Fide looked over the readings she was getting from the portal, as did Kathikon and Synais….the latter of whom had just started looking up a bunch of tv shows...and marked them as Mission Critical Research?!

"Do you have any better idea on figuring out where these portals are coming from?!" shouted Synais, answering her unspoken question with one of his own.

"Why so many series, though?"

"I think I recognize these anomalies from one show, but the only thing I remember for certain about the show is that it was written in English. It could have been made in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, or even Australia. So forgive me for only being able to provide a broad search."

"...Did you try to narrow down the search a bit? Maybe look up other things?" questioned Kathikon.

"Give me an example and I'll try."

"...Giant burrowing insects, a weird lizard with a long tail, and magnetic anomalies?" tried the most composed and rule-abiding of the trio.

"Thank you, now let's see how many results that-what? Only one?!"

Instantly, the trio charged over to where Synais was sitting. Sure enough, there was only one result left now amongst his possible candidates.

….Well, that was disappointing. It seemed that things were manageable.

Of course, that probably meant a curveball was coming. But what kind?

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, that's certainly a relief. At least now we're not fighting Daleks," noted Leal.

Fide frowned at that comment. "Don't you guys have a few Daleks living in your hub?"

"Yes, but those are hardly representative of their species. So, how long until our masters reach the anomaly site?

"Not too long – their transports fly pretty fast. Still, I do worry for what they may encounter – the universe seems to enjoy letting us think we know everything, and then pull the rug out from under us."

"True enough. How is your Master's son doing?"

"Good, very good. Still working with your Mistress' daughter to help their parents with their plans."

"As any diligent child should. So, have any other oddities come through the portals so far, beyond those Pokémon?"

"Oddly, no, and I find that rather disappointing. I was expecting crazier things to happen by now."

"Well, it seems that the powers that be truly want the upcoming curveball to be rather large."

"So it seems. Any new reports about how our allies are doing?"

"Well, the Guild is dealing with something back on their home turf, Geralt is still hunting monsters alongside his new wyvern fan, and Aloy seems to be preparing to sneak into the Eclipse Capital. I anticipate that she will ask our leaders for help….well, that or they ask to be brought into this."

"A likely scenario. So, how are your companions doing?"

"Well, Mortarax and Adeline are sparing, while Elling….all I know is that he got bored and asked Celm if there were any in need that he could help in another universe. Celm said yes and claimed that many lives would be saved if Elling helped this one man and his family."

"I thought Elling had confidence issues?"

"Only when he isn't with machines."

"…You think Celm was sending him on a fool's errand?"

"Maybe…"

XXXXXXXX

Elling put his hand up to the bandit's neck to be sure that he was absolutely dead. Then he pulled out a canister of gasoline and started pouring it on the corpse – this was a universe where zombies were a thing…wasn't it?

After making sure the cadaver was nice and crispy, Elling turned his attention back to the three innocents he had saved…well, to the innocent woman he had saved and her husband and daughter, who were currently staring at him in fear.

"…Apologies for getting so much blood on you."

"We'll….manage," replied the rather dapper looking father in the trio. "Um…thank you?"

"It's nothing…also, here's a bit of money to…help with the mental issues I may have given you."

"Did you need to squish his head like a bug?" asked the little girl, who was currently hiding behind her parents, though she wasn't nearly as terrified as expected.

"Probably not, but I prefer to make sure my enemies stay dead when I want them dead."

"Fair enough….I guess…"

"…Well I must be going. I hope you living long and fulfilling lives!"

With that, Elling teleported away.

The women turnd to look at her husband. "Jack, what the hell just happened?"

"I have….absolutely no idea."

"Well, that hardly helps. So, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm gonna take the money he gave us and see if I can find someone to help us forget this ever happened. Especially Angel."

XXXXXXXXX

"..Yeah, probably a fool's errand. So, what do we do now-"

An alert interrupted the duo's conversation and turned Fide's attention back toward her console.

What she saw was a massive surprise.

"Um, what's gotten your attention?"

"The probe's we sent out to enter these portals and find out where some of them lead? One of them just sent a response."

"Oh. Interesting. What do you see?"

"I see a bunch of tribal people living with dinosaurs and using steam powered contraptions."

"….Paraworld, then?"

"No, architecture is too different. And besides, there's something else I'm worried about."

"And that would be?"

"The portal where the signal is coming from? It's the same one our bosses are flying toward right now."

"….WHAT?!"

"Yeah. Let me see if I can't call them up and-"

"Warning: jamming field detected over receiving end of transmission. Communications disabled."

"FUCK! Aw hell, now what do we do?"

"…Hope for the best?"

"I can't believe it, but I think that's our best option."

XXXXXXXX

The probe watched as the villagers and teenagers fought with the strange creature. The fact it was giving a Tyrannosaurus a hard time was rather worrisome. Hopefully, they would survive until something came to save them.

…Maybe master would help them?

XXXXXXXX

AN: Good luck figuring out where, exactly, the probe went.

Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!