Two weeks after the party fiasco, things had gone well for the group. They had gone on three other missions each of them with varying degrees of success.

The first one was a little more successful than the party. They infiltrated a huge base that was controlled by a rogue militia. They held a bit of information they stole from a now collapsed government and they kept it top secret. Mat went in as a researcher with Mark and Dan went in as mechanics. They caused a distraction as Skye and Joe waltzed in and were able to gain the info. Afterward, Anahella decided it would be another time for more memory recovery.

Their next mission was to find a mysterious figure stalking away in a familiar princess' castle. This required Vanoss and Terroriser to be guards and Ex to sneak in. Though they were caught, they were able to sweet-talk their way out. That day, they made a new ally and got more memories back.

Finally, they had to retrieve a book that was said to have magical powers, giving users the ability to see into the future. In reality, however, it was a fight with a Crystalite. They chose to find what they were looking for, more data drives, and run like the wind. No fighting that day.

Now, a couple of days after the previous mission, everyone had enough. It felt like the world was crumbling down on them. First of all, every memory revival session gave them vague and uninteresting information about things like their past and places they should or had to go. It was both somewhat interesting and annoying: nothing useful at all. Everyone that day other than Skye and Colinne was either lying in bed tired as hell or they were pacing around thinking. Colinne felt bad for them as she knew what they probably think. It was gut-wrenching for her to watch them like this. On the other hand, Skye didn't seem to care that much about what they were going through. Instead, choosing to focus on her own personal gains and spending most of the time building her things or researching with OBIS. Finally, Colinne decided to talk to Skye as she had been wondering what had happened through this whole event.

She found Skye sitting at a desk and a laptop trying to find something in particular. She was quickly typing and choosing not to pay attention to Colinne approaching. Colinne sat on the table next to her and watched as her fingers flew across the keyboard and pictures flying on the screen itself. Her sigh was what caught her attention.

"What?" Skye groaned, unwilling to talk.

"I was just sitting here and…" she didn't finish as Skye cut in.

"You wanted to ask about me," she said as she turned to her, "No, I'm not what you think I am."

"So, you aren't a thief?" she asked. She was silent for a moment before sighing.

"That's not what I had in mind," she said, "But no, I'm not a thief."

"Then what are you?"

"The equivalent of an orphan."

Colinne felt herself stop before she said anything else. She looked at her and, instead of the blank expression that she normally saw, she saw something: a piece of herself.

"Well," she said, softly chuckling, "We have something in common."

Skye immediately looked to her, "Wait, what?"

She sighed, "I don't talk about this much, but for you, I'll make an exception due to you being extremely annoying."

Skye nodded and turned to her, "I'm listening."

She sighed, "As a kid, my parents were not the best parents. They… how do I say it? They didn't really care about me. But, it wasn't like the super bad one, like abuse levels, it was more like neglect against me. They pretended I never existed, whenever I did something great they would just pretend I fucked up, and they completely forgot about me when my brother came along. So, I decided to do something for myself. When I was nine, I ran away to a friend's house and told them about almost everything that had happened and they said they would take me in. They even allowed me to change my last name. But, after a while, they realized that it would be hard to care for me back in their financial state. So what did I do? I became the best at what I did: engineering and humanitarianism. Got straight A's, went to one of the most prestigious colleges, and I made this company. All of this was off of my own back and out of my own pocket, nothing else to it. Then, thanks to a college friend by the name of Andrew, I became a great world figure and, ignorantly, I thought everything would be perfect from then on. That was until my family got back in the picture. When they found out who I was, they began trying to get me to help them with the problems they created, like debt and addiction, but of course, I refused. They have been on my back ever since and I just wish it would stop."

Skye was silent for a moment after she finished the story. Then she sighed.
"Damn," she said, "You got lucky."

"Really?" Colinne asked, "Why do you say that?"

"At least you have parents," she stated plainly.

Colinne was at a loss, "What happened?"

"Best you don't know," Skye responded. Colinne didn't know what to say for a moment before the doors to the lab opened again and in came Mat and Ex, talking about some obscure topic on the internet. They laughed at something as they saw the two sitting at the desk, but didn't pay much attention to what they were saying as they walked over to the table and sat across from them. Colinne sighed.

"Any news?" she asked.

"Recently?" Mat said, "Nothing much."

"Only things that don't help us," Ex groaned. Skye sighed.

"Well, what about that place Mark and the gang found?" she asked. Ex pointed to her.
"Haven't looked," he said tiredly, "Don't wanna right now."

Colinne groaned, "The moment you guys get off your asses and do something, is the moment our lives could get easier. I know it's hard, but you should know by now that this isn't going to be easy."

Ex sighed, "Fine, let's do it."

"What is wrong with you?" Colinne asked, "You're usually positive."

"A: Tired. B: Upset that we've been here for nearly three weeks and we have had no shot of getting home. C: Sorry for sounding agitated."

Mat sighed, "I feel the same way, but let's keep ourselves occupied. I'll get Brian."

Ex nodded as Mat walked away. He sat there for a moment, watching him leave the room, and then turned to both Skye and Colinne. Skye returned to the laptop and began skimming through the letters while Colinne rubbed her temples.

"I'm gonna get some water," she said. Ex raised his hand and Colinne obliged. She walked out, leaving Ex and Skye in the room alone again. Ex sighed.

"How does this keep happening?" he asked aloud.

'What? Us being put in the same room together?" Skye asked. Ex shook his head.

"No, no," he said, obviously lying, "I'm just getting headaches now and then."

Skye chuckled, "You're a terrible liar at some points."

Ex sighed, "Sorry."

Skye looked at him, "Why do you apologize so much?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you apologize when you don't need to."

"Yeah, that's a small problem I have."

"Well then," Skye said, "Why is that?"

"Parents had control over my life and then just dropped it."

"And that's supposed to mean?"

"Basically I was told what to do for so long that when I was let go, I fell to the bottom of the lake like a sinker that lost its line. I had to crawl my way up to the surface to find some bit of breathing room."

"That sounds overdramatic."

"It is."

Skye sighed, "You got family?"

"Two parents and a younger brother."

"Lucky."

"Every once and a while, yes."

Skye chuckled, "And that means?"

Ex chuckled as well, "My brother can sometimes be a great person and very helpful, while other times he can be the biggest pain in the ass the world has ever seen."

"But he's still your brother."

"I love the guy, but he always seems passive-aggressive to me."

"So it's a mutual love-hate relationship?"

"Basically."

"What about you?"

Skye sighed, "We don't speak about my family."

She looked and saw his fist clench hard, meaning she was somewhat getting to him.

"What's that all about?" she asked, referring to the clenched fist.

"Mental disability and mood swing."

She nodded as the doors to the lab burst open and Mat came in with multiple crates, two under his arms and others in his hands. Sean, Mark, Brian, and Colinne walked in right behind them. Ex stood up and Skye turned around to look as they approached. Mat approached and dropped the thing on the desk and sighed as they all fell to the floor. Ex walked around to Mat as he helped him carry more onto the desk. Ex chuckled.

"This is a lot of stuff," he commented.

"Yeah," Mat said, "All of this is ours, but we don't know the specifics."

"Well, start sorting," Ex said.


After about ten minutes of sorting, the group had made essentially separate piles for each person in the group. Each pile was about the same size, one or two boxes, and some bags of equipment. Ex stood by Skye and Chesh, who had come down earlier, stood with them. Mat stood with Colinne while Brian, Mark, and Sean stood solo. Everyone was silent for the most part as they didn't know what to say. Before any words came through, Ex silently and carefully opened one of his cases. It was about his arm length and it was a gray box with blue wire lights crawled up the sides of the case. He opened the case and his face went from neutral to a mix of confusion and excitement. Chesh peeked over his shoulder and his eyes somewhat widened at the sight.

"You sure this was yours?" Chesh asked Ex. Ex shrugged in excitement.

"No idea," he replied, chuckling.

Colinne sighed, "What is it?"

"From what it looks like," Sean said, "It looks like a rifle case."

Ex nodded, "And you would be correct."

He talked as he grabbed and pulled up a blue and black rifle. The aesthetic was futuristic but it had a touch of modernization. The trigger was in the center of the gun with a foregrip in front and behind it was the magazine. Long cracks strung across the gun and came to a head in between the trigger handle and the foregrip. Ex looked to Sean with a smile before he grabbed the foregrip. He pushed forward slightly on the foregrip, causing a part of the gun to break open with a mechanical hiss. In between, a light blue light glowed over the gun, leaving in the middle a piece of the gun now separated. He grabbed it and spun it around the barrel, causing parts of the gun to change. The normal one kept the gun the way he saw before, the second set made the end of the barrel wider, the third option extended the barrel like a sniper rifle, but the final set wasn't bringing back memories of any gun he had seen before. Sean was starstruck. Before he could speak, Skye spoke first.

"That is yours?" she asked, "Doubt it."

"That reminds me of a Flatline," Cheshapeek commented. Ex nodded.

"Well, I'm not complaining," Ex said, a grin plastered across his face, "Have anything on this, OBIS?"

Ex placed it on the table "It looks like an old VFA," it quickly replied, "VFA means 'Versatile Firearm'."

"What can it do?" Colinne asked.

OBIS was silent for a moment, "Well, it is a firearm that can take any ammunition, be any type of weapon the wielder needs, and such."

"Are there more of these?" Brian asked. A whirring sound came as OBIS began to think, then stopped as he found his response.

"By my calculations and my research," he said, "This is the only one left."

Ex smiled, "Well okay then. I'll call it… the SK 709."

"Please get that out of my lab," Colinne said.

Brian grabbed one of the smaller cases and opened it with haste. The case he had was smaller than Ex's, about the size of his chest and he quickly opened it to find a black jacket. It was jet black, with gray zippers and accessories. He tilted his head and put the jacket on. It felt a little heavier than any jacket he had worn before. He looked down and extended his arms outward, giving himself a better look at his appearance. He sighed.

"Well, I was expecting more from this," he said. He looked to Ex, whose eyes were blue, meaning someone else was about to speak.

"Not exactly nothing," he said, his eyes turning back to their normal hazel, "That jacket is a highly advanced device, capable of camouflage, heavy bullet resistance, and the ability to not be sensed by heat cameras and such. All that packed into a light and sturdy package."

Brian smiled, "Now that's what I want to hear!"

"Also," OBIS said, "Any of the clothing seems to come with something called a Galaxy Inventory. Basically an infinite inventory by reaching over your shoulder."

Ex hesitated as he brought the rifle up and over his shoulder, causing it to suddenly dissipate without warning. In less than two seconds, the gun was gone and his hand was empty. While they were talking about the other cases, Skye reached for one of Ex's other packages: a cylinder package about half a foot in length. She turned it on it's top and popped off the cap. This caught everyone's attention as she pulled out a blue and white sheet of paper. She unrolled it to find a picture of a small rectangular box with spider-like legs and the top looking like a small wifi router. She handed it to Ex, who quickly analyzed it without the need of his eyes.

"It's called an MSAC," he said, "A 'Mind Suppressor and Controller'. Its purpose is to control a person's mind without having them know that they are being controlled. This is done in subtle ways, such as color changes, mood swings, and confusion."

"Whose tech?" Colinne asked.

"From the looks of it," he said, his eyes glancing over the paper, "Something the Crystalites built."

"So, why is it a problem?" Chesh asked.

"Well," Ex explained, "We could think that we are hanging with someone good when in reality, they are unknowingly pushing us in the wrong direction."

Brian nodded, "Well then, how do we find those things."

"I'd say that we just keep our eyes peeled," Ex said as he looked at the blueprint to see white words sprawled across the bottom of it. Ex was confused, as none of it made sense at the time, but kept that in mind as everyone else at the table began to dig in deeper to their belongings.


After an hour of rummaging through more letters, instructions, and belongings, Ex decided to pay a visit to Anahella by himself as he had some questions that he needed answers for. He walked up and knocked on the wooden door. On the third knock, however, the door creaked open without warning. Unlocked and with no light spilling from the inside, he immediately reached behind his head and grabbed his SK 709, which materialized into his hands. He slowly approached the door and gingerly opened it while peeking inside. No torches were lit and the training area was covered in wood chips. He slowly walked over the broken boards, the creaking soft yet noticeable. His attention was then drawn to a low humming sound, resembling moaning. He trained his eyes and the gun onto the noise, realizing that it was the thing that Anahella had brought up to fight Mat. The thing was laying just beside the mat on a broken pillar. A stream of silver liquid secreted from the thing as it continued to moan in pain. Ex decided not to provoke it and reached the gun over his shoulder. It dissipated quickly and he approached the thing.

"What happened to you?" he whispered. The thing could only moan and groan in response. Ex stayed at a distance as it looked back at him, it's eyes beady and wet. A tapping noise, knowing just who it would be.

"What happened?" he questioned.

"They found me," Anahella said, "Those Crystalites you were talking about."

Ex turned to see Anahella in a much different state than normal. Her cloak was torn and ripped, her staff now broken at the bottom, and her demeanor unchanged. But he felt like something was off.

"It is fine, however," she sighed, "I was creating something new way before you guys g-I mean you and your friends got here."

Ex tilted his head and approached her, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she said, sounding offended. Ex, in a moment of thought, spoke the words on the blueprint.

"Is that so?" he questioned. Suddenly, Alexi took control for a moment and placed his hand on her shoulder. Ex couldn't stop him before Anahella inhaled sharply, coughed, and then looked back to Ex in near shock.

"Well then," she said, "That was interesting. You freed me from their control."

"Well, that was easy?" Ex shrugged.

"They are getting bolder with their efforts," she said as she approached the silver creature. She looked it over for a moment then bent down and scooped up some of the silver liquid that it bled.

"You won't be gone forever, my friend," she said as the beast groaned one last time in what seemed to be accepted, and then his body melted away. The now liquidated body slid across the broken floor, every now and then bumping into wood chips and open boards. The thing then slid onto her cloak, filling in the tears and the rips in the fabric. It also made the cloak shine a light silver and look like sheet metal cloth. She turned back to Ex, her eyes now back to the yellow gold color they were before.

"Let's go," she said as she walked towards the door and Ex followed suit. Then, a loud thud emitted from the once training area. Anahella and Ex turned around immediately to see a large Crystalite in a superhero landing pose. It looked up to the two with an emotionless face and an extreme determination. Ex, in response, grabbed his gun and aimed towards the thing while his hands shook with anticipation. Anahella, on the other hand, was calm and collected on what she was doing.

"Your leader deceives you," Anahella said, "You're slaves to a cause that will kill everything."

It tilted his head and stood tall, "I know."

"Why are you doing this?" Ex shouted to it, "What does it have to do with us?"

"How about I take you to my master and show you?" it said, lunging at the two. Immediately, Ex pulled the trigger and let the bullets loose. Most bullets connected with the thing, causing splatters of black ooze to leak everywhere. Ex and Anahella stepped to the side, avoiding being hit by the flying being. It landed behind them, the ooze leaking drop by drop into the floor. He turned back to the two and stared at them for a moment. Ex smirked.

"Gonna run away as well?" he chuckled, "Like your pussy friends?"

It roared in rage and charged at Ex with a passion to kill. Ex began to shoot at it again, but midway through the charge, Ex's gun began to click. He was out of ammo. He quickly grabbed the magazine and reached to his belt to grab another magazine. He knew, however, that he was too slow, and that the thing would catch him. Or so he thought. Before the thing reached him, something stopped the thing in midair and caused it to fall face first into the floor. He looked to Anahella, who was now holding her hand out and stopping the Crystalite with a silver liquid wrapped around its ankle, holding it to the ground. It then dragged it across the floor and launched it into a pillar. The pillar shattered into pieces of wood and paint and the Crystalite fell into the wall. Ex looked to Anahella, who shrugged.

"Well, as you all say, you can't fix what is already broken," she said. Ex chuckled as they walked to the door. They stopped when the Crystalite grunted in pain as it tried to stand.

"We...will…" it didn't finish as Ex quickly aimed at it and shot it. Two splatters on the wall appeared and then a third right behind its head. Ex panted as he lowered the gun.

"Mozambique," he said, "Two to the body, one to the head."

"Deadly," Anahella said, "And I like it."

Ex nervously chuckled as they turned to walk away. Anahella quickly grabbed Ex's shoulder and looked at him.

"Take the body," she said, "Study it and find any weaknesses."

"Um," Ex said hesitantly, "I don't think we need to, first of all. And secondly-"

"Learn, you must," she said, mocking Yoda's speech, "Information is a curse to all, but a benefit to those who know how to use it wisely."

Ex rolled his eyes and sighed, "Fine. Mat?"

"Present," his voice replied through the coms.

"I may need some help with this."


After twenty minutes of lifting and arguing, Colinne was scanning and observing the now dead Crystalite. She was in shock and fear, but at the same time intrigued and excited. She wrote down multiple notes on a clipboard as Skye stood beside and peered at the notes every once and a while. Ex and Mat worked together to add wires and scan each part of the body. Ex hopped down off of a small pad and in front of the two.

"Well, that should be it," he panted.

"Thank you," Colinne replied, walking past him and to the Crystalite, "This will not only help you with stopping them but with this, we could seriously help tons of people."

"In what way?" Skye questioned.

"Imagine this tech for all sorts of things," she said, "AI, medical help…"

Skye cut her off, "Lightweight body armor that is pretty much bulletproof. Yeah, this is definitely helpful."

"But they need an energy source, right?" Ex questioned, "They need something like 10 car batteries to get what same energy is in that thing."

Skye nodded, "True, but you said there are plenty of sci-fi worlds."

"Let's just not think about that," Colinne said, sighing as she looked over her notes.

"The world is a bad place," Skye said, "We've gotta cause if we don't, life is going to hit us hard."

"It already has for me," Colinne said as she walked away to submit her notes into her database. Skye sighed and looked to Ex, who was standing stiff and quiet throughout the conversation.

"My bad," he said as he walked past her and into the rest of the labs. Skye sighed and followed Ex to meet Chesh and Crystal. The three of them sat at a table and sat in silence for a moment as they read over some open files. Crystal spoke first.

"What's the plan now that we've been here for nearly a month?" he asked. Ex shrugged.

"First off," Chesh said, "We need to find your phone which you lost."

Ex could tell that he was upset: his voice was lower and he looked at him with a stare that he only knew as irritable. He didn't blame him, though. He would've felt the same way if it was the other way around. He sighed and nodded.

"My bad," he repeated quickly as Chesh continued to speak.

"Next up, we gotta find out about our families," he said, "They are probably worried sick about us."

"After all that has been happening," Crystal groaned, "I thought 'How could this get any worse?'"

"Best not to think about it too much," Ex sighed again.

"Really?" Chesh said, "'Cause it kinda sounds like you're enjoying this."

"What?!" Ex said, shocked, "You think I like being away from family and friends?"

"Well, we are teens," Crystal pointed out. Ex stood up, seemingly about to argue back, but chose not to.

"I need some rest," Ex said as he walked away.

Skye chuckled, "No, no, come back. I'd love to see you guys beat the shit out of each other."

"You know what, Skye?" Ex said as he turned around, "Fuck you."

"And to you as well," she laughed back. Ex groaned and kept walking away. Skye kept softly laughing as he kept walking away. Skye watched him walk away fuming and then turned to Chesh and Crystal, who was unfazed and still looking at the files. She turned back to see Ex speaking with Mat, though not being able to see what it is about.

Without looking, she asked, "Hey, is something wrong with Ex?"

Chesh looked up, "Nah, just a little stressed right now."

"Stress doesn't prompt anger a lot," she said, leaning closer to Chesh. He sighed.

"He has an anger issue," Crystal said.

Skye nodded, "Alright, thanks."

She stood up and walked over to see what Colinne was doing as she clicked away on the keyboard. She wasn't interested in what Colinne was doing, more just wanting to borrow the laptop. Before she could say anything, Ex and Mat approached them. Colinne stood and looked at them while Skye slipped behind and onto the laptop.

"Anything new?" Ex asked. Colinne shook her head.

"Not necessarily," she said, "What about you?"

"We are trying to find out more about ourselves." Ex nodded and looked around, realizing Anahella was not there.

"We've had minimal luck recently," Ex said, "No leads since Anahella is busy trying to fix her home."

"It feels like the world wants you to stay here," Skye jokingly said. Ex sighed.

"Well, I'm gonna go get some lunch," he said, "I'll be back in like fifteen minutes."

Mat nodded, "I'll let you know of anything when you get back."

"Speaking of that, where is everyone?" Colinne asked.

"Exploring," he said, "We said that we would stay and they would go around worlds to look for strange occurrences."

Skye suddenly stood in shock, "What is this?"

Mat looked at her pointing to the Project Centerpoint folder, opened and with photos containing buildings and construction. Mat shrugged.

"If I knew," he said, "I would tell you. But I don't."


Ex entered the lounge to dead silence. Nothing was on, nothing was working, just plain and quiet. He sat down on the couch and rubbed his temples trying to calm a headache raging in him. He laid back and closed his eyes to relax in the quiet. That was until a voice echoed in his head.

"Rough time, huh?" Alexi asked. Ex groaned.

"I don't need your commentary right now," he said, "Just tell me what I need to do if there is something happening."

"Well, it's that bad, huh?" he asked. Ex nodded.

"What can I do?" Ex asked. Alexi was silent for a moment in thought.

"Well," he said, "I don't know anything helpful right now."

"Okay then," Ex groaned, standing up just as quickly as he sat, "Where to?"

"I don't know what you are thinking," he said, "But let's just go do something productive."

"Well then, let's get a move on," Ex said, moving to the door.

"If we're gonna do this, fighting the Crystalite guys, we're gonna need some help. Someone who knows how to navigate a hurricane and fight like a soldier. Like a pilot or mercenary."

Ex smiled, "Then I think I know just the guy.


Back down at the lab, Colinne and Mat were trying to talk to Skye, who was furious at the fact they had the Centerpoint documents. She was pushing Mat back as Colinne tried to restrain her. Chesh and Crystal were walking over when Ex came bounding down the stairs.

"You guys up for an adventure?" he asked.

"Not exactly," Chesh said, confused.

"Good," he replied, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Keep an eye on the lab while I'm gone."

"Wait, what?" Chesh asked, still confused. Ex ran past him, typing into his watch, flicking his wrist, and then he materialized and was gone mere moments later. Chesh and Crystal stood there confused until Skye shouted again at Mat, who just sighed and walked away. Crystal walked behind Colinne and grabbed the file, causing Skye to spin around and try to stop him. She saw that he was just skimming over pictures and sighed, relaxing.

"What was the point of that?" Chesh asked, "The outburst and Ex leaving."

"Skye just had a mental breakdown," Colinne said, looking to Skye and then winking, "But Ex, I have no idea."

Colinne sighed as the group dissipated and she looked at the dead Crystalite, seeing something very strange on it: a dim flashing red light.


Ex landed on the roof of a sunny building as he felt himself slowly pixelate into the world. He looked around at the futuristic city of Corneria and saw things that only movie writers could dream of: flying cars, space-ships, and buildings that soared high into the sky. He then looked at himself and saw that he was again a mix of anime and 3d animation. He sighed and began his trek to find who he was looking for. Alexi, however, was skeptical.

"Are you sure we can trust this guy?" he asked Ex as they exited the building, "Plus, we could've found him easier by running on the roofs."

"Well, then we would look like assassins," Ex said.

"A guy with a serious reputation, huh?" Alexi posed.

"Pretty much," Ex said as he brought his hand to his ear, "Yeah, that's about the gist of it."

"What are you doing?" Alexi asked as Ex pushed past people walking by, "You look like a fool."

"Just so I don't look like an idiot," Ex said.

"Just think of the words that you want to tell me," Alexi said, "Simple."

"Alright, you don't have to shout at me," Ex mentally said, instead now words playing from a video he had watched. They kept walking through the city, only then for Alexi to realize something.

"Wait, these are all animals?" he asked.

"Pretty much," he said.

"And to think I protected these worlds to get this," Alexi said. Ex didn't flinch at the comment and kept walking towards his destination, which was a large building in the center of the city. He knew that he wasn't going to be let in willingly, meaning he was going to either need to find who he knew could help first, or he had to get in the harder way. Before he could think any longer, Alexi's voice came in.

"We got a follower, 6 o'clock," he said, both of their senses feeling the same way. Ex didn't want to look back, but he couldn't help it. He jerked his head forward and back, knowing that this was the fight starter. He heard the footsteps running and approaching him, so he instinctively ran away from the footsteps, but he could hear them approaching closer and closer. Ex quickly felt the hands of someone on his shoulders pull him back as he was lifted off his feet and thrown onto the ground. Ex immediately threw his hands up to protect himself as he felt something hard slam into his forearms and he grunted in pain. Ex tried to get a good look at his attacker's face, but the sun shaded his face. Suddenly, Alexi yawned.

"This is boring," he said, "You okay with me taking over for a moment?"

"What do you mean?!" Ex mentally said as he felt more and more pain in his forearms trying to block. Finally, he gave in as the sting became too much.

"Fine," he said as he blacked out. His eyes changed once again to a blue replacing his white outer eyes and his hazel brown eyes being replaced with black. The hand that was hitting him was then grabbed and Alexi took control, deciding to stand up. He looked at the anthro, smirking.

"Not so tough now," Alexi said. He quickly sent a jab at his opponent who recoiled and stumbled backwards. Alexi looked at his hands, marveling at them. He didn't know what it was like to have this type of control for years. Ex, however, could still be heard in the background.

"Alright, that's enough," he said, in the echo of the mind for Alexi, "He's down."

Alexi looked back at the person, "Not necessarily."

"What do you mean?" Ex said.

"I mean, I just want to do this."

Before he could even think, a huge jolt surged through him and he fell to the ground, knocking both of them out in the process. The body fell to the ground and was picked up by a group of hands as they dragged him into a car and it drove off.


Ex felt dazed and confused as he came to. His eyes struggled to open as he tried and failed to move his arms. He tried to sit up and move, but again, an invisible hand seemingly kept him flat on his back. He looked down at his body, to which he saw both of his hands restrained by some futuristic handcuffs, but his legs free. Yet, he still couldn't move a muscle. He laid his head back in both frustration and tiredness.

"Alexi?" he asked. He heard a small grunt echo in his mind.

"Yeah, kid," he said, "I'm here."

"What the…" he tried to swear, but suddenly his words turned into a garbling mess for one word. He opened his eyes and looked down his body, more confused than he was before.

"What was that?" Ex asked.

Alexi sighed, "I guess that was some type of censoring? I think certain worlds have them because they are protected more by the Divines."

Ex sighed, "You have a lot more to explain to me."

"I know," he said, "But, we wouldn't be in this situation if you were watching my back."

"Oh really?" Ex said, "And I'm talking to the guy who wouldn't listen to me when they were taking control of my body."

"Technically we both own it."

Ex sighed, "Why?"

"Why what?" Alexi asked.

"Why did this happen to me?" he questioned. Alexi was silent for a moment and then sighed.

"Don't take it personally," Alexi said. Ex sighed.

"Can you be helpful without throwing punches?" he said, "Preferably not in my body?"

"Fine," he said, "I will try to help you, but just know that I am not the only voice in your group."

"So there's more of you," Ex said, "Well, I wonder how they are."

"Too complicated to explain," he said, "Not everyone has them, so please don't make me."

"I'll respect that." Ex smiled as he laid back, trying to relax. As he did, he heard footsteps approaching, and, somehow instinctively, he closed his eyes and tried to pretend he was sleeping. He heard the footsteps grow louder until he could hear them breathing right next to him. He tried to remain calm but felt his breathing increase in speed. So, there was no surprise when a voice chuckled at him.

"I know you're awake," a familiar voice said. Ex sighed and opened his eyes to a familiar face, one Fox Mccloud. He groaned as a wave of pain rolled over him.

"My head hurts," Ex said, "You wouldn't mind letting me rub my temples, right?"

Fox chuckled, "After what I saw, I don't think I should."

"Very true," Alexi said, "We're gonna kick his ass and…"

"But I trust you." Fox quickly reached down and typed something into a small pad below. The locks on his wrists simultaneously disengaged and he was able to stand up again. He sighed in relief but could feel that Alexi was confused. Ex sat up and he smiled at Fox.

"Thanks, mate," he said, "Sorry about earlier, a bit of miscommunication."

"Between you and him?" Fox smirked. Ex's heart stopped. He knew.

"How did you know?" he questioned, half surprised.

"I have a friend who's got a knack for that stuff," he said. He turned around and began walking towards a door. Ex, finally realizing that he was in some type of old building, looked around to see cracked walls, flickering lights, and old rickety structures. He was about to ask but didn't need to.

"It's an old factory on the outskirts of the city," he said, "Was used when Androxis attacked way back a generation ago. It was used for creating Arwings, but they also made healing stations for pilots and stations for new recruits to gain their upgrades."

"Upgrades?" Alexi asked Ex. Fox turned to him and raised his leg with a mechanical hum. They looked and saw that both of his legs were metal and mechanical. Alexi was suspicious, while Ex was surprised.

"Metal legs," Ex said, "If my research is correct, its purpose is to make sure you don't pass out in flight, right?"

Fox laughed, "Your species researches about us a lot."

"That's a part of our charm," Ex chuckled. Alexi, however, wasn't pleased. Fox turned around and kept walking.

"What are we waiting for?" Alexi asked Ex, "Let's get him!"

"No, he's with us," Ex said mentally.

"I'm sorry, mate," he said, "But this is the call for me to step in."

"Wait no…" Ex didn't finish as Alexi took consciousness from Ex and he looked back to Fox. Fox simply turned around to watch him as he simply laughed.

"You think you are in control, huh?" Alexi asked, "Well guess what? I am now!"

"Don't try to intimidate me, whoever you are," Fox said, "We both don't want this."

"Oh, I think you…" He didn't finish as he grunted then fell to the ground knocked out. After a moment of silence, the body gasped and sat up. The eyes were hazel, meaning it was Ex. He looked around until Fox came and extended a hand to him. Ex took it and sighed in both relief and sorrow.

"I'm sorry," he said, "He just took control without asking."

"He only longs for your body," another voice said. Ex turned around suddenly and saw another animal standing just behind where he stood. It was a she, and by looks alone, Ex could tell who she was. Blue fur and white accents.

"Krystal," Fox said, standing up and approaching her. They embraced as Ex stood and he tried to pay no mind to the duo. He found his balance and stood as the two who were leaving the embrace.

"What you said earlier," Ex said, "What did you mean by that?"

She smiled, "A man without a body has no other choice but to live alongside another. They long for the freedom that we have. Isn't that right?"

"Um, true," Ex said, chuckling as he had no clue what she was talking about.

"Come on, now," Krystal replied, "Let's go see how we can help you and your friends."

The room then dissolved and the room turned into a new and bolted wall with what looked like cameras poking out from the sides. The room was also filled with plates that looked similar to mirrors and more. Ex smiled.

"Holograms."


Hours later, Mat, Steph, Joe, and Ex sat on the bridge of the Great Fox, conversing to Fox and Krystal about their lives in World Zero above. Everyone else had joined but were busy helping Slippy and Peppy out with the problem. Slippy and Peppy, fortunately, had accepted the offer and went to find what they were talking about. They had landed in Corneria, but they stayed hovering above the planet. After a mention of Mario, they began to talk about the plumber brothers, who were a few planets away. They spoke about stories they were told, the absurdity of it all, and how they had gotten there. Fox chuckled at this.

"And yet it isn't the weirdest thing I've heard," he said. Ex gave a small laugh to that. He looked over to Krystal, who was just staring at Fox during the conversation.

"Hey, about the Alexi thing," he asked, "When does that wear off?"

She hummed, "It may take a day or so."

He nodded, "Thank you. He is so annoying at times."

Krystal nodded, "But he did good things, right?"

Ex nodded and looked behind the back where he saw two figures talking away about someone's technological innovations. One had pointed ears and a tail while the other had long black hair and was slightly taller than the creature. Krystal pointed to them.

"Who are they?" she questioned. Ex looked down the back and sighed.

"The human is Colinne Edena," he said, "Famed scientist and engineer in her world. The other is Skye, no last name given. She suddenly showed up and just came with us on this whimsical journey."

"Funny how she came in when you all came," she laughed. Ex looked at her and sighed.

Ex chuckled, "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm just stating the obvious," she laughed. Ex chuckled with her while Joe scooted over to them.

"Anything interesting happened while…" he asked, pointing to his head. Ex nodded, understanding what he was saying.

"Not really," Ex said, "But it's nice to not have a voice screaming in my head constantly."

"But he seemed like he only wanted to do good," Krystal said, "Did he do anything of note otherwise?"

"Well," Ex stated, "He did go through a file in my sleep, so that was pretty helpful."

"Wait," Mat said, leaning over to them, "The Project Centerpoint thing?"

"...Yeah, why?" Ex asked.

"Skye wouldn't let us read the thing," he said, "Not even close to touching it."

Ex was silent for a moment, his eyes drifting out to the deep black of space. He couldn't respond, or he didn't want to. The group stopped and they moved closer to Ex as he sighed and he looked at them, now seeing the spotlight on him.

"Well," he stated, "The project was a combined effort from thousands of worlds who came together in an effort to make peace with each other as well as exchange resources and knowledge. It was also planned to be a military upgrade as they could create weapons that would destroy the Crystalites. They chose their land, however, poorly. Leaving them in a world that turned out to be one of the worlds that kept World Zero standing above the rest. They knew that they could harness it for things such as power, transportation, and much more. It was ambitious, and it almost worked. Almost."

"That didn't work, however, as the Crystalites found out and they destroyed the city, leaving it in ruins. People were killed, some were never seen again, and it left the world's morale in shambles. So they created a solution: make it where this never happened. They cut it out of their history and had the world forget that these things existed in the first place."

"How does it have to do with Skye? Well, according to a later file, she was a part of a world that didn't support the idea of working with other worlds, thinking it would be too dangerous and threatening to them and their culture. She and her parents were driving home and were accidentally caught in the middle of a protest. It broke out into a riot and police were called into the situation on such short notice, meaning there weren't enough to fully stop the protest, just slow it down. The riots went from zero to one-twenty in a matter of seconds. But it all stopped when one person, just one person who thought it was funny to do something like that, started a fire. Inside Skye's car."

"Well," Mat said, "No wonder she wouldn't trust us."

"Yes," Krystal said, "No wonder I saw something different about her."

"Well, there's a little more," Ex said, seeing the group beginning to stand, "But I'll explain it later."

"Yeah, Slippy and Peppy should be finished by now," Fox said, standing up and walking down to the back of the bridge, preparing to exit. Mat and Joe quickly stood and followed Fox down the hill. Ex stood to follow with Krystal as they fell behind the rest.

"When you get the chance," Krystal said, "I suggest talking to her."

Ex chuckled, "I don't know about that."

"No, you..." Ex smiled and kept walking as he felt her place a hand on his shoulder. Her face conveyed bits of shock and slight worry. Ex sighed at that.

"Yeah," he said, "It's been stressful lately."

Krystal sighed, "You need a break."

"Yes, we do," he said. They finally caught up with the group, who were ready to head down to Corneria. According to Fox, they were going to speak to Peppy and Slippy, who was with Mark and Brian.

"Alright, come on in," Fox said as a loud thud echoed through the ship. A few minutes later, Peppy and Slippy entered the bridge, followed by Mark and Brian. Mark and Brian seemed calm and collected while also seeming fidgety. Ex met with the duo and led them to a place where they could sit, where they immediately flopped onto the seats in exhaustion. Mark rubbed his temples.

"I'm way too old for this," he said. Ex chuckled.

"And I'm way too young for this," he replied. Mark and Brian gave weak chuckles as they turned to him. Before anymore words could be exchanged, Ex's arms moved behind him and he was thrown up, causing a sudden thud behind him. Mark sat up and saw a figure behind Ex on its back and panting. Ex kept looking at the two.

"What? I'm right here," Ex said. Brian stood up.

"You didn't realize anything?" he questioned. Ex shook his head.

"No, why would I?" he asked back. Fox came by and grabbed Ex by the shoulder, turning him around to face him.

"What was that about?" he questioned. Ex held up both hands in a surrender position.

"I have no idea what you guys are…" He didn't finish as he saw Falco lying on his back and panting heavily. He looked to Fox.

"I didn't feel a thing," he said, trying to convince both Fox and himself. Fox looked to Krystal, who shrugged and then back to Ex.

"Come, let's see about that," he said as Ex quickly followed him and, before they left the bridge, Fox threw a punch. Instinctively, Ex caught the punch and twisted his wrist until Fox fell onto one knee. Only his grunt of pain brought Ex back into the living. Ex let go and stepped back, staring at his hands as if they weren't his own. Fox stood and looked at him for a moment.

"I have no clue what just happened," Ex said, "It just happens without me thinking at all."

"Well, maybe you want to learn to control it," Fox said, standing up. As he did, Ex's watch began to beep violently and he looked down to see it blinking red. The screen lit up with a video of a normal-looking camera angle in a busy-looking street. Then, a sudden flash of light gave way to unimpeded static. He looked at the bottom of the screen and saw the world number: World 5890. From the camera, Ex couldn't tell what world they were going to, but he had a feeling that it was from a game he had played in the past due to the surroundings seeming familiar. He walked away and he quickly tapped the button that would allow him access to that world. Before he could move his wrists, however, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked back to see Fox staring at him.

"Wherever you're going," he said, "I want to come."

"I think this might be a little out of your league," Ex said as he saw Mark and Brian stand and stretch. Fox sighed.

"Ex, saving lives is everything in my league," he said. Ex smiled. He looked to his friends, who were still resting and talking. Ex grabbed Fox by the shoulder and nodded.

"Hold on to your stomach," he said as he flicked his wrist and the world around him began to pixelate. Krystal looked at them as Fox waved as they pixelated out of the room. Ex saw him mouth the words I'll be fine just in time to finally drop into their destination.

Fox landed on a knee while Ex landed on his feet, feeling the pressure weigh on his back. They stood up and looked around in shock, seeing the damage around them.

The building they were in was in ruins, sunlight exposing the dusty tile floor beneath them, the alternating colors shining dimly as they kept walking through the fallen roof. Fox's footsteps were loud and echoed through the halls while Ex was more silent and quick. As they approached a small crevasse, they were alerted to the sound of deep laughter and conversation. They quietly approached the noise and found themselves inside a large building, most likely a mall. They turned their attention to the voices and them growing ever louder. They finally made it to where the voices were like they were right next to them. Ex walked over to a destroyed ledge and peeked down to see a Crystalite backing up and laughing at something underneath them. The Crystalite then walked underneath the ledge and into a shadowed area. Ex slowly moved to the edge, looking down to a single story drop, and hesitating at first to jump. He then slid to the edge and, as softly as he could, the land down below. He looked around for a moment before a deep voice stopped his thoughts.

"It's dangerous here," it said, "You shouldn't be here."

Ex turned around instantly to see three figures in a circle around a circular holographic device. Ex walked towards the group but was stopped when they began walking towards him. He reacted by reaching for his gun over his shoulder. He grabbed the grips and aimed the rifle at the three. They stopped for a moment, but then kept approaching.

"You think a pea-shooter is going to kill us, boy?" one voice asked. Ex shrugged.

"It won't take more than four bullets," he quipped back. One of the figures lunged at him and he aimed at the figure but then felt his wrists lift up and aim at its head. He pulled the trigger and, with a loud crack, the figure fell to the floor lifeless. Ex looked at it, seeing the reflective crystal shine through the now mildly dark corridor and the black ooze leaking out of its neck. Before he could look up again, he felt a large force shove him back out into the sunlight and he slid across the floor. He groaned as he tried to get to his feet, but saw a blur in his peripheral vision as he looked up. He saw one of the two standing over him, smiling.

"You cannot beat me," it chuckled. Ex sighed and looked down as his mind suddenly cleared, and he spoke.

"We'll see about that." He jumped up and punched the Crystalite as hard as he could. To both of their surprise, the Crystalite stumbled back onto his knee in shock. Ex looked at his hand, feeling no pain from what he knew should've felt like punching a steel wall. He felt the smile creep onto his face behind his mask. The thing looked at him again in shock.

"Who are you?" it asked. Ex looked at him and stood triumphantly.

"The name's Excavious," he said, "To you."

Without warning, a laser shot hit the Crystalite in the neck area and it flew onto his back. Ex turned to see Fox, whose gun was now smoking and he was calmly breathing. He looked down at his body, seeing much more detail and, to Ex, in a more realistic look. He stared down his body and arms, chuckling to himself.

"You've got some explaining to do, kid," he said. Before he could say anything else, something grabbed his coat and threw him backward. He landed on his feet and grunted as he stood to fire again. He was cut off as the thing slapped the gun out of his hands and reeled back to hit him. Before he could, a large shadow cut off the light.

"Catch, bitch!"

The thing looked back just in time to be hit by what looked like a concrete block, about the size of an average person. The thing flew back and slid across the floor, seemingly out cold. Fox looked to where it came from and saw Mark standing with Brian and Krystal, both of who were in mild shock. Ex stood and looked to the three, where he saw Brian run to him and Krystal pass by over to Fox. Brian helped Ex up and they watched Fox and Krystal run over to Mark, who was slightly panting.

"What was that?" Ex asked Brian as they ran to meet the rest.

"Let's say that Krystal gave us the same treatment as you."

"Oh," Ex said, "Then who threw that…"

He didn't finish as Mark seemingly jolted awake and reached over and placed his hand on a pillar and, for a moment, seemingly hesitated. Then, he pulled his arm back and slapped the concrete pillar, sending it flying out of its place, causing a part of the second floor to fall beside him. Ex didn't watch the flying concrete but did hear a loud crack as it shattered against something. Ex tilted his head.

"Well, holy shit," he said as they approached the rest. Mark was already typing into his watch, ready to return back to the Great Fox. Ex looked around the ruins and then to his hands, connecting his thoughts until he found a game that made sense: Titanfall. It would explain most of if not all of the strange things, like the ruins, the weird mall, and why it looked like it had been just attacked. He shrugged at his thoughts before he felt something push him to the ground and all the wind was knocked out of his lungs. He felt another body land on top of him as he felt the weight suddenly disappear. He pushed himself off the ground and turned around to see that everyone had left and he was left alone there for a moment before he realized what was happening and quickly flicked his wrist. A second later, he was in the middle of a panic on the bridge as everyone was stamping around and the stress of the room was at an all-time high. The room went silent as Ex stood up and brushed himself off. Mark looked at him, stressed.

"Have you seen Krystal?" he asked. Ex looked around, seeing the vixen was nowhere to be seen. Ex looked back.

"I thought she was with you."


Panic fueled minutes later, the group were at the lab once again, trying to track where they took their friend. Fox was pacing around while Colinne and Mat were searching for any information as to her whereabouts. Ex was sitting in a corner, not doing anything except seemingly staring off into the distance, seemingly daydreaming. Chesh and Crystal entered the lab in a rush and found their friend sitting in the corner. They spoke to each other and then approached Colinne and Mat. Fox quickly noticed and followed.

"So, about Krystal," Chesh said, "I don't think this is an accident."

"They took her," Fox grimaced, "It wasn't an accident."

"No," Ex said, "What he means is that this isn't just a one-time thing."

Crystal placed down a holographic display, which pulled up multiple pictures of news headings. Each one was from a different world. Though, they all had one thing in common: someone disappearing all of a sudden or someone being kidnapped. Colinne looked to the rest.

"Oh damn," she said, leaning back onto her desk. Suddenly, the doors to the lab burst open and some of the group came bolting down the stairs, Squaishy leading the way.

"Has anyone seen Joe?" she asked. Ex looked around and shook his head.

"What about Sean?" Mark asked, "Delirious? Crainer? Ian? Steph?"

Mat turned around abruptly, "Where is she?"

"The last I saw, they were with Anahella," Skye said nonchalantly, walking to the front of the crowd. Ex sighed in thought, then jolted.

"Wait," he said, "Anahella can't jump to different worlds, right?"

"Yeah," Skye said, "But then that means…"

Ex stood just as he heard it: a loud thud outside the lab. He immediately grabbed his gun and he aimed it at the door. Most others followed suit and they trained their aim to the door, watching it attentively. Fox stood close to Ex and Colinne stood behind Mat. The doors creaked open and a small head peeked around the door. It was Tails. Ex sighed and laid his gun down as more and more people entered the room, most of them conversing about the disappearances. He could see the TF2 team, but without Heavy, Medic, and Sniper. He saw the Sonic crew, minus the blue blur himself. He also saw a familiar Lombax, but his backpack was missing.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. Ex looked at him and then to the group.

"You all need to leave," he said as he began pushing buttons on his watch.

"What is…" Tails didn't finish as something clanked in the room. A small circular object that resembled an elongated Christmas ornament. Ex grabbed Tails by the leg.

"Grenade!" he shouted as he jumped behind a table. He heard everyone else scramble as some jumped and others ran. The explosion was loud and left a ringing in his ears. After a few moments of waiting, with nothing entering the room, Ex stood up and looked around. Before he could stand, a hand tapped him and he looked down seeing Tails laying on the ground and him still grabbing his leg. Ex let go and silently apologized, seeing him rest his tail to both of his sides. He looked around and saw nothing showing that anyone was coming in. He looked at the blast area and knelt down to see what it was. A voice came through his coms as he thought.

"Something from this world," OBIS said, "Nothing to worry about."

Ex stood up, "I beg to differ."

He looked around as everyone began to stand out of their hiding places and the room began to rise in tension and stress. Felix stepped out first.

"What was that?" he asked.

"You tell me," Ex said, trying to keep his breathing stable. Colinne stood and sighed.

"Welp, here we go again," she said, keeping her anger down. Another sudden clunking occurred and Ex and Felix looked up to see a small spherical device landing at their feet. It began to rapidly beep and the beeping kept growing in speed. Ex looked to Felix and they simultaneously spoke one word.

"Shit."

A loud bang occurred and everything in the room jumped and then silence. It was like nothing had happened. Colinne slowly peeked her head up and saw that Felix and Ex were gone. She looked around and saw that everyone else had suddenly disappeared except for a couple of others, such as a masked man in a suit, a big-eared alien thing, and Skye. She knew something was up, so she quickly made her way to the computer and put the headset on. She heard strange noises coming from the coms, sounds that resembled groaning.

"What the hell was that?" Felix asked through the coms. Colinne sighed in relief.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Ex said through, "What about you?"

"Yeah," she said, "Everyone here is fine."

More groaning came through the coms, "Okay, well, some of us got teleported here. Wherever 'here' is."

"Can't you jump back here?" she questioned. Ex was quiet for a moment.

"Probably not," he said, "Looks like my watch is fried. It's going to be some time before we can jump back."

"Alright," she said, turning back to everyone else who was watching her. She sighed.

"You guys should get back to your homes," she said, "We're a little broken right now."

The room began to clear out slowly, each person beginning to jump out of the room, and soon, it was empty once again. Just Colinne and Skye. Alone, and in silence. They just stood there in the silence for a moment before Colinne rushed to the coms. Skye walked over to her just in time to hear the static voices of the crew.

"We don't know where we are."


Felix cautiously dropped down onto an awning but neglected to realize how wet it was. He slipped and fell, cushioned by a basket of fruits. He groaned as he stood, holding his back in pain. He looked at his free hand, which looked like a mix between hand-drawn animation and a 3D game. It was familiar, but he was too focused on other things to remember where he had seen this before.

He slowly hobbled out of the mix of fruits now on the ground and into a small bit of light exited from the main road in front. He slowly walked to the edge and stood against the wall before he peeked out. Before he could, a large wall of flames zipped past him and he retreated into the alleyway as gunshots rang out. Some were pistols, others sounded like assault rifles. He began to hyperventilate as the intensity grew and the fire-wall suddenly fell. His breathing stopped as he quickly ran back down into the alleyway and hid behind the now fallen fruit basket and he waited as he looked up and out as two figures jumped into the alley. They were panting, tired, and what Felix was most afraid of, carrying guns. One of the figures began to speak.

"I think Sage needs to step it up," it chuckled. The voice was male with a British accent, and Felix caught a glimpse of his attire. A gray jacket and a white undershirt with the inside of the jacket resembling what looked like it was lava. The other person who he caught a glimpse of was a slightly taller man with a blue cloak over his shoulders and a fur scarf around his neck. He wore metallic shin guards and long pants. Felix questioned what the best choice of action was to do, until the sound of what sounded like the Boom Bow from Fortnite. The string flung out and a loud bounce was heard as something wooshed around and landed right next to Felix. He looked at it for a second, seeing an arrow with some electronic thing. Then, a pulsing feeling flowed through him and he knew something was wrong. He didn't do anything until he felt the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his skull. He raised his hands and shook in fear.

"Don't shoot!" he shouted, "I don't have anything."

"Oh, sure, bruv," the first voice said. Felix felt two hands pat him down and then the feeling of the gun barrel leaving the back of his skull. The hands grabbed him and pulled him up onto his feet, holding his arms behind his back. He grunted and tried to follow what they were doing.

"Well, who are you guys?" he asked, trying not to piss them off even more.

"We are Valorant," the white-haired guy said, "And you must leave."

"What's going on?" Felix questioned again. The other guy pushed him away.

"Oi, bruv, too many questions," the other guy said, "Now, scoot."

Before he could say anything else, a loud scream was heard from the outside and they all turned around to see something that resembled a barrel fly by and crashed into a hard wall. The British guy laughed.

"Breach must be getting upset," he posed to the other guy. Felix turned around and saw the two names suddenly flash up on his HUD. The British guy was named Phoenix and the white-haired guy was named Sova. He chuckled.

"Where have you been?" he softly muttered. Felix watched as Phoenix and Sova slowly approached the corner and peered around to see something that left them scared. Felix had a good idea of what it probably was, but he wasn't about to guess just yet. His coms then increased in volume and began to uncontrollably shift from what resembled voices to static. A loud crash then brought him back laying on the ground. He struggled to stand as he stumbled backward and fell back onto his bum as he realized he wasn't in the safety of the alleyway anymore. He looked around him and saw a larger figure standing about 15 meters away from Felix. The two were silent as they exchanged looks at each other, seemingly sizing one another up. Felix was intimidated almost immediately and the Crystalite seemingly grunted at the look. After a moment of silence, the Crystalite grunted again and reached back to grab something. It grabbed a large batch of bricks and lunged forward in an effort to hit Felix with it. Felix quickly jumped out of the way and landed flat on his stomach as he flipped around to see the thing launch something at him again and he stood and ran again. He spun around again and came face to face with the Crystalite itself, it is much taller than Felix. He chuckled nervously.

"So, how's the day?" he asked. The Crystalite brought its arm back, ready to squash Felix into a human pancake. Before it could, however, his watch began to beep uncontrollably and a sudden weight is felt in his arm. He closed his eyes and brought up his arms to protect himself as a loud clash emitted around him. The echo was loud and traveled for what felt like miles. Felix took a step back shocked and brought his arms up to see what looked like arm braces now surrounding his arms. The world around him went silent until a roar brought him back to reality and a voice commanded him.

"Run, mate, run!" Phoenix shouted. Without hesitation, Felix spun around and ran for a hiding spot. Suddenly, his arms and shoulders were pressured by more weight being added, slowing him down slightly. He turned to see that Sova and Phoenix were shooting the Crystalite, trying to distract it while he ran away. He turned around just in time to stop himself before he slid off the floating tiles, leading to a cut-off and a huge drop below. He stopped and admired the long view down and saw mere specs that were actually houses and below, a ginormous crater from where this place was before. His breath slowed, as there was no immediate danger, but he felt his heart rate still increase at the look down. As he began to step back into reality, however, something else increased the pressure on his bones as he looked down at his arms and body and could only speak one word before being cut off.

"What..."

Suddenly, a loud series of clangs happened as a weight piled onto him more and more. He fell to his knee, only to feel soft padding catch him instead of broken tiles. He looked down to see that instead of long pants, he now had some kind of armor wrapped around his leg and foot. Across his chest was also a thick steel-like metal that weighed him down even more. Then, something snapped across his eyes, blinding him for a moment then his vision returned. Finally, most of the weight diminished as he felt like a fifteen-pound duffle bag was lifted off his back. He stood up and looked down to see that his body was now covered in some type of body armor, head to toe. Every step he took was accompanied by a loud metallic stomp. He stumbled around for a moment before regaining his balance and standing straight up. He looked down at his hands to see that they were covered in words and numbers as his HUD marked and described parts of the ground below him and his now armor-covered hands. He felt his mind begin to shuffle through the possibilities of what was going on. But he was quickly turned back into reality as a scream occurred. A scream that came from Phoenix.

Felix hesitantly jogged back to where he ran from and saw the Crystalite grabbing for something or someone. He saw Phoenix dragging himself towards a black mass and reaching farther and farther towards it. The Crystallite gave a mix of a grunt and a chuckled as it reached for him again. Felix took a step forward but immediately returned to his position. He couldn't fight this thing, he knew that. Compared to him, it was like comparing a tennis ball to a sunflower seed. Felix wanted to stay where he was now, better if he ran, but he had this feeling in his gut that propelled him to stand up and fight. But, while everything else said no, something in his mind grabbed him like a puppet on strings and pushed him away and towards the fight. Felix tried to breathe calmly and tried to diffuse the situation with some comedy.

"Hey guys," he said nervously. Both Phoenix and the Crystalite looked at each other than at him. He stopped for a moment to breathe and then continued.

"I think I left something here, any idea where…" He didn't finish as something collided with him and he fell backward. He bounced on the ground and he stayed there for a moment before he groaned in temporary pain and then stood again and looked at the Crystalite, which now looked more angered than confused.

"Ow." That was all he could muster before he jumped up in a ready stance. To his surprise, the thing stopped messing with Phoenix and his attention was dead set on Felix. The thing then charged at him and Felix reeled back and launched his fist at the thing. A loud crack was heard as his fist collided with the thing in the mid-chest area. Felix recoiled in shock as the Crystalite stumbled back and then tried the same thing. Felix felt the suit begin to whir as he reeled back a punch again. He felt the suit propel him forwards and the punch this time had more of a force as the thing was now sent flying back and Felix rocked on his feet as the Crystalite crunched on the ground. Felix stayed back as the thing began to stand again and looked at him, at what seemed to be a boiling point before a sudden shout came out of nowhere.

"I.. AM THE HUNTER!" The voice was loud yet shaky. Felix looked over to see Sova pulling back on his bowstrings and a large blue circle emitting from around him. He let go of the bowstring, sending a huge beam of energy towards the Crystalite, knocking them both back in the process. Sova slid on his feet while the Crystalite flew back what looked like ten feet and crashed into a wall, seemingly knocking it out cold. Felix watched as the long-haired hunter panted, trying to regain his sense of balance. Felix sighed in relief and he turned around to see a shattered mirror facing him.

The mirror was shattered beyond comprehension, but the top part remained, and he could see his covered face. The mask he wore resembled a knight helmet mixed in with a blank tactical mask. The light blue paint was worn down, pieces of it flaking off and revealing the silver metal beneath it. His eyes were small glowing ovals and his neck was covered in a chainmail-type armor. The rest of his body was obscured by the broken mirror and everything below his neck was not visible. He stared into the emotionless mask staring back at him, the reflection bouncing light from behind him. He sighed in both relief and complete confusion.

"What the hell is happening?"


Brian groaned as the sunlight above him lightly shone onto his face. The shockwave had knocked him flat on his back and he felt like he had a migraine. He slowly opened his eyes to see a small layer of leaves above him protected him from the bright sunlight. The wind softly shook the dust, dirt, and leaves around him. He tried to stand but a sudden hand was extended to him. He looked to see Evan extending a hand for him. He grabbed it and stood on a knee. He then noticed the detail on Evan's face, seeing many wrinkles and feathers in his owl mask. Yes, it was detailed, but it didn't look like it was from home. Very similar, but not the same. He shook his head.

"Where are we?" he questioned groggily. Vanoss turned around to a trio behind them.

"Where are we?" he asked. A second passed and then a reply came.

"No idea, honesty," Ex shouted back. Brian looked over to see Ex and Tails helping Crystal off the ground.

"We're gonna need more time and scenery to find out," he continued as he leaned back and brought Crystal to his feet. Tails walked away from the group and towards a small hill drop away from them. Tails breathed a sigh that was a mix of excitement and admiration, as he had almost never been off of his homeworld before. He wanted to explore, find new things, but he knew that they should be finding a way to get back to the lab. So, he spun on his heel and walked back to the group. Ex was looking at his watch and shaking his wrist around before sighing in defeat.

"Seems like the explosion-" he said something else before continuing, "-up my watch pretty badly."

He stumbled back over that, "What was that?"

"That was a natural censoring," OBIS said quickly, "It seems like certain worlds have a distaste for some bits of language."

"That is… interesting." Ex stood up tall and looked around them. He looked around and saw Crystal press his hand to his ear.

"Colinne, is everything alright there?" he asked. The coms were silent. Nothing came through, and that seemed to stretch the stress of the group.

"Anyone, does anyone copy?" Evan asked, near shouting into the coms. Again, silence. Not even static. Just silence. Brian's heart began to race a little faster than before as Tails walked towards them.

"Our first objective should be to try and find some type of civilization," he said, "Because then, we can easily get back."

Ex walked forward a few steps and lifted his finger to point, "Is that familiar to anyone?"

Evan turned his head to look and his jaw dropped. The world in front of them, instead of stretching on for miles on end, they could see those miles being lifted into space. The ground lifted into a ring shape above them. The cliffs stretched for miles and they could see almost every canyon and cave that stretched up. The light from a distant sun gleamed across the surface, so bright that it almost hurt. It was an incredible sight to behold. Brian smiled.

"Halo," he said aloud. Ex nodded in a mix of shock and excitement.

"This is amazing," Tails softly commented, "I wish Sonic could be here to see it."

Ex looked at him confused, "What?"

"Yeah," Tails said, "He just suddenly disappeared today without a trace. We've been trying to find out where he went."

Ex looked to Crystal, who silently nodded, then back to Tails.

"I think he was captured."

Tails turned around, "What?!"

"'Fraid so," Evan popped in, "People in different worlds have been disappearing recently, especially big names."

"Now that can't be a coincidence, can it?" Tails asked, his voice now somewhat frantic. Ex nodded.

"And our friends have been taken as well," Crystal said, "We have to find them."

"Okay, where did they go?" Tails asked, pacing now. The calm of the wind now stopped as the conversation progressed.

"No idea," Ex said, "Though, we could use technology to find them."

"How?" Brian asked. Ex shrugged.

"I dunno, I just thought that there might be some scientific way to do this."

Suddenly, a loud whoosh was heard above them as they ducked down. Dirt, leaves, and small bits of stone were thrown across the ground as what looked like a large ship flew over the top of them. They watched as the ship flew across another rocky outcrop and into a flurry of lights. The group watched as a group of four jumped out of the ship and onto the battlefield before finally running out of view. Tails stood and turned in the opposite direction.

"Maybe we should head this way," he said. Evan stood up behind him.

"Agreed." He spun on his heel and watched him reel his tails up and then begin to float. He walked up next to the hovering fox and looked out to see a large ship coming onto the horizon. He shook his head worryingly.

"That can't be good." As if by coincidence, something pushed him out of the way and onto his back. He jumped back up to see Tails facing a large being in front of them. Due to the impact, Evan still couldn't tell if it was a Crystalite or something else. Before he could ask, it steps forward and pushed him backward and, as he stumbled, he suddenly felt the ground disappear from under him as he felt gravity pull him down a large hill as he brought his head to his chest and rolled down the hill at an astonishing speed. He finally slowed to a halt and stood on his hands and knees as he tried to regain control of his breathing. The sound of heavy footsteps caught his attention as he looked at the figure now approaching him.

Instantly, he knew that it wasn't a Crystalite, because it didn't have the normal Crystalite look. Body of near pure crystal, now replaced by a black under armor look and a white armor laying on top of the kevlar like under armor. The mask was easily recognizable as a Spartan helmet, and the tall and muscular physique was also a dead giveaway. All of the times they had seen Crystalites, they had been big, but not muscular. Its color was a mix of black and a light gray and his mask was tinted in blue color. He stood to look at the tall man with his legs shaking wildly.

"Who are you?" the Spartan asked. His voice was deep and stern, leaving no room for emotion.

"We're just bystanders," he said, "We're just here looking for something then we'll be on our way."

"Is that so?" the Spartan asked, taking a few steps forward towards the masked owl. Vanoss stumbled backward in response.

"I don't want to fight you," Vanoss said, stumbling over his words as well as his feet. Without another word, the spartan reeled back his fist and shot forward, giving Vanoss little time to dodge as the air next to him shook. He turned to see that he had moved out of the way of the attack, and yet he felt nothing except the air particles vibrate. He turned and looked at the Spartan, who turned his attention again to Vanoss.

"Bystanders, huh?" Vanoss felt his mind go crazy with fear and adrenaline as he hopped up into a fighting stance. He looked confusingly down at his body as the Spartan got up and quickly grabbed him. He thought about stepping back but instead felt his legs propel him upwards and he jumped over the long arm sweep that just barely missed him. He landed in a crouching position and stared at the emotionless spartan helmet staring back at him. He chuckled softly before seeing the guy spinning around for a leg sweep. Without thought, he pushed the Spartan mid-turn, causing him to fall onto his back. Vanoss stood atop him triumphantly but chose to back down.

"I don't wanna fight you," he said, "We're just looking for help."

The Spartan sat quietly for a moment, then nodded silently.

"Alright, ally," he said, "What do you need?"

Vanoss thought for a moment, "A computer and some helpful information. If you don't mind."


Skipping over the flight to the main UNSC, the awkward explanation for a two-tailed fox here, and much more, the group had access to a computer, data, and was finally able to speak with Colinne again. It seemed too easy, and no one was any bit calm in the situation. Crystal sat at the computer while Ex stood next to him, keeping his arm hanging close enough to his gun in case of an ambush. Brian and Vanoss stood behind as Crystal and Tails kept on trying everything they could to find what these watches could do and or help them find their friends. They all watched attentively as the clicking of the keyboard was the loudest thing that could distract them. Finally, Tails began talking.

"So," he said, "We have many options. First of all, the watches contain a small radioactive material that could be trackable, if that is possible."

"But," Brian cut in, "I don't think we have satellites that can scan every possible world they could be in."

"Which is why that is the most unlikely option," he said, "Next up, we could be able to a specific sound that is transmitted by the watches and finds them because they create a sound that can only be heard at a certain frequency. What about that?"

"Again," Ex said, "We would need some serious equipment for that."

"Well then," Tails paced, "Anything else?"

"What about echolocation?" Vanoss suggested. Tails tilted his head and Ex nodded in agreement.

"The thing bats use," he said, "They project a sound and use that sound to find their surroundings. What if we used that except we looked for anomalies that were similar to our watches?"

Tails nodded, "Not the worst idea. Was going to come up with something similar to that."

Ex chuckled and watched Crystal type in what Tails was saying and they then finally the screen produced an image of a satellite and Crystal slowly sat up to leave. Until the image was suddenly tinted red and the blinking text said Currently Out Of Service. The room went silent for only a moment before Vanoss sighed.

"You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me," he said. Brian stomped on his feet hard.

"What the fuck!?" he shouted, "Why is this happening?"

"I-I thought it would work," Tails stuttered, trying to please the angered folks. Ex sighed in frustration but tried not to show his anger.

"Everyone calm down," he said, "There has to be a way for us to find them."

"How?!" Crystal shouted, "This was probably our one chance of finding them and now we are…"

His words slowly dissipated into an incomprehensible babble. Ex felt his vision slowly move towards the bright computer screen and it's now crystal clear words and images. He tilted his head in confusion until a blue figure appeared at the keyboard, but not typing anything. Without thinking, he slowly approached the keyboard and laid his fingers onto the keyboard, trying not to press down on any keys. He looked down and his eyes widened at the sight of his fingers glowing a deep blue color as the computer itself seemingly morphed to what his thoughts wanted. The screen flashed with multiple images and documents and finally, it stopped on a train list. The list contained information about certain trains, what type they were, how many passengers, and more. At first, he was confused, until his mind highlighted one gap in between trains: train 578 and train 463, with a two and a half-hour rest time between. The first train was a passenger train, carrying about 300-350 people. The second one was a cargo train carrying supplies to a construction site in a far city. The thing that caught his eye was the timing, the two having a three-and-a-half-hour time gap while the rest having less than an hour and a half. At the top right, there was a label of where the train station was, and that was when Ex knew exactly why that was:

Verdansk

"Warzone," he whispered. Finally, his antics caught the attention of Brian.

"What are you doing?" he asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Ex turned around to see the rest of the group and then back to his fingers. They were normal again, no blue glowing light, and the screen was where it was before. The reading of the unavailable satellite. He shook his mind out of thought.

"I think I know where to go next," he said, keeping stern eye contact with Brian.

"Well then, what about it?" Brian spun around, turning back to Crystal and Vanoss.

"If everything goes as planned," Ex said, "We'll have them back before three."

"What do we need to do, then?" Brian asked. Ex nodded.

"Tails," he said, "You and Crystal stay here and give us overwatch to keep us safe. Vanoss, we need you as a scout, make sure the coast is clear and that we are okay to do this. And finally, Brian."

"Yes?" he asked.

"Remember that storage place you were talking about?" Brian smiled and nodded.


Evan quickly looked around at the bustling train station, seeing the realistic people walking around as he stood in the middle of the crowd, trying not to look or seem suspicious. Though, to hide his face, he knew he had to keep his face hidden with a simple surgical mask and hoodie, claiming to guards and people that he had a cold, but was willing to work. Though, he was just lying, trying to keep a low profile. He looked up at the train in the station currently, which was a light gray passenger train that was almost stuffed to the brim with people. He sighed and leaned against a pillar, placing his hand against his coms.

"Well," he said, "Anything?"

"Not yet." Brian quickly responded before placing his hands behind his head. He looked to Ex, who looked as if he was sleeping on the job. The two had been waiting for over an hour after the previous passenger train had left. They were now waiting for a mythic ghost train that Ex had predicted, but had not arrived. Brian was losing his patience as time dragged on and it seemed like Ex was having the same conundrum. His foot was stomping while it looked like he was gritting his teeth behind closed lips. He was stressed, on a hunch, and who seemed to be desperate to get his friend back. Brian turned off his coms and looked at him.

"So," he asked, "I didn't really get to know who you were."

Ex chuckled, "Can't blame you. If I had people shooting at me and people telling me to shut up, I wouldn't tell a soul on any planet anything."

"Yeah," he said, "Very stressful."

"Who are you?" he asked in the most friendly way. Ex turned to him and chuckled again.

"Just a normal freshman trying to enjoy his summer," he said, "While also being with some of my biggest idols."

Brian chuckled, "This must be a field day for you and your friends."

"I dunno," Ex chuckled, "Chesh did say he didn't really like Mat's channel."

"What about Crystal?"

"Similar, but he tends to watch more tech and meme stuff than gaming videos."

"Why's that?"

Ex sighed, "I guess it is because the whole gaming thing has gotten a little stale. Nothing really new and plus, the really good creators are either stopping entirely or they are moving on to different things. I also have to think that it has to do with YouTubes stupidity."

"Damn, strong words," Brian said. Ex shook his head.

"I've been trying to start a channel," he said, "But I just see the same thing: videos getting little views and none of my videos actually being seen by other people. It just doesn't help people with less than a hundred subscribers."

Brian nodded, "Yep, I guess we just got lucky due to the early days."

"Yeah…" Ex didn't know anything else to say after that until Brian chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Ex asked, thinking of something quickly, "Thinking about how many times everyone brought up your wifi?"

"Oh, fuck off!" Brian said, leaning backward. Ex laughed hard for a minute.

"But on a serious note," Ex said, "Who is the most annoying person in your group?"

Brian was silent for a moment, "It is a tie between Evan and Nogla."

"Come on," Ex said, "Nogla is the most annoying by a landslide."

"But Evan is the cunning type of annoying."

Ex laughed for a moment and then sighed. Brian tried to do the same but felt his chest bounce up and down with chuckles and laughs. He turned to look at Ex, who looked as if he was resting again. His dark hair was near camouflage with the surroundings. He then saw his smile slowly fade into what looked like a focused frown. Brian sat up.

"Everything alr-" He didn't finish.

"Shh, you feel that?" he questioned. Brian sat absolutely still and closed his eyes for a moment, not feeling anything. Then, a deep yet small rumbling came into feeling and he immediately peered to where it was coming from: a train tunnel just below them on a large mountain range. The vibrations strengthened and then finally, a large black passenger train shot out from the tunnel, causing small rocks around them to slip down the mountain. Ex immediately stood up and watched it fly across the tracks into the distance while simultaneously placing his hand on his ear.

"Evan, did a black train leave the station?" he questioned.

"Nope," Evan said, "A silver one did."

Only hearing the first part, Ex ran back and motioned Brian to follow. Though, he stood staring for a moment.

"I don't think this is a good idea," he said, "How will we catch that thing going so fast?"

"We disconnect the first cart from the main train," Ex said, not missing a beat.

"But what about-" Again, he didn't finish over Ex's shout.

"Just get in the fucking car!"


Steph sat in the comfortable blue chair, staring out into the moving rocks around them. One hand supported her head while the other held the uncomfortable collar around her neck. Her realistic-looking eyes darted from place to place, following the slow or immobile object outside the large train window. She had closed the doors at the sound of Sean and Delirious arguing about why they fell for the trick. They were caught after they thought Anahella had come to them for assistance. One jump and a half later, here they were: on a ghost train with some other captured people on their way to who knows where. She looked around inside her car, where two other beings sat with her. One was an animal character with a striped tail swishing back and forth. From the looks, Steph predicted it was a raccoon, most likely a very sly one at that. The other one was a man, hidden behind a dark red hoodie and long pants. His boots conveyed to Steph that he wasn't from the era they were in now and that there was something off about him. She sighed, stood, and slowly opened the door to the rest of the train, the argument flooding in again.

"...did you even do that?!" Delirious shouted to Sean. Sean leaned back in a mixture of disbelief and anger.

"Then why did you blindly listen?" Sean asked back.

"Guys," Joe said, trying to be a mediator, "Let's take it down a notch, please."

"Oh shut up already!" Sean said, "Look what happened to us. Now we are never getting outta here."

"I have faith in the group," Steph said, "They're persistent."

"Is that so?" another voice asked as she closed the door to their compartment and looked to where it was coming from. The hooded figure looked up to her and she instantly could tell who it was.

"I would kill to see it then," Zuko laughed, "They're most likely too afraid to even come to the rescue."

"I beg to differ," Cooper replied the raccoon next to him looking at the scarred teen. Zuko tilted his head.

"Love makes people do insane things," he said, "Even just for friends."

"You know from experience?" Zuko looked at him with mild annoyance.

"I was trapped back in time," Sly said, "My friends have probably been worried about me for months now."

"I agree," Steph said, "But I don't know how they would come to our rescue."

As if on cue, a group of Crystalites ran past the compartments in a rush, telling everyone to remain in their seats. Steph looked to Sean, who had finally stopped arguing with Delirious, and the two exchanged a look of fear and hope. Before long, a loud crash was heard from the front of the train and then they began to slow down, but still continued in motion.

"Well," Zuko said, looking to Sly with a grin, "This should be interesting."

"This should be fun," he responded. Suddenly, a soft rumbling was heard in the distance and the three looked at each other in confusion. It stopped for a moment as they entered into a long plains biome. Then, a loud crash was heard beside them and the rumbling continued, now sounding like a car engine. This put a smile on their faces.

Immediately, Steph stuck her face to the glass and, sure enough, there was a Jeep right next to the train, with Terroriser and Excavious riding together. The Jeep was an open cage Jeep with large off-road wheels and noticeable suspension. It was bouncing up and down on the rough terrain as Ex and Brian kept coming closer and closer to the train. She banged on the glass, grabbing their attention. The two smiled as Ex motioned them to duck. Sly and Zuko immediately fell down to the ground and Steph followed as a hail of bullets flew through the shattering glass. Finally, they could hear their conversation over the gusts of wind.

"Bring me closer!" Ex shouted to Brian.

"Okay!" Terroriser shouted back. The sound of the engine increased in volume and then a thump was heard as they looked up to see Ex standing in front of them.

"Hi," he said near innocently. Steph stood and sighed in relief. He turned to see Cooper and Zuko sitting their in complete confusion.

"Gentlemen," he said respectfully. He grabbed what looked like a screwdriver and held it towards the collar on Zuko's neck.

"It's not going to hurt," Ex said, a mixture of calm and excitement in his voice. After a small bang, the collar fell in pieces beside him. He extended a hand to Zuko, who gladly took it and stood. He knelt next to Cooper, who calmly spoke to the excited hero.

"Try not to get too wound up," he said. He nodded and quickly did the same to his collar. Cooper jumped up onto his feet and offered Steph a hand. She took it and stood just in time to meet the device that Ex had, causing the collar to shatter. He stepped away and into the other compartment. Seconds later, Sean and Delirious, along with the rest of the crew, came out of the compartment. Ex sighed.

"First off," he said, "Our guys get on the jeep. We'll take you back to the Great Fox for now as we have radio silence from the lab."

Without hesitation, one by one, the gamers hopped onto the Jeep, each causing the car to jiggle around on the suspension. After Steph hopped on, Brian gave a thumbs up and Ex nodded.

"Go!" Ex said, "I'll wait for you again."

Brian nodded, "Have a pleasant ride!"

The car drove off from the train and began to dissipate into a white mist and Ex sighed. He looked at Zuko and Sly.

"I'll get you guys home," he said, typing into his watch. Before he could finish, a small object whipped past his head and he immediately dropped down to a knee and looked to where the shot came from. Down the hall, he could see a group of green being approaching them at a rapid pace with assault rifles pointed right at them. Ex finished typing into his watch and a white orb lay in his hand. He looked to Sly then tossed him it.

"As soon as you get the chance," he said, grabbing his rifle from over his shoulder, "Crush it, and run!"
Ex stepped into the line of fire and began blindly shooting at the approaching Crystalites, screaming to grab their attention. He kept firing until he heard screaming coming from one of the compartments ahead of him. He ducked behind cover and had to wait for them to stop shooting at him. It was then that he remembered that they weren't the only people on the train. He mentally facepalmed in frustration, knowing that he couldn't single-handedly take down all of the soldiers and free the rest of the prisoners. Could he?

Could I really do it? he questioned. He held that question for a mere second as suddenly a whoosh of air emanated from where he had just come from. He looked to see that a single raccoon was missing. He smiled, and tried to give a thumbs up to Zuko, but felt the air around him move too much as bullets rang out around him. He tried to shout to Zuko, but the loud cracks of the bullets, mixed with the brakes of the train, made that nearly impossible. He hid around the corner again until finally, the bullets stopped. Ex peeked his head just in time to see a flurry of fire from Zuko and to the approaching Crystalites. He sighed and started to type into watch, hoping to finish quickly.

Then, after a moment, the gunfire rang out once again as the white orb materialized into his palm, but was then knocked out of it due to a sudden shake around them. Ex watched it roll away. and off the train, as an explosion was heard in the distance. He sighed to himself.

"Fuck," he said as the bullets around him kept firing. Then, something strange happened. A stream of blue, gray, and purple energy flew past him and Zuko. Electricity seemingly materialized out of thin air and then, with a loud zap, a figure appeared in the line of fire. The gunfire immediately stopped and gave Ex the courage to look over to see what was happening. The figure was female, with long black hair, and a black suit with tons of electronics mounted everywhere, from her shoulder to her wrists.

"Run," she said, "Go!"

Ex typed into his watch and grabbed another orb and tossed it to Zuko, who was now waiting for the catch. He caught it and immediately crushed it as the gunfire increased again. Zuko nodded to him.

"Thank you," he shouted over the wind before he disappeared in a white flash. Ex sighed in relief, only to then feel something grab his body and begin to move it. At first, he thought it was an invisible person grabbing him. His instinct was to try and release himself, but it wouldn't budge. Then, a familiar voice came through his mind.

"Kid, enough."

Ex groaned, "Morning, Alexi. It's been, what? Half a day?"

He sighed, "I've slept longer. Now, whose ass are we kicking."

Ex looked out to see the woman that was fighting them before retreating to cover and the gunfire continuing even more.

"Well then," Alexi said, "You've got yourself into a pickle."

"And I'm getting us out of it," Ex said, feeling himself jump out of the cover, bringing his rifle to his shoulder, putting the enemies in his sights, and letting the bullets fly. To little avail. He hit one target in the upper chest range and failed to hit anything else before his rifle began to click without ammo once again. He ducked behind cover again, hoping to find some bit of relaxation in the moments of reloading. Instead, he felt a large ripple of energy wash over him as he looked out the window at a sight that made his face run pale. The train was moving again. They must've just reattached the carts to the main train.

"How?!" Ex cried in shock and anger, "We destroyed the clamp."

"I could've done something about it," Alexi sighed. Finally, Ex broke and shouted to himself.

"Oh shut up with your bullshit you mother…" He didn't finish as he instinctively jumped out of cover after grabbing a pistol. Without thought, his body moved and he pulled out his pistol. He pulled back three times and then just stood there, admiring his work. The shots, three falls. All three of the assailants fell to the ground dead, back ooze running from their skulls. For a moment, he felt himself grin, only to then sense someone coming from behind as he spun on his heel and brought his arms from his side up, shoving the barrel of a rifle out of his face. He brought his leg up and kicked the soldier backward, leaving him vulnerable to an attack. Ex jumped and pushed the Crystalite down to the floor before stomping on its face, creating a loud crack as the crystal snapped off. Ex chuckled.

"You could've done something?" Ex asked mentally. Alexi was silent. The wind around him began to speed up again as the train increased in speed. A loud shout was then heard.

"Ex! Get over here!"

He looked to the hole in the train and saw Terroriser driving next to the train at high speeds. He looked down at the pedals and then back to him.

"Hurry, I don't know how much faster I can go," he said. Ex nodded and quickly turned to see the woman returning to the compartment. Ex ran over to meet her, trying to get her attention.

"Wait!" Ex said, "We can help yo-"

He didn't finish as she turned around and shushed him.

"Quiet, leave and follow us," Wraith whispered, her long black hair obstructing her face. Ex shook his head.

"We can't," Ex said, "We lose this train, we lose you guys."

She sighed, "Any way you could find us?"

Ex thought for a moment, before looking at his watch and then to a similar-looking device on her wrist. He unstrapped his watch and he handed it to her.

"Swap these," he said, "It has a signal we can track."

She nodded and quickly replaced the watch on her wrist, "Try to hurry. This is important."

Ex nodded and ran to the hole in the train as he turned back to the train. Brian sighed at him.

"Don't blame yourself," he shouted over the train as he hopped in, "We can't save them all."

Ex nodded and showed him the watch Wraith gave him, "Gonna need a new watch."

Brian nodded as he pressed down on the brakes and the train flew away into the distance. Ex sighed as the vehicle began to dissipate into a white cloud of pixelated particles. Brian slammed on the brakes and the Jeep skidded from a dirt road to a large steel ground. Ex looked around and saw the group around laughing about and talking with the Star Fox team. As the Jeep came to a halt, Ex hopped out of the car and onto the hanger floor. He looked to Brian and gave him a thumbs up.

"Nice driving," he said. Brian chuckled.

"It took trial and error," he said, pointing to a large dent in the wall that Falco and Slippy were attending to. Ex then looked at the Jeep, which he now saw that it resembled a warthog from Halo and a regular jeep from the real world. The suspension was large, almost fully recognizable through the little cover it had. It had five seats, two in the front, three in the back, and a large trunk area with thick sheets of metal. Ex chuckled, thinking now that it should be considered a good off roading truck, but didn't question it. The wheels were about to his waist in height and the tires were thick around the metal wheels. The engine compartment was large, however, and the metal tires were abnormally black. It wasn't painted, or from what Ex had seen, this was a real metal that was full black. The engine compartment was about the size of a large TV, and the lights were square and bright to his sight. He wanted to admire more, but a pair of hands grabbing his shoulders brought him out of his mind. He turned around to see Mark and Fox standing behind him.

"Did you find her?" Fox asked, his voice calm but he could hear the slight panic in his voice. Ex sighed, causing Fox's ears to droop.

"No," he said, "She was nowhere to be found."

"Damn," Mark said. Ex, however, tried to be positive.

"But I do think I got a good way to track them." He ran past the two and ran to the elevator leading to the bridge. After a quick jog and a burst into the bridge, he leaned into the computer next to Peppy and the ship's robot, ROB. He looked around and saw that he had no way of accessing a tracker since he didn't have the laptop. He sighed and turned to Mark, who had made it right up to him.

"I need the laptop from the lab," Ex said, holding up the fake watch, "Could you help?"

Mark chuckled, "Got it."

Mark grabbed Ex by the collar of his jacket and he moved his wrist as they jumped from the Great Fox to…
Outside the lab?

Ex landed and his smile deformed into a confused frown. He and Mark looked around at the streets and then back to where the lab was. Ex felt his jaw drop in pure shock and fear as he saw the top floors engulfed in a huge flame that radiated from the center. Firefighter sirens could be heard in the distance and rapidly growing in volume. Ex hesitated for a second before a sudden word popped into his head.

Colinne.

With that, he burst into a sprint towards the lab, Mark's faint words growing ever fainter. He jumped up the stairs to the lab and burst from the glass entrance doors. Above him, the roof of the upper floors was slowly crumbling but staying stable. Ex didn't keep that thought for long as he kept running towards the stairway and then down to the testing areas. He then burst through the doors and saw a man, not Colinne, bleeding against the wall next to the stairs.

Most likely, he was hit while trying to escape and he was on the last string of life he could bear to hold on to. Ex saw the bleeding come from his waist area and he thought for a moment before Mark came in and grabbed the man by the shoulders and tried to keep him awake. Mark looked to Ex as they tried to comfort the man. Ex suddenly shook his head out of that thought.

"Get him outta here," Ex said as he began running again, not waiting for his response. He knew Mark was standing up and Ex finally reached the doors to the lab.

"COLINNE!"

CRACK-BANG! Shlump…


A/N: Whoops! Posted this one without the horizontal lines. Sorry! Gonna get that fixed and I have more on the way and I'll try my best to finish it. Enjoy this everyone!