by The Pighead
The beginning was slower to write than the ending, apparently. But thank, God, I got hit with a bout of motivation and now, it's finished.
Welcome back to The Pilot and the Meddler Hit the Road. Today, we see the fun adventures of Ficboy & Pighead as they start to search for members of their team and the first world of interest is one we already saw a couple times in the series. So, sit down, take some pop-corn and enjoy the show!
THIS EPISODE IS DEDICATED TO THE LOVING MEMORY OF:
The careers and/or the reputation of James Somerton, Internet Historian & Illuminaughtii post-the last HBomberguy video.
Somewhere, in the Internet.
« Well, you see ? I told you you would do it and you actually did ! »
It was the first time that Pighead was actually seeing Ficboy being really happy and excited about something. Because of that, she didn't even wanted to groan again about the fact that he was right. Besides that, she was also in a better mood than last time so… she couldn't deny that there was something exciting in what they were about to do. She just shrugged.
« Yeah, I'm kind of awesome actually, in addition of being extremely hot and very smart, tell me something I don't know, bro. But yeah, if I actually won, I guess I'll have to hold my end of the bargain… so, where do we go ? »
As an answer, the Pilot opened a portal.
« We have actually seven Earths of interest to explore ! I will go more on the details when we'll be there but you also need to know that I plan to write a report for our fellow authors, as well as for the Council of Pigheads, so I would need access to any way who would make me able to give them said report, if it's not a bother. »
« I'll do my best. »
« Very well ! Then, let's begin, shall we ? »
Pighead nodded.
« Yup. But before, my friend, I think we need to pronounce a sentence in order to give ourselves some courage. A sentence of great wisdom and power who allowed decades of creative spirits to find the inspiration and the truth inside of themselves. A sentence which, by its simplicity, allowed humanity to find strength in its darkest moments. »
« And what sentence it is, then ? »
« If Young Metro don't trust you, I'm gon' shoot you ! »
…I don't know for you but I'm pretty sure we are already going great. You're free to guess if I was sarcastic or not. Let's move along.
Earth-1984, Portland.
The sky was blue. The trees were full of green. The road was rocky. This was the first thing that Pighead actually experienced, because she simply was too confident in her jump and slipped, falling to the ground. By comparison, Ficboy didn't.
« …oh, God, I'm not sure it was a good idea, suddenly… aaaaaaoutch… »
The other author, who didn't paid attention, looked at the landscape around him.
« Yes, it is here. We should be already close to our destination, which is Mount St. Hilary ! »
« Clinton ? »
« No. It doesn't even have two « L », just one. We shall speak to Optimus Prime, as I think he would be the best leader for this team. We just need a way to gain the trust of the Autobots and I can feel that it won't take much time ! »
« Pfff. I mean, said Pighead while she was getting up, what do we do ? We force a Decepticon to kill themself, we show their head to Optimus and we say « Yeah, we want you on our team », something like that ? »
« What ? No ! I'm only saying that we will have an opportunity very soon and, as such, we need to be alert in order to catch it ! »
At this moment, as if the world wanted to prove the Pilot right a second time, the two Monks started to hear car noises and a yellow Chevrolet Camaro passed right next to them without noticing them. They didn't need to be geniuses to know who it was.
« Welp. We found one, Pighead said, the rest is probably near us. Let's go ! »
« Wait ! We can't actually go on like this, responded Ficboy, who was thinking. We need to disguise our identities… and I think I know what people we should pose as. There will surely be humans and I think that if we show ourselves as faces they could recognize, it would be easier ! Also, don't forget that this is the eighties and we will not have access to the technologies we know today. »
« Yeah, yeah, not listening to 50 Cent on Spotify, I know, I know… lemme try something. »
Pighead snapped her fingers and, on one second, her appearance completely changed. Her brown, messy hair became a blond mullet, her blue-green eyes turned red and, as an outfit, she was now wearing a pink tank top and orange flares. It was pretty ugly.
« Let's go. Now, I look like the worst of this time period ! Clearly, this will totally work, yes indeed ! »
« Probably. Unless you're being sarcastic. »
« For real, I'm not. »
After Ficboy changed his appearance too (having now green, spiky hair and the same clothes as David Lee Roth in the video for Panama because Pig' told him that « listen, if you really want us to pose as other people, you gotta play the part at 100% ! »), the two authors then started to run towards the mount, trying to catch up to Bumblebee and possibly the rest of the Autobots.
They stopped running after thirty seconds when Pighead complained and they decided to use teleportation while no one was seeing them. The little « jumps » they made with it allowed them to gain time. However, much to the chagrin of the French lady, they had to resume running again. With their outfits very reminiscent of rejected candidates for an audition in order to join Def Leppard and Pighead complaining that she didn't sign for this, you would easily forget that those two were actually trying to create the first multiversal team of heroes and wanted to take on the most depraved villains ever.
7 minutes later
« Pighead ! We're finally close to the Mount ! »
« …uuuuh… thank… fucking… God… I hate… running… »
While the Meddler was busy spitting some saliva on the road and catching her breath, the Pilot was looking at the massive mount in front of him, his smile full of confidence. He looked, once again, at the distance, trying to see if he could spot Bumblebee again or any Autobot, for that matter. He didn't saw anyone but could hear some noises and snippets of conversation. Immediately, he knew that he was closer.
It took the two 3 more minutes before they could start to discern actual silhouettes. Fortunately, for them, Ficboy could recognize them : a brown-haired man wearing a beige, buttoned shirt and blue jeans (he was almost looking like an explorer) and a blonde-haired woman with a blue pantsuit ensemble and brown boots.
« Yes ! It's them, he said in a lower voice. We are close-Pighead, your disguise ! You're in live-action again. »
« Uh ? »
The French woman looked at herself and realized that, indeed, she had her live-action appearance again. She gritted her teeth, unpleased at the news.
« Crap… apparently, it still doesn't want to work. »
« What do you mean, it doesn't work ? There's no question about if it should work or not, if we change universes, our appearances change to fit the art-style, it's something automatic ! »
« It doesn't work because… oh, you know what ? Go ahead. I'll join you later, I'll pretend I was searching for you because you got lost. They'll believe it ! »
« Right. I'll see you there, my friend. »
Ficboy did as he was told while Pighead was left looking at her hand, trying to actually switch back to her « 80s Hasbro 2D » look and cursing herself in the process. Of course, it wasn't about to last for long. It never truly did. If only-no. No. She wasn't thinking about that, right now. She just needed to concentrate and she could retake the correct appearance. Plus, she still had enough power to try.
Her hand started to glitch out, switching between live-action and animation very quickly as she was focusing on trying to change it. She was close, her body starting to tremble as she was using a bigger fraction of her godlike powers… and then, she missed a breath and ended up hunched over. It didn't work.
She muttered a « Fuck » to herself. She was an omnipotent goddess who managed to remake the Multiverse to her whims and yet, she still couldn't do a thing as simple as that.
Oh, who was she kidding ? Of course, she couldn't. Especially not since-oh, fuck that, she would use the perception filter. Always works and it will fool everyone.
Meanwhile, Ficboy, who was walking in a casual pose and looking at the trees, approached Spike & Carly, who directly noticed him.
« Mr. Witwicky ? What a surprise to see you ! A pleasant one, should I add. How are you doing ?, asked the author. Spike' reaction was one of surprise. From his perspective, he was seeing the newcomer as one of his co-workers but they were never the sort of people he expected to see anyway.
« Well, as good as we can, Witwicky responded. But I'm sorry, I don't think I had your name ? »
« Desey. Richard Desey. I'm here since last week, so I was expecting you to not recognize me. I was doing a trip in the forest, just to relax a bit, nothing special. »
« Rich' ! »
Ficboy immediately turned his head and saw Pighead coming, trying her best to look annoyed while she was approaching the trio.
« Seriously, have you ever learned to actually say things like « Hey, I'm taking a long-ass trip in the forest, don't be worried if it takes time » or something that resembles it ? »
« Ah, I guess you're right, responded « Richard » while sheepishly chuckling. I apologize if I made you worried. »
« Yeah, yeah… you already said that last time but anyway. Name's Emmanuelle Baker, she told Spike & Carly. Me and Rich got hired at the same time but I realized I never told you my name until now. Watcha doing ? »
« We were paying a visit to the Autobots, Anderson responded. Since this mysterious cataclysm that happened some time ago, they need all the help they can have. They're our friends, after all ! »
« Yeah. Man, I'm lucky that I managed to survive that. Did it hit you, too ? »
« I did survive the incident, too, Ficboy said, but alas, my dear friend was among those taken. It was quite a stressful experience, from what she told me, and it explains easily this grouchy behavior of hers. »
« I'm not grouchy all the time. It's just that it's not the first time you do this and I can be easily worried. Also, there's way too much of these sons of bitches who fuck up my car when I go to the car-wash. »
« Hey, suddenly asked Spike, not that I don't like to make fun of people who don't respect others' possessions but are you from France ? Or Quebec ? »
« Emmanuelle » raised an eyebrow.
« I beg your pardon ? »
« Your accent. It's really noticeable in your speech that you have a French one. »
In answer, Pighead started to laugh like Spike just said something stupid.
« S'cuse me, what ? I'm sorry but you must have heard something else. I mean, you're right, I'm from France but I don't know where you've heard an accent from me. I took years trying to learn and use the most perfect English I could in order to find work in this country because the American Dream, opportunities, blahblah… so believe me when I say it, there's no French accent in my voice, absolutely not ! »
« There actually is, seconded Carly. I can admit that it's not that pronounced but it's here. »
« It's actually not here at all, like I was saying, but this brings me to another subject that is far more accurate ! I realize we just became co-workers recently, but we actually never tried to know each other better so maybe we could tag along with you. »
« I agree with what Emma is saying, Ficboy seconded. Plus, I always like to meet new people, personally. »
Spike & Carly looked at each other for some seconds before nodding.
« I'm sure it will not be a problem, responded the blonde woman. Let's go ! »
It only took the quartet some minutes to reach the mount and the Ark, the headquarters of the Autobots. The starship (especially the inside) was… as normal as a starship built by an advanced civilization could be, which meant « impressive by human standards but when you did your homework, it looks pretty much normal ».
At the arrival of Spike & Carly, several Autobots were here to greet them but the presence of the disguised Pighead & Ficboy caused some confusion, of course (confusion that the former quickly dissipated). It didn't help that the latter introduced himself by unironically saying « Take us to your leader ! », a sentence that, even in the eighties, was falling out of favor in media. Plus, Optimus Prime wasn't too far away. The younger author decided to not put this on the report.
Still, he couldn't help but feel his heart beating with excitement by seeing Optimus. He spent so many time watching a lot of cartoons about the Cybertronians than being able to see them for the first time and hearing the Autobots' leader greeting him and his friend, greeting them for real with this same voice he recognized so well… it was something. Yes, he was busy trying to help and was staying as professional as he could, but he was still at his core a fan.
This was a reason he pretended to not know a lot about why the Autobots and the Decepticons were fighting or about the former' alliance with GI Joe, just so he could hear the man himself telling him all the story, right in front of him. Utterly delightful, he thought.
Pighead, meanwhile, was looking around at the Ark, feeling not that interested about it. She only saw the Michael Bay movies (the first, third & fourth ones) and it wasn't that memorable so eh.
However, the pleasant talks were interrupted when a signal was heard.
« Everyone ! I just caught a signal coming from the Northwest and, from what I can see, there appears to be a bunch of Decepticons & COBRA soldiers here ! Plus, it's a crypted one so pretty sure they're up to some secret stuff ! »
Immediately, everyone got on their feet, already prepared.
« It won't be for long !, Optimus exclaimed. Whatever they are planning, none of this can be good, they must be stopped ! Autobots, roll out ! »
It didn't took long before a team started racing on the roads of Oregon. Optimus & Bumblebee went first, quickly followed by Ratchet, Ironhide, Jazz, Jetfire & Arcee, along with the two humans and the authors, who were all sat inside Bumblebee, who was in his vehicle mode. They wouldn't have to leave the state so Pighead & Ficboy calculated that it wouldn't take long before spotting their enemies, something like 20 or 30 minutes. After 5 minutes, the GI Joe team joined the robots and the Jeep led by Conrad « Duke » Hauser happened to find itself next to the yellow Chevrolet.
Ficboy, still feeling very confident on the success of the mission, saw after some seconds that Duke, who lowered the right window of the Jeep, was waving at him and Pighead. He lowered their own window.
« Hey !, said the leader of the Joes. You're civilians ? »
« Yes, sir, Ficboy responded immediately. But you don't have to worry, none of this is scary to us. We will do just fine ! »
In response, Duke let out a laugh.
« Having nerves is one thing, but trying to not die is completely different ! Especially with everything that is happening right now. »
Duke, then, started to explain to « Richard » all that was needed to know about GI Joe, the author listening with interest once again. Meanwhile, Pighead was looking at the trees. It was the type of discussion she didn't have any interest in because she never watched the show anyway.
She wished she could pull her phone out of her pocket and send Deli' some texts but she knew herself, even with her powers, there would be a moment where she would be so taken in her task that it would cease to work and everyone would see it and suspect something before she could even say « Smitty Werbenjagermenjensen ».
Fucking boring, she thought. So, she decided to do something that never failed her : imagining shit to pass the time.
She looked at everyone around her and started to think. Suddenly, she wasn't sat on one of the (very comfortable) seats inside Bumblebee. She was in a nightclub from Los Angeles, « Club Tempo », it was called. Her robotic second-in-command was next to her, her head leaning down on her boss' shoulder. Optimus & Bumblebee were here but instead of looking like themselves, they were rather bizarre fusions of themselves with Drake (for the former) and 21 Savage (for the latter). Megatron was here too, taking a lot of shots of tequila at the bar while covered in paint, for some reason.
The Joes and other Cybertronians were all scattered around the dancefloor, busting some sick moves and having a good time (and she was pretty sure that Scarlett & Arcee exchanged more-than-friendly looks two or three times). Spike wasn't with them, he was vomiting in the toilets while Carly was making sure he wouldn't end like Bon Scott. Ficboy was trying to ask one of the bouncers of the club if it was possible to play some Beatles' songs. A mashup of Don't Stop The Music, by Rihanna, and Came Back Haunted, by Nine Inch Nails, was serving as the current soundtrack.
Pighead turned to face D.E.L.I.L.A.H. and the smiles of the two women were the most genuine they could be. Clearly, this was the best night they ever spent with everyone here. Oh, sure, Optimus & Bumblebee would certainly regret those « little changes » to their looks but hey, they lost the bet, they needed to be good sport about it ! All of it was so exhilarating… it was everything she ever wanted to see. What better thing to conclude this night than leaning towards her assistant and-
« We're here ! »
In one second, Ficboy' voice made her come back to reality and tried her hardest not to start pouting. Despite the fact that it was one of her best dreams. Seriously, people have no respect.
Exiting Bumblebee's inside, Pighead and the others saw, close enough for them to see but far enough to not be spotted, several Decepticons and COBRA agents discussing while several black trucks were loaded with stuff. She and her colleague used their powers to hear what they were saying.
« You sure everything is secured enough ? »
« Of course ! No one knows our position, we have been discreet enough to not be caught ! And with the object we have, it will still be this way ! »
« Man, I wish we could be somewhere else than those damn forests, I'm starting to get sick of all those trees and the squirrels and the nuts they throw at our faces ! »
« Ronald Reagan ? More like « Ronald We-Will-Kick-Your-Rear-gan » ! Get it, guys ? »
« Why is there no toilets on those trucks ? »
« OK, no more lazying around, you had your fun but it's time for us to go ! Megatron & the Commander will not tolerate failures on our part and it's imperative we brought the items to them without any problem ! »
The two authors looked at each other, a way to silently say that this was their chance. And Optimus saw it too when they started to move.
« We won't let them escape, the leader of the Autobots said silently. It's now or never, my friends ! »
Everyone just needed to nod. Clearly, they weren't paying attention so it was perfect for a surprise attack. Without losing a beat, the Cybertronians and the Joes jumped into battle, running towards their enemies. The authors decided to stay behind. Or rather, Ficboy showed to Spike & Carly a rock who could serve as a safe spot for the four of them to hide behind. They didn't really had weapons with them and it would be better for them to stay behind.
However, it didn't meant they would do nothing. Pighead moved a little bit to look at the fighters. She couldn't help herself but smirk because the fact that she wasn't noticed meant that she could use her favourite trick in all the story of tricks.
She looked at a COBRA soldier who was against Snake Eyes and, in two seconds, said soldier started to lose his pants and to get off-balance, falling to the ground while trying to pull said pants back up. One Decepticon slipped on a suspiciously well-placed banana peel. The soldier who was trying to find a toilet earlier ultimately failed to control his bladder and peed on his pants. Another one was inspired by a sudden change of memories and started to introduce himself as famed comedian of the 1920s and 1930s Harold Lloyd.
Oh, how I love that, she thought. Not only it serves as the fight scenes and I don't have to write real ones, it also makes everything way better !
Pighead spent the 5 following minutes doing that and using her powers to keep all of that as footage in her memories. Will be a perfect video for the Twitter. Oh, and the Instagram, once it's launched. Clearly, such comedy will be appreciated by true connoisseurs.
Then, at one point, the four humans heard the noise of an explosion. They looked from the rock. Judging by the absence of other noises, the battle just ended.
When the Autobots and the Joes returned, Spike immediately came to them.
« So ? You got informations ? »
« Not a lot, said Ripcord. There was none of the big cheeses and the leader blew himself up quickly after doing his speech about how our efforts to stop them were vain. The usual. »
A lot of shrugs were made. The day a Decepticon would cooperate would also be the day chickens would talk and start a hardcore punk band.
« At least, responded « Richard », we still managed to defeat them ! Any little victory is worth it for all the right reasons ! »
Exclamations of approbation were heard.
« You're right, responded Optimus. We must go back to the Ark, now. It has already been a long day and I think we can allow ourselves to celebrate. »
What Pighead didn't like was the fact that no one had snacks to bring for said celebration. Not even drinks ! Clearly, no one had respect for the traditions anymore !
OK, it was also that Optimus was making the usual « leader-type » speech about how it was important for the Autobots to win and frankly, if the celebration was that, she would rather not be here ! Which is why she ended up using her powers to make herself invisible and go to a corner of the base where no one else was.
She wanted to text Deli'. So, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and did just that.
Hey, girl. Everything alright ?
The answer came quickly.
Everything is going well. How about you ?
Bored out of my ass, lol. I'm letting Optimus doing his big speech but goddamn, I hope there's more challenges for the Earths we'll visit next. Seriously, next time someone asks me to create a team, remind me to say « No ».
Don't say that ! Even if I've never met Mr. Ficboy by myself, it's pretty flattering that you were his first choice when asking for some help. Plus, it will make it easier when it comes to marketing and our public image.
Pighead couldn't help herself but smirk a bit and roll her eyes. She was all cute when she was trying to present to her the pros of following a particular situation.
I guess. But enough about me. I know I didn't gave you a lot of instructions in case I have to go for this type of missions…
There is no problem ! I'm looking at the other points in the timeline and, except for the Teams « Sburb », « Mushroom Kingdom » and « Doki Doki », no other disruption has been spotted. Oh, also, I have to say that the « Ship Alarm » that you recently set up works wonders.
This last sentence immediately brought a bigger smile to the young woman's face.
Really ? For who ? For who ? Tell me !
Well, we have been able to see that at one point in the future, Alex Danvers & Astra have hooked up… but we also managed to see Jack Harkness – which was supposed to have disappeared for years – coming back and kissing Oliver Queen.
Ouuuuuuuuuuh ! Damn, yaoi and yuri fans are eating good now, yay ! Will have to look at that when I'll come back. Anyway, I'll have to go before they wonder where the fuck am I. Keep me updated, girl. Hope I can come back fast, I'm starting to miss you. 3
In some seconds, she was visible again and no one was suspecting anything. It helped that they were all having animated convos with each other. When she saw Ficboy, he was walking towards Spike & Carly. She joined them.
« Oï. I was in the toilets. Did I miss something ? »
« Well, responded Carly, aside Optimus' speech, not a lot. Richard spoke a little bit with him and everything is fine. »
« Indeed ! But now, I was wondering if it wasn't possible for us to eat something, responded Ficboy. We forgot to take a lunch and anything edible would be perfect for us. »
« Well, since everyone is covered, said Spike, there's not really else we can do. Plus, my family didn't received guests in a long time, they would surely be very happy to have some ! »
How many hours since I didn't listened to some music ? Goddamn, it's even worse than when I'm in class.
Bumblebee accepted to drive everyone back to the house of the Witwickys and, during that time, Spike did a little guided tour of his and Carly's favourite places in Portland. Ficboy listened to it with great interest. Pighead did 40 mental replays of No Slack On My Mack, by Lil Ugly Mane, and she thought about using her powers to make them want to go faster. She didn't do it (her colleague would surely complain) but the temptation was here.
Ultimately, they ended up reaching the house of Spike's family. His dad and bro seemed fine enough, she saluted them but the second their guest asked her and Ficboy if they wanted to relax on the couch, she went directly for it, almost immediately laying down on it. The other author sat down too and started looking around him. He immediately saw some newspapers and grabbed them, starting to read it.
Pighead's belly rumbled a bit and she was about to get up and go to the kitchen when her eye catched a glimpse of a certain Carapacian fighting six coloured ponies. Immediately, she gained some interest in looking at it.
Turns out that the fight Jack English and the Mane Six she alluded to in ASotG partly happened on Earth. She couldn't help but be surprised since she never mentioned it before. Maybe an action that the timeline did on its own… wouldn't be surprised.
« S'weird, she whispered to her colleague.
« Well, yes, it is. I already know all of them but even that, there's still a lot of surprises that are unraveling before us ! »
« No shit, Sherlock… like, what I'm saying is that those details that are appearing and I haven't planned, they're nice and all but I can't really tell if it's 100% what happened. Tho, I might keep it for now. I'm not complaining about my plans making the headlines, hehe… »
Their discussion was interrupted when the television in the living room was turned on by Carly.
« Hey, guys, she asked, could you move just a bit ? There's a live concert from Jem and the Holograms that airs now, we would love to watch it. »
The two obliged and, quickly, the quartet started to look at said concert. « Emmanuelle » thought at first that the fashion sense of this band was even worse than what she could imagine and their music sounded very dated (OK, maybe it was because the 80s revival in pop music from the beginning of the 2020s was something she was way more drawn to) but since « Richard », Spike & Carly clearly enjoyed themselves, she decided for once to be wise and not say anything.
She ultimately conceded at the end of the concert that there was some good songs in their repertoire.
« Anyway, said Spike, you want something to eat ? I've realized we haven't stopped to take a lunch since hours. »
« Yes, responded Ficboy with enthusiasm, it's a very great idea, we shall have some snacks ! »
It was just the answer Spike needed. They quickly went to the kitchen.
« So, he resumed, we don't really have the most extravagant meals and, of course, we didn't have the time to cook but we still have some things. There's bananas, we have Kit-Kat, also a bottle of peanuts... »
At the mention of the peanuts, Pighead immediately turned her head to see where the bottle was and, when she found it, ran towards it, opened it and started to gobble peanuts, to the amusement of the couple.
« Hey, take it easy !, said Carly. You know you're not alone in this house, right ? »
« Mmmmm… grilled and with some salt, not dietetic, addictive taste… exactly the sort of thing I dig… »
She still left part of the peanuts but it was just to take other things. With that, one banana and three Kit-Kat bars, that would be perfect as a lunch for her ! Now, finally, there was something interesting to do !
When Spike's father asked them if they had things to do, Ficboy said that no and that him and Pighead would be happy staying here for the night until driving them back to their « homes ». Which is why right now, they were actually sleeping on the couch. Well, they pretended to do so. They weren't tired. Plus, you know, the fact that the mission wasn't over.
The French woman was, as usual, lost in her thoughts. It was nice to not hear noise, sometimes…
« It's time, now. »
Oh, well. At least, she had several hours for that. Was at least nice. She got up and the two authors quickly went outside.
« Sooooo… we saw Optimus and he's still in good enough shape to lead this team, first step done, it's all great, yeepee ? »
« Well, I wouldn't say it like that but yes. While you were with your assistant, I was speaking to him and we discussed some of the recent news. Of course, he had some awareness that other realities might exist since the arrival of Deathstroke and Huntress, a while ago… »
« Oh, yeah, maybe I should have used that bit for DEATHFAME ! It was since, what, 2018 or 2019 that we heard of them. I'm fully expecting myself to have them finding Snyderstroke in a brothel or something… »
« …and then, resumed the younger man, I told him that his universe might be part of something greater than himself and that other worlds might need him, a cryptic tease which, I'm sure, will make him think for a good while until we officially make him a member ! »
Pighead's only answer was to raise an eyebrow, suddenly looking very unimpressed.
« You think this is something cryptic ? »
« Well, it can mean a lot of things. It would have been a spoiler if I told him about the team. »
« Lad, technically, since all the people on the infinite Earths have this non-spoken agreement on not intervening on other Earths unless one of their villains escaped, it can only mean that creating a team and making him a member of said team is the only way for him to go protect other worlds ! Like, of course, this rule doesn't apply to us since we're not even from this plane of reality but my point is… I seriously think you need lessons on what makes something truly cryptic. »
Ficboy just shrugged.
« Whatever. We have other Earths to visit and I don't have the wish to argue on the meaning of a word. »
He opened a new portal.
« Our next destination is Earth-84B, home of one of the most colorful cast of people in Japanese culture. The world… of Dragon Ball ! Let's get to business, and not a moment too soon. »
« Wheezy outta here ! »
Pighead jumped through the portal and Ficboy followed immediately after. Then, the portal closed and everyone else on Earth-1984 none the wiser.
If they waited 3 minutes, they would have seen another portal opening and a person coming out of it. Their face was hidden by a ill-fitted grey hoodie (on top of dark baggy pants and red shoes) and they were tall & slim. Without making any noise, they walked towards the house of the Witwickys and passed right through the walls, like a ghost. Two minutes later, they would leave and disappear by means of another portal.
When Spike, his family & Carly woke up, the next day, they discovered the bottle of peanuts, entirely refilled. As well as a letter. It read, very simply, as this.
Sorry for that. You can say that this is my way to repay you.
If Jem and the Holograms stop by Portland, call me. I might manage to give you access to backstage.
Our encounter was short, but still, Godspeed and thank you for everything.
To you,
A Friend.
And it's done! Some things before closing up shop on this chapter:
- Timeline-wise, this chapter happens way after Chapter 5 of Counterpart Conferences (which there's some direct references to, as you saw it) and before Chapter 1 of Multiverse Warriors.
- The sentences that Pighead uses at the beginning and the end before jumping through the portals are actually "tags" used by hip-hop producers (basically, when you're in the hip-hop world and you want people to know you worked on a song, you put a tag that allow people to recognize you). The one at the beginning is one of the tags of Metro Boomin, while the one at the end is Wheezy' producer tag. If you don't know who those two are, check Wikipedia or WhoSampled.
- So, in The Multiverse Files, since the being the Mane Six are mentioned to have fought wasn't named, I'm not sure it's who Ficboy wanted to mention... but I already mentioned somewhere in ASotG that they fought Jack English without more precisions on where and how. Which is why I decided to say that it was Jack, so I can make the plot more closely tied together. Also, it allows me to remind you that he's still out there, still destroying things and killing people, and even if he took a bit of a backseat, we're gonna see him again soon...
- The mystery person at the end will also come back very soon. What I can say for now is that their presence will allow me to introduce a very important element to the current story arc and the stories that will follow.
- For the non-story stuff and everything related to the releases: the next chapter will be, as it has just been said, about the Dragon Ball universe and, since the report was short, the chapter will be shorter too! I hope to release it soon. There's also DEATHFAME that will continue... and I just recently re-released Expanded Biography of a Fool on AO3, since I decided to resume the process. The next story to have this treatment will be This Beautiful Mess We Made but, since I don't want to rewrite 30k more words and an awful lot of new stories have been released in the meantime, this AO3 version will be very different from the one here. Stay tuned for that!
Finally, any review, criticism or any kind of interaction with my work that isn't stealing or plagiarism is appreciated! Thanks to everyone and I'll see you next time.
