Chapter I - A strange day indeed
It was 11:00 in the morning. The sun was beaming down on the East Los Angeles Interchange. A red Camaro with black racing stripes was cruising at 60 miles per hour. In the drivers seat was a young man about 16 years old, black shirt with long white sleeves, long blue sweat pants, blackish-brown hair and grayish-blue eyes, spreading his wings in freedom with his new car. His license in the cup holder identified him as Benjamin Caputo. He had his radio blasting hip hop, and he was enjoying life. It was summer break, and school had just gotten out, and he had the perfect plan for the summer and his new wheels: he was heading to Universal Studios Hollywood in L.A..
He checked his dash and saw his gas was starting to run low. Thankfully, a rest stop was nearby, so he pulled onto the off ramp at an AMPM stop. "Jesus H. Christ, I thought I got a full tank earlier." He stepped out and put a diesel pump in the gas cap, thankfully having a compatible car. "Thankfully, I know who runs this joint, so I know I can trust this gas station." He entered the store. "YO! Lenny! You back here?!" Unfortunately, he was not so lucky today, as an older woman appeared with a scowl on her face. Ben knows this lady as Denise, Lenny's uptight but well meaning wife. "Oh. Hey Denise. Where's Lenny?" Denise grouched out. "He switched jobs to a pool company." "Oh, I see. Well, could you give me a fresh tank of gas? I'm sort of on a tight schedule." She replied with a tired, "Usually, I don't help people coming in here, but seeing as you're one of my husband's closest friends and a regular, I guess I could make an exception. Just this once, mind you." "Appreciated ma'am, and give Lenny my congratulations for the new job." Denise said nothing but huffed, taking his American Express card and swiping for the new gas.
Back outside, Ben saw the price raise. "Damn it. Not enough." He was about to walk back in to try and sort this out, the wind suddenly picked up violently and ominously, taking his card and receipt with it into a sewage grate. Before he could do anything, the wind started to circle, and looking up, Ben saw something that would stay with him for the rest of his days: a bluish vortex almost like a black hole. He did not even have time to scream before he was pulled in, disappearing with the portal. Denise saw all of this happen frozen in terror, and ran back in to make a call.
Puffy Universe, Tokyo, Japan.
A purple, guitar shaped van with a red bumper, a keyboard tailgate, and "Hi Hi" in bright yellow lettering was parked outside Ariake Arena. This van was waiting for it's owners: a Pop-Rock duo who called themselves Puffy AmiYumi. It was after a sold out concert, and the two girls who were the band were tired. It was 11:00 at night.
The first girl, an energetic, peppy, and optimistic girl named Ami, had pink natural hair tied in pigtails at the top, and flowing behind hair with a yellow flower behind the right one, a yellow GoGo dress with a white buckle, eyes as pink as her hair, and white knee-high GoGo boots. The girl who came out after her, Yumi, was more punkish in appearance and demeanor: Blue hair and eyes, a black choker with spikes more fitting for a metalhead, blue shirt with a white skull, and black skirt and boots.
"This crowd was AMAZING!" Despite being worn out, Ami still had energy in her system. Yumi grumpily replied, "So what? It's the same with EVERY show. I even saw some people trying to climb the stage! I'm still shocked that Kaz won't hire security guards." Ami had to acquiesce her friend's point. "You do have a point, Yumi. We should invest in security. Maybe we should make an ultimatum to Kaz about this" Yumi was about to reply when they heard a loud thud on their van's roof. Looking up, they see a young boy had somehow crashed onto their van. Miraculously, he was alive, but his legs looked out of shape and crooked. He was also unconscious, as his eyes were shut.
Ben didn't know where he was, or what happened. He didn't even know if he was dead. All he remembers is being sucked into some space time vortex and then… nothing. 'So much for summer break. Curses on all the powers that be for fucking up my plans.' All of a sudden, as if to mock his predicament, he was awoken with a start by freezing cold water. "AH SHIT! WHO THE FUCK PUT ME IN ICE-OW!" As if being abducted and knocked out wasn't enough, not only was he given the Ice Bucket challenge against his will, but severe pain in his legs told him he probably won't walk for a while. Jive, his personal robot assistant, heard the word "Ow" and darted from his pocket: a yellow spherical drone with a red dot on both sides with a propeller. It was custom built for him by a friend and classmate by the name of Ryan for just this occasion: severe injuries. The girls looked astonished at the drone healing his legs, and putting them back in their sockets. Still, they were also taken aback at the boy's attitude, but they don't blame him.
He then looked up and was surprised when he saw them, his eyes wide as dinner plates, mouth in a perfect O shape, and a barely audible gasp. Ami, clueless to his reaction, waved. "Hi! How are you?" All that was heard was a comically shrill scream. Immediately, darted away behind the van and crouched into the fetal position. "This is just a dream! Get a grip! Maybe mom's dinner last night wasn't up to usual par! Maybe my root beer on the way here was spiked on top of that! Breathe!" He also briefly pinched himself to convince himself he was dreaming. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking up, Ami was still smiling. Ben immediately backed up, putting his hands out in a defensive manner. "Stay away from me! I have a playstation controller, and I'm not afraid to bash you with it if I have to!" At the threat, Ami realized this situation needed to be defused. "Woah! Hey! Calm down sir-" She was interrupted. "CALM DOWN?! THIS SITUATION SHOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE! THIS IS ALL ONE GIANT ACID TRIP, AND SOON I'M GONNA COME DOWN FROM THE HIGH!" Yumi, realizing this was going nowhere, came out from behind him, smacked him upside the head and said. "Will you shut up?! You should be grateful we saved you! No one should survive the fall you took!"
The tension in the air was thick for a solid minute, before Ben finally let his hands fall, and he curled back up. He started to get misty around his eyes, realizing this was real, and he had no way to get home. Ami decided to break the ice. "Okay, since we got off on the wrong foot, let's try this again: I'm Ami, and this is Yumi. What's your name?" Stuttering from fear, Ben managed to get his name out. "B-Ben. Ben C-Caputo." "Nice to meet you, Ben." Ami put her hand out for him to shake. Hesitant at first, Ben took it. Yumi decided to apologize. "Sorry for the smack, by the way. I just don't like people threatening my friend." "It's all good. I probably would have done the same. No hard feelings?" Yumi shook her head. "Nope. None at all." Ami then decided that, now that everything has been squared away, it's time to address the elephant in the room. "So, how did you end up on top of our van?" Ben shrugged, confusion etched on his face. "Honestly? I have zero clue. One minute, I'm driving to L.A, next thing I know, some big swirly hole in the sky pulls me in. Now I'm here. I just stopped for gas to get to Universal Studios Hollywood." The girls looked at each other, recognizing this as something that happens to them all the time, and then back at him with empathy. Yumi spoke up first. "Honestly, as crazy as this sounds, we know exactly what you're going through, Caputo-kun." Ben looked up, and replied. "Oh I know you do. Ami, Yumi, you both might want to sit down, as what I'm about to say will probably break the fabrics of reality as you know them. Ami, Yumi, I know who you guys are. How you may ask? It's not because I'm a fan of yours, but because this entire world, as you know it and call home, is a TV show where I come from. A cartoon, no less."
That got the girls' attention. Skeptic, Yumi asked, "Really? A cartoon? Do you have proof?" Ben said nothing, instead reaching into his pocket for his phone, and showed the entire series on his apple tv app. Yumi's eyes widened, while Ami fidgeted. Ben decided to gloat. "So. Are we even?" Ami found her voice. "Wow. This - I don't even know where to begin, and we've had crazy misadventures most wouldn't believe." Yumi was at a complete loss for words at this point, even questioning her very existence. Ben smirked at this point. "Yeah, this whole thing is fucked up." Suddenly a sharp smack where Yumi has smacked before, this time by Ami. "SWEAR JAR!" She also has a random jar full of cash with tape saying "Swear" on it. He sighed, and pulled out his wallet, and grimaced when he saw the only cash in it: a $1 bill. "You do realize this is my last dollar, I hope."
A door was heard opening from the building, and another man walked out. He was short, almost as short as a hobbit from Lord of the Rings, with a stereotypical basement dweller goatee, huge glasses, and a blue t-shirt. This was Kaz, the band's greedy manager. He had been overseeing taking down the stage when he noticed the girls weren't with him anymore. "Girls! Are you out here? We need to get ready for the next show-" He stopped when he saw the girls with a boy who was clearly not a fan or a roadie. "HOLD ON! I'LL SAVE YOU FROM THIS STALKER!" Ami suddenly stopped him by putting herself between him and Ben. "KAZ STOP! We'll explain!"