S1-137
Enhance, synch, visit, assemble
1:47 PM
08/21/3272
Planet Gridiron
IMC Training Ground Whitehead facility
Music
Metroid: Samus Returns - Surface
It had been a long time since Thanos was eradicated from the universe at the hands of the Shadow, saving all life from his reign for eternity as the Infinity Stones were now under ownership of the Traveler.
Today, Michael had been going through a customized training course to match the reaction time and maneuverability that the SenseMove ability required Samus to have. He kept pushing himself to reach that sort of mobility, dodging energy blast after energy blast, but he still wasn't getting there. Whenever he tried to time it just right, he either fumbled on the ground or got vaporized by the Anti-Titan turrets, only to be brought back by his Ghost.
Titan Sentry [Turret Plasma Bolt] Michael
Titan Sentry [Turret Plasma Bolt] Michael
Titan Sentry [Turret Plasma Bolt] Michael
"{C'mon, Michael! You can't give up now! You've got this!}" Rocco cheered him on, believing in his Guardian's capabilities.
Just before Michael could try another round, a large gunship flew in. Samus had arrived, but Michael was too focused. He activated the Titan Sentries for another round, only for Samus to remotely deactivate them, gaining his attention. "What are you doing, Michael?" She asked.
"I still can't figure out all that mobility you have. How do you do it?!"
"I've been training with the Chozo for most of my childhood, and I was infused with their DNA." Samus explained.
Michael came to a conclusion. "SenseMove might not be the best ability to try and learn. What can you teach me?"
"Well, Pilots are capable of running on walls, so Kick Climb might be easy for you. Then there's Lethal Strike and Overblast, which we'll have to do in actual combat."
Michael nodded. "Got it."
1:54 PM
08/21/3272
Planet Mars - Meridian Bay
Rubicon Wastes
Music
Destiny - Exclusion Zone
They arrived on Mars, with Samus ready to teach Michael the Lethal Strike and Overblast. "Just watch and learn, Michael."
Samus then ran at a Red Legion Colossus, blasting it with a Super Missile to stagger it, then she pulled off an acrobatic maneuver that caused them both to roll on the ground, and Samus had yanked the Colossus up by the collar of its pressurized suit, unleashing a fully charged shot of the Plasma Beam pointblank in the head.
With the demonstration of the Lethal Strike concluded, Samus returned to Michael. "Go ahead. Your turn. Let's see what you've got."
A Vex Minotaur appeared, Torch Hammer at the ready. Michael ran up to it, then used his Spitfire to break its Void shield, staggering it. Now was his chance.
Michael lunged at the Minotaur, knocking it down and allowing him to place the receiving end of his Charge Rifle, while it was charging, right onto the radiolarian membrane in the construct's abdomen. The energy beam blasted through, evaporating the radiolarian fluid and severing the Minotaur's upper body from its waist, leaving Michael to toss the upper half away with its own momentum.
"Well done. That was impressive. The Lethal Strike is used on a staggered foe to finish them off."
"What's next?" Michael asked, his adrenaline spiking.
"The Overblast."
Michael followed Samus, discovering a few members of the House of Dusk. Samus ran at a Captain from behind, then jumped on its back, blasting it in the head with a fully charged Plasma Beam shot, then jumped off as the dead Captain's body fell to the ground.
A Vandal was further up ahead, and Michael took his chance. The Pilot jumped on the Vandal's shoulders, then unleashed the full charge of his Charge Rifle right into its cranium.
Michael jumped off, leaving the headless corpse to fall. "That was exhilarating!"
Samus couldn't help but smirk at Michael's enthusiasm. "Now for the Kick Climb, but we'll need a good place to do that."
2:13 PM
08/21/3272
Planet Elysia - Skytown Outpost
Security Station
Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Skytown
Once Michael and Samus had arrived in Skytown, they entered the Security Station, then arrived at a shaft which held strange wall surfaces. Samus somersaulted into one of them, and the thrusters on her Power Suit which were used with the Speed Booster briefly ignited as Samus swiftly jumped onto the other surface, Kick Climbing her way to the top in seconds before jumping back down. "Think you can handle that?"
"We'll see." Michael was confident in his capabilities. He jumped at the wall, finding that his JumpKit was helping him stay on its surface. The Pilot jumped off the wall and into the other, his JumpKit helping him up. It took him a while, but Michael finally reached the top, then jumped back down. "I need to work on my speed."
"No, no, it's fine. You did great!" Michael smiled at Samus's words, but still didn't believe he was fast enough.
12:37 AM
08/21/3272
Planet Vez-2 - Suburban Cul-de-sac
Aran-Johnson residence
Music
Chibi-Robo: Plug Into Adventure - Night Play
Back at the suburban cul-de-sac, where the reborn IMC's Pilots were known to live, Samus had tucked Jenny into bed, and was heading to bed herself, until she noticed something. Michael wasn't there, his Pilot equipment was missing, and Rocco was gone too.
Samus had a feeling she knew where he was, so she got on her PDA and made a call. "Aurora 217, this is Samus Aran. Do you know where Michael is?"
"Michael Johnson is currently in the Security Station in Skytown, jumping up the walls, hopping back down, and starting over. He appears to be gaining speed, yet his vital signs are nearing critically low levels. He is tiring himself out."
Samus rushed to the IMC HQ to get to her gunship and return to Skytown.
2:13 PM
08/21/3272
Planet Elysia - Skytown Outpost
Security Station
Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Skytown
Once Samus arrived, she made her way to where she taught Michael the Kick Climb.
Rocco was there, watching as the Pilot continued to jump off the walls at inhuman speeds. Samus stopped to observe his progress. He was actually executing the Kick Climb perfectly, and as fast as Samus!
"Michael, it's time to come home."
Once Michael jumped down again, he looked at Samus. "How... ~pant, pant~ How did... ~pant, wheeze~ How did I do...?" Before Samus could answer, he collapsed.
10:19 AM
08/22/3272
Planet Vez-2 - Suburban Cul-de-sac
Aran-Johnson residence
Music
Chibi-Robo: Plug Into Adventure - Broad Daylight
Michael awoke in his bed, his Pilot equipment hung up in the closet, and Rocco asleep on the nightstand. As he got up, the door opened, and a Frame walked in. Alder 99-40. "Good morning. Breakfast is served." The Frame brought in a plate with a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich, with three strips of bacon on the side, and a glass of milk.
After finishing his breakfast, waking Rocco, and getting dressed, Michael headed outside, seeing Samus sitting on the balcony. "Heh. I guess I should stop overworking myself, huh?"
"Yeah. You had me worried."
After a few moments of silence, a Taken rift opened nearby, and the Shadow had appeared from it, holding a Dimension Key. But it wasn't just any Key. It was the one that blew apart into fragments. It was reconstructed, and ahead of schedule.
"I thought you said it'd take a whole year to fix that Key!" Michael exclaimed.
"Yeah, I did. As it turns out, I was wrong."
At this point, Samus had an idea. "Do you think there might be a reason for the conflicting realities tearing us apart if we spend too long in a data world? What if the World Gate isn't entirely synchronized?"
"If that's true, then... Death, we'll have to speak to your Taken Vex about that."
"Right." The Shadow nodded.
11:42 AM
08/22/3272
Yionus's moon, Zuter - IMC testing site Echo-918
Chamber 137
Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Briefing Room & Ambience Theme
After speaking to the Taken Vex in charge of creating the Dimension Keys, as well as Omnigul, the Shadow came to a conclusion. "Aran, you're right. We need a sample from one of those data worlds in order to successfully synchronize the World Gate to them, removing the dimensional time limit."
Just like that, Michael opened the portal to dimension 9, then headed on through.
Dimension 9 - Undertale
Planet Earth - Mt Ebott
The Ruins
Music
Undertale - The Ruins
"Right. Sample. We need a sample." Michael said to himself as he strolled down the hallway, going the way opposite from the expedition his Fireteam had there a while back.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice. "Hey, buddy."
Michael turned around, seeing the source of the sound. "Oh. Hey, Sans. How have you been?"
"Alright. You?"
"We may have found a way to remove that seven hour dimension timer."
"Lay it on me."
"We theorize that the World Gate isn't properly synchronized to dimensions of a different reality. We need to take a sample."
"If it's a sample you need, here you go." Sans handed the Pilot a rock.
"As long as it's from a world of a different reality, it'll work. Thanks for the help, Sans." Michael headed back to the portal as Sans waved farewell.
Yionus's moon, Zuter - IMC testing site Echo-918
Chamber 137
Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Briefing Room & Ambience Theme
"Here's your sample, courtesy of Sans." Michael stated as he handed the Shadow the rock.
"Thank you, Michael. Let's see if this will work." The Shadow dropped the stone into a chute in the side of the console. The sample was processed as the World Gate was ready to resynchronize. The Shadow pulled out the rock and tossed it back through the portal as Michael used a Chrono-Extractor to remove the Dimension Key.
After a while, the World Gate's arch sparked, glowing like a Vex Transfer Gate. Once the glow died down, the Shadow reported the results. "World Gate synchronized. Let's see if it worked." Michael reopened the portal, yet it opened a blue rift instead of green.
Dimension 9 - Undertale
Planet Earth - Mt Ebott
The Ruins
Music
Undertale - The Ruins
The trio stepped through, and everything seemed normal... for traveling to another dimension with a different reality. Sans was there to greet them. "Heya."
"Yo." Michael greeted back.
Sans looked at the rift, seeing that it was a different color. "I'm guessing the World Gate is synchronized to our reality now?"
"Yep." Samus put plainly.
"Nice."
"Death, why not head back and tend to the Taken? We can handle things from here." Michael stated.
The Shadow nodded and went back through the portal, followed by Michael using the Chrono-Extractor.
"You wanna head back up to the surface? I got a shortcut." Sans offered.
"Sure." Michael agreed. Sans led them down into the darkened hallway, and they somehow ended up outside of the mountain.
Dimension 9 - Undertale
Planet Earth - Mt Ebott
The surface
Music
Super Mario Sunshine - Sirena Beach
"Cool shortcut, right?"
"How did we get up here?!" Michael questioned.
A voice could be heard nearby. "SANS, WHERE DID YOU GO?! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM VERY WORRIED ABOUT YOU, BROTHER!"
"I think we should pay Papyrus and the others a visit, don't you?" Samus asked.
They went down the hill, seeing Papyrus. "Papyrus! How have you been?"
"Oh! Michael! What a pleasant surprise! I was just looking for my brother. There you are, Sans. Where have you been?" The Great Papyrus asked his brother.
"Good. I just helped them with a little problem. The World Gate wasn't properly synchronized to other realities, so I gave them a sample, and now that seven hour counter is gone." Sans explained.
It was then that another of the monsters arrived. "Michael? Is that you?"
"Toriel." The ace Pilot nodded. "How are you?"
"I am doing well. Are you and Samus hungry?" Their growling stomachs answered the question. They only had breakfast, and it was lunchtime.
12:17 PM
08/22/3272
Music
Chibi-Robo: Plug Into Adventure - Broad Daylight
Toriel had to be a very nice monster to invite Michael and Samus to her home and fix them lunch. "So, which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch? Or would you like to try some snail pie?"
At this, Michael became confused. "Snail pie? I think it would be better to use your snails to make escargot."
"'Escargot'? What's that?"
Rocco appeared, then headed over to Toriel. "{Escargot is a delicacy served in France, Spain, Portugal, Catalonia, and North African countries. Can I help you cook?}"
"We'll have to ask your Guardian. Michael, is it OK if your Ghost helps me cook?" Toriel asked.
"Yeah, go ahead." Rocco and Toriel went into the kitchen, leaving Michael, Samus, and her Ghost to pass the time with small talk. "The things that happen when you explore during your spare time, am I right?"
"I have to admit, Michael, you've encountered some... bizarre company."
"{After lunch, you two wanna explore this world a bit more?}"
"Definitely." Samus replied.
Just then, the door opened, and Asgore came in. "I'm home!" He saw Michael and Samus at the table. "Howdy, you two. What brings you here?"
"Just visiting. How are you doing, Asgore?" Michael replied.
"Oh, quite well. And what about you?"
"I'm doing alright."
"Me too." Samus added.
"{I'm alright as well.}"
Eventually, Toriel walked out of the kitchen with a few plates of escargot. "Bon appétit." She said as Rocco returned to Michael, his shell covered in flour.
Michael got out of his chair. "I'll be right back. Rocco, with me." The blue-shelled Ghost followed his Guardian into the kitchen. He turned on the faucet, running some warm water. Rocco floated into the stream, taking an improvised shower to wash the flour off.
Once all the flour was gone and Michael turned off the water, Rocco spun his shell, shaking himself dry.
The Pilot returned to the table, then tried a bite of his lunch. The escargot had a very... interesting flavor to it. It was an acquired taste, so that would explain it. "That was... That was actually pretty good." Michael gave his compliments to the chef.
"Why, thank you, Michael! Rocco certainly does know quite a few things."
"{Thank you, ma'am.}"
Music
Undertale - sans.
With lunch over, Michael and Samus decided to pay the skeleton family a visit.
"What do you think those three are up too?" Samus asked.
"Not sure."
"{From what I can assume, that one named 'Gaster' is probably doing some scientific research or something.}" Rocco added.
"That's a reasonable assumption." Michael stated.
Upon arrival, they saw Sans and Papyrus training with dummies, keeping their capabilities sharp, while Gaster was simply observing and taking notes.
"Sans! Papyrus! Gaster!" Michael called out.
The skeletons turned their attention to the Pilots and the Ghost. "Oh! Michael, Samus, Rocco, welcome back!" Gaster greeted.
"We were just showing our father how much we've grown since... the accident." Sans stated.
"{You're gonna have to fill us in on this 'accident' at some point.}" Rocco pointed out.
"I know. We will." Gaster said as he put away his pencil and notebook.
"So, how are you doing, Gaster?" Samus asked.
"I'm doing well. What about you? How are you fairing?"
"I'm doing great."
While Samus and Gaster talked, Michael and Rocco decided to speak with Sans and Papyrus. "So... Error Sans and Ink Sans once thought I was a version of you, Sans."
"Can't say I see why." Sans replied.
"{Why don't we have a little comparison?}"
"Good idea, Rocco!" Papyrus praised.
Music
Super Smash Bros. Melee - Targets!
Sans formed a large creature skull out of nothing, then commanded the 'Gaster Blaster' to open fire on the dummy. The beam hit the large sandbag, causing quite a bit of damage. "Nicely done, Sans!"
"Your turn, Michael!"
Michael used his Light to form an Andromeda Cannon, then he fired it at the other sand-filled training dummy.
Music
none
The massive blast completely emancipated the dummy, leaving cubical voxels where it once stood, along with a good portion of the ground behind it having been derezzed. "WHOA! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" Sans screamed.
"That was from my Andromeda Cannon." Michael replied, showing Sans the wolf skull-like construct made from the Traveler's Light.
Papyrus rushed to where the old dummy once was, then plopped a new one in its place before running back out of the way. "Please continue, you two!"
Music (resume)
Super Smash Bros. Melee - Targets!
Sans made what looked like a bone pop out of the ground in front of the first dummy, which was impaled by the magic construct. "Your turn again."
Michael tried doing the same, but ended up causing numerous rock spikes break through from under the ground, puncturing the sandbag.
"OK, I will admit, that is actually pretty cool. How about teleportation?" Sans vanished, then reappeared on top of the house.
Michael jumped up, then used the Warlock Blink to disappear, ending up behind Sans on the roof. "Right behind you." Sans jumped out of his... Oh, right, he doesn't have skin.
"OK, wow, you're good." The short skeleton commented.
As Sans teleported back down to the ground, Michael jumped off their house, landing with little more than a light thud. "Care for a new challenge?" Michael asked as he formed two pedestals behind two walls made from the ground itself. "Break through the rock wall with your fist, grab the apple, and rip it back out, without using any magic." At this point, Gaster had placed an apple on each pedestal.
Sans tried to punch through his rock wall, but ended up hurting his hand, leaving not even a scratch on the stone surface.
Michael proceeded to break through his rock wall with his Spectre arm, take hold of the apple, pull it back through the hole, and take a bite out of the red fruit. "OK, Michael, you're physically stronger than I am." Sans admitted, grasping his aching bone hand.
"I think it's safe to say that if Michael was truly another version of you, he would be a vastly superior version." Gaster estimated. He was right.
Music
Undertale - sans.
"Yeah, but can he do this?" Sans used his powers, making an upside-down blue heart shape appear in front of Gaster's chest, causing the scientist to be lifted up into the air.
Michael examined this ability before coming to a conclusion. "No, but can you just come back to life in seconds?" Sans made Gaster fall into a chair before somehow conjuring some sort of statistic screen from thin air.
SANS
LV 1 - HP 1/1
AT 1 - DF 1
EXP: 0 - NEXT: 10
Smells like ketchup.
"OK, these worlds don't make any sense!" Michael exclaimed.
"Now, let's see if it can read you." Sans stated.
Music
none
Suddenly, Michael felt an oddly nauseating sensation ripple throughout him, making the Pilot feel queasy, and like he was about to throw up. "Ugh... What just happened? I think I'm gonna toss my breakfast..." He looked back at Sans, seeing that the white pupils in his eye holes were gone.
He turned around, seeing another statistic screen.
MICHAEL 'WOLF' JOHNSON
LV ∞ - HP 3000/3000
AT 90 - DF 90
EXP: ∞ - NEXT: N/A
One of those chosen to save humanity from extinction.
"Is that... me?" Michael wondered, seeing that his name was on the screen.
"Yeah. It is. Not only do you have infinite LV, but it doesn't make you a murderous psychopath. How...?"
"Well, we Guardians live by a vow to protect humanity. Now, what is 'LV'?" Michael asked.
"LV and EXP are both acronyms. They stand for Level of Violence and Execution Points respectively. Execution Points are a way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. Level of Violence is a way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt, the more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others." Sans explained.
Music
Undertale - sans.
"{Hmm... That doesn't seem to be the case back home. The Fallen followed the Traveler to Earth, seeking to reclaim it after their own Collapse, which they called the 'Whirlwind. They attacked us out of jealousy, becoming nothing more than scavengers and pirates. The Hive are basically the darkness's version of Guardians, seeking to kill us off, and devour the Light, snuff it out. The Cabal are essentially big 'war rhinos', and they seem to have waged war against us. The Vex are killer robots that can literally alter reality, and where we see beauty, they see imperfection. They all want us dead, and we're all trying our best to keep that from happening.}" Rocco explained his theory, projecting holograms of Fallen Vandals, Hive Thralls, Cabal Centurions, and Vex Minotaurs.
"Fascinating. It all makes sense." Gaster remarked.
"It was nice to catch up, Sans, but we should probably get going." Michael stated, pulling out the Dimension Key.
"Need a shortcut?" Sans offered.
"Yeah. We'll be back another time."
As Sans was about to open up another 'shortcut', two more individuals arrived. It was Frisk and Asriel!
"Michael, you're here!" Asriel exclaimed in excitement.
"We were just about to leave, and it's good to see the both of you again." Michael stated.
"Oh, and Asriel, your mother has a new snail recipe for you to try." Samus added.
"That actually sounds good!"
12:07 PM
08/22/3272
Yionus's moon, Zuter - IMC testing site Echo-918
Chamber 137
Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Briefing Room & Ambience Theme
Once Michael and Samus had returned to their own world, the Shadow gave them some news. "Aurora Unit 242 just reported that the data the World Gate recovered from that one dimension a few months ago is all sorted out now. We might want to head over to the IMS Olympus."
12:29 PM
08/22/3272
Planet Vez-2 - IMS Olympus
Aurora Chamber
Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Aboard the GFS Olympus
Upon arrival to the Aurora Chamber, Michael, Samus, and the Shadow were notified of the results. "The data you have sent me has been restored. However, this data appears to have taken a life of its own, yet continues to lay dormant, as if unaware of the reassembly. I currently have no way of interfacing with it. But I may have an answer to this. One of the IMC's BRD-01 'Spectre' Combat Drones has located pre-Golden Age technology that may serve our purposes. This tech is located in Culver City, California. You will find it in a building with the name 'Flynn' above the entrance."
"Got it. We'll head there and see what we can find." Michael acknowledged.
12:42 PM
08/22/3272
Planet Earth - California
Abandoned arcade
Music
Metroid Prime - Tallon Overworld Depths
Finding the ancient arcade building, the trio headed inside to find the technology that AU 242 needed. A Spectre was there, having expected them. There were no signs of Fallen scavenging, and the place was full of old arcade machines, each with a plastic tarp laid over them. One game, with the name 'TRON' above the screen, was uncovered, the tarp having been pulled off centuries ago and just left there.
The Spectre pushed the machine like it was a door, revealing a hidden passage. At the end of the dusty hall was another room, with old pictures, a strange desk, and a bed. In the back was some sort of laser projector. On the wall was a large sheet of paper that was detailing a place known as 'the Grid'.
Michael inspected the laser projector, and his helmet analyzed it for information.
SCANNING...
TARGET LOCATED
1: SHV 20905
"That is the tech I require." AU 242 stated over the comms.
"Time to bring it back to the IMS Olympus. Rocco?"
"{Right.}" The machine disappeared in a flash as Rocco picked it up.
1:04 PM
08/22/3272
Planet Vez-2 - IMS Olympus
Aurora Chamber
Music
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Aboard the GFS Olympus
"Here's the tech you needed." The Shadow stated, holding up the SHV.
Once it was connected and brought online, AU 242 activated it, seeing if the restored files were compatible.
They were!
Two beams were projected from the SHV 20905, turning data into matter. Once it was all done, a teenager in a blue and purple striped shirt, blue pants, and brown shoes was laying on the floor.
Music
Metroid: Other M - Briefing
"Wait a minute... Frisk?" Michael wondered. It did look like Frisk from dimension 9, but... older.
"{I'll run a vital sign analysis.}" Rocco appeared, then scanned the child. "{OK then... Whoa! Either Frisk came into contact with SCP-113 a few months ago, or this is a completely different version of her. This doesn't make any sense.}"
"Well, we got this one from a different Dimension Key, so there's that." Samus had a point.
Michael turned the unconscious teen over, rubbed his hands together, surrounding them in Arc Light, and proceeded to use them like defibrillators. "CLEAR!"
The teen jolted up from the shock, coughing and panting before looking at Michael. "Who... Who are you? Where am I?"
"My name is Michael W Johnson, and we're onboard the IMS Olympus. We got some fragmented and corrupted files a few months back from a machine I put together, called the World Gate. I sent the files to Aurora Unit 242 here, it restored them, and that somehow resulted in... you. We used a laser projector known as the SHV 20905 to materialize you. We don't know where you came from, or what happened to you, but it must have been something serious." Michael explained.
It was then that the Shadow stepped up to take a good look at the materialized teen. "Looks like Frisk to me, but I don't understand how she could've gotten to dimension 2, or how she found or even got to SCP-113, or why. How did she even know about it?" As the Shadow talked, the teenager scooted away, obviously as a result of Death's presence.
"What are we gonna do about this?" Samus asked.
"I may have a solution. The Frisk you all met originates from a world where reality appears to behave like a virtual world. However, due to the use of the SHV 20905, this one is now under the effects of our laws of reality. Alder 99-40 will watch over him in the IMC HQ until further notice. In order to avoid any confusion, a different name may be necessary." Aurora Unit 242 explained.
"So... I wasn't the only one?" The teen asked.
"No, you weren't. Where did you come from? What happened to you that left your code so badly damaged?" Michael wondered.
"I... I-I-I don't know what you're talking about! I don't understand!"
Well now. This is a surprise.
Camila, you seeing this?! Glitch Frisk isn't as gone as you thought, he went from one world into another, and he's... older? Yeah, pulling him out of deletion wasn't exactly my original idea, but neither was bringing him here.
"[Perhaps Lastimosa was right. No plan survives first contact.]"
WE KNOW, BT!
A chapter that's almost 5,000 words long, huh? That's yet another surprise.
See you next time, folks.