Multiversal Christmas

by Professor Orio

Temporary file, to be deleted soon

Authors note: what you see here is unfinished and unedited. It is a crossover of all my fanfics. It will be adjusted in the future, and this solely a review copy for me to listen to so I might fix as I go

Thank you for understanding

New Apartment December; Twenty-First:

"I don't really like that you named the apartment, 'new apartment.' It really makes no sense you know?" Chara asked. Pax had put a self-made, wooden sign on the front door and in his head he thought the name was clever, Chara… not so much.

Pax wagged a finger in defiance, "If your Dad can call his house 'New Home' then I can call our apartment, 'New Apartment.'"

Chara shook her head, she hated how he always thought he was correct for just spewing a random comment. She poked him in the chest, "Yes, our apartment. You named our apartment, I had no say in the matter."

Her face showed nothing but irritation, Pax knew he had screwed up big time. For what he had no clue, was it really about the sign? He thought it was actually kind of funny, well funny in the same sense as he had said about King Asgore's naming process. Pax flashed her an apologetic smile, "You're right Chars, I'm sorry."

Chara flinched, her emotions now tingling with guilt, she hadn't expected him to apologize. Truth be told she wasn't even angry about the sign, she wasn't even angry at all. No, she was just stressed… it was the first time she wouldn't be spending Xmas with her family; sure she didn't really celebrate after she died, but neither did her parents. She was supposed to this year, but everyone else had to go on a Diplomatic Meeting at the United Nations conference. Apparently they needed the entire Royal Family, beside Chara for some odd reason.

Chara looked at the ground, "It's ok…"

Pax may not have been the sharpest bone in the body, be he'd have to be a real bonehead not to pick up on Chara's emotional strife, "Chara, are you alright?"

Chara nodded, the last thing she wanted to do was worry Pax. She replied with a forced smile that did nothing to comfort Pax nor console her, "Nah, I'm good sweety."

Ok, now Pax knew something was up. Neither Pax or Chara had ever called each other sweety, well Pax may have on some occasions called her babe… but that was before they were in a relationship. He tried to press on, but Chara had pushed past him back inside the apartment, stopping in his tracks; the door soon closed behind him. He stood there, snow falling and melting on his coat; what could be putting Chara in such a bad mood.

He looked at the sign and for some reason, he grew angered by it. He took it off and threw it into the snow, blasting it with ink; he pulled his hand closer to his face in surprise, how did that happen, wasn't his Ink powers only supposed to activate in situations that could be called a battle.

While it triggered red lights in his head he found there were more red lights leading to the apartment, so like any semi-intelligent creature, he turned around to open the door, "Chara, I know something's wrong!"

Little did Pax know of the dark hand rising from the kaleidoscope pile of goo reaching for him; meanwhile inside Chara was already trapped by a gleaming hand.

Somewhere within War Ravaged lands:

Taka donned his mask, the others would need to be awoken soon, they were about a day's travel from the mission area. But, he could wait just a few more minutes until he roused them from their slumber. Afterall, the moon was still out and it was still just as beautiful.

He soon, like every other time he gazed at the lunar heavens, he became transfixed by the moon. He could feel his heart stretch for it, his soul yearn for it. But, something was different now, something felt off, his hair stood on end not because of the intimate feeling he usually felt, but he felt something else, like an almost immediate danger.

Taka spun away from his rock mere seconds before a large, inky beast crushed it into pieces. 'Shadow Nin-Jutsu? No… the Naras are the only one capable of such.' He reached down into his pouch and produced three shuriken and his tanto, adeptly casting the first at the wolfish creature. A small bit of dread creeped into him as he watched them sink into the beast and dissolve as if its hide were made of acid. The beast lunged, Taka dodged to the right and weaved a few signs before casting his hands on the ground.

The stone and soil gripped the young boy's arms tightly and formed jagged gauntlets. The young Hyuga's vision soon changed as he activated his eyes, but he was surprised to find the beast had no chakra points. This told Taka that it was most likely being controlled by someone else, that or it was genjutsu, but wasn't he supposed to be more resistant to that sect of jutsu? That would mean there was a high level shinobi in the real world. He had to get out of here, but how? The beast lunging a second time gave Taka the impression that maybe he had to beat it to leave.

He met the beast lunge with the gentle fist technique, smoke curled from his palms confirming that the beast was made of some sort of acidic material, or at least the genjutsu made it such. Taka decided if he were to beat this creature he'd have to do it fast, so he settled into a position that he had learned from a scroll his lord had procured. It was known as eight trigrams thirty two palms. Though, it was altered slightly because of Taka's use of the earth style nature, at thirty-one and thirty-two the hands of his gauntlets flew off into fists and smacked into the shadowy wolf.

The attack seemed to work and the wolf slowly melted into the ground. Taka waited for the fake world to do the same, but it didn't. Everything did begin to turn dark though as the young boy was swallowed by an inky material not unlike his previous foe. Before his vision faded completely Taka was able to spy a blue figure, its words were both cryptic and odd, "Sheesh, this is the last time I let myself trick myself into taking the hard job."

The Center of Earth:

Emerald was most certainly happy, he had somehow convinced the higher-ups to allow Pearl and Ocasio to join him for a weekend off from preparing for the dreaded war. The only downside was that Ocasio had brought Como, sure he was a relatively good friend to him but it was meant to be immediate family only. 'But he is technically immediate family, Godfather counts.'

Emerald inhaled sharply, he hated it when his father was correct because it seemed to only be in times when he didn't really need to be right. Como smiled, he could tell Emerald and Amoura were quarreling just by the movements of his body.

Pearl chuckled, while she couldn't directly hear Amoura she could tell the gist of their conversation from the emotion in Emerald's conscious, well that and she could directly hear Emerald's thoughts. Meanwhile, Ocasio was looking around, she was astounded by the humans; over the course of a few months the core was alive and buzzing! Little shops were here and there, people still carried on their lives as nothing had changed, heck even some were going to areas where tunnels could be dug for more room so other Humans still on the planet's surface could get to safety.

'Little one… be careful… I sense intentions.'

Ocasio tensed up but still moved, in front of her Emerald had done the same, 'Ok… well i need more specifics than that but for now I'm assuming bad intentions.'

An image of the Goddess nodding her head sprung into Ocasio's head, 'I'm sure of it… but I can't tell too well.'

Emerald looked at Pearl and she nodded her head, centuries of battle experience made Pearl have no need for a inner voice, she could tell immediately there was a potential threat.

Time froze, all but Pearl, Emerald, and Ocasio were immobile and unaware of time standing still as if a god had grown tired of seeing the ants work. All three of them began looking around, they knew something had happened but did not know what exactly had occurred. Suddenly, an immense flash of light exploded around the three gems.

Como waited a few moments before he began exploding with laughter, the plan had worked. Two distortions appeared, and out waltzed two replicas of Como. Prior to this the three Comos nicknamed each other, the original whom was laughing was dubbed Rick, the left: Trey, the right: CD. They knew their nicknames were peculiar to most, but hey it didn't really matter, Rick patted CD and Trey on the shoulders, "This worked out amazingly, I'm trusting you set up the cameras so the events could be captured right? You know who definitely isn't going to want to miss this?"

CD nodded but Trey formed words, "Oh do you mean the Aut-"

"DUDE! Quiet! We can't break that specific wall, it's why we're here right now!" CD warned, shaking Trey wildly.

The three Comos looked around and waited for something to happen, exhaling in relief when the world didn't implode, or explode (hey, it's not like they were interdimensional rocket scientists), for whatever odd reason they had imagined.

Somewhere On The Outskirts Of The Known TimeVerse:

Chara and Pax tumbled out of their distortion, inhaling air as if it was what kept them from exploding. With some trouble Chara shot up, "What the hell was that?!" Pax was good enough to sit up, but he was still breathing hard so all he could do was shrug in confusion.

An explosion of light and three figures now stood in a circle around each other to prevent attacks from any side. Pax and Chara stared at them with an appropriate mix of fascination and wariness; they seemed to arrive like them, but it was hard to tell if it was a trap. Chara yelped a bit in surprise when a physical wave of energy released from Pax, his form now what Chara had dubbed "his art-student outfit." She knew what that meant, he considered them trouble; this meant things could get very serious. As a precaution she fingered the knife looped around her belt, better to be safe than sorry.

By now the three mysterious creatures had taken note of them and turned towards them, they must have thought like them because the creatures had their weapons at their sides as well. The tall, green one stayed his blades and gave a dorky smile, "Hey… we come in peace."

Pax stood, "Sure, much like the Hollowmen, The Warper, and Error you come in peace; somehow I doubt you aren't just going to kill us."

The yellow, feminine one crossed her arms. Chara looked at all three and took note that the yellow one looked like a cross between both the pale and green one, 'So they're probably a family.'

The yellow one opened her mouth, "You know, I don't like the tone you're using. I also don't appreciate being called a killer, especially not by someone who looks like they were mauled by crayons."

The green one leaned over the yellow one and attempted to whisper, key word is attempted, "Do you think he's an art student?"

The pale one who had been so quiet moved speedily, not long after two trails of steam wafted up, "Emerald, why do you make these things so hard?"

Emerald and Ocasio both sat up at the same time, clutching their heads. "Sorry Pearl…"

"Yeah, sorry Mom…"

Pax jabbed a thumb at the scene and turned to Chara, "This seems eerily familiar."

Chara clenched her fist and stuck Pax, barely damaging her hand in the process. Both Pearl and Chara looked at each other and began laughing for some odd reason, "I see you have the same problem."

Chara gestured to Ocasio and Emerald, "Yeah, but at least I only have one problem."

Pearl covered her mouth as she chuckled, "Yes, it seems that way, doesn't it?"

Pax sidled up to Ocasio and Emerald and frowned, "You make puns too?"

Emerald glanced at Pax through the corner of his eye, "Yeah, you make irrational choices?" Pax nodded with a sigh. The two guys smiled and faced each other, soon they began chuckling uncontrollably. It seemed their Misses were almost the same in personality, and both Emerald and Pax seemed to suffer from the same misfortune.

Ocasio shook her head in embarrassment, her parents always got on her case about being more mature but here were two people younger than they were with almost identical personalities. It was as if the universe was lazy when making the plans for her Parents' personalities. Silence ensued as another distortion ripped apart the adjacent wall, out from the tear of universal fabric came a dark, short haired boy and behind him came his screams of bloody murder.

Pax eyed Taka as Pearl and Chara tended to the young man's wounds, which he had achieved by struggling with whatever force had stolen him from his home. Pax wondered what had made him seem so familiar yet so foreign; his armor, while being similar to some of the Royal Guards' armor sets, were still pretty much a far-cry. Emerald poked Pax's shoulder, "Hey do you know him?"

Pax shook his head, "No, he most certainly isn't from my timeline or my world in general."

Inside his head Emerald felt Amoura was confused, 'What does he mean by timeline son? World I can understand, but timeline is confusing…'

Emerald mentally shrugged, not wanting to startle Pax, 'Maybe you should ask him; if Como couldn't explain it to you, I know I can't.'

Though it was sarcastic, Amoura took it seriously and ask him he did; Pax jumped back, scared by the sudden apparition of an almost identical copy of Emerald. This caused Taka to go beserk, within moments he had Pax held against his will with a blade to his throat, "What manner of clone jutsu is that? More importantly, what Village do you belong to?"

Both Pax and Chara gawked at each other in excitement. Chara rushed over to Taka, much to the dismay of Amoura who had yet to ask his question. The two immediately began their own barrage of questions, thought it was quite awkward that Pax had done so seeing as how he was but one flick of the wrist away from expiring. "What's your Chakra type? What clan do you belong to? What's it like being a shinobi? Do you know Naruto? Who's a better conversationalist, Lee or Ten-Ten? What's your most powerful jutsu? What's your Shinobi Rank?"

"What?" Taka was stunned, both by their questioning and by their almost careless attitude for how he was holding one of them near death.

Chara gripped Taka's shoulders, "Answer our questions damnit!"

Pax disappeared from the young Hyuga's grip and reappeared behind Chara, causing Taka to become a little scared, there was only one shinobi he knew capable of such a technique and, according to the lessons taught to him by Lord Danzo, he was of the Hidden Leaf. So that meant they could have been Hidden Leaf as well. But still, he was wary, "You, pale guy" Pax pointed to himself, "Yes you, where did you learn Minato Namikaze's technique? Answer that to me and I'll answer your questions."

Pax's mouth dropped, "You knew the Fourth Hokage? So you are from the Hidden Leaf!"

"That's not what I asked… and there have only been three Hokages… Are you, or are you not from Konoha."

Pax reached into his pocket and produced a small ban, tying it seconds later around his arm, "I mean, check it for yourself." sure enough, there was the symbol of Konoha shinobi.

"Do you just carry that with you all the time?" Chara asked. Pax nodded earnestly. Chara took her turn to size up Taka, "Well, that's obviously not enough to make him answer our questions." She tapped the young Hyuga's forehead, making him realize that his mask was no longer with him, "From your eyes I thought you were blind, but I rather think you are of Hyuga descent, and even though you have no mask I can tell from that tattoo on your shoulder you are from the ANBU Black Ops… though are you from Hirozen's or Danzo's foundation I can't tell. Well, seeing as how Namikaze isn't the fourth hokage yet I'm guessing Hirozen is and Danzo's foundation is still yet budding, did you have to do the same "kill your sibling" test?" Everyone stood with mouths agape, except for Pax and Amoura, though Amoura was just waiting to ask his question.

Taka swallowed, the only way this girl would know about all of this was if she was part of the foundation personally, so that meant it was his time to hold up his end of their bargain. "As you know I am a Hyuga and part of the Foundation, all I can answer is that I use Earth style. I am more proficient in that area than in Wind style." Pax and Chara seemed relatively ok with the answers helped Taka to his legs.

Amoura tapped Pax on the shoulder, "Could you please explain the timeline subject to me?"

Pax sighed and began the long, arduous journey of explaining in simple terms the timelines.

After multiple hours, seven puppet shows, a musical about time, and some elbow grease, Pax had finally managed to teach Amoura the intricacies of the Timelines and some of Multiverse Theory.

It was at this time that the newest arrival, Taka, had asked the most important question, "So does anyone have an idea as to why we are trapped here, I have a mission to complete."

Everyone looked at each other and realized that they all had no more clue than Taka, shoulders were shrugged in unison. Just then a paper flitted in from the roof, apparently whatever brought them here brought them to a house. Emerald caught the paper and read it… well tried to. It was in a language that made no sense to him, it certainly wasn't Crystallic or English.

Taka took to it next, he had the same trouble, it wasn't English or Hiragana Katakana. Pax and Chara took it next, they discovered something cheeky about it. It wasn't any language at all, well one at least one that had been invented, it seemed to be combination English, Monster Language, Hiragana Katakana from what they could tell from the few words they knew, and one other language.

When they relayed this information it was found that with the help from the respective speakers the words said: It's Xmas… don't really know what you're expecting guys!

Taka crossed his arms, "Whoever brought us here is a real smart alec."

"My thoughts exactly, my family was just about to celebrate Xmas." Ocasio said, her tone dripping with just as much irritation as Taka's; it seemed like the adults weren't the only ones with counterparts from different universes.

Pax came to a sudden realization, he pointed at Chara, "That's what you were upset about!"

Chara smacked his hand away, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Pax scoffed, there was a reason Pax couldn't call Chara a lawyer, she was a horrible liar, "Everyone else is out of country for Xmas, you've never really been away from them for Xmas and so it is upsetting you. I'm right aren't I?" Chara put her face into her palm, Pax had such terrible timing when it came to realizations for being so smart. She found herself wondering once again why she loved him so much if he was this terrible with situations like these.

Sure she was sad about not spending time with her family for Xmas, but at least she had Pax to do that with right? Her betrothed, her lover, her friend, and once upon a time the literal other half of her Soul; these titles they shared should have made her happy even without spending time with her family… right? If neither of those things were making her sad… then what was it?

"Chara…" Pax's arms stitched Chara to his body. "Don't worry, I'm sure everyone else is just as sad about not being able to spend Xmas with you."

'Oh yeah… that's right…' This was why she loved him so much. Yeah he as an idiot at times, and intelligent at others, sometimes to the point he made Chara feel inferior. However, he made up with it by being more alive than she was, he was the ideal person just for her.

"Ahem." The two broke apart to see a smiling Emerald, a blushing Taka and Ocasio, and Pearl who had made the noise. Clasping her hands together she continued, "Well from what I can garner from human tradition, Xmas will entail a feast, presents, and… I think that's it… oh wait, some humans tend to also play games during the holidays..."

Taka slightly raised his hand, "Well… I don't know how the Village celebrates this time of year, but Lord Danzo would always make it a point to make me and… my sister… fight..."

Pearl looked over at Emerald; other than Ocasio and the others from her universe, everyone else was oblivious to their mental conversation. Eventually Pearl sighed in what seemed to be defeat, "Okay, sparring will be entailed too."

Pax, Chara, and Ocasio all gave their exclamations of excitement and immediately went outside. Emerald gave a hearty chortle, "I guess sparring comes first?"

Pearl gave a displeased exhalation, "Alright, but if this messes with the time limit of our cooking-"

Emerald was already out the door, "You don't even eat sweetheart."

Chara stretched to release the tension still suck in her muscles, everyone else soon followed suit, all the while Pearl explained the event, "Alright, we're going with Taka's idea of sparring, though I'd rather have be making food for you humans…"

"Pearl…" Emerald chided.

"Right, I am sorry; anyway, by luck there is an even amount of us so that means we can have two teams of three." Pearl announced.

Taka put a finger to his chin, who would he pick for his team? The tall green figure that was introduced as Emerald seemed an obvious choice, but Taka couldn't figure anyone else seeing as how Emerald's spouse seemed to be good with fighting against or with her husband. "Well I choose Pax as my first squadmate." Taka was quick to choose, not because he thought Pax was going to be a help or a detriment, it was because it seemed like Pax was averse to fighting Chara.

Pearl stood there in confusion, "Uhhh… Ok, well I guess that leaves Emerald and I and one more person. Chara would you like to be on our team?"

Chara shook her head and responded politely, "No thank you, if it's alright with you I'd rather be on Pax's team. He's the only one besides my brother that I can really team together well with."

Pearl was pleased by Chara's answer, it was nice knowing someone else appreciated politeness in their answers, "Alrighty then, I guess that leaves us with Ocasio."

Since the teams were made the only thing that was missing was a proper area to spar in, the house behind them was too close and they didn't really see anywhere else on the square to go to. Apparently the mysterious force had terrible planning for celebration locations, they all thought so. As they continued their search the a dull sound began echoing around, Pax and Taka who were in the front of the house had a front row seat to the spectacle.

Stairs were being strung together from what appeared to be nothing at first but shone after completion, soon everyone was in the front watching the scene. Taka jabbed Pax in the side, "Do you know anything about this… what did you call it? Timeline?"

Pax shook his head, his eyes still fixated on the expanse in front of them, "No, this isn't a Timeline, that'd refer to one of our specific Universes, this, this is a Universe unto itself. Or at least I'm not remembering anything the same from mine that would show this as my timeline, or yours, or from what our Space Rock friends have told me, theirs… maybe that means it's a dimension?" Taka turned back to the spontaneous creation, he was just as confused as when he arrived in the first place.

Ocasio's voice rang out, her finger pointing up, "Hey, there's an arena!"

As they stepped inside the relatively average sized amphitheater, well it actually appeared to be more like a large square, looking roughly about ninety-five yards by ninety-five yards. At least whatever power drove this place had enough foresight to place a unique terrain in it; heavy forests and rocky plains dotted the location; even a tiny lake enclosed in the middle of the square as well, it was a shame that the picturesque landscape soon became ravaged by those who entered it.

Pax and Emerald were the first to collide: a boulder was lifted as if by some unseen force, flying through the air with nothing to stop it but a wall of Ink that rose in the direction of its trajectory. When the boulder stuck the wall both entities were shattered, a kaleidoscope of colorful and drab tan shards became suspended in the air and were only disturbed when the two causers of the cloud of shards met fist to fist. Emerald chuckled, so far the kid seemed to know what he was doing but how long would that last was the question on both of their minds.

Meanwhile below them Chara and Pearl now exchanged blows, knife met spear; Chara threw a knife at Pearl who nimbly dodged the projectile. She kicked Chara away and chuckled, "My, my Chara, I thought you'd be a bit smarter than that."

Chara's frown shifted, and then her body phased out of existence, "What on earth?" Chara reappeared behind Pearl with her knife once again in hand, the Delta Angel sigil glowing an ever-changing set of colors. Now it was Chara's turn to mount the offensive, she knew Pearl was fast so she let loose a relentless flurry of quick jabs and slices. It seemed to work so she kept at it..

A few feet away two fists encased in stone crashed into each other, the two wielders immediately jumped away. Ocasio's sword gleamed in the darkness surrounding the arena, Taka's tanto seemed to do the opposite. When they first struck blows Ocasio had noticed Taka had blocked her sword with that power he had, the one that resembled her father's, so instead of carrying the clunky quartz shield she mimicked Taka. She was surprised to see that it worked amazingly, 'Gotta give it to him-'

'-she's really crafty' Taka appreciated having someone to train with, the only person he had been

So training with Ocasio was kind of a refreshing experience, especially since she was copying his tactics. Though he had to use his Byakugan to keep up with her, luckily he was only caught by surprise at the fact she didn't to appear to have any chakra points, he was confused on how he could use gentle fist to beat her without hitting Chakra points, 'Well good 'ol fashioned ninjitsu and physical attacks will have to do I guess.'

"Hey Taka, need help?" Pax yelled from above, though he couldn't fly he could float and that had allowed him to get away from Emerald.

"No thanks Pax, I've got this."

Pax gave him a thumbs up, "Alright I'll go help Ch-"

"Hey! You can't get away that easily little one!" a green missile slammed into Pax and the two went tumbling out of the air.

Both Chara and Taka looked at the crash, "Pax!"

They both began to run but were stopped by their respective opponents, Pearl led Chara away from Emerald and Pax and closer to the densely wooded area.

Meanwhile Taka began running for the lake all while Ocasio launched clumps of stone at him. When his feet finally slapped against water he turned around, yelling in surprise when he saw Ocasio was already behind him. Though she looked different, her eyes were solid white with yellow veins.

Taka wondered if she was using an ocular jutsu, but that was impossible without chakra, or so Taka thought. Maybe it was like what that Pax guy had said, maybe in her universe they didn't need Chakra.

That didn't matter right now, Ocasio seemed to start taking this sparring to seriously. The suspicion was confirmed when Ocasio disappeared in a flash and kicked Taka into the air and threw her sword at him with deadly accuracy.

With only luck and mere seconds on his side, Taka had managed to deflect the sword with his kunai, though at the cost of breaking it and having part of his arm nicked by the deadly blade. The tiny cut however was deeper than one could see; Taka roared with pain, causing Ocasio to realize what she had just done.

But in moments it was gone, she was back to being a killing machine. Moonstone was silent, she wasn't even conscious, something had silenced her in the hope of making this fight a bit more interesting.

Taka may not have known Ocasio that well, but he could tell she wouldn't normally be like this. He grew terrified of this fact, from this fear grew two white lotuses which latched in his irises. His vision grew blue and he flung himself towards Ocasio, his arm before him became coated in a chakra cloak. Ocasio's sword was once again in her hands, now her Sage power activated and allowed her to mimic Taka's plan of assault as if she were a mirror.

With one bout of strength she jumped towards her opponent in the skies above and the lake was mysteriously still as if were made entirely of shock-absorbing gelatin instead of water.

Meanwhile to the right of the lake there was a fervent battle on it's own raging between Ink Pax and Sage-Mode Emerald. Fist met staff, earthen projectiles dissolved in acidic paint, and words were kept inside.

Emerald was on the offensive with a considerable advantage with his Sage training and quicker reflexes, Pax had only a few instances of using Ink offensively and only the few years he trained as an unofficial Royal Guard. However, Pax was at an advantage with his analytical skills and his reflexes were sharper than Emerald thought, when you're a skeleton you tend not to have too much defense so you have to be agile and Pax was delighted to find that his agility had transferred to his human form.

Emerald sent many jagged and oblong spears of stone towards Pax who relied on his Green Attack to stop the spears and then used Ink to return the spears to the sender. Then as Emerald shoved a hand to halt the projectiles Pax had disappeared, prompting Emerald to focus his thoughts into the surrounding areas. He could feel Ocasio and Taka pacing each other with equal power, and in the nearby woods he could feel Chara and Pearl-

Chara was losing ground every few minutes, why was she the one who got stuck with the tactician? In her opinion it was quite unfair to do that, why couldn't have Pax gotten stuck with the intelligent one. Her mind was changed quick, 'Judging from the sounds entering the woods, I think I actually got lucky.'

A teal-esque spear jutted out of the wood above Chara's head, she mentally kicked herself for running into the woods. She needed Pax's magic to allow her to teleport but it seemed that Pearl had separated them, did she know?

A voice confirmed that exact suspicion, "It's quite peculiar to see a human being able to teleport. Well from what that Pax boy had said I could've guessed that it's just how humans are in your but then I could tell that Pax was definitely not a human. I mean when your little knife glowed the same color as his liquid substance that I can only think of as ink, I knew for sure that he helped you teleport."

'Fuck.' Chara mentally kicked herself for being such a flashy fighter.

Pearl clicked her tongue, "Now Chara, no need for such rude language. It's hardly befitting for such a young and beautiful woman such as yourself."

'What the hell?! Is she-'

"Reading your mind? No, it's just the most logical choices a young child such as yourself would most likely string together. I believe it's called being predictable."

That was the last straw, she personally had nothing against Pearl, honestly she didn't. But the Mutual Laws of the Multiverse were broken: never call Chara anything but spontaneous, never call Chara a child, and never, EVER, touch the emergency chocolate in her bug-out bag… well the third one didn't really pertain to this scenario, but still!

Chara gripped her knife and exploded out from behind the redwood like a bat out of the place as red as the tree's bark and launched a kick towards Pearl, the heel of her shoe crunching against the pale warrior's cheek.

Now in a dazed reel and her vision swirling in a dizzying circle, Pearl could barely do anything to protect herself from Chara's fast paced strikes. Chara did have trouble here and there, however, she did gain a few nicks and cuts.

Chara now internally exclaimed with glee, she now had Pearl on the run! Winning a fight against such an intelligent opponent where only years prior would've been defeated easily was definitely going to be one of her favorite achievements.

Pearl tripped over an upturned slab of stone and though she tried to clamber back onto her feet it was already a fruitless endeavor. Chara stood over Pearl with a very excited smile beaming down at her, Chara's knife gleaming too despite there being no direct light, "So, about being predictable. Can you remind me of the definition?"

Pearl smirked, "Alright, you got me. Don't let it go to your head though young lady, those rosy cheeks would turn red in an instant if your ego inflates your head." Chara extended her hand and her defeated opponent. They began walking out of the forest as a burst of wind rustled the leaves above.

Meanwhile not too far outside the forest: Pax blocked another spear and sliced another in half with his brush, which he was happy to find that it still was as powerful as it was so long ago in the void.

So far this bout of powers was unmoving from its stalemate status, Pax had managed to do this by the sheer luck of being born a quick learner and somewhat mastering his powers, however this would only be so for only moments longer.

Pax could feel himself growing enervated with every swish of his brush, he knew he'd lose soon, 'End it fast.'

Emerald disappeared from Pax's vision, momentarily startling him before he felt the air shimmer. But by then Emerald's fist had connected with Pax's jaw and sending him flying backwards only stopping when the Ink had caught him and straightened him back on his feet.

But just as soon as he had relaxed the Ink split into many shreds, the tentacles blocking Emerald's blows. But for some reason the hits didn't feel like his usual blows that he was now relatively accustomed to; Pax looked up to see Emerald destroying decently-sized chunks of rocks that were being hurled at him.

He couldn't understand what was happening, was someone attacking both of them? Chara couldn't be doing it, Pearl either, as both were just now running out of the forest. That left, "Look up!"

Pax's vision followed Chara's finger to see both Taka and Ocasio duking it out in the air above, rocks from the arena periodically flying towards them and, after colliding, falling back down towards everyone on the ground.

By now Chara and Pearl were both by the two boys, Pearl looked at Emerald and spoke a silent conversation. Emerald's face grew serious he nodded, grabbing Pearl and immediately the two began to glow. A geyser of light erupted and after the light had died down an eccentric figure stood before the two young adults, "Ah it feels great to be me again, however I can see there is an amazing lack of Sun here."

Pax stood mouth agape, Chara had managed to find her words though, "So... is this something you guys can do regularly?"

Sunstone ignored Chara and instead focused on Ocasio, they spoke to themself with a sigh, "Oh well, I guess I'll have to be the star for this void."

Sunstone's eyes deepened into a maroon-orange color and they took off into the sky on an extensive piece of the arena, coincidentally bringing Chara and Pax with them.

Pax whistled, "Aren't I glad we unintentionally broke them apart."

"I'll say, but you know what?"

"What?"

Chara's mouth curved into a mischievous smirk, "We shouldn't let them have all the fun. I've always wanted to fight a ninja, and Taka seems very powerful."

Pax resisted at first but gave in eventually, with quiet groan he stood up and looked towards Taka. He grabbed Chara's knife and infused it with his Magic and handed it back to her; Chara didn't move, she only nodded towards the sky.

Pax groaned audibly this time, Chara really needed to work on her specifics. Well hopefully his left eye works, as his right one returned to normal moments prior. All of a sudden his vision distorted and stabilized a few moments after, apparently Lady Luck favored Pax.

Sunstone took off as Pax extended his arm allowing Chara to jump on it and with an immense bout of newfound strength, he launched Chara into Taka's line of attack.

She threw her knife at him and he naturally deflected it and steamed towards his new target, Chara. His arm, cloaked in a sharp Chakra Cloak, shot towards Chara's neck and was only narrowly deflected by a small circle of heavily compressed Ink, the tip still trying to reach for Chara's throat.

Taka relentlessly tried to pull his arm out of the Ink, but it congealed around his hand, creeping up his Chakra Cloak with what appeared to be malicious intent. This sight only made Taka more fervent in his feeble attempt to wrest freedom from this trap, lest he be swallowed by the slimy substance.

he imagined how terrifying that would be, to suffocate on slime, unable to take any breaths to formulate a call for help.

Chara, now on a platform of solid Ink couldn't help but giggle a smidgen when he began screaming for mercy. This was a simple task that Pax felt fully obliged to carry out with a simple blow to the head, who had teleported behind him the moment Chara threw her knife; using the teleportation magic already stored in the knife made the strain of teleporting easier for Pax.

Meanwhile Sunstone had their work cut out for them, Ocasio was dodging their every attack. They even had trouble keeping hold of the stone around them. At the very least it made the two partners comprising Sunstone proud to know their daughter was so proficient, but it ticked off Sunstone that someone was so strong that they couldn't be easily beat by such a glamorous and amazing Fusion.

As they blocked another strike from Ocasio they noticed Pax and Chara slowly rising towards them, Pax was waving to the right. Sunstone strangely knew exactly what he meant, they threw their pilum in that direction. The staff conked Ocasio directly in the head and knocked her off balance, luckily not back into her gem as after this there were still festivities and it could take a bit of time if she had to reform.

By now Pax and Chara were by Sunstone's side ready for the coming fight. Ocasio blasted at the trio, but they stood their ground with conviction. With mere seconds before she would crash into them, Ocasio faltered and her energy field sputtered; Ocasio was sent straight into the arms of Sunstone who immediately defused and left Pearl and Emerald to prop Ocasio up.

Back In The Void House:

Ocasio and Taka bowed their heads in shame, "We're sorry for getting so reckless."

Emerald tried to be angry at them, but they were just kids. He was probably that reckless when he was a Gemling.

Pearl chuckled, "You can still be that reckless at time dear."

Emerald rubbed his head sheepishly, "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, who's ready for food?"

Ocasio's head perked up, "Wait so I'm not in trouble?"

"Oh no, you are so punished, but it will have to wait until later." Pearl said, did her daughter get Emerald's logic? The thought of an exact replica of her husband made her both chuckle and shiver on the inside with concern for their world.

For once in his life Taka was kind of glad his Father was dead, as demented as it sounded. But hey, at least he didn't have to worry about such things like groundings; nope only the intense pain of his curse mark as punishment.

Pearl clapped her hands together, "Alright so who wants to help me cook?"

Pax, Emerald, and Ocasio whistled, leaving only Chara and Taka to help cook; they reluctantly followed her into the kitchen. When the lights turned on by themselves they all gasped to

see cabinets stocked with food, state of the art cooking mechanisms, and all the spices they would need and then some. Pearl immediately set to appointing people certain foods: Taka was on side dishes, Chara was on desert, and Pearl left meats to herself.

In the living room the three moochers sat around making small talk. Emerald was currently telling a story from his greatest prank in the days of his youth when he was training to become a sage. Pax couldn't help but laugh at his vivid description, "I can't believe you were able to put that there in the first place."

" What I can't believe is that such a smart person fell for that, I mean from what you said he was supposed to be the best at what he did!" Ocasio said shaking her head gently.

Emerald chuckled deeply, "Yeah, let's just say that afterwards the Monks never allowed me Crsytples again."

Occasio nudged Pax with her elbow, "So what about you dude, got any stories?"

Pax shook his head and smiled modestly, "Not really, I mean I could tell you a long story but it would probably bore you and really serve no good."

Both Ocasio and Emerald dismissed such a notion with a wave and said at the same time, "Nonsense."

Pax sighed audibly, "Alright, but it's your funeral not mine."

Sounds of fires being started and pans being clanged on stone counters rung added almost a sense of normalcy to the feeling of the room as Pax went over all the details of his life, starting with Chara's first run through his timeline.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen Chara had already made a Butterscotch Chocolate pie. She stepped away from the pie to wipe sweat off her brow, even though she had removed her sweater the kitchen was still quite heated. Taka walked over to the counter and set down a variety of side dishes: rice balls, dangos, odens were the only ones Chara could recognize.

"What is that?" Taka pointed at the pie.

Chara smirked, "It's a pie."

He returned her smirk with a frown, "I know what a pie is, what kind is it?"

"It's a Butterscotch Chocolate pie." Chara answered.

He stared at the pie and then at Chara, "Who taught you to make it?"

"My Mom taught me how to." she replied, sheesh, Taka was such a curious person. Didn't he have to make more side dishes?

Pearl walked around to the two kids, when she noticed the dishes she clapped excitedly, "My, my you two are great cooks. Taka good choice on healthy sides, Chara that pie looks absolutely scrumptious!"

Taka and Chara thanked Pearl for the compliment. Then as they were getting ready to go enjoy the other's company Pearl had stopped them and told them to work on drinks, "I would like some green tea set aside for me please. I think I saw some mint leaves in the window sill and the packets should be in the northwest cabinet drawer if I remember correctly. Oh what am I saying, of course I remember!"

Pearl laughed, Chara and Taka chuckled; they didn't do it because of the 'joke' they did so because they didn't really want to make drinks. As Taka began working on everyone elses drink, Aki Bancha tea, Chara worked on Pearl's tea. It was kind of tough considering that Pearl seemed like the person who liked things done to a tee.

"Hey Chara, how was life for you growing up?"

Chara was caught off guard by such an out-of-the-blue question, but then again the fact she was being asked by someone from a universe where her favorite anime was reality should've prepared her for anything. "I... I don't really want to talk about it."

Taka smiled empathetically, "Ok, I understand. But when I was little I was told that talking about the past can help make one come to terms with their mistakes."

"I know... but it's something that doesn't bear dredging u-"

"A story sounds wonderful, maybe it could help us work faster." Pearl interjected, blatantly ignoring Chara's feelings by accident.

Chara resisted at first, but one look at Taka made her sigh in defeat. How could she say no to him, he was looking rather dejected at not being able to hear her life story. "Where should I start?"

Taka tapped his chin in thought, "How about with your childhood."

'Great...' Chara was already regretting agreeing to this.

She started with, "Well I'd have to preface that story with something else; Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: Humans and Monsters. One day war broke out between the two races. After a long battle the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell."

With that out of the way she relayed each memory she had of her childhood, from her angelic mom to the damning beast she had once called father.

Without her knowing she began tearing up, it was quite odd for her not to notice as when they became the salty droplets known as tears they impacted on the counter, wetting the mint leaves. Then it came to the day she arrived to the underground because her father, who in a drunken stupor, had killed both her mother and tried to kill her by casting her down the hole in Mount Ebott.

The only sound being emitted came from Chara's even voice and the oven cooking ham.

With a happier tone in her voice she began telling tales of her life underground, but it changed to a melancholy tone when she told of the plan to free all monsters. She died so her brother could free everyone, she suffered the pain from the flowers' fatal attack and in the end she had let her brother die.

When she came to she had watched a human murder everyone she had once cherished, then in the end possessed them and punished them by repeating their actions over, and over, and over again.

They murdered friends, family, their once loyal compatriots in the war for life and freedom on the surface. It would have stayed that way, Chara noted, had it not been for Pax; he knew she killed him fifteen time prior, but for some reason he reached out to her the last time. He had seen her past, he had forgiven her, he had used Mercy instead of Fighting her.

It allowed her to regain sanity, it allowed her to have the Determination to reset the timeline and let the human child help everyone to the surface. Sure things after that went a little crazy, but in the end it had allowed her and Pax to have their own happy ending.

Chara sighed in relief, "You know Taka, that whole 'talking about the past' really did make me feel better."

She recoiled in surprise when Taka and Pearl tackled her with a hug, "G-guys?"

Pearl tousled Chara's hair, "Oh you poor child, how could all those bad things happen to you."

"I may have brother troubles and no father, but those thing are petty in comparison to your past." Taka sniffled.

Chara managed to somehow pry them off of her and let a smile shine, "Guys, it's alright. Like I said, things are better now. So can we set the table now?"

One hour later:

Pax patted his stomach, he was extremely full of food. He might have even gained a few more pounds than what he had originally coming here. Taka and Emerald still scarfed food down, meanwhile Ocasio poked at certain foods, Chara wharfed down her slice of pie, and Pearl just sipped her tea.

Only a few moments later was everyone's done eating; the three slackers thanked their cooks and complimented the cooking.

Emerald looked at Pearl, "So have you heard Pax's story?"

Pearl nodded, "I heard it while listening to your thoughts Emerald. You're really lax about defending your thoughts aren't you?"

Emerald chuckled, "Well you are the only one who can hear them, so yeah, I am pretty relaxed about such things."

"I wish I could read Pax's thoughts, or do that cool fusion thing you do!" Chara added.

Pax nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, it was kind of like Dragon Ball Z! Except you didn't have to do that whole dance, so I guess it's kind of like the Fusion Earrings."

The two old Gems looked between the two youngsters, it was still weird to think that the Multiverse was real, it was even odder to find two others were extremely similar to them yet foreign from their realm.

It made them feel happy that love was common even among different universes... er, timelines... whatever they were truly called.

Emerald erupted into laughter when he remembered the stories of his Godfather had told him, surely Como couldn't be solely responsible for these two individuals.

It was hard to think of anything being created by Como other than the occasional pun or comment that came out as snide but was meant as a compliment.

"Uh, Mr. Emerald?" Taka called out, everyone else was confused by his outburst of laughter.

He wiped a tear from his eye, "Oh, sorry. It's just I can't imagine Como being someone responsible for your universe. Or anyone's for that matter!"

Pearl thought for a second and she too began to share in the laughter, it was rather odd to think that Como could have made Chara, or Pax for that matter.

When everyone other than the Gems still looked around in confusion, signaling that some explaining was due, Emerald closed his eyes, motioning for Ocasio to do the same.

It was quite the surprise to see another being emerge from the old Gem's hand, the same amount surprise was exerted when the stark white woman walked out of Ocasio's head.

Both Gems pointed at their respective spirits, Emerald's Father and Ocasio's Goddess, "They can explain it better than we can."

Multiple Excruciating and Confusing Hours Later:

Amoura and Star Quartz cocked their heads to the right, "Do you understand now?"

Taka was face down in his food, Chara's eyes had glazed over, Pax shook his head and rubbed his temples in a feeble attempt to both comprehend the information he had been given and to quell the rising headache from said information. They all gave a thumbs up just so they could continue on with the holiday.

The spirits dispersed, Emerald rubbed his head sheepishly as he blushed a light shade of jade, "Sorry about that, I didn't think they'd get that extensive."

Chara's head began to shake, "D-doesn't matter... hours are lost already..."

Taka managed to raise his head out of his food and looked around, "Hey, not that this all hasn't been very fun and all... but does anyone know how we'll get home?"

The party looked down at the table, how would they get back home? Were they destined to stay here in this odd universe? Did anyone actually notice they were gone, did being brought here mean they were no longer a part of their universes; all valid yet pointless questions.

"Are we late to the party?" The group turned around to see the blue devil himself, behind him stood Gaster, next to Gaster stood a Mysterious Young Adult, his lengthy and curly hair in a mess.

The Mystery Man shook his head, "Como, it's obvious you're late. You planned all of this, hell you made me pull so many strings just to make this temporary universe! Don't even get me started on shipping all the ingredients from the Multiverse Market. I swear sometimes you c-"

Gaster held up his hand, "It's quite fine for someone of your power."

He threw Gaster a furious glance, "Not entirely fine, there are still others I have to keep entertained and having Mr. Comedy kinda breaks my work ethic."

Como threw an arm around him, "L, it's fine, it's fine. Look at it this way, now with this you have your first Xmas Sp-"

Como was cut off by L's silence, nothing made Como more nervous than someone who was normally bombastic becoming silent. "L? Evertyhin' Ok?"

L shrugged Como's arm off and walked to the extremely confused group with his hands clasped and his face drawn into a smile, "So did everyone have a fun time?"

Chara looked at L warily, "Yeah, what's the catch?"

L's face darkened, causing everyone to grow a little nervous, he was someone who was able to conjure up a random universe so what else was he capable of.

Only when he laughed a noisy and rapid laugh did they loosen up, "Ah, Princess Chara you just as Bombastic as I remember."

Pax frowned, "Do we know you?"

L shook his head, "No, but I know you Wing Ding Pax, or do you want to be called Ink Pax?"

Pax shuddered, "How-"

"Also Taka, I trust that you've been training extremely hard?"

Taka nodded his head, for some reason he felt extremely compelled to trust the guy, "Yeah, but training is harder than most people think."

L nodded in agreement, "True, True," now he turned to the smiling Emerald, the frowning Pearl, and the smirking Ocasio, "Ah the Gem Family, Emerald how's the war effort coming? The Sage project holding up?"

Emerald smirked, out of all the things that should surprise him, L did not. Life was always bringing him volts of surprise so he was used to immense revelations akin to this, "Yeah, sure am L. Sure you're having a hand in that arent'cha?"

L chuckled, 'Looks like he's as randomly perceptive as the first day he was made.'

Continuing with his questioning L turned to Pearl and Ocasio, "Ladies, I trust you're keeping the Greenbean in check."

Ocasio snorted, "Yeah, someone has to."

Pearl scoffed which made Ocasio's head swivel towards her, "What's that supposed to mean Mom?"

Pearl looked at L, "I have both a Greenbean to care for and a Lemon to watch over."

L burst with laughter, it was fun being able to see all of them in one place, but sadly it was time for this story to end; their lives, their stories, they had to continue

"Alright everyone, let's get you guys home. It's time... guys?" faces once filled with joy over gaining new companions now were bound downwards by the realization that they were quite possibly never going to meet again.

It was weird, the reactions that should've been expected were quite the opposite to the ones each person displayed; didn't they want to go home, weren't they worried about what was happening back in their universes, didn't they miss everyone they knew?

L knew for sure Chara was sad about her family not being there for the holidays, the Gems had their only vacation then the looming war, and young Taka still had to prepare for the Chunin Exams.

When he voiced his question everyone looked at each other, finally Emerald spoke up, "It's not that we don't want to return, it's just we've all grown accustomed to each other. It's kind of like family we never knew..."

That made sense, each of their personalities corresponded in some way or another: Pax and Emerald were both total goofballs but had their moments of intelligence.

Pearl and Chara were both reliable, headstrong, and could be very emotional when they didn't try to hide certain feelings

While L didn't know much about Taka's character he could tell both he and Ocasio were almost entirely the same. They were impulsive and quick witted, but they both had a hidden power they had an idea of but not how to use it in it's entirety.

L came here with the intent of sending them back but now was indecisive. He pondered about whether to let them stay or send them home, the first choice would irreversibly damage their universes and probably send each of their universes into a crash course with the anti-verse, quite possibly merging the two and after that...

L shook his head, no, that could not be allowed happen. It was already hard enough keeping this little timeline a secret from everyone else, they had to go home. "I'm sorry, but it's final. Everyone is returning to their universes."

Ocasio cocked her head, "Uhh, dude we never said we were staying."

"O-Oh... well in that case you should know that you will almost certainly forget the events that transpired here."

Pax whistled, "Wow dude, way to be blunt."

Como surfaced by L and wrapped his arm around him, "I know right, isn't he the bluntiest?"

Pearl raised a finger, "One: So what you're saying is that we will forget everything. Two: bluntiest is not a word and therefore isn't a valid adjective."

Como opened his mouth but L spoke faster, "Yes, I'm sorry that's how it's going to work but it is what it is."

Everyone once again frowned, how could they forget each other? For Chara and Pax it was one of the best holiday's they've ever had, and it was nice for Taka to not have to worry about his brother and the upcoming exams for once.

As for the Gem family, it was quite the refreshment to have fun and not hear or see the tramping of rubber boots of Human Soldiers and heavy footfalls of Gem Soldiers that filled them with anxiety, rage, and despair for the upcoming war.

They all had found an escape away from their troubles, their burdens, their sadness. Yet here was L, ready to take away the escape like a headsman takes a life.

Or at least that's what L thought they saw in him, but he could tell they knew why he had to. They all hugged each other and said their goodbyes and wished their good wishes.

In a way it was kind of depressing, they would forget each other, they would forget their new family, and it was all L's fault. His shoulder sagged a bit when he realized this.

"Hey don't worry L, that's why I installed cameras." Como's big blue smile beamed as he raised his cupped hands that were filled with storage sticks.

He also held up one detachable camera, "Well technically Gaster installed them. But I did help so it's kind of like I did."

L really wanted to smack Como at that moment, L was breaking many Versal-Multihs Laws just by making this universe, but keeping evidence of it would be overkill... and that was just fine with L, they deserved to remember this time.

He nodded his head, "Yes, yes it is Como. Good job installing them."

New Apartment:

As Pax and Chara woke up in their beds they felt that something was off, wasn't Pax standing outside, wasn't Chara sitting on the couch upset over something? They tried to discuss the topic, surely one of them remembered something. They were interrupted in the middle of their self-interrogations by the sound of a doorbell.

Chara glanced at Pax, "Were you expecting anyone?"

Pax shook his head, "No... you?"

Her reply was the same; who could have came knocking, was it Todd? No it couldn't have been, it was Xmas morning and he was certainly visiting relatives at the moment.

It couldn't have been their family, they weren't due back until January. Pax tiptoed through the living room, Chara close behind him, and looked through the peephole of the door. Before he could see anything another knock rapped on the door, "Hello, anyone home?"

The voice sounded familiar.

"Lady Asgore, do you think they may not have received our message?"

Pax's collar was wrenched backwards, pulling his body along for the ride. Chara flung the door open to reveal the family: Toriel, Sans, Asgore... well you know the rest. "Mom, Dad, everyone... I thought you guys weren't supposed to be back until January."

Toriel frowned, her eyes darting towards Asgore for a moment. He cleared his throat, "W-Well, I seemed to have gotten our tickets mixed up..."

Toriel sighed, "So instead of us going for a nice trip to New York, we were left with tickets to the local production of The Wizard of Oz."

"Yes, the title was quite confusing because it turned out the wizard was only human, it was really odd." Papyrus commented.

In the Universe's attempt to lighten the mood, Sans walked in, "Was it really Paps? Guess they should call it the-"

"Sans no!"

"The Wizard of Odd!" If it was scientifically impossible for bone to turn into a furious shade of red, then Papyrus was giving that notion a run for its money.

"Saaaaaans! I had to endure your puns on the ride here, and that was plenty enough."

"Wait... Papy, what holiday is it?"

"Sans, you know it is Christmas. Why do you... no..."

Sans's smile grew three times bigger that day, "Wow I thought it was Thanksgiving, what with my Horn of Plenty of puns."

"Sans... I'm not angry... I'm just disappointed..." Laughter filled the room when Papyrus said that.

Later that night:

Everybody sat around the Christmas Tree, a replica of the, "Charlie Brown: It's Christmas Charlie Brown," Christmas Tree, and watched Christmas Specials.

Eventually Gaster stopped by with a gift for Pax and Chara. Chara tried to decline, stating that she didn't really celebrate Xmas like that

But he refused to give up, he put it on their kitchen table, "Please accept it, and only open it after everybody leaves."

After thirty different Christmas Claymation movies, everybody began to leave. With the last person out the door Chara and Pax sighed, they couldn't tell why, but they had felt like they had went through one heck of a day.

By now, their curiosity, strengthened by their odd half-memories, was piqued. The gift that Gaster had given them still sat atop the table in the kitchen, wrapped in a murky black paper with glowing specks of white dotting it.

They only grew more curious when they noticed that the wrapping paper acted like an illusion, the harder they stared at it the more their vision began to fade and focus solely on the the tiny cube.

Pax motioned to it with a mix of fear and wonder, "Ladies first."

"Ha, so you're not game?" Chara asked, trying to mask the fear in her own voice. She was embarrassed by the fear, it was literally just a gift... but for some reason she felt like taking it's contents would be breaking some cosmic rule. 'Wait... cosmic rule?'

"That's it!" Chara immediately set to tearing open the box.

Pax was astounded at her newly found vigor, "Well, your tune sure changed quickly."

"Aha!" Chara flitted the box in front of his Pax's face, he was definitely surprised by the contents.

"I'm confused at why you're getting overworked about an SD Card."

Chara still said nothing that would at least give some clue as to the reason of her reaction, instead she merely ran into their room and returned a few seconds later holding Pax's laptop. She plopped down on the couch and tapped the seat next to her, Pax obliged and saw that she had opened the video player.

"Quiet! Just watch." Chara pressed play, and for the first few minutes there was a blue face enveloping the entirety of the screen.

Pax sighed, "Charling, I think there is a reason I'm the comedian..."

Chara ignored him, electing to focus instead on the screen where the blue face had now become a full blue figure standing next to a banquet table that Pax vaguely remembered, "Test one: Comomomomomomomomomomomomomomomomomo-Como."

Then a second, identical blue figure came out of a portal, "Hold on, Test two: Trerererererererererererey-Trey.'

The pair was already cringing away from the screen out of second-hand shame, but they both considered burning the computer when a third blue figure came out, "Riririririririririririririririririck-Rick!"

Chara shook her head, "Alright, I remember him, that was Como..."

"Yeah... I think we should skip ahead..." Pax rubbed his temples, he too remembered the blue devil...

Skipping minute by minute, they waited for anything that would explain what had occurred and why they were given the card.

"Stop!" Chara's index finger had never tapped any surface as fast as it did the mouse. Chara and her betrothed studied the screen, they had managed to stop at the exact moment they had both tumbled out of some sort of swirling vortex.

Pax started to remember something, "Wait... where's Emerald?"

"Who?" Chara shook her head, she didn't remember anyone... wait...

Chara looked at the screen as a trio of colorful warriors emerged out of a portal not unlike the one that she and Pax had tumbled out of, "I remember now... oh my gosh..."

Then came someone that Pax and Chara had wished stayed with them, Taka, a person from one of their favorite animes. They smiled as the little ninja scrambled to his feet, they knew they were about to go down Memory Lane.

Hyuuga District