They were all trapped inside this strange, pulsating golden globe while, outside, a mysterious boy and a being cloaked in darkness loomed ominously.

"D-dudes... what are we going to do now?" Miriam whispered nervously.

"It still looks fluffy..." Abby remarked offhandedly.

"Enough with that!" Mei snapped at her, though in a quieter tone. "We need to get out of here..."

"But how?" Thomas asked

Carter simply shook his head. "No, look—this guy with that bizarre key-shaped weapon is clearly on our side. It seems he's here to protect us..." He glanced toward one side of the golden barrier and recalled how the dark creature—Nerraw, as it introduced itself—had called the older boy "Mark."

Mark stood his ground, gripping his key weapon tightly as he glared at Nerraw.

"What is happening?!" Robaire bellowed, scrambling to his feet after his fall. All he could see was Mark and Nerraw locked in a tense standoff.

In a blur of motion, Nerraw raised an arm and flicked it—unleashing a dark, misty blast that sliced through the air toward Mark.

ZING

But Mark was just as quick. With remarkable agility, he intercepted the dark mist; it slammed into his key and then vanished.

Everyone gasped at the sheer speed of the exchange. The dark figure had attacked without warning, and yet Mark had managed to parry it.

Nerraw let out an evil chuckle. "Dark-Blade has trained you well, hasn't he?" he taunted.

Mark clenched his weapon. "Stay a little longer, and I might be able to train you..."

"Hrfm. I don't associate with traitors..." Nerraw sneered, beginning to levitate.

"Ohhhh, okay... so this is happening..." Robaire muttered, his eyes wide as he stared at the floating menace.

"Where's my flip phone? I need to record this..." Abby joked, only to be cut off by Miriam's exasperated tone, "What? That's the least of our problems!" she yelled.

"I've never been a traitor to you!" Mark yelled.

"No, but the person who trained you was," Nerraw shot back. In a flash, Nerraw dove toward Mark at lightning speed, but Mark raised his weapon and deftly deflected the attack—sending Nerraw flying aside. Not deterred, Nerraw quickly regained his balance and lunged toward Mark near the floor of the Skydome. Everyone inside the field Mark had created watched in horror as Nerraw glided across the ground at a nerve-wracking pace. Whoever trained Mark must have done an outstanding job, because he dodged that attack effortlessly.

Even as Mark blocked the onslaught, Nerraw seemed to vanish for a moment—only to reappear behind him. In one brutal motion, Nerraw grabbed Mark by the neck and slammed him into the wall.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Abby yelled at Nerraw.

Nerraw slowly turned his head toward Abby. "Oh no... Abby, what did you do?" Miriam asked anxiously. The dark being began gliding toward them.

"Uh..." Carter mumbled.

"Abby!" Mei shouted, her tone laced with urgency.

They were all deeply worried—Nerraw's forceful attack on Mark had left him unconscious, and now no one was there to stand between them and it's dark power.

"...This is where I die..." Abby murmured, covering her face.

"This is where we all die—never piss off the bad guy!" Mei grunted.

Nerraw chuckled as he drew closer. "You characters really think you're any match for me?" he taunted.

"Characters?" Jesse blinked, his brow arching.

Abby looked up from her hands, "Yeah, keep talking and I'll pound you!"

"Abby, SHUSH!" Mei scolded, as Tae placed a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"When Dark-Blade came to these worlds on his bidding... he made accidental love happen..." It glanced between Carter and Thomas. Thomas blinked, remembering that Nerraw had mentioned something similar before.

"H-Huh? What's he talking about?" Miriam asked.

"But... I'm not a lover for those to happen on my missions... They screw with the dimension's energy. Especially when it's from the main characters," They walked right up to the gold force field, and slammed a fist in it. Nothing happened.

"Haha!" Abby taunted. "You can't break in!"

Miriam grunted in disapproval at her.

Then Nerraw pounded on the field again, causing it to glitch.

"...Oh..." Abby 's eyes widen.

Nerraw laughed evilly. With Mark knocked out, the field's connection had weakened. "AHH!" Robaire screamed as chaos erupted: Aaron T grabbed Miriam; Aaron Z clutched Tyler; Thomas and Carter held onto each other; Abby clung tightly to Tae; and Mei, poor Mei, had no one to hug as Robaire struggled to escape the collapsing barrier.

One final punch, and...

Shwoom—

The force field shattered, leaving them exposed to Nerraw, who now stood directly before them. Abby, still hugging Tae, looked up nervously. "Uh... heh... can we talk about this...?" she stuttered. Meanwhile, poor Robaire slumped softly to the ground. Nerraw's gaze shifted from Abby to Thomas. "You're the only one I need—," he began.

"W-What—," Before another word could be uttered, Nerraw unleashed a burst of force that sent Thomas flying across the room. Carter's shock was palpable. "T-Thomas?!" he yelled. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" In a fit of rage, Carter lunged at Nerraw, about to swing his arms at him, but an unseen force held him in place. "I... I can't move..." Nerraw simply stared down at Carter, then—

"WOAH!" Carter was violently pushed back seemingly by nothing, colliding with everyone behind him.

Nerraw turned his attention to Thomas, who lay a few feet away, struggling to rise. With a swift gesture, Nerraw raised his hand—and Thomas was suddenly lifted off the ground into the air, his body moving against his will. It was unmistakable: Nerraw was in control.

Carter, having barely recovered, watched in horror as Nerraw advanced on the floating Thomas. "THOMAS!" he shouted. Just as Carter prepared to dash forward, Mei grabbed his arm. "Let me go! I can't let that thing hurt him! This is the nightmare from his dream—it's real! It's gonna kill it!" Carter protested.

Thomas writhed in pain as the dark figure's power crushed him, but that agony seemed to ignite something within him.

"Now, let's skip further introductions. I'm not like Dark-Blade. I don't fail," Nerraw declared as he strode toward Thomas.

At that moment, a glistening sound emerged from Mark. Almost unnoticed, the necklace around his neck began to glow. Suddenly, a portal opened—and out stepped someone with spiky hair.

Everyone froze and stared. "Okay... who ordered an anime boy...?" Abby blinked.

Robaire's eyes widen, "What in the flying FU—" Robaire started, but his chatter was cut off as Mei added, "Please tell me he's about to attack Nerraw..."

The newcomer quickly spotted Mark lying on the ground and gasped, "M-Mark?! Babe, are you okay?!" They grabbed the necklace. They scanned the chaos, their eyes narrowing when they saw Nerraw with Thomas hovering in the air. "You..." they grunted.

Nerraw sighed. "Sora..." he said. "I forgot you gave Mark that necklace..."

Sora looked around at Mei, the gang, and 4 Town, then at Thomas.

"Help... me..." Thomas pleaded weakly.

"Quiet!" Nerraw bellowed.

Sora summoned a weapon much like Mark's. "Uh uh uh... one misstep and he's dead," Nerraw warned. His power grew stronger, and Thomas cried out in pain. The area shook with a loud, unearthly noise, the stadium glitching slightly. Nerraw blinked, "The hell?" He eased his power slightly.

"No! Don't kill him! Leave him alone!" Carter cried out.

The pain was getting to much for Thomas, and his skin started to go gray.

The pain in Thomas intensified; his skin began to turn a metallic shade of gray. "What's up with you—" Nerraw started, but before he could finish, Thomas suddenly transformed into the tank engine. His front buffers slammed into Nerraw, hurling him through the air and crashing him into the stage wall.

"WOAH! GOOD JOB, THOMAS!" Abby cheered, jumping up and down.

One look at the tank engine had Robaire shaking his head in disbelief. "It's official... Toronto is the strangest city..." he muttered as he sat down. "I am moving after this,"

"H-he... he's an engine?!" Tae gasped, a huge grin spreading across his face. "W-WHAT?!"

"HOW IN THE..." Aaron Z stammered.

Amid the uproar, Carter noticed that Thomas wasn't moving—he hadn't even changed back. Peering at his face, Carter saw that Thomas's eyes were closed. Just as he moved to check on him, he heard Nerraw rising behind them all. Tae gasped, "G-guys, it's getting up—"

Sora re-summoned his weapon and aimed it directly at Nerraw. "What are you doing?" Carter demanded. Then, "Fira!" Sora shouted as a blast of fire erupted from the weapon, striking Nerraw. "URRGG!" Nerraw screamed as the blast took effect.

"Wow! You got him!" Miriam exclaimed.

"What exactly is that thing you've got?" Jesse asked Sora.

Sora stepped up to the downed Nerraw. "I can't use my magic anymore—I need Mark to wake up—" he said.

"W-What? What do you mean?" Abby asked.

"You're telling me if this dark thing wakes up again, we're doomed?" Priya raised an eyebrow.

"I can use what's left of my power to wake Mark up." Sora aimed the weapon at Mark. "Heal," he softly said, and the tip of the key-shaped weapon glowed a vibrant green. Suddenly, a green flower unfurled atop the boy lying on the ground, releasing a sparkling, glittery substance.

Then slowly, he started to get up.

"Wow... are we in a movie or something?" Miriam mused.

"The whole of Toronto feels like one..." Robaire added, prompting Tae to elbow him. "Shush, Robaire..." he chided.

Mark looked around groggily. "Huh? Wait... did I get knocked out?" he groaned as he stood.

"Yeah, you apparently did..." Sora sighed.

He gasped when he saw Sora before him. "Sora?! Oh no! I was knocked out!"

"Good thing I gave you this—," Sora said, reaching to touch the necklace. Mark sighed, glancing down. "I thought I could've taken him on my own. He's trying to harm another dimension."

Sora just softly smiled at him. "You still need help. Don't over stress yourself with Nerraw, okay?" Then, moving closer, he kissed Mark's cheek.

"Oooh~ Well, this just got spicy...~" Abby quipped as she saw Sora's kiss.

Mark turned to the group. "Hey, sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier." He stood up, then stepped forward. "It usually happens when I have to save someone from either Dark-Blade or Nerraw,"

"Hey, it's no big deal—you saved us pretty well," Abby replied.

"Yeah, totally. We probably would've been dead if you hadn't just... magically appeared," Miriam added, with Mei nodding in agreement.

Mark chuckled. "Yeah, this is..." Then he paused. "Wait a minute... have I seen you all before?"

Mei tilted her head. "You mean 4 Town? Or... us?"

"Yeah, who doesn't know 4 Town?" Abby laughed.

Mark blinked. "No, I mean all of you..."

They all shrugged. "Hold on... you guys are from... wait..." he glanced at Sora, who nodded. Mark looked back at the concerned faces before him. "Okay, let me get straight to the point. You've all figured out that I'm from a completely different dimension, right?"

"Well, if the key sword and that dark thing didn't give it away, I don't know what would," Priya remarked, as Abby snorted.

"W-well, yes. But my dimension... and yours kinda interconnect," he explained.

"Uhhh... what do you mean?" Robaire asked, then glanced at Abby and Mei, whose expressions were just as puzzled.

"I'm from a dimension called the 'Honmono Dimension'—a hub for all dimensions. In that realm, fictional thoughts can spawn entire realities that you can visit, provided you have the right technology."

"F-fictional thoughts?" Mei's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Guys! Can we stop talking and go check on Thomas?" Carter snapped, clearly impatient as Thomas remained stuck in his engine form. Mark fell silent and turned his head toward Thomas. "Oh... so they... Nerraw really did clash two dimensions together... just like Dark-Blade did."