Hello again. This is the second chapter of T.Id, and it isn't really any better than the first. It might even be worse. Sorry. Anyway, Rose's feelings and subsequently losing it is drawn from my own personal experiences. I know those feelings to the point that it was very tough to write. Honestly, this whole mess is proving far more difficult than I ever thought it would be. But enough of my desperate attempts to lower reader expectations, here's the second chapter of Titans Interdimensional. Enjoy.

Titans Interdimensional
Somewhere Between Here and the Moon
World 1-2: Reflections on a Lonely Night

By the time they near the campsite, the temperature has dropped significantly, though still ridiculously hot, and the wind is howling to the point that Rose is looking like a human cape, hanging on to Zee's neck for dear life, body fully outstretched. They can feel the rain steadily creeping closer as they inwardly pray for it to hold off just a little bit longer.

Two environmental suited scientists are finishing putting away the last of the sensitive equipment in one of the vehicles surrounding a somewhat small and entirely nondescript building, when they notice the intrepid adventurers about 100 yards away, running for their lives, a wall of rain chasing not much more than a first down's worth of yards behind them. They quickly stow the last thing and run out a short distance to meet the ragged trio; ushering them past the encirclement of vehicles and into the safety of the warehouse type building less than four seconds before it is overcome by the severe weather.

Once inside they are greeted by the uncertain stares of a little more than two dozen scientists, reporters, and military personnel. The two scientists run over to a fairly young looking, and somehow vaguely familiar, female scientist and explain the situation.

Meanwhile, Rose's gaze has fallen on a strangely dressed young man leaning on a giant pen who seems oblivious to everything going on around him. He is just shy of six feet tall with a goatee and kind of long and very dark hair that seems slightly bluish in the poorly lit room. Flight goggles adorn his head, and he wears formal looking, but out of place, blue flight suit looking attire the likes of which she has never seen before. And whatever it is she's thinking about while she stares at him, it's making her blush… a lot.

Finally the woman walks up to them. "You kids made it just in time. I'm Dr. Corella Forrest, interim head of field research for the Ministry of Science."

"I'm Zee, this is Julio, and the small one is Rose," Zee introduces himself and his friends.

"I must ask where you came from. This is dangerous territory," she says motioning to a mean looking foursome of heavily armed military types and the guy with the giant pen. "There are bandits, terrorists, and malevolent beasts on the frontier. So what are you?"

"Would you believe we're from another dimension?" Julio asks.

Not even raising an eyebrow, Dr. Forrest says, "You would not be the first, should it be proven. Dr. Rusch, come over here please. And bring that vibrational frequency analyzer with you."

"Right away, Dr. F.," a lanky young man with dark skin wearing coke-bottle glasses and a red bowtie says in a nasally voice.

Rose, still ogling the pen guy, notes something about Dr. Rusch causes him to roll his eyes in annoyance and mutter something to the effect of "over doing it a bit" under his breath.

"You can tell if we're from another dimension?" Zee asks. "Can your device tell us exactly what dimension we are from?"

"Unfortunately, no. It can only tell whether or not you are from this dimension. Dr. Rusch has narrowed down the vibrational frequency of this universe. If your vibrational rate differs from this universe, then congratulations, you're exonerated from the suspicion of being a spy for AEGenesis, or a bandit. However, Mister Julio here may still be considered a malevolent beasty," she smiles, gently tugging on one of his doglike ears, making him writhe in discomfort.

Zee thinks he notices something unusual about Dr. Forrest when Dr. Rusch arrives, breaking his train of thought. "Okay, who do we have who needs to-" he suddenly stops, as Rose finally looks up and instantly recognizes him through his disguise.

"Jason?" she asks.

He looks like he is about to cry for a second, but manages to stay in character. "Yes, that is my given name. Do you know another version of me from out there somewhere?"

Recognizing Jason's scent and realizing he must be undercover, Julio answers before anyone can dig him further into the hole. "Uh, yeah. That must be it. We've met other versions of you a few times in our travels."

Taking a deep breath, the undercover scientist begins to scan the trio. "The results will take a bit longer on this portable model. Sorry for the inconvenience."

After he finishes the scanning process, he walks back to the back of the room, concentrating a little too hard on the VFA's readout. When he gets back to his position, he begins to quietly speak to the pen guy, who nods in agreement.

Finally, the pen guy speaks, though barely audible, his voice strangely gentle and melodic to Julio's distant but highly sensitive ears. "So, you know these children, officer Rusch?"

"Yes, but they are not children, Sammy. They are much more. Children, as you imply it, couldn't do what they can," Jason responds. "And I was promoted since our last encounter. I am Detective 3rd Class Rusch."

"Humph, some promotion: ending up undercover in a weird place like this. So, is there something going down here? All these people seem to be acting a little... off," Sammy mutters.

"In a couple of ominous words: yes, something. In a few more: evil shodowy conspiracy type organization is trying to take over the world." Ding! "Sorry to cut this short, but the results are in. Must report. Ciao," Jason says as he heads back to the front of the building, leaving Sammy to ponder why a high-tech device like the VFA dings like an old microwave.

Arriving back up front, Jason confirms the wayward trio's other-dimensional origins, noting that none of them share a common frequency. Upon accepting Dr. Rusch's findings, Dr. Forrest lets the trio go mingle amongst the crowded room, answering as many of the barrage of questions as they can, and relating the occasional adventure until nightfall.

It is about 2am when Zee gives up on sleep and sneaks out into the now lighter rain, leaping up several feet onto the roof of the building. He slowly and cautiously removes his headband to reveal an intimidating, demonic looking third eye on his forehead. From the eye great power emanates. It glows eerily in the lonely, rainy, mostly overcast night. After a few tense seconds of burning pain, the eye's power ebbs. The sullen young warrior crosses his legs, closes eyes, and raises his head skyward into the stinging acid rain and begins to meditate.
A short while after Zee left to meditate, a small keychain light comes on in the stuffy, crowded warehouse-like building. It belongs to a depressed looking Rose.

"What're you still doing up, kiddo?" it is the soothing and somewhat reflective tone of Sammy.

"Just thinking, I guess, Mr. Pen Guy," she responds softly, lost in thought.

"The night does that. And please, call me Sammy," the pen guy says.

"Okay," she tries not to blush.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks.

"The past," she says, slowly sitting up, tears beginning to form in her eyes against her will.

"Oh. What about the past?" Sammy prods further.

"It's just, I don't know. I just… I don't know why I'm even here sometimes. It's everything, it all seems so messed up, you know?" she looks at the Sammy with a pained expression.

Yeah, actually, I kinda do," a reassuring smile crosses his mostly obscured facial features. "I understand what you're talking about way too well. Hmm... I'm thinking it was an unplanned happening that you ended up with the Amazing Dog-Boy and the Angst Factory."

"Don't get me wrong. They are my big brothers and I love them to death, and all things considered, circumstances couldn't have turned out much better for me. I just don't really feel like I belong here. I feel like I'm in everybody else's way. I didn't ask for any of this. It seems like the only things I want are out of reach. I just…" her voice abandons her, tears start streaming down her face.

Sammy walks over and sits down next to Rose. "I recognize those tears," he says, forcing back his own. "I know them well. I've been at the point where you're at. God, it still seems like yesterday. But you know what, there's something I've learned. Not all of us are meant for normal lives. As soon as you accept what fate has given you, life becomes a whole lot easier out here.

"And when you feel lost and alone, you should know that every D-Runner who's ever been and every one who ever will be feels like that at least some of the time. Even your… huh? Hey! What the?" Sammy hears a raspy breath next to him and looks down to see Rose slumped up against his arm, asleep.

He tries in vain to say something. After a few minutes of looking around, he finally accepts defeat, resting his head in his hands and just sitting there, feeling like an idiot.

Jason, far more asleep than awake in his corner, mutters almost inaudibly between breaths, "Heh… I thought... the sent-iment was... lovely… and the words… so true. Double jointed… pinball machine."

In a dark void where two minds meet and become one, at a lone table with two chairs and two cups of herbal tea sits a demure and deathly pale girl dressed in a black costume and flowing hooded cloak wrapped loosely around her; shrouding her face mostly in darkness. She appears to be awaiting the arrival of the person who sits across from her.

Finally, a stockily built boy with three eyes walks out of the darkness toward the empty chair. He wears a bandana-mask made of a torn swatch of cape and a fairly loose fitting black muscle shirt and shorts with several shades of blue diamond pattern running the length of the front and sides. The pattern also appears on his gloves, the sleeves around his biceps and forearms, and on his shoes and shin guards.

"You look different," the shadowy girl says dryly. "What's the occasion?"

"Times are changing. My days as Doc are long over. I don't even recognize myself when I wear the getup attached to that name anymore. It's good to see you again too, by the way, Rae," the boy with three eyes says somewhat cheekily.

"Likewise, Zeran," his cloaked counterpart motions him over and moves his seat out for him with but a nonchalant wave of her aura shrouded hand.

"Touché, my dear Raven," he bows before sitting down. "What is on the agenda today?"

"I dunno. You got anything to talk about?" Raven asks as she sips her herbal tea.

"Err, it so happens I do. Something big is about to go down wherever it is Julio, Rose & me are. We've only been here one night, but there is a feeling in the air. A sense of impending doom. Whatever is going to go down, it seems like it could happen at any time. Even Firestorm seems nervous," Zee says in a deadly serious tone.

"Do you sense malevolent forces at work?"

"No I don't, and that worries me. I should at least be feeling something, as uptight as I'm sensing these people are."

"Maybe what they are afraid of isn't as evil as they think, Zee," Raven offers. "Or maybe those you have come in contact with could themselves be the evil element, fearful of being overthrown."

"I don't think so. I don't sense anything that qualifies as even marginally evil from anywhere on the entire planet, let alone here. And my powers are flowing like they maybe never have before. There doesn't seem to be anything bad intentioned about this place. I don't know what we've walked in to this time, but something is very not right. Not good," Zee grumbles, downing his entire cup of blistering hot tea.

"This isn't going to help quell the whole nickname thing, is it?" Raven asks as sympathetically as she can muster.

"No, it definitely isn't. I guess I had better get back. I sense something amiss in my conscious surroundings. Until our next."

" Until our next. Oh, and say hello to Jason for me.," Raven says, raising her cup as if to toast Zee's departure.

"You know our waking minds are not capable of remembering anything from here," he says, walking back into the darkness. He stops suddenly. "Have you ever heard of AEGenesis?"

"AEGenesis?" she thinks for a brief moment. "No. I don't believe so."

"Okay. Just thought I'd check," Zee says as he disappears into the abyss.

End of World 1-2

Mercifully, it ends. This one was rough on me and it probably shows. I'll try to make the next chapter better. Stay tuned.