Thanks for all the positive feedback, folks! I am REALLY, REALLY sorry about taking so long with this, but between school, a job, and a serious case of writer's block…well, you get the idea. So to make it up to you, I've made this chapter more than twice as long as the last one! That being said, here's Chapter 2 for your viewing (and, hopefully, reviewing) pleasure! Better late than never!

Chapter 2: When Worlds Collide

Luke, Harry, and Marcia entered the Police Squad building leading in the prisoners. Harry's sister Mira met them at the door. She had short red hair and was wearing a police squad uniform. "Harry? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry, sis, but we've got a slight problem…" Harry said, motioning to the kids over their shoulders. Mira gasped. "I just don't understand it, though. They just sort of appeared out of nowhere."

"Do you know where Sergei is?" Marcia asked. "He might know something…"

"Sorry, Sergei's out right now, but it doesn't matter since these kids need medical attention, fast. I'll have Roy deal with those thugs. In the meantime, follow me down to the medical wing." she said, pulling out her cell phone. The others nodded and followed her.

…………………………………………

"…But that still doesn't explain where they came from."

"Yeah, it's like one of those movies where the hero gets sent through a weird portal to another dimension."

"Movies? Harry, please. Something like that could never happen. This is REALITY, so why don't you join the rest of us?"

"Yeah, that's what people might have said hundreds of years ago about battling robots against each other…"

"Quiet! It looks like one of them is waking up!"

Danny could hear these voices, but couldn't see where they were coming from. He slowly opened his eyes. He looked around and noticed he was no longer in Amity Park, but instead, in some sort of hospital. He looked up to see a group of unfamiliar figures staring down at him. Like any person would, he shot up in surprise.

"GAH! Who are you!"

Mira stepped forward. "Captain Mira of the Police Squad. These three behind me are Luke, Harry, and Marcia of the Steel Hearts bounty hunting organization. We found you unconscious and brought you back here to Police Squad HQ. Now that we've gotten our introductions out of the way, could you tell us who you are and what happened to you?"

"Okay, fine. My name's Danny Fenton, and my friends and I are…oh my gosh! Sam! Tucker! Where are they?"

"You mean those kids that were with you? They're over there." Harry said, pointing. Danny looked and saw both of them safe and sound lying on two hospital beds.

"They're still unconscious," Mira began, "but they'll be fine. They should wake up in a few minutes." Danny breathed a sigh of relief. "However, you still haven't told us what happened to you and how you got here."

"There's a perfectly good reason for that." Danny began, and his head drooped. "I have absolutely no idea."

Marcia sighed. "That doesn't help us much. Can you give us specifics about the last thing you remember?"

"All I remember is a bright light, then I blacked out. Looks like I'm in a real jam this time…" Danny said, trying his hardest to remember. Suddenly, everything started to click within his head. "Wait a sec…time…that's it!" He turned to the others. "I need to know, what year is it?"

"You mean you don't even know the year! It's 2705. Even I knew that…" Harry said. Luke, Marcia, and Mira tried their hardest to stifle their laughter at Harry's last comment.

Danny gasped. His face turned pale, and he suddenly looked like he was about to pass out again. "I don't believe it…we've been sent 700 years into the future…"

A look of shock appeared on the group's faces. They were equally as surprised as Danny was…except Harry. "Ha! I was right! In your face, sis!"

"Okay, fine, you made your point!" Mira snapped at him, then turned back to Danny. "You mean to say you were propelled forward in time from the year 2005?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Danny said, obviously upset. He lay back on the bed. "Great. I'm stuck in the future with no chance of getting home. Eating Dash's dirty underwear was more pleasant than this…" However, it was at that moment that he noticed that Sam and Tucker were finally beginning to come to. He got up and shook them both awake.

"No, grandma, I don't want any more cookies…" Sam said groggily, until her eyes widened at the unfamiliar setting around her. "Wha…what happened?"

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Danny said.

Danny proceeded to explain what was going on to the two of them and introduce them to Mira and the Steel Hearts. Sam took in every word, but Tucker wasn't paying very close attention, as he was too busy looking around and staring at the vast multitude of technology surrounding him. "It's like a techno geek's dream…" Tucker said, drooling. The others ignored him.

"So, if this is all true, how is it that you were sent forward in time?"

Danny froze. He and Sam glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing. If he told them exactly what happened, then they would find out his secret, and he wasn't about to blow his cover after keeping it a secret for so long, even if it was to far in the future for anyone he knew to still be alive. "Uh…er…well, you see-"

"It was a lab accident!" Sam said, cutting Danny off. "We were, um, on a school field trip, and something went awry and sent us forward in time…?" She said, sweating.

Harry obviously seemed to believe this, but the other three weren't so sure. They looked at each other, each thinking the same thing: Yeah, right. But they could clearly see this was a subject that the kids didn't want to touch on, so they decided not to ask anything else about the matter.

"Well, as long as you're here, we might as well show you around the dome." Luke said. "If you're going to blend in, you'll need to know your way around."

"Wait…what do you mean by 'The Dome'?" Tucker said, finally becoming aware of the conversation.

The commanders glanced at each other. Obviously, these kids didn't know about Rahu, or what happened to the outside world. It was pretty disturbing, so they decided that they'd wait until later to tell them the truth.

"I'll explain later." Said Luke. "In the meantime, let's start by setting you up with your own Custom Robos.

"Custom Robos?" Tucker asked inquisitively. "You mean those little toy robots you can customize with the different plastic parts?"

"Back in your time, maybe." Mira replied. "But now, they've become complex battle machines used for both recreation and law-enforcement."

"And crime. Don't forget crime." Harry added, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, since you guys don't have robos yet, I think we've got enough spare parts to get you a decent setup."

"Yeah," Luke added. "I've got tons left over from the battle tournaments. Come on. We'll take you back to Steel Hearts and get you guys set up."

Marcia turned to Mira. "You don't mind if we take them with us, do you, Mira?"

Mira sighed. "Okay, fine. Just try to keep them out of trouble. I don't want them to get hurt."

"You got it, sis!" Harry replied, smiling. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of them!"

"See that you do." Mira said, nodding, and left the room.

Luke turned to the others. "All right, then, you all ready to go?" The others nodded. "Okay, good. Follow me, then." He said, and they walked out of Police Squad.

As the group made the long walk to Steel Hearts, which was on the other side of the city, Danny, Sam, and Tucker looked around, amazed at the sights around them. Despite the futuristic atmosphere, though, it was remarkably similar to their time. Kids playing in the park, adults walking to work…in fact, Sam could have sworn she saw a Chinese restaurant on the way there.

Finally, they reached the bounty-hunting agency. When they got in, however, they were a bit disappointed. All that was there was a desk against the far wall, and nothing else.

"This is it?" Danny asked, a bit surprised. "There's nothing here."

"Sure there is!" Harry replied. "There's the couch and the table…"

"No, Harry, Ernest sold those, remember?" Luke reminded him.

"Oh, yeah." said Harry, his face turning sour. "I miss that couch…"

Luke looked at the clock. "It's pretty late, so Ernest must have already left for the night." he said. He turned and reached behind the desk. "Let's see…they've gotta be around here somewhere…ah! There you are!" he said, and pulled out three cube-like objects, giving them to Danny, Sam, and Tucker. "Here you go. I don't know why, but I never used an eye-scan registration on these robos. You can have them."

Each of the three teens took the cubes from Luke and stared at them for a bit. "…You've got to be kidding me." Tucker said. "It's just a box!"

"Actually," Marcia said, stepping in, "It's a Robo Cube. This is what happens to the robos when they're not battling in the holosseum. The robo itself, plus all the attached parts, are stored in that cube."

"Holosseum?" Sam asked, not understanding.

"It's a virtual battlefield where robos duke it out." Harry answered. "Some are pre-built in the robo, while others can be made from people's thoughts and memories."

"Exactly." Luke chimed in. "Here, hold it up to your eyes and push the button on top."

The teens did as they were told, and there was a bright flash of light, almost like a camera flash. "What just happened?" Danny asked, confused.

"Eye-scan registration." Luke answered. "It's basically scans your eyes and saves the image in its memory, so now, no one can use your robo except you." He turned to a machine in the corner. "That's a parts generator. Any time you get a chip with new part data, you can register it and add it to your robo's memory banks by scanning it through. Keep in mind that there are 4 different types of parts, aside from the robo itself: guns, bombs, pods, and legs."

"Okay, I think we've got it." said Danny, staring at his robo. "But…how do I activate it?"

"Right now, you don't." Marcia said. "First, you've got to take a license test, as unlicensed commanders aren't allowed to use their robos."

"Aw, man." Tucker whined. "It's hard enough trying to get a driver's license, but now I need a license for this too?" He sighed. "Even in the future, the system's working against me."

Sam rolled her eyes. Being a goth, an environmentalist, and a recyclo-vegetarian, she knew what "the system working against you" really was, and having to get a license to control a walking death machine wasn't part of it. "So where do we get one of these licenses?" she asked.

"Down at the Custom Robo Department of Licensing." Harry replied. "Come on. It's just a short walk from here, and there's still enough hours left in the day to get you a class D license before it gets dark out." he said, and the group headed out once more.

Harry was right about the walk being short, as they got there in no time at all. As he, Sam, and Tucker waited for the others to arrange everything, Danny noticed that against the wall were several machines that looked like robotic arcade game cabinets sitting against the wall. He didn't know what they were, but he figured he would find out soon enough.

Luke, Harry, and Marcia walked up to them again. "Okay, kids, you're all set. Here are your Exam Cards. Whenever you're ready, just walk up to one of the Exam Machines and put the card and your robo cube inside."

"I still don't know how I turn this thing on…" Danny said, staring at the cube again. "Is there a manual or something?"

"It's easy." said Harry. "You can activate your robo with your thoughts, which is called 'diving', and it'll appear in the holosseum, ready to fight."

"Seems simple enough…" Tucker said, and walked up to one of the machines, followed by Danny and Sam. Once each had found an available machine, they prepared for the test.

Danny began to sweat nervously, hoping he wouldn't screw up. His hand shaking all the while, he placed his cube in the machine and scanned his card. The machine whirred and began to speak in a computerized voice.

"Class D license test starting now. Part 1: Knowledge. Answer all 10 of the following questions correctly."

Danny gulped. He had only been future a few hours, and knew very little about Custom Robos. He concentrated again on the machine and prepared for the worse.

"1. What is the name of a person who controls a custom robo?

Captain

Commander

Commandeer"

Danny blinked for a moment, then smiled. This was easy! He suddenly felt very relieved, and quickly answered B.

"Correct." the computer said. Danny grinned and prepared for the next question.

"2. What is it called when a person and his robo become one?

A Dive

A Drive

A Live"

Another easy one. Danny couldn't believe his luck. He answered A, and was pleased to receive another correct answer. And another. And another. He felt like there was no one who could stop him.

"5. Which license class do you need in order to join the police squad?

Class A

Class B

Class C"

Danny froze. He didn't know the answer to this one, and began to panic. If he screwed up, he wouldn't be able to use his robo, and that was NOT something that he wanted to happen. With no idea what to do, he crossed his fingers and hit A.

"Correct." The computer said. Danny, realizing what had just happened, breathed a huge sigh of relief. The remaining five questions were also incredibly easy, and Danny passed them with ease.

"Correct. Part 1 complete." The computer beeped. Danny whispered a small "Yes!", then turned back to the computer, preparing for Part 2, though he had a good idea of what it would be…

"Part 2: skill. Defeat the following computer simulation." Just as Danny had expected. Bracing himself, he closedhis eyes and prepared himself for combat.

Danny opened his eyes, only to realize he was no longer in the license hall. Instead, he was in what looked like a virtual arena, with several holographic-looking walls and obstacles around him. This must be the holosseum… he though to himself. Upon looking down at his body, though, he quickly realized that he was not the one standing there, but instead, his robo. It was a Glaive model, equipped with a Sniper for a gun, as well as a Delta Bomb launcher, two Float Pod launchers, and a set of Quick Jump legs. Evidently, he had performed the dive correctly, and was now one with his robo. He looked up and saw his opponent, a Buggy robo, which was rather bulky. Seeing it coming straight at him, though, Danny quickly snapped back to reality, and moved out of the way, just before being nailed with a load of gunfire from its 3-way gun.

Hiding behind the wall for a brief moment, Danny tried to arm himself. C'mon, c'mon, work already… he thought. He quickly got his wish, as his Sniper fired off a round at the wall, giving his position away to the other robo. Just as his opponent was coming around, however, Danny blasted him with a round of gunfire, knocking him to the ground. Danny quickly ran before his opponent had the chance to get up and retaliate. Aiming towards the Buggy, Danny fired off a round of three bombs, striking his target head on, and knocking him into a wall. The opposing robo quickly stood up, but before it could get a chance to attack, Danny fired off two UFO-like Float Pods, which hovered for a second over the computer-controlled robo's head, then exploded. Seeing his opportunity, Danny ran up to his opponent, and gave him one last round of sniper-fire, KOing him. Danny cheered at the sight of his victory, and closed his eyes once more.

When he reopened his eyes, he was back in the testing hall. The computer printed out his Class-D license, and he took it, as well as his robo cube, and put them in his pocket. He walked back to where the others were standing. Seeing the expressions on their faces, he naturally assumed that they had also passed. "So, how'd you guys do?" he asked.

"That…was…AWESOME!" Tucker cried, and began to go into a long-winded rant about how cool Custom Robos were and how awesome he was in his battle.

"Well, it seems you guys have a knack for this." Harry said. "Maybe you guys can help us out with a few missions sometime."

"Thanks. We'll think about it…" Danny began, "But there's still one thing that's bothering me. You never answered my question earlier. What did you mean by 'The Dome'?"

Luke glanced at Harry and Marcia, with an expression of doubt.

"Look, pal, we've got to tell them sometime." Harry said.

"He's right, Luke." Marcia added. "They have a right to know."

"Know what?" Danny asked. "What are you talking about?"

Luke sighed reluctantly. "Okay, we'll show them. But remember, it was your idea." He turned to Danny and his friends. "Follow me back to police squad. There's something you need to see."

The group quickly returned to Police Squad, and followed Luke into…

"A bathroom?" Tucker asked, a bit disturbed. "This is what you didn't want us to see? No offense, dude, but if I wanted to see a bathroom, I could have stayed at home."

"Actually, this isn't what we're showing to you…" Luke said, and placed his hand against a picture of a handprint. Then, suddenly, the whole bathroom started to start shaking. It felt like they were gradually going underground.

"The picture is a scanner. This whole restroom is actually an elevator that leads to an underground passage. Only Class-S commanders like myself, Harry, and Marcia, can access it." Luke explained.

Eventually the elevator came to a stop, and the six exited. Looking ahead, the 3 teens saw what looked like a run-down subway.

"All right, everybody!" Harry shouted. "Climb on in, quickly!" The other did so, and the train began to move forwards at an extremely fast speed. Eventually, it came to a stop, and the group emerged. Luke opened up a nearby door, and they followed him in. When they got out on the other side, however, the teens realized they were standing on an isolated ledge in what looked like outer space. However, then they saw Luke, Harry, and Marcia step off the ledge, they shouted in horror, but to their surprise, the commanders continued to walk on thin air.

Turning back to see what the hold up was, Harry saw the shocked looks on their faces and laughed. "Oh, right, the background. It's fine, it's just an illusion used to fool anyone who's not supposed to be here. See for yourself."

Cautiously, Danny took a step forward onto the nothingness, and felt a firm glass floor beneath him. He sighed, relieved. Seeing that their friend was just fine, Sam and Tucker followed, and they all caught up to Luke, Marcia, and Harry. Soon, they reached another "ledge", which held another very large door.

Luke turned back to them. "Before we continue, there's something you need to know. I'm not sure if you've figured it out or not, but the whole city back there? That wasn't the real world."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, confused.

"It's all part of a complex biodome." Mira explained. "Everything there is either artificial, from the grass on the ground to the sun and moon in the sky."

"But why?" Danny asked, still not following.

"Because the real world…" Luke began, opening the door, "was wiped out centuries ago."

Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked out and looked at the sight around them, horrified expressions on their faces. The ground was charred and lifeless, there was rubble everywhere, and there were gigantic pits all around them. It was if nature itself had been completely annihilated. Tucker and Danny stared wide-eyed, while Sam looked to be on the verge of tears.

"…how did this happen?" Danny asked.

The commanders went on to explain everything. About how hundreds of years ago, a strange being called Rahu had wiped out the world; about how it had accidentally merged with a Custom Robo toy, causing it to be weakened; about how it had been defeated by a group of commanders who had been using very early versions of Custom Robos, which eventually led to their development into weapons; about how the survivors had built the dome and how the government had deleted everyone's memory of the incident, save a few individuals; about the involvement of Luke's father in the creation of Z as a means of preventing Rahu's return; about Marcia's brother; about how Luke's father had died and about the power struggle between Oboro and Eliza; about how Rahu had returned just a few months back; and about how Luke, Harry, and Mira had stopped Z, defeated Rahu, saved the dome, and allowed the truth to be revealed to the public.

For a while, no one spoke. Then Danny sighed. "I think we should head back. I've seen enough." The other nodded and Luke told them that he would talk to his landlady, Lucy, to see if she had a vacant room the teens could stay in. Danny thanked Luke and they headed back into the dome. Seeing how upset Sam looked, he put his hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, I know. It's really horrible.", he said, a depressed tone in his voice.

Sam looked up at him for a moment, and Danny could see the tears flowing down her face. "I can't believe it." she said, still sobbing. "Everything…gone, just like that." She turned her head away. "I just hope we never have to go out there again…"

Danny nodded, but somehow, he knew that this wouldn't be the last time. Not by a long shot…

Well, what do you think? I put a lot of work into this chapter, and personally, I'm glad with how it turned out, but what do YOU say? Let me know ASAP!