So, this chapter turned out longer than I initially expected, as such I did the only reasonable thing. I made it longer and split it into two, like anyone else would have done.
Chapter 2: The Other Side
Part 1
The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.
A beautiful, semi-pale blue full moon illuminated the empty Lounge, the room itself filled with serene silence. Soon after however, in a matter of seconds two figures, that of Albedo and Slenderman, appeared in the darkness of the Lounge in a hurry, where everyone more than likely was already fast asleep. As soon as he opened his eyes, confirming that he and his tall friend had indeed arrived at the desired location, the alien began walking towards the exact point where Slenderman had said the portal had opened... That spot being the alien's own room.
"Still seems to be hard for me to adjust to the teleportation over long distances." Albedo spoke up silently as the two moved along the corridor.
'Is that so?' Slenderman asked, his voice full of wonder, 'I do believe you would get used to it eventually. It might seem hard at first try but you of all people are sure to get the hang of it. As you know, you just have to have a clear image of wherever you would like to go to.'
The alien chuckled as silently as he could, "Indeed, that seems to be the tricky part most of the times I would say." he smiled, "Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to ask: How did you even find me in such a haste?" Albedo questioned turning towards the tall creature.
'I was quite lucky, if I do say so myself, to be present in the room where you had your communication with Gwendolyn before the magic disappeared, Thankfully I had enough time to get a clear image of the location behind her.' Slenderman revealed, a hand placed on his chest as if he was sighing, 'The harder task was staying undetected long enough, not frightening anybody with my sudden presence and finding you in that huge establishment after that.'
"Well, you did a fine job doing that my friend!" the white haired alien let out another soft chuckle, "Still, in the end that is one heck of a coincidence. I am not even sure how else you would have been able to contact me otherwise. Either way it sure came in handy though." he added with a smile, "So, you say this time it is in my room huh?"
'Yes. I have heard a strange humming noise emanating from your room as I passed by, and ashamed I am though to admit, curiosity got the better of me. You can believe I was quite surprised upon opening the door and finding that inside.'
"I can imagine." Albedo nodded with an understanding smile as the two arrived in front of his door, "Now then, let us see what we have here."
Albedo's Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.
True to form, and all its previous appearances, as soon as the sliding door opened, the dim room Albedo was used to was lit up in the pale blue light of the portal as it hovered next to a wall, spiting gravity and the very space it tore open, perfectly still it hovered above the ground. As the Galvan walked closer to the swirling mass of energy it, as if reacting to his very presence, widened the slightest bit almost as if welcoming him in. The alien caught note of it but did not make a comment, only raised an eyebrow in question taking a mental note of the phenomenon, a small smile forming on his intrigued face all the while.
"Alright then, I suppose one more adventure before the morning comes does not hurt." he shrugged as he placed a hand on one side of the portal, which surprisingly felt solid despite it being a literal hole in space. He felt his hand grasping it a couple times just to make sure he really was feeling it there.
'Shall I perchance come with..?'
"Ah, no need, no need." he shook his head in response, "Whilst I do appreciate the concern, it has been a while since I have went off alone so please you just go ahead and rest. On the other hand however I do have a request."
'Certainly.'
"If I am not back by morning by any chance, do inform the others about my whereabouts? That is all I ask."
'Of course.' Slenderman nodded in response, cheeks moving slightly as if the entity was smiling warmly at the Galvan-turned-human in front of him. The two shared a brief understanding silent nod shortly afterwards. Albedo then turned his full attention towards the portal, and without a moment's hesitation stepped through it. To Slenderman's apparent surprise, as soon as he did so, the rift closed after him without pause. 'Was it perhaps waiting for him..?' the tall creature wondered, no one there to answer his thoughts. He turned around and left the room, but as soon as he entered the corridor once again however, he heard the same noise coming from the Lounge this time, but it ceased shortly after. 'Oh lord, this seems to be more complicated than we thought.' he thought, putting a large hand over his face in frustration as he headed towards the Lounge.
The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.
A silent room, still clad in the darkness of the early day, only one person was present in it, silently lamenting. Morning was still a couple hours away as Albedo sat on one of the couches in the Lounge, dimly lit by the 4 AM Sun slowly making its way over the horizon, still wondering how things came to be the way they were currently. That was a train of thought that often found its way back to her mind in recent days, more and more in her free time when her thoughts were not occupied by some other matters. She was confused without question, why would she not be? How could she not be? Without any prior warning, a couple months ago as soon as she got released from captivity everything turned on its head without her even knowing at first and now, they were hiding out from the supposed peace keepers of the universe... A twist surely no one she knew would have expected. 'What a joke.' was yet another phrase often uttered nowadays around their hideout, mostly by those familiar with the situation of the international police force called the 'Plumbers' before the entirety of it changed to what it is today, a depraved gathering of lunatics blindly following a crazed power-hungry leader. 'Such a farce...' she thought. The wielder of the Omnitrix, a highly powerful device, on the other hand, a young human girl, once her hated nemesis for, if she had to admit, rather self-serving reasons, was now one of her most trusted allies... Yet another twist of fate. Who knew all it would take to make amends between opposing forces was to simply just talk or, on a rather peculiar occasion only applicable to their situation, to successfully escape from reluctant containment? 'Perhaps the second one is not so common after all.' She chuckled at the sentiment with a pained smile as she leaned back and looked at the ceiling, letting herself loose on the wide piece of furniture, almost becoming one with its surface.
"The universe truly works in mysterious ways." she sighed silently, "How are we even supposed to deal with all this..? When did it become like this..? We are locked in here, without a plan, without defenses, without information. If they ever were to find out about our little hideout we will be as good as sitting ducks ready to be shot down." she let out a lengthy sigh this time, burying her face in her palms in visible frustration, "The others will be anyhow... Not me. Not anymore." she pinched the bridge of her nose letting out a sigh again, 'Then again, what good would it do if only I survived alone after all this..? This is the only thing you have now, you have to protect it with all you have.' she silently admonished herself.
Needless to say she was glad, happy beyond limits, purely ecstatic, that she finally had people to call friends, but they all depended on her now. Everyone she has met so far, everyone that has joined them, they all looked to her for guidance, she knew she could not let them down. She was a beacon each of them relied on now, one whose foundations could not be shaken. Then again, the others were never the type of people to just give up and give in easily themselves either, not the people she came to know anyway... But even then, she worried day and night, sometimes without reason, sometimes with proof surrounding all her worries, she never had a calm day. One misstep and everything could simply collapse... The life she has now, the friends she has made, the lives she had saved, could all be gone in the blink of an eye without her ever being able to do anything, and that thought ate away at her day and night. She could only have these serene self-deprecating, worrying moments when no one was around either way, she could not show them, she could not show her friends that their fearless, always smiling leader had much the same worries they had, she had to keep the morale high, act as if everything was going to be alright even when nothing was certain... Or at least she certainly felt she did. Either way the pressure surely ate away at her very being at every waking moment yet she persevered through sheer willpower, something she prided herself on.
'Ah... I am such a mess.' she lamented in her thoughts, hiding her eyes behind her palms once more. 'Who in their right minds decided that I should lead? Me of all people? I got betrayed by everyone I have ever partnered with, goes to show off my great judgmental skills... No, you knew they would betray you the first chance they got, yet you still let it get to you... You are such a fool. Why do they even trust you so much?' she then slapped herself on both cheeks, a lot more forcefully than she intended by her slight reaction of surprise, 'No you buffoon! They put their trust in you just as you did with them! Everything is mutual! All relationships are built on mutual trust, and they listen to you precisely because they trust your judgement! Trust theirs as well! Trust your own.' she mentally scolded herself as a small smile crept onto her face, "Perhaps I am overcomplicating things as usual. Certainly would not be the first time. Almost as if it is your specialty or something..." she let out a lengthy sigh as she got up from the couch preparing to walk away, back to the refuge of her little room until everyone awoke... Only for the air around her to begin to vibrate as a cold chill ran down her spine, a chill she did not like at all. The feeling setting her mind into overdrive at what it could be, she turned back without hesitation, "What in the..." she stared in disbelief at the spot under the large television screen as slowly but surely the space in that spot began to distort, turn and tear. Almost as if something was forcing its way through with reckless abandon. As soon as this started, she instinctively took a couple steps back, she was feeling odd, but did not know why. An inexplicable feeling that made her uncomfortable. What exactly was this thing opening in front of her eyes? A portal? Likely. A tear between worlds? Possible. Perhaps, maybe even both. The initial shock turned into awe and interest as the alien stared at the spectacle unfolding in front of her without fail, eventually culminating into a swirling oval shaped blue mass of energy, or in short, a portal neatly contained in the small space it tore open, not once trying to expand. Just as she had suspected from the start.
It had to have been open for a good minute or so before Albedo shook her head to snap herself back into reality and in her curiosity, she started walking closer to the strange object of interest. She could not lie even if she wanted to, it intrigued her to no end, a portal suddenly opening in the middle of their Lounge, without warning? For one like her this was the perfect way to kill her boredom, to change the subject in her mind. Then her eyes went wide as thoughts seemed to be surging into her head, thinking up various possibilities 'Could this be? The missing link we have been looking for? Where they came from? Or at least the method they did so with..? Just as they have said...' slowly but surely she looked around the space torn by the emergence of the gateway, circling the phenomenon around and around as thoughts were swirling around in her head, theories popping up left and right. Then it suddenly widened, her eyes doing the same as she once again took a few steps back. Not long after the portal had widened its shape, did a pair of legs make an appearance... And seconds after that a whole entire human being stepped through it. Then he calmly proceeded to simply dust himself off and take in his immediate surroundings for a couple seconds as his eyes widened in apparent realization.
"Now, this is certainly peculiar." he mused, however as soon as he turned towards the direction Albedo was looking at him from, his eyes seemed to almost bulge out of their sockets in surprise as he continued to just stare at her in visible disbelief. "No... Peculiar does not even seem to describe it as it seems." he said as his shock gave way to a wide but somewhat wicked looking grin as it forced its way onto his face, sending a shiver down Albedo's spine. Following his full entrance, the portal closed after him and now the two were left staring at each other inside the room where the Sun was slowly beginning to light more and more.
As Albedo stepped through the portal, his interests rose again, possibly even more so than all those times before. His face could not hide his abundant excitement as the thrill of adventure was once again flashing in the back of his mind, the same feeling he got during that four months long trip resurfacing once more. As much as he would have denied it were he asked at any time, he absolutely enjoyed going through the different portals. Of course, he was studying it and ways to track its origin, but every world they have went to, every world he has visited felt so alive, so different, nothing like what he was used to. He would never give up the chance to explore a little, not this Galvan. The former alien scientist could not have been farther from his comfort zone, were it his past self. The present version of him however felt himself enjoying their trips, he felt that he had a need of the adventure that each world provided. He always felt like a kid in a theme park wherever he had arrived at. And this? This one was easily the most peculiar yet! He was home! No denying it! Yet he knew he stepped through the portal not seconds before, and even still his surroundings were all things that he knew right now. He felt it, he felt that there was a difference somewhere even if it was all the same at first glance. Only the time of day seemed to be different... Or so he thought. His biggest surprise yet came however when he lay eyes on the girl in front of him, staring at him in wide eyed surprise, intrigue shining in her crimson eyes. One look at her and it was clear as day what exactly was happening, or at least what he thought was happening.
Her long white hair was tied in a ponytail that reached down to the middle of her back. Her crimson red eyes were curiously looking at his every move, studying him as if he was a foreign creature in a familiar environment. She wore a black t-shirt with a red stripe going down the middle over the mirrored image of a 10. The red stripes covered the shirt's collar and shoulders as well, with the shirt overall accentuating her figure. She wore dark gray pants, similar in color to the ones Albedo was currently wearing right now but resembling Ben's pair of pants even more in style. However, her shoes were almost one and the same with Albedo's. 'No mistaking it.' he inwardly smiled.
"Forgive me for the awkward transition, I am just marveling at the coincidence that is this meeting." he suddenly spoke up unable to contain himself, snapping the girl out of her own thoughts, "I do believe you have figured out who I am by now, or at least meddled with the possibility, even if it is hard to believe." he smiled as he walked closer and looked the girl in the eyes, only then realizing that he seemed to be taller by a small amount. "My name is Albedo. Greetings, other me."
"Just as I have figured." she let out a short sigh, her face occupied by a small smile and raised eyebrows "Now to be honest, on the list of things I did not expect to happen on this day, this is probably somewhere up there." the other Albedo said, as she put a hand on her forehead and another on her waist in disbelief.
"Oh believe me, this is a surprise for me as well!" Albedo chuckled, "I have been to many different worlds, but this is certainly a first."
"Different worlds? So, this... 'portal' you came out of? Does it connect to your 'world' only, or many others as well?" she asked with intrigue, running a couple possibilities through her mind, not once denying his words as the truth.
"Oh? Have you perchance never had any run-ins with this forsaken thing?" Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow, his female self looked at him questioningly but answered nonetheless.
"Not so far no. Not personally at least. Only once but not anymore." she admitted, "We have had a couple different people, beings and all sorts of various form of creatures all claiming to be the inhabitants of different worlds but so far nothing was proven. Even after what happened with me, I could not prove it... We never had solid proof... Until now that is. As I have just witnessed the phenomenon myself, all the pieces seem to be connecting neatly. And of course, as you can probably imagine, I am intrigued as well."
"Ah I see. I would be disappointed if you were not!" Albedo nodded with a cocky grin. "To be honest with you, whilst I do not know the cause that initially started its openings, it is clear that it can access any world in our multiverse and from my own experience completely different worlds as well. As it has clearly demonstrated by connecting ours just now, or your experience with otherworlders."
"Yes, that clearly explains what has been happening around here as well." female Albedo nodded with a finger to her chin, "So, if you do not mind me asking, what exactly is the, how do they say it, 'deal' with your world?" she raised an eyebrow as she looked her other self up and down. "If it is anything other than the obvious."
"Let me answer that question with a question dear me: Is the wielder of the Omnitrix a girl as well?"
"Indeed." she nodded in response, as if that question also confirmed her suspicions.
"Then it is as you might have guessed. From the standpoint of your world, mine has all the genders flipped, and thus possibly some names as well but the general buildup should remain the same." he explained, "Back home, Benjamin found the Omnitrix during a trip with his grandfather and cousin."
"Jennifer was much the same!" female Albedo said with a wide smile, "I see, that makes sense. So that truly seems to be the only difference."
"Well, of course the possibility that there are some smaller differences in the long run of this world's human and extraterrestrial history but generally yes, it should theoretically all be the same, except of course our genders. Which is quite the peculiar change if you think about it, then again I suppose this is why they call it a parallel world, is it not?" Albedo smiled, "Still to think I would meet another vers-" he suddenly shut up.
"What is it?"
"How can this be?" he suddenly asked, grabbing a hold of the shoulders of his female counterpart who looked at him with concern in turn, but he just grinned wildly, as if this was the happiest news he has gotten in a while.
"How can what be?"
"Paradox... Professor Paradox had told me a while ago that I was the only Albedo he knew to change." he explained, "The only one not to remain a petty criminal with a petty agenda hellbent on revenge over mistakes he had committed... Yet here you are." he smiled as he looked at his shorter counterpart with the warmest smile, "Talking about your version of the Omnitrix wielder with a positive attitude. That could positively only mean one thing, and I am thrilled it is so!"
"I see. The Professor has not yet visited me." female Albedo explained, "Perhaps he has not gotten around to it yet, or perhaps at that time my world was not established in the lime light, either way, as it seems I appear to be the second one." she finished with a grin. "Not a bad position I might add!" she proudly put her hands on her waist.
"Indeed. Of course!" Albedo smiled as he inexplicably pulled his counterpart into a warm hug, not letting the soul crushing hug go for a second, "You cannot believe how happy these news make me right now!"
"Haha." the other Albedo chuckled, returning the hug, surprisingly more than capable of withstanding the other's crushing hug of happiness, "On the other hand you really should, we are the same after all!" she smiled, burying her face in the chest of her taller counterpart, "That makes two of us." she added quietly, somewhat relieved that there are other versions of her that are friendly out there. From the sheer reaction of her counterpart, every other version seems to be none too likable.
The two shared a hearty but quiet laughter before separating. "I only ever heard from another Albedo from a friend I have made you see, but..."
"I do not like that 'but' there. Or anything it might imply." female Albedo raised an eyebrow in worry. Her earlier suspicions being confirmed.
"Their world, as told by my friend, was one Earth at war with an alien overlord from the far recesses of the universe who was swallowing up planets into his own and creating minions with his powers that mimicked that of the world's inhabitants. Nonetheless there was of course a resistance, Earth never goes down that easily after all, and at one of these bases that world's Benjamin was staying along with a couple friends, supervising everything..."
Female Albedo's eyes went wide as a conclusion almost immediately flashed through her mind, "No... Are you telling me..?"
Albedo just looked at the ground with what appeared to be shame, "He... that piece of utter trash tipped off the overlord and betrayed everyone just so he could attack Benjamin... Just for petty revenge he doomed one of the people capable of defending Earth the most along with all the other innocents at that outpost." female Albedo just put a hand to her mouth in shock, eyes going wide "I cannot..." he clenched his fists, as they seemed to be trembling "I will not tolerate someone with my face committing that... Committing atrocities like that looking like me?" he locked eyes with his female counterpart, the sheer pressure on his face indicated that he was on the verge of tears. It wasn't him, that other one had barely any relation to him and it affected him this bad. She thought about it all, and she realized that the two of them were indeed very similar. "I promised him you see, my friend, that if I ever come into possession of the means to open the portal willingly, our first destination will be that world's past... To warn them all, to stop myself... Or worse."
"That is..." female Albedo looked at the ground, following the reaction of her counterpart, "Do you think... there are others like him out there..? No... Are there any other Albedos who are like us?"
"If what Paradox said is true, we are the only ones who can be considered 'good'... The others are just varying degrees of bad, like the utter psychopath I have just mentioned."
"Can we... talk for a bit?" female Albedo somewhat shyly asked, "About your world, the differences... The Professor and his words to you? I am interested, I became interested. You and I seem to be more alike than I initially thought, I just..."
"Of course, it would be my pleasure." Albedo smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder to reassure it was okay, more than happy to exchange information with someone much like himself. As they were about to sit down and talk however, Albedo's eyebrows rose in question, "Hold on, he?"
"Hmm?"
"You said your professor was a he?"
"Indeed." female Albedo nodded, before it clicked and she turned towards her counterpart, "Wait, are you telling me..?" a small knowing grin formed on her face as she asked.
"The Professor is quite a man back home as well!" Albedo smiled as the two just looked at each other in a creeped out silence for a couple seconds, before bursting out in a short-lived laughter.
"I guess he is not called Professor Paradox without a reason." the two agreed in unison.
After that brief exchange, the duo of former Galvan scientists began sharing their version of their life and the major events that have lead up to the point of their meeting. To their pleasant surprise, most events, even the ones they would not look back on pleasantly were much the same. The start with a love interest called Rednus, their unfortunate end and the initial descent into a criminal. Then the sudden transition into a different world, and the realization soon after returning that the Plumbers have turned sides and just about enslaved every known HQ Plumber.
However the first visited world described by female Albedo had no relation to Albedo's ninja friends at all. The world she described seemed similar to the middle ages of Earth, with knights and castles being in abundance. However, that world was much different, magical creatures existed, mages were plentiful and the knights had powers unbeknownst to the humanity of Earth, one could say they were somewhat like skills from video games. However, the next detail she told surprised Albedo quite a bit. She had apparently met a couple people travelling in a bar. She explained soon after thanks to Albedo's raised eyebrows of disbelief, that the bar apparently was on the back of a large green pig that carried it from place to place. Whilst he would have wanted to call it outright unbelievable, that would not have been the strangest things he had seen if it was the truth, so in the end he accepted it. Apparently, the owner of the establishment was a former captain of a knight order named after the Seven Deadly Sins. All in all, an intriguing tale, or so Albedo thought.
The events after returning however were much the same once more, except for the fact that female Albedo did not die to return, they used a different method that somehow worked... But that fact could easily mean that she is not immortal like he is. However, she claimed that she has come into possession of a 'crazy regeneration factor'. Apparently, so far she had recovered a severed arm in a matter of 3 seconds. That was a lot faster than either his or Jeff's. If she was saying that she 'acquired' the ability she might have a similar copying skill as his own that does not require her demise, which at this point is probably good not to test. 'It really is not easy to test whether someone is immortal or not, huh?' he mused.
"What I am taking away from this is that... you cannot die?" female Albedo's eyes widened in intrigue.
"I think it is better to say that I cannot stay dead." Albedo corrected, "On the other hand your regenerative prowess trumps even my own."
"Guess we do have our differences then."
"Indeed." Albedo nodded, "But I think it is better that way. Things would become quite stale if we knew everything about each other from the start do you not think?" he asked with a smirk.
"Of course! The learning is where the fun is at!"
"Yes! Finally, someone who gets it!" the two once again shared a laugh. Albedo's expression changed soon after again. His face reflected that he seemed to be filled with questions that needed answers, "Hmm... Have you thought about the possibility of partial transformation yet?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh yes of course! Countless times! More than I could count really, but I could not perfect it yet. Could you perhaps give me some pointers?" she asked, "Assuming you have perfected it. Though otherwise you probably would not have asked."
"It would be my pleasure." Albedo smiled, "We could use the training room, it can withstand even my abnormal strength."
"You... Tested..?"
Albedo shrugged in response "I tried tearing down a whole wall in a curious streak once, I ended up tiring myself out instead." he explained with a musing expression, gaining a questioning glare from his counterpart, "Do not fault me for my curiosity! It is arguably my best quality!"
"Well, the problem here is that you are way too curious about these things."
"Guilty as charged." he sighed "Though Hope always tells me the same things!" he added with a short chuckle.
"I suppose Charmcaster remains the same no matter the gender huh?" female Albedo chuckled as well as she recalled her version of Hope scolding her on multiple occasions in the past.
"So it would seem." the two smiled before Albedo's expression turned sour. "So, is Maxwell-"
"Maya." female Albedo corrected as Albedo's eyes went wide in immediate realization.
"Oh, my apologies, indeed. Is Maya in your infirmary as well?"
"Yes. Though she still has not recovered, even after all this time." she declared, looking at the ground, fidgeting with her hands.
"Much the same then. Unfortunately." Albedo sighed, "Four months had passed since we rescued Maxwell back home, but he has yet to regain consciousness."
"What makes our worlds so different from the others then?" female Albedo spoke up as she leaned back in frustration, "Why are ours the only ones where the Plumbers are taken over in a coup? The only ones where we even change?"
"Perhaps if we knew the answer things would clear up even if a little bit." Albedo sighed, following his counterpart's actions, "Paradox surmised that Rednus might be the deciding cause of our, well my change. The fact that I had someone I held dear when I was practically growing up... The shock of losing them, turning to all means one could think of in order to justify your actions only to in the end realize what you are actually doing... Only to realize how disappointed they must be in you."
"That is way too real." female Albedo shuddered, once again leaning back in the couch and looking at the ceiling. "I realized that we are a lot more similar than I thought, as I have mentioned, but all of this just keeps on proving it more and more."
"Thankfully." Albedo smiled, "It is really nice to know that even I have a version out there in the multiverse that is not terrible."
"Oh yeah! That lifted my mood quite a lot!" she smiled, "Also your crushing hug proved you were happy quite enough thank you."
"Same here. And I am sorry about that... Things got away from me back there." Albedo nodded sheepishly rubbing the back of his head all the while, as something seemed to click in his head causing him to turn around "My we have certainly talked the time away have we not?" his female counterpart turned over as well as the two saw the Sun rising more and more, slowly but surely, as two hours have already passed.
"Guess we got into it." female Albedo shrugged, "I believe it was a worthy exchange either way... Though how exactly will I explain you being here to the others?"
"Well, I am afraid to tell you, that shall need to happen sooner than expected." Albedo declared with a gentle shrug as his female counterpart just looked at him questioningly as he pointed behind her. Around the corner, a sleepy looking young girl appeared, but froze immediately at the turning point. It wasn't hard for Albedo to figure out who she might have been, her brown hair was tied in a similar ponytail as his other self, only hers was shorter and only reached to her shoulders. But the most giveaway features of hers were the green eyes and the exact same clothing Ben usually wore. The brown pants, green and white shoes and the black and green t-shirt with a 10 in the middle of it. The mirrored, alternate colored version of his counterpart's shirt that he was so used to seeing on Benjamin. "Great morning to you! Jennifer, I presume? Have you had a pleasant rest?"
"Okay. What the heck is going on here Albedo?" she asked, somewhat groggily, turning towards female Albedo. "Who's this guy? And why is he so hyper."
"Well, you see..." female Albedo fidgeted for a bit as she looked at Albedo and her eyes went wide at the wicked grin he faced her with, she gulped.
"My name is Albedo, young Jennifer!" he introduced himself, standing up. In a matter of seconds, he was in front of the girl, shrugging off the bit of dizziness he still had, who immediately woke up at the surprise appearance of the alien in front of her, "Awake yet?"
"Woah! Don't. Do. That!" she slowly uttered the words in frustration, her hands going wild in front of her for a couple seconds before her right hand hovered over her left, over the Omnitrix.
"Now, calm down Jennifer. There is no need to be wary." female Albedo stood up with a sigh to calm the situation, then she turned to her other self "Do you do this every time?"
"Apologies but it is just so fun to see the reactions I get." Albedo admitted with a slight guilty snicker.
"Now hold on. How can you be Albedo? You're a-"
"'Dude'?" Albedo asked with air quotation marks, surprising the young girl "Indeed. I am Albedo, but obviously not the one from this world."
"It is true." female Albedo nodded as she chipped in, "This time I actually saw it with my own eyes. I saw the portal open."
"So there are actual different worlds out there?" her eyebrows rose with a smile as she let down her left hand. "Just as all those other guys claimed."
"Oh? Have you perhaps not met alternate versions of yourself?" Albedo asked, "Benjamin has been going on and on about meeting a multitude of different versions of himself whenever he could during the beginning."
"I only ever went to one world by mistake, and that was a while ago." Jen revealed awkwardly. "Now I'm jealous."
"I see." Albedo nodded, "There is no need to be, I am afraid that with the portal still going wild, and me still not knowing the cause for it you will probably have an encounter down the line... Well, nonetheless for the time being it seems I shall be staying here." he finished with a light shrug.
"You are?" Jen asked.
"You are?!" female Albedo snapped.
"You know, seeing as I have no possible way of returning home until the portal opens again? Yes, I am."
"Can he be trusted?" Jen suddenly turned towards her Albedo with a serious expression completely not minding that Albedo was still in front of her. Not exactly getting any vibes from him which she considered strange.
"Yes, Jennifer, he can." female Albedo nodded. "Professor Paradox was the one who vouched for him. Well... Not ours but that has to count for something. Right?"
"I have no proof of it, but according to the Professor, in his knowledge I was the only Albedo to change... Then I arrived here."
"I am the second one!" female Albedo chipped in happily. Jen just sighed as a smile forked its way onto her face as she looked at female Albedo's childishly giddy expression.
"To think we once tried to kill each other." she chuckled. "Now look at you."
"How the times change." Albedo mused, then he clapped his hands together, and took off his jacket, tossing it over to the couch casually, "Now then, shall we head towards the Training Room?" he asked, turning towards the direction of said room.
"How do you even know where that is?" Jen asked as Albedo just looked at him with a smile.
"Our worlds are very similar Jennifer." he simply said before heading off towards the room. "It is like I am home!"
"He's weird."
"That is quite rude." female Albedo mock pouted, "He is technically me." she added with a chuckle as she followed her counterpart.
Jennifer looked at the jacket strewn over the couch, now recognizing it as the design of her old one from two years ago then shrugged, sighed and ultimately followed the two. "What exactly could go wrong?" she silently asked of no one in particular, not long before a terrible unexplainable chill ran down her spine, and she stood there wide eyed "Did I seriously just..?"
Training Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.
The large room opened up to the trio in all its white glory. The walls were made of a white metal paneling that was practically impossible to break in any shape or form, just as Albedo remembered them to be. However, he still did not remember how his own even came to be, having found the base itself a good couple years back... A base somehow locked to his, or precisely Benjamin's, DNA, even though it seemed way older than the hero at the time. The panels themselves could move and change at a moment's notice with the control panel set up in the room like the others, even capable of distorting the space to appear even bigger on the inside, yet another quality Albedo did not understand at all. Even so, the alien calmly walked over to the middle of the room, taking in everything in it and memorizing his surroundings even if all of it were just the white walls.
"Now then, how about a sparring match?" he asked, turning around with a flair to face the two ladies, "One on one, between ourselves?"
"Huh?" Jen raised an eyebrow in surprise, she did not know what she expected but it probably wasn't this.
"It is not every day I can test out my limits on a living being after all." female Albedo shrugged with a grin mimicking her counterpart's. "Alright! I shall accept the challenge!"
The grin the two shared sent a shiver down Jen's spine, she did not know why but she felt in extreme danger. It was like all her instincts telling her that she should not be there, that she should run and flee with reckless abandon, but she could not move. She felt her brain giving the impulses for her limbs to move but they refused to budge.
"Jennifer, I advise you relocate to the observation room." Albedo kindly offered, "We may not be able to hold back."
That was enough to snap her out of it, she looked down at her hands, then at the kind eyes and smile Albedo gave her as she briefly nodded and almost fled the room, however the two currently did not notice her reaction.
"Now then... shall we begin?" he asked with the same wicked grin from before.
"Oh yeah." female Albedo nodded with the same grin yet again, cracking her neck slightly, they felt the tension and excitement rise as they were left to their own devices in the room.
Observation Room, Training Room, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.
Jen hastily entered the room, leaving the door ajar as she looked out the window of the room embedded into the wall of the Training Room. The window itself seemed to be from a similar material as the metal panels making up the walls but it was quite transparent. The girl felt her heart beating heavily as she anxiously looked out at the two currently just looking at each other, forcing herself to place a hand to her chest. She had never felt this way, not when facing up against Aggregor, not when fighting the countless times against Vilgax... She clearly felt that she would die if she were to stay in the room, the ethereal dread surrounding her, all fibers of her being were telling her she was in danger when she high tailed it out of the room. She was never one to run away from anything, but this time it was different. With her left hand still placed on her chest as if to help her calm down, she watched on as the two were just looking at each other all the same.
Then it happened. In the blink of an eye both of them disappeared from in front of her eyes as they just darted around the now seemingly empty room in the hopes of finding the two aliens. Then a loud bang sounded and she saw a brief flash of the two of them before they disappeared again.
"What the hell is that speed?!" she muttered bewildered to herself, her eyes failing to register what was going on. Not realizing that she was still faster as a Kineceleran, for her human eyes it seemed quite abnormal, just as it should have been. All she saw were the brief flashes of black that darted around the room, more than likely the brief moment their shirts of all things were visible. Their 'spar' was on a whole other level. Every time they clashed, Jen just shuddered behind the window almost as if she felt the impacts through the reinforced glass in front of her. 'What even happened to these two..?' she mused in her thoughts at the spectacle in front of her.
"What's all this noise?" a groggy female voice sounded from behind her. Jen turned to face the girl who arrived at the door of the Observation Room. She had darker skin and black spiky hair, a pair of goggles sat atop her head. She wore a blue and white shirt with two small orange stripes on the left side of its chest, along with a pair of black form fitting pants which had a blue pattern running through them. Her apparel was completed with a pair of gloves and black boots. "It's early." she yawned.
"That would be a little long to explain Rex." Jen said, her body shaking as she looked back at the window. Rex noticed her shaking and with concern overtaking her face she joined her next to the window.
"What the-" Rex started the question but was immediately cut off by the black blurs passing by the window, surprising the both of them, "What the hell is going on?! Who's in there?!" she seemed to be quite awake now, her eyes going wild trying to follow what exactly was going on.
"Albedo..." Jen said, her voice quivering, her mind wondering at the powers currently at work in front of her.
"What?! Who the hell is she fighting with?"
"Herself." Jen bluntly said, her eyes not able to leave the Observation Room, as Rex just turned back shocked.
'Herself? What?' her thoughts wondered.
"What exactly do you mean by 'herself'?" a male voice asked from behind the two girls, as a rather tall, long white-haired man entered the room, his arms crossed. He wore black jeans and boots, along with a black sleeveless vest over a magenta shirt. His magenta colored eyes had black markings around them, as one of his eyebrows rose, he too overlooking the fight.
"That... would be long to explain, as I've just said." Jen repeated with a sigh, "I'll just leave it to them. For now... I think we should just watch and be afraid."
"I see... Then again, with all this noise, how have Atsushi and Leia still not woken up?" the man asked, "They are supposed to be somewhat related to animals."
"Huh, Leia is one for sleeping in, but Atsushi too?" Rex chuckled, "Today is a weird day."
As the mood lifted somewhat in the Observation Room, and as Rex and the man were about to share a laugh, Jen gasped in audible surprise causing the other two to immediately turn back to the window, faces burrowed in concern. Their eyes soon went wide at an object that flew past the window. It was an arm. A left arm to be precise. The trio looked down in shock as the two blurs suddenly appeared and now stood still. Albedo was clutching his left arm, his hand becoming bloodied in the process.
"Ha, first hit!" female Albedo grinned widely.
"This really hurts you know?!" Albedo mock snapped, his arm was already healing at the expense of his abilities and some of his energy. "We are not yet finished my friend." he returned the grin, his appearing cockier than hers as he walked over and picked up his missing appendage, reattached it and through his abilities his arm was back, good as new. "Alright, I guess I should try to fight back myself!"
Jen watched on in concern as Rex and the man seemed to understand what exactly she meant by 'herself'. They did not ask any questions after that just watched with bated breath as the two almost divine powers clashed in front of them with smiles on their faces. Out of the three of them however, only the man was calmly analyzing the situation, his eyes darting from corners of the room as if following their movements.
The two at first glance seemed evenly matched, as they darted around the room without caring much about their surroundings, it would not break anyway so they had no reason to. Unseen by the others up in the Observation Room, the two were grinning at each other quite happily as they literally tore each other apart from strike to strike. Albedo landed a hit, resulting in his counterpart losing an appendage herself. Hers however regenerated quite rapidly, much to the surprise of the Galvan. Their, to the outsiders, sadistic little spar seemed to base points on the amount of 'hits' they could land on the other party. Hits of course being the loss of something easy, by their standards, to regenerate. It was a battle that none of the two fighting sides could have even imagined taking part in a mere year ago, but now they played around with their bodies, inflicting lethal wounds upon lethal wounds with childish happiness, keeping a score. They almost seemed like two kids playing tag, until yet another limb made its way across the room. From time to time, Albedo transformed one or both of his arms in the hopes of at the same time letting his other self catch on to the technique behind partial transformation as it would save a lot of overall energy to spend on other abilities. A strike was blocked by a Petrosapien arm as it shattered, before being followed up by a fireball from the left Pyronite arm. A flurry of continuous strikes later the female Galvan was held up from her legs by a pair of Tetramand arms, however he almost immediately let her go upon realizing that her other gendered counterpart was not exactly all that knowledgeable with human female's sense of shame. The rather pathetic throw came back to haunt him as within moments she was in front of him, her arm going through his shoulder, the pain causing a tear to escape his eyes, 'I suppose I have deserved that.' he shrugged inwardly as he slapped her away.
Their current score was 127 for Albedo, 125 for female Albedo. Albedo was intentionally keeping himself from afflicting too much damage. He had come to witness his counterpart's stupefying regenerative capabilities, but even than he could not be sure that she could regenerate from wounds he himself could easily bounce back from... Simply put, he was holding back, hoping that she would not notice. And for the time being things were seemingly going swimmingly, he was in the lead and his other self was just carefully observing his movements, trying to one up them as the opportunities presented themselves. He used the evolved Arachnichimp's legs to scale the walls, turning his throat into an evolved Necrofriggian's, firing the freezing orange beam at his current enemy, who being caught off guard by the sudden attack got frozen to the ground. Albedo saw it clearly, she was trying to transform her right arm into a Pyronite's to melt away the ice but still could not get the hang of it as she transformed fully instead. Though she turned back immediately after, clearly frustrated.
'Why can I not get it?!' Albedo snapped in her mind. She punched her leg in frustration as she looked up at male Albedo still suspended in a corner of a room eyeing her every move, 'How can he do it so efficiently? Even combining alien forms without much trouble... What am I missing?' she silently lamented her inability as she readied her body for a jump. A jump towards the corner, an action so fast that the other Albedo barely had time to react. He undid the transformation for the spider legs on his back and immediately dropped below her, further enhancing her frustration. 'He is playing with me!' she snapped in fury, 'He is holding back on me! Am I not that worthy of an opponent for him?' she asked of no one as she wondered all the possibilities at why she was having a one sided fight, 'No... He is like you, remember? There has to be a different reason, something...' her eyes then went wide, both from an apparent realization and from the fact that male Albedo was suddenly in front of her, his fist held back ready to punch, 'I forgot he can teleport!' she scoffed as she tried her best to protect herself from the punch by crossing her arms. But the unmitigated impact of his fist colliding with her arms was enough to break them, rendering them useless for at least ten seconds, a window large enough for another attack to come... Which she soon realized was the kick flying towards her side. An attack she was currently unable to block she tried her best to dodge, but the wind pressure generated by her opponent's leg moving still pushed her backwards. 'Gotta... heal...' she sighed inwardly as her hands began returning to their rightful positions.
Her thoughts went back to what she was thinking about before receiving the devastating punch to her protected midsection. 'Even though he is using enough power to damage me at every move, he is still holding back, it is apparent. He is pulling his punches, stopping them just short... Why?' she could not fathom why her opponent was so blatantly breaking the rules of the battle they discussed mildly before starting to pummel each other. Then her eyes went wide in realization as she continued dodging the flurry of strikes coming her way, this time fully healed and ready, she remembered one detail about their conversation, 'He is immortal... But we do not know if I am as well...' she concluded as the pieces seemed to be connecting. 'He is holding back because of me.' she realized as a small smile formed on her face, 'Haha, we are so irredeemable it is insane."
An hour had already gone by in a flash as the two were still, according to them if anyone had asked, just messing around in the Training Room, an activity which they called sparring. However the trio in the Observation Room were beyond lost at the pure speed their attacks had happened. Even then it was nothing more than just a game to the two of them, despite the fact that the first attack was not the only time that a body part went flying... Of course the three observers did not know that was the rule of their game in the first place. The man, the sorcerer being the only one capable of relatively following their movements, and who was still analyzing the situation, spoke up for the first time in a while.
"They seem quite evenly matched all things considered." he declared silently with a sigh. "But that is not exactly a fair assessment as the other Albedo doesn't seem to be going all out."
"What do you mean..?" Jen reluctantly asked, her eyebrows arching upwards.
"It feels like he doesn't want to hit our Albedo with all his strength. He's holding back deliberately against his opponent." the man explained, "I wonder why." he mused, looking out the window as the fight seemed to slow down for the moment.
"Hey, hey!" female Albedo's voice resounded from downstairs but the person herself could not be seen by Rex and Jen for the moment, "This is not exactly a fair fight if you are not going all out!"
She had had enough, she called out to her other self to stop this farce and no matter what happens to take it seriously, at least this once. That was her only desire when facing an enemy she herself could go out on.
"Seems she has noticed as well." he chuckled.
"I cannot well kill you now, can I?" Albedo mocked, "If it turns out you cannot come back that would be quite bad."
"I understand that, and I am thankful for that." female Albedo admitted as the two stopped to look at each other, "But we agreed to go all out for just this once did we not?"
"I suppose that is true." Albedo nodded. "My apologies, I shall get to it."
"Right? So how ab-" however her words faltered as the air around the room changed. The trio in the observation room, with the visible exception of the man who was only forced down to a knee, almost fainted in the matter of seconds, surprising the female Galvan. They took all their might to look back out the window even if barely as female Albedo's head turned back towards her opponent only for her eyes to widen in what appeared to be horror.
What stood before him was not another Galvan-turned-Human anymore... It seemed to be something sinister, the creature was around two and a half meters tall, its face surrounded by a black hooded cloak reaching to his back. Its torso was covered by a single black tank top, torn at some places to reveal a grey ribcage. It wore black jeans with chains from its left pocket running across its chest with black boots to complete the apparel as from the hidden confines of the hood two red small flames glew as if to signify the eyes. The aura it emitted was simply overbearing, she realized this immediately as it took her all to avoid falling to her knees as well, but her mental fortitude was something she prided herself on if nothing else. The large and menacing creature took a step forward before vanishing completely out of sight. The oppressing aura was gone, and everyone's eyes just darted around at the Training Room, searching for wherever the creature might have disappeared to. The man was sweating furiously, all his instincts told him that he needed to do something, but his rational thought countered that by the time he went down there it would all be over.
The next seconds were the moments where everything concluded. As female Albedo was practically panicking at having lost sight of her enemy, so did the others in the Observation Room. There was no sight anywhere of the other Galvan, no feeling, nothing. Then as soon as female Albedo took a step forward, she was immediately forced to the ground with the force of a heavily loaded freight train, closing her eyes from the impact. As soon as she opened her eyes she came face to face with a pale blue colored crystalline blade pointed at her face. The weapon, was in fact Albedo's right arm, as he stood over her now limp body with a scorn... which soon turned into his nowadays usual giddy smile.
"I believe it is my win?" he smiled, as his hand turned back into a human one and he held it out for her to hold on to for support.
"I concede." female Albedo sighed with a relieved smile as she took the offered hand and helped herself get up from the cold floor. "Though I do have to ask... What even was that... form?"
"Oh it is my 'Death' form!" Albedo smiled happily, "I cannot hold it for more than half a second however without my scythe."
"So you just used it to show off." female Albedo concluded.
"Perhaps." Albedo shrugged.
"Are you satisfied?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, putting both her arms on her hips, her heart rate returning to normal.
"Indeed!" he nodded vigorously, "I have learned so much of you just from this fight of ours."
"That is great." female Albedo nodded, before she frowned, "Now how about you show me how to do all that cool stuff you did during all of this?" she asked with all the giddy innocence of a child.
"Haha." Albedo laughed, "As I have promised."
"That reminds me, I did not even know I had a 'Death' form." she pouted.
"Oh have you perchance never tested it in your first otherworldly adventure?"
"Nope. I mostly used my alien transformations whenever we needed to fight." she admitted, "We never got around to testing what that scythe could do before I lost it."
"I myself have only barely tested it before it was gone in a portal." he sheepishly admitted. "Nonetheless you can try it now as well, but like me you will probably not be able to hold it for very long."
"Any pointers?"
"Imagine the feeling when you transform into an alien, but rather than that try to channel some of your latent energies as well. That is all I did and it seemed to do the trick."
"I see." female Albedo nodded as she started to concentrate.
"Oh, hello ladies! And Charmcaster!" Albedo greeted with a wave as the doors opened and Rex, Jen and the man from before, Charmcaster, walked in. "Did you enjoy our little spar?" he asked cheerily.
"Suuure~, let's go with that." Rex cringed at the memories of the most unforgettable moments that have transpired during the past hour.
"You really didn't hold back at the end there." Jen shuddered.
"Apologies for that little charade, but I just could not resist when I was so openly taunted." Albedo bowed apologetically. "Perhaps it is in my human nature."
"You really look like Albedo." Charmcaster commented, examining him from closer, "Or I guess it is our Albedo now?"
"My you are just as quick to catch on as Hope back home." Albedo smiled, "Indeed, I am from a different world as I have already mentioned to your brown-haired friend. I came in through a portal that opened in my room back home, which lead to your Lounge. But since our worlds are practically identical it was not hard to orientate myself."
"Interesting." Charmcaster nodded with a small smile, "So I suppose the only noticeable difference between our worlds as a whole are the genders?"
"Indeed." Albedo nodded, "There seem to be a lot more smaller changes between your Albedo's and my timelines but ultimately the main course of events is exactly identical."
"So in your world there's a dude Rex going around?" Rex asked, "Neat." she grinned.
"Oh, excuse the crude question, but is your name still Rex?"
"Oh no worries, I think it's a viable question, what with what's going on recently." Rex shrugged, "According to my memories its short for Rexanne, but Rex just rolls off the tongue more."
"I see. Hmm, interesting."
"What is?" Rex raised an eyebrow.
"Considering the fact that you are here, would mean that this world in its entirety has connection to worlds that run on the same rule as it as well."
"So... What you're saying is that because we also have a Rex here, and you have him home at your world too, but since they are not natives to this world..." Jen put the pieces together.
"Indeed!" Albedo nodded, "Whilst this world more than likely has a connection to the other worlds the portal could choose from as well, it possibly has a higher resonance, if that is a right word to use here, with worlds that run on the same 'rule' as it. So take for example that this world's main differential is the flipped genders compared to ours, perhaps your world could one day open to a world where Slenderman exists but he would be a lady."
"Whilst I understand this and all, it even makes other things that happened recently make sense, but you don't mean to tell me..." Rex deadpanned at the white haired alien.
"Oh indeed, Slenderman has become part of our little team around four months ago now." he smiled. "To make it easier to imagine, it is more than likely correct to say that everything that is fictional in this world could exist in another world as reality. These are some of the small connections I have found whilst traveling around different worlds for the past four months, there is always a connection, no matter how miniscule."
"Wait... Sumo Slammers could exist in another world?!" Jen suddenly snapped to attention causing Albedo to laugh out loud, "What?" she asked confused.
"Oh, it is nothing. Only that Benjamin reacted the same way once I have brought up the theory." he explained causing the Omnitrix wielder to blush in embarrassment. "There is no reason to be embarrassed dear, to be excited of the unknown means a spirit of adventure!" he declared proudly, "That is what a person I have met told me and I agree with them wholeheartedly." he shrugged, "And what do we know? There might be a world where Sumo Slammers is more than a franchise." he finished, putting a hand on the girl's shoulders.
"So, on that note, what exactly is she doing?" Rex asked, pointing behind Albedo, at his female version who to the naked eyes was just standing there, but Albedo could clearly see the energy culminating around her, and from his reactions Charmcaster could too.
"Oh, she is trying out the whole 'Death' form thing." Albedo explained, "It should click in- now."
As if on cue, female Albedo as well was enveloped in a brief flash of white light, her body also changing to the similar skeletal body Albedo had, the only difference between the two's transformation, was that her's was a tad bit shorter, just like their human forms.
"Hey! It worked!" she said in a deep almost demonic voice before immediately changing back, "Nice!"
"See? I knew you could do it." Albedo smiled, "It just takes practice."
"So if I apply the same theory with my normal transformations..." female Albedo mused. In a matter of seconds after the thought giant blue butterfly like wings sprouted from her back, the wings of a Necrofriggian, the alien Ben called Big Chill. "I can achieve partial transformation as well!"
"Indeed." Albedo nodded with a proud smile.
"Why did I not think of that from the start?" she asked in frustration.
"Because if you are anything like me, which is clear now, you always overcomplicate things from the start." Albedo guessed with a shrug.
"He's right." Jen nodded, Rex and Charmcaster did so as well.
"Hey do not gang up on me!"
"We are ganging up on me, so it is fair." Albedo countered.
"I do not like that logic." female Albedo pouted. "Nonetheless, today has been quite informative thanks to your arrival. Thank you."
"I acted on impulse, there is not much to thank me here for." Albedo shrugged with a small smile, "The portals started in my world, so of course I feel responsible for each opening. Nevertheless, it has been a pleasure meeting you again. It is as if I have met my friends over again."
"Ha, same here!" Rex grinned, "I kinda wanna meet dude me now."
"I am sure that will happen down the line." Albedo shrugged, "I am not one to believe in fate, but I believe our worlds are intertwined enough for another meeting to occur." he then let out a sigh, "On a different note, I suppose you cannot exactly leave this place either."
"Nope." Jen sighed as well, her shoulders drooping, "Not exactly how I saw my life going a year ago."
"I believe that feeling is mutual." Albedo smiled, then his brows furrowed in confusion, as he turned to his other self, "Hold on a moment, if you have not met Slenderman yet, I believe you cannot teleport yet, no? Then how exactly did you help Jennifer's grandmother escape?"
"Oh! You used your own abilities for that?!" female Albedo's eyes lit up, then as if cogs began turning in her head, "Oh right, teleportation. And the whole immortal ability gathering thing... I cannot believe I have forgotten again."
"Indeed." Albedo nodded as the others looked at him confused, "Me or her shall explain later, no worries."
"But yeah, I do not have that." she shook her head, "We have found some experimental tech on our first escape and I have improved on that." the female Galvan explained.
"Oh, intriguing." Albedo nodded, "We were preoccupied with not getting shot."
"Oh yeah, that happened too." Rex nodded, "But she took the time to search a room when we were running for our lives." she cringed.
"Hey! Curiosity got the better of me! And it came in handy down the line did it not?" she grinned proudly, then she took a device out from her pocket, "I also got this." she showed off a cylindrical device no bigger than a normal pencil with a small red light, currently inactive, at the top of it.
"And what exactly is that?" Charmcaster asked with a raised eyebrow as he crossed his arms.
"Well seeing how we had 'otherworldly encounters'," she emphasized the words with air quotes, "Which turned out to be actual, I have created a device capable of hiding how one looks originally. Seeing as how not all of our encountered beings look exactly common it is better to hide them lest our Plumber friends were to recognize that more dimensional guests exist than ones they wanted to hold captive."
"Oh?" Albedo grinned, "Care to share the details?" he rubbed his hands together, "It would help us out much in our own encounters as well. There have been times where I visited worlds where humans were not exactly a species that existed."
"Sounds rough." Rex declared.
"Think about creatures living their own lives normally than suddenly this weird hairless beast arrives out of nowhere." Albedo explained, "Not exactly a pleasant greeting that one."
"Of course." female Albedo nodded, "I only have this guy right now, but you should be able to make it work with my theories and blueprints I believe."
"Indeed, we are the same after all." he shrugged. "I thank you in advance."
Female Albedo began searching through her pockets right after, "It should be somewhere around here..." she mused, only to seconds later make a satisfied face, "There we go!" she grinned widely as she pulled a piece of paper out of one of the pockets on her jeans, "The blueprints!"
Rex and Jen just looked at her in a deadpan expression, Charmcaster just facepalmed with a sigh. Even her other self was amused. "Do you carry that around with you everywhere?" the brown-haired girl asked incredulously.
"Of course! You never know when inspiration might strike!" the Galvan girl declared proudly.
"Ingenious! I should try doing that sometime." Albedo mused as well, going along with her for the fun of it, only for the others to audibly groan.
"You two really are two sides of the same coin." Charmcaster commented.
"Here you go." female Albedo grinned, handing her counterpart the blueprints, ignoring the snide comment made by the sorcerer.
"Are you sure?"
"I have several copies." she grinned.
"Why do you have several copies?!" Jen snapped.
"I got too into it." she shrugged.
Albedo just chuckled then turned towards Jen, "Alright, let us stop with the jokes. Has your cousin and friend reached the Pacific yet with the evacuees in this world?"
Jen's eyes went wide for a couple seconds, but then she responded, "Not yet. They were heading in that direction, why? What's there?"
"If all is the same, there should be an alien settlement on the bottom of the ocean floor. A colony made up of Cerebrocrustaceans and Piscciss Volann. In our world they graciously allowed all the evacuees to stay here, and in the four months I have been gone the colony flourished well with the addition of the human party. I would be proud of the situation were it not for the circumstances which forced it to happen in the first place." he sighed.
"There's an alien colony in the Pacific?" Rex deadpanned. "Nice." she finished with a grin.
"How long has that been there?" Jen asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Wish I could tell you, we have only found out about its existence when they have contacted Gwendolyn, Benjamin's cousin, and allowed shelter for the evacuees. It could have been way before even Undertown's creation for all we know."
"Brainstorms and Ripjaws'..." Jen wondered, "That's not an everyday combination."
"It sure is not." female Albedo nodded, delighted of the information, "But does that not count as a spoiler for information in itself?"
"Hey, it's not like he time traveled." Rex shrugged, Albedo nodding along with him.
"The lady's right. It is just by mere coincidence that I ended up here, and an even bigger coincidence that most events seem to be happening in the same order, as such consider this as a friendly advice rather than anything else." he grinned with a wink. He then turned to Rex, Jen and Charmcaster, looking the trio over with attention to detail, "Hmm, now that I think about it, is it just you three here?"
"Oh no, we have two others as well." Charmcaster explained, "Though for some reason they are still sleeping in."
"For some reason?" Albedo repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Well you see both of their... abilities are centered around animals so to speak, well one of theirs is the other is not even human, so with all the noise you guys made even with the muffling I just find it strange that they're still not up." the sorcerer explained.
"Centered around animals you say?"
"Yeah." Jen nodded, "The boy, Atsushi, comes from a world where according to him there exist people called the gifted with special powers and all. From the names I recognized most of his friends were famous writers in the past here."
"Oh! That sounds rather spectacular." Albedo giddily smiled in intrigue, "What would his ability be then?"
"As he told us it's called 'Beast Beneath the Moonlight'." Charmcaster continued, "It is based on a collection of storied titled 'The Moon Over the Mountain', in our world written by the author bearing his name, of course interestingly in this world the writer was a woman." he smiled at Albedo, "Nonetheless it allows him to transform his body into a large white tiger, sometimes partially if needed and he possesses large scale regeneration thanks to this, of course as one would imagine it is quite powerful as well."
Albedo smiled as he took it all in, "Quite an intriguing ability." he nodded, "And the lady?"
"Well, simply put, Leia is a werewolf." Rex explained with a shrug, "She's also from a different world, now proven true, and she's really strong." she added, "We fought once in Training and she kept up quite well with my builds. She's freely able to transform into the werewolf form without all the full moon theory and all, also whilst she looks tough and all she's a sweetheart."
"A genuine werewolf... I do not believe I have actually met one before." Albedo mused, "If time allows I would like to meet them." he smiled as he started walking towards the door, "I shall grab my jacket, perhaps we can continue this conversation in the Lounge?"
"Sure!" Rex grinned, "I need to know about your world, it sounds fun."
"Rex it's literally the same as this one." Jen pointed out.
"It still sounds fun though!" the black haired girl insisted.
The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.
As the group of five entered the Lounge, both Albedos where hit with a bad feeling that just sent shivers down their spine in eerie unison. They looked at each other and shared a brief nod as they slowed their walking speed.
"Something is not right." female Albedo said cautiously.
"Be on guard." Albedo added, as the other three nodded in response, assuming fighting stance.
They walked closer to the couches slowly. Albedo picked up his jacket as they converged behind the sofa facing the television on the wall. The sensation that the two Galvans were feeling seemed to be coming from under the television... Just the place where Albedo had come through the portal from. Albedo's eyes went wide, his female counterpart followed soon after as she herself seemed to recognize what was going on.
"No! Not again, not this one!" Albedo snapped.
"What is it?!" Jen snapped, worried.
"It is the portal! But not the calm one like the one before..." female Albedo answered.
"It is the one that started it all." the two responded in perfect unison.
True to their fears, in a matter of seconds the space was forcefully and violently tore open under the television, as the blue swirling portal appeared again... However, this time it did not stop growing, it was as if it was trying to envelop the whole room, yet it passed through all inanimate objects. Then it started, the same vacuum like effect the very first portal ever had. It seemed as if the other portals after it just forgotten about that ability, as if they were not capable of it, but this made it all so clear. It was never that they had no way of using the vacuum again, but rather they had no need to.
"It wants us." Albedo concluded with a gasp, "It needs to force us to go... That is the reason the vacuum is here again!"
"Are you telling me this thing wanted you from the beginning?!" Jen snapped at the both of them.
They shared a worried laugh as female Albedo answered, "It seems that way."
Suddenly, the power of the vacuum intensified as the group was left with no ground to stand on for support, they accepted their fate and disappeared through the swirling mass. Whilst it was now an everyday occurrence for Albedo, the other four were quite freaked out, with the exception of the other Albedo who was just looking around, her intrigue visible on her face from afar. The portal closed soon after, leaving the room in the serene silence of the morning.
Well, there we go. The first part ends on a cliffhanger, I have not done that yet have I? Not like it matters anyway since the next part is ready to read as well. Where exactly have our unfortunate heroes ended up thanks to the annoying portal? Is it pleasant, or perhaps infuriating? Eh, I'm not good at creating suspense like this so see for yourself.
Yes, the whole thing with Rex asking a question then responding with a short one worded answer turned out to be the unintentional gag in this chapter, I apologize for that.
Nonetheless this chapter, had turned out much, much longer than I would have suspected, that is why it needed to be split, but I believe the spot where I chose to split the two parts is where the story actually differentiates between the two parts, though I guess since I am the one writing that is to be expected. Onward towards the future!
('Turn' the page.)