Chapter 11: Hard Work

A/N: Sorry for the wait. A few things got in the way of my writing time, and then the chapter itself took fricking forever to write.

Uploads will probably be slower until we're finished... maybe. Perhaps. Possibly. It depends, I guess?

I'll see what I can do. Remember that I'm still accepting your ideas through private messaging!

I find myself in a void.

A familiar place, I immediately knew I was dreaming.

I then heard an ethereal whisper, too quiet to make to out the words.

It was so subtle, I'd have assumed it was the wind if it weren't for the context.

"Speak up," I said.

It went silent.

Then, laughter.

The kind of creepy laughter that sent chills down your spine.

Suddenly, it felt like my hand was burning.

I clutched it and cursed repeatedly, freezing to see it enveloped in darkness.

It was the same hand that the Shadow Badge had marked when I first used it.

So I knew exactly what was causing this.

"Explain this, now," I demanded.

The darkness suddenly was ejected from my hand, and the burning sensation stopped.

I examined my hand, seeing that the mark was still there and my hand was unharmed... but the mark was... it looked like a black hole.

I looked up to see the mass of darkness floating there.

A whisper, this time louder.

"You wish for an explanation?"

The darkness began to form a shape.

"We have already said it... have you forgotten?"

I frowned. I had a very bad feeling about this.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We will say it again... do not forget once more:"

The darkness continued to take shape, until it looked sickeningly familiar.

"We are shadow. And now..."

The darkness finished taking its shape.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

Me.

No... a... shadow of me.

This couldn't be real... it was just a dream... right?

But it felt real. I felt like I was in grave danger.

It looked at me with glowing red eyes, slowly flickering there with a blank expression.

It opened its mouth, and out came a demonic, twisted version of my own voice:

"We are you. And you are us."

I snapped awake with a jolt, panting.

The darkness felt overbearing.

And it felt like something was watching me.

I immediately got up and rushed for the lights, turning them on and sighing as the light cascaded through the room.

"The hell was that?" I grumbled.

I shook my head. Probably just my imagination going nuts.

Regardless, I didn't exactly feel tired after that, so I decided to go sit in the main hub.

So I sat down and gazed out the window as I waited for the kid to wake up. I reckoned it'd be a few hours yet.

I was interrupted from my gazing when I heard an all-too-familiar wooshing noise.

I didn't even bother to look, I already knew who showed up.

"Hello again," I greeted the Traveller.

No reply for a few seconds.

"The barriers between worlds are growing unstable at an alarming rate. I hope you aren't too busy, because we have to begin your training very soon," He said urgently.

"What's the big problem?" I asked.

He took a deep breath.

"I don't think I can really explain it to you in words," He said, "Here, let me see if I can show you. Your first lesson, if you will."

I felt fingers be pressed to my temples, then everything faded to nothingness.

A voice cut through the nothingness: his voice, but it sounded ethereal.

"You are in between dimensions now. That is why you cannot sense anything: it is beyond the senses of mortals. You need to learn to develop a new sense to have a chance of comprehending what is going on here, and how grim it truly is."

"How do I do that?" I asked.

"I'm afraid I can't truly explain that in words. That would be like trying to explain sight to a blind man. Just... try to focus on any new stimuli, even if you can't understand it."

Well, gee, that was helpful.

Regardless, I did as he was told and focused on trying to feel something... anything in this place.

A long time passed, and nothing seemed to be occuring.

"Well, it's a good thing that Time doesn't flow correctly between dimensions."

"How long has it been?" I asked.

"Here? Probably two hours. Back there? A few seconds, maybe."

I groaned.

"I don't think this is working," I grumbled.

Silence.

"Let me try something. I am going to shift the fabric of reality around you. It's extremely obvious to notice if you have the sense. If you can't detect that, then we'll give up and try again later."

"Okay then..." I muttered.

"I will do it in 3... 2... 1... now."

...

I noticed something.

It was extremely, EXTREMELY subtle, subtle enough that if I wasn't focusing all of my consciousness onto trying to notice anything, I would've missed it, but I noticed it.

What was it like, you ask?

Well, like Traveller said to me, trying to explain it would be like trying to explain what seeing is like to a blind man. It's not like any of the traditional senses.

But it was there.

And now that I knew what to look out for... I could sense it around me, although it was foggy. The closest thing I could compare it to would be like having blurred vision, or muffled hearing.

"That worked," I said.

"Excellent. Now, I reckon you should be able to at least mildly percieve your surroundings?"

"Yep, but it's blurred and vague."

"As I expected. Either way, you should be able to see what the problem is now, if you focus."

"Will do."

I focused, hard.

And I found what he was talking about.

It hit me like a truck, and it made me reel.

It felt so chaotic... so... discordant... it felt like this entire place was about to glitch out of existence!

"Do you see now?"

"Yeah..." I replied, "I think I see the problem."

"Do tell, so I can make sure you're doing it right."

"So... this whole universe-colliding thing, it's happened before without problems, but you said that this time they're merging at an alarming rate, and now, with what I've sensed here, I'm going to assume that this merging happening so suddenly is causing instability in the fabric of reality, all across the Multiverse," I hypothesized.

"Hmm!"

I was confused. I'd never seen... er... heard him excited like that.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm impressed, I was not expecting such a detailed and accurate explanation. You hit the nail on the head."

I smirked.

"Okay. But uh... why do I need to train right now?" I asked.

"Because I won't be able to prevent this alone. I am powerful, far more powerful than you could even begin to imagine, but stopping a Cross-Collapse... it'll take more dimension travellers to succeed. If I can get you to your maximum potential... I have faith we can do it. If not... well... it seems the end of days may be imminent."

'Cross-Collapse'?

Is that what it was called?

It was nice to finally have a name for this. And such a cool one, to boot.

"So I'm gonna save the multiverse, eh?"

"Indeed you will. And your 'friends' will be able to help."

"Friends?"

"The boy with a tie. The boy with a cowboy hat. The woman with the fedora. The strange minion you met. They will all be essential."

I whistled.

What a task...

"Can I go back now?" I said, "This place is cool and all, but I'd like to go back to using my human senses, thanks."

He chuckled.

I felt something shift in reality, and not long after I was back in the main hub.

I saw the kid standing there, looking confused.

"What was that about?" She asked, "I just heard a weird noise that woke me up, then I go investigate and see this."

"I was showing him something that he needed to see," Traveller said right after teleporting behind me.

"Like?" She asked.

Me and him shared a questioning glance.

"Do you want to tell her?" He asked.

I put a hand to my chin and thought. If I did, she'd probably end up worrying herself over something beyond her control. If I didn't, I'd be betraying her trust... again.

I sighed and turned back to the kid.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to panic or worry?" I asked.

She nodded. I wasn't entirely convinced.

"Are you sure?" I questioned.

She nodded more.

I took a deep breath.

"Well, you know how there's a bunch of different universes, right? And how sometimes they collide together?" I begun.

She nodded.

"Well, as you know, it's happening again. But there's a problem this time, it's happening way too fast, and it's causing instability in the Multiverse as a result," I explained, "Me and him need to find others who can travel dimensions like us to stop it, or else it will mean the end of the multiverse."

Her eyes widened.

"Th-that's... Um..." She said, "I-I don't even know what to say... how much time do we have?"

"Enough," Traveller answered, "But I'm gonna be starting his training soon, better to do it too early than too late."

She nodded somberly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't want to be alone again..." She moped.

I smiled.

"Oh, no, I won't be gone for longer than a few seconds," I said, "Well... a few hours for me, but a few seconds for you. You know what I mean?"

"Oh, so like a Time Rift?" She asked hopefully.

"It's similar, yeah," I confirmed.

"That makes a lot of sense!" She beamed, "Could I come, too?"

I shook my head.

"It's a place between dimensions. You wouldn't be able to tell what was going on," I explained.

"Oh... okay," She replied.

Out of nowhere, Traveller cleared his throat. I'd forgotten he was there.

"I'll be going now. But first..." He said.

He tossed something to me, it looked like a small, black, glitching crystal.

"If you ever need to contact me, hold that to the sky and focus your energy into it. It'll emanate a signal only I can detect, from anywhere in the Multiverse," He explained, "But, please, only use it if absolutely necessary, I'm very, very busy."

I nodded.

"Alright. Duly noted," I said, "Bye."

He waved nonchalantly, and disappeared.

"So... about that multiverse thing..." The kid muttered.

"Please, don't worry yourself about it," I begged, "We already know people who can help. And we have a lot of time before it actually becomes an imminent problem. We just know that it's going to happen sometime in the near future, if you get what I mean."

"So you're absolutely sure that it'll work out?" She asked.

"Positive," I answered determinedly.

She sighed and nodded.

"Okay, I'll believe you," She said, "I just hope I can be there when it happens... it'd be so cool to watch the multiverse be saved!"

"I'll try to make it happen," I assured her, "As long as it doesn't put you in any danger."

She nodded.

Silence took over the room shortly afterward.

I scratched my head.

"Well... do you remember if we had any plans for today? Cause I don't," I chuckled.

"When do we have to go back to the Metro again?" She asked.

Oh, right. Empress said that she wanted us back in a week's time, a few days ago. But I knew it hadn't been a week yet. It'd been... what, three... four days? Something like that?

"We still have a couple days," I answered, "And I doubt we'd be starting recording with the directors only one day after talking with them, so..."

"Subcon?" She asked, "Snatcher's probably getting reeeaaallyy impatient."

"That works for me," I agreed.

So, we got ready for the day, then hopped down to the forest.

I began walking toward his tree, only to stop and notice something: he wasn't there.

I walked into his tree and poked around, expecting him to be trying a jumpscare again.

Still nothing.

"Peculiar," I said.

I turned around and walked out, still a little bit on guard in case he was trying a new tactic to get to me.

"Let's head to the village," I suggested, and the kid nodded.

We began walking down the path to the village until we got there.

When I got there, I saw something I wasn't expecting.

"Well... uh... guess we found Snatcher," I muttered.

He was standing there in the center of the village, barking out orders and wearing a... construction helmet?

We slowly approached, and he whipped around to face us.

"Oh, fantastic! Couldn't have picked a better time to come bother me!" He cackled, "I don't care what you say this time. We're putting you to work."

"That's... why I'm here," I muttered.

"Good, then I shouldn't hear any complaining!" He shouted with a grin.

He then popped a construction hat on my head.

"Go and talk with each of the minions. They'll have tasks for you to do. If the kid wants to help out, I don't care, but I don't have a helmet for her," He ordered.

I merely nodded.

"Then get to it! There's ten of them that all have a bunch of work to be done!"

A minion next to a stump waved to me and I walked over.

"Well, let's get this over with," I grumbled, "What do you need?"

"This stump is getting old and rotted out inside. I need a new place to live," They explained, "Doesn't need to be anything big or fancy, we're just minions after all, but I need something."

"Do you have anything in mind?" I asked.

"Yep, already got the materials and stuff. I just need your handiwork!" They answered happily, gesturing toward a pile of lumber and whatever, "I'll go grab the blueprints."

They ran off.

I shook my head and sighed at how miserable this was going to be.

I felt something pulling on my sleeve, and looked down to see the kid smiling up at me.

"Don't count me out of this!" She exclaimed, "We're a team, remember?"

"Have you ever built any houses before, kid?" I asked her.

"Have you?"

I was silent.

"Good point," I admitted, "Well, if you wanna help out so badly, promise me you won't do anything rash, okay?"

"I promise I won't do anything crazy," She stated, "I'm leaving all the crazy with you, anyway."

I laughed.

"Rich coming from you, kid," I said.

She smiled and ran off.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

The minion returned with the blueprints, waving them frantically.

They unfurled them and showed them to me. It was extremely simple, more like a shed than an actual house.

Well, if this is all the minion needed, it was fine by me. Wouldn't be too bad...

... Or so I thought.

Fast forward not very long, I'm cursing under my breath as nail after nail after nail keeps bending as I try to pound it into place with a hammer, we cut a piece of lumber too short, blah blah blah...

Well, you could tell I'd never done this kind of work, that's all I could say. The minion wasn't much better.

But eventually, after what was probably hours, we got it done.

We stood inside the finished product. It was pretty cramped, but there was enough space for a bed or whatever the minion needed. They were undead, how would I know what an undead minion needs to live (as oxymoronic as that sounds)?

"Thanks for the help!" The minion shouted, "I'll move my stuff in myself."

The sound of a minion shouting, followed by a crash was heard.

I frowned, having a good idea as to what was happening outside.

"That sounds like my cue," I grumbled, running outside.

I searched for the source of the crash, only to find the kid flopped over on a pile of lumber and whatnot, clearly stunned, and a concerned minion watching it.

I sighed.

"What happened here?" I asked blankly.

The kid slowly got up and gave a sheepish smile.

"I, um..." She said, "Oops."

I sighed.

"Just what I thought would happen," I grumbled, "How about we work together?"

She hopped off and walked up next to me, staring at the failed abode.

"Yeah... I probably should've thought of that," She muttered.

"Eh, no matter. It's not a big deal, as long as this material can be reused," I reasoned.

"Should be able to," The minion said, "We didn't do much."

"Good," I said.

Me and the kid looked at eachother.

"Let's get to work."


"Wow... you're still here?"

I wiped sweat from my brow and turned around to face Snatcher. I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but we'd managed to get halfway through the contract, only five minions were left that required assistance.

"I'm not the kind of person who likes to leave tasks unfinished," I muttered.

He nodded, seemingly impressed.

"I hate to admit it, but I can respect that," He said, "I wasn't expecting this much progress to be done, though. Remember to take breaks, it sure would be a shame if you worked yourselves to DEATH! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"If you say so," I muttered, tossing the hat toward him, "We'll be back tomorrow to finish up, if that works for you."

"Sure does!" He agreed as he caught the hat effortlessly, "Now get your kid and scram!"

I chuckled and walked away to go grab the kid.

She was sat down on a small stump, taking a break after we'd finished our latest task.

"Ready to go?" I asked her.

She stood up and nodded.

"Let's go, then," I said.

Not long after and we were back in the ship.

"Not gonna lie, I don't think this is gonna be quite as bad as I was expecting," I said.

"But doesn't he have six more contracts after this?" She asked.

"Well, it's still gonna take awhile, but we should be done in, what, a month at most?" I explained, "I was expecting this to be a real long-term effort."

She shrugged.

"I guess we're gonna come back tomorrow to finish?" She guessed.

"Yep," I confirmed, "Should be faster, too, now that we know what we're doing..."

She gave me a skeptical look.

"... somewhat..."

She giggled.

"I'm gonna go play video games. Wanna join?" She asked, "I think we'll do something cooperative this time, instead of competitive!"

"Don't we have another movie to watch?" I asked.

Her face lit up.

"Oh yeah! I completely forgot," She replied, "It's the one DJ Grooves gave us, right?"

I nodded and got the dvd out of its case to give it to the kid, then sat down.

"No better time to watch it than now," She said, taking the other dvd out and putting the new one in.

What she did with the old one made me want to pull my hair out.

She just... put it down on top of the television, face up!

"Kiiiiiiiiiid!" I groaned, "You can't just leave discs like that! Put it back where it belongs, please!"

She was clearly surprised.

"Oh!" She said, then quickly put it back in its case. "Sorry, hehe..."

I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Let's just get this started, alright?" I asked.

She plopped down next to me and started the movie.

We worked hard today, watching a movie definitely seemed like a good way to relax after all that.

However!

I think we both knew that it was only just getting started.

A/N: Welp. The writer's block has returned, and it's come back with a vengeance.

My problem is that it takes me forever to think of cohesive ideas, no matter what I'm doing. Like, yeah, sometimes I can get on a roll and think of amazing ideas one after the other, but once that ends it's just... *raspberry noise*

But I've said this before. About the chapter itself: two interesting things happened at once at the start of this chapter. A strange dream, and now the Multiverse itself could be in danger. Hmmm...

Oh, and they're finally starting to clear out their second batch of contractual obligations! Good for them! Heheh.

Review time:

Phantaum: You sound so confident! And, I imagine you're talking about while they were watching the movie? I was hoping you guys would like it. Thanks again!

Now that all that's cleared up, see y'all next chapter.