Rise of the Gears

by Sci-Shadow

Six people will travel through time and space and appear in the MGE universe. They bring strange new technologies and ideals but also unusual and terrify dangers. These six people having their own developing stories but still intertwine with each other and the world around them. Will they thrive in this strange, lewd world or will they fall and became nothing more than history?

2. W Chapter 1

Happy Halloween everyone!

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Wyatt Chapter 1: Laying the foundations

Once Wyatt passed through the gateway, he opened his eyes and immediately sees he is alone and that he is in a forest. He looks around seeing nothing but lust green leaves, bushes everywhere, and grass covering every inch of the ground leaving no bare spot uncovered. He looks up, through the open spots between the tree branches and sees clouds moving slowly across the sky. Judging by the position of the sun, it's most likely around noon so he has plenty of time to look for a suitable location to build his dream tower.

First, he needs to find something that'll give him a vantage point to survey his surroundings to plan his next move. Wyatt looks at the trees that are around him but doesn't see any he can climb so he takes a quick breath and just starts walking in a random direction and hoping for Goddess of Lucky to give a little helpful nudge. He looks around seeing all the foliage, any animals he spots and any trees he thinks he can climb but no luck so far. After an hour of walking, he starts to notice the amount of trees is slowly dwindling then he sees up ahead a hill clearing. Smiling, he picks up his pace to a sprint and in no time he reaches the top and the view he gets is what he wanted.

He observes that he is indeed in a forest as he sees trees as far as the eye can see with some clears here and there. He spots a small river that he follows it that leads to a mountain range which was close by, meaning he was transported close to the forest edge that borders a mountain area. He looks at the mountain baseline as he doesn't want to try and build his tower inside the mountain range due to how much work there would be. He keeps looking along the baseline until he spots a spot that seems to meet his conditions. He sees an area that has a tall cliff wall and possibly a clear open ground in front of the cliff wall then that river he followed earlier is close by so getting water won't be a problem.

As Wyatt was about to move, "Hello there." A voice behind him stops him in his tracks as he slowly turns around and his first big problem was already found him…a Mamono.

Just before he and the others went to the new world, they were debriefed about the world they are being sent to, learning its inhabitants both the human and mamono populaces, and the current conflicts going on. He also knows about the mamono's special needs including when it involves men or rather the specific part of a man's body. Wyatt hoped to avoid that kind of situation until he finished his personal mission but that wishful thinking is now out the window.

The mamono he now faces is interesting as she has several distinct animal parts like her left side has a goat head on her shoulder with similar fur running down her arm while her right side had a lion head on her shoulder with its fur running down that arm. Behind her, he sees ahead of a snake sneakily watching him by her hip. She has an excellent body, one that could rival Scarlet's, another thing about this mamono is her hair color splits perfectly in the middle of her head with the left side being brown and the right blonde. Another thing that caught his eye is her different eye colors with the left one being brown and the right, a cool shade of blue. The final thing he sees is her body is almost completely exposed where her privates are the only things covered.

Wyatt tried studying all the mamono species but since there are so many of them, he pretty much glance through them but he believes the one standing before him is a….Centaur, and right now this Centaur is eyeing him up and down but keeps glancing back at a particular body part of his.

'Damn it, I'm close now to what could be my perfect site! Ahhhh! Ok, she looking at me like some kind of prize though for a mamono any man pretty much is. Let's see what kind of person she is, hopeful she already has someone but her looking at me says; she hasn't.' Wyatt takes a quick gulped and speaks, "H-hi, you startled me there for a moment."

The Centaur does a slight bow as she apologies, "Sorry, that wasn't my intention to scare you but I saw you there for a moment and I thought you might be lost. Are you lost?"

Wyatt shakes his head and says, "Not anymore, I've found what I was looking for and I was about to start heading there until you, uh, made yourself known."

The Centaur tilts her head and asks, "Oh, where are you heading to?"

Wyatt moves aside a little bit and points as he says, "Over there."

The Centaur walks up to Wyatt and looks to where he is pointing at but is confused as she sees nothing but trees and the mountain range. She thought there was maybe a house where this man lives or maybe a small secluded village but she doesn't see any kind of dwelling anywhere. She looks at him with a confused expression and asks, "Umm…what are you exactly pointing at?"

"Do you see that part of the mountain edge that looks like a cliff wall?" Wyatt points at it to which the Centaur does see and replies, "Yes, what about it?"

"That's where I'm going, where I need to go." He looks at that spot but the Centaur is still confused about why he wants to go there. There is absolutely nothing there so why does he need to go there.

"I'm sorry but I'm still confused on what's over there that you need to go there?"

Wyatt looks at her and says, "Over there is my new beginning as well as fulfilling a promise I made to some people who are depending on me. I can not fail them." He turns back to look at the site.

That answer really didn't explain things to her and she was about to ask for a more detailed answer until Wyatt reached out his right hand and says, "If you want, you can come with me unless you have something else to do?"

The Centaur looks at his hand then at his face then back at the offering hand with somewhat of a blushed face and after a couple of seconds of contemplating, she grabs his hand. Funny thing, her hand or rather paw not only grabbed his hand but his wrist and a quarter of his arm in a super fluffy embrace.

Wyatt introduces himself, "By the way, I'm Wyatt and you are?"

"I'm Abby, a Chimaera if you didn't know what I am before." Abby reveals the name of her species which helps corrects Wyatt's mistaken guess.

"A Chimaera huh, well it's nice to meet you anyway Abby." Wyatt does a slight shake then he releases his grip and tries to bring back his hand but Abby was still holding onto his hand and doesn't look like she is going to let go soon.

'Whelp looks like I got a shadow now, might as well keep things friendly. Hopefully, she doesn't take things took far before I can get there.' Wyatt trying to keep calm.

"Soo…um…shall we?" Wyatt gestures with his only free to which Abby lets go of his right hand and immediately grabs his left hand then says, "Yes!"

'I guess she wants to hold hands while we walk there or maybe she is making sure I don't run away from her or something. Well, as long she isn't going to do something I really don't what to be a part of, I guess this will be fine for now.' Wyatt thinks while maintaining a friendly face with Abby.

The two start walking towards Wyatt's destination hand in hand but later on Abby would sometimes start leaning on Wyatt to take a few quick sniffs then backs off with a smile on her face. Wyatt more than notices this as he starts thinking to himself, 'Ok, she is taking in a good whiff of me, and judging by her expression, she is enjoying my scent. If I don't do something soon, she'll might lose control and try to dominate me.'

Wyatt soon asks, "So, Abby do you live around here?"

Abby's smile gets slightly bigger as she replies in an almost cheerful tone, "I do, in fact, I was on my way home until I spotted you walking towards the top of that hill."

"I see. Are there any settlements nearby and if there is, whom do they belong to?"

Abby ponders for a moment then says, "There are three settlements near here which one belongs to the Order and the other two are mamono. You didn't know that?"

"Ahh, no, for you see I'm new to the area so that's why I'm asking you these kinds of questions." Wyatt explains but Abby looks at him with a concern expression that makes her ask, "Where did you come from then if not around here?"

Wyatt realizes he made a slip-up and now has to come up with an answer without making him sound like a crazy person. After a moment, he chose to go with a truthful crypt approach, "I came here because where I'm from, I wasn't happy and I really didn't have a life of my own so I left and to start anew. Where I can/CAN YOU STOP BEATING AROUND THE BUSH AND TELL ME STRAIGHT!"

Abby's sudden yelling not only cut off Wyatt's story but left him completely paralyzed with fear as Abby tighten her hold on him to the point it was starting to be painful. Moments pass as Abby angrily looks at Wyatt but nothing happens so she calms down a bit to where she sees his terrified expression but also sees pain as the corner of his eyes were starting to tear up. She looks down to where they are holding hands then sees how hard she is grasping so she immediately let's go. Wyatt brings his hurt hand to his chest and messages it with his right while taking a step back away from Abby.

Abby does nothing except look away with shame as her face is in a flux of emotions between sadness, self-loathing and panicking. Wyatt sees her paws clutching and trembling which makes him concern about her mental beings.

He approaches her and asks, "You ok?" She doesn't reply but instead turns away from him and brings her paws up to her large chest.

'Should I leave her or should I help her? This may be my best chance of reaching my destination unmolested but….AHHH, already my heart is nudging me to do something and if I leave her here, I'm not going to get any sleep.' Taking a quick deep breath, Wyatt walks up to her and places his left hand on her right shoulder as he turns to face her and sees the tear streaks down her face.

"I'm sorry." Abby says so quietly it was barely audible as she still keeps looking at Wyatt.

Wyatt's feelings are tugging harder from his heart so he tries to soothe this problem over, "It's fine Abby, no harm done. I/But I did harm you and I feel so ashamed of myself for what I did." Abby starts to cry a little.

Wyatt uses his right hand to guide Abby's head to have her looking at him as he says in a soft tone, "I know the answers that I've given you have been obscured and your reaction is understandable so please, don't be so hard on yourself. And look!" Wyatt brings his left hand between them as he wiggles his fingers, "My hand isn't broke, bleeding, or crooked so no real harm has been done to me so another reason for you to be not so hard on yourself. So please…don't cry." Wyatt wipes away a tear with his right hand.

Abby is moved by his words as she does slightly stop crying and looks at him in the eyes as she softly says, "I'm really sorry for what I've done and said, I've sometimes have trouble with my personalities."

Wyatt has a confused face now as he asks, "What do you mean?"

Abby wipes away a tear as she explains, "You see, we Chimaeras have multiple personalities usual between three and four though I've heard there are some who have more but anyway. Only one of my personalities can take control of my body so depending on my mood, that emotional personality will talk to you."

"I see, so how many personalities do you have?" Wyatt asks.

*Sniff* "Right now you've met three and there is one more you haven't met yet." Wyatt nods his head in understanding.

"The personality you are talking to right now is Sad Abby and the personality you've talked to at the beginning was Calm and Collected Abby. The other personality that suddenly burst in and caused you harm was Anger Abby and the one you haven't met yet is Romantic Abby." She finally calms down then her fascial expression becomes neutral and her breathing is normal.

Wyatt guesses what he saw and asks, "Am I talking to Calm and Collected Abby now?"

Abby nods and says, "Yes you are and it seems you have figured out who'll talk to you from now on."

There is a moment of silence so Wyatt looks up to the sky and comments, "Well, I'm glad we've cleared this misunderstanding but I still need to get going before it gets dark and I don't want to be lost out here. So…." Wyatt gestures to start moving again.

Abby does a quick nod then speaks, "Before you go, I wish to say thank you for you trying to understand me and us Chimaeras."

"No problem, but didn't don't you want to come with me?" Wyatt asks.

Abby is surprised to which she says, "You want me to come with you?"

"Sure, besides it'll be nice to have some company to talk to unless there is something you need to do?"

Abby furiously shakes her head no to which Wyatt says, "Then let's go."

Wyatt extending his left hand towards Abby, Abby looks at the offering hand and has mixed feelings which she is happy to accept but hesitated to hold it concerning what she did a few moments ago. After a few seconds, she reluctantly accepts and Wyatt reassures her with a nod then the two resume walking to the mountain range. Wyatt then releases what he did just do, 'Crap, I went too far being kind to her and now she'll be with me to the spot I want to see. Too late to take it back now so might as well make the most of this, hopefully Abby can tell me some useful things.'

After an hour of walking and small talk, the two reach the spot that Wyatt was after as they enter a clearing where the only thing they see is the cliff-like wall with an almost circular elevated open ground. Rocks litter the ground of various sizes with the same shade of red as the cliff wall.

Wyatt takes a step forward or tried because Abby was still holding Wyatt's hand so he couldn't move.

"Uhm…Abby, can you..uhm." Wyatt does a slight shake with his left hand gesturing his desire.

"Oh right, sorry." Abby quickly lets go of Wyatt's hand and has a slight blush of embarrassment but Wyatt simply says, "It's fine."

Wyatt moves closer to the wall looking around more, 'So far liking this environment, lots of material to work with.' He trudges up to the elevated ground then sees ground have a circumference around about twenty feet, 'This is an ideal spot to make a platform for something or be the main foundation for the tower.' He walks up to the wall that is twelve or more stories high and sees the various cracks and splits on the wall surface, 'Looks like I'll have plenty of levels of rooms and the like.' Wyatt returns to the edge of the elevated ground and looks at all the trees, 'Plenty of wood too to work with. Enough to make a village if I wanted to.'

While surveying the area, Abby is having an internal debate, 'ARRGGGHHH, I SHOULD BE LOVING HIM RIGHT NOW!'

'NO! He has shown me courtesy and kindness so I'll do the same to him even though I do want to ravage him.' Calm Abby responds to Angry Abby.

Sad Abby adds, 'Not to mention what I did to him with his hand and scaring him.'

Anger replies, 'And he forgiven me so everything is good so I should repay him with my love and my body.'

Sad stops anger by saying, 'The last time I did that, the last man I encounter ran away and before I could stop him and explain, he ran to his town patrol and they escorted him back inside. After that, I never saw him again and I don't want to do that again with him.'

Anger counters, 'But he has nowhere to run to, there is no nearby town or villages miles around so there is no fear of him escaping me. So I don't see a reason to not claim him here and now.'

Calm says, 'I shouldn't do that to him, he has been very kind, understanding and if he is willing, I can claim him in peace.'

Romance suddenly speaks, 'OOOHHH, that'll be so romantic if he makes the first move instead of me being a brute about it.'

Sad agrees, 'Yeah, at least I don't have to worry of him resenting me for being forceful and the like.'

Calm also agrees, 'Yes, it would be very romantic if he accepts me with my flaw.' She watches Wyatt surveying the area then sees him picking up a nearby rock and inspecting it. Calm then says, 'Besides I'm curious on what he sees here as he seems very focus as if there is treasure buried here.'

Anger questions herself, 'But there is still nothing here but rocks, rocks, and more rocks! And trees! So, I'm confused on why he is being very adamant on coming here?'

Sad answers, 'Didn't he say he was starting over? Maybe he is going to build a house here.'

Romance suddenly exclaims, 'OH, then I can be his wife and we will build our dream house together! I'm so excited to start!"'

Calm however points out, 'But I don't see any tools on him. If he is planning on building something, shouldn't he be carrying tools for the task? I mean using your bare hands can only take you so far even for me.'

Anger scoffs and asks, 'Why not ask him then?'

Calm says, 'I will.'

Abby walks to the base of the elevated ground where Wyatt is standing and asks, "Excuse me Wyatt but didn't you say you were starting over earlier?"

Wyatt looks at Abby and nods his head saying, "I am."

Abby further asks, "So, is this the place that you are going to be starting over?"

Wyatt doesn't reply to her right away as he looks around again then looks back at her and answers, "Yeah, this place has everything I need to begin."

Abby then asks the question, "Are you going to build a home here then?"

"That's right, here is where I'm going to live." Wyatt says with pride.

Abby on the other hand is still concerned as she asks, "How are you going to build anything with no tools?"

Wyatt flashes a grin and says, "Instead of telling you, I'll just show you. Watch!"

Wyatt places his backpack gently on the ground and starts rummaging through it until he finds what he is looking for. He brings it out to what Abby thought was a spear but it wasn't long enough and there was a handle on the end where Wyatt is grabbing it. Wyatt then walks to the front center edge and says in a loud clear voice as if there is an audience listening to him, "I claim this area in the name of the Gearian Ascendancy and to be my personal domain!"

Wyatt thrust the spear-like pole into the ground and once in the ground, the whole pole is lit on fire with a blue flame. Where the handle ends, a new section of a pole emerges from the flames then a cross is formed, and a banner forms once those flames dissipate. The hazy blue banner has an emblem that looks very similar to Wyatt's gear and iconography. The strange flames then condense into the bottom of the spears until it explodes in an expanding blue circle that rapidly glides on the surface of the ground and disappear into the forest and pass the cliff wall.

Abby is completely stunned at the spectacle she just seen and looks around to see what else is happening but doesn't see anything. Inside her head, all four personalities in unison outburst in disbelief, 'HE'S A WIZARD?!'

Calm Abby looks at Wyatt and in a not so calm expression, "What did you do Wyatt?!"

Wyatt just shrugs and says, "I've can now build almost anything with my mind I guess."

Abby looks at him dumbfounded but then sees him grabbing a black box gently and unclips it from his backpack. "What's that?" she asks.

"Fulfilling a promise." Wyatt then walks down to the ground then walks to the center between the mountain wall and the forest and carefully sets it down. Wyatt reaches to a pocket on the vest and brings out a small golden key. He uses it to unlock the black box, revealing the stored item. Abby slightly on the side can't what's in the box until Wyatt brings it out. In Abby's eyes, it looks like a head of cabbage but it's all crystal.

Calm thinks to herself, 'Is that supposed to be cabbage or something?'

Anger comments, 'Think he is going to eat it?'

Romance says, 'No, but it is pretty to look at though.'

Calm asks, 'But what does that have to do with a promise?'

As if reading Abby's mind, Wyatt puts the crystal cabbage on the ground then places his right hand on the edge of it and says one word, "Release."

The crystal cabbage slowly then suddenly lightens in a shining light which blinds both Abby and Wyatt until the Cabbage explodes into tiny orbs everywhere. Abby regaining her sight, sees them floating around the open area slowly descending towards the ground. Abby was about to say something but as soon the tiny orbs are resting on the ground, what happened next made Abby with all of her personalities are left completely stunned. She witnesses the small white orbs sitting on the ground suddenly transform into beings she has never seen or heard before. Shining white quadrupedal humanoids of various sizes appear and once the shining effect fades away revealing the true face of these beings.

These beings follow a similar overall body structure but the body types are completely different as not one is the same as the other with the only exception being that they are all female. Abby looks around and sees these beings are doing the same as her, looking around as if they are lost. She sees one being having a lower half of a tiger but has a tail of a scorpion and her upper half has dragon-like claws and a single horn on her forehead. The horn isn't like a unicorn where their is straight and elegant but this one's horn carves straight up and big to the point of being mistaken for a spear. Another being she sees is smaller as she has a lower half of a deer with a raccoon tail and her upper half has normal human hands and brown rabbit ears.

Abby is unable to think or do anything as she is overwhelm with what is happening around her until she hears a shout, "WYATT!" Abby sees an imposing being approaching Wyatt and her features is that she has a lion half with a long lizard tail. Other features she has is scaly hands, cat-like ears, long blonde hair that reaches where both halves meet. Blue eyes hard as crystal and shine like them and she gives off an aura of authority as she strides with absolute confidence. She is wearing a helmet protecting the top of her head and her nose bridge. She carries two long swords strapped to her back in an X-cross style.

Wyatt turns to her and greets her, "Hello Veronica and welcome to the new world." Wyatt gestures to the area around them.

Veronica stops in front of Wyatt and the height difference between is most obvious as Veronica stands like four feet taller than Wyatt but he doesn't seem to be frightened in the slightest.

"You have kept your promise to me and my tribe and for that you have my deepest gratitude." Veronica places her right hand over her heart and tilts her head in a bow.

Wyatt simply waves it off and says, "I'm glad I was able to help you and your tribe also I, HM!"

Wyatt couldn't finish his sentence for Veronica grabs Wyatt, lifts him up and delivers a deep and passionate kiss which surprises Wyatt but not much as Abby. Abby's eyes look like they were about to burst out while all four personalities mentally shout, "HE'S MARRIED!?"

Wyatt is left speechless which prompts Veronica to ask, "Isn't this you do when you are deeply gratified by another person's kindness?"

Wyatt answers, "Well, you aren't wrong Veronica but I sure wasn't excepting it but I do appreciate the sentiment. Before you, uhm, kissed me I was going to let you know that after you and your tribe entered the crystal matrix, I've stored most of your dwells and important buildings including your holy totems."

Veronica nods, lets Wyatt down to the ground and says, "Wyatt, not only have you fulfilled your promise but shown true strength of character, devotion, and consideration to those who aren't part of your people. You are truly different. Therefore, I'm stepping down as Chiefess of the Crimson Claw Tribe and I'm offering it to you. I know you are not one of us but you've earned a chance to lead." Veronica and others like her kneel down in front of Wyatt and await his acceptance. Abby looks around seeing the strange beings bowing to their future husband adding more confusion to her.

Wyatt looks at all those who are kneeling before looking back at Veronica and softly says, "I'm honored that your offering me to lead your great tribe as a new age can begin for you all however I wish to offer an alternative for you, Veronica."

Veronica looks up at him with a slightly confused expression which Wyatt explains, "You see Veronica, I'm going to have my hands full building my tower and supporting your tribe so I'm not going to be a good leader so I propose we share the power of leading. I will build whatever the tribe needs while I build my tower to help serve both of us while you can lead your fellow Chimtuars on hunts, matters of security, wellbeing, and discipline. You are already a leader and a respected one but I have never led anyone before so I'm very inexperienced. What do you say, Veronica?"

Veronica thinks for a moment, her expression making it hard to read until she stands back up and says, "Two people leading a single tribe, I must admit this is unusual but as you said, 'A new age.' Very well, I accept."

Wyatt extends his right hand in an attempt for a handshake but Veronica instead goes past his hand and grips his arm. Wyatt returns the gesture and Veronica looks at the surrounding Chimtaurs and says in a loud voice, "As of today, Wyatt and I shall lead our tribe to a better future and ensure the longevity of our race in this strange new world. A world where we Chimtaurs can truly be free!"

They all cheer with some pounding the ground with their weapons or those with hooves.

"VERONICA!" an alerted shout getting her attention and hears more, "We are not alone!"

Veronica moves to the source and Wyatt was about to go along too but he got swarmed by some of the Chimtaurs who want to offer their personal thanks and wishes. Abby who has been silent throughout the whole deal, her presence hasn't gone unnoticed as one of the beings she eyed earlier, the one with the tiger body calls out to their leader.

Veronica walks over to see why she was called and she sees an individual she has never seen before. The being looks like an abhorrent version of a Chimtaur and sees the individual trembling most likely in fear. Veronica speaks, "I know every face within my tribe and their names but you I don't. What is your name and which tribe do you come from?"

Abby slowly speaks, "My name is Abby and I don't have a tribe."

The one with the tiger body speaks, "With how strange you are, it's no wonder you don't have a tribe."

Suddenly Abby lashes out, "YOU'RE THE STRANGE ONE FREAK!"

All the Chimtaurs standing next to Abby quickly draw their weapons even their animal half that have claws are now out. The one with the tiger body raises her scorpion tail reading to strike while hunching her entire body to get ready to lunge. The cheerful atmosphere immediately shifted to a quiet and deadly serious setting as everyone focuses on Veronica, Abby, and the Tiger girl.

The silence was strong until it was broken by Wyatt, "Whoa, whoa, wait, everyone stop!" Wyatt runs into the center of the three and places his hands in front of Veronica and Tiger girl to stop the fight before it could begin.

Veronica asks in a slightly angry tone, "Wyatt, who is she and why is she here?"

Wyatt answers, "Her name is Abby and she is a Chimaera, we've met this morning! I offered her to join as she knows this area so I thought to have her help us get things settled." He quickly looks around and sees everyone with a weapon natural or otherwise are out while those who are small with no weapons retreats behind those who do. Wyatt asks, "What happened?"

Veronica answers, "Abby here looks like she was about to lash out at Sierra after she seemed offended by Sierra's comment."

Wyatt looks at Abby and sees her very much shaking so he decides to calm things down now, "Everyone please listen, there is something you need to know about Abby or rather Chimaera in general." Wyatt speaks in a loud voice as he addresses everyone, "Chimaera have an interesting way of speaking and the way they express themselves. You see, a Chimaera's mannerism is strongly tied to their emotions so depending on the subject you are speaking of, a Chimaera's feelings on it will be very clear to the point where it can seem extreme. If you talk about something that's tragic or simply sad no matter how small it is, a Chimaera's reaction is her crying or whining. If you say something that may incite feelings of annoyance or some kind of anger then her reaction is something like rage or visible fury. Depending on the mood, they simply can't help it, every mood they have is basically a personality so Abby here has four personalities: Calm, Angry, Sadness, and ahh…Love."

After Wyatt's lengthy explanation, a lot of Chimtaurs showed mixed confusion and suspicion. Veronica looks at Abby and asks, "Does what Wyatt says of you is true?"

Abbey slowly nods her head and nervously says, "Y-yes, when S-Sierra said about me being strange, my angry side simply want to retort how strange she is to me. That's all I wanted to say and I'm sorry for startling you all. I don't want to fight any of you." Abby lowers her claws then herself to a kneel and stays there for a moment.

Veronica lowers her weapons and retracted her claws then looks around and sees many of her kin doing the same but sees Sierra still raring to fight. Veronica addresses Abby, "I see…very well Abby, I'll overlook your sudden outburst this time but should you lose your control again...Sierra will answer for me. You should also thank Wyatt for stepping in your defense for if he hadn't, that misunderstanding would have been your last."

"I-I understand!" Abby says uneasily while Sierra looks down on Abby with a grin as she relaxes her stance.

"Now then what's next Wyatt?" Veronica asks which Wyatt thinks for a moment then says, "I guess explore the area for food and anything of interest. I saw a river flowing out of the foot of the mountain range that way."

Veronica nods then barks out orders, "Alright everyone, I want pairs of warriors and hunters together exploring the forest for food, drinking water, and firewood. Bring anything you find here while Wyatt starts setting things up. By the look of the weather, we have plenty of time to gather supplies but be wary, this isn't our world so watch out for anything dangerous. Now go!"

The Chimtaurs follow Veronica's demands as the pairs disperse into the forest with three pairs heading to the river leaving only two Chimtaurs with Wyatt and Abby. Veronica, Sierra, and Wyatt approach the elevated ground to discuss the next steps of establishing their domain while Abby now standing up but not moving as she has another internal discussion.

'GRRAAAHHH! I look like an absolute fool in front of them all!' Anger mentally screams at herself.

Sadness adds, 'I could have died if not for Wyatt intervening on my behalf.'

Calm agrees, 'Yes, but now what? I may have created an enemy with the one known as Sierra maybe even Veronica though she said she'll let it pass.'

Anger speaks, 'If it weren't for all this strange mamono, I've could have taken Sierra!'

Calm disagrees, 'I may be strong but I have a feeling I would have lost to her even if I challenge Veronica I would most likely lose to her too.'

Sadness voices an option, 'Perhaps I should leave now.'

Romance speaks up, 'I don't think I can leave. I think I've marked Wyatt to be my mate, my husband.'

Calm realizes the feeling, 'Yes, he is marked by me. I can't leave, not without him.'

Anger suggests, 'Maybe I should grab him and run before these Chimtaurs do anything.'

Calm points out, 'No, I don't think it'll work, even if I manage to grab Wyatt and avoid those two, there is a dozen of them in the forest now and I might run into one of them.'

Sadness adds, 'I don't think Wyatt will appreciate that and he may despise me for it. He also chose to make this spot his home and now it's their home too. Stealing their new leader would no doubt enrage them all and I don't think I'll survive that.'

Silence in Abby's mind as neither of her personalities can't figure out what to do so she stands there like a statue while Wyatt, Veronica, and Sierra walked to the elevated ground and make their plans.

"I'll start my work right here on this elevated ground, it'll be the foundation for the tower and I'll also fix the parameter turning all of this into a large platform. The edge will slightly go past where the flag is planted for I plan on making ramps that'll connect the platform to ground level making it accessible for all." Wyatt explains his initial steps of the construction.

"What about us? Where are we going to live?" Sierra asks in a slightly testy tone.

"Well, I do have plans if any of one wants to live in the tower once it's safe to do so but for now I've stored you homes in inventory cubes after you all entered the crystal matrix to sleep until I released you. Give me a moment." Wyatt walks over to his backpack and grabs a container full of small glowing crystal cubes with numbers on them. He walks back to Veronica and Sierra and says, "In this container has almost everything you owned back at the capital so the only thing to do is where you want me to place them."

The two Chimtaurs looked at each other then Veronica steps forward and asks, "What do you have stored?"

Wyatt goes through his mental list of the buildings he stored and after ten minutes of going off the list, Wyatt finished telling them. Both Chimtaurs started thinking but before they get too far as Wyatt quietly speaks as if he was about to tell a secret, "There is one matter we should talk about before we go any further and that is your Genesis fruits and tree saplings."

Veronica asks, "How many did you get?"

"I manage to get eight fruits ready to eat and ten saplings to be planted."

Sierra then asks, "Where are they at?"

"They are in the backpack, in a secure box where they are being held."

Sierra looks at the backpack with strong concerns while Veronica maintains a calm composure and says, "I'm glad you manage to grab them and bring them with you. We'll now have future generations of Chimtaurs born here."

Wyatt says in a concern tone, "Indeed but I would wait on releasing them from stasis."

"What, why!?" Sierra quickly asks while looking at Wyatt as if he said something completely insane.

Wyatt explains, "Well for one; they are the most valuable thing to you and the Chimtaur race so they must be safeguarded. Two; right now, we are vulnerable and have no means of protecting them and ourselves at the moment. And three; now isn't the time to be getting pregnant considering we are going to be needing everyone to help build our community. I propose that both the Genesis fruit and saplings stay in the cubes until we reach a point where our immediate concerns are dealt with."

Both think on his words and his logic makes sense so Veronica says, "Very well, but I want them somewhere safe besides being in your backpack as anyone can easily go in and snatch them."

"Understood and when I make the ground level, I'll create a safe for them to where only I can get them out. Sound good?"

Veronica nods then says, "For now, let's start setting up our homes before night falls."

The three walk off the would-be platform while Sierra notices that Abby hasn't moved an inch and asks, "What's wrong with her? She hasn't moved after Veronica dismissed her transgression."

Both Wyatt and Veronica look at Abby then Wyatt says, "I think she is having a debate inside her head with her personalities."

"If her personalities are hers alone then how can she be having a debate by herself?" Sierra asks.

"It's a Chimaera thing, so don't think on it too much." Wyatt stops that conversation as he isn't an expert on Chimaera psychology and besides there is much work to be done. The three soon started figuring out the layout for the village and when they think they've figured it out, Wyatt releases the structures within the cubes, and in no time an actual village has appeared. Wyatt then shifts his focus to the elevated ground and goes to work while a few Chimtaurs started returning with food and firewood.

Wyatt walks to the center and places his right hand down on the ground then gets a feel of the area, the numerous rocks under his feet, and the surface of the ground. Sensing how packed or loose the ground is around him, he focuses his mind and imagines changing the shape of the rocks, dirt, and other in-organic things into a semi-liquid state. He brings more materials into the expanding rocky goo until Wyatt feels his gotten the correct density, shape, and depth of the goo then solidifies the whole thing. Once done, the rocky elevated ground is now a smooth platform just as Wyatt envision it.

He then walks to the edge and was about to work on them by changing them into ramps and steps but a quiet voice stops him, "Excuse me, um, Chief."

Wyatt looks up and sees a small Chimtaur with a sheep body, bunny tail, mole-like hands, and small cow horns. He asks, "Something wrong…um?"

"OH, my name is Vivi!" Vivi does a small bow.

"Nice to meet you Vivi, so how can I help you?" Wyatt asks.

"I came back from the river and things look fine so the others had me go back and see about finding some jars of some kind to bring the drinking water here."

Wyatt nods then says, "Grab some of the rock laying around the village and bring them to me." It doesn't take Vivi long to gather some rocks and present them to Wyatt. Wyatt takes them then images the rocks in his head morphing into a pot and from Vivi's perception, she sees the rocks melting then merging together and taking form of a pot. Once done, Wyatt gives the newly form pot to Vivi which she takes and looks over it.

"That's amazing! How did you do that Chief?" Vivi excitedly asks.

Wyatt thinks for a moment about how to explain the process of manipulating matter and decides to point at the flag, "I can do all this because that flag grants me the power to change things like the rocks into anything I can imagine like that pot I created. The two downsides are that area of control is limited so if I go out of my domain then I lose that power. The other downside is the amount of concertation is needed to make things within reason by the amount of material in front of me. I can't turn that pot into a hut because the required amount is not the same. Does that help Vivi?"

"Y-yes, I think I do, you make stuff from other stuff." Vivi attempts to simplify Wyatt's explanation.

Wyatt smiles and says, "You got it."

Vivi happy with her guess leaves with the pot in her hands as she returns to the others at the river after she left, Wyatt looks around and sees the other rocks lying around and thinks to himself, 'That one pot isn't going to hold a lot of water, might as well create at least a dozen before going back on the steps.'

After some time has passed Abby felt a nudge, waking her up from the stalling debate. She turns to see a small Chimtaur, who is holding a basket half full of berries. Her lower body is a donkey with a very fluffy tail and the top half has webbed hands and floppy ears that barely touches her shoulders. She was giving Abby a concerned look and asks, "You ok?"

"Y-yes, I was just thinking." Abby answers which the Chimtaur nods her head and walks away. Abby is surprised to see the majority of the Chimtaurs have returned and sees a few huts set up but sees in the sky it's almost sunset. She sees a few fires starting with skinned deer and fowl ready to be roasted then sees baskets big as barrels being filled with various berries.

'Did I really miss that much time?' Abby couldn't believe it but it was the reality. She looks around more and sees the last remaining Chimtaurs, guessing they are coming back from the river due to the pots full of water. She then spots Wyatt and is amazed to see the rocky elevated ground he is standing on is now a flat and smooth floor along with a pair of ramps, one on either side of the platform with a large section of stairs in the middle in front of the flag.

She walks to him, up the stairs onto the platform which Wyatt is unaware of her approach as he is too engrossed with his work. Abby sees Wyatt touching the wall face then the wall seems like it is melting as the liquid rock suddenly started reform as a large ball size of a basketball. Wyatt takes the basketball size rock to some random spot on the platform then kneels down and places his hand on the ground. A few seconds later the rock ball starts to submerge into the platform as if it was sinking in quicksand and then it was gone. He nods then stands back and heads back to the cliff wall to make another rock ball. Wyatt does this process numerous times and each one he goes to a different spot on the platform or sometimes two times on the same spot whenever he shakes his head at.

He keeps going until a familiar voice shouts out, "Wyatt, it's time to eat!"

Abby turns around and sees it was Veronica calling him and now she is looking at Abby and says, "Foods ready." Veronica turns around and leaps off the platform.

Wyatt walks next to Abby and says, "You hungry?"

"Y-yeah." Abby replies to which Wyatt says, "Let us go then, I'm starving!"

Before Wyatt could take a step, Abby asks, "Excuse me Wyatt, but how are you doing all this? You don't seem like a wizard or any kind of magic wielder?"

Wyatt shrugs and says, "I'll tell you at dinner but right now my stomach is really noisy and super hungry."

*Stomach growls*

"I-I see." Abby trying to not to laugh as she and Wyatt walk to the bonfires that cooking all the food. They get their slices of meat and handful of berries and sits down to one of the barely occupied campfires. The only one sitting there was the one that woke up Abby after her failed debate and she seems to be nearly finishing her dinner.

"Is this spot taken?" Wyatt asks that slightly spooks the daydreaming Chimtaur.

"A-Ah no Chief, you can sit here and…" The Chimtaur looks at Abby with a confused expression.

"I'm Abby and if I remember correctly I've met you earlier but I didn't get your name." Abby speaks softly.

"My name is Lily." The two sit down next to Lily with Wyatt sitting in between them.

The two eat while Wyatt explains to Abby on how he was able to manipulate the rocks, once done explaining he turns to Lily and asks, "How are you faring Lily?"

Lily finishes the berries then replies, "It's nice to be outside, surrounded by trees, able to run around freely and not having to watch out where I go. It reminds me of the stories told to me about our home before it was gone."

Abby curious about Lily's life and how her home is gone, "Where did you come from Lily and what do you mean your home is gone?"

Lily breathes in for a moment then explains, "My tribe once lived in a forest like this one and there were many other tribes, some of them we call as our friends and some our enemy. For most of our history, we were a nomadic people moving from place to place to avoid the deadly winters and follow our food sources. That changed when a black mist plague appeared from the north and flew throughout all the plains, forests, and secret valleys hidden within the mountains. Everywhere the mist went it left behind a trail of death and the ones who perish were all the men. Whole tribes were devastated where the women seem to be immune so they were the only ones left. When the Black Mist disappeared, our race was set for extinction as all men were dead. Many tribes went berserk killing other tribes with no survivors and some tribes disappeared without a trace. The remaining tribes sought guidance from the Life-Giver, a being who gave life to all creatures including the Chimtaurs and the great being answered us. The Life Giver gifted our race that'll ensure we don't go extinct and that is the Genesis Tree and the fruits it bears so whenever a Chimtaur of age eats that fruit she'll get pregnant. With the solution in our hands, the Chimtaur race seemed to be saved but a second catastrophe hit our tribe as the lands we stand on started to split open and crumble. Many whole tribes were swallowed up by the ground while only a few were left. When the grounds stop shaking itself apart, the remnants of various tribes merged to form new whole tribes along with any Genesis Trees and fruits they saved. During that time, Wyatt's people found us and brought the remaining tribes to their world."

Wyatt takes the opportunity to speak so Lily can catch her breath after her lengthy history lesson, "When my people found them, we were shocked to see the state of their world and them. The first interactions between our two different civilizations were shaky and full of suspicion but was alleviated. We told them on how we found them by explaining that their divine deity The Life Giver send a message to our world's gods and goddesses that their world needed aid. Our scientists and other specialists tried to figure out why their world was tearing itself apart, unfortunately, they didn't have enough time to find out as the shaking have returned. We immediately begin evacuating the remaining tribes to our world but there were a few who wanted to stay and we didn't have time to convince them. So, we left them and after some time, we've sent devices to check on them but the images we saw…there was no way the Chimtaur can ever go back."

Wyatt takes a drink of water and a moment to catch his breath before resuming, "Since they had to no place to go, my people tried to set them up but my home isn't for them as there are no forest for them to dwell in and the closest thing for them to live in are the parks. That didn't work as the parks were too small and not enough for all of them so conflict arose between the different tribes and us. Long story short, many buildings around the parks were reformed into habitable places but the people who were already living there had to move and that caused some resentment that didn't help smooth things down. Tensions are still high even today but at least this tribe will no longer have to deal with that situation ever again."

"And we'll never forget it nor our future generations." A voice behind them speaks which everyone turns around sees Veronica holding her plate of food. She sits down and joins them, "I remember when you Wyatt, first came to our tribe to offer us to take us to the new world and help us start anew. I and everyone else didn't trust you and your promise. We have suffered from our pathic saviors in so many ways and endured harsh living conditions for years. You didn't give up on wanting to help us even after we've spoken to you in such harsh words and threats to end you. When you show us, you've been chosen for the Great Expansion Trial and again offered to take us with you, I've was hesitant to accept. I've looked at my people and the state they were in mentally and physically and I know there had to be a change. I decided to that a chance with you Wyatt and I'm glad I did. I can never thank you enough for this."

Wyatt nods humbly at her words then there was silence for a few minutes until Abby asks, "Wait, are all of you from a completely different worlds?"

Everyone looks at Abby and Wyatt answers, "Yes."

That revelation makes Abby speechless and everyone eats in silence again until Veronica asks Wyatt, "Are you going to work more on your tower?"

Wyatt nods as he chews on some meat then speaks once he swallows it, "Yeah, I'm going to finish the ramps and steps first then I'll work on the ground floor and go up from there. Also, if anyone needs help with some building project, I can help out real quick."

Veronica nods and says, "Alright, I'm going to get some people on guard watch for tonight." She stands up and walks to various groups to give her orders.

Night has come and most people have fallen to sleep with two Chimtaur standing watch however they weren't the only ones up as Abby was going the things that have been said. Calm speaks, 'Not only is our future husband an amazing wizard but he comes from a completely different world.'

Anger adds, 'Yeah but so are they and my dear husband brought them with him.'

Romance speaks, 'That just shows how kind and devoted he is to other people and the things he holds dear. OH, if I can have him share such feeling with me!'

Calm, 'Agreed and I want to see what this tower he wants to build. From the sounds of it, it'll be quite big.'

'Hopeful that isn't going to be the only thing he has that is big.' Anger jests.

Calm rolls her eyes, 'Yes, that too.'

Sad comments, 'But I wouldn't be able to get to it if Veronica gets him first.'

Anger suggests, 'She can't get him if I sneak him out of here.'

Calm shoots down the idea as she explains, 'That won't work because one; there are two Chimtaur standing watch and from the looks of one of them, she has bat ears so she can pick us out easily. Two; After Wyatt explaining on how he can control matter, he won't be needing rescuing as he'll probably bury me alive before I can safely exit his domain and his powers become null. I need to do something different.'

Romance suggests, 'I need to show him that I'm the best for him therefore I deserve his attention and love.'

Calm decides, 'Then let's help Wyatt with his tower and if any Chimtaurs need help, I'll help them too thus he'll see me the best.'

Anger agrees along with Sad and Romance so Abby will show them tomorrow. She closes her eyes and eagerly waits for tomorrow morning to start claiming Wyatt.

---

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are excited about what I have in plan for this story but two things to consider: 1, The following chapter will be much larger thus longer to edit and upload. 2, The chapters will not jump to other characters but if you pay attention to the details, they may or may not be part of the chapter until their turn to shine. The next chapter upload will be a ways away, hopefully before the end of this year but I make no promises.

I used Grammarly for this chapter as a test to try out the program and so far my reaction is mixed. The pros are that it's much more convenient to use and a better tool than Spelling and Grammar but the Cons are that it's too picky at everything especially if you are trying to be expressive and the interface doesn't seem to like to share with Word. I'll keep using Grammarly for future chapters until something happens, also there seems to be a reward system in Grammarly for using over time like achievement badges. One last thing I do like about Grammarly though it's by personal taste and that is the stats sheets of what you've done over the week as an overview.