"Wow, this place seems so different. Dragon was right. The similarities just highlight how unalike everything else is. I wonder how many of the changes are due to no... heroes." I look around. "Riley?" My little sister is gone. Or, more precisely, I'm gone.
The city we were just in has vanished. There's no trace of the shorter and frailer buildings of Earth Iota. Instead, I now am standing in a large, snow covered field underneath an overcast sky. "Riley?!"
I shout, but the only response I get is a group of dark birds taking off from a faraway tree. "RILEY!"
*Panic negated by Gamer's Mind.
Right. I need to stay calm. I'm not lacking in options. Expansion and Power Drain will let me find her if she's within a couple miles. Of course, if I'm going to contact Surgery to confirm it's Riley, then I'll need a guard while I'm incapacitated. Especially in a strange land. I summon Sibby.
...Nothing happens.
That's... not a good thing.
I reach out and 'feel' the connection I have with the Siberian. It's still there, but faint, weak, narrow. Almost as if it's been pulled tight by distance.
Kevin ► Riley?
Kevin ► Sibby?
Kevin ► Can you read this?
There's no response. 'Sibby, can you hear me?' Tongue of Babel also fails.
*Panic negated by Gamer's Mind.
Alright. Fine. Sibby is arguably the single most powerful person on Earth Bet. She can take care of herself. I should be more worried for anyone that upsets her. ...Let's hope she behaves and doesn't do anything... regrettable. I'm sure she won't go on a cannibalistic rampage if left to her own devices.
Right?
Right.
I trust Sibby. More importantly, I trust her to actually make moral decisions. Or at least that she'll only go after deserving targets. Or at least that she'll go after people that she thinks I think are acceptable.
I sigh. I honestly hate deciding who's a 'deserving' target, but that's neither here nor there.
In any event, I still have a backup option. I activate Multiplayer and Summon Jagat.
I look to the side. There's no one there. No sensation, no notification from Optimize, no Jagat.
Boo.
I un-Inventory my pet, but he doesn't appear. Gray Fox? Little Mac? Dhalsim? None of them are inside my Inventory.
I frown. Did I lose one of my most useful powers?
An apple appears in my hand. Okay. Good proof of concept. What about something more useful?
My modified Cawthorne appears around me. I move around a bit. Everything seems fine with it.
It will have to do for protection. I sit down and let Expansion slowly expand the range of Power Drain.
...The operative word being 'slowly'. It may be in my mind since I don't have an impartial sense of just how far Expansion is working, but it definitely feels less quick than normal.
Still, this is my best and fastest way to find Riley. Flying around isn't going to cover more ground. In fact, all it will do is deplete the Cawthorne's power supply.
...
...
...
What must pass for dawn happens, but that's it. Expansion is as far as it can go, and I don't detect a single Parahuman within range.
I need to take stock. Whatever this place is, the rules are obviously different. Before I do anything, I need to figure out exactly what options I have if things go south.
I pull up my status page.
Kevin Greenhouse (Pixel/Jagat/Bengal)
Race: Human (Parahuman)
Level: 51 (7,000/51,000 Exp)
Class: None
LUC: 100
Lucky Break
Dhalsim - Str 80. Dex 25. Con 60. Unarmed Combat. Damage Resistance (Gravity). Meditation. Malleable. Teleportation lvl 1.
Teleportation lvl 5
Silica Control
Damage Resistance (Cold): 100 - 100%
Resistance (Sonic): 100 - 100%
Debuffs:
Tired
Now I'm worried.
*Worried condition negated by Gamer's Mind.
Okay. Now I'm less worried, but I'm still concerned. My status page has never failed me before. Hopefully this was a display issue. It had been far more extensive the last time I'd looked. At least the Debuffs section showed up - not that I'd bet on it necessarily working at the moment. I mean, there was definitely no 'Class: None' line before, so something strange is obviously going on.
I take a deep breath, hold it, and exhale.
It's fine. I don't need my power to remind me of what my powers can do. Let's see...
Gamer's Body?
I Inventory my armor, and take out a sword. I tentatively poke the palm of my hand.
-0 HP
Again, but harder.
-0 HP
Again, but harder.
-0 HP
Okay, as hard as I can!
-0 HP
That's good. My main defense is still working. Plus, it's proof that my status page is displaying only partial information, as I still clearly have physical resistance.
Gamer's Mind?
Well, I've already gotten notifications about it working.
Observe?
I Observe my sword.
[Sword
Str 200. Dex 100. Con 100.]
Some of my better, if basic, work. I Observe the tree in the distance.
[Tree]
Hmmm... It should be giving me what rank it is for Crafting.
We'll put Observe down as a 'maybe'. I shouldn't trust it 100%.
Inventory?
I close my eyes and sense what I have stored. Several regular cell phones. Cash. Gold. Silver. Clothes. Hair Dye. Silicone packages. 'Knockout' Gas. Food. Books. A gun. A canister of containment foam...
All the mundane stuff, really.
Moving on, my armor is still there. Pylons, lasers, cameras, an army of drones. I can't tell for certain if all the things I've Crafted are still in my Inventory, but I don't see any major discrepancies.
What about the truly dangerous things? Golden Gun, check. Crawler's saliva, check. The remains, check.
So the only things that are missing are Riley's Spiders and my Unique Summons. I'm starting to sense a pattern.
Party System?
Huh. I look around. I actually can't test this, since whatever has teleported me here and stripped me off all my sapient allies. Or left them behind. Or, more likely, teleported them to some other place in this world. That's assuming that what I'm feeling from my bond with Sibby is distance.
Transposition?
I un-Inventory the Cawthorne before swapping places with it. I can't see my MP, but I got the sense that was expensive. Makes sense. We barely qualify as 'similar', so even a short displacement is expensive.
Multiplayer?
Jagat didn't show up when I tried to activate Multiplayer before. So the question is, did Multiplayer fail completely? Or is whatever separated me from my family still at work?
Lucky Break?
I toggle it and Observe myself.
[?]
Well, at least that's working.
Teleportation Clone?
Nope. I'm never using that personally. Without sacrificial Boo clones, there's no way I'm testing if that Trait is working.
Rapid Regeneration?
If I can't hurt myself I can't test it. I'll need to find someone hurt to see if I can heal them.
The Siberian?
I mean, kinda? I can feel that Sibby is 'alive', but I can't Summon her.
I hope she's doing okay.
Lucky Fate & Lucky Screen?
Probably? I mean if Lucky Break is working, then my other defenses against information gathering powers must be working too?
Power Drain?
That's assuming that there's any other people with powers here. I mean, whatever brought me here is certainly a 'power', but it's not from a Shard or Parahuman according to Dragon. So will Power Drain even work?
Should I assume it's not and fly around looking for Riley?
I go back and forth before deciding that all that would do is waste fuel. I HAVE to find her, but if she came, then she's probably who-knows-where just like Sibby.
Teleportation?
I teleport a foot to the side. Seems good.
Threat Sense?
I reach out and pull on the Cawthorne until it un-balances and falls towards me. Threat Sense lets me know it's about to hit me - and do nothing.
So... yes? Except that I didn't get the sense of the crows, or whatever birds those were that flew off were looking at me. That might be a flaw in Threat Sense, or they might not have looked at the sound that caused them to flee.
Crafting?
Hmmm... I un-Inventory a burner cell and start Crafting. Once again, it's working, but it feels sluggish. A Pain Arrow appears in my hand. Not much, but all that I can make with a single cellphone. Still, that means that my most versatile power is on the table.
Except I'm not spending time I could be looking for Riley on Crafting.
Expansion?
Already tested.
Ears & Tongue of Babel?
The normal background noise of various signals is quiet. That could be because this Earth isn't technologically advanced enough for such things. It could be that I am just in an uninhabited area. It also could be that my power isn't working. Until I find something that's communicating with me, I can't really respond. Although... Hey, Optimize, can you hear me?
AFFIRMATIVE
Well, there you go.
Huh.
Actually, I feel something extra. It's somehow similar to my Babel Perks. I frown and concentrate. Yes. It's silent now, but I think information could be broadcast across the new connection.
Hmm...
Is it what's interfering with my powers? I should test. With that in mind, I re-focus on my bond with Sibby.
The new 'construct' does nothing.
I don't know if it can't affect my bond, if it isn't doing anything because there's nothing going through at the moment, or if there's something happening that I can't sense.
I frown again. I'm unaccustomed to not having the informational upper-hand.
Juggernaut?
I shrug and walk over the the lone tree that I can see. I poke it with my finger repeatedly. Each time I put a little more force behind it. I'm strong enough to tear the tree in half, but I want to see what happens if I apply the minimum amount of force...
Cracks appear in the bark. I increase the power and poke another spot.
More cracks. I aim an inch to the left.
More cracks. I am another inch to the left.
There! It's as different as night and day. One poke and my finger does some damage and stops. The next, and it moves though the bark and into the wood without slowing down in the slightest.
Instant Dungeon?
I think of when I first arrived here and make a cheap dungeon.
Nothing.
Okay, how about right before we vanished?
I appear in the city street next to Riley. Hmmm... nothing strange. Not that I expected Instant Dungeon to pick up on any subtle signs that my other Perks missed.
"Hey Kevin, you just stopped talking..." Riley looks up at me and then tilts her head. "Hey! Don't ignore me!" She pokes me in the side. "Am I in a simulation or are you just pulling another prank?"
I sigh and palm my face. She's too observant, and I've brought her into simulations too many times in the past... and then told the real Riley about it.
Riley points her finger at me. "Ah ha! I AM a simulation!" Her exuberant cry fades away as she tilts her body to the side and leans forward so that she's looking up at me from the gap between my hand and my eyes. "Cheer up Kevin! I'm guessing that something bad happened, right? Don't worry! It'll all be fine." She beams a smile at me. "Besides, if you got vanished, you can always count on simulated-me to give you the best advice and moral support!"
I smile and tussle her hair. "You're too smart for your own good. You know that? Yeah, I got vanished, and I'm trying to figure out if you did too."
She giggles. "Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out." She then puts a fist on her hip while shaking the index finger on her other hand at me. "Ready for my sisterly advice? Here it is: STOP MOPING!"
I blink. "What?"
She does a little stomp. "You heard me! If I'm not there in reality, I don't want you obsessing over it and being a sad-sack!"
I blink again. "What?"
"And don't give me that 'I can't be a sad sack because of Gamer's Mind' stuff!" Riley glares at me. "I know you. Remember what you did to New York? You can't go all crazy again."
I cross my arms. "I did not go 'all crazy'. Besides, it was justified."
She rolls her eyes. "Keep telling yourself that. I had it handled. Annnnnyways, you can't just try and steamroll everyone to try and find real-me."
I raise and eyebrow. "And why not?"
"You're in another Earth right?"
I shrug. "It's pretty desolate. I'm not sure what it is. I've only seen some birds so far."
"Hmmmm." She nods. "What else?"
"Sibby is somewhere, but I can't call her. All of my intelligent Summons are gone actually." I pause to think. "The most likely case is that we got split up when we arrived. I don't know where Sibby is, but I can tell she's really far away."
"Okay, so how do you know if I got vanished too?"
I sigh. "I don't."
She rolls her eyes again. "So you're on a potentially hostile Earth. You don't know where real-me is, or if she even got transported with you. You know it's a good idea to get the lay of the land first, right?"
I scratch the back of my head. "My Thinker powers are acting strange too. For example, I can't make a simulation of the time since I 'vanished'."
"All the more reason to keep a low profile. That means no armies sweeping the continent looking for me, okay? You have to be discreet."
I sigh and nod. "You're right." Not that I was going to do anything like that. I mean, I'd already decided against flying around myself. Plus, without Boo, my 'army' wasn't capable of independent action. Still, it was nice to get confirmation from Riley that I was doing the right thing.
I mean, I'm aware my power has messed with my mind and that I'm overly protective of my little S-class threat sister. I'm not sure what I'd do if I did ever lose her. I mean, would I mourn? Break down? Or have Gamer's Mind negate everything?
"You're thinking of something depressing again, aren't you?" Riley pokes me in the chest. "Now, I'm betting you didn't make this simulation with a lot of time, since I know you don't like interacting with versions of me that aren't real. So I'll get to the important part." My sister takes a deep breath. "Remember, no matter what I lov-"
The simulation ends.
Right. Lay low. Try and find Riley (and the other vanished people) without drawing attention. Whatever's doing this, if it's a rogue-Shard or something else, it's powerful. I need to be careful and start making my way towards Sibby.
...
What I'd first taken to be the result of a lack of lighting had grown into a strange environment. Everything was black. The clouds were white and the sky was blue, but everything else was black. The ground. The trees. The grass. I mean, I knew alternate Earths were strange, and this one obviously had something different going on, but the lack of color was jarring.
After half an hour, the empty plain gave way to a neatly plowed field. Dozens of rows of black plants were arranged in straight lines. I Observed one.
[Turnip]
Hmmm... No rank. I wonder if I can Craft with it?
It wasn't night, but it also wasn't what I'd call 'day' either. It was more like a perpetual dawn or dusk. That meant that the days must be short. Given the severity of the cold, and how the sun hadn't crested the horizon yet, I had to be pretty far from the equator.
Canada? Russia?
If this world is anything like Earth Bet, then there wouldn't be people farming in Antarctica.
I reached down and pulled up one of the plants. I guess it looked good for a turnip? Aside from being black that is. I didn't know hardly anything about agriculture. What to make? Something to drink?
I un-Inventoried a cup and began to Craft. The turnip slowly disintegrated into pixels and flowed into the swirling vortex I made. Once it was consumed, a dark brown liquid poured into my container. I Observed it.
[Hot Chocolate Rank B]
A far better attempt than my first Crafted food. Since I hadn't needed to reduce any of its parameters to free up points to add a power, it will probably taste good too. (To everyone except Sibby and Panda that is.)
My Threat Sense flared.
An arrow was about to hit me!
It wouldn't do anything, but what if I was wrong? My Thinker powers were unreliable right now. The arrow might hurt me. I should dodge, but if my senses are wrong about the damage the projectile will do, then they might be wrong about where it will hit. Is there even an arrow? I should-
-0 HP
An bolt bounced off of my right shoulder. The only damage it inflicted was a tiny hole in my shirt.
I guess that means I shouldn't second-guess my powers. Threat Sense only worked if I reacted to it immediately. Thinking about if it works or not takes up too much time.
My Threat Sense flared again. This time I caught the bolt.
"Blimey!" I heard an exclamation from a dilapidated house a couple hundred yards away. The strange thing was, it was in English. Add one to the 'I'm in a version of Canada' theory.
I Inventoried my drink, the bolt in my hand, and the one on the ground. I then raised my hands above my head. "Please don't shoot. I mean you no harm."
"Pa! Come here!" The voice yelled. I saw a figure move in the field past the shack. He slowly walked towards whomever it was that had shot me.
I patiently waited until another voice called out. "Come on over! You can put your hands down too!"
I moved towards the house, making sure to avoid stepping on any plants. When I got close enough, I saw kid a little younger than me with a crossbow and a grizzled old man standing behind him. They both wore long, black, and thick clothes that looked weathered. The boy was young. About eleven I'd guess. The man was older. His skin was thick and leathery, but surprisingly pale. I Observed them both.
[Human]
[Human]
Well... that's not COMPLETELY useless I suppose.
"Sorry 'bout Joel here. You obviously ain't a zombie." The old man coughed and cleared his throat before continuing. "That said, even adventures have to pay. Can't have anyone stealing my crops."
Joel must have some good eyes to have seen me - and shot at me, from so far away. More importantly, people! This Earth was populated after all! That didn't surprise me, but it was nice to have confirmation.
"My apologies, my good sir." I bowed a little and hoped that I wasn't breaking any local customs. "I didn't mean to steal anything, but I did take a turnip from what I now realize are your fields." I paused and mentally checked my Inventory again. "I'm not from around here, and I don't have any money from around these parts, but I do have some precious metal - if you would accept that?"
The man stroked his chin. "I could tell as much by your clothes. A [Wanderer] then? Come to test yourself against the monsters here?" He smiled. "That is one of the two things Noelictus is known for."
"And the other?" I asked.
He chortled. "The food, of course!" He motioned with his hand. "Let's see what you have to barter then."
I decided to un-Inventory the silver bar I had. A single turnip couldn't cost much, even taking my theft into account. "Here we go." I pinched a corner and tore it off.
The farmer raised an eyebrow as I handed him the lump. "[Lesser Strength]?" He rolled the metal in his hand like it was clay. "No, I'd say [Greater Strength]. That's a nice skill you got there. No wonder you came here." He turned his head and shouted. "Maggie, come out here. And bring the lock box." He turned back to me. "My wife's the [Trader]. She'll be able to [Appraise] this."
It felt like he was emphasizing odd words. He also was stronger than normal. I didn't know how much force it took to bend silver, it was a fairly soft metal after all, but I doubted a regular person could do it. Was he a parahuman? I reached out with Power Drain. Nothing.
Well, I shouldn't be surprised - at least not about him lacking a Shard. I mean, this version of Earth has to be separated from the Shard Network, otherwise Dragon wouldn't have needed to ask me to investigate.
A plump woman exited the house holding a small chest. "What is it now Harold? I was just starting the wash."
"Hush now woman." He handed her the lump of silver. It was noticeably more round than when I've given it to him. "Our friend here bought himself a turnip from our fields, and needs change." He looked at me and winked. "Of course, since I didn't get to see the turnip beforehand, we have no way of telling how expensive it was."
Whatever.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I wouldn't think that turnips vary in value overmuch. However, since I did take it without asking what the price was, I can't very well complain about one that's reasonable."
The man laughed and elbowed the boy. "I told you I had a good [Hunch] about him."
The woman opened the box, placed my lump of silver inside, and fished out a dozen coins. "Here you go, good sir." I accepted the coins before Inventorying them and the rest of my silver bar.
The woman nodded. "That looks like a right handy skill, that does."
"Quiet Maggie." The man huffs. "Don't be rude and go asking about his levels."
"You're one to talk! Did I say something like that? Besides, I know you'd love to get a skill like that. What with your back and all."
"Tarnation! My back is as strong as it was when I turned twenty!" Harold glared at her. "And don't you be forgetting that!"
Maggie poked him in the chest. "And don't you be forgetting which one of us actually goes to town and socializes with our neighbors!" She turned her back and crossed her arms. "I can scarce imagine you lecturing me on manners!"
"You don't have to imagine it, because it just happened!"
I felt a tug at my leg. The crossbow-wielding boy looked up at me. "Sorry for shooting you mister. There's been more dead about than normal. I hope it didn't cost you nothing to block my shot."
I un-Inventoried his two bolts and handed them back to him. "More dead than normal? What do you mean?"
"You know, the usual. Skeletons. Zombies. The occasional Ghoul." He motioned to the ground. "Winter's always a mixed bag. They like the cold, but frozen ground is harder, right? So there's usually less of them overall." He then shook his head. "This last week, we've seen a lot more than usual. Some of them just wander past too." His voice fell to a whisper. "I bet it's a [Necromancer]."
Harold slapped the back of his head. "Don't spout nonsense boy. The Monster Hunter Guild would know if one of them were about. Don't scare our guest."
Undead? Skeletons? Necromancers?
Either there was something majorly weird with this version of Earth, or these people were insane. I wish I could see their debuffs. I Observed them again.
[Joel
Gender: Male
Race: Human]
[Harold
Gender: Male
Race: Human]
[Maggie
Gender: Female
Race: Human]
Hmm...
"Excuse me, but I must be on my way." I pointed towards where I felt Sibby. "What lies in this direction?"
Harold looked up and craned his neck. "There's a creepy village about three days walk. No dead there, but the people are a bit strange. They hardly ever talk, and they don't like outsiders. On the other hand, they keep to themselves and pay good money for food. Further on, there's Afiele." He glanced at me. "That's the biggest city in these parts. All the major guilds have an office there."
I un-Inventoried one of the coins they'd given me and flipped it towards him. "Thank you kindly for the information." I nodded at Maggie. "Ma'am." Then the boy. "Joel."
As I turned and walked away, I heard Joel ask his (presumed) parents. "What class do you think he has?"
They didn't reply loud enough for me to hear.
...Okay. Let's start making some theories. First, there's something odd going on. None of them were surprised by my strength, Inventory, or ability to ignore arrows. They also didn't comment on my clothing, but that might've just been manners.
I could chalk that up to 'they're crazy', except Harold was a low-level Brute at least. Silver is soft for metal, but not 'bend with your fingers' soft.
So... the undead?
Sure, why not. I'll keep that possibility in mind.
What else? Observe is acting strange. It was giving more information at the end than it did at the beginning. In fact, the information it had given me was already stuff I'd known. I wonder. I'd always relied on the information Optimize had given me. It's been incomplete at times, but never wrong. In fact, the parts that didn't show up were clearly displayed as missing.
I bet Observe wasn't gathering all those details on its own. Instead, it must've asked other Shards. That made sense. The Shard Network encompassed every Earth (except, apparently, this one). The sheer amount of information they possessed was massive. I mean, Instant Dungeon can model people and scenarios with almost 100% accuracy.
Wait.
That was why Instant Dungeon wasn't working here! It didn't have enough information to run a simulation!
That would make sense. Suppose there's something about this Earth the makes it special. Something that the Shards don't understand. Something that they can't model. Something like 'magic'. That would explain why my Thinker Powers aren't working. It's actually vaguely similar to when I'm 'inside' a Shard, with the major exception of Gamer's Mind still being active. The whole world is silent.
Without other Shards observing this Earth, Optimize just didn't have the details required.
Hmmm... That was really unfortunate for Threat Sense. Only informing me of threats that I could already detect was a massive nerf.
Eh, still better than 'Perception check failed' notifications.
...
I walked, and walked, and walked.
At least I got plenty of time to think. On the plus side, if Riley did arrive somewhere, then she was probably doing fine. Despite the warnings of the undead, I haven't seen a single one.
Instead, I've seen half a dozen farmers working their fields. I waved at them, and usually got a wave back. The larger farms had people playing instruments. They weren't anything I recognized. More rhythmic than anything else. I assumed it was the equivalent of having the TV on while doing housework.
Was the entire world stuck in medieval times? The Earth we'd come from was slightly further in the future compared to Earth Bet. Dragon had said that minor changes in the distant past could lead to dramatic differences in the 'present'. She'd used Earth Bet and Earth Aleph as an example. While the two dimensions shared a history, once they split off countless differences would occur.
Some were obvious. This law was written. This device was invented.
Some weren't. The way the universe spun. Cosmological constants... or something. Honestly, it went over my head.
It didn't really matter. Unless Dragon decided to import technology from the 'oldest' Earths, it wouldn't change anything. Even then, Tinkers had already thrown any sort of balance out the window already.
In practicality, the only way it mattered to me was that it was going to be a lot harder to find Riley without the internet.
...Although it SHOULD make finding any of the other people who'd vanished easier. I mean, they should stick out like a sore thumb. I know I sure did.
...
Night fell, and I switched from jogging to walking. I didn't feel tired, but that's because of Gamer's Body. I was doubtlessly racking up 'Tired' debuffs, but I couldn't stop now. It wasn't that I was worried about sleeping out in the open. Rather, it was the thought about what Riley might be going through that drove me to maximize my travel rate.
Well, that and being worried about what Sibby might be up to.
I mean, it'd been more than a year since she killed anyone. Still, a brutal vigilante that maims people and goes around naked?
Yeah, the sooner I got to her the better.
Finally, after the second 'day' of traveling I stopped. I wasn't sure if it was because it was winter, or if it was due to our longitude (or latitude, whichever meant getting closer to the poles). In either case, the result was that each day was divided into 6 hours of sunlight, 4 hours of dusk/dawn, and 14 hours of night.
Meh.
It didn't bother me that much, but it did mean that I spent most of my time stumbling over bumps in the road that I couldn't see with only moonlight. That forced me to walk instead of jog at night.
In any event. Two days of activity followed by ten hours of sleep wasn't the optimum ratio for doing the most without getting overwhelmed by 'Tired' debuffs.
It wasn't a schedule I used very often as getting exhaustion debuffs was cumulative, but healing them was linear. Usually it was more convenient to stick to a 24 hour cycle just like everyone else. It just felt wrong to not be actively doing something when Riley might be in danger.
To sleep I un-Inventoried my armor around me before leaning back against a tree. One of the lesser perks of Gamer's Body was the ability to fall asleep at will.
[Wanderer Class Obtained!]
[Wanderer Level 1!]
[Skill – Even Footing obtained!]
[Skill – Lesser Endurance obtained!]
What? Someone had clearly just spoken to me... but not physically. Ears of Babel picked up the same communication that I'd just 'heard'.
In fact, I'd heard it three ways. Ever since getting Ears of Babel, I'd gotten used to hearing a LOT of things. Radio waves. Cell phone signals. Various esoteric parahumans. Most of them were only audible to my power. However, a few I heard twice. Things that I could hear with both my actual ears and my power. Things like foreign languages.
What I'd just heard had been odd. The strange power that had attached itself to me was behaving similarly to Ears of Babel. They both intercepted the sound, or rather they both interpreted the sound for me. I was only able to tell it had happened because Ears of Babel also transmitted the original details to me.
The original details that clearly weren't English.
I sat and waited for something else to happen, but there was nothing. Eventually, I gave up and fell back asleep.
Author's Note: Kevin didn't get teleported as a group due to how big Shards are. The magical spell tried to take both his and Optimize's size into consideration. (And it is already pretty inconsistent anyways).
Also, as this is both a cross-over and a sequel, I'll be adding a small bio at the end of each chapter so that people will have a better understanding of what's going on.
Kevin Greenhouse, Pixel - The Gamer. Has multiple powers from his Shard's micro-network. Has done some sketchy things in the past, and some heroic. Gamer's Mind keeps him shielded from both.
Optimize - Kevin's Shard. Came from the 3rd Entity and had opinions on the cycle. Excited to encounter a new world.
Harold - An OC.
Maggie - An OC.
Joel - An OC.