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This chapter is written by me and edited by KelseyAlicia.
Despite the current situation he found himself in. Clockwork enjoyed being in the Nexus. For one, the size and shape were boundless. For another, the consequences of time and space were paused for anyone inside. Each of the Ancients had limitless capabilities.
Due to the inherent properties of the Nexus, anything they accomplished was unchangeable by anyone outside. The Ancients gathered there so scarcely, so any visit to that was consequential.
Regardless, Clockwork relished it because of its captivating aesthetics. The Pantheon incorporated the extensive history of the Infinite Realms in its design. In addition, a considerable variety of different cultures and civilizations are represented.
The council room was a breathtaking sight. With the immaculate silk tapestry covering the semi-circle-shaped table, lined with various symbols of each of the Ancients.
Nothing was ever even a millimeter out of place in the Nexus, which gave Clockwork a sense of comfort. After all, arranging everything exactly into place was his job. But, on the other hand, time was relatively like a house of cards. There was a delicate balance to uphold, and even one disturbance could make the tower tumble. Hopefully, they could manage to stabilize the house before it caved in.
He shook himself out of his thoughts and brought his attention to the rest of the Ancients, floating in loose groups around the space.
Harmony and Discord seemed engaged in friendly bickering, being opposites. Harmony was clothed in white and light pink, while Discord sported red and black.
Vida, Dynama, and Tempest were in an animated conversation in another area. Dynama had a bright combination of orange and yellow on. Vida was covered in shades of green and white. Tempest predominantly had the elements of the blues, grays, and oranges on his clothing.
Cronos and Enchantra, being the quieter ones of the group, found themselves together on the outskirts in comfortable silence. Cronos wore flowing black and gray garments, while Enchantra wore an elaborate combination of gray, pink, and purple.
Lastly, Cognite and Dimensie were grouped to discuss something in hushed tones, both appearing unsettled. Cognite had light gray and navy blue attire, while Dimensie had swirls of green and purple covering them. The Ancients were a colorful and diverse group.
Clockwork caught Dimensie's eye and nodded, causing the other's expression to harden. Finally, they both went to their seats, closely followed by the others. Silence gradually swallowed the chamber as the conversations winded down and the conference officially commenced.
"All of you are wondering why we have gathered here." Dimensie started. Their mid-tone voice was solemn. "There has been an atypical breach. Not only through the threads of the multiverse, but also through the time stream." They willed a depiction of the pitch black portal to materialize in the chamber, causing a flurry of gasps from the others.
The portal wasn't a standard circular shape. Instead, it emerged like a jagged tear through the otherwise green background of the Infinite Realms. To Clockwork's concern, it already seemed more extensive than when Dimensie had last shown him. "Currently, only two individual realities are influenced. However, that number will soon rise if the issue is not addressed promptly."
"Fortunately, Dimensie witnessed the issue before any significant consequences had surfaced," Clockwork added with a similarly serious tone. "Usually, a council meeting in the Nexus would not be required for such an event. However, Dimensie and I initially planned to address this with our combined skill sets.
However, I have not been able to see who or what is responsible for this in the various timelines. Regrettably, neither has Dimensie with their sight into the multiverse. Moreover, without knowing the origin? It is difficult, if not impossible, to repair. The council has been summoned for this reason."
The anxiety was palpable in the chamber, clearly contrasting with the lighthearted atmosphere before the meeting had begun. Clockwork shared the sentiment. For not one but two Ancients to be incapable of utilizing their most extraordinary abilities with a significant threat to reality looming? It was extremely worrying.
"There have been breaches several times before, all of which we were able to rectify. However, they were never combined in this way. With the complexities of both the time stream and the multiverse to consider? Plus the fact that both of your abilities are being interfered with..." Cognite, the Master of Wisdom, commented with a thoughtful frown. It was not often that they were lost for words, especially considering that they had all knowledge and facts of history at their fingertips.
"Not to mention the anomalous energy transfer between realities and timelines!" Dynama interjected agitatedly. "Energy always balances itself out somehow, someway, as it does between the Earth and the Infinite Realms. Therefore, if my current hypothesis is correct, any instance of energy transfer between dimensions will immediately cause an equal and opposite reaction. It is resulting in an additional energy transfer to compensate!
Now, I am no expert on the scientific laws governing the multiverse. However, I would imagine that this could lead to the eventual merging of the affected realities, which could result in, I don't know, multidimensional collision and/or collapse?" she looked to Dimensie, who nodded in grim agreement with her assertion.
At this, the Ghost of Energy looked to be an odd combination of fascinated and horrified. She created a glowing scroll of equations in midair and studied them thoughtfully. Cognite, who sat adjacent, quietly discussed the issue with her and collaborated on the calculations.
"I can confirm that this result is worryingly conceivable in the resulting timelines if the breach is not contained," Clockwork added with a grimace, bringing his focus back to the group as a whole. "However, there are opportunities to shift the probabilities to a more favorable outcome."
"This probably goes without saying, Clockwork. But this is a potentially catastrophic threat to life across the multiverse," warned Vida, the Master of Life. However, her kind and compassionate nature shone through with the somber tone of her voice.
"Which could consequently pose a threat to death itself! And the pathways for passing on. If these paths get overwhelmed, souls can end up where they are not meant to be." Cronos added his deep, bleak voice, significantly contrasting with Vida's rich and caring one. Being the Ghost of Death, he oversaw the passing of souls onto their next lives.
"I think a question we should be asking is who or what could be capable of this?" Tempest interjected. His eyes were stormy with rage, presumably towards the root cause of the problem. He tended to have emotions like the weather; clear skies could become raging storms at a moment's notice. The comparison was fitting since he was the Master of Weather and the Elements.
"As interdimensional travel is infrequent outside of this occurrence? It is safe to assume that the scope of possible sources is limited to one of the two affected dimensions. Or something that exists outside of time and the multiverse as we do," Dimensie explained before generating orb-like representations of both realities in place of the portal image.
Inside each floating orb, moving images flickered one after the other, depicting the various features of each reality. Numerous faces of humans and ghosts alike cycled through so quickly that they practically merged.
"As for who could be responsible? Numerous beings have existed or will exist who may fit that description." Clockwork said. "However, the vast majority do not exist in the affected dimensions at this point. And as for beings who exist outside of time and the multiverse? At this point, that only encompasses the Ancients."
A tense silence filled the room as everyone looked between each other. The last betrayal within the Ancients had been thousands of years before... and the being responsible had faded during the fall of Pariah Dark. Clockwork hated to think that it could happen again. That another could turn their back on everything they stood for.
An array of memories and emotions arose in his mind, but he mentally shoved them away. It was quite ironic that the Master of Time was dwelling on the past, he thought to himself. He couldn't afford to be distracted at a time like this. Still, his vision stubbornly fell onto Dimensie. The two had always been close like siblings, especially in recent years. They couldn't be planning to betray him, could they?
Clockwork forced himself to look away and scanned the rest of the group instead. While he wasn't incredibly close to many of them, they were still like family. Hundreds of millennia spent together, while all other things changed and evolved drastically, tended to foster that familiarity. So could any of them, would any, break the oath and turn against the rest? Clockwork didn't think so.
But he hadn't seen it coming the last time... So he had to keep his guard up. He couldn't have his trust betrayed again. He couldn't have his trust betrayed again. But he supposed that time didn't heal all wounds.
"Hey, don't look at me!" Discord complained with an exaggerated eye roll, startling Clockwork from his thoughts. Upon looking around, he saw many others peering suspiciously at the Master of Chaos, who appeared rather indignant at that development. "I had nothing to do with this. Chaos can only exist when balanced with order, as Harmony would agree.
In this case, the disorder is getting dangerously close to tipping the balance! Which would not have a positive outcome for anyone, much less me. My job is already challenging enough as it is." While Clockwork and Discord weren't close, the Ghost of Time believed his testimony. Discord was known for reveling in disorder and playing tricks from time to time, but causing this breach would be far too destructive for him to justify.
"I understand the serious situation we are facing, but Discord would not do something like this. We all know he prefers to take 'well-deserved credit' for his actions." Harmony said with a hint of amusement in her airy voice before frowning once more. "All of that aside, I do not currently believe that any of us would be responsible for this."
"Plus, if some of Clockwork and Dimensie's abilities are being blocked? Perhaps there are other possibilities we do not know yet," Cognite commented, appearing deep in thought. "I will look into it myself."
"I can look into any magical items that may be beneficial." Enchantra piped in quietly. She didn't generally speak much at meetings, being as mysterious and introverted as she was. However, the Ghost of Magic was a notable ally. She had often provided influential mystical objects that had significantly helped the Ancients and other ghosts alike.
"All that aside, minor issues are already occurring in the affected realities," Dimensie reported. Then they displayed several images of the ghosts that had found their way between the dimensions. Plus that they already had started instigating problems. "We can continue to investigate the cause. However, our focus must also be on resolving the issues as they arise. Furthermore, containing the breach! At least until the source is located."
"While the breach itself is certainly within our jurisdiction, dealing with specific ghosts may be crossing the line that divides when we can and cannot directly interfere," Clockwork responded. "My usual workaround to this is to be in contact with the right beings willing and able to assist. The heroes, as it were." A small smile graced Clockwork's face at the thought.
Dimensie mirrored the expression and paused the cycle of images in each reality's orb. As the Ancients looked upon the faces shown, some appeared enthusiastic, some neutral, and some doubtful. But everyone ultimately expressed their agreement.
Clockwork finally nodded, content with the choices. "Then we know what we must do."
Voice Actors:
Vida- Nicole Oliver. The most famous role to date is Princess Celestia of MLP.
Cronos- Mark Acheson- Lord Tirek- the final villain of season 4 MLP.
Dimensie- David McCallum- Ben Ten Alien Force Professor Paradox.
Dynama- Juliet Landau- Verdona- Ben Ten's grandma.
Cognite- Chris Britton- Starswirl the Bearded. Famous Unicorn wizard pony in MLP
Discord- John De Lancie- Discord from MLP, duh
Harmony- Britt McKillip- Princess Candace MLP
Tempest- Steven Yeun- Avatar Wan The first ever Avatar.
Enchantra- Catherine Tate- Magica De Spell DuckTales 2017.
I have fanart of all of the Ancients on my DeviantArt account (PhantomS14) if anyone is interested. Also, KelseyAlicia and I both collaborated on the Ancients' designs, and the idea of the Nexus belongs to her. They are also featured in my fanfic, If Vlad Wasn't a Fruitloop, as well as her fanfics Abduction: the Daniel Masters Story and Abduction 2: A Whole New World, as well as a few others. Go check them out if you want!
Anyway thanks for reading!
-Specter14