told him that people didn't use swords in this world anymore, much less carry them, and that it wasn't really necessary. But he just felt too vulnerable without some kind of weapon on him now that he knew he couldn't access his Maryoku in this place.

He was pretty sure the paper with the city map and the disturbance locations marked out was still on the meeting room table. He'd had a look at it with Jamie, Kimura, and several others when they'd gotten back from dinner. It was a bit confusing to read, but he'd manage somehow.

Whatever it took, he was going to find Yuuri.

.

Aizawa Tori, husband of Aizawa Minako and father of Akami and Akai, stared in surprise at the young man sitting in his living room. The house seemed almost too quiet with the twins already in bed. He had been held up at work for far too long, but right now, his mind was too full of other questions to dwell on wistful regrets.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get here?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. My…friend"—Yuuri felt a bit cautious about mentioning that Wolfram was his fiancé after the incident before dinner—"and I fell through a whirlpool and just found myself here in the streets."

"That's strange."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, only the Maoh of each world has the power to send people across the border from one world to another. Could the Maoh from your world want you here for some reason?"

"Eh heh." Yuuri scratched the back of his head, smiling a little wryly. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't. But now that you mention it, we were in Shinou's Temple."

"Shinou," he repeated the name, forehead wrinkled in thought. "You mean the demon kingdom's first Maoh? But… He's still alive?"

"Well, no, but his spirit still lives in the Temple." Noting the bewilderment on the man's face, Yuuri quickly changed the subject. "I need to find my friend first, but after that, we really need to find a way back to Shin Makoku. Everyone's got to be really worried."

And it really just wasn't a good idea for the king to suddenly disappear. Other kingdoms could start getting unhealthy ideas if they found out.

Tori nodded slowly. "Perhaps it would be best if we went to see the Maoh."

"Huh?"

"Earth has a Maoh too. He may be able to send you back home. He should be able to help you find your friend too."

"Ah, that would be great." Yuuri smiled in relief. Things were finally starting to move forward. "I guess I'll be retiring then. Thank you for letting me stay here. I greatly appreciate your hospitality."

"It's no problem. The guest room's usually empty anyway."

Despite what he'd told his host, however, Yuuri found that he couldn't sleep. After tossing and turning restlessly in bed for what felt like hours but had probably only been a few minutes, he threw the covers aside in frustration and stalked over to the window, pulling the curtains aside.

Tomorrow… Tomorrow morning, he'd be able to meet with this world's Maoh, find Wolfram, and find a way back to Shin Makoku. He'd been extremely lucky, running into a family so willing to lend him a hand—even more so, a family that knew about Mazoku and didn't question his declaration of being from another world. From what he knew of Earth, magic was scarce and those who believed in it even more so. Still…

Letting out his breath in a slow sigh, Yuuri drummed his fingers on the windowsill. He wondered what his angel was doing right now. He just didn't like the idea of him being lost somewhere out there by himself. Aside from the fact that Wolfram tended to stand out whether he wanted to or not, there was his temper to worry about and how he tended notto get along with people right away. But how to look for him when Yuuri was just as much a stranger here as he was?

Staring through the glass at the storm only just beginning to clear outside, Yuuri suddenly brightened. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of it before?

Pushing the window open, he took a deep breath. Concentrating, he held his hand out, a wisp of sapphire light glimmering about his fingers before taking the shape of a tiny dragon which instantly sprang skyward. Dark, slitted eyes followed its progress until it vanished into the clouds. Moments later, a light rain begins to fall once more, only this time, anyone out in the drizzle who knew what to look for would have felt the tingle of power upon their skin.

TBC…

AN: Ah, sorry for the large number of OCs in this part. It was necessary since the Earth side needed characters. Also, I am choosing not to use Bob and his people since I don't feel like I know them well enough to write an AU with them (or anything else for that matter). Hopefully, it wasn't too confusing.

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