Happy (late) Valentines Day, ya'll!
I'm in a depressive spiral! :D
I don't feel confident about posting this story anymore, but I'm not giving up on my New Years' Resolution so quickly!
Also, I noticed that I've almost reached 150 views in total!
I might not feel confident anymore, but at least seeing that people are reading my weird continuity gives me SOME joy!
Enjoy!

(Also, sorry again about how this is formatted. I still can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Whenever I do figure it out, I'll comb through and fix the paragraph breaks and such, I swear.)

Eddy's breaths were unsteady as he and his friends sat on the metal bench, his hands taken by his friends.

Ed had one hand on Eddy's left, the other picking at a loose tread on his jacket as he tried not to cry.

Double D had both hands on Eddy's right, trembling like a leaf as he tried to calm himself down.

Eddy glanced over at his mom and the weirdo, who were quietly talking about something by a tall metal box.

His mom still looked slightly pale, her hands shaking whenever she wasn't gesturing or doing something with the box.

Eddy silently sighed, feeling a headache pinching at him.

He's pretty sure Sockhead dropped a note, so somebody in the council is gonna see it.

They'll all know that they almost got kidnapped, and… uh…

Okay, they'll just think they got kidnapped, but…

Well, it'll freak the council out like they wanted.

And probably scare Double D and Ed's parents.

And maybe Nazz.

Yeah, probably Nazz.

She's crazy about him after all, her interest in Kevin is just to keep him off his back!

…Yep.

That's what it is…

Double D mumbled something indecipherable, pulling Eddy's right side closer to him.

Ed flinched as the movement, before shifting himself closer to Eddy again and sniffling.

Eddy tried to ignore the wet feeling around his eyes, instead gripping his friends' hands tighter.

He could have lost them.

Has that idea always been so… so terrifying?

He doesn't know.

All he knows is that he doesn't wanna get that close to losing them ever again.

That was horrible.

Not to mention that psycho almost shot him.

Or… maybe it was a bluff, and that beetle was gonna shoot someone else?

Was… was he gonna shoot his mom?

Maybe his friends?

…Don't think about that, Eddy.

Otherwise you'll be seeing it in your nightmares.

Quiet footsteps made Eddy jolt to attention, the quick movement making his friends jump too.

They glanced up at Eddy's mother, who knelt down to pull the three boys into a tight hug.

Ed started crying immediately, unable to hold back his tears any longer.

Double D let out a sob too, his resolve having been crumbling since they sat down.

Eddy felt tears roll down his face, but he didn't cry.

He couldn't cry.

Tears gathered in his eyes, but they refused to fall.

He felt his hands being crushed underneath his friends' grips, but he didn't care.

If he holds on, maybe he won't almost lose them again.

He knew his mom was crying too.

His mom wouldn't be his mom if she wasn't.

"…I gotta go soon." The bus driver interrupted, making them jolt in alarm, "Get ready, would ya?"

Marylin sighed, releasing the three boys and wiping her eyes.

Knew it.

"W-We… we're going to a little apartment in… in one of the cities here." Marylin told, "I… Alex said it… it won't be safe for us t-to go back until… u-until the rest of those… those monsters are caught."

Eddy silently nodded, Double D wiping away tears with a handkerchief while trying to coax Ed out of his crying.

Marylin slowly got back to her feet, starting towards the outside before glancing back at the boys.

Eddy nudged Double D and Ed, the former having gotten Ed down to only sniffling.

Slowly, the three boys followed after Eddy's mom.

Eddy tried to release his friends' hands, thinking he'd held them for long enough, before having them quickly grabbed again.

"D-Don't let go." Double D whispered, hands shaking as he gripped Eddy's hand, "Please don't let go."

Ed whimpered in a similar fashion, sending Eddy the saddest look he's had in a while.

Eddy returned the tight grip, feeling a weight in his chest as he croaked, "Sorry."

The bus driver leaned on the side on the bus as he waited, seeing the four outversers slowly approach.

He winced, seeing how the three teens were faring.

Reminds him of the stories he heard about Iblis after the collapse, or when he and his brother tried to get out of Rom.

Terrified, desperate, and holding onto family like it was their only lifeline… which they usually were.

Alex sighed, allowing the three onto the bus and preparing for the long drive back to Station Square.

The bus ride was silent, bar the few times he'd stopped to let somebody on or off the bus.

The four outversers took most of the back, the three teens having passed out in one row and the mother sitting in the other with a little notebook she'd had in her purse.

Which, in itself, had been stored away in the woman's hammerspace.

You gotta love people who actually use their hammerspaces.

Hell knows half the damn overlanders/humans here almost never use it…

Alex couldn't just watch the four outversers though.

He didn't want to crash the bus…

You know, again.

So every once in a while, when there's traffic or he needed to stop for something, he just…

Looked back there.

To make sure they were doing alright.

Those three kids were probably pretty traumatized from the whole deal, probably more so if they're not from a place with common guns.

Places with common guns.

Ugh, he still hated that concept.

Whoever made that a thing needs to be shot.

But though, how did the Cobalts manage to get their hands on outversers?

Did they steal these four from the streets of some nowhere universe?

Did they trick someone into sending them?

…Traded them for a person of theirs?

Whatever the answer was, it probably wasn't anything good.

Not to mention that they were stuck here until the Cobalts either lose interest or get caught.

Maybe even longer, depending on if a rival catch wind of all this.

At least with that damn beetle finally being caught, the chosen have a start on dealing with them.

But until then, they got four outversers in their world.

With almost no cash or belongings.

Ugh.

That woman only has ¥40k after they transferred everything in her wallet.

That's hardly enough for a good three-bedroom apartment's rent, let alone renting and furnishing a 4-bedroom.

Guess he'll have to ask Eru about that apartment after all.

Alex came to a stop at a toll booth, setting up his phone on a holster as he waited for the toll dude to realize he's got the stupid sticker and let him go.

It was an ovular-shaped phone, with the Tomoko Empire emblem on the back hidden away by the red and golden ring-patterned case.

It was an older Ovle phone, with cracks littering the edges of the screen and a small but visible chip on the bottom.

The toll dude finally waved, and he waved back before glancing to the road.

"[Hey, Sage.]" He called, his Ovle phone beeping at him as it answered.

"[What is it, Alex the Malice?]" The feminine automated voice questioned, Alex's nickname making him groan.

He knew she'd done something to his phone.

Guess that's what he 'deserves' for having her grab his phone…

"[Fucking Eru…]" He grumbled, before speaking up, "[Call Teruya. And change my name back to Alex.]"

"[Name changed. Calling: Teruya.]"

The phone rang for a moment, before a voice yawned into the receiver.

"[Can you fucking stop changing my nickname? I'm starting to think Sage is getting pissed off.]" He huffed to Teruya, who snorted.

"[Sage's AI ass can deal with the name-changing, thank you. What's up?]"

"[That apartment next to you still open?]" He asked, silence reigning over the phone for a moment, "[Eru? Did I lose you already?]"

"[Chaos in the void help me, what the fuck did you do now?]" Teruya sighed, making Alex's eye twitch.

"[Hey! I didn't do anything! What happened was you lost two of our bets! Maybe three depending on what the chosen find!]" Alex exclaimed, leaning slightly as Teruya yelped through the phone.

He managed to shoot a glance back at the outversers, the teens still asleep and the woman having joined them.

Probably for the best honestly.

This is gonna be a boring-ass drive.

"[Who or what did you shoot!? Why did you see the chosen!? What do you mean maybe three-!?]" Teruya rapid-fire questioned, making Alex groan again.

"[Hey- Chill- Eru- Would you shut up!?]" Alex snapped, shutting up Teruya and making him sigh, "[These four outversers were being chased by the Cobalt beetle. I knocked him out with the stun gun, remind me to thank your mom for that early present, and had to get my boss to call the chosen to collect him. I'm fine, the outversers are probably traumatized but unharmed, and we're on our way back to Station Square.]"

There was a groan from the phone, alongside a barely audible mumbling before Teruya sighed too.

"[You're crazy, you know that? I'll go call my landlord, see if he's willing to shell off the apartment to some newcomers. Want me to hold off on telling him they're outversers?]"

"[…Probably a good idea, yeah.]" Alex snorted, before shaking his head with another sigh, "[Thanks Eru, I owe you one.]"

"[…Hold off on having me pay the bet until after the holidays?]" She tried, making Alex roll his eyes.

"[I'll give you until New Years.]"

"[Deal. See you in three and a half hours!]"

Alex blinked at Teruya hung up, making him quietly laugh.

He doesn't know how she does that, but she nails it every damn time.

…And now he's stuck driving in silence for 3 hours.

Great.

Maybe it's not too late to call Ji or Monica?

Wait, they're still in Downunda to visit Monica's parents, aren't they?

Oh, motherfucker-

##################################################################################

"…Hm?"

Whis lifted his head, sensing something… odd.

It didn't feel like anything he should be particularly worried about, but at the same time…

This feeling wasn't exactly subtle either.

A distortion in time and space, typically something the Supreme Kai of Time meddles with.

But… this felt different.

Like it had nothing to do with their universe… and yet they still had a place in it.

And it was powerful.

Terribly, terribly powerful…

Whis hummed, glancing up at the skies above.

"Should I ask the Oracle Fish about this?" He quietly asked himself, feeling a slight sense of foreboding, "Perhaps question the Grand Minister?"

After a moment, Whis shook his head.

"No… no, I don't believe the Seer will be any help. Nor will the Grand Minister."

Whis gripped his staff tight, this ominous feeling really starting to annoy him.

Prophetic nonsense was really none of his business.

The dusk and dawn of a planet meant nothing to him.

Or… is it perhaps of another universe?

"…Whatever this may be, I doubt it will affect myself or Lord Beerus." He sighed as he pushed off the matter, "I'm sure someone else will deal with it in due time."

Someone, something…

Whis glanced up into the skies, once again feeling that odd distortion rush through him.

Or perhaps…

His face twisted without his permission, making him question if he should wake Lord Beerus early.

Maybe no one at all.

Dragon Ball belongs to Akira Toriyama, Shueisha, and Toei Animation! (If I'm wrong, don't sue me.)

Oh hi Whis, didn't you have a friend in this scene?
I could've sworn it was something related to Dragon Ball's earth and some 'outsiders' of their own...
Hm.
Oh well...
Guess we'll have to wait for another time!
See ya'll on the 1st!
(Hopefully I'll be feeling better then.)