Chapter One

An inkling that something strange was about to happen nibbled at the edge of my awareness. It chased me through the day. Stubbornly, I dismissed it, chalking it up to my subconscious seeking a way of escape from all the lurking insecurities that haunted my every step.

Mental exhaustion clung to every bone as I headed across the dirt driveway to the farm house I grew up in. I was a thirty-three year old woman living with her parents. Life had a funny way of continuously holding me back from achieving financial and personal freedom.

At the moment, I worked as a long term paraprofessional substitute for the Franklin school district. My current assignment was going on six months as a paraprofessional in a special education classroom. The teacher, Mrs. Finch, was a passionate woman, in charge of eleven students with a wide range of learning disabilities. All of them were verbally able and mobile, which was a relief. I really didn't want to learn how to change a diaper for an eleven-year-old or twelve-year-old.

My purse and lunch bag felt like lead weights as I entered the empty garage and headed up the ramp to the back door. I was looking forward to the weekend and a good old fashion two hour nap.

A blinding white light flooded my senses when I opened the door and stepped across the threshold. The strange light receded. "What the fuck?"

Polished wooden floors and neatly arranged furniture in a spacious room with cream colored walls greeted me. A stone and brick fireplace took up one of the walls while another wall was taken up by long rectangular windows framed by heavy chocolate brown curtains with harvest gold floral print.

The feeling of being watched settled over me. I turned and found my personal bubble being invaded by an intimidating yet attractive man. His black hair resembled silk as it fell around his face in a stylish haphazard haircut. Intense and calculating ruby red eyes scrutinized me up close and personal.

"Uh…" My brain struggled to accept the idea that the one and only Sebastian Michaelis from Black Butler was standing mere inches away from me, sharing the same air space.

"My, my. It appears we have another new arrival dropping in," the Sebastian look alike replied with a bemused grin. I'm referring to him as a look alike because my brain was completely spent from this week and at the moment I couldn't accept the idea that one of my fictional obsessions was standing right in front of me. "And where did you come from?"

"Uh… Uh…" For some reason my mouth refused to work. I took a step back and then another, putting some needed space between us. I ended up backing into something very solid. I craned my head and looked up to find orange tinted goggles on a very abnormally pale face framed by black bangs peering down at me. An toothy grin spread across the face of a man who held an uncanny resemblance to Alucard from Hellsing Ultimate.

"Hello, little one," The Alucard look aliked greeted me.

What the… actual fuck? My brain wanted to temporarily shut down and then restart. I've seen and experienced more than my fairshare of reality shaking experiences, but this took the cake and the icing and the whole damn birthday party with it!

I looked from the Sebastian look alike back to the towering leering Alucard copy. "Uh, uh, uh…UH! What?! What the?!"

A sort of funky detach light headedness settled in. I think I needed to sit down before I fainted or something. I stiffened as I back right into the Sebastian look alike, trying to move away from the grinning Alucard copy who looked like he wanted to have me for lunch.

Gloved hands settled on my shoulders. Oh God! He was touching me! The Sebastian look alike was fucking touch me?!

I made a tiny sound of panic in the back of my throat.

"That makes eight now," the Alucard look alike replied with amusement. "This is quite the peculiar mystery we have on our hands. Don't you agree, demon butler?"

"You seem to be enjoying yourself a little too much, but yes, I agree that we have a conundrum on our hands that needs to be solved as quick as possible," the Sebastian look alike replied in annoyance. I could imagine a frown of disapproval gracing his face. He turned me around so I was facing him. Both him and the Alucard cosplayer/clone towered over my five foot three frame. I had to lift my head to make eye contact.

"Now, that leaves the question of where did this one come from. You can tell us what happened, my dear. I promise neither I nor… the creature behind you will harm you," Sebastian said in a soothing voice, trying to calm my frantic state of mind as I kept looking from him to the Alucard look alike a little too wide eyed.

I can't- I can't… What the fuck?! What the fuck is going on here? What kind of coo-coo-cockery is this?! How is this possible?! They can't be Sebastian and Alucard! They just can't! How the fuck-?! "I… I need to sit down."

"Of course you do," Sebastian said, guiding me over to one of the plush olive green arm chairs. "But please, do understand that we are pressed for time here. The sooner you answer some questions the sooner we can find the others and figure out what is happening."

I collapsed into the armchair and immediately wanted to curl up on myself, but I've been through too many anxiety attacks in my lifetime to understand that wasn't a good idea. I forced myself to work on slowing my breathing, counting to six as I inhaled, hold for two, and then exhale while counting to seven.

Inhale; One, two, three, four, five, six. Hold; one, two. Exhale; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

My heart thundered away as adrenaline coursed through my over exhausted body. Ice pooled in my stomach as I fought to control my nerves. The light headedness started to subside, but my hands shook and my legs felt like they were melting into jelly.

I ran my hands through my hair and then let it fall back into place. I peeked up at the two ridiculous gorgeous men watching me. I tried not to squirm in discomfort under their expectant gazes. It freaked out me that both of them bore uncanny resemblance to two anime characters I had on my fictional husbando list.

I groaned and ran my hands over my face again. What the fuck was going on? I just wanted to crawl into my bed and be dead to the world for the next several hours.

Just what was going on? I was definitely not in my house. Can people actually be magically transported to some other place and time and meet their anime obsessions? That kind of crazy didn't happen in the real world or at least to my knowledge of how reality was supposed to work.

Okay. Okay. Just focus. Focus, Jess. Focus. Breath, I told myself. I took another deep breath and then another, spacing my breathing out, trying to center myself.

"Um… How about we start with your names first? I need another second or two to calm down," I said, deciding to get the bottom of just who these men standing front of me were. I crossed my fingers silently, praying they were cosplayers and not the real deal. Maybe I was dreaming or hallucinating or something…

The Sebastian look alike let out an irritated sigh. "Very well," he said, standing up to his full height. He bowed with his left hand over his heart. "Allow me to introduce myself. I go by the name of Sebastian Michaelis, head butler to the Earl of the Phantomhive estate."

"I've been known by many names over the centuries, but my current master calls me by the name of Alucard," the Alucard look alike replied.

I felt a muscle spasm underneath my eye. Holy fucking shit! I groaned and ran my hands through my hair again, mumbling, "You gotta be shitting me."

Of course, they would call themselves by those names! God freaking damnit! I had no idea whether to believe the two men in front of me or not. Hell, I couldn't tell if what was happening was real or not. Maybe I blacked out as soon as I stepped into the house or maybe I had gone inside the house, put my stuff down, and went upstairs to change into my pajamas and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and I don't remember doing it.

Wait… Why was I questioning whether I was hallucinating or dreaming? In dreams you don't question the reality you're being presented. As for hallucinations, they usually only last a split second or two, or maybe this was what it was like being locked in a hallucination and having no way out. Wait… Should I be aware that I'm hallucinating?

Shit. Shit. Double shit.

I swallowed around the knot in my throat. "Um… My name's Jessie. Jessie Wilder. Nice to meet you?"

"Tell us what happened that led to your appearance here," Sebastian inquired.

At first I wasn't sure how to explain what happened. I was still trying to decide exactly what was happening. Dream? Hallucination? Sudden stroke induced coma? "Uh… Okay. Um-well, I was driving home from work and um-I pulled into the driveway and into the pole barn. I got out of the car, grabbed my crap and headed into the house. There was this weird blinding light when I went to open the back door and vala, here I am. I am very confused."

Alucard erupted into a fit of unstable laughter. The unhinged sound echoed off the wooden floors.

Sebastian looked less than impressed by my explanation. "So nothing else stands out during your day before you were transported? Nothing bizarre or strange?"

I shrugged. "Nope, nothing that I recall. I'm not even sure how to label this. I want to believe I'm dreaming or something. I mean, shit like this shouldn't be able to happen at all."

Sebastian gave me a condensing grin. "Humans. How narrow and arrogant your view of reality is. I almost pity you. Trust me. I have been around for a very long time. There is always more going on than what appears on the surface."

I glanced from Alucard to Sebastian and licked my dry lips. "I-uh-I'm starting to see that. You said there were others," I replied warily. "Where are they?"

Sebastian folded his arms in front of his chest and placed a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "They're out at the edge of the property. It appears they might have stumbled upon something. Let us go join them."

He offered his hand to help me stand. I hesitated, my heart thumping away. My hands were so clammy. I sucked in a breath and took the offer hand. It was a good thing I took Sebastian's hand. My legs were shaky and felt like they were about to give out underneath me as I stood.

Alucard led the way as I followed them through the house and out a set of french doors onto a patio that overlooked a beautiful flower garden. A stone walkway cut through the garden and led to a border of hedges separating the garden from a huge grassy field. Beyond that, pines trees rose up like silent towering giants. A group of people were gathered at the treeline. Quiet serious murmurs rose up to meet us as we exited the garden and strobe across the field towards them.

The feeling of a large stone settled in my stomach as I took in the many different profiles and attire among the group.

"It appears there's some sort of barrier preventing any of us from exiting the property," Baron Draxum from Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles commented. His cloven hooves and tiny goat ears made him the less human looking among the diverse group of fictional characters. He looked like he might be even taller than Alucard who stood around six foot six in height!

I watched in astonishment as Baron Draxum summoned strange purple and pink vines out of one of the pockets of his silk kimono. He flicked his wrist and the vines lashed out and collided with an invisible barrier. Strange transparent ripples radiated across the air space before the group.

"Are there any weaks spots in this magical barrier?" Thranduil from the Hobbits trilogy inquired. He was dressed in a black and silver tunic that stopped at his knees under an black velvet robe. His platinum blonde hair cascaded over the shoulders of his robe, etherly glowing in the sunlight. Upon his forehead was a simple silver crown with a single twinkling jem embedded in the middle.

"We need to find out what's generating it," Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto replied. I notice the other fictional characters towered over him. My heart dropped, noticing he was in fact missing one arm from his last fight ever with Naruto in the final volume of the serialized manga. He was also dressed in a similar outfit to what he wore in the continuation of the series, Boruto, which meant all the stuff that happened after the manga finished must have come true. "The barrier runs around the entire property, so whoever is creating it must be nearby."

"You mean whatever is creating it," Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing said. Besides Sasuke, he was definitely the shortest out of all the fictional characters in the group. His wild dark brown hair obscured his intense cobalt blues. He no longer looked to be in his teens. His face had lost all its baby fat. "It's more likely generated by some sort of machine."

"The chakra signal coming off of the barrier could be amplified by a machine, but the fact I can't cut through, even with Susanoo, means whatever is generating it is powerful," Sasuke concurred solemnly.

"Those are some very interesting theories, gentlemen, but you lack perspective on the manner," Alastor from Hazbin Hotel declared, his radio, metallic voice echoing through the air in an optimistic tone. "A barrier such as this one can be constructed from a multitude of phenomena! And not just by one single individual or by some scientific device."

Alastor's bright red deer ears stood straight up over his head of fiery red hair. The tips of them were a deeper maroon color like the ends of his short haircut. He waltzed up to the barrier and tapped it with his staff. It flickered to life, its single eye opening and glowing a faint pink. He seemed to pause and listen. "Definitely not generated by a device. The energy waves coming off of this baby are more interdimensional in nature, which indicates that whatever is creating it and maintaining it could be some rogue mad god or by some higher celestial faction that deems it necessary we remain here for whatever nefarious plans they have in store for us."

"You mean there could be more than one entity who wants all of us here?" Baron Draxum inquired.

"I take it none of you are any closer to solving the circumstances surrounding our captivity," Sebastian said, joining the conversation. All the other fictional characters turned to him. A sense of distrust and wariness radiated from all of them as he stepped up to the invisible barrier. "If there is indeed more than one master mind that brought us all here, they must be working together outside the barrier. The area we're trapped in is small in perimeter and I cannot sense any other entities on the premises than the eight of us."

"Eight?" Baron Draxum spoked up curiously. He glanced towards where I was halfway peering around Alucard, all wide eyed and god smacked. "A human girl?"

"Seven men and one human girl to be precise," Alucard replied with a chuckle. I stiffened, feeling him eye me through his orange goggles. Everyone's attention suddenly narrowed to me.

I forced myself to smile and wave. "Uh… Hi! Name's Jessie. Nice to meet everyone."

Inside I was shitting bricks. How could this be happening? Not only could I be dreaming or hallucinating or in some kind of weird ass coma, but I was now surrounded by all the fictional men I had either a crush on or developed a serious unhealthy obsession with over the years.

Oh fuck me!