Chapter 8 - Getting Connected
The next morning was full of activity at the Larson Clan home. Jenna and Lars were busily practicing their martial arts and swordplay, respectively, in preparation any fighting lessons. Sasha was practicing some of the telepathic techniques Anthony taught her. As for Anthony, he was busy talking on the phone with Major Sharpe...
"You're kidding! When?...Alright, I'll inform the Patriarch, Major. How is Alec progressing?...Really? That quick? And no side effects?...Excellent! Is he being trained in swordplay?...Yes, I realize the military doesn't engage in melee fighting now that we have machine guns, but...Oh, so you ARE training him anyway. Good...I'll be awaiting that delivery then. I'll see you when I arrive at Area 51."
Anthony hung up the phone and approached Olaf, who was busy looking at one of the histories of Arcadia given to him by Anthony. In this case...he was reading Adaman's account of the Companions' campaign. Olaf looked up just as Anthony approached...
"Anthony," Olaf said, "I have to admit...I didn't realize Sir Eric was held in such high regard...even by an artificial being such as Adaman."
"Olaf...after all that's happened to me, nothing tends to surprise me that much anymore..." Anthony said. "Anyway, I just got off with Major Sharpe. Apparently, he's also got a gift for the clan from Arcadia..."
"Oh? What's that?" Olaf said, curious.
"It seems...Arcadia felt fit to provide the clan with full access to the portals. A transport is arriving with the equipment need to set up transit gates to the portal locations."
Olaf's eyebrows raised at this. "That's wonderful! Did Sharpe say why?"
"Apparently, the leaders of Arcadia felt...obligated to do so, seeing as how both Sir Eric and one of his descendants were responsible for helping with Arcadia's protection," Anthony explained.
"I see...oh, and speaking of descendants, how is that young lieutenant faring?" Olaf asked.
"Alec is doing well," Anthony explained. "Apparently...he's progressing well with his psionic training, and has managed to use quite a few powers. It'll be great to see how he finishes up, and how my students compare."
"Yes, indeed," Olaf remarked, then looked towards where the stairs were. "I wonder what's keeping your young apprentice and her mother? I thought they'd be up by now..."
Anthony was wondering this too, but stopped when he heard footfalls on the stairs. "Looks like we'll find out soon, Patriarch..."
Mary was the first to enter the room where Anthony and Olaf were talking. "Good morning, Anthony. Sorry to keep you waiting, but I was helping Amy with something upstairs..."
"Oh? What's that?" Anthony asked.
"Look for yourself. Amy? Show Anthony!"
Amy walked out, appearing to wear a uniform of sorts. Instead of her usual red dress, she was wearing a white short sleeved shirt with a red vest over it, along with a pair of blue shorts. The Descendancy medallion Anthony gave her appeared to be attached to the vest. She still had her gloves and red boots, and had her crossbow strapped to her back.
Anthony raised an eyebrow at this, looking down at his own white shirt, blue jeans, and red armor breastplate with the Descendancy medallion attached to it and the Sword of the Gamemaster strapped to the back. "OK...that's just too cute..." Anthony remarked.
"I figured you'd like that, Anthony," Mary said. "Since my daughter was going to be your apprentice, I put that together so she could look the part."
"That wasn't necessary, Mary," Anthony remarked. "Yet...it does seem strangely appropriate..."
"So..." Amy said, speaking up. "When are we heading out?"
"As soon as a delivery arrives from the UN," Anthony answered. "As thanks to the clan for what Sir Eric and I did, they're going to set up transit gates here to the portal locations."
"COOL!" Amy said.
"What's cool?" Jenna asked, walking into the room and then focusing on Amy. "What the...?" she said, and then giggled. "OK, are you going to call her 'Mini-Me' now, Anthony?"
"Mary's idea, since she's my apprentice," Anthony remarked. "Anyway, what she remarking to was the fact that transit gates are going to be set up here on the clan grounds so the clan has access to the portals."
"Excellent," Lars said, coming into the building. "I'm guessing as thanks to the clan for aid to Arcadia?"
"Got it in one, Lars..." Anthony said, then turned his head as he heard what sounded like a helicopter. "Sounds like they've arrived..."
The six clan members, plus Sasha, walked out to greet the helicopter. As it descended, Olaf motioned for where it should land, directing the pilot to land in a wide field. As soon as the helicopter landed, a figure came out to direct the unloading of the gate equipment...a figure that Anthony knew.
"Alec?!? What are you doing here?" Anthony asked.
Alec looked towards where Anthony was and walked towards him. "Morning, Anthony! Looks like the gang's all..." He then noticed Amy and his eyes widened. "Is...isn't...isn't that...Amy Rose?!?"
"Yes she is, Alec," Anthony answered. "My apprentice in telepathics. But I think you will want to meet these two more," Anthony said, motioning for Jenna and Lars to step forward. "Meet your fellow clansmen and my two students, Jenna Larson and Lars Olson."
"A pleasure," Alec said, shaking both their hands. "Lt. Alec Johnson, chosen for Project Gamemaster 2."
"We heard," Lars said. "Welcome to...well...your homeland, cousin!"
"Thank you," Alec said, then turned his attention towards Amy Rose, who was walking up to him. "I'm definitely honored to meet you, Miss Rose!" Alec remarked.
Amy giggled. "You can just call me Amy, Alec!"
"So, Alec," Anthony said. "When will the gates be ready?"
"Should only take a few minutes," Alec remarked. "The hardware's already put together, and they just need to be hooked up and tested."
"Power source?" Sasha asked, walking up to join them.
"Neo-Earth in origin, Miss Prower is it?" Alec said.
"Yes...you can just call me Sasha," Sasha said.
"Anyway," Alec said, continuing, "the power source connects to any standard electrical power supply, but can convert it into the needed energy without draining the power too much. Patriarch," Alec said, turning to Olaf, "where do you want us to hook it up?"
"You can set up over there," Olaf said, pointing to a what looked like a recreation field. "There are several outlets set up over there, and there should be more than enough room for the gates."
"Alright," Alec said, then turning towards the helicopter. "Alright, let's MOVE OUT!" he ordered to his men.
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As the soldiers set up the transit gates, with Lars, Jenna, Sasha, and Amy watching in anticipation, Anthony talked with Alec.
"So, how's your training coming?" Anthony asked.
"Pretty good! I'm amazed some of the powers I'm discovering...though they'd be no surprise to you."
"Yeah, well I had my powers unlocked...say, did you want us to unlock your abilities as well?"
"That's not necessary," Alec replied. "Actually, we've been discovering that if the powers are 'taught' rather than 'unlocked', they tend to be a lot stronger."
Anthony was surprised at this. "Really?"
"Yeah, in fact...let me show you a new power I've discovered from my training..." Alec said, and then aimed a hand towards the ground. Suddenly, a large spray of water came pouring out of his hand. He then turned towards Anthony and said, "I'll let you name that."
"Might as well call it 'Hydrokinesis'," Anthony said. "How'd you do that?"
"I combined the Pyrokinesis and Cryokinesis powers you already know," Alec explained.
"Nice..." Anthony said. "I'll have to try that myself." He then aimed a hand towards the ground, but managed only a light trickle. "Ah, crap...guess I need to practice." He turned back towards Alec. "Excellent work, Alec! Can't wait to see how you'll turn out when your finished. Heck...you might even be more powerful than ME!!"
"True, but you still have the experience," Alec said, then noticing the work crews. "Looks like they've finished. Let's go check it out."
The two of them walked over towards where the gates were set up, and Alec pulled out a communicator from his pocket. "OK, send the test object through." The gate that was set up for the Mobius portal was activated, and then a small, spherical shaped object came through it. Alec picked it up and spoke into his communicator. "Got it. Looks like the Mobius gate works. Activate the other four gates."
As the other gates were activated, Anthony took a closer look at the object that was thrown through and raised an eyebrow. "A Pokéball?!?"
"Yeah," Alec said, grinning mischievously. "I read up on one of the heroes. Watch..." After sending the Pokéball through the Hylas, Neo-Earth, and Ani-Earth gates and getting it back, he then sent it through the Gardenia gate. On his communicator, Anthony heard what sounded like Mario screaming and Alec started laughing quietly.
"So I see..." Anthony said, laughing himself. Amy and Sasha were also laughing at what happened, and Lars and Jenna looked confused. Anthony then explained. "Mario hates Pokémon, and it seems he was waiting at the Gardenia portal location." Jenna and Lars nodded in understanding and started laughing as well.
"Well, looks like the gates are ready for the Clan to use," Alec said. "This should aid you with transportation to the worlds, Anthony. I assume you're going to give Jenna and Lars the grand tour of Arcadia?"
"Yes...and there's no time like the present to start," Anthony said, turning towards his four students. "OK...first stop will be the Mushroom Kingdom Palace. Jenna, Lars...this is where your powers will be unlocked. Oh...and this will be your first time using the portals and gates, so don't be surprised if you feel disoriented. Are you ready?"
"Of course!" "Definitely!" Jenna and Lars said, respectively.
Anthony then led his four students through the gate.
The next morning was full of activity at the Larson Clan home. Jenna and Lars were busily practicing their martial arts and swordplay, respectively, in preparation any fighting lessons. Sasha was practicing some of the telepathic techniques Anthony taught her. As for Anthony, he was busy talking on the phone with Major Sharpe...
"You're kidding! When?...Alright, I'll inform the Patriarch, Major. How is Alec progressing?...Really? That quick? And no side effects?...Excellent! Is he being trained in swordplay?...Yes, I realize the military doesn't engage in melee fighting now that we have machine guns, but...Oh, so you ARE training him anyway. Good...I'll be awaiting that delivery then. I'll see you when I arrive at Area 51."
Anthony hung up the phone and approached Olaf, who was busy looking at one of the histories of Arcadia given to him by Anthony. In this case...he was reading Adaman's account of the Companions' campaign. Olaf looked up just as Anthony approached...
"Anthony," Olaf said, "I have to admit...I didn't realize Sir Eric was held in such high regard...even by an artificial being such as Adaman."
"Olaf...after all that's happened to me, nothing tends to surprise me that much anymore..." Anthony said. "Anyway, I just got off with Major Sharpe. Apparently, he's also got a gift for the clan from Arcadia..."
"Oh? What's that?" Olaf said, curious.
"It seems...Arcadia felt fit to provide the clan with full access to the portals. A transport is arriving with the equipment need to set up transit gates to the portal locations."
Olaf's eyebrows raised at this. "That's wonderful! Did Sharpe say why?"
"Apparently, the leaders of Arcadia felt...obligated to do so, seeing as how both Sir Eric and one of his descendants were responsible for helping with Arcadia's protection," Anthony explained.
"I see...oh, and speaking of descendants, how is that young lieutenant faring?" Olaf asked.
"Alec is doing well," Anthony explained. "Apparently...he's progressing well with his psionic training, and has managed to use quite a few powers. It'll be great to see how he finishes up, and how my students compare."
"Yes, indeed," Olaf remarked, then looked towards where the stairs were. "I wonder what's keeping your young apprentice and her mother? I thought they'd be up by now..."
Anthony was wondering this too, but stopped when he heard footfalls on the stairs. "Looks like we'll find out soon, Patriarch..."
Mary was the first to enter the room where Anthony and Olaf were talking. "Good morning, Anthony. Sorry to keep you waiting, but I was helping Amy with something upstairs..."
"Oh? What's that?" Anthony asked.
"Look for yourself. Amy? Show Anthony!"
Amy walked out, appearing to wear a uniform of sorts. Instead of her usual red dress, she was wearing a white short sleeved shirt with a red vest over it, along with a pair of blue shorts. The Descendancy medallion Anthony gave her appeared to be attached to the vest. She still had her gloves and red boots, and had her crossbow strapped to her back.
Anthony raised an eyebrow at this, looking down at his own white shirt, blue jeans, and red armor breastplate with the Descendancy medallion attached to it and the Sword of the Gamemaster strapped to the back. "OK...that's just too cute..." Anthony remarked.
"I figured you'd like that, Anthony," Mary said. "Since my daughter was going to be your apprentice, I put that together so she could look the part."
"That wasn't necessary, Mary," Anthony remarked. "Yet...it does seem strangely appropriate..."
"So..." Amy said, speaking up. "When are we heading out?"
"As soon as a delivery arrives from the UN," Anthony answered. "As thanks to the clan for what Sir Eric and I did, they're going to set up transit gates here to the portal locations."
"COOL!" Amy said.
"What's cool?" Jenna asked, walking into the room and then focusing on Amy. "What the...?" she said, and then giggled. "OK, are you going to call her 'Mini-Me' now, Anthony?"
"Mary's idea, since she's my apprentice," Anthony remarked. "Anyway, what she remarking to was the fact that transit gates are going to be set up here on the clan grounds so the clan has access to the portals."
"Excellent," Lars said, coming into the building. "I'm guessing as thanks to the clan for aid to Arcadia?"
"Got it in one, Lars..." Anthony said, then turned his head as he heard what sounded like a helicopter. "Sounds like they've arrived..."
The six clan members, plus Sasha, walked out to greet the helicopter. As it descended, Olaf motioned for where it should land, directing the pilot to land in a wide field. As soon as the helicopter landed, a figure came out to direct the unloading of the gate equipment...a figure that Anthony knew.
"Alec?!? What are you doing here?" Anthony asked.
Alec looked towards where Anthony was and walked towards him. "Morning, Anthony! Looks like the gang's all..." He then noticed Amy and his eyes widened. "Is...isn't...isn't that...Amy Rose?!?"
"Yes she is, Alec," Anthony answered. "My apprentice in telepathics. But I think you will want to meet these two more," Anthony said, motioning for Jenna and Lars to step forward. "Meet your fellow clansmen and my two students, Jenna Larson and Lars Olson."
"A pleasure," Alec said, shaking both their hands. "Lt. Alec Johnson, chosen for Project Gamemaster 2."
"We heard," Lars said. "Welcome to...well...your homeland, cousin!"
"Thank you," Alec said, then turned his attention towards Amy Rose, who was walking up to him. "I'm definitely honored to meet you, Miss Rose!" Alec remarked.
Amy giggled. "You can just call me Amy, Alec!"
"So, Alec," Anthony said. "When will the gates be ready?"
"Should only take a few minutes," Alec remarked. "The hardware's already put together, and they just need to be hooked up and tested."
"Power source?" Sasha asked, walking up to join them.
"Neo-Earth in origin, Miss Prower is it?" Alec said.
"Yes...you can just call me Sasha," Sasha said.
"Anyway," Alec said, continuing, "the power source connects to any standard electrical power supply, but can convert it into the needed energy without draining the power too much. Patriarch," Alec said, turning to Olaf, "where do you want us to hook it up?"
"You can set up over there," Olaf said, pointing to a what looked like a recreation field. "There are several outlets set up over there, and there should be more than enough room for the gates."
"Alright," Alec said, then turning towards the helicopter. "Alright, let's MOVE OUT!" he ordered to his men.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the soldiers set up the transit gates, with Lars, Jenna, Sasha, and Amy watching in anticipation, Anthony talked with Alec.
"So, how's your training coming?" Anthony asked.
"Pretty good! I'm amazed some of the powers I'm discovering...though they'd be no surprise to you."
"Yeah, well I had my powers unlocked...say, did you want us to unlock your abilities as well?"
"That's not necessary," Alec replied. "Actually, we've been discovering that if the powers are 'taught' rather than 'unlocked', they tend to be a lot stronger."
Anthony was surprised at this. "Really?"
"Yeah, in fact...let me show you a new power I've discovered from my training..." Alec said, and then aimed a hand towards the ground. Suddenly, a large spray of water came pouring out of his hand. He then turned towards Anthony and said, "I'll let you name that."
"Might as well call it 'Hydrokinesis'," Anthony said. "How'd you do that?"
"I combined the Pyrokinesis and Cryokinesis powers you already know," Alec explained.
"Nice..." Anthony said. "I'll have to try that myself." He then aimed a hand towards the ground, but managed only a light trickle. "Ah, crap...guess I need to practice." He turned back towards Alec. "Excellent work, Alec! Can't wait to see how you'll turn out when your finished. Heck...you might even be more powerful than ME!!"
"True, but you still have the experience," Alec said, then noticing the work crews. "Looks like they've finished. Let's go check it out."
The two of them walked over towards where the gates were set up, and Alec pulled out a communicator from his pocket. "OK, send the test object through." The gate that was set up for the Mobius portal was activated, and then a small, spherical shaped object came through it. Alec picked it up and spoke into his communicator. "Got it. Looks like the Mobius gate works. Activate the other four gates."
As the other gates were activated, Anthony took a closer look at the object that was thrown through and raised an eyebrow. "A Pokéball?!?"
"Yeah," Alec said, grinning mischievously. "I read up on one of the heroes. Watch..." After sending the Pokéball through the Hylas, Neo-Earth, and Ani-Earth gates and getting it back, he then sent it through the Gardenia gate. On his communicator, Anthony heard what sounded like Mario screaming and Alec started laughing quietly.
"So I see..." Anthony said, laughing himself. Amy and Sasha were also laughing at what happened, and Lars and Jenna looked confused. Anthony then explained. "Mario hates Pokémon, and it seems he was waiting at the Gardenia portal location." Jenna and Lars nodded in understanding and started laughing as well.
"Well, looks like the gates are ready for the Clan to use," Alec said. "This should aid you with transportation to the worlds, Anthony. I assume you're going to give Jenna and Lars the grand tour of Arcadia?"
"Yes...and there's no time like the present to start," Anthony said, turning towards his four students. "OK...first stop will be the Mushroom Kingdom Palace. Jenna, Lars...this is where your powers will be unlocked. Oh...and this will be your first time using the portals and gates, so don't be surprised if you feel disoriented. Are you ready?"
"Of course!" "Definitely!" Jenna and Lars said, respectively.
Anthony then led his four students through the gate.