HuniePop: Dimensional Crisis

Chapter 1: A New Adventure Begins

Warning: If you haven't read any of the preceding story arcs before this one, this story might seem a bit confusing. Please read HuniePop, HuniePop 2: Double Date, and HuniePop: Space Adventures before you read this arc. If you have read the preceding arcs, then enjoy!

My name is Max Smith. You might've heard of me. The Chosen One. The defender of Earth. Or, at least I was a few days ago. Now I'm a fugitive, running for my life from an assassin who's been tracking my every move so she could bring me down. I don't know who she was or who hired her, but she was absolutely relentless and she was stronger than I had ever thought. My only hope of escape was to flee into the forest and hopefully lose her in there, but I also had no idea where to go and I got lost pretty fast. As I hid behind a tree and tried to slow my breathing so she wouldn't hear me, I took a quick glance back to see if she was still out there. I didn't see anything at first, but I didn't let that fool me. She was out there… somewhere. I quietly tried to sneak further into the forest, trying my best not to step on any dead leaves or twigs that would've given away my position, but I was suddenly struck by a bullet that hit me dead center in the chest and knocked me to the ground. I was literally helpless, and I could feel my life slipping away as I sat there in the dirt. But the assassin wasn't finished yet. She slowly walked over to me, the gun in her hand as I took shallow breathes of air and tried to fight death. However, she was now standing above me and she menacingly pointed the gun at my head before she fired… only for the bullet to bounce off of my head.

"Got you, scawy monster! Your days of scawing kids are over!" the assassin said with a cutesy voice. Yep. I said cutesy. And that's because the so-called "assassin" was actually my daughter, Lara. We were just out playing a game of "Monster Hunter" where she had to try and find me before she would then shoot me with a Nerf blaster to take me down. It was one of her favorite games and she always managed to catch me off guard with her small size. However, I had my own tricks in this game, one of which involved me playing dead so she could come a bit closer.

"…Daddy?" Lara said as she inched closer tone with concern. Once she was close enough, I lunged at her and gave a pretend roar before I grabbed her and blew raspberries on her stomach, making her giggle and squeal.

"Shouldn't have let your guard down, Monster Hunter!" I said as I kept blowing raspberries.

"Daddy, stop it! Heeheeheehee!" Lara squealed before I set her down and started picking up the darts that she had fired, holding one up to her.

"Now, Lara, I've told you before about being careful not to shoot Daddy in the face with these, right?" I asked calmly, prompting Lara to look down at the ground in sadness.

"Yes. I'm sowwy…" Lara said. I just patted her on the head and gave her a kiss to calm her down a little.

"It's OK, sweetie. Just be more careful next time. Now, how 'bout we go back inside and see what Mommy's up to? I think she's making a special dinner tonight!" I said. Lara's face immediately lit up before I picked her up and carried her piggyback all the way to the house. It had been a crazy past 5 years for me and my wife, Nikki, raising Lara. She was our pride and joy. Our little ray of sunshine. I could still vividly picture the last five years of watching Lara grow up, from her first steps to her first words. Even better, there hadn't been any sex-crazed demons or intergalactic tyrants or anything for those past five years to disrupt our peaceful lifestyle. It was like we had finally caught a break in our lives. Once me and Lara got to the house, I set her down and we both walked in to see Nikki making something on the stove for us to eat.

"Hi guys! So… who won this time?" Nikki asked as Lara started running around the kitchen.

"Me! I caught Daddy twice! I was too fast for him!" Lara replied as I gave Nikki a quick kiss on the lips.

"Yep. She remains the undefeated champion of Monster Hunter. So, whatcha makin'?" I asked before Nikki dipped a spoon into the soup or whatever she was making and held it up to me.

"Spaghetti and homemade pasta sauce. What do you think?" Nikki said. I just blew on the sauce and took a sip before I gave my verdict.

"Not bad. Needs a bit more oregano, though," I said.

"Max, you know how Lara feels about spices in her pasta sauce," Nikki said as Lara went into the living room and started watching her cartoons.

"She hasn't had real pasta sauce until she has oregano in it. That's how Mom always made it for me," I replied as I kissed Nikki on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes, so just do whatever you have to before we eat," Nikki said.

"Well, alright then," I replied before I retreated to the garage and turned on the light for my workbench, which was right next to my Praetor Suit. I had this workbench installed so I could make any needed adjustments or upgrades to my suit while also trying to keep in in good shape. I know that you're all wondering why, so I'll fill you in. Like I said, the past five years were pretty quiet and peaceful. But, before that, me and Nikki had headed up into space alongside our alien friend Celeste to fight a tyrant known as the Overlord. During that time, we met Hiro and Zero Two, a couple of human-klaxosaur hybrids from another Earth who were carrying a bomb that destroyed a planet that was home to a parasitic alien species. They should've died in that explosion that killed VIRM, but it instead sent them to our dimension. After the defeat of the Overlord, I met a goddess named Adora, who cryptically told me that my battles against the Overlord and the Nymphojinn had echoed across the multiverse and that she would one day need my help in fighting some kind of great evil. For the past five years, I had kept my guard up and focusing on preparing for whatever would come next, but there had been nothing for that amount of time. All that really happened was Lola finally starting her own fashion company, Jessie and Tiffany living together as mother and daughter, and Momo and Quill leaving me and Nikki to travel the world to see what other catgirls were out there. Oh, and I also got a tattoo of a dragon on my left arm. But I didn't let my guard down for even a second as the time went by. My primary concern during those past years was the safety and well-being of Nikki and Lara. They both meant so much to me and I just wanted them to be safe. But I still made the time to be around them more than I did at my workbench and I never wasted a precious moment to be with them. As I was busy fiddling with my helmet and testing everything to make sure that it was still working, I heard someone clearing their throat and turned to see Nikki standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"Y'know, there are days where I feel like you spend more time in here than you do with us," she said sternly.

"That's not true. I spend every second I can with you and Lara. This is… more like a hobby for me. Kinda like how Tony Stark built a whole army of Iron Man suits in his spare time in Iron Man 3," I replied.

"Look, Max… I'm worried about you. I mean, whenever you have spare time, you come in here and you toy around with that thing like your gearing up for war! It's been 5 years since anything supernatural has happened! And I always get this feeling that you're hiding something from…" Nikki started to say before I kissed her on the lips. Her agitated stance softened a bit before she returned the kiss and rested her head on my chest.

"I hate it when you do that…" she finally said.

"Why?" I asked before Nikki looked at me.

"Because you do it every time we're about to have an argument even when I'm right," Nikki replied.

"Well, I don't like fighting with you. Look, both you and Lara mean the world to me. And I just want you both to be safe. Me spending my time in here just to make any needed adjustments isn't going to get in the way of me spending time with the both of you," I said as I held Nikki close to me. She didn't really respond to that, but I could tell that she was OK with that statement. After a few more seconds, she looked up at me with a less concerned look in her eye.

"OK, fine. But I would just like for you to talk about what you're thinking or feeling every now and then, OK?" she asked.

"OK," I replied before we both heard the timer in the kitchen go off, signaling to us that dinner was ready.

?'s perspective

"Look, I told you that I'm going to be taking some time off to be with my family, James! I'll get those reports to you before the week starts!" I said to my phone as I hurried home, squeezing past the people walking up and down the sidewalk. Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Hiro. I was once a Parasite pilot alongside my wife, Zero Two, created to defend what remained of humanity from a parasitic alien species. But, after we destroyed said alien species, we both ended up in a different dimension where nobody knew who we were or where we really came from and with no way back to our home dimension. To the normal populace, we were just Hiro and Zoey Kokona, a normal human couple that lived in the suburbs. The only people who knew who we really were and where we came from were Max and Nikki Smith, who taught us everything they could and helped us adapt to this new Earth. I had a job at a big corporation while Zero Two became a florist with help from Max's mother and we both had two beautiful children whom we cherished very much. Once I had finally gotten home, my daughter, Rose, came bounding out with her arms outstretched.

"Daddy!" she said before I picked her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, sweetie. How are you?" I asked as Zero Two came out wearing an apron, jean shorts and a T-shirt while she was holding our son, Jack.

"Welcome home, Darling! How was your day?" Zero Two asked.

"Oh, you know. Same ol', same ol'," I replied as I set Rose down and she ran into the kitchen with us following behind her.

"One of these days, you'll give me something juicy to talk about, Darling. One day," Zero Two said as she put Jack in his highchair and Rose ran into the living room.

"Well, what can I say? I'm not that interesting," I said before Zero Two put her hands on my face and kissed me tenderly. Her loving nature never failed to amaze me, even after everything we had been through. Once she was finished with the kiss, she brought me over to the counter to show me what she was making.

"So, I decided that we would have ramen tonight with sliced pork and scallions on top and a dash of honey. What do you think?" Zero Two asked.

"I think that we need to lay off on the honey for a while. I feel like I gained a few extra pounds…" I said. Zero Two just smiled and hopped up onto the counter before she brought me closer.

"You always look perfect to me, Darling. From head to toe, back to front," she said sensually as she started kissing me on the neck, even though I was trying to stop her. She always did this whenever I got home from work. Chalk it up to her being a doting wife and all that.

"Zero Two, not here and now, please. Our kids don't need to see this!" I said.

"What's wrong with me showing my Darling some compassion?" Zero Two replied while she unbuttoned my shirt and placed her hands on my chest.

"Nothing, but I don't wanna have to explain the birds and the bees to Rose at this age!" I said frantically as my eyes darted to the side to look at Jack, who was snacking on a tiny bowl of baby snacks.

"We don't have to go all the way, Darling. But I just wanna give you some loving as any wife should…" Zero Two whispered into my ear before she licked it and wrapped her legs around my waist. I once again tried to stop her from going too far, but she was determined and she was maintaining a tight grip on me, so I couldn't get away that easily. Luckily, I was saved by the usual ray of sunshine that was our daughter when she called out to us.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Rose called from the living room, causing Zero Two to groan in response and release me.

"I can never get a moment of peace, can I?" Zero Two groaned as I buttoned my shirt back up.

"You can be as compassionate as you want later. Just relax," I replied as I kissed Zero Two on the forehead. After that, I headed into the living room to see what was up with Rose.

"What was it that you needed, swe…" I started to say before I stopped myself short. Rose was standing right in front of me, paralyzed with fear, while standing in front of her was some kind of robot or person in a black and purple robotic suit that looked similar to Nikki's, albeit slightly more advanced and with a helmet that had a purple visor. The sight was overall terrifying, but it didn't seem like Rose was in any danger at the moment. I quickly darted in and scooped up Rose right as Zero Two entered the room to see what was going on. She was shocked at first to see the same thing that I was seeing, but she didn't stay shocked for long.

"Um, excuse me… it's way too early for Halloween and I don't recall anyone letting you in. So, you better get out before I call the police!" Zero Two said. The robot or person, or whatever didn't respond and just stood there in complete silence, adding a bit more to the creep factor before I spoke up.

"Listen, my wife is serious, pal. Believe me, you don't wanna see her angry!" I said.

"Code: 016, Code: 002, I have come to take you both home," the figure said with a woman's voice, catching both me and Zero Two by surprise.

"…OK, what the hell kind of joke is this?! Whoever you are, you better ditch that robot costume and hit the road before I kick your ass out! Who the hell even are you?!" Zero Two yelled.

"My name is Anomaly. I am a protector of the multiverse and I have come to take you back to your home dimension where you belong. You must come with me immediately," the figure replied. I didn't trust any of this nor did I think that anything good could come of this, so I set Rose on the ground and I stood in front of both her and Zero Two in case if things went south.

"Look… this is our home. We live here. And even if we did believe you, why do we need to go with you now?" I asked.

"I don't have time to explain everything to you. I must return you to your home dimension as quickly as possible… by force if I must," Anomaly replied as I noticed that Zero Two was reaching behind the couch for something.

"OK, see… that definitely sounds like something that a bad guy would say… and you've now forced me to use force…" Zero Two said before she whipped out one of her pistols and fired a plasma bolt at Anomaly's face, only for her to create a shield that blocked the bolt. But Zero Two was quick to follow up her attack and took out her electrostaff before she attacked Anomaly again. Anomaly once again blocked Zero Two's attack and created an arm cannon that knocked Zero Two back onto the couch. I quickly ushered Rose into the kitchen and grabbed Jack before I made them hide in a cabinet.

"Daddy, what's happening?" Rose asked as she held Jack close.

"Everything's gonna be OK! Just stay here until it's safe to come out!" I said before I shut the door and then took my gauntlets out of the drawer. After I activated them, I ran back into the living room and delivered a swift punch that made Anomaly reel back in pain before Zero Two followed it up by jabbing one end of her electrostaff into Anomaly's abdomen and electrocuted her. The electricity didn't seem to do that much to hurt Anomaly but she fell backwards in pain as me and Zero Two stood in front of her, weapons hot.

"You don't want to do this…" she said as she got back to her feet.

"You're not really giving us much of a choice…" Zero Two replied before she went in for another attack. This time, however, Anomaly created a mace and knocked Zero Two back into the sofa before she created an arm cannon to shoot at me with. Our upholstery and walls started to show signs of damage the more that we fought Anomaly, but it seemed like she was trying her hardest to hold herself back from hurting me and Zero Two, which was a bit odd. But neither me nor Zero Two paid it much attention and we just kept fighting until Anomaly threw me threw the wall that was dividing the kitchen and the living room, which made Rose scream from the cabinet while Jack started crying. Zero Two quickly retreated to the kitchen and tried to help me while she shot at Anomaly with her blasters, only for the plasma bolts to be absorbed by her armor.

"Zero Two… this isn't working! We need to come up with a different plan!" I said before Zero Two darted in and grabbed Rose and Jack out of the cabinet before she took out a small cylindrical device with a button on top.

"Already got a plan!" Zero Two replied before we huddled together, and she pressed a button on the device. Just as Anomaly was about to grab us, we were suddenly teleported out of our house and into Max and Nikki's house, where all three of them were having dinner and were shocked to see us so suddenly.

"Um… hey. It seems that we have a bit of a problem on our hands," I said sheepishly.

Max's perspective

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. A so-called "protector" of the multiverse actually tried to take Hiro and Zero Two away from this dimension? It was hard to fathom, but I was more concerned that this so-called "Anomaly" was one of the ones that Adora warned me about. Either way, I tried not to seem too frightened by the situation and tried to think things over as the others began talking while Lara and Rose were playing outside.

"So, you have no idea who she was?" Nikki asked as she poured some tea for Zero Two and Hiro.

"Not a clue. But she clearly knew who we were. I mean, she knew our Parasite code numbers, for God's sake!" Zero Two said as she held Jack close to her in a defensive manner while he was suckling on a bottle.

"Well, what exactly did she say to you before the fight broke out?" Nikki asked.

"Not much. She just said that she had to return us to our home dimension as soon as possible. I don't know why, but it seemed like she was concerned about something…" Hiro replied.

"Hey… Max? What's up? You're being awfully quiet over there," Zero Two said to me, bringing me back to reality.

"I'm just trying to process all of this, that's all," I replied.

"Wait, Max, do you know what's going on?" Hiro asked me.

"I have a vague idea, but I'm not 100% sure," I replied.

"Well, look, you two are more than welcome to stay with us until this all blows over. I can prep the guest room for you both and I can get Lara's old crib out for Jack," Nikki said.

"We appreciate that, Nik, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions that we need answers to and we won't exactly get them by just sitting here," Hiro replied.

"Plus, I really need to make that woman pay for the damages to our house. There was a looooot of expensive furniture in there," Zero Two added, making Hiro look at her with a raised eyebrow before I got up and walked outside to bring Lara and Rose in as the rain started to fall.

"Lara! Time to come in now!" I called out into the forest. For the first few seconds, I expected Lara to come straight out of the woods with Rose giggling behind her. But I didn't see or hear either of them. In fact, it was TOO quiet despite the pitter patter of the rain for me to feel comfortable. However, the silence was quickly broken when Zero Two came out.

"Rose Kokona! It's time to come inside now!" Zero Two yelled. Again, there wasn't any response, and I couldn't help but feel anxious at what was happening out there. Lara and I had explored those woods before several times to know how to get back and there weren't that many dangerous animals in those woods, but I always got worried whenever Lara ventured out into those woods by herself. And my fears were confirmed when I suddenly heard Lara scream. In an instant, I ran straight into those woods as fast as I could, scanning every inch of the woods for Lara or Rose. I also tried using my Soul Sense to try and find them, but, for some odd reason, I wasn't picking up anything.

"LARA!" I called out desperately as I tried to find her while the rain started falling faster. I constantly tried to use my Soul Sense to try and find Lara, but it still wasn't working, and I was starting to get frantic. But just when I was about to assume the worst, I finally spotted Lara and Rose and bolted towards them… only to find that Anomaly was also there too, standing menacingly before both girls until she noticed me. The girls also noticed me and immediately ran toward me and hid behind me as Anomaly stared at us.

"So… we finally meet…" Anomaly said. I could tell from her menacing stance that this was gonna get ugly and the last thing that I needed was for Lara to get stuck in the crossfire.

"Lara… take Rose back to the house…" I said.

"But Daddy…" Lara started to say.

"Do as I tell you!" I said, prompting Lara to run back to the house with Rose as Anomaly and I exchanged glances. I couldn't really tell what she was thinking underneath that visor, but I could briefly make out a glowing green eye underneath staring at me in anger.

"You know, I don't appreciate someone coming here and threatening my daughter like that. And I also don't like someone who picks on my friends. So, how 'bout you give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick your ass right now," I said angrily as I cracked my knuckles, only for Anomaly to give a scoff in reply.

"Code: 016 and Code: 002 don't belong here. I've come to take them home," Anomaly replied.

"Whether they want to go back home or stay here is completely up to them. Besides, I don't think they want to go back with the likes of you after what happened. So how about you do them a favor and go back to wherever you came from?" I asked, only for Anomaly to suddenly create a sword and get into a battle stance.

"They are my mission. I will not return home until I return them home. You, on the other hand… are my target," she said. Yep, I figured that she wouldn't leave that easily. I quickly got into a defensive stance and prepared for Anomaly to make the first move. However, when she did, she charged forward at blinding speed and cut my side before I could even react. As the rain fell all around us, Anomaly charged in for another attack, only for me to block her attack with my arm before I delivered a swift punch. But my attack did almost nothing and it only hurt my fist, which made me reel back in pain. I once again tried to attack Anomaly again, this time with a roundhouse kick to her head, but it only produced the same result as with my fist before Anomaly then knocked me backward into a tree with a mace hand.

"…You're a lot tougher than you look… I've never had a challenge like this in years…" I said as I struggled to get back to my feet. Once I was upright, I tried to shoot a bolt of lightning at Anomaly, but all that flew out of my hand where a few sparks. I tried creating a fireball to throw at her, but the flames were too weak for me to use anything. As I was distracted with my powers not working, Anomaly created a clawed right hand and slashed at my face, leaving four large claw marks on the left side of my face, which began to gush with blood before the blood mixed in with the rainwater and ran down my face. I was forced to use my own skills as a fighter to try and beat Anomaly, but she was too quick for me to attack and kept cutting open my body with either her clawed hand or her sword. What was worse was I couldn't heal fast enough to keep myself from getting woozy, which hindered my ability to fight. Just as I was about to finally hit her, Anomaly created an arm cannon and blasted me backwards into a few trees before I fell to the ground in pain and exhaustion. And I barely had time to get up before Anomaly took her claws and stabbed them into my stomach, making me yell in pain as she grabbed the back of my neck and made me stare into her visor.

"Weak and pathetic… I thought that you'd be much stronger than this…" Anomaly said as she created a sword and held it up to my neck.

"Who… are you?" I asked as blood poured out of my mouth.

"I'm the cure that the multiverse needs. And you're the disease that I need to eradicate," Anomaly snarled. Just as she was about to put me out of my misery, a plasma blast suddenly hit her square in the body and knocked her backwards into the dirt. When I looked up, I saw Nikki wearing her battle armor with one of her arms transformed into a cannon to use against Anomaly. As Nikki walked up to me and cradled me in her arms, Anomaly stood back up and stared the both of us down before she suddenly created a portal and fled. Once she was gone, I suddenly felt a sudden surge of power as my wounds started to heal and my fist erupted into fire.

"Max… are you OK?" Nikki asked as she sat me up against a tree.

"I hurt all over… I'm gonna be sore tomorrow…" I replied as Zero Two, Hiro, Lara, and Rose came running up to us while I struggled to get back to my feet.

"Max… what the HELL is going on? What does that woman want with you?!" Nikki asked as she put her hands on the sides of my face. Before I could answer her, the rain suddenly stopped and a bright ray of sunshine shone down on us, forcing us to shield our eyes from the blinding light. Once the light died down, we all looked up and saw a familiar sun goddess descending from above to meet us. Well, familiar to me at least. Either way, I was a bit miffed that she decided to show up now.

"Not to be rude or anything… but where the hell have you been?" I asked, prompting Nikki to look at me with a shocked expression. Zero Two, on the other hand, just walked up to Adora and stared in disbelief and shock.

"It's you… the woman from my dreams… You were the one who reunited me with Darling…" Zero Two said, prompting Adora to smile.

"I am. My name is Adora, the Goddess of the Sun and the protector of the multiverse. And there is much that I have to discuss with all of you," Adora replied.

Zero Two's perspective

I was completely speechless. The woman who had reunited me with Darling was real and she was standing right here in front of us, talking matters over with us. Even though I was delighted to know that I wasn't crazy, Nikki looked upset for some reason while Max looked concerned.

"So… how long have you known my husband for?" Nikki asked.

"I met him five years ago after your daughter was born. This is the first time that we have spoken since then," Adora replied.

"And I'm guessing that the news you're bringing isn't too good," Max said.

"Unfortunately, no. The multiverse has entered a state of chaos and the fate of all worlds now hangs in the balance," Adora replied sadly.

"Wait… what exactly are you talking about?" Darling asked before Adora created a holographic illusion of multiple Earths, as well as some kind of dark cloud that was spreading to each individual Earth, causing a few to seemingly collide with each other.

"This crisis threatens the existence of all Earths. Dark forces have arisen to create an army that will fight for control of the universe. Some Earths have also merged with one another during this crisis, causing mass confusion. If these dark forces succeed in claiming dominance over the multiverse from a focal point somewhere in the multiverse, they will unleash unspeakable horrors that will destroy everything. However, there is a way to stop them," Adora explained.

"We gather an army of our own…" Max replied.

"Correct. If we can gather an army of heroes strong enough to defeat the forces of darkness, we can prevent the end from coming and save all of the multiverse," Adora said.

"OK, but there's a whole multiverse out there and a whole bunch of heroes to choose from. Where exactly do we start?" I asked.

"I have travelled to many Earths during my time as the protector of the multiverse. Even though my ability to travel in between them will be slightly weakened, I still know where most of the doorways are. I can transport you and any other heroes to any Earth that we can," Adora replied.

"Even so, we can't just drop into any world with just the four of us. That would be way too risky. Plus, me and Zero Two would have to head back home and grab our gear," Darling said before Max stood up and took out his phone.

"I might know a couple of girls that could help us out," he said as he held the phone up to his ear.

Nikki's perspective

I wasn't really sure about all of this. I know that Max had complete faith in Adora and I knew that he wouldn't just sit idly by and watch as the multiverse and everything we had worked so hard to obtain was torn apart, but I wasn't sure what would lie ahead and what dangers would lie ahead. However, my husband risked his own life to protect me before, and he most certainly couldn't do this without me. Once we had gotten to the local diner and stepped inside, we scanned the booths until we noticed a familiar face waving her hand at us. It was Tiffany Maye, one of the most loyal friends that I had ever known in my life, still as peppy and upbeat as she ever was. However, once we reached the booth that she was sitting in, we also noticed a familiar red-haired, bad tempered girl that was chugging on a beer before she looked up at us with a scoff.

"Well, well, well… look who came crawling back to me…" Audrey said as both me and Max sat down and ordered a couple of drinks.

"Nice to see you too, Audrey. How's life been treating you both?" Max asked.

"Like shit. Though, I guess that doesn't really matter since you got your precious 'happy ending' and all that," Audrey retorted.

"Oh for… I sent you an INVITE, Audrey! And you declined with regret!" I said.

"Look, guys… what is it that you wanted to talk about? You sounded really upset over the phone," Tiffany said as Max crossed his arms.

"I level with you two… There's a lot going on that's… kind of on the supernatural side of things…" Max said.

"Max… we've seen a lot of supernatural things that we previously thought were crazy… I doubt that anything would surprise us now," Tiffany said with a smile.

"The multiverse is in trouble, and we need you to help us fight a war," I said, causing Tiffany's smile to disappear while Audrey chugged the rest of her beer.

"…Except that. That kinda sounds a bit more extreme," Tiffany replied.

"Also, why are you asking us instead of the weird mage chick? Wouldn't she be more interested in this than us?" Audrey added.

"I don't exactly have Zoey's number, Audrey," Max replied.

"Look, you two are the only ones we trust to help the most. Having you with us could really be a big help…" I said, prompting Tiffany to think things over for a while.

"I dunno… Will it be dangerous?" she asked.

"Undoubtedly. But I've got some gear back home that could help make it less dangerous. If you're interested, that is," Max replied.

"Well, anything's gotta be better than being stuck in this shitshow. Count me in," Audrey said.

"I guess I don't have that much going on either. Plus, I've been taking some mixed martial arts classes, so I guess this is a good chance to put 'em to use. So, when do we start?" Tiffany asked.

"We start right away. We have to get our gear and weapons before we head out. So, let's get to it," Max said. After we paid for our drinks the four of us headed back home and started gearing up. While Tiffany was busy talking to her mother and Audrey was busy talking to… whoever, I took the opportunity to approach Max while he was putting on his Praetor suit.

"Max, we need to talk," I said.

"About what?" Max asked.

"About Adora. About how you met her five years ago and never told me about it…" I said, causing Max to groan in frustration.

"Nik, I'm not going to start an argument about this with you," he replied as he started putting on his gauntlets. But I wasn't about to let him off that easily and I stopped him from putting on his chestplate by slamming my fist down on it.

"Yeah, well, I am! I know about the same supernatural crap that you know! Why didn't you tell me about Adora when she showed up five years ago?! And why didn't you tell me about the whole 'the-multiverse-is-in-danger' situation?!" I yelled.

"Nik, she didn't tell me EXACTLY when it was going to happen. Besides, it's dangerous work," Max replied calmly.

"So was taking on the Overlord's army, yet we did that together!" I said angrily.

"Look… she showed up the day after Lara was born. When she told me about the impending threat of these so-called 'dark forces' planning to threaten the multiverse, I didn't want you to worry. On top of you giving birth to Lara and the stress of being a parent, I didn't want to make it worse. That's why I chose to keep it a secret from you," Max said as he put his hands on my shoulders.

"Max… I appreciate your concern for me, and I understand what you're saying… but I still wish that you had told me about all this when Adora first showed up. And you need to realize that you can't do everything alone. You saw what happened out there with Anomaly. We're a team. That's how it's been since we started dating," I said as I hugged him. Max just responded by kissing me on the top of my head as we held each other for a minute. However, once the minute was over, we heard someone clearing their throat and turned to see Audrey and Tiffany in the doorway.

"You know, I didn't come here just for you two to get all gushy," Audrey said rudely.

"It's called 'giving affection', Audrey. Maybe you'll do it someday when you get a boyfriend," Max replied gruffly before he took out a case and opened it, revealing a red and white sleeveless shirt and miniskirt with black undershorts and red fingerless gloves that had a device in the palms of each glove. Audrey seemed a bit impressed by the presentation and tried on one of the gloves on before a fire ball appeared in her hand.

"All right… I'll admit it… I'm impressed. What all does this baby do?" Audrey asked.

"The suit is designed to withstand and protect you from intense flames. And you can also put out fires by absorbing flames with the devices in your palms. In terms of added protection, the gloves give your fingers a special shielding from the flames you create and the suit with create a helmet should the flames get too strong," Max explained.

"Dope," Audrey replied before she took out a cigarette and began to light it… only for Max to quickly put it out.

"No smoking in my house," he said gruffly before he took out another case and opened it, revealing another suit that looked similar to Audrey's except it was completely white and lacked a miniskirt while it also had black arm guards and hi-tech boots.

"Now, this one is capable of using the wind to help with combat. The arm guards can fire a blast of air to knockback enemies and the boots can allow the wearer to levitate for short periods of time. I think a mixed martial artist like you could benefit from a suit like this, Tiff," Max said as Tiffany tried on the arm guards.

"Where exactly did you get stuff like this, Max?" Tiffany asked.

"Our alien friend, Celeste, was trying to free up a bit of space on her ship and she asked me to take a few things…" Max replied as I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Celeste trusted YOU to store alien technology in our garage?" I asked.

"She trusts both of us, Nik," Max replied as Zero Two and Hiro showed up wearing their battle suits from when we fought the Overlord while they had their weapons strapped to their backs… and Zero Two had Jack strapped to her chest while Hiro was holding Rose's hand.

"So… is this everyone?" Zero Two asked.

"Are you seriously thinking of bringing the kids along with you?! You couldn't have just dropped them off at Ichigo's or one of our friend's?!" I asked.

"I actually suggested that to her, but she insisted that we bring the kids with us," Hiro said begrudgingly.

"Because what if Anomaly comes back and kidnaps our kids to use them as leverage?! I'm too smart for her though…" Zero Two boasted as Lara came into the garage and walked up to me and Max.

"Does that mean I get to go with you?" she asked. Both me and Max immediately knelt down and patted Lara on the head.

"I believe it does, sweetie. But you need to promise us that you'll stay close to us and do what we tell you OK? It's very dangerous out there," Max replied.

"I pwomise!" Lara replied before I created a small carrier on my back for her to sit on and she climbed on top with a determined look on her face. After we all finished getting our armor on, we all walked to the backyard where Adora was waiting with a portal already open.

"I take it that you are all ready?" she asked as Max took out his shotgun and held it in his hands.

"As ready as we'll ever be. Let's do this," Max said before Adora widened the portal and we all headed through into the unknown.

What laid ahead for us was anyone's guess…

To Be Continued…