Tales from the Multiverse
A/N- Before this little series begins, I begin by saying that this little collection of loosely related one-shot stories will be from a variety of fandoms, including Indie game series and multimedia franchises.
A/A/N- This one-shot chapter is centred around the College Kings games and is set between College Kings Episode 3 and College Kings Episode 1. It's a pretty good game/visual novel series which is on Steam and it's by Undergrad Steve. This is also me saying that I don't own Warhammer, Harry Potter, DC, High School DxD, Star Wars or College Kings, although I wish I did.
A/A/A/N- College Kings has a MC with a name that can be chosen by the player. The MC is, by default, named as Alex but for the purposes of this one-shot, the name has been changed.
A Strange Airport Encounter
Summary - A College Kid returns from a trip to Europe with his friends and teachers and meets an enigmatic and seemingly kind stranger...
Fandoms - College Kings, Warhammer (minor)
Sam returned to America with his friends from San Vallejo College and their two teacher chaperones. They'd been to Europe where they had visited London for about a week, then they had been on a ferry to Calais. From Calais they'd been driven to Paris and after about a week there, they had made their way to Amsterdam, where they had spent another week there too, and they'd just gotten off the plane from there.
Sam looked at his friends and teachers as they gathered in a small but loose huddle. Mr Lee spoke to the group with purpose. "I know we've just returned and we were on the plane for a long time but I feel we should have a stretch. We've probably not moved around for a long time and so, before we return to campus, feel free to explore the airport. You'll have an hour at most to explore so make sure you are at the luggage collection point as soon as that hour is up. Now, enjoy yourselves."
If he'd any money left, he would've wanted to buy his friends some gifts. He would've especially bought the girls some fancy-ish gifts, mostly to show them how much he appreciated them but also partly to try calm the almost overflowing, boiling tensions between the members of the Chicks sorority temporarily at least. However, as it was, he found himself walking towards a surprisingly, relatively quiet airport cafe.
He found himself purchasing the cheapest item he could, which was a small bottle of water, and found himself sitting at a table. Sam contemplated all the drama he'd experienced since he started college and he could only slide his hands down his face as though he was wiping sweat off from it. "I swear that my life has been one really fucked up rollercoaster since I started attending San Vallejo College. I'm struggling to think who I've not been with out of all of the girls who I know really well. Man, all of this just a fucking mess." Sam remarked to himself. He really was not expecting a response.
"That sounds like someone who's gone insane; someone talking to themselves." An unknown man with a British accent said, barely containing a chuckle.
Sam looked to see a moderately lean man wearing a white shirt, matching trousers and jackets in black with slightly visible white stripes and a dark green, very loosely worn tie. Sam couldn't figure out the exact age of the man, figuring him to be in his late twenties at his youngest and early forties at his oldest. He appeared to be carrying a bag that wasn't quite a briefcase but Sam couldn't figure out how else to describe it. Sam found the man rude for overhearing his rant directed at himself. "Isn't it rude to overhear strangers?" Sam asked the strange man.
The strange man looked apologetic. He held his hand out, offering to shake Sam's hand. "Forgive me, I forget my manners sometimes. Everyone I know says so. It just seemed like you were angry or... I don't know... it seemed like you needed to talk to someone who's completely disconnected from whatever you're going through."
Sam decided to forgive the man for his accidental rudeness and introduced himself, "My name's Sam."
The strange man smiled, "Do you mind if I sit here?" He pointed to the chair opposite Sam.
Sam gestured to the chair opposite him, offering him the chair, "Go ahead. You look like you need to sit down anyway."
"Cheers." The strange man looked at Sam, almost smirking, "Two questions. One, do you have a surname? And question two, are you sure you're called Sam?"
"I don't think we'll be knowing each other for too long so I don't think I need to say my surname, do I? Also, do I not look like a Sam to you?" Sam replied, feeling somewhat amused by the conversation.
"Not necessarily. You kind of seem more like an Alex, Rob or Kurt or something." The strange man said with a smile. "I should probably introduce myself, shouldn't I?"
Sam gave the man a weak laugh, "Probably."
"My name is Johnathan Harold Samuels, but you can call John, Harry or Sam. My employees call me by any of those names, although it can get confusing at times." Johnathan told Sam. He then saw the slightly confused and awkward expression on Sam's face, "This is confusing you, isn't it? Me giving you multiple first names to call me."
"I don't want to offend you but, yeah, it does seem a bit odd. It's unusual for someone to have first names for their middle or last names, isn't it?" Sam replied.
"I think it's actually a lot more common than you'd think... like very common. There people with James, Riley, Ryan, Lee... what else... John, George, Thomas... I'm out of names for now but the point is any first can be a last name." Johnathan explained to the young man.
"Even Harold?" Sam asked Johnathan questioningly with a barely concealed sense of humour.
"It's not one I've come across before but I wouldn't rule out that someone somewhere has that as a last name or at least a variation of it." Johnathan replied with a smile. His expression then became a bit more serious, "I'm starving, how about you? I'm waiting for one of my brothers to arrive and I've not had anything to eat yet today."
At that moment, Sam's stomach chose to rumble, showing his need for food. "I could do with something to eat. I'm not exactly flowing with cash at the moment though."
"Don't worry kid, I'll grab ya something. Any preferences? Any allergies?" Johnathan asked, getting up to see what food was available in the cafe.
"No to either of those questions... unless there's something I'm not aware of." Sam replied.
"Good, I'll be back in a couple of moments. Do you mind looking after my stuff while I'm grabbing the food?" Johnathan asked.
"Not at all." Sam replied. Johnathan wordlessly nodded his appreciation to Sam before going up to the counter to see what food was available.
Sam idly waited for Johnathan to return with the food. He was curious about Johnathan's belongings. He could've taken a quick look for himself before Johnathan returned or he could wait until Johnathan returned and ask him himself. Sam decided that it would be rude to rummage through the belongings of a stranger and decided to wait. While he waited for Johnathan to return, he saw some of his female friends pass by the cafe. Chloe, Aubrey, Riley and Amber walked past, talking animatedly with each other. Lindsay and Nora likewise were speaking animatedly with each other, presumably talking about the Chicks' upcoming presidential election. Sam could also see Lauren and Penelope talking about some books they had found at a nearby stall. One of the books, which Lauren was holding, seemed to be about fashion while the book being held by Penelope seemed to be about video game design. Elsewhere, Ms Rose was speaking with Mr Lee, presumably organising transport back to the campus. He couldn't see Emily anywhere although he concluded that she must still be nearby as no one appeared to be in a panic over her location, not that they needed to for some time yet.
Sam was still focusing on the girls when Johnathan returned with some packs of food. "Daydreaming about building a harem player?" Johnathan joked as he noticed that Sam was staring at his female friends.
"Huh?!" Sam replied not so eloquently.
"I got us some food. Not the greatest selection, I'm afraid." Johnathan said to the young man.
"It's good. Thanks." Sam replied gratefully.
"American food is hardly the best. Compared to anywhere in Europe, it's very artificial... and for some reason, your country's laws don't allow you guys to use certain ingredients." Johnathan complained to Sam.
"That's funny, me and my friends have just returned from there." Sam replied offhandedly.
"Tell me, were you or your friends paying any attention to the food?" Johnathan asked the young man with blatantly evident curiosity.
"To tell you the truth, we spent a lot of time running around doing lots of shit in London, Paris and Amsterdam. I couldn't say about everything we ate but I do recall that the food is nice." Sam replied honestly.
"I think you'll find that the reason it's so nice regardless of where you went is because the ingredients are a lot more natural. Not saying all of them are but it's a lot less than it is over here. I mean, look at the fillings in your sandwich. Unless it's under a couple of quid or dollars, then ham should not be that processed and the cheddar should not be that orange. Cheddar should be yellow and have a fair bit more... well... everything to it. As for the ham, it does not need to be treated with as many chemicals as they seem to do over here." Johnathan said in a tone that Sam thought was half complaining and half pleasantly surprised.
After a moment of silence after Johnathan's diatribe about American food standards, Sam asked him about his luggage, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but may I ask what's in your luggage? You never said what you did and some of the baggage looks a lot more... business like."
"I suppose I didn't tell you what I do, did I?" Johnathan replied with a sense of quiet contemplation. He then became a little more enthusiastic about what he was going to tell Sam, "I can't tell you a lot really. Really hush hush kind of stuff but I am one of the owners and directors of a company that does scientific research, military r and d and armed security around the world. My brothers are also co-owners and directors of our company. Some of that luggage contains highly classified documentation."
"I'm sorry I asked now. I hope that it doesn't get you in trouble." Sam said sincerely.
"Don't worry about it Player, it's natural to be curious about things that you don't know anything about." Johnathan replied, not feeling worried in the slightest. He then shifted the conversation to something that Sam really didn't want to think about, "Before we met, you were speaking to yourself, almost like you were having a go at yourself. Do you wanna tell me?"
Sam was hesitant to say anything to the still unknown Johnathan, "I dunno..."
Johnathan reasoned and theorised with Sam, "Think of it this way. As I said a short while ago, you seem like you need to vent your feelings, and if I'm right, not to anyone you know as I'm guessing they're linked to what you're feeling right now. As a neutral party, I'd be more than happy to listen to you and offer you some knowledge and advice in relation to your problem... that is, if I can help in any way."
Sam contemplated what Johnathan said and after a few moments, he relented and told Johnathan his story. "Right... where do I begin? Well it began when I started going to San Vallejo college. About a couple of months before I started going, I broke up with my now ex-girlfriend and now we're attending the same college."
"I'm sensing there's more than just this ex-girlfriend to this story, isn't there?" Johnathan asked rhetorically as though he already knew his answer.
Sam nodded slowly, "As soon as I started college, in the space of a matter of days and weeks, I became friends with a number of girls there in addition to reuniting with my ex. Whenever I'm with any of them, they bring out parts of me I didn't know I had. When I'm near any of them, I can feel my heart race. Is it unusual for someone to be attracted to multiple people?"
"Is it unusual to be attracted to multiple people? probably not. Is it unusual to be in a relationship with multiple people? I think that would be a yes, don't you?" Johnathan said to Sam. Sam could only groan in response. Johnathan immediately spoke to him in a reassuring manner, "Now I'm not saying you couldn't enter into relationship with everyone who you're interested in. You would have to consider a lot of things however; things such as their friendships or relationships, their beliefs and what they'd from a relationship."
Sam groaned even more, "I'm screwed then; I make one wrong move and it might as well be lights out on any kind of relationship with any of them."
"No, you're not. Just remember what I've said and remember to be honest with them. People, especially women, will, more often than not, appreciate honesty and they won't always want to hear what they want to hear." Johnathan replied. "Sometimes people need to hear the unvarnished truth, warts, splinters and all."
"Is that really true?" Sam asked sceptically.
"I don't think you'd be here listening to me if it weren't true." Johnathan replied, almost smugly. He then took a sip of his hot drink and spoke, "Have you ever heard of the multiverse?"
"No..." Sam said hesitantly before narrowing his eyes in curiosity, "Why are you asking?"
"Think of it this way, if you weren't having a go at yourself in the middle of an airport cafe, we may never have met. Somewhere in all of existence, there's probably a version of you who will never meet me. There's probably a version of you who's called Alex, Rob, Craig, Stan, Kyle etcetera, somewhere out there. There might be a version of you somewhere who'll get all the girls you could possibly want and there might be a version of you who'll end with no one. There's probably a fantasy version of me out there who's become a despot of his own little kingdom. There's probably a version of me who's an only child and will be working on things for the betterment of everyone with his... or her partner. My point is this... you can't change what they do or what happens to them but you can always shape your own future. You might get everything you could want, you might end up destroying more than a few of your own personal relationships but whatever happens, it's up to you to make the most of your life." Johnathan said eloquently to Sam, striking a chord in the young man. Johnathan then polished up most of what was left of his food, setting aside some small bits of food so he could snack on them later. Sam finished off his food as well and then got up with Johnathan getting up almost a split second later.
"Thanks for listening to me speak about my college relationship problems." Sam said gratefully. "And for the advice as well. Even if some of what you said makes it sound like every decision I make seem pretty pointless."
"Don't worry about it, I like to be helpful and I do like to meet new people too." Johnathan said with a sincere smile on his face. The pair left the cafe and slowly began making their way to the luggage collection point. On their way there, they passed by a Krispy Kreme stand. Sam was about to continue moving past it but Johnathan stopped and paid for and picked up a large amount of Doughnuts. Soon afterwards, they passed by a bakery stand and Johnathan picked up a number of pastry items.
"That's a lot of food to pick up, isn't it? Especially from an airport that's probably overpriced." Sam said, almost in disbelief, as they walked away from the bakery stand.
"Still better than the food you get in airplanes. That stuff is stale at the very least and they don't try to make it even taste nice. Besides not all of it is for me, some of it is for my brother who's due to land soon." Johnathan replied, his tone initially dismissive when describing airplane food before becoming more light hearted.
"Smells nice." Sam commented pleasantly as he described the various baked goods.
"As they should. They seem to have been freshly made." Johnathan replied, almost knowingly.
"How do you know?" Sam asked.
"Two things; they're still warm and they're going to want the customers. They aren't going to want to give their customers the stale stuff." Johnathan pointed out.
"That's one thing you know and one thing you've guessed." Sam said bemusedly.
"Is it a guess? While this isn't a main airport like JFK airport or an airport in Texas or California, it is still a busy airport; they're going to want to make as much money as possible." Johnathan explained to Sam,who found himself agreeing with the older man's reasoning.
After a short walk, they made their way back to the luggage area where the students and the two teachers were gathering. Walking away from them was someone who appeared to be Charli but Sam couldn't tell for certain. He frowned at the thought that Charli may have still been around during the last days of their trip. Johnathan noticed Sam's frown, "Seen something or someone you don't like?"
"Not sure..." Sam replied, grimacing as his gaze followed the figure moving away from them.
"Okey dokey. Just remember that, as far as I can tell, we don't have long before we part ways so I will not be advising you on how to resolve the grudges you are currently having, assuming they're still going on that is." Johnathan replied with barely a hint of humour.
"Fair enough." Sam replied, his tone showing his acceptance of Johnathan's words.
"So... without pointing them out to me, tell me the names of all the girls you're interested in." Johnathan said in a friendly but authoritative tone.
Taken by surprise by what Johnathan said, Sam instinctively replied and told him the names of the girls he was interested in, "Chloe, Aubrey, Nora, Riley, Emily, Lauren, Penelope, Lorraine, Lindsey, Autumn, Jenny and Amber."
"Damn kid, that's a lot of girls you're interested in and a bunch of relationships to juggle around. I'm betting that not all of them are even part of this group you're heading towards." Johnathan said in a tone that bordered on envy and respect. He looked in the direction of the returned college students.
"You could say that again." Sam replied almost despairingly.
"Don't be down player, from what I can tell, you've not screwed anything up yet... or at the very least, not screwed up too much to have a bunch of chicks wanting to rip your balls off and feeding them to the nearest hyena." Johnathan pointed out with some visceral mental pictures.
"I don't think I needed all that imagery in my head thanks." Sam replied with a wince. He had unconsciously moved his hands to protect his genitals upon the end of Johnathan's description.
"Sorry kid. Another thing you could say I was cursed with; a very overly active imagination." Johnathan said apologetically.
"Apology accepted." Sam said stoically. Sam stopped walking momentarily and Johnathan noticed, "There is one more thing that I think is an issue and I think it might come to a head in the future."
"Is this related to the issue regarding your feelings for all the girls?" Johnathan asked almost knowingly.
"Kind of... probably. It's technically two or three issues, I think. How did you know?" Sam asked questioningly.
"Lucky guess." Johnathan replied succinctly. "Wanna talk about it quickly?"
Wordlessly nodding, Sam without hesitation explained his other issue. "Right... so two of the girls I'm interested in, Chloe and Nora used to be friends and now they hate each other. Then Nora is dating my friend Chris at the moment, although their relationship is on rocky ground at the moment and I'm getting the feeling that she's developed feelings for me. That then complicates my friendship with Chris because he's also in charge of the frat I recently joined."
For a moment, Johnathan remained silent, nodding his head as he processed what Sam said. He spoke after fully processing the information, "Okay I can see how that can be an issue. On the issue of those two girls, I'd say that my advice from earlier still applies with the added caveat that you could use their common association with you to attempt to get them to reconcile. As for the...Nora and Chris problem..." Johnathan paused before resuming speaking, "...that might be something you'll just have to let resolve itself one way or another. I would think that if this Chris bloke is indeed a friend, then he'd be accepting of whatever the situation ends up being."
"I guess." Sam said reluctantly.
"Listen kid, all the advice I've given you today is just that; advice. Ultimately, it's up to you whether you want to follow it or not and the consequences of what you do are yours to bear." Johnathan told Sam warningly. Sam listened to his advice and thought hard about it but before he could ask anymore questions, Johnathan spoke to him once more, "You probably should rejoin your college friends, it looks like they're waiting for you." Indeed, Ms Rose and Mr Lee were looking directly at him while everyone else was casting less than subtle glances in his direction.
"I should go and join them."
"You should. I'll join you for a couple of moments."
"What?!" Sam replied in shock.
"Don't worry about it player. I'm waiting for my brother in this area in any case." Johnathan reassured him but Sam was still questioning the man's actions.
Sam joined his friends and teachers at the assigned assembly point. He worried about what Johnathan would say or do. He needn't have worried about a thing however. "This kid just come back with you?"
"Yes, he has. He's not been bothering you or causing you any problems, has he?" Mr Lee asked Johnathan, shooting Sam an uncertain look.
"Certainly not. In fact, he's been a fascinating person to talk to." Johnathan replied. "He is a very easy person to like."
"I'm glad he's been making a good impression on you. We should be heading back to our campus soon though."
"Of course, I don't want to hold you all up. I just wanted to say that you've got a good lad here who should be nurtured and protected at all costs. I think that he's got a bright future ahead of him, as do your other students but he is a good person and I think that he'd make a great leader. Hell, he could be president of your great nation one day or a great general; whatever he wants to be, he'll be great at it." Johnathan told Mr Lee. He then turned to Sam, "Enjoy yourself kid. Players like you have your whole lives in front of you. Just remember this; stand up for what you think is right and against what you think is wrong. Love Hard, be kind." Johnathan then began to walk away from the group but stopped and turned back to Sam. "Oh, and kid, these are for you to have however you see fit." Johnathan gave Sam the Krispy Kreme doughnuts and began to walk away again, giving Sam a quiet farewell, "See you around, Genghis Khan."
Sam looked stunned as he heard the final words of the retreating Johnathan, who was now nowhere to be seen. "Are you okay, Sam?" Riley asked him as she saw the stunned expression on his face. "Sam...? Earth to Sam..."
"What the hell?!" Sam exclaimed quietly with a ton of confusion clouding his mind.
"What is it?" Riley, Sam's stunning redhead best friend asked Sam in concern.
"How on earth could he have known that?" Sam asked himself aloud as he remembered the description that Mr Lee gave about him, comparing Sam to the ancient Mongolian ruler. Sam then shook his head and decided that it may very well have just been a somewhat disturbing coincidence. "I'm fine Riley." Sam told the redhead as his eyes focused on the figure that bore a resemblance to the traitorous Charli. "Just that dude who was with me just said something that disturbed me. I don't think he meant it. Anyway, is that Charli I see over there? I thought he went home early?"
A/N- Please review and I hope you have enjoyed this.