"The crowd is getting anxious," says Trunks.  Cable leans against a tree as he thinks of what to say to the others.  "Is it ready?"

            Cable lifts his arm up from his side, showing a small computer device in his palm.  "Not quite," he replies, "we need a viewing device, a projector or something so they can see it."

            "How did it get damaged?"

            "It could have been anytime since we got here.  Got any ideas of what we can use?"

            Trunks thinks for a few seconds.  "Well, aren't Sonic, Mario, and them going he to watching?"

            "From their reality, yes?"

            "Why can't they come here?  We can use some of their technology."

            "Most of them are afraid of another attack, they don't want to leave their realm."

            "And we can't all go there without Raiden because of the rules.  He wants to talk about a few things before we do."

            They pause for a second.  "Well, not everyone from there has to come, only those who want to know should be," says Trunks.

            "That sound reasonable," replies Cable.  "The others would have to settle for third-hand information later."

            "What about the other Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask.  They are as much a part of this as the Sega and Nintendo realities are."

            "I can't find them to talk to them.  The two cats told me that they were busy."

            Trunks smiles, "You didn't they can talk, did you?"

            "No, I wasn't expecting it."

            "Okay, it's settled then.  You can talk to Princess Sally while I'll try to get everyone organized and get Mugena to come back here."  Before Cable can say another word, Trunks runs off towards the others.  Cable sighs and reaches for the communicator.

            A large bat flies around Onslaught's castle walls.  It flies into the dead rooftop garden where Xavier stands, watching it.  It flies down at him and, a few yards from Xavier, changes into a human form.  Demitri stretches his back straight and then looks at Xavier.

            "And your status…" says Xavier.

            "I've managed to form numerous legions who are ready to serve you," says Demitri.  "Thousands of vampires are waiting for the word."

            "Good."  Xavier turns and walks away.  "Their services will be required soon."

            About an hour has passed.  Most of the fighters sit on the ground in a tight group while others stand.

            Michelangelo sits on the ground with his chin resting on his fist, still being disappointed by not making a pizza like he said.

            "Hey, Mikey," says Mugena.  He turns to her stand beside him.  "I have surprise for you."  He pulls out a take-out pizza from behind her back.  Michelangelo is stunned for a second, "This is for your hard work in trying to make one."

            "Whoa!" says Michelangelo as he grabs the pizza, "this is so awesome!  Thanks, dudette!"

            "It's just for you, Mikey."  Mugena then turns and walks away.

            While Michelangelo scarfs down the pizza, a transparent, energy portal opens up behind the group.  A few seconds pass and Fujin steps through first, followed by Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Princess Sally, Bunnie Rabbot, Rotor, Antoine, Mario, Princess Peach, Samus, Link, Princess Zelda, and Fox, still showing some injuries from their last battle with the dark forces.

            They all look around at the faces, some new and some barely known to them.  Most of them stay together and remain standing.

            Cable walks up to Rotor who holds a mechanical object.  "Here's something like what you wanted," says Rotor to him.

            Cable takes it and examines it closely.  "It should work," says Cable.  "Thanks for the help getting it."

            Fujin walks over to Raiden, and then Trunks walks to them.  "Do you wish to go first, Raiden?" asks Trunks.  "We think that you can start now."

            "If they are ready," says Raiden.  "I believe that you and Cable will be in for a lesson as well as the others."

            "And you from us.  You have no idea what you're in for either."

            Raiden walks away to the front of the group to talk.  Trunks looks at Fujin, "And what about Saiyaman?  Are we?"

            Fujin turns to Saiyaman who sits in the ground near the other Z-fighters.  "I guess it's time."

            Raiden stops directly in 'mid-stage' and faces everyone.  Piccolo and Vegeta, who were standing a fair distance from them, come and stand around the group.

            While the newcomers pick a spot, Samus removes her helmet revealing the blonde-haired woman underneath the heavy armour.  "Whoa," says Gambit.  "A belle for the eyes of Gambit."

            Rogue elbows him in the side, "Knock it off, Gambit, and leave her alone."

            Raiden removes his MK medallion from his waste.  It leaves his hand and floats into the air.  It then forms the 'dragon-symbol'-cornered, viewing screen, which he and Fujin created many times before.  By the time it is finished forming, the crowd's attention is focused on him.  Fujin stands adjacent to the group and Trunks and Cable watch from the side while constructing the device.

            Raiden begins his speech, "I'm glad that you have all decide to be part of this group.  You have shown you want to aid us, not just for the Gods, not just for your lives, but also for the fate for everyone as you know it.  Some have you have come because you would unintentionally involved and have a right to know what is going on.  I will start a history lesson before I start talking about MUGEN itself."

            The screen begins to match imagines to his speech.  "In Fujin, Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Kung Lao, and my reality, eons before the appearance of man's earliest cousins, the Gods were in a quiet and peaceful world with life and death.  Man was destined to become the closest to the Gods and dominate the world.  But that fate was challenged…

            "A spiritual demon entered our reality and numerous others along its path of existence.  It had numerous names but we learned later that its original name was Lucifer, a fallen angel.  He challenged us but was quickly defeated with few casualties.  We banished him from the reality and closed his entryway.

            "A few months pass with no sign of his return.  But then the God of Death, Shinnok, began to have a change of attitude.  Then Lucifer returned with his followers and, unfortunately, some of our men."  One the screen, Shinnok, Lucifer, and their followers battle the other Gods, spiritual warriors, and heavenly angels.  The gods clash with the powers of their elements.  "The war was fierce and both sides have lost many, including the Elder God of Wind."  Shinnok holds the body of the dead God over his head and tosses it to the side.

            "Then they came."  A ball of light comes across the sky to them.  "With a foreign God named Jehovah, the odds finally came to our favour.  Shortly after, we were victorious and Shinnok and his followers were banished within our reality and Lucifer within theirs.

            "A new reality became open to us, one where all realities are joined.  We've met many others that were infected by Lucifer.  We've agreed to make sure that nothing like this happened again and keep it secret from other realities until they got involved.  I also took on the responsibility of training the young Fujin to take his father's place.

            "The age of man had come, and Shinnok challenged me to fight his son, Shao Kahn, the Emperor of OutWorld.  I was victorious and he was sent back to the OutWorld.  This was all a distraction, for Shinnok and Lucifer have merged their realities together forming the Hellish NetherRealm as it is today.

            "OutWorld is a realm, another world within the same universe.  There are many others and all were Kahn's targets.  After conquering and merging the realm of Edenia, Kahn came to Earth realm.  This started the tournament known as Mortal Kombat which was the basis of Kahn's realm conquering.  In order to win, OutWorld must win ten consecutive Mortal Kombats, each separated by a generation.  The first twenty were lead by Kahn's lead sorcerer, Shang Tsung, who was defeated by the original Kung Lao at the tenth and Liu Kang at the twentieth.

            "Around the tenth tournament, all of the realities that were known to MUGEN watched our battle.  But there was another story that was never told.  Lucifer, in a human form, left his prison to conquer a Godless, unknown reality."  Human-Lucifer enters the reality in an enormous bush fire to a 'poor-science' world.  "He knew that no one could stop him there."

            "But there is one thing he didn't count on, a man of great martial skills and energy powers."  A man appears on the screen, practising his skills.  "His name was Master Kung Po."

            "My ancestor?" asks Kung Fu Man.

            "Yes, he was.  He knew many martial arts, which were passed from generation to generation.  Lucifer's first mission:  Kill everything."  Buildings and farms burn in large flames with animals and humans screaming in pain.  Lucifer walks by, unaffected by the heat.

            Kung Po looks down at skeleton remains.  "It was taken upon himself to defeat him, even though that it would mean his death.  Lucifer was not use to his human form as a physical weapon.

            "It was, in fact, two Greek Gods who discovered the situation first.  They allowed anyone still alive there to come into MUGEN for safety, and they became the first inhabitants of MUGEN.

            "Kung Po eventually won but it wasn't before the shock of a sight that would normally kill a man."  Kung Po stands on the edge of a cliff facing outward and at a humongous goat/man creature surrounded by fire (To reader:  Think Malebogia from the Spawn movie).  Kung Po gathers energy in a sphere and throws just as Lucifer breathes a large flame at him.  The screen goes white and then returns to an unconscious Kung Po.  "The gods were going to allow his soul into heaven but it was never found.

            "Because of that battle, the MUGEN barriers were weakened, merging of realities can happen quickly and unexpectedly.

            "Now it brings us to recent times.  Mergers have begun to increase in frequency but most were temporary.  The 'Alien' and 'Predator' realities were one of firsts.  But there was one pair of realities that seemed to be merging more frequently together with a different."  Several X-Men and Street Fighters clash on screen.

            "The first two were similar, pulling together only the Street Fighter dimension, from the group known of CAPCOM, and the Marvel dimension.  But the next one was more intense, not only bringing in the Street Fighters but also several other dimensions."  MegaMan, Morrigan, Strider Hiryu, Jin, and Captain Commando appear on screen as they join the battle.

            "As it turned out, it was Dr. Charles Xavier's consciousness that brought the worlds together while he possessed by an alien entity and becoming Onslaught.  They manage to defeat him, without requiring the assistance of the Gods.  But Onslaught wasn't prepared to stop there.  So stop him, the Gods have agreed to lock him away in the NetherRealm.

            "Shinnok, now the dominant one over Lucifer, told him to release a creature into MUGEN, which some of you will know as Abyss.  When it was released, Shinnok launched his attack on my realm once again with the his leading sorcerer, Quan Chi.  The Gods organized a way to slow down Abyss's destruction.  While we were fighting in our own Mortal Kombat tournament, the other Gods decided to summon the Marvel and Capcom realities to battle the evil.  It was good to say that both battles were won."

            An orb of light flies across the screen.  "But unknown to us, Onslaught had escape the NetherRealm and hid elsewhere.  He then contacted Shinnok with a proposal.  By giving him more power and soldiers, he will help release him from his prison.  The deal was reached and the war began.  The war to decide all…"  Scenes of Onslaught merging with Xavier once again and small clips of all that had happen through the war.  It finishes off with battle scenes of Onslaught, Shinnok, and Lucifer.

            Almost everyone is speechless or shock at what they saw.  There is a pause for a few seconds.  "…  Wow," says Ken.

            "I have a question," says Amy.  "What's the difference between 'realms', 'realities', and 'dimensions'?"

            "Loosely, they are mean the same thing," replies Raiden.  "A realm is usually a term for 'a travellable world'.  Multiple dimensions are similar to each other but each one has at least one element different from another, like going left instead of right and its consequences.  A reality can replace the other two but it ultimately means… a dimension were physics or fate is different.  Just like, you can tell that you and Ryu are from different realities because of way you look different from one another.  But that doesn't explain everything about 'reality', it can get more complicated."

            "What about our mergers?" asks Samus.

            "Your merger is still slightly unknown.  There is a chance that Master Hand is the cause and a manifestation from MUGEN.  But once you crossover ended, it disappeared.  We are still unsure what had caused the occurrences.  But you may have noticed that Pikachu's reality has yet to join the cluster."

            "Pika!" says Pikachu.

            "I have a question," says Piccolo in his usual serious voice.  Everyone turns to him, "In our reality, Goku and Gohan are the strongest.  But here, we're all almost equals.  Why is it that we are on the same level?  There is no way that a human, like Ken, can even bruise a being like Frieza."

            "Hey!  Are you calling me weak!?" yells Ken.

            "Since MUGEN was undefined physically when the first humans came, the Gods created a world like their own.  But in order to promote peace, we made the 'Equality for All' property where no one is massively stronger of weaker than another and 'The Unified Language' which explains how that you can all understand each other, even if you are not talking the same language.  This is unchanged to the Gods however, so the closer you are to the spiritual side, the closer you become to your true strengths which may not be the limitation that you know."

            "So we can become stronger?" asks Vegeta in his normal form.

            "When the time comes, yes.  But you all still have a long way to go.  We are not here however for you all to reach that level."

            "Why is it that Master Kung Po knew so many martial arts but I'm down to one?" asks Kung Fu Man.

            "Kung Po had several children before his death who all knew his skills.  But over the generations, the student would master only a few skills and a few parts of the others.  By the time it go to a few generations before you, your family line was concentrating on the Kung Fu martial arts.  You maybe unaware that you still have relatives who know other Gods in MUGEN."

            Donatello clears his throat.  "Is there only one dimension of each of us or are there many different  dimensions?"

            "There are many different versions of each of us, each one slightly different from the next.  Everyone that you have and will meet is a part of a collection of realities, even if they are or are not a part of your own."

            "Except me, right?" asks Mugena.  "I mean, like, my reality is a higher level that yours because I've seen all of your realities in mine through TV shows, video games, and such."

            "Actually, Mugena, you're from the same type of reality as the rest of us."

            "WHAT!?"

            Raiden gives a quick nod, "You're reality is definitely different from all of ours, for you see us in non-physical forms.  But your reality is with MUGEN."

            "But Mortal Kombat is just a video game, Ed Boon and John Tobias created it and William's published it before Midway got it.  Not to mention the movies, TV series, and the cartoons."

            "Your reality can view all the main branches of MUGEN, which brings up another subject.  All the realities that you are from are not the main branches, but, in fact, an alternative way of the timeline.  Each branch is written and cannot be changed."

            "So… we're fakes!?" asks Morrigan.

            "Actually, you're all real, real as MUGEN.  You may be close or you may be far from the main branch.  Even if you were from the main branch, you wouldn't be able to come here unless you were from an exact copy of it.

            "But that also proves why MUGEN is here, if it were for the alternative dimensions, MUGEN would only be parallel lines.  But in turn, MUGEN creates the alternative realities which makes things complicated.  When you ponder the idea for a while, you will realise that the physical part of MUGEN is a collection of extensions from other realities.

            "It maybe hard to believe that you're from an idea so complex but we have proof of the dimension theory."  Raiden turns his head, "Saiyaman, may you please come up here."

            Saiyaman is surprised when he is asked to come up.  He then gets to his feet and proceeds to the side so he can walk around to the front.  He is obviously a bit nervous, so Fujin gives a pant on the shoulder.

            Raiden moves to the side so Saiyaman stand in his place.  "May you please remove your helmet," says Raiden.

            "O-okay," he replies nervously.  He then takes a deep breath and calms down.  He places both hands on each side of the helmet and slowly lifts it off.  He leans his neck forward and twists the helmet forward.  He shows his face by pulls his neck back.

            Piccolo is the first to notice something.  Then it all suddenly clicks together, "What!?"

            "What, Piccolo?" asks Goku.  "Do you know him?"

            "You should know him as well, Goku!" says Piccolo still surprised.  Mugena tries to hold back her laughter.

            Goku looks back at him and thinks for a moment, "Well, he does look kinda familiar."

            Saiyaman looks down at little Gohan in front of Goku.  Gohan is very confused about what his father and Piccolo are talking about.  "Don't you recognise me, Gohan?" he asks.

            Goku gets closer to the answer but moves away from it before solving it, the voice wasn't a big enough hint for him.  Gohan doesn't know what to think so he shakes his head as a reply.  Mugena is trying hard not to laugh out loud.

            "I'm you, Gohan," says Saiyaman.

            "WHAT!?!?" yells both Gohan and Goku.  Everyone is either surprised or shocked, especially Z-fighters, only the two Gods, Trunks, Fujin, and the snickering Mugena are the only ones that are not.

            "Boy, I wonder what I looked when I first saw them," says Teen Gohan.

            "Almost the same," says Fujin.  "Show them your other clothing."

            Teen Gohan raises his wristwatch to chest-level, "Bulma made this costume for me.  She's been a big help lately."  He presses the button on the watch and his super-hero costume flashes and disappears, revealing his red-baggy clothes with a white-black symbol on the back, which is exactly the same as Goku's clothes.

            "…  You're… me!?" says Gohan.

            "Yep!" replies Teen Gohan.

            "We know that you are confused," says Raiden, "so we'll show you the differences between your two realities."  The view screen stretches out wider like a very wide-screen television.  Five videos appear, two larger one are on opposing sides with three smaller ones lining the middle.  A video of the Cell Games appears on the two larger ones, "The one on left is Saiyaman's timeline and the right is from the Z-fighters'.  There has been no God that has seen the basis of the MUGEN reality, but there are many theories.  The other three are for the scientific minds: two theories at work and a collection of date."

            The screens show Super Cell, his second form, inflated like a balloon and laughs madly.  Super Saiyan 2 Gohan is on his knees angry at himself for not finishing him off soon.  The middle screens show a single orb of matter, a limp string which appears to be descending, and a few bits of unchanging data.

            "You're too late, kid!" says Cell.  "You should have finished me off but now your planet is doomed, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!"  He continues laughing.

            "No," says Gohan.  "I had my chance and I failed.  I let Cell win."

            Electrical charges begin to flow around the string and the orb and the data begins to fluctuate.  Goku suddenly appears right in front of Cell with two fingers on his forehead and the other hand touching Cell.

            "Dad!" yells Gohan, "What are you doing?!"

            The orb and string begin to vibrate uncontrollably and mould out of shape.

            Goku turns to his son, "It's okay, Gohan.  You tried your best and it wasn't good enough.  No one blames you and neither should you"

            "Dad!" says Gohan.  The string begins to rip apart and the orb begins to pinch deeper to its centre, the data is going off the charts.  "Don't do it, Dad!"

            Then the differences become noticeable.  "Goodbye, my son..." / "Don't worry about me yet, Gohan…"  Then Goku and Cell teleport away.

            The orb pinches almost completely, forming two orbs.  And the string slices down the centre.  Both continue to swarm with electricity and the data received continues to go erratic.  On one screen Goku teleports both of them onto King Kai's home planet, while on the other Goku teleports them onto a deserted planet and quickly teleports away.  Both Cells explode.

            While one screen shows the Z-fighters waiting for a sign, Goku teleports back to the group and there is some rejoice.  The string has completely split into two as well as the orb but energy continues to swarm them.  The different scenarios continue to play out, but almost simultaneously, a dust cloud appears in front of the Z-fighters.

            Cell's hand stretches out in both cases and fires a narrow energy beam.  Goku quickly avoids it by bending his neck to side.  But then in both situations, the beam hits Trunks and knocks him.

            "And that Trunks is not me," says Trunks from the side.

            Cell appears from the dust clouds.  Both Vegetas turn violent and go into a fury, fighting numerous energy blasts at Cell.  Soon after, Vegeta confronts Cell but loses.  In one, Goku comes forth to help Vegeta and he responds negatively.  Cell gives a final attack on Goku and Vegeta, hurting them severely like to does to the other lone Vegeta.

            Gohan comes in and protects Vegeta (and Goku) from another beating.  The orbs and strings begin to calm down and move apart.  Then both cases become similar as Gohan and Cell battle for power in a single energy blast from each.  The attack is long and the interference by the remaining Z-fighters is the same.

            Then the electricity vanishes and the data becomes stable.  Now in one case, the spirit of the deceased Goku aids Gohan into defeating Cell, and in the other one, an injured Goku aids his son.  Both are in the same positions, Goku behind them with both hands outstretched and Gohan from the left side with one arm that wasn't hurt.  Cell becomes overpowers and disintegrates.  Goku collapses from the attack.  The Z-fighters quickly gather their injured and take them to the Kame's Lookout to use the DragonBalls.  The screens close down and it retracts to its original state.

            "As you can see," starts Raiden, "in Teenage Gohan's dimension, his father's sacrifice himself to save the team.  And so on, he continued to grow up without his father around and eventually took up the role as 'the Great Saiyaman' during his high school years."

            "Well, it's not as bad as you may think," says Gohan.  "My dad is suppose to come back from the Other World to fight in the World Tournament.  And that's in a few days too, I hope I get to see him again."

            Trunks looks at Cable with a thought that they both knew.

            "While in the other hand," continues Raiden, "Goku survived the Cell Games and continues to live on.  But as you can see, you two are from different points in time as well dimensions.  Your fates are now different and cannot be predicted by the other."

            Goku clears his throat as he thinks of something to say in the awkward situation.  "I'm… sorry that your Dad didn't make it, Gohan."

            "Are there any more questions before I hand it over to Cable and Trunks?" asks Raiden.

            "I have one," says Cable as he finishes creating the projecting device.  "What does MUGEN mean?"

            "We have no idea how the word came to be but as in today's Japanese language, mugen means 'infinity', which describes very well what MUGEN is."

            "Oh," says Trunks, "we thought that it stood for something."

            "Like what?" asks Fujin.

            "Multi-Universe Generator," he replies.

            "MUG?" says Sakura.

            "That was as close as we got," says Cable.  "There was no way for us to actually have seen it.  This is our first time first actually."

            "Well then, do you wish to start now," offers Raiden.

            "Okay."  Trunks picks up the device and moves it to the centre, Cable follows behind him.  Raiden's medallion shrinks back he places it back on his belt.  Trunks places the projector on the ground where Raiden stood and Cable bends down to turn it on and give it configuration commands.

            Trunks waits for Cable to finish but decides to start.  "Okay, I'll kick things off.  As many of you know, I'm Trunks…  And that's my dad over there, Vegeta."  Some turn to him and, with a quick stare into his serious eyes, turn away from him.  Trunks tries to stall until Cable is done, "From the same reality as him."  He turns to Cable who is finishing up and he finally stands up.

            "Hope I didn't keep you waiting," whispers Cable to him.  "We'll start with this.  Does anyone know what this thing is?"  He holds up a silverish, 'upside-down V-shaped' object.  "Mugena?"

            "Well, since I'm probably the only one that does know what it."  She takes in a deep breath, "It's a communications device called a 'com-badge' from the Star Trek series, which is probably reality now, and it shows that you have met that reality and you probably have become Star Fleet Officers most likely."

            There is a pause for a short moment.  "Yeah," replies Cable.

            "And you're a Star Fleet Officer?!" she asks.

            "I'm not."  He flips it like a coin and it flies over to Trunks who catches without effort, "He is."

            Everyone, including Fujin and Raiden are surprised that Trunks was officer of something that sounded important to them, the two Gods and Mugena are the only ones that know what a Star Fleet Officer was.  "You're an officer of the United Federation of Planets?!" yells Mugena.

            "It's not called that anymore," replies Trunks, "but I thought you said that you didn't watch 'shows' like that."

            "I know enough to get by," she responds almost through her teeth.

            "What's it called now?" asks Fujin.

            "It originally was the New World Army on Earth," replies Cable, "But it became the Universal Alliance Military."

            "It doesn't sound very peaceful," says Chun Li.

            "I can't remember a moment of peace," says Trunks.  "A war was always being fought."

            Cable pushes a button on the projector with his boot, almost like a kick, and a 3D holographic projection materialises in-between them.  The first images shown is the letters U.A.M. along with the mission number underneath it in a smaller font.  Being 3D though, it appears to be several 2D layers.  The words fade and a tunnel forms as if they are travelling down it.  It stops at a large vault doors.  "State your identification and pass-code," it says.

            "Cable, alpha-zero-nine-one-gamma."  One side of the animated vault shifts as if being unlocked to show a confirmation.

            "Trunks, alpha-pi-three-one-one."  The other side shifts as well.

            The vault's doors shift to the side and the tunnel continues on.  Words appear as the computer reads it, "Identification and Pass-Codes confirmed.  Level 2 access granted.  You may proceed."  The tunnel enters a large circular room surrounded with image-icons.

            "Access ID files," says Cable.

            The screen turns towards an icon and it flashes, the screen fades.  A wall of names appear and the words 'You are only granted partial access to this file'.

            "Display Cable," he says.

            The screen changes again.  Now a rotating model of Cable stands on the left side while a list of data is shown on the right.  Stuff like his name, rank (which is empty), age, reality identification number, skills, and unasked notes.  Cable is in the same yellow-on-blue outfit as he is currently wearing.

            "Why don't you have a rank?" asks Piccolo.

            "I was part of the military division at first.  My rank kept on changing during the wars until we were just identified as a group and leader."  He turns his head to the display, "Close profile and display Trunks."

            The screen fades out again.  This time a rotating model of Trunks stands in Cable's place.  Almost everyone notices Trunks's cloths, which is a StarFleet uniform.  The data displayed includes his name, his rank (Lieutenant, Second Year), his age, identification number, skills and training, unasked notes, and years of service (nine).

            "You must have been very young when you started," says Raiden.

            "Oh, I was an Ensign for most of those years.  We were pressured to start out when we became teenagers.  I had a friend help me along through it."

            "How did you that scar on your right eye?" asks young Gohan.  "The 'Trunkses' we know don't have it."

            Trunks is silent for a moment, "I would like to keep that private for now."  Vegeta turns his head away from the group for a second, no one notices except Trunks.

            "Before we start the history lesson," says Cable, "we must warn you that some of these images can be disturbing to some."

            "So hang on to your heads, cause your in for a brain full," jokes Trunks.  No one notices Antoine duck and cover.

            "Return to main menu," says Cable.  The projection returns the icon room.  "Access History File one-zero."

            The room rotates to a different icon.  The icon flashes and the display fades out.  It then displays a message, "Names have been removed or changed for this presentation.  Level 3 clearance required for uncensored version."

            "Now all we need is the THX logo and it's all set," jokes Mugena.

            Another paragraph of text forms under the last.  "TIME:  the combination of different eras had become extremely complex.  To fix this, the date is set by the position of the Earth compared to the Sun.  The year was chosen as the average of the years in different realities and rounded to the nearest millennium, 2000."  The display fades to black.

            "This is a sad moment in our history," says a voice.  Images come for a few seconds and then are replace by another.  Still photos of singe bodies, collapsed buildings, and airborne pictures of craters where they can be certain that a city once stood.  "The Earth is under attack by an unknown force.  It is unknown where they came from or why they are here, but it's easy to say that it wasn't with peaceful intentions.

            "Today, all of the east coast was attack, stretching from upper Canada to Brazil.  The United Nations are searching for a way to defeat them and organising a global defence program.  We pray for the souls of our lost and injured…  May God help us all…"

            'M.U.G.E.N:  The Aftermath' replaces the images.  Then a granite wall appears with names engraved on it.  Their names.  Almost all of the fighters are shocked to see their names on a wall.  "There wasn't many witnesses to what happened during the initial war.  There was only one survivor but he took all the loses heavy and felt the weight of everyone and everything on his shoulders."  The person's profile and rotating model comes on screen, "Fujin."

            Fujin is surprise to see his picture there, even though he knew he would be mentioned, just not in this way.  The term 'Elder God of Wind' is listed in quotes, probably indicating that his story of origin was little hard to believe at the time.  "The Elder God had come to alliance with the most in-depth information of your enemies."

            "Onslaught."  Xavier's picture and details are displayed.  The model changes into Onslaught's first form, and then his second.

            "Shinnok."  Now, Shinnok's picture and data appear.  "There has been no confirmed sighting of Shinnok since the first day of InVasion."

            Shinnok's image fades and is replaced by military soldiers marching diagonally from upper-right to lower-left.  Strangely though, not all soldiers are in the same uniform.  "On August 24th, 2000, the second day of InVasion, a new defence was created which mostly made up of the combined UN Military and StarFleet.  Onslaught's followers were made up of three groups…

            "The Alien Hybrids."  Several pictures are displayed of many alien species, which keep changing to show even more.

            "The Vampiral Army."  Now pictures of vampires, mostly human in origin, appear.  Each one has a slightly different appearance, like different facial structures, flight abilities, and DayWalkers.

            "And the Machines."  Many androids and robots are displayed.  The Terminator-like androids are the most numerous followed by varying versions of sentinels.  But there are many more like those from the Star Wars realities.

            "Then there's the other legion.  The Demons of the NetherRealm, Shinnok's and Satan's army."  Numerous demons litter the screen, mostly demons that were told in stories.  Some fighters think they recognise a few but more easily covers the images.

            "The phenomena that been dubbed as 'mergers' to most have occurred since InVasion starting with a great frequency and then decreasing in time.  There is no mathematical formula to determine when and if a merger will occur."  Several photos appear on the screen showing the balls of light, which accompany a merger.  "Upon each merger, the understanding of physics is almost completely rewritten.  Everything is averaged out like gravity and Ultimate Time, which will be explained later.  The strangest part of the mergers is the planetary factor.  The Earth, the Moon, the Sun, and other planets have grown to support more uncommon elements but have kept the same ratios to one another.  Upon the creation of this presentation, the Earth's diameter is 25,413,000 meters, that's almost the width of eight original-size Earths side-by-side, surface-to-surface."

            Several images, some with gore, of battlegrounds flash on and off the screen.  "The wars were everything but short-lived and without causalities.  No one was safe from it.  It became clear that the enemy had to be crippled heavily in order to win.  Then, one day, both side took a major hit…"

            Various newspapers appear with headings like 'Onslaught Defeated!  War Over?' and 'Armageddon on the Moon.'  "Little is known about the incident but it was obvious that a war between Fujin and Onslaught had occurred on a Lunar Colony.  Onslaught is believed to have been destroyed by Fujin but Fujin couldn't survive his punishment and died a short while after with friends by his side."  Trunks can't bear to think about it again and walks away to be alone for a moment.

            "The war however was not over.  Even without Onslaught or Shinnok around to lead them, they continue to fight us.  Eventually, the Aliens and Vampires began to form rebel groups, separate from either side.  The mechanical forces began to shrink as well.  Then, they came.  From late 2016 to early 2018, 2017 became known as the Year of Hell…"

            A familiar face appears, "Cell returned.  With the legions of the Borg, he was able to take control of the air and space in a matter of days.  The moon has been conquered and used as a base of operations against Earth."

            "However, the Borg and Cell were not the only threat, a deadly plague known as the Masaki virus spread throughout the Americas, killing Humans and Vampires and disabling others with Human blood.  The Borg abandoned their drones and began creating the machines because of the virus.  When the Earth forces were brought down to their knees, an alliance was made that would change the war.  The Humans and the Rebels forces of Vampires and Alien Hybrids joined to battle the machines.

            "2018 once was pronounced as the Year of Victory, the Borg had been vanquished, a cure to the Masaki virus had been discovered, and the Alliance remained strong.

            "But then planets of the Universal Alliance started to disappear.  A surviving team made it back to Earth to warn us of a newer threat.  An extremely-large space-vessel is destroying planets for their energy and on its way to Earth."  Trunks walks back to his spot.  "The UAM fought against the vessel."

            Static of an officer's voice, time-stamps appear on the edge of the screen.  "It appears to be a Borg Cube… it's extremely large…  OUR WEAPONS CAN'T PENITRATE THEIR SHIELDS…  We have no air forces left…  It's separating…  A pyramid structure… (several seconds of static mixed with human voices)…  Oh dear God…"  A loud screech occurs and a small pop.

            "Planets destroyed in seconds.  Legions of ships lost in an instant.  It was time to put our theories to the test.  Ultimate Time, a bizarre concept as it is.  Time is vector of itself, a second per second, an hour per hour, and is experienced by all, it cannot be altered or influenced.  Ultimate Time cannot be experienced but was derived by the difference between times in different dimensions.  An hour in one maybe two in another.  Ultimate Time may also fluctuate and leave gaps.  It is also believed that MUGEN's version of Ultimate Time and Time are the same.

            "The idea of time-travel is complicated, especially since timelines were merging.  Another theory was produced where the sum of all measurements of time with numerous calculations will result in the answer of one, which is believed to be the key to get to the MUGEN reality.  Know your time measurement and you can create a portal to MUGEN and back.  By observing the merger phenomena, we were able to calculate the time measurement of one of original realities that were merged with ours.  We can now go back to the past and enter MUGEN and other realities.

            "A plan was formed, to send several warriors back to fight with Raiden and to prevent this future from happening.  It's an one-way trip and the rest will be left to survive.  The chosen was lowered to two individuals:

            "Cable, mutant human.  Being around since the beginning and having some of the most extraordinary knowledge, Cable was chosen to become an weapons expert and commander.

            "Trunks, alien human.  Losing this parents and Fujin has brought this young warrior a reason to fight.  Trunks is one of few with Saiyan blood and is full of surprises.  Trunks was chosen as the powerhouse that he shows.  With skills, speed, and tactical knowledge, he is the best hope of a stronger offence and defence against Onslaught."

            "We wish you luck, gentlemen," says a different male voice.  "Our prayers and hopes are with you.  You have taken upon yourselves to sacrifice your lives to stop the wars from happening, and to me, that is the ultimate bravery.  We will try to contact you in the future with updates if we are successful.  Make changes, gentlemen.  And stop this future from ever occurring…"  The images fade away and it returns to the main menu.

            Mugena tries to remember whose voice that was but can't put a name on it.

            "And you're telling us this now?  Why?" questions Piccolo.

            "We couldn't have known what the consequences were if we told you," replies Trunks.  "Ultimate Time is still vastly unknown.  We were told not to tell any of you about what was set to happen.  But I guess my babbling have said to much already."

            "There was also the possibility that that future was erased so this new one can be written.  But with the arrival of the machines, we now know that it still exists.  We can do what we wanted regardless of the precautions because MUGEN won't be affected."

            "So are there now two MUGENs?" asks Liu Kang.

            "Two or more,  yes.  But we can't go back to the other until we understand more about it."

            "So, we're all dead?" asks Ryu.

            "Not anymore," says Trunks.

            "You must understand that you are not dead here.  The future to come is not the future that was.  Fujin told us your names and said that he could not find any alive.  But you, Samus, Link, Freedom Fighters, we cannot be sure of.  You realities didn't become part of ours."

            "Are any of our friends or family still alive?" asks Lita.

            "We can't say," replies Trunks.

            "Do you know anyone that knew us?" asks Mina.

            "…  A few."

            "What about that android from yesterday?" asks Cyclops.  "You were surprised by its number."

            Cable sighs and starts, "It had the letters A-3 in its unit number.  Alpha-3 was never found and their interference was rare.  But we might have found it."

            Trunks continues, "Robotropolis had parts stolen over the last while for their sentinels.  We now believe that when they stole the entire city, it became Alpha-3 and its now here, in MUGEN."

            "So now, it's the secret machine factory from our future that isn't so secret here.  They will begin to transform it into a new Genosha," concludes Cable.

            "How long until 'InVasion' begins?" asks Leonardo.

            "Do you really want to know?" asks Cable.  There are positive replies among the group.  Trunks turns to Raiden, hoping for a response to not to tell them.  But Raiden doesn't say anything.

            Cable sighs.  "Computer, what's the date and time at the moment?"      

            It beeps.  "August 20th, 2000.  Seventeen hours, twenty-three minutes."

            "Now, from that time, how long until the predicted point that InVasion will begin?"

            It beeps again.  "Two days, Eighteen hours, forty minutes."

            There is a loud gasp from many in the group.  "Now, how long until the we enter the danger area that InVasion will begin?"

            Again, it beeps.  "Seven hours, nine minutes."

            "After we cross that mark, we are at the greatest risk.  Something will happen that will determine the victor in the war," tells Trunks.

            "So, we should attack them now," says Raphael.  Trunks, Cable, and Raiden are surprised by the suggestion.  "We should at least try to get to upper hand."

            "You think that we should try and take them out now?!" asks teenage Gohan.

            "I think we should do it," says Vegeta.  "We should kill them before they have a chance against us."

            "I'm ready," says Piccolo.

            "So am I," says Wolverine as his claws pop out of the back of his hands.

            "You better not be thinking that you're immortal right now," warns Cable.  "The danger area is only statistics, it doesn't mean it can't happen earlier."

            "Or never," says B.B.Hood.

            Serena turns around to the forest nearby and stares into the shadows.  "Something wrong?" asks Amy.

            Serena doesn't respond for a second, but she turns back around.  "I thought I heard something out there."

            "Are you all willing to fight now?" asks Raiden to the group.  Everyone agrees.  "And are the rest of you in as well."

            "Well, this hedgehog is ready," says Sonic.

            "We can get others to help," suggests Princess Zelda.

            "Very well then," replies Raiden.  "We will advance in an hour, I suggest that you get ready."

            Some of them give a shout in support.

            A tree wobbles awkwardly as something crawls down it.  The invisible Reptile lands on the ground and sprints into the forest.  "I must warn Onslaught.  If I don't get there in time, it'll be my soul that he'll be keeping next."