There we go, the other side of the second portal. A place full of misery, and mystery.
Chapter 3: The Other Side
Part 2
Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D.
The blue portal opened high above the ground, almost mimicking the first ever opening of it back in the first world Albedo had ever visited, allowing the five reluctant travelers to fall out of it onto the hard and coarse ground with an audible impact. Each with their own pained groan accompanying their landing took some time to let go of the gained pain as Albedo stood up with a frown, fists clenched shaking them towards the sky.
"It is always the sky with you, is it not!?" he groaned angrily, looking up towards the sky where the portal was already closing, "Where are we this time?" he asked of no one in particular in a grumble, 'Wasteland? Why, that is certainly not very descriptive.' he sighed inwardly as his eyes darted to the already disappearing letters telling him his location. By now he has more than gotten used to them, what with the past four months' worth of traveling, even if he still did not know the cause of them he had to admit they came in handy more times than not. Not having to rely on machinery or items in times like this were a lifesaver. 'Seems we are in a possible future of a world. A rather sad one if I might add.' he concluded, "Everyone in one piece still I hope?"
"Barely." Jen groaned, picking herself off the ground.
"Is it always this rough with the landing?" Rex rubbed her waist, as she fell on it upon landing.
"89% of the time." Albedo sighed. "It is good that we got dropped off at the same place however, it sometimes has the rare tendency to split us up."
"With how big it opened, I would like to think this was intentional." female Albedo shrugged, "Where are we anyhow?" she turned towards her counterpart, somewhat expecting him to know the answer. Her eyes narrowed upon looking at him, "I have seen that look in your eyes just now." she raised an eyebrow. "Spill."
"Look, I do not know much more than the fact that this is obviously some sort of wasteland. We are also in the year 2345, though if it is still your Earth or a different world's one, I do not know. Though judging by how dilapidated everything looks, my guess is on the latter."
"You can tell what year we are in just by being here?" Charmcaster raised an eyebrow.
"It would be a lengthy story to tell." Albedo explained, "Albeit I believe we have the time with us already being here, we can tell you while we walk."
"Fair enough." the sorcerer nodded.
"Before that however, do you know any sort of environmental protection spell?" he asked turning towards the sorcerer.
"I do." he nodded in response, "Why, is there a problem?"
"Whilst the Sun is going down now, so it might not be as prominent, the whole feel of this world is off. The rays of your Sun seem to be more intense, I would not like to take chances if possible."
"I see." Charmcaster nodded, understanding the concerns, he was quite used to judging things with how they 'felt' with his own Albedo so he chose to believe the other Galvan as he casted a small barrier like spell on everybody present, "This should protect us from most environmental dangers present."
"Thank you, that will suffice." female Albedo smiled as she and her counterpart nodded to each other and the group set off.
Walking around the seemingly endless wasteland the two Galvans caught the other three up on the fine details of their conversation from before. Mostly about Albedo's world, and his power differences compared to their own. They, expectedly, marveled at the fact that he was immortal, and the unethical way he copied abilities. But all were at a loss at the meaning of the words appearing whenever he arrived in a different world, of course he simplified it since the words appeared at any new location he visited. Their talk concluded after a good hour and yet they still did not find any sort of buildings or civilization, not even remnants. However, this changed after about an additional twenty minutes when giant ruined skyscrapers filled their sight. It was close to dusk now, the Sun descending slowly over the horizon. The evening Sun illuminated how the once glorious buildings toppled over and into each other, windows shattered, sand covering the bottom of most. What once might have been a bustling cityscape was now no more than a few ruins. There could not have been more than four still sticking out enough from the ground to be considered shelter as the group hastily made their way over to it.
"Guess that confirms that this is some sort of apocalypse scenario." Albedo mused, his brows in a frown.
"Not the most pleasant sight." female Albedo sighed. "Have you seen sights such as this?"
"We have seen some other forms of apocalyptic scenarios yes, but none where the vegetation was almost completely gone." he answered, looking around as they neared the buildings.
"What could have caused all this?" Jen asked, looking around with concern, not liking one bit what she saw.
"Judging by you humans' history, it could have easily been another war. Perhaps one on a nuclear scale? Only that could I imagine doing this to the landscape." Albedo explained with disinterest, "Humans are always capable of destroying themselves quite efficiently, yet there are still those that survive." he sighed deeply, "Even so, this is quite the destruction. I would not actually be surprised if humanity has completely died out in this world, however that we cannot be sure of just yet. Also explains what I have been feeling about the Sun and the air in general, it is entirely possible that the ozone layer as a whole was damaged because of whatever caused all this."
"I see." female Albedo nodded, agreeing with the claims, "That indeed has some basis."
"You seem quite judgmental of us dude." Rex commented.
"Oh, I do believe our worlds are somewhat exempt from such tragic war like scenarios thanks to the presence of aliens and various peace keepers, but in worlds where there are only humans, one sees things whilst traveling through the dimensional border my young friend." the Galvan added, "War is always the same with you humans, fighting each other over trivial matters in the long run, I will never understand that." he suddenly clapped his hands together, shaking everyone back to their current situation, "My, look at how gloomy I made you all with my ramblings! Let us not worry about that for now. If the portal sent all of us here than there must be something for us to do."
"How can you be so sure of that?" his female counterpart asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, why of course every place we visited had some sort of conflict to solve thus far... No never mind, not every place, but the majority did! This should not be any different now should it?"
"Ha, when you put it that way." Jen grinned. "It sounds really reassuring." she added sarcastically.
The aliens' eyes narrowed, before turning around "Now that we are here, I propose we take shelter in one of these buildings." Albedo said, looking towards the horizon, "From the looks of it a nasty sandstorm is brewing close to us, I am sure we would not want to be caught by that." the others nodded in unison. "Also, thanks to the protection spell whatever had felt off we are safe from. Though if I had to guess with how hot the Sun's rays are even in these late hours, perhaps an unfortunate side effect of the supposed war as we have thought preciously, but if the UV radiation is higher I would very much like all of you to avoid getting cancer if possible. So thank you once again for the spell."
"Of course." Charmcaster nodded, "It is good that we listened to your feeling if anything."
The other three shuddered, "Yeah." Jen nodded vigorously, "Anything that's better than skin cancer is preferable." she finished.
"That one looks the most protected." female Albedo pointed to a building surrounded by other collapsed ones, "Should work the best for our purposes." with that they set off towards the building in question, reaching it in a matter of minutes as night was quickly approaching as well.
Ruins, Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D.
"Hmm. With everything else being in a severe state of disrepair I would have expected the insides to be much the same." Albedo commented, taking a look in the room they entered into. Indeed, compared to the multitude of broken windows, and cracked walls the insides were safe, considerably. The floor was broken, cracked of course but nothing inside the room was practically beyond use. "It is almost as if people have been living here just recently."
"That's never a good sign in apocalyptic scenarios is it?" Jen sighed. "They're usually the bandit kinds of people."
"Ha! I would have said you read too much fiction, but that can entirely be possible." female Albedo shrugged, "Either way I think we are capable of handling the situation, were such a thing to arise."
"You got that right." Rex nodded with a confident grin.
Albedo was looking out the window at the moment, his brows furrowed at the storm materializing in the distance, "It would seem we shall have to spend the night here. The storm looks quite serious."
"Great. Second otherworldly trip and we're already stuck in a ditch." Rex groaned.
"I feel ya." Jen nodded in agreement. "It's better than the alternative."
"I guess."
"Do not fret, it should clear up by the morning, then we can find the cause of us being sent here, if there is any to begin with." Albedo smiled, "For now I suggest you try your best to keep warm, the night looks to be a long one."
"Ha, it's funny how we woke up about an hour ago and it's night again." Jen commented. "Is this the ushe for you?" she asked from Albedo.
"Nowadays I would have to say yes." he shrugged, "You get used to it after the first couple of times."
"I guess there's that."
The next couple hours following this conversation were spent anxiously awaiting the storm. The group did not speak much after that, having no real topics to talk about and on the other hand the silence helped them pay attention to the surrounding sounds more. The wind blowing slowly, the close by sound of arachnids skittering about the floor, afraid of the new occupants of the room, the breathing of their friends. Time slowed as their senses seemed to pick up all of the surrounding sound with ease now. Soon enough, not long before the storm got there if Albedo had to guess, they finally heard voices different from each other's, coming nearby, getting progressively closer. They listened in, in the hopes that their new arrivals who were bound to find them there would not be immediately hostile... However, Albedo's eyes practically bugged out of his skull as he heard the voices in more detail upon them closing in. Soon enough, Charmcaster seemed to pick up the familiarity of one of the voices, which should not have been possible.
"Ha! We somehow made it back before the storm!" one voice, belonging to a young male, sighed in relief from downstairs under their floor, separated from them by a single staircase.
"Told you exploring was a bad idea!" a female voice snapped, her annoyance clearly reflecting in her tone.
"But without exploring, what's the fun?" the familiar voice asked as they seemed to be getting louder, presumably from climbing up the stairs.
As the girls and sorcerer took semi battle stances, time seemed to freeze for the Galvan as he looked on towards the stairs leading up to their floor. Not long after, three heads became visible, followed soon by the people they belonged to as they slowly arrived at the top of the stairs. One with messy unkempt brown hair, one with spiky black hair, and one with long flowing white hair in a long ponytail, with magenta tips.
"No way..." Albedo felt himself grinning widely, an unconscious reaction at their new arrivals who froze upon reaching the floor. The other trio looked at the group in surprise, then their eyes locked with Albedo's. Then, without a moment's notice, the girl on the opposing end ran forward before anyone from Albedo's end was able to do anything and hugged the alien tightly who just chuckled gently in response. "Hello to you too dear."
"You left without us again!" the girl pouted, looking up at the alien with teary eyes, "Some brother."
"I thought we wouldn't see your face again!" the brown haired teen grinned as he walked over, reflexively fist bumping the alien who returned the gesture eagerly.
"What are you talking about?" Albedo asked teasingly, "You see my face every time you look into the mirror."
That seemed enough of the clue for Albedo's group to start looking at their new arrivals in more detail. The brown-haired boy, wearing the same clothing as Jen, the spiky haired one dressed the same as Rex, and the girl with the magenta shirt under a black sleeveless west with form fitting pants and a pair of boots.
"Ah, so that's how it is." Charmcaster smiled as he stood up from the ground, walking over to their new arrivals, stopping not too far from them intending on letting them catch up.
"How are you all here?" Albedo asked in wonder, "In the specific place I got sent to?"
"I dunno where you ended up dude, but we came here... No we got dropped out here roughly an hour after you left, according to our tall amigo back home." the black haired boy mused, "That was what, three weeks ago now?"
Albedo's eyes went wide, "Three weeks?"
"Y-yeah." the brown haired boy nodded reluctantly, "Why?"
"Benjamin... I left about two hours ago." he revealed as everyone's faces around them reflected their shock at the revelation, "So it happened again..." he let out a lengthy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Either way, I am happy to see you are all doing well. Though that makes me wonder, how exactly did you find sustenance for three weeks in such a barren wasteland?"
"Ha!" the white-haired girl proudly smacked her chest, "I have learned of our four months of torture! I store food in a pocket dimension now!"
"Whilst that is ingenious Charmcaster my dear, I worry about the reason you had to do so." Albedo cringed.
"It's all on you!" Charmcaster snapped with a pout.
"I see, I apologize." Albedo sheepishly nodded, "One forgets that others still require sustenance to function whilst they do not."
"Alright, okay, now that we know everything and everyone is fine and dandy and all..." Rex, the remaining person, commented, "I think it's time we address the elephant in the room. Who are these guys?" he asked pointing towards the three on the ground and the sorcerer not too far from them standing next to a wall, quietly listening.
"Oh indeed! Let me introduce you-" Albedo smiled as he grandiosely walked over to the other group, "-to your alternate gendered selves!"
"Who with the what now?" Ben asked hastily with raised eyebrows, Jen just looked at him with a chuckle in response.
"Indeed!" Albedo grinned wider, "I have ended up in quite a similar world to ours Benjamin just before this one."
The two Rexes looked each other over, leaned in close, inspected the other party close, walked around each other in circles before grinning and extending a hand which the other shook vigorously, but not before the both of them simultaneously declared: "Hey girl/dude me is pretty hot!"
"Do we call that an ego or..?" male Charmcaster asked, finally walking over to his female counterpart who just sighed.
"I don't even know how Rex works." she responded as the two shared a sympathetic look and laughed.
"So... You're Ben huh?" Jen walked closer to Ben and smiled as he looked at him, "Nice clothes!"
"Hey, same goes to you!" Ben grinned as the two fist bumped each other, "I guess great minds think alike?"
"Well according to your Albedo our universes are really similar so I'd guess so?" Jen shrugged as the two shared a laugh as well.
"My, I expected all of you to be a lot more surprised." female Albedo addressed Albedo's group in the room with a curious smile.
"Eh, after a while you get desensitized." Ben shrugged, "Plus I've already met about seven different versions of myself so one more is not too big of a deal."
"Hey, no fair!" Jen pouted, "That didn't happen with me."
"Eh, I doubt you'd want Vilgax trying to destroy all the timelines but the one where you don't get the Omnitrix so he could rule with an iron fist, to be fair." Ben shrugged.
"Yikes." Jen deadpanned, "What the hell kinda lives do you guys have?"
"Hectic." Ben cringed at all the terrible memories, "Especially nowadays."
"Go figure." Jen nodded, "Your grandm-father doing okay?"
"Still not woken up." Ben revealed sadly, "But he's getting better. You?"
"About the same." Jen sighed, "But from what I hear you guys are four months ahead of us, even with all the stopped time business so you got that going for you."
"Hah, you say that but you figured out time has stopped before Albedo did." Ben laughed.
"I chalk it up for our resident Galvan being a lot more impulsive than yours."
"Hey, I heard that!" female Albedo snapped from behind them causing the two to look at each other and just laugh.
"So you traveled with your Albedo for four months?" male Charmcaster asked with intrigue resonating in his voice.
"Me and another friend of ours yeah. We never knew where we would end up." she suddenly shuddered, "There were some baaad places man."
Just seeing the visible horror in his counterpart's eyes let male Charmcaster know that he should not push the topic further, "Still, I find that impressive. To be able to just fearlessly jump into a blue swirling abyss without knowing where you'd end up? Takes guts in my book."
"I was like that the first few times yeah." Charmcaster admitted, "But after a while the fear just gets replaced by curiosity and then you're just wondering where you'll end up next, sometimes its places like this, other times it's a world made of candy. It's practically a Russian roulette."
"A world made of... candy?" male Charmcaster raised an eyebrow, "That sounds strangely intriguing."
"It was. For the first week." Charmcaster nodded, "Then you realize that everything you have ever known is sticky."
"It is good that you lot are getting acquainted as it seems we will have to spend the night." Albedo joined them with a sigh, looking back out of the broken windows. "Have you encountered anything sapient so far?" he asked turning towards Ben. "Or any life forms for that matter?"
"From what we've seen when we could go out, small desert animals seem to be thriving around here." Ben explained, "We have heard voices, but from the snippets, they aren't exactly a friendly bunch. Though I wouldn't expect that from a world like this anyway." he sighed, remembering a version of himself being a tyrannical overlord in a similar world. "If there are decent people out there, they're sure as hell not around here." he concluded.
"I see." Albedo sighed, "That is... unfortunate." he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "That means that we will more than likely have to fight, shall we have an encounter with another party."
"Highly likely yeah." Rex nodded.
"Anything else we should take note of?" female Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow, her hands mimicking her writing in an imaginary notebook.
"The Sun kills."
"Excuse me?" both Albedos asked in unison.
"Well not in the literal sense." Charmcaster corrected, "But the Sun during the day is extremely hot, so we guessed that the ozone layer might have been slightly damaged in whatever caused this to happen to this world. I say slightly because we are still alive and without disease even though we went out in the blazing Sun." she explained, "Though I did cast a slight protection spell on all of us so that might have helped."
"So, in a nutshell it gets extremely hot during most of the day." Rex generalized. "We found these ruins not long after arriving in this world and had to stay here for most of the days."
"If anything sapient is out there, I'm pretty sure they are adapted to what this world has become, and if they are humans then..."
"So basically the only way to live actively in this world is going underground I'm guessing?" female Rex asked with a raised finger, "Then you guys are pretty lucky."
"Lucky is right." Albedo nodded, "Before arriving here I have felt that the Sun was not what we are used to, sadly my suspicions have just been confirmed by our own actions and now even you. On that note, are you sure you three are all right? UV radiation should not be underplayed."
"We're good." Ben nodded with a happy smile, he wouldn't have thought a year ago that Albedo of all people worrying about his wellbeing would feel good. "Just as Charmcaster said she had a protective spell cast on us and even checked us with another spell, all vitals are normal and no abnormal conditions were present."
"And when exactly did you learn that?" Albedo asked with a raised eyebrow and a grin, just messing around since male Charmcaster had the same spell cast on his new friends just today.
"I quite literally learn something new every day." the girl proudly declared. "I found a medical spell book in one of the libraries we went to and just stored it for later." she explained, then her eyes went wide, "I meant the info! I didn't steal the book!"
Albedo laughed, "Of course. I never suspected otherwise." he then sighed in relief, "That is good then."
"May I see that book perhaps?" male Charmcaster asked, "It would prove useful for both of us to help with protection I believe."
"Oh sure!" Charmcaster beamed, as she started searching next to her in thin air. According to her the opening to her pocket dimension was invisible to those without magic power, so at most only Ben and Jen could see a small fragment besides the two sorcerers with their partial Anodite heritage. "There it is." she smiled as she handed the book over. The two spellcasters soon sat down at a nearby ruined table to go over the books.
"She seems to be enjoying his company." Albedo smiled, genuinely happy that the girl finally had someone to talk about common interests with. Well, common interests in the field of magecraft.
"You are telling me." female Albedo smiled as well, "Seems this meeting was profitable for not just us two."
"Seems that way."
The sandstorm finally reached them, but not long before that they took shelter in a room that the trio barricaded in their time in this world. With the windows barred and their only light source being the spells of the two sorcerers floating as a magenta orb, the people sat close to each other, as with all other deserts the temperatures drastically lowered in the night. Charmcaster's trauma filled four months provided enough insight for her to be ready for any occasion, pulling out a multitude of blankets and edibles from a small portal she conjured up, deciding that messing around in thin air seemed to be weird to everyone but her other self. There was even a rather large blanket, if Albedo had to guess it was the size of Slenderman, he silently smiled at the thoughtfulness of the giddy girl. He could not fathom what she must have been like when she was obsessed with power as Benjamin had told him, but as him and the brown haired hero locked eyes with each other, they both seemed happy at who she has become now.
"Assuming that since you needed to fortify this room, another similar storm has passed by earlier during your stay?" female Albedo asked, covered from the neck down in a dark green blanket, making her look like a spring roll. She of course was not actually cold, but liked the warmth in her heart that the blanket provided, it was a feeling she could not actually explain were she asked why.
"Oh yeah, it caught us off guard the first time." Rex nodded as he cringed at the memory, "Me and Ben blocked the side that was mainly hit whilst Hope looked around for anything we could use for a temporary blockade. We fortified it better once the whole thing blew over."
"They seem to be quite frequent." Ben commented.
"It would be quite disheartening if this turned out to be a place that is bustling in our world." Albedo admitted.
"Imagine this place being Jersey or something." female Rex shuddered.
"Why Jersey?" male Charmcaster asked.
"Dunno." female Rex shrugged, "First thing that came to mind."
The group shared a chuckle as they continued the idle talk until everyone but the two Galvans fell asleep. They just looked over everyone sleeping with a smile on their faces, silently chuckling with each other. Soon after, in the middle of the night the storm quieted down as the duo looked out at the moonlit wasteland through a small gap in the barriers, not a sign of life besides the visage of similar ruins in the distance. As if reading the other's thoughts, the two wondered what could have caused this to this world. Perhaps if Albedo's theory is right, then it would not exactly be surprising with the eternal internal conflict of humanity. As much as the two hated their own planet, one thing they agreed on and that was that whilst most of the Galvans might have been stuck up, they at least knew how to live in peace with each other.
Morning arrived soon, yet they still could not go out thanks to the pure heat radiating through the blocked windows. The two abnormal Galvans had no real heat perception anymore, but everyone else in the room was in agreement that it was hot so they did what first came to mind: They turned into Polar Manzardills, and in a matter of minutes breathed ice to the corners of the room, which acted almost immediately in cooling it down considerably.
"Arctiguana?" Ben and Jen asked in unison, then looked at the other in surprise, only to chuckle.
"Haven't used the guy in a while, now that I think about it." Ben mused. "Nice, now I can actually exist in this room." he sighed as he fell back, laying on the floor.
"Wait how did you guys stay cool then?" Rexanne asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh similarly, I just used Big Chill." Ben waved dismissively, "But that didn't last as long as Arctiguana's now that I think about it."
"Indeed, the internal compound Necrofriggians use to freeze objects is different in the make-up from a Polar Manzardill's." Albedo nodded as he turned back, "Whilst a Necrofriggian's freezing power might be stronger, it will not last as long in the extreme heat present here." he explained. "However, on a normal temperature scale, both should last quite a while." he then chuckled, "Plus if the room needs cooling now we have four people who can actively transform so I believe we should be alright."
"True that." Jen nodded. "So, what's the plan on getting home?"
"If by chance we only arrived here on a coincidence then I believe we shall have to wait." Albedo declared, "On the other hand however, if we do have something to do like with most of our previous cases I advise we get to it so we can safely get home."
"I see." female Albedo nodded, once again mimicking writing into a notebook.
"I've been meaning to ask, what exactly are you doing?" Charmcaster asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Taking mental notes!" she explained. "I just like to do the motion."
"Do you do the same?" male Charmcaster asked from Albedo.
"Of course. Just without the motions." he chuckled. "Now then, I believe it best we wait until dusk and head out then."
"That would be for the best yes." his counterpart nodded, "We cannot risk you all dying on us."
"The same goes for you too missy." Albedo scolded his other self, "Unlike me, a certain someone is not confirmed to be able to revive."
"Wait, you're not immortal?" Rex asked.
"Never really had the chance to check you know?" she shrugged.
"Oh yeah, I get ya."
"Fine, fine I get it, I shall be careful." she sighed, "Better?"
"Indeed."
"Why does your voice sound like you need to take care of a bunch of kids?" Ben asked.
"Why, is that not what I am doing?" Albedo chuckled.
The group shared a small laughter as female Albedo just pouted with crossed arms. Having nothing productive to do, Rexanne pulled out a deck of cards as everyone safe for the two Albedos began playing the whole day away. Keeping points on the worn floor boards Ben and Jen were tied for first place as everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. So much so that no one seemed to notice that the Sun was on its way down past the horizon once more.
"Alright people, it is time to move out." Albedo clapped twice, catching everyone's attention. "We have to do something productive after all."
Before heading off the two sorcerers surrounded everyone but the two Albedos in a more compound spell than the one male Charmcaster used before, one that would help them not freeze during the night or should they still be outside in the morning, protect against the Sun's rays. When asked why they did not use the spell to keep warm during the previous night the two explained that whilst the barrier does keep its occupant somewhat warm it would have not much effect on a stationary target. Basically, it was a motion sensing heater, which helped movement through cold environments but not actually perpetually staying warm. The explanation seemed satisfactory as everyone turned towards the stairs.
Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D.
Setting off, the group of eight left behind their shelter for the past night and day and entered the vast wasteland in front of them. Walking for a good while in a direction the two Albedos agreed on, Albedo seemed to tense up yet still continued forward. He looked behind him, not moving his head too much, only his eyes as he locked eyes with Ben.
'We are being followed.' he transmitted his thoughts never once turning back, 'A group of fifteen or so, adults by the feel of them. For now, act natural until we know their intentions that is.'
Ben pulled off a thumbs up as he went to scratch his head with his right hand as everyone else quietly signaled as well that they understood. They continued in silence forward, unblocked from their destination, yet Albedo still felt whoever it was following them, wondering why they still have not made their move yet.
'I suppose they are waiting for us to settle down to rest.' Albedo thought, sharing the thoughts with everyone else again, once again surprising the alternate gendered counterparts with the sudden voice in their heads, but even then they did their best to not act too surprised, 'Let us lure out our rude stalkers, shall we?' the others nodded in response as Albedo slowed to a halt, then turned to his left, as if just noticing the building not so far from them. "I believe we should rest there for tonight." he said, a bit louder than he intended to.
"It's about time!" Ben groaned in fake annoyance, "We were walking forever!"
'Your acting got better.' Albedo commented teasingly.
'Shut up.' Ben pouted.
Walking closer to the building, Albedo felt multiple presences converging behind them and beside himself grinned, 'Hook line and sinker.' he commented, sharing his thoughts with everyone else, who obviously could not really feel other people.
A Lonely Building, Wasteland, Unknown Place, 2345 A.D.
Everyone occupied a different location inside the room the entered into and quickly pretended to go to sleep, mimicking fatigue from the walking. Shortly after roughly fifteen or so people entered through the missing wall of the room. The two Albedos listened with bated breath to every detail of their conversation. Albedo would have preferred to calmly diffuse the situation... however the next details of the conversation of two who seemed like leader figures made his blood boil with fury as a vein was visible on his forehead in anger.
A ragged, bearded man, dressed up in a rather typical post-apocalyptic attire, consisting of ragged and at some places ripped clothing, still covering most of his skin, covered with various metal and rebar connected to worn leather used as protection. Upon further inspection all of the others who have entered were dressed similarly. The man, previously described and thought to be the main leader figure, chuckled silently.
"...Look boys!" he dramatically turned around, arms wide, "We hit the jackpot today! Women! And a bunch of 'em, not to mention quite a fine bunch as well!" he snickered, still trying his hardest to be silent as the others did the same, lecherous and depraved expressions etched onto all of their faces... Albedo has heard enough. Before his female counterpart could even react, he was gone, nowhere to be seen, appearing seconds later in front of the leader, gripping him by the throat with his inhumane power, holding him up high above his head. The metal plate around his neck, serving as makeshift protection began giving away under the sheer pressure of the alien's grip. It was apparent to his friends that something was not right with the alien's furious reaction.
"Oho? Is that so?" he grinned sadistically, once again not realizing he did so as Charmcaster began to look worried from the back upon hearing the tone of his voice, "The jackpot you say..?"
"W-what the hell?!" one of the men gasped in horror upon the sight of what was happening in front of him. The leader was dangling helplessly at the mercy of a... a kid. As soon as he looked at the eyes of said kid however he felt as if all hope had left his body, the sheer pressure his presence emitted made him fall to his knees.
Before anyone of Albedo's group could do anything, the leader whilst gasping for air reached into a holster on his leg with great effort that went unnoticed by his captor as he pulled out a gun, a simple yet not too stable looking pistol and shot Albedo in the face point blank. A loud bang went out as everyone's eyes went wide at the sight. Albedo's group wanted to believe that he'd be okay, but at the sight of what just happened they couldn't really think rationally... That is until taking in the fact the alien who should have probably died or at least fallen back just began chuckling without even recoiling from the shot, half of his face a mangled mess of tissue his voice distorted by his injuries.
"Wrong answer." he declared calmly, tightening his grip. The metal around the man's neck was practically fused with his skin by that point as Albedo just looked at him with disdain, "I believe this is goodbye." he said, his face slowly beginning to heal... as he tossed the man outside with enough force for him to disappear behind some dunes, not before taking half of the group with him however who all scattered atop the sand dunes outside. Soon after he looked at everyone still remaining in front of him as they in their frightened haste could not even reach for their guns. The sight of the horribly disfigured face healing without an issue was enough to cause them to lose their hope, but the alien kept advancing, however before they could so much as run, at an inhumane speed Albedo downed all of them with punches and slaps at the force of cinder blocks.
"ALBEDO!" Charmcaster's worried voice rang out causing the alien to look at the worried girl in confusion. To her horror, inexplicably so, Albedo's irises were shrunken down, smaller than their usual size, as if signaling that something was not right, he cocked his head to the side in question as he lifted his foot off the back of one man on the ground and stared at her blankly, before his irises returned to their normal size and he shook his head in confusion, looking at his shaking hands in horror.
"What exactly happened around here?" he asked in his best effort to stay calm as the sorceress' worries grew.
"You happened." Ben chipped in, worried much the same at what just happened.
"W-what..?" Albedo's eyes went wide, "A-again..? I blanked out again?"
The girl meekly nodded, unsure of how to be supportive right now, "You even spoke this time..." she declared, "Your tone, your demeanor... They were so different." she added, her worry audible in her voice clearly.
"I..." Albedo just blankly stared at his own hands, not remembering anything from the past two minutes, his last memory being his anger... Anger at these men under him and their vile thoughts, they shou- 'No!' he snapped in his thoughts, holding his head in pain, 'Stop! That is not me!'
'Of course not...' a different voice sounded in his head, not one he knew, not precisely, as he looked around the ruined building as if the voice came from nearby him, 'You and I are obviously not the same...' it said before it faded away, leaving the alien alone with his thoughts. His face now fully healed, it was hidden behind his hands as he covered his face in a complex array of emotions.
However before any conversation or explanation could be had at all... The ground began to shake violently under them as the sole remaining member of the bandit group, who Albedo assumed to be a secondary leader just laughed mindlessly surrounded by the bodies of his comrades. They, by the looks of it, were still alive even if barely yet he seemed to have lost it.
"THEY'RE HERE!" he snapped, pointing a shaking index finger at Albedo, causing the alien to face him, "This is what you deserve for what you did! YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" he snapped, as female Albedo walked up to him and wacked him enough to knock him out, just as concerned about his counterpart as everyone else.
"You talk way too much you know that?" she asked sarcastically as the ground continued to shake. As she looked out the room's missing wall, in the distance something could be seen slithering through the sand. To female Albedo's evolved eyes it seemed to be covered in cream colored hard scales from the parts sticking out occasionally as it made its way towards them. "Albedo!" she snapped, bringing her other self back to the present as his worries seemed to be gone for now, "We have company!" Multiple of the same creatures could be seen converging on their location slowly but surely from the distance as the alien audibly gulped in shock.
"What is it?!" Ben snapped in a worried tone.
"...Sandworms." Albedo slowly declared, his composition slowly turning into panic. Charmcaster ran up to him and shook his shoulder in a panicked hurry.
"Sandworms?!" she snapped, "Here?! How?!"
"What?" Ben asked, "Someone explain! How do you know these things? What even are they?" he asked, himself not yet seeing the creatures.
"Sandworms Benjamin." Albedo repeated.
"I get that! But what are they?!"
"Sandworms." Charmcaster repeated as well, both of them shaking.
"Explain already!" female Albedo snapped.
Albedo coughed awkwardly, regaining his composure a little, "Sandworms, as the name would suggest, are large omnivorous worms usually living in quite warm climates... In a different world... Or so I thought."
"Okay. Big worms." Jen nodded, slightly disgusted, "What's so bad about them?" that questioned caused both Charmcaster and Albedo to just look at her in an awkward stare, slightly unnerving the brunette girl.
"Their bodies tend to be anywhere between 50 and 150 meters long, covered in extremely tough scales that are nigh impenetrable and are capable of regenerating at insane speeds."
"Why would the scales need to rege-" Ben stopped himself, "Oh no."
"Yes. They can flare up if angered, threatened or in general when its hunting and is capable of firing multiple rows of its scales that tear through flesh as if it was tissue paper. On occasion, the scales are coated in a biotoxin as well that paralyzes its victims. A large mouth occupies the space on the head of the worm filled with about fifteen rows of small sharp teeth that practically act like a saw when biting... And they are attracted to blood and the pheromones the body generates when you are afraid..."
"H-how impenetrable are we talking here..?" Ben was afraid to ask, thinking back on the detail about their scales.
"A Petrosapien was blocked without issue." Albedo explained then he began visibly shuddering, "My sheer raw inhumane strength could also barely do anything to them."
That sentence alone hit the nail hard on the head for everyone to realize why exactly the two of them were so afraid of the creatures, if even Albedo's overpowered strength could barely dent the creatures, and multiple were arriving at their location shortly, their only option was to run.
"How did you defeat one when you met them the first time..?" Rexanne asked, fearing it was a wrong question.
"Defeat..? No, no, no." Albedo shook his head.
"Jeff jumped inside one and cut up its insides and the thing just effortlessly spit him out... Then it got angry."
"These creatures are apex predators." Albedo concluded, "With no natural predator or enemy, this creature will be your grave if we stay here."
After a couple seconds of silence everyone in the group nodded in agreement. The two Rexes built their rides allowing the two sorcerers on it so they do not expend their mana, whilst Ben, Jen and the two Albedos turned into Kinecelerans, leaving the band of outlaws there in their unconscious state.
"Is it okay to just leave them there?" Ben asked.
"Anyone who would think of a friend of mine as a plaything can gladly become worm food Benjamin." female Albedo declared, Albedo silently agreeing with her, his thoughts still on his recent odd behavior.
"Plus they will probably leave us alone if they eat them right?" Rex awkwardly asked. Normally none of them would have been fine with leaving even people like that behind but this world seemed to operate on kill or be killed, and those who would rather kill others instead can surely expect the same fate to befall on them. Ben was frustrated. His newest friend was acting strange and even he didn't seem to know why, he was forced into the whole portal fiasco reluctantly, and ever since that trip that took two of his friends with it... he seemed to be fine with decisions where he had to sacrifice someone for the protection of his friends... He did not like that, he did not want to be fine with it, he wanted to blame someone else but he knew he chose to act like that by his own will... His friends, his family were a lot more important to him here than some strangers of a different world... He was no longer the famed hero he was a year ago, he acknowledged that fact and took it to heart... Ben Tennyson has changed. Rex was having a similar internal conflict. Ever since curing the EVOs worldwide back home he had not needed to make such decisions, but ever since he arrived here choices like that have become the norm. The two sighed almost in unison as they mulled over what the future may hold for them. Whatever it may be they were ready to protect everyone they held dear.
The group continued in the night, slowing down ever so slightly as it seemed the group of worms has indeed left them alone. With a sigh of relief Rex and Rexanne deconstructed their builds and the others transformed back. They lay down on the soft and cold sand, catching their breaths as everyone turned towards Albedo with worried gazes, everyone but Charmcaster who was practically panicking.
"Okay." Ben sighed, "Now that the situation seems to have calmed down." he started, "Could you share with us too?"
"You are right, I should have told you a long while back." Albedo admitted, "If my memory serves me correct the first ever instance of me losing my head like this happened way before my first death. In fact that was the cause of it." the alien continued to explain how he had lost his head and lost control of his body as it continued to attack Naruto and Charmcaster in the form of an evolved Vulpimancer. "Ever since then, I have noticed that whenever I get angry, if I do not manage to calm myself the anger spirals out of control and with it I lose control of my own body and fall unconscious. It happened before and during our four-month trip as well... Just as it did now, but according to Hope I spoke just now?"
"Yeah." Rex nodded, "You sounded really sadistic dude." he added.
"That is the first instance..." he declared, "Shortly after I heard a deep voice in my head... Telling me how I should know that 'we' are quite different from each other." he shuddered, "I am sorry... I... I do not know what is happening with me lately, if I... If I ever hurt you, I could never live it down... Not after all this time."
"You confided in us." Ben smiled, walked up to him and put a hand to his shoulder, "We can get through this together, I'm pretty sure we can figure out what's wrong with you if we think." he shrugged, "Besides, you pulled us out of a tough spot, not exactly in the most peaceful way but it helped."
"Indeed, it would seem that subconsciously, even if you cannot control yourself in that state of rage, you still possess the knowledge of who your allies are." female Albedo nodded, "Which would mean that whatever is happening to you is caused by a mental state, that acts when you get irrationally angry."
"A mental state?" Charmcaster asked.
"Yes. If we take into account all the things that must be happening to your body day from day, all the changes, the need to adapt to your new immortal state... All those things do not happen in a single day. Perhaps you are overloading your body with the amount of new information you gather from getting attacked or gaining new abilities and that resulted in a glitch of some sorts which manifested in this behavior... Either way this is but a hypothesis for now."
"If that voice is anything to go by..." Rexanne brought up as she glanced at her other self.
"Can't that be some sort of personality?" Rex asked as everyone looked at him with widened eyes, "If what other Albedo says is true, maybe your mind is so overloaded with all the things happening to your body that it created a different personality to help divide all the info to keep itself from overloading?"
"Maybe it sounds wei-" Rexanne started before being cut off by female Albedo.
"That sounds plausible, all things considered." she nodded, "Perhaps it is another mind to help you alleviate the stress... But something might have gone wr-"
"What is it?" Albedo turned to her in confusion, his thoughts already wondering about the possibilities.
"Perhaps... Let me check something on you real quick." she hastily said as she once again started searching through her pockets before finding yet another small device, which she pulled apart from its two sides to reveal a screen, the device now the size of a smaller tablet. She held it up to his head and pressed a button on the side.
"What's that thing?" Ben asked.
"A relatively harmless abnormality checker, mainly for medical emergencies, and as such it has an X-ray as well." she smiled, as she scanned Albedo's head. "This is one of my dumber theorie- And of course it is true. Well I will be damned." she showed the findings on the device to Albedo whose eyes went wide.
"How can this..?"
Ben and Jen could not take the abnormal reactions anymore and the two got up and walked over to Albedo, taking a look at the screen themselves, along with Rex and Rexanne and the two Charmcasters.
"Dude..." Ben's eyes went wide as well, "Three brains..?"
"I suspected something was amiss." female Albedo sighed, "As most of you know, us Galvans have two brains, and even whilst one of them is a backup one they are both capable of working in tandem should there be extra information to process. So I wondered why my other self was suddenly having spurts of unconsciousness and came up with the theory I mentioned earlier."
"So you thought something might be wrong with my main brains after all, correct?"
"Indeed." she nodded, "Still, I never suspected this. You said that this whole behavioral change caused you to die for the first time. Maybe that was the first ever time your mind has gotten confused on what exactly was happening to your body, following that perhaps when you first revived the regeneration process took the DNA of your current body, generating a human brain in the process... But your other brains took their rightful place as well, which more than likely confused your whole system."
"Add in all the deaths since then and boom, unstable mind... huh?" Ben concluded with a sigh, "Dude, I'm so sorry."
"Hah, what are you apologizing for Benjamin? None of this is your fault."
"Maybe... Maybe if we didn't go on that stupid trip Clyde couldn't have gotten away with all this, you wouldn't have needed to go through all that... You wouldn't be having this problem." he said, looking at the ground in what appeared to be shame.
Albedo looked at the hero, eyes going wide, before a light chuckle escaped his lips, he got up and walked over to him, putting an arm on his shoulder, "Do not think like that Benjamin. Were it not for this whole fiasco we might not have ever become friends, or anything of the sort. The universe works in mysterious ways, we both know that now, none of this is your fault. There is no guarantee all this would not have happened were you still here at the time. There is no guarantee that the portal would not have shown up either. Nothing is set in stone, everything happens in a moment's notice, a year ago neither of us would have thought we were capable of this big of a change, but look at us now." he sighed, "Though, if all you say is true my dear other self," he continued turning towards female Albedo, "Do you have an idea about why my backup mind is so sadistic..?"
"Precisely why he's a backup."
At the repeat of those words, something seemed to click for Albedo, "You mean... It is a personification of my backup Galvan brain?"
"Wait, wasn't that just there to make you function?" Ben asked, "Azmuth was like a little kid."
"Indeed, that is its main purpose." Albedo nodded, "But if her theory stands correct, maybe my abnormally violent nature before my first demise, combined with the rather simplistic thought process of the backup brain gave birth to the sadistic persona?"
"That would be my guess." female Albedo nodded. "From what you all have told me about the previous appearances of him, he seems to be learning, still irrationally angry but learning. You said he spoke to you, correct?"
"Indeed." Albedo nodded, "But it seemed forced, monotone. As if it was not really him talking... More like recycling things I have said in the past to make the sentence. Perhaps he still has no concept on how to act normally, but wanted to let me know he is there? That is only mildly terrifying." he sighed, "Then again you did say he spoke when he appeared."
"Yeah, but thinking back I get what you mean." Rexanne nodded, "It was a bit deeper and all but sounded forced, somewhat robotic even."
"A will of his own, huh?"
Female Albedo's eyes turned completely black at that moment, "For now, until you are able to communicate with him properly, I advise you try to keep your calm as much as you can." a deeper feminine voice advised, as Albedo nodded.
"Yes, that seems to be the best call to make here." he turned back to Ben with a sigh, and sat down next to him, "Listen Benjamin... I... I am sorry about what happened back there. Though I suppose extinguishing a life is not something you can just so haphazardly apologize for."
"Look I... I know how I was back then. I know what we talked about when we escaped. I get it. It should bother me, it really should, we left people to be worm food back there... But right now I couldn't be happier that all of us are here and that bothers me... Some people died so we could live. I had no relation to them, they were scum, they shot you in the face, they deserved it, I wanna feel that way, but there's still a part of me thinking we can't do this."
"Haha." Albedo chuckled almost silently, "I have never seen you of all people so conflicted in your own decisions... But then again, it is not like I disagree with you. I do not want to kill... Not if I can help it, but what happened back then, it was beyond my control, even if I was in control I probably would have done it. If we let them go, there is no telling they will not bite back the first chance they get, in a world like this, where our return home is currently impossible, where we only survive if we depend on each other, I cannot take that chance Benjamin. It just terrifies me..."
"What?"
"How easy it is to choose the violent option." he declared, looking ahead at the numerous dunes in front of them.
"I get ya." they both sighed in unison, "Having power like ours is overwhelming isn't it."
"Most certainly."
"Hey you two! We're moving!" Charmcaster called back to the two of them.
"We're coming!" Ben shouted back as he looked at Albedo, who was still visibly dejected. "Come on, we can't do much just sitting around." he said, extending a hand.
"I suppose you're right." the alien nodded, taking the hand and pulling himself up.
The group of eight continued to aimlessly wonder through the wasteland even after all that has happened. For a while they hung on to the hope that if there were outlaws like the ones they have met there might be human colonies still around as well. But either their luck was terrible, or it simply was not through, they could not find a living soul during the night, not even ruins like before.
"Why even send us here?!" Albedo snapped at seemingly no one, "There is nothing here but sandworms and a never-ending wasteland! What do you want from me? To bond with the others? THAT HAPPENED ALREADY! LET US GO HOME!"
"Who are you even talking to?" Rex raised an eyebrow as he asked.
"I am just venting my frustrations about the irresponsibility of the portal." Albedo explained, "Usually nine out of twelve cases it dropped us in a world where we needed to do something... The other three times were completely abnormal worlds."
"Like the world of candy you have mentioned?" male Charmcaster raised an eyebrow with a smile.
"Indeed, like one such world." Albedo nodded, "Perhaps this is one of those too. You have spent three weeks here without success, and there was nothing noteworthy, I suppose things like this do happen." he let out a lengthy sigh, "Perhaps we just have to find the portal again."
As they continued on in the moonlit wasteland, their only light source being the celestial body itself... Something seemed to give off an eerie glow in the distance, a glow of pale blue. As all of them stopped in awe, a strange sound reverberated around them, worming its way into all of their ears... A sound all of them came to recognize.
"No freaking way." Rex shook his head in denial as a huge grin formed on his way. He started to almost sprint forward.
"I suppose this really was a useless trip." Albedo let out another sigh, this one was of defeat, "What was the point of all this?" he chuckled inwardly as they made their way forward as well.
There it was, in the middle of a small crater floated perfectly still the hole in space. The blue swirling portal, the one that bought all of them here, albeit much calmer than before. As if it was waiting for the right people to enter it, it stood, abiding its time, motionless. Walking closer, the group of eight has never been as elated as currently as they stood face to face with their tormentor and savior in one.
"I do not believe there is any reason to drag this on." Albedo declared, "On the off chance we do not end up in the same location, it was a pleasure meeting all of you."
"Likewise." male Charmcaster nodded, "I do hope we can repeat this sometime."
"Here, take this." female Albedo turned towards her male counterpart, taking something out of yet another pocket. The object was a small orb, barely bigger than a decorative marble. She handed the curious item to Albedo with a smile, "Interdimensional communicator. It worked with the Null Void, so I suppose it is worth a try." as if a lightbulb suddenly lit up above her head, she continued, "Oh, right, before you ask, it is modified to work like the magic comms, undetectable by technology."
"You are quite the little tinkerer are you not?" Albedo chuckled at his other self.
"I just have a lot of ideas." she humbly shrugged. She fidgeted for a bit, before extending a fist, "Until next time?"
"Of course!" Albedo nodded, doing the same. The two fist bumped as each of the counterparts said their goodbyes to each other.
"I hope you get better." Rexanne said to Albedo with a small smile.
"So do I Rex." Albedo nodded, "So do I."
Standing next to each other, in front of the portal, everyone nodded as they stepped in two by two, leaving the terrifying wasteland behind them as the portal finally closed.
The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.
Albedo, Rexanne, Jen and Charmcaster stepped out of the portal to find themselves back in their Lounge, with almost no time passing from when they entered. Almost immediately Rex and Jen threw themselves on the couch in sheer exhaustion as a lengthy sigh escaped their lips. Charmcaster and Albedo just gently chuckled next to them, taking a seat on the remaining couch
"This was something." Rex sighed, her face buried in the couch, "Other worlds are scary." she added with a chuckle.
"I'm with ya." Jen furiously nodded. "Let's never go to a place like that again."
"Still, I suppose meeting other versions of ourselves was a definite bonus." Charmcaster chipped in.
"Oh yeah!" Rex suddenly seemed really excited, "They were so cool! Even if they were us, each of us have similar problems but even then it was so easy to get along with them!"
"Perhaps similar interests do spark up conversation." Albedo mused. "Either way, it is good to be home."
Suddenly two figures rushed out from the nearby corridor as they stopped short of the couches, faces wide in apparent surprise. One was a boy, average height, with pale skin and light gray loose spiky hair, a long lock on the right side of his face with a prominent black streak on it. He wore a white button up shirt, its sleeves rolled up to his elbow, a loose black tie, black fingerless gloves, black pants and boots and a belt and suspenders combination, with a long stretch of the belt dangling loose from the buckle, perhaps the most striking feature of the boy where his eyes. Purple on the top with the bottom curve of the pupil being yellow, segmental heterochromia. He was the boy named Atsushi, visibly calm upon seeing his new friends on the couches.
The other figure, a tall woman with a toned body, abs and arm muscles visible with the gray tank top she wore. Her long brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail as her gray eyes surveyed the room, mainly where the group was sitting at. She wore short shorts along with some running shoes. She was a person who preferred really light clothing, on top of her head a pair of brown wolf ears standing tall, a bushy brown wolf tail swishing behind her. Leia, a proud werewolf, who was currently just really happy that her friends were found.
"Leia, Atsushi!" Rex grinned, "You won't believe the day we've had!"
The Lounge, The Hideout, Outskirts of Bellwood, America, Earth, Summer, 2014 A.D.
Albedo, Rex, Ben and Charmcaster stepped through the portal, arriving in their Lounge curiously. The trio looked around as Albedo just sat down and let out a lengthy sigh.
"Are we really back home?" Charmcaster asked, somewhat incredulously.
"Wait about two seconds." Albedo smiled, in the time given the tall man suddenly appeared in the room, "Yup, we are home."
The tall man let out a happy chuckle, 'Welcome back, all of you!'
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard closing in on them from a nearby corridor, as Jeff appeared, his face angry, at the end of the turn. "You left me home again!" he shouted angrily as he practically dashed towards the couches only to be stopped by Slenderman, "No fair!"
"Your lust for adventure never ceases to amaze me young man." Albedo chuckled.
"Still, you guys won't believe the day we've had!" Rex laughed.
Admittedly, the second part is a tad bit shorter as this was initially meant to be one full chapter, but for some reason there was an issue with a file upload so I just split it into a more easily accessible two-parter. Albedo's question seemed to hit the nail on the head towards the end there, what even was the point of sending them to this world? From the portal's perspective, it was just a random opening, a prank of sorts if you can call it that. But unbeknownst to them, the group made some unforgettable friends and bonded with them through the act of running away from invincible omnivorous worms. Truly a memory to look back to.
Not so action packed overall, more focus was on character building than anything as Albedo's psyche is seemingly collapsing more and more. He's gonna be fine... Probably. (I'm not a doctor, don't look at me.)
Plus we've got introduced to the reverse gang! The perfect people to run away from worms with... I feel like I have already said that. Whilst not as prominent as in this chapter, they are planned to be supporting characters so expect to see them from time to time!
Nonetheless, I see no reason to drag out the end word so I'm just gonna leave now, Hopefully the next chapter comes out sooner, thanks for sticking around.