Chapter 8 – Explanations
Now for those who are confused as to why a live-action character isn't at all phased that and animated character is in the same room as him and vice versa, allow me to explain a few things. While me, you readers and of course G sees everyone in their own style in this story, to the characters themselves they only see everyone else in the same style as they are. Still confused? Well let me put it more simply, live action characters see everyone else as live action and the animated characters see everyone as animated, most likely in the same style as them. The only down side is the fact that while the styles are different to each character, the species will stay the same throughout all of creation, meaning that no matter what style they are in, everyone will always see the group as the bunch of misfits they are. Luckily, Edward seemed to be a big of a misfit as everyone else, thus he was able to look past their appearance.
"It's good to see you again Edward," G said, giving his friend a tap on the shoulder. "I hope things have been well with you?"
"They have," Edward replied with a light smile. "Who are…?"
"They're people who need help Edward," G replied quickly, knowing exactly what the scissor-handed person was going to ask. "Trust me when I say they've been through a lot during the past couple of days."
"Well that's putting it lightly," Lug commented sarcastically.
Suddenly, before anyone else could speak, another voice echoed in the mansion.
"Edward?" said a gentle voice from the top of the stairs. "Is… is someone else there?"
G's eyes widened at that.
"Who is that?" Nyx asked, hearing the voice loud and clear.
"Edward?" G added, wanting to know himself.
At those words Edward looked at his strange friend with a hint of fear in his eyes.
"She came here yesterday," he finally said.
Edward then looked up towards the stairs and called up, albeit as best as he could muster given his naturally soft voice.
"It's okay," he said. "They are friends."
It was then that everyone heard the footsteps of someone walking down the stone staircase, even though it were softened by the pads on her feet. Who, or rather what came down the stairs was nothing anyone bar G had ever seen in their lifetime, for she was a fox in both beauty and in literal physiology. She was a fox that stood over 5 feet tall much like a human would, and even though she wore an assortment of human clothes and had a head of chestnut hair that flowed down to her waist, there was no mistaking the lovely red fur that covered her from her fox ears and tail save for a few black patches that covered her hands and feet, along with the tips of her ears and tail. To say that this creature was shy would have been an understatement, in fact judging from the look in her baby blue eyes, she looked absolutely terrified.
"Who… who are you?" she asked nervously.
However while everyone else gave a formal introduction, G was beside himself.
"Oh crap," he muttered under his breath.
Of course there was a reason for G's distress, even though he had travelled to different worlds at different points in time, he had always been sure to keep to that certain story's timeline to make sure he didn't backtrack himself. Due to this G knew for a fact that THIS particular character shouldn't even be alive at this point. It could have been possible that she came from a different reality where she had survived her ordeal, but judging from the smell of her, she definitely came from the canon piece. This in turn could only mean that the damage to the walls of creation must have been so bad that it's now leaking raw ideas which in turn is bringing back characters that had already had their lives written to an end. This of course only made things harder for G in his mission, and what's worse is the fact that he had rarely made a start yet.
"And who are you if I may ask, lass?" Lug asked politely, giving a small bow after making his own introduction.
"M… my name is Laura," The fox-girl answered nervously. "And you are…?"
At this point Laura was looking directly at G, who at this point seemed to be staring into space in thought until Goggles slapped him out of it.
"Aye," Mossy said. "I think we are ALL due an explanation lad."
At this point everyone was looking at G with a stern gaze, all except for Edward and Laura who only looked in confusion. Sighing in defeat, G finally began to spill the beans.
"Well first thing's first," he said. "Edward, would you mind telling me how Laura came here. Was there a large crack somewhere?"
"Yes," Edward said simply pointing a scissor towards the door. "Just outside the front gate."
G nodded at that, expecting as much before looking towards Laura.
"And would you mind telling me what you remember miss?" he asked, much to Laura's surprise. "Anything at all before you came here?"
Laura's nerves seemed to take a beating upon hearing that, she had to had been one of the most timid creatures anyone had ever seen, still she tried her best to answer.
"N… Not much," she admitted. "A… all I remember is a huge explosion, after that I woke up in front of this place."
It wasn't much of an answer but it was enough to give G a better understanding of the situation at hand.
"Thank you Laura," he said gently, earning himself a small smile from the fox-girl. "Now, explanations… you might want to sit down for this."
Neither one of them liked where this was going but still they were finally about to get some much needed explanations and were obliged to acquiesce the strange being's request, some found some comfort sitting on the conveyor belt, other were fine with the floor, and Lug simply grabbed a nearby stool and sat down. With everyone seated, G began his story.
"Okay, how do I explain this?" he said, trying to find the right words to say. "Have either of you ever heard of the theory of alternate worlds?"
This earned him many confused looks and some angry gazes, G would have to become a bit more serious if he had any hope of convincing this crowd that he was trying to help them.
"Well I'm what's known as a Dimensional Jumper," he continued, earning himself more raised eyebrows. "Basically I spend my days jumping from one world to the next, seeking out all kinds of adventures and meeting new people like Edward here."
At those words everyone looked at Edward, who only looked back at them with an awkward smile.
"Wait, have you ever been to MY world?" Nyx asked, her curiosity peeking.
"Or mine?" Goggles added, wising to know himself.
G couldn't help but smile at this.
"Yes and yes," he answered. "Of course given my appearance I couldn't let anyone see me, so I have this built in disguise magic that helps me bland into the background. Edward here is one of the few beings in existence who knows my true form."
"That's all well and good lad, but I think we need some info as to why we've taken a little trip through those cracks!" Lug pointed out, everyone nodding in agreement as he said it.
"It would be nice to have some closure as to why this is happening," Laura added nervously.
G couldn't help but gulp upon hearing that, he knew he had to say something but he couldn't exactly blurt out the fact that everyone here is a character in a story, so he thought it best to twist the truth just a little.
"Well that's where things get a bit more complex," he admitted. "You see, I live in my own dimension between worlds, call it a Dimensional Station if you will, a place where I can travel to any world any time I want. Now normally my methods of coming and going between these planes is one of my most well-kept secrets but… well… I screwed up."
Goggles narrowed his eyes at that.
"Explain," he demanded bluntly.
"Uh… well I…" he stuttered, nervously tugging at his vest before sighing in defeat. "Alright, normally I'm supposed to check every angle around me, but unfortunately in one particular case I didn't and… I was followed."
Nyx couldn't help but gasp at that.
"Followed by who?" she asked.
"Pirates," G replied with a heavy sigh. "Somehow they followed me into my home dimension, when I confronted them and tried to send them back, a fight broke out. I tried as best as I could but the fight caused some damage to my home, and because by realm is in the centre of all creation it caused a ripple effect that spread to every world in existence, which came in the form of those cracks you all saw."
It was then that everyone seemed to gain some form of understanding as to what was going on, granted they were sceptical and didn't understand it fully save for Goggles given the fact that he had the biggest brain in the room, but at least they were getting more information than they did before they met G.
"The cracks, as you can probably already figure out, are the reason you all got swallowed up into different dimensions," G continued. "And as such they seal up as quickly as they open up due to a failsafe in my home world, but that can only do so much. If I don't find a way back home to fix the damage properly, the cracks will continue to appear across the multiverse and suck in everything and everyone close to them, sending them to different worlds in the process."
"So why haven't you done it already?" Mossy asked sceptically.
"Because I've been locked out!" G retorted. "Another part of the failsafe is that whenever a crack appears and seals itself, it also closes off the dimension to anyone in order to prevent any more losses to it. In other words a being can LEAVE their world but no one can go back to it afterward."
However that had to have been the worst possible choice of words anyone could ever say in this situation, especially when there was a young child in the room.
"Y… you mean I… I won't be able to see my mom again," Nyx whimpered, her cheek now streaming with tears.
Needless to say, G felt horrible once he realised that what he said had hit the filly hard, in fact he couldn't help but bite his tongue in shame. Seeing the young girl's distress Laura quickly ran over to her and gave her a gentle embrace.
"It's okay little one," she said, soon upon the verge of tears herself. "Th… there has to be a way we can fix this, right?"
"Didn't ya hear what the lad said!?" Lug yelled in response. "Even HE can't get back home, we're stuck!"
However that statement only earned him a smack across the head from Goggles.
"That's NOT helping!" he snapped.
"I may not be able to get back home now but I can figure something out!" G added.
"How?" Spud asked sceptically.
G once again gulped at that.
"I… I don't know yet," he admitted. "But I swear to all of you, I WILL make this right."
However nobody seemed to be convinced in the slightest, in fact G's very words only made them feel worse. Eventually G eventually gave up trying to explain himself and made his way to the door.
"Where are you going now?" Goggles demanded, his concern shared by everyone in the room.
"To get some food," G responded bluntly. "I have a feeling that we're gonna be here a while and I doubt there's anything decent to eat in this place. No offence Edward."
Edward merely shrugged at that remark.
"Oh and just how are you supposed to get around like that?" Mossy asked sceptically, taking note of how everyone had to sneak through a number of back gardens earlier.
Hearing this, G smirked and spun around like a tornado, suddenly stopping as he transformed into a typical looking human in a woolly jacket and a trucker hat, the only giveaway to his true appearance being the glowing heart in his chest that the jacket easily concealed.
"I have my methods," he responded smugly. "Keep an eye on them Edward, I'll be back as soon as I can."
And with that, G then walked out the front door, leaving everyone else alone in the mansion. As he walked down the path back down the mountain, G's mind soon turned back to the memories of his home and the fears he carried, wondering what sort of devastation those pirates have done while he was gone.
#
Meanwhile, the said pirates had their own problems. After being struck both with fear and Rahzar's multiple punches, Foxy was finally spilling everything he knew about where everyone was and how they got there. At this point everyone was surrounding the beaten up body of Foxy in the file room, he entire body covered in bruises and trickles of blood.
"So you're saying that this 'G' character is the one responsible for us being here?" Rahzar growled inquisitively.
"Yeah," Foxy whimpered "He's the one you want, I swear."
Of course Foxy would deny his involvement in this situation no matter how much pressure he was under, after all he was a natural born liar. What he actually told them was that G had kidnapped him and his two comrades for his own amusement, and when they tried to fight back he damaged the walls in desperation, thus causing all of the cracks that brought them to this world. Of course nobody believed him at first given what Bebop discovered in the filing room, however Foxy was able to talk his way around it by saying that after G was caught up by his own attack and sucked away, Foxy took the opportunity to gather some potential crewmates by their own choice, the latter part of that statement being completely false of course.
"What do you think Miss Chi?" Kneesocks asked the Demon Princess. "You seem to be the expert on this creature, perhaps you can give us some perspective."
Chi couldn't help but scowl at those words, granted she didn't like being stuck in some strange realm but she didn't like selling out her friend either, however if there was any truth to Foxy's words and if any information she divulged would help in getting her home then she had no choice but to talk.
"Well I wouldn't say I'm an expert," she admitted. "But I have met G multiple times whenever he came into my world, and I never would have expected him to do something like this. However G is also somewhat unpredictable, so there could be some truth to this whelp's story."
"Do you have any better explanations!?"Porche snapped, trying to defend her Captain's honour.
However all that earned her was a series of fierce growls from all of the mutants.
"Look none of this matters yo!" Bebop snapped, much to everyone's surprise. "Even if what split-head said was true, we're still stuck here."
"Comrade Bebop is right," Rocksteady pointed out. "As far as we can tell, this G person is only one who knows how to travel to other worlds."
Everyone sighed at that, no matter how much they hated to admit it to themselves, the fact still remained, G WAS the only one that truly knew how this place worked and without him, there might not be any way for any of them to get home. However that was when Foxy's sly, twisted mind began plotting and a grin appeared on his face.
"Who says we do need him?" he asked, much to everyone's surprise.
"What are you talking about, fool?" Scanty asked with a deathly glare.
Despite Foxy's fearful gulp, he tried his best to answer the demon girl.
"Well, think about it," he said, trying to regain his composure. "If this G person left behind details of all the different worlds, then it would stand to reason that he had instructions somewhere in this filing room. As such, he would have written down how he travelled to each world and how he comes back, which means that if my hunch is correct then we have the power all to ourselves."
This idea certainly caught everyone's interest, however there was one flaw that Foxy failed to recognise.
"And just what is stopping G from coming back?" Scanty asked.
"Yeah, I know G pretty well and he's not exactly one to take things lying down," Chi added. "Especially when you try to take his things, right Mimi?"
Mimi nodded at that, though still kept her stoic expression and remained silent. Foxy only the other hand, merely chuckle.
"Fehefefefefefefefe! What's stopping him you say?" he laughed. "Why US of course, even if he does find a way back then we will be here waiting for him when he does. And if he causes us any trouble then all we need do is… dispose of him."
Everyone gasped upon hearing that, and while Chi and Mimi still looked shocked at answer, most of the other's faces obtained an evil grin.
"So what do you say, my friends?" Foxy continued, his stature now strengthening as he tried to stand up. "Will you simply try to find your way home, or will you aid me and my crewmates in mastering this realm, perhaps you can even find a few good warriors to bring back home with you eh?"
It was then that everyone began to think on the situation. While Porche and Hamburg were with their Captain every step of the way, the mutants were sceptical, the demon sisters were analysing every possible outcome if they considered the idea, and Chi and Mimi merely looked at each other with concern, after all G was Chi's friend and neither one of them liked the idea of possibly killing him. Finally a decision was made.
"It would be interesting to see what kinds of ghosts we can create from beings from other worlds," Kneesocks said, Scanty nodding in agreement.
"And Master Shredder will definitely be interested in expanding his empire," Rahzar added, much to Bebop and Rocksteady's delight.
However there was one voice that wasn't so keen.
"I still think we should at least try to find G first," she suggested. "After all he might still have some information that we might find useful."
That may have been what Chi had said out loud but Mimi knew her friend too well to know that it wasn't entirely why she said it. In truth Chi simply wanted to find G too make sure that he was okay, however she couldn't let these mongrels know her true intentions otherwise they might go for HER instead of Foxy, and her powers hadn't been fully developed yet so she couldn't exactly defend herself even with Mimi's abilities, especially against Scanty and Kneesocks. Luckily everyone else seemed to agree with her suggestion.
"Da, I would very much like to meet this G," Rocksteady said.
Foxy on the other hand merely scoffed.
"You would be wasting your time," he said, trying to sound as pompous as ever. "There are many windows on those walls, there is no telling which one he's in."
At those words, Kneesocks raised an eyebrow, there was definitely something off about the way Foxy said that, as if he were trying to hide something. However that was when her look of concern turned into a sly grin.
"But it's just like you said needle-nose," she pointed out. "If this G person has information about how the portals work…"
"… then there may be some information written down about how we can find a specific person." Scanty finished, knowing exactly where her little sister was going with the conversation.
That made Foxy more nervous than ever before, with his own words turned against him he began to panic, if G WAS found and he revealed the truth about what truly happened in his home then Foxy would have been screwed big time. He needed a plan, and he needed quick.
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Author's Notes:
The Character Nyx belongs to Pen Stroke / :iconPenstrokepony:
The Character Laura belongs to :icontwokinds:
The Characters Chi and Mimi belong to :iconbleedman: