Warning before we get into this next arc - the only reason I know the dimension we're getting into next is because I watch a walkthrough after having gotten curious about a certain character's lore. You'll probably guess how I got into writing this bit by the end of this chapter.

So yes, I am very much aware my information might not be as accurate as some people who are closer to the source material. Don't entirely care, this is fanfiction, it doesn't have to stay that close. So there.

Chapter 11 – Vision

"It has been almost a month and you haven't gone lookin' at any of the other options yet."

Maria looked up from the kitchen stove at Shermie, frowning slightly. "I need to ground myself in a dimension before I go back to jumping. And I am not about to return home for a few weeks after my closest friend passed away. The cabin Vash, Knives, and I lived in has probably collapsed into the desert sands by now, or it's been found by people who needed the shelter more than we do. I plan on going out again soon, but the options I have left are limited."

Shermie held up his hands. "I'm just making sure that you're not givin' up."

"I'm not." Maria covered the stew pot and set the ladle aside. "But there are times when I need to recharge. I'll be heading out again soon, I promise. I've got a destination in mind already." She raised her eyes to Shermie's. "I know what I'm doing. I promise."

Shermie met her gaze for a moment, then sighed and shook his head. "I should hope so. I don't like having to wait on one person's decisions."

"I know." Maria nodded. "But we'll get to taking care of this. I promise. I just need time to recover from losing my best friend and a proper plan of what I should be doing when I get to New York."

"New York?" Shermie frowned. "What are you going to be doing there?"

"Well, talking to the Avengers. There's a couple guys I think might know a thing or two abou—ss!"

Maria put a hand to her forehead and pulled back from the stove.

"What is it?" Shermie frowned.

"Vision."

Shermie's surprised expression faded as Maria's vision became spotty, then went dark as she braced herself against the kitchen counter.

The picture was filled with static, but it was there. A ruined wasteland, with rising towers of metal. Men, women, children, and all manner of other strange creatures shambled across the wastes with metal parts overtaking their organic flesh.

And, over them all, a cackling giant of a man with a cybernetic yellow eye and left arm.

Maria shook her head as the shack's kitchen came back to her in spots. "Primus, I wasn't expecting that so soon."

"What?" Shermie frowned.

"Another dimension needs my help – another apocalypse, but of a different kind." Maria looked at the stew pot for a moment, then turned and moved out of the kitchen quickly. "Vash, take the stew off in fifteen minutes! I have to go!"

"Go?" Vash looked away from the TV in confusion as Maria started towards the door. "What are you – wait. You didn't."

"Didn't what?" Sixer frowned, rising from the couch. "What's going on?"

"I've had a vision." Maria reached the door and grabbed the knob. "There's a dimension that's going to have trouble, and I need to take care of it before it falls under an apocalypse of a different kind."

"What kind?"

Maria swung the door open and looked at Knives, who was sitting on Sixer's other side. "Someone's turning the people in another dimension into cyborgs, likely for nefarious purposes. I don't know if it will happen, it is happening, or if I'm too late yet, so I have to go now."

"Can I come with you?"

Maria was one foot onto the porch when she heard Sixer's question. She turned her head and looked back at him. "Why?"

Sixer blinked a couple times. "I…well, do you think it wise to go alone?"

Maria paused at the question, then shook her head. "No. But are you sure that you are all right coming with me?"

"Well, the more help you have, the sooner we can return to our intended task, correct?"

Maria paused. Frowned. "You're right. Come on; we're heading out now. We have to beat a giant with bluish skin and a yellow cybernetic eye before he turns his world into a giant mechanical nightmare realm."

She walked quickly off the porch, missing the wide-eyed look that crossed Sixer's face before he bolted after her.

"Did you say a giant with a mechanical eye?" Sixer asked as Maria summoned a portal a short distance from the house.

"Yes." Maria paused and looked at Sixer with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"

"That – I don't know if this is coincidence or not, but – that sounds familiar."

Maria's jaw set. "From before Cipher or after?"

"After."

Maria's eyes narrowed. She looked at the portal, then back at Sixer. "Are you absolutely sure that coming with me would be a good idea? I don't like the idea of you getting caught by someone who knew that damn puppeteer."

Sixer frowned. He opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed his mouth as his frown deepened. Then he nodded. "This might be one of Cipher's Henchmaniacs. If he is still alive despite Cipher's death, and he is affecting a dimension, he needs to be handled."

"Agreed." Maria motioned to the portal. "Let's find this giant and teach him a few things."

Sixer nodded and stepped through. Maria followed almost on his heels.

Vash appeared at the porch just as the portal winked out of sight. "That was…huh."

"Does this happen often?" Shermie came up behind him, frowning.

"Not…Maria hasn't been this serious about needing to be somewhere like that, no." Vash looked at the old man. "I'll be honest, I don't think any of us were expecting a vision while Maria was working on this problem."

"What exactly does a vision mean?"

"It means she's needed in another dimension," Knives replied. "Which, speaking of, Vash, I think you are needed in the kitchen. Maria's lunch should be finished soon."

"Oh, right!" Vash turned and scrambled into the kitchen to the stew pot, leaving Shermie standing on the porch with a confused expression.

"Hey, are you gonna let the cold in, brother?" Crescent walked over. "What's with the look on yer face?"

"That kid has a lot more on her shoulders than I think a lot of people her age ever should."

Crescent grunted as Shermie closed the door. "That's one way of putting it. Cause any human who lived ta be a thousand years old doing what she does should be long dead by now."

Space Break

A young man looked up at the ceiling, frowning. "…can't be."

"What is it?" A blond-haired young man looked over.

"I just sensed a portal opening somewhere in Makna Forest."

"A portal? You don't mean like—"

"I don't know. It feels stable and familiar – to me." The brown-haired young man looked down at the two large rings sitting on the workbench in front of him. "I'm not going to get this ready in time. There are parts I need that I can't get here, and I'm not about to leave you here when we have Dickson to worry about."

"We'll improvise, then." The blond moved closer, bright blue eyes looking over the rings. "You just need something that will release the energy waves that will keep them unconscious, right?"

"And it has to be safe for both organic and mechanical systems, which is where my problem is. We need to make them useable for both, not one or the other. I'm going to need time coming up for the calculations for the energy balance before I can—"

The door was almost thrown off its hinges as a red-haired young man burst into the room. "Shulk, he's been spotted!"

"Where?" The blond looked over.

"Not far from where we are now, and going towards the head. If we don't get moving now, we're gonna lose our chance!"

"Go on ahead."

Shulk looked at the other. "Are you sure you—"

"I'm sure. I'll keep working on this and join you if I have a breakthrough."

"What about that portal you sensed?"

"Portal?" The redhead looked between them, confused.

"I get the feeling that it was just my imagination. That, or this dimension is still trying to settle itself after everything that's happened. There are probably rifts all over the place, and this one opened and closed like a portal and set my senses off." The brown-haired young man paused. "If it is a portal, then I get the feeling we'll see someone unusual soon enough. Go ahead and try to catch him with the original plan – I'll keep working on this, just in case."

Shulk paused, then nodded and grabbed a strange metal blade from one of the nearby worktables. "Join us when you can – something tells me we're going to need all the help we can get."

With that, he and the red-haired young man dashed out of the room, closing the door behind them.

The brown-haired young man stared at the door for a moment, then looked back at the two large rings sitting on the table in front of him.

"If that really is you…I hope you're sane."