"And that's the basics of the deal with this Demon Lord person." Holy finished.
"So…your very first thing you wanted to do…was try and piss off someone that is capable of cutting off Meg's head with ease?" I asked.
"First off, that was only when she used magic, second it gained us an ally. No offense but that's more work than you've done since you got the crown and at least she's willing to learn to be a better leader rather than shoveling the paperwork onto the spouse army."
"My point still stands, and you are very lucky that she didn't take aggressive actions against us." I stated, looking over the details of the deal again just to make sure this is good.
"You doubt my political navigation skills even though I'm literally the kingdom's Captain of the Guard and your political advisor?"
I let the page fall a bit as I looked at her with a flat look. "The first thing you did…was try and piss off one of our allies because she's also apart of the New Foundation." I took a deep breath. "But, you know better, and I'm sorry that I have an entire spouse army to help with the paper work, but as you can see," I motioned to the two stacks of paperwork. "I still need to sign off on a lot of this." I said, grabbing my comfort drink and taking another swig of it as…I'm still really fucking upset about Tony leaving…
"Well, regardless I'm sure you'll meet her sooner or later. Other than that, it looks like those Loot Enchantment experiments paid off. Sold her ten rings, two ear rings and a necklace for enough to fund all the civil and military programs for years." She said with a grin.
Heh… Holy hates dealing with a strict budget… not surprised she got more than enough to find more.
"You know we basically have an unlimited amount of money right?" I questioned. "And be glad she has more money than she seems to care about if you scalping the hell out of her meant so little."
"Heh… I'm not sorry, besides we're gonna need it to fund the programs I need you to sign off on." She said, handing me a few more papers.
I groaned, looking at them… Then looked at Holy… These are to… reverse engineer the Eternity to have fleets of them!
"Even if Death and co are okay with this, do you really think Vision and others would be okay with this?" I asked.
"Who do you think I talked to about it? Vision and the rest of the AI crew know the Eternity works, they were built into it after all, they only ask the blueprints are kept as a New Earth royal secret."
"Alright." I nodded, before sighting and grabbing the first sheet on this list of nonsense I need to sign off on. "This is going to be annoying…" I muttered, using speed force and my skill to speed this up.
"Resources won't be too much of a problem. The Eternity already has the means to generate whole planets, plus Romero has been working on that skill of theirs. Turns out they can convert mana to physical matter."
"Did he figure this out by himself or did someone other than me tell him he has god like powers?" I asked, readying through and signing off on the many papers that I deemed necessary while double and triple checking things that were suspicious.
"He's been practicing, and apparently he has a brother… sister… weird story."
… Wow I've missed a lot…
"Okay…I didn't know that, and I'll take it it was his sibling was the one that told him that? Cause practice is one thing…but we both know he didn't know that."
"Well it helps they also have the Creation quirk which actually makes it easier."
…huh…
"Well that's interesting, who is this person?" I inquired.
"Their name's Hero."
"Hmm…named Hero with a Quirk…" I hummed. "What did they look like?" I asked, going through more papers as I was curious to who the hell this sibling Romero had, cause it sure as hell aint from their world if Quirk's were involved.
"Green, Nokori fusion like Romero but rather… hyper sexualized. Actually, hold up Nexus has Wanted Posters of them so here…" She said, pulling them out of her Assistant and handing them to…
…
…
That is a female Izuku Midoriya… and these are… hot…
"Okay…so we have a…female Izuku Midoriya who is also a Phoenix Nokori…why they look this stupidly hot is beyond me." I said honestly. "But…I take it it's the Phoenix part that's Romero's sibling?"
"Yes. A Sun Phoenix. Actually Romero remembered them. They burned his suit before." Holy chuckled.
"Well, considering they might have been in pain because their brother was fuzed with Romero…I can see why." I admitted.
"Ironic given they also ended up a fusion." Holy shrugged.
"Fair." I shrugged. "So besides me finishing up all this paperwork and still being a bit miffed at your possibly catastrophic actions…what else is on today's docket?" I inquired.
"Just show up at the bar later today, alright? We're throwing a party."
"Why a party?" I asked.
She smiled. "Shift's finally pregnant."
I was on my feet instantly. About damn time!
"It's a fucking miracle!" I cheered.
"Pfft, tell me about it. All it took was some medical injections from the Eternity Medical AI and some fertility potions Marrianne managed to make and there's finally a baby on the way for them. Magnolia is ecstatic to be a big sister. So we're throwing a party at the bar."
I smirked, then looked at Holy… hmm…
"So we have Shift's party for getting pregnant, when are we going to throw you a baby shower?" I inquired to Holy.
She chuckled. "Last time I let a man knock me up without a ring on my finger, my son Luke was fatherless for his whole life. While Romero and I have been… enjoying ourselves every now and then, I think we'll wait off on that until one of us proposes first."
"Surprised he hasn't to be perfectly honest." I admitted.
"Everyone goes at their own pace." Holy said simply.
I shrugged. Fair.
"That's fair, so when's the party?" I asked, curious about if I should get them a gift for the party.
"Tonight. Starts at seven. No liquor but Bigs' is cooking so you know the food and drink are gonna be top notch."
"Fantastic." I nodded. "Just thinking if I should get them a gift or not…though it'll probably have to be something really good cause Mother only knows if their kid will be a mimic, a galaxy phoenix, or some combination of the two…"
"Which in itself will be… a terrifying concept that is grounds for terror on a universal level." Holy hummed. "Puberty is gonna be fun…"
Now I'm scared…
"...So we'll have danger baby that can, if given the chance, have the powers of Romero, Shift…or Both…and then Puberty happens where…they either create their own significant other, are an amorphous blob that's the destroyer of ice cream shops…or both…I have one fear." I said worriedly.
"Plus if they take after Shift… huh… well this is gonna be fun. Oh yeah Meg wanted to see you by the way."
"I wonder what Meg want's." I sighed. "Alright, either send her in or where is she?"
"Outside." Holy said.
With a light sigh I walked towards the door. There I saw Meg… uh…
She's juggling… three Mjolnirs…
"Hey Alchem." She said as she saw me.
"Why are you juggling three Mjolnirs?"
"Two I got as rewards for killing a Void Thor." She chuckled.
"...Right, so what did you need to ask?" I asked, rather not wanting to deal with whatever the hell she just said.
"Catch!" She said, tossing me one.
I yelped, catching it and… okay this is heavy but… I can lift it now… Holy crap I can lift it!
"Uh…okay, so is this because I'm somehow worthy or am I physically strong enough to lift it?" I questioned, cause I don't know if it had that weird 'worthy' clause or if I'm strong enough to lift this thing that was forged in a Neutron Star.
"It says it has a Strength Requirement of 39,000. You didn't have that before. Now you're way over." She chuckled.
Ah… that makes sense… the last meet up, my Strength Stat surpassed six million. Heh, passive Skill Points are so convenient.
"Fair enough." I shrugged.
"Here." She said, tossing the other two to me. "I never liked them and you seemed hell bent on wanting them a while ago so, have fun. I prefer something with more weight to it."
I caught the other two. "You sure? And also was this all you wanted from me?"
"Basically. I considered just throwing them through your door but since you got pissed last time I destroyed your castle."
"Holy shit you're learning." I gasped. "Who are you, and what did you do with Meg?" I asked jokingly.
"I mean, if you prefer me to destroy the castle…" She said with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes but at least had a smile. "So, heard the exciting news?"
"Shift wouldn't stop crying and screaming about it." Meg chuckled. "Seriously… There were a lot of tears… did you know they now cry gold? And… gems, precious stones and metals…"
Huh… must be their God of Chaos thing…
"I did not, and that's probably because of them being a God of Chaos or something." I admitted.
"Guess so. Either way, see you later." Meg said, giving a half wave as she left.
Heh… looks like things are going well around here.
I wrapped up my office work for a the day at five so I have time for some shopping for them… I could make them something but buying it feels more appropriate.
What to get… baby clothes? If they're a shapeshifter like Shift they might just instantly grow out of it. Or eat it. If they're like Romero… could Incinerate it.
Toys? … Same issue…
Hmm…
"Need something that won't melt to a galaxy lighting up…but need to think of a thing that will work with a shapeshifter…" I hummed, trying to think of what to get… also I don't even know how many kids they're having…
… Come to think of it, I'm not even that sure how that works biology wise…
Before I continue shopping, stopping by Marianne's office.
I found my feathered birb wife in her office looking over papers.
"Hey Marianne." I said softly. "How's my favorite birb doing?"
"Good. How are you doing?" She asked as she looked up at me.
"I'm doing good, though I am confused and…mildly concerned about our current happy couple." I admitted.
"Oh you mean their expecting baby? Shift couldn't stop crying, they were so happy." Marianne said with a smile.
"Yeah, and I'm happy about them finally getting a baby." I admitted. "Though…how does Mimic's whole…reproduction work? Cause I don't know if she'll make one by some weird mitosis esc thing or they'll lay an egg…or do either of those things multiple times."
Marianne chuckled. "Nothing like that, not like me at least. The species of mimic Shift was fused with typically reproduces asexually, however Nokori Biology keeps the reproductive organs and functions not any different than a humans. So they'll have a live birth. Given the fertility potions and injection they got from my and the Eternity AI Doctor, ment to increase their odds of conceiving, they might have twins, maybe triplets but given their opposing magic nature's it's likely just the one."
"So…I remember you said that there is a fifty fifty shot that they'll be a mix…how bad would that be?"
"It's fifty for them being a hybrid, forty to either be a full mimic or full galaxy and a ten percent chance they'll be something different." Marianne stated. "But while most Nokori children develop small bits of their inborn magic, in regards to this I'm actually not sure. In most cases I read where two parents of Nokori biology with opposing magic nature's like this, the child is born with one or the others magic dominating and erasing the opposite magic. In rare cases the child can have both but is very weak magically because of this. There's even a chance they could develop a magic unrelated to their parents, which can also happen."
"As long as we're not seeing a Mimic with the powers of a Galaxy Phoenix that will be good…cause shapeshifting into a Sun or something worse is not cool."
"That's not likely. So, was that all you wanted to ask?"
"Do you think there's anything that I can get as a gift for Romero and Shift for their kid that…wouldn't immediately be useless or burnt to cinders?"
"Heh. Well, diapers are always a safe fallback. Bottles, binkies, as a baby they won't immediately have their power as a Nokori active to them. Small bits later on, after four to six months but it doesn't start to fully manifest until a year or two of age."
"I…have this strange feeling two people are very against what you just said." I said, as if two parents were groaning into the Ether with that claim. "But…hopefully you are correct."
"Well, we'll see. In any case, those are my best options."
"Alright, thank you." I nodded.
With that, I headed out to the stores. I found a baby specialty store and got a collection of things and put it all in a stroller I figure looked nice.
With that, I arrived at the bar with ten minutes to kill. The man and shapeshifter of the hour sitting at a central table.
"Sup you two." I said to the happy couple.
"Hey Alchem." Romero said with a nod.
"Hi." Shift sad with a huge smirk.
"Excited to be parents?"
"Alchem, we've been parents before. This is just the first pregnancy." Shift chuckled.
"Ah, semantics." I said with a wave of my hand, but still hand a smile on my face. "But congratulations, you two, knew it was possible."
"Only took a lot of help and potions." Romero said.
"Feels weird. Nice but different." Shift added.
"You get used to it." I admitted.
"So, you gonna join in the pot?" Romero asked.
"You people are already betting on something?' I asked.
"Well, less a bet but we're letting people write two names, male, female, or just one if it works for both, and winner gets one of those names as the baby's name." Shift said.
"Did say we'd let friends and family choose the baby name if Shift and I ever had one." Romero added.
"Huh, well alright." I said honestly, thinking about what two names I could give. "Hmm…how about Star?"
"Paper and bowl is over there." Romero pointed with a thumb to the bar counter.
I nodded, walking over there and writing it down and dropping my folded entry into the bowl
The party was mostly food, punch, small talk and some karaoke. That Meg won. Obviously. Gifts were opened and the last one was the name. Winner was Bigs.
So, the baby was to be named Fiona if a girl, and Marshall if a boy.
They were nice names and we gave Bigs some applause.
"Heh. Not surprised Bigs picked those." Squeaks chuckled from her seat next to me.
"His family or something?" I asked, not knowing much about his family besides his mother who taught him everything about cooking.
"Yeah. Fiona was his mother's name. Marshall was his dad's name. He didn't know his dad much though."
"Fair, but those are two good names." I nodded.
After the party, we all went home and I found myself on The Eternity. Long range communication is hard, mainly because of the Welcoming Committee, but if you're lucky you can send out a signal that gets picked up. I try and send Tony messages every so often.
I sat at one of the coms, selecting Tony's ship from the list of them and pressed transmit.
"Hey Tony, it's me again…I hope you're picking this up and can hear me…" I sighed. "So, Shifts pregnant which is fantastic, had a big celebration…Holy tried pissing off a demon lord that was also under the New Foundation, and was lucky she didn't attack us cause she was able to decapitate Meg who is apparently immortal so...there's that." I explained…before sighing. "Please pick up you silly pup…I miss you."
I waited… and waited…
When nothing came back after an hour, I turned it off and went home.
"Hey dad." Luna said as she opened the door to her house when I arrived. In her arms in a yellow onesie was her youngest child and my grandbaby, Helios. His fur was an almost toxic green and his hair was a wavy, fiery blue. "Grandpa came for a visit Helios." She cooed to the baby.
"How's my little sun doing?" I cooed happily to the adorable infant.
"Fussy." Luna chuckled as she moved and let me walk in. We then sat at the couch. "He's not been wanting to nurse much. Few times he does he doesn't eat much. I'm thinking he's more Monster than Alicorn so he might need something more mana rich."
I hummed. "Hmm, maybe." I shrugged. "Have you tried to test if they like more mana rich formula or normal stuff yet?
"Mark is out buying some now." Luna said with a nod. "Honestly just a bit worried. The first three were never this fussy. Just loud." She added with a chuckle.
"At least they're not being a little menace like the pranksters of the family." I admitted.
"Heh, yeah. Think the worst they ever tried to prank one another was surprise snowball attacks."
"That's good." I nodded. "And…I'm glad you're living a wonderful life Luna." I said with a smile.
"I'm just glad it's safe enough here for us to have it." Luna said. "As much as it hurt you when this first happened, the end results were the best thing that could have happened."
"Yeah that is true." I said honestly. "Just…so much time lost…but it's making up for it in spades."
"Well I need to check on laundry so just hold onto Helios for me." Luna said, handing me the baby as she got up and walked off.
I cradled the infant. Barely two months. He was sleeping. Slow, even breaths. I couldn't help but smile.
"My sweet little grandchild…" I thought to myself happily. "I'm…so glad we have this time of peace…"
I hummed as I held Helios. I remember when the trouble makers were this small… now they're almost adults… Luna is an adult. Married, four grandkids… and I'm gonna live to see their kids and grandkids and so on…
Rather… surreal, that I'm gonna see so many of my great, great, ect great grandkids in my lifetime. Back on earth, lot of people never got to live long enough to even have kids let alone grandkids and so on…
Earth… heh. Despite ruling a kingdom called New Earth… I haven't thought about it that much. Not like life back there was enjoyable. I guess I'm more or less disconnected from it now than I was prior. Not like if I could go back I'd want to anyway.
"So many things have changed…some bad, and the rest have been good." I thought to myself happily.
As I held and cradled little Helios in my arms, I wondered what he'd grow up to be. To be honest, I'm just glad he can have options.
After I spent some hours with Luna and the baby, I left and began walking around Snowdin.
I felt watched.
I turned, spotting them for a moment before they hid behind a snow poff. I smirked, rapidly appearing to them with Speed Force.
My newest son yelped at this. His usually snow pale skin under some thick, layered clothes. Jeans, jackets, shoes and even gloves. His hood over his naturally bald head, we tried but hair growth wasn't possible for him sadly, and a hockey mask covered his face. Formerly known as The Shy Guy. I named him Keven.
"Whatchu doing?" I asked playfully with my silly son.
"Just… enjoying the snow…" He said softly. "It just feels… normal." He said.
He doesn't remember his time as Shy Guy. Or how he even turned into that. All he remembers is that he was a human boy, born with Albinism way back on his earth. Based on things, he was originally from some ancient tribe, his skin tone and such made him out as some spirit being to his people, and he was later banished to some mountains where he remembered just looking at the snow and… that was all. Nothing else. Just waking up in the hospital.
Plague Doctor thinks given things, it's likely one of the Scarlet Kings lackies doing.
"I understand Kevin." I said softly, kneeling down and gently touching some of the snow. "Snow can be a nice, gentle thing to enjoy.'
"... So, how was your daughter?"
"Luna is okay, got to spend some time with my newest grandchild." I said as well. "But is there something you wanted to talk about?" I asked, considering they were watching me maybe they wanted to talk about something.
"Not really." He said, curling and hugging his knees. "I just like to watch people sometimes."
"I suppose that's fair." I said, sitting down next to Kevin. "How was your day been so far Kevin?"
"Mostly just been here. Relaxing I guess."
I nodded. "Alright, do you want to do something, like build a snowman or something?" I asked, wanting to try to do a thing with my new son.
"Not really…"
"Just want to sit and not do much?" I inquired.
"I guess. There's so much that's new… these clothes, this place. Even the other… people."
"I understand, and you can take as long as you need Kevin." I said softly.
"Thanks…" He said.
I gave him some head pats before leaving him. Guess he's more or less Isekai.
I walked myself to Grillby's, getting a meal to go before Speed Force running myself to my next meet up.
Asriel was sitting at the bed or flowers by where I fell down. Heh, that feels so long ago…
"Hey." He said, giving me a small smile and a wave.
"Hey Azzy." I said with a warm smile. "How you doing?"
"Good. Been feeling better now that I don't immediately pancake under Meg's gravity training." He chuckled.
Heh… yeah…
"Yeah, I understand that." I chuckled. "At least your training is going well."
"Heh. Alphas says I might be able to go Super Saiyan Goat at this rate." He smirked.
"Ah, yes, and then when you go Super Goat 3, you become turbo floof." I chuckled.
"Ah yes, my floppy ears will hit with the speed of light." He laughed. "So, how have you been? Tony picked up yet?"
I sighed. "Sadly no…" I admitted. "I fucking hate how reception or just any form of communication is fucked…gonna have to find this 'Welcoming Commitee' and break whatever the hell is blocking all our transmissions cause I doubt it's the planet at this point…"
"Hm… How's the kids doing?"
I sighed. "They keep asking about daddy and… it's hard to lie and make excuses."
"Ouch."
"Yes, it's painful and it bites every single day." I growled. "I want to go after him and drag his ass back here, but fuck if I know where he is, how far he's gone, or if he's hurt, worse, or he somehow found something that would make his adventure ten times faster." I rolled my eyes. "Cause fuck me do I hate how I understand and would have done the god damn same…"
"Hm… For what it's worth, I'm glad you haven't had to… I don't think you'd want your other spouses and kids to feel and experience all this about you."
… Yeah… The him being gone part isn't that difficult, it's the not knowing anything that sucks.
"I'm gonna have to ask Midas if he has some info on either if this planet itself hates signal's, or where the Welcoming Committee is so I can destroy whatever jammer they have…cause not knowing bites." I groaned.
"Fair, I suppose… if you do learn, then you'd leave too?"
… No… I can't. As king, leaving would be bad. Plus my options in who to rule in my place are small. And as a parent… The idea of my kids asking these questions to the others…
"Yes, I just love being stuck in a position where I literally can't do anything that will actually solve problems." I frowned. "Have to go off and do a thing? Can't cause I'm a parent and a king. Need to solve something? Not allowed to cause you'll lose precious time with your kids and somehow a kingdom will crumble if their figure head isn't there for five fucking seconds." I groaned.
Asriel was laughing.
"You know that laughing at me literally being caged and unable to do a damn thing isn't helping right?" I pointed out.
"Sorry, sorry." He defended. "It just reminded me of something dad once told me. It was something like… 'Heavy is the head that wears the crown, only rivaled by the size of their liquor cellars."
"...So I'm ultimately useless for anyone and unable to do anything that actually matters." I said. "And my only solace is aggressive alcoholism…fucking fantastic…"
"Don't be like that." Asriel said, wrapping an arm around me. "As king, the people look up to you, and after your trials to gain the crown, they idolized you for your strength. I know it doesn't feel like you're doing much, but the people look up to you for peace and security. So long as you're at ease, so are they."
"My point of being a figurehead stuck to a chair is gaining more ground here." I said, still upset that there's so much I could be doing but…nothing is coming out of it, and the one time someone decides to take matters into their own hands, they suffer because of it.
"Look at it this way. Would you rather be away and something happen to New Earth, or here to actually help when the people need you?"
"It's damned if I do, damned if I don't." I frowned. "And magically, sitting around with my thumb up my ass is magically the 'correct' answer." I rolled my eyes.
"Huh. Thought I heard Abby you were into that-" Asriel said as I quickly covered his mouth. I"m happy he's gotten less… pass out happy, with help from Abby giving him talks, but she really spills all the bedroom stuff…
"We're not talking about lewd things you silly goat." I stated. "Currently we're talking about me being completely useless for everyone and being unable to do anything."
"Is being here really that bad?"
"No, it's not." I stated. "That's not the problem though."
"... Alchem, do you want to leave?"
"Doesn't matter." I stated. "I can't leave because family, I can't leave because the kingdom, even if I wanted to leave to actually either find Tony or actually do something that will help, it doesn't matter."
"... You feel trapped then."
"A trap of my own making that my harem addled brain, and Romero's antics, helped facilitate." I stated.
"... Guess that would feel like you were in a prison." Asriel sighed. "So, will you ever feel like the cage can be home, or will you always be pushing against the bars?"
"Doesn't matter." I said. "Either I sit here, do nothing and be with my family while the world spins and nothing is resolved, or I go out and try to make the change that this world needs, also finding Candlelight cause fuck do I hope that town is alright, and lose out on time with my family and hear that the Kingdom somehow fell to ruin because I forgot to tell these chucklefucks to not drink bleach or something."
"Heh. Guess it's a pain regardless. For what it's worth… I'm glad you stayed and became king. If you didn't and left, we'd never be able to date."
"And I'm glad we're dating and spending time together… but Tony was the instance where… I forgot where we are and what's out there waiting."
"... Well, if you do manage to get in contact with him, maybe once we have a way to, communicating and planning can be easier."
True… I have the maps of all these base locations, but can't really get to them… Aqua Terra is apparently one of the larger zones. If only there was a way…
… The Welcoming Committee exists easily up above the higher up atmospheres… If we could shoot down one of their own ships…
… I think I know just who to task with that too…
"Thanks for the pep talk Azzy." I said, leaning over and giving them a quick peck on the cheek. "But I've got shit to do."
With that, I used Speed Force again, appearing outside Romero's house.
I rapidly knocked on the door.
Romero opened it. "Yeesh, where's the fire? And don't say me, that gag has been done to death for me." Romero said with a flat look.
"I need your help getting to one of the Welcoming Committee area's so we can take it down and get signal's again." I said quickly.
"... Uh, alright? So… that means what?"
"That means long distance contact, internet, and so much more…plus…it would give us a way to get off this rock if possible." I admitted.
"Ah. Fair." He said, leaning back in. "Shift! Holy, I'm heading out. Alchem's finally giving orders like royalty!"
"About fucking time!" I heard Holy yell back.
"Be safe!" Shift called out.
He then walked out and passed me. "So, before I head out I need to pick up Meg."
"That is fair, cause we will be heading really fucking high up in the sky." I admitted.
"You coming with?"
I smirked… then…
"Yes, I'm going with." I stated. "I'm not going to be caged here when I can do something."
Romero shrugged. "Alright." He said.
We quickly picked up Meg, who seemed very ecstatic and we were outside.
"So, just straight up?" She asked, looking up.
"One moment." I said while bringing up one of the map's of the Bases that Midas gave us, looking up into the sky and all it's layers for any Welcoming Committee bases.
… What? I looked at the map and list again… the… The Welcoming Committee isn't anywhere here?!
… They must not have set bases, rather mobile ships… would explain how they're so readily able to shoot anyone down.
"Huh…so there's not a single base here…so that means they would probably have roaming ships…" I said carefully.
"Works for me." Meg said, kneeling down and punching into the ground a bit.
I watched as Romero layed flat on his back. He looked at me, motioning for me to do the same. I did then- FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!
The G-Force where my stats not what they are after years of passive skill points and our monthly meet ups to split and distribute them, would have turned me into flat paste on the ground.
When my senses came back… holy crap…
We were on a floating chunk of earth, held up by Meg's gravity magic, and all around us was small bits of space rock, floating structures, dungeons and even some monsters.
Holy crap…
"Wow." Romero said as he sat up and looked around.
"This is…quite a sight." I said honestly, looking around at all the floating chunks in space with the stars much clearer to be honest.
"... There." Meg said, pointing towards an empty spot nearby. "Something there is generating an abnormal artificial gravity."
"Invisible ship then." Romero hummed as he stood up and stretched his wings out.
I cracked my knuckles. "Alright then. Let's go and take down one of these damned ships."
Meg floated the small platform over to it. With a metal thud it shimmered a bit, revealing a ship not that much bigger than some on the Eternity.
Hmm… I wonder…
I pressed against the hull, using Speed Force I managed to phase through it, landing on the other end inside with an easy landing. Oh I have so been under using Speed Force.
Thankfully I found a lever that opened up a door, letting Meg and Romero in.
"Alright, so far too easy." Meg hummed.
Romero took a sniff. "... I don't smell anyone. No one other than us anyway."
Could this be abandoned… no… automated would make more sense.
I frowned and started to look around this place. "This can't just be an abandoned ship…even if it's automated it feels…empty…" I said carefully.
We walked down the halls, finding just room after room of some off machines. Eventually we reached what seemed to be the Main Deck. There was just… an old CRT TV, with a VHS labeled Play Me on top of it.
"Huh… well that's both nostalgic and weird." Romero said as he popped the VHS tape in.
The TV turned on and after a second there was…
He looked kind of like a teenager, maybe seventeen or so, wearing a simple red hoodie and ripped jeans. How hair and eyes were both a metallic dark gray color and his skin was a dark tan color.
"Greetings to you all. Watching this tape means you successfully got onto one of my Welcoming Committee ships. To that I say, bravo." The guy said, giving a small clap.
"...If this is a fucking trap I swear to god." I groaned as I SAVED real quick.
"To the bitch with the big tits, no this isn't a trap." They added, making us all flinch. "And no, this isn't a live transmission either. You see, my name is Gravel. Son of All Maker Gray and All Maker Pecator of The Family. As a result I was born with some Time Walker abilities so, please try not to think too hard about it or call out some bullshit only you'll be complaining about."
I saw Romero and Meg both look at me.
"...Fuck you." I huffed.
"No no, no need for language. Now then about now you must be thinking 'get to the fucking point already' so I will! You see, there are a few quests on Armageddon that my dear uncle Dark Gray has kept hidden with some rather specific and unique triggers. Around the time you're watching this one such quest is already in play. In Search of Heaven."
"Oh yeah, the quest Holy mentioned she got from that key Kid had." Romero hummed
Right. She told me about that this morning…
"But there are many, many, many more. Now I imagine at least one of you knows Quests as something usually received from a guild. These here in the family are reasonably considered as Side Quests, self explanatory as they don't make major changes to the world or reality as a whole. This is what we refer to as a Story Quest. One that does affect the world and reality in some way. Notifications… now."
[Notice! You have obtained the Quest, Free Speech!
Locate and destroy each zones Welcoming Committee ships. (Optional) Copy each ships data for map location data and geographic data.]"Right…that's all good to know." I hummed. "So we just have to copy the data of each ship and then blow it to pieces."
"True, you could blow it up but you could also salvage them. The materials are high quality and the store rooms are packed with valuable goodies selected by yours personally." Gravel said. "Each ship has a jamming radius of one hundred thousand light years. Once taken down and deactivated the jammer shuts off and long range commission across the now unaffected area is free for use! Unfortunately off planet communications will still be blocked by the planets natural barrier. That is a different quest I'm sadly not at liberty to reveal."
"Better than nothing." I admitted.
"I thank you three for this wonderful meeting. I look forwards to seeing, well, not really seeing but I hope you watch the other videos in the other ships. Gravel out!" With that, the tape ended and the video stopped.
"... Boo. I wanted to fight something." Meg huffed.
"All I can say is that we now have a lot of top of the line shit as well as being able to get into contact with people now." I said honestly. "Let's take this thing down and get it checked out and copied before playing the Bonus round of Street Fighter on it."
"You just want to do something other than paperwork." Romero chuckled.
"Yes, thank you for noticing that I want to be doing something other than being stuck in the cage you put me in." I stated.
"Could have said no."
"I didn't learn it until after I became king, and then there was no stopping that series of events." I frowned.
"Well, either way you got that title from it so It's not all bad."
True. The passive Skill points certainly are useful… just need to be in two places at once if possible. Hmm…
"You wish to what?" Vision asked me.
"Is it possible for me to control a… sort of avatar body that can use my abilities and such so I can still be here at home but also be out there doing something?" I asked.
"Well, theoretically it should be possible." Vision hummed.
"Cool." I nodded. "Hopefully it can all work out cause…seriously, I need to do things."
"Might I ask why the sudden eagerness?"
"Because I want to be able to do things while stuck in this folder fucking cage I was forced into."
"Right… well, hmm… there might be a means to do this… will require a DNA sample and some implants surgically imbedded Into your brain, spine and nervous system…" Vision said in thought.
"Maybe I should just look up a Skill…wait, wasn't I supposed to test…wait, Tony's not here…shit." I thought to myself, remembering there was supposed to be that Mothers Tear test… "Well…maybe I can do all that."
… Oh right Shift! While I was going through all that and talking to Button and Tina, Shift still went!
I speed force ran myself right towards Romero, Holy and Shift's place.
This time Holy opened the door. "Well well well if it isn't the chained king."
… I'd be more mad if that did not sound kind of cool.
"Only reason I'm letting that slide is because it sounds cool, I need to talk to Shift about a thing." I said.
"They're right there." She said, motioning to the couch. There I saw Shift playing a videogame with Magnolia.
I walked in and Shift looked up at me. "Hey." They waved at me.
"Hey Shift, how you doing?" I inquired.
"Good. So what brings you here today?"
"I need your help with a thing." I said.
"Care to be specific?"
"So…considering Tony ran before we could do things…want to come with me and test out that Mother's Tear thing and see if either of us can become an Admin?"
"I already did. Toshinori wasn't able to get it to work but it merged into me just fine."
"...Right…" I muttered, hating how I was so fucking busy I couldn't even do that. "Well then…can you help me create a second me that I can either control like some game avatar or just…something?"
"Uh, maybe?" They hummed. "I tested it out some after and I can replicate stuff… hmm… give me a few minutes I need a lot of mental prep before using that power."
"Fair enough." I nodded. "Though…I should also try and call Tony again now that we actually have a chance to contact him…"
With a shrug, Shift closed their eyes for a moment, pausing the game with their daughter as I saw them seem to… radiate the green energy that was covered in ones and zeros.
They took a breath, snapped their fingers.
I felt dizzy for a moment. A thud behind me made me turn and I saw behind me on the ground was… me. As I am now, clothes and all but unconscious.
"Huh…cool." I said, putting a hand to my head as I still felt dizzy as hell.
"I copied basically everything." Shift said. "As for the link I don't fully know if it's established. That was just guesswork."
Once the dizziness left I kneeled down next to the other me's body. I poked their face. I felt it on my own. Dulled, almost like…
Hmm…
Well this will be interesting…
I raised my arm up as with a swing, slapped my other body across the face.
While I collapsed onto myself… I woke up just in time to catch me.
Holy shit!
[Notice! You have obtained the ability, Dream Walker.
Rank: AAA
You have a code cloned copy out there. From now on you can actively sleep and use this other body with all your stats and abilities. Inventories are separate.]
"Okay, that is interesting." I hummed. "Dream Walker will be very good for me…"
I smirked as I gently put my other body down and then rubbed my cheek. Ouch. Damn that hurt… well this will be useful even if I can only use it while I sleep… actually… just in case, I should have something removed from this body… just in case… maybe two somethings…
"...Am I really thinking of getting fixed?" I thought to myself.
It would be best… no idea the stats of others out there and I'd really rather not risk it in case…
These code cloned bodies and the Dream Walker Ability… if Tony waited…
I rubbed my temples bitterly. "Alright…just gotta contact Tony now that we actually fucking can…" I muttered.
"Gonna take your other body with you or…?" Shift asked.
"Well, the plan here was keeping one body here to make sure the kingdom doesn't crumble because nobody knew I was taking a crap for five minutes, and this body is to go out and adventure." I said, as I did sound a bit spiteful against my kingdom but considering what I've been told over the past few days it sounded more like society will crumble if I wasn't always being seen.
"I mean, you sound like you're leaving now so are you gonna leave it on my floor while you're out or take it with you." Shift clarified.
Oh. Right. Guess an unconscious me would be… a bit of an issue just to leave them here in their house.
"No, I'm taking this back to my place." I said, slinging myself over my shoulder. "Thanks Shift." I nodded and headed off back home to put myself in bed and see where the hell Tony is cause…fuck do I miss that stupid thunder pupper.
It's barely been two weeks…
I rushed up to the Eternity and to the com room and began transmitting. Instantly I was picking up just… so much. Fuck this is a lot of stuff.
"Holy hell…" I muttered in awe, seeing so many responses ranging from 'Holy shit we can talk!' to 'What do you mean the Jammers down', to…'What do you mean Nexus was a Lie!'.
…Wat?
I quickly tried to call Tony. "Hopefully all this chatter won't block my signal to Tony…"
I selected Tony's ship again and tried calling.
Come on…
"...The fuck happened?" I heard Tony say, which made my heart swell in pure joy.
"Tony! Tony, can you hear me?" I asked quickly, seeing where he was in this giant mess and how much of a signal I'm getting.
"Al-" The burst of static almost made me turn the volume down. "How- … weak- … happen?"
Shit he must be right on The edge of the current range.
"Damn it, you're just outside the range." I groaned. "Listen, you need to go up to the Outer Atmosphere and look for an Invisible Ship, that's where the Signal Jammers are." I tried to explain, hoping he was getting all of this.
"I- … too weak- … Nexus- … people- … find- … protectors!"
The signal cut out… he's out of range again…
"Find protectors?" I wondered. "Crap…I don't have enough context…" I muttered.
Don't worry Tony… I'm coming.
The team is gonna compose of myself and others. Shift managed to make Code Copied bodies for Romero, Squeaks, Meg, Holy, Bigs and themselves. Why is Bigs coming you may ask? Food mainly.
Shift even made a body for themselves so thankfully we can have them with us, not putting their baby in danger and use the Code cloning they can do while we're out.
Romero already had the Eternity modify a ship for us to take and I both love and hate how he went with the Going Merry.
"Alright people," I said, putting on a straw hat because I might as well go for the full bit here. "Going out on the high seas to get to one of our great friends and going to take control of any Nexus bases we come across as we also hunt down any Jamming Ships." I stated.
"Before we go we best get one thing before leaving. Frontier." Holy said.
Right! That… uh… what?
"And…what's Frontier again?" I asked. "I don't think I've heard of that ability."
"It's a combination ability between Fast Travel and Township that lets you make portals from your frontier to, well, anywhere you are and only people of your township can use it." Holy said. "It was in the info packed 05-1 sent us that I have you?"
…
"The one I labeled as 'Top Priority'?"
…
"The one I put in your desk in front of you before talking about the shit with that demon Lord shark lady?!"
…
"...I was more focused on two things…one, was you trying to piss our allies that can beat Meg in a fight easily might I add, and two, I was also preoccupied with the escort Quest Kid gave us and how nonsense that is." I stated.
"... I know you hate paperwork and reading but sweet Christ Alchem…" Holy grumbled. "Well whatever. Point is 05-1 said it's easy for us to get thanks to my Custodian Title so just need to purchase Fast Travel for you and…"
[Notice! The abilities Fast Travel and Township have combined to create the Combination Ability, Frontier!]
Awesome!
I set up a portal out atop the turtles and one inside the Merry. Both worked flawlessly. Now we can really not worry about leaving and staying away between the Code Clone bodies, Dream Walking an this!
Take that shackles of responsibility!
[You have earned the Estate Title, Petty King!
This Title grants you +.5 RP every time you complain about your kingdom.]
Ah. Estate had been quiet for a while.
"Ah, Estate, my old friend, why were you so quiet all this time you sassy bitch?" I mentally joked. "Alright, now that Frontier is up and running, time to do some traveling."
"Among other things." Holy said. "The map data we got off that ship revealed a ton of dungeons and islands and other things, add to that your data from Midas we'll be making a lot of stops along the way to the next ship."
"Thankfully they modified this Merry to sail the skies and sea." Romero said as we looked over to it. It still looked like the iconic Going Merry, with a few things here and there.
"At least you didn't do the chicken look like in the Anime." I chuckled at seeing the sky fairing ship with a giant smile.
"Our Code Clone bodies are already on board in their rooms." Holy said. "Fully stocked on food, repair supplies, a medical AI in the med bay if need be, fabricators, and of course all the media on the Eternity and New Earth combined."
"Sounds like we're set." Squeaks said.
"Alright, if we're all set it's time to set sail." I said readily.
"Our Clone Bodies are already on board. We just have to have it sail out on autopilot for a while then we can all go to sleep here." Holy said flatly.
Alright… sleep is only… six more hours away.
"Six hours…fine fine." I sighed. "I just want to head start heading out and doing things."
"Even when we are, we'll still fall asleep on the ship, wake up here and do the normal day to day. Not like it's gonna change that much." Romero said.
Right… the only difference now is I'm awake for both adventuring and paperwork…
"I don't like being awake for paperwork…" I grumbled.
"Is there anything you won't complain about?" Holy asked.
"There are plenty of things I don't complain about." I stated. "Just because I do the paperwork I need to do doesn't mean I have to like it."
"... Fair enough." Holy shrugged.
And so, we went back to the day to day stuff.
Nothing interesting happened and eventually we all went to sleep.
As I woke up in my other body I immediately ran out to the deck and took in the sea air and moon lit sky. Oh fuck yes freedom!
[+.5 RP rewarded.]
"You're sass won't stop me from enjoying this damn it." I mentally berated Estate as I was just happy to feel freedom.
"So, where are we heading first?" I heard Meg ask and she and the rest walked into the deck first.
"Closest is a level Zero dungeon called the Sea Tower." Holy said.
Level Zero? We're way to overpowered for that… still, it's something.
"Well, might as well check it out even if it's just a Level Zero." I admitted.
"What's our first major stop then?" Romero asked.
"A Violence Lab Base." Holy said.
"How long til we get there?"
"At this ship's speed, three days."
"Three days of autopilot…hmm." I hummed, thinking about how far all these places are in actuality.
Three days given the distance and space between isn't that bad actually…
Still. At least we're approaching a Level Zero dungeon so that's something. Only thing that sucks is we're sailing at night. Hard to see much out there when it's this dark.
"Well…this can be worse." I thought to myself. "Just got to enjoy what we can."
…
…
…
…
…
…
Ugh!
What's taking so long?! We've been sailing for two hours and still aren't at the Sea Tower dungeon and we haven't even run into any sea monsters!
What is my life?! Doomed to boredom?!
"So are you just trying to merge with the Ship's deck or are you just that upset?" Squeaks asked me.
"I'm not upset." I said, currently on the deck flat on my back. "Just…bored I guess, kinda thought the dungeon would have been closer, and the fact that not a single sea monster has tried ot attack us is also a bit surprising all thing's considered.
"Ocean is a big space and there's a lot of it here. Can't expect every moment to be full of danger." She said.
Hm… actually… hold up… I sat up and looked right at Squeaks…
…
Oh… that might actually explain it…
"No…I think I know why." I said honestly.
"Hm?"
"Alpha Void Mouse that knows how to use their powers…you're probably strong enough that creatures are actively avoiding us." I admitted.
"Oh… huh actually that makes sense… same reason wild animals and pets back in Leto usually gave me a wide birth…" She said. "Bright side means whatever does attack us will be a challenge."
"And I'm surprised we haven't seen anything like that yet." I admitted. "Considering what Aqua Terra could hold…"
"Like what?"
"Well, something's that this place could hold being Old One's, Ancient Leviathan's, strange and unheard of sea creatures, all sorts of weird and terrifying thing's down in the deep."
"... Like Glub Glub?" She asked.
I shivered. While I didn't see the fish I heard it…
"Please…don't remind me of Glub Glub…I still hear it…"
"But he's a cute fish…" She pouted.
"There be a lot of fish out there, Glub Glub is not one of them." I said. "Cause the Void is especially weird and concerning."
"Well he's cute to me. You should have seen him as a little baby fish. Swimming through the air eating bones and rocks and half a car and two lions at the zoo."
…
"That's…not helping your case." I said carefully. "But…okay, if you still like them."
"Of course I do. They were and are still my first real pet."
"Oh really?" I inquired. "I…don't think I've heard this was your first pet."
"When I was little, Romero tried to get me a pet. Needless to say because of my… powers, no animal wanted to be near me. Heck I spook most normal people. For a while I had a pet rock but it just wasn't the same. Then, one day when I was messing with one of my portals, a small one just no bigger than my hand at the time, out swam Glub Glub. They didn't try to get away from me. Actually they swam right next to me and seemed almost happy." Squeaks said. "Even if after he grew to the size of a megalodon and ate the couch I had to keep him in the portal, I still played with and spoke to him. When he started speaking back was a neat day."
…
"Sounds like…Glub Glub also wanted a friend."
"Maybe. Guess we Eldritch beings gotta stick together." Squeaks said with a chuckle.
"Fair." I shrugged. "So, how you enjoying this calming time on the sea?"
"It reminds me of when we traveled our earth after everyone else on the planet left for the stars. Peaceful but… kind of lonely." She said as she looked out to the sea.
"Yeah…I can see it." I admitted. "But given we have Frontier…it's only a simple step till we're back home."
"That and we sleep here and wake up back home." Squeaks added.
"That is also true." I nodded.
"Wanna see what Bigs has made in the kitchen so far?"
"I'm always willing to see what Big's is cooking." I chuckled as I got up.
We headed down to the gally and saw the others here, Bigs at the stove stirring a pot of some kind of soup.
I smiled as I sat down. Well, I guess boring can be alright.
