Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Greatest Hero of Paris

The first story is about Marinette, just a normal girl, with a normal life. But there is something no one knows, which is that, in disguise, she’s Ladybug, savior of Paris, and along with Chat Noir, they fight Hawk Moth and- well you know the story. This episode, however, is different. First, this is not an episode, it is a written crossover made by an enthusiastic fan of her show. Second, she is not going to fight any akumatized people, nor Hawk Moth. No, she will have to deal with major issues, even bigger than fighting villains, which is:

Dealing with three unstable, crazy, literally out of world, individuals.

Now, I may be exaggerating, after all they are normal people in their respective worlds. However, for a girl that does not kill, destroy her city from time to time (without fixing everything, of course), nor does have any family issues (as far as her story goes), they. Are. Insane. Just as much as she is for them. After all, it is not every day you see a person fall in love with someone who treated them nicely once, grow to become an obsessive fangirl who follows every step of their crush like it is another Tuesday. Experiencing this (from an outsider perspective) once or never, either way it is considered… not OK. Who would have guessed?

One day, Marinette was not in Paris. It could be any day, a Wednesday, for instance, a perfect day for getting vanilla ice cream. Nevertheless, she would not get ice cream in a forest. And, sadly, she was now in a forest. A peculiar one, for instance.

A colorful light faintly illuminated the area, and the sky was nowhere to be seen, covered by thick leaves, which, like the trunks, appeared to be made of stained glass. The grass was very soft, and the earth itself, fluffy. No bed was more comfortable than this floor. Tourists would pay a lot to be here for some time, before ruining the natural order with loud bangers and trends. Unfortunately, Marinette was not a tourist.

The wind kindly blew up on the young girl’s face, whose dreams were slowly ending. Dreams of a marriage, perhaps with bouquets full of forget-me-nots and zinnias, with all friends invited, and only one stranger. It was a sweet dream. One she had many times before, and didn’t bother herself to wake up from. Today was different. Because she was not in her room, safe with all her strange fantasies, no. This time, she was in the middle of nowhere, on a nowhere world.

Marinette jumped from her sleep (figuratively, metaphorically and physically), her instincts in full bloom. Where, why, and how, so many questions, and so little answered. She looked around and round, yet not a single sign of intelligent life. Only plants, trees, leaves, trunks, and grass. All colorful, so colorful, it was almost nauseating. They were not as bright as the colors of a rainbow and not as pastel as… well… pastel colors. They were almost neon, but not near it. The only good explanation to imagine this scenario is of white light shining through stained glasses of a great variety, mainly blue, pink, and in between. Yet, it is still not enough to explain the eerie present in this picture.

Marinette needed to think. A lot. To beyond her limits. Looking upwards, the girl realized that climbing up a tree could give her a better view of where she was. So, one hand after the other, foot after foot, Marinette climbed on the tree. She fell, again and again, rising stronger with each attempt. And she finally made it! She had finally made it!

Only to fail again.

Turns out, the leaves were too thick and hard, so hard they were almost impossible to separate, or break! But she could keep going. Maybe, after a long time, after an enduring, difficult task…

Or she could just walk to find a direction. Left, right, south, Korea… it was all the same! But there was not really another option.

So she walked.

She walked, and walked, and walked, and walked.

And walked.

Nothing ever seemed to be different. It was just trees, and more trees, and more grass, and more of a path that did not exist! Oh, poor Marinette, what could she possibly do now? Oh, what?! Of course! There was a reason she was special. Oh, my mistake, the holder of something truly special… A miraculous! And not any miraculous, but the one and only miraculous of creation, the most powerful along the miraculous of destruction… The Ladybug Miraculous! And to think they were only a pair of small, almost unremarkable, earrings.

Marinette shouts the magical words! “Spots on!” In the glimpse of an eye, what was a clumsy, awkward girl is now a superheroine ready to save the day! Ladybug, the protector of Paris, was going to find a way out… and save the day!

Or just save herself.

Now, Ladybug had a special power, that she would only use when a fight was tough, and it was really needed. Well, she was not fighting now, but still needed directions. Desperately. All she had to do was shout two magical words, and her questions would be answered. Probably. Instead of a shout, Ladybug let out a shriek of fear. For a silhouette of a person passed behind her, leaving cold and regret where it went. Could it be… a ghost?!

The superheroine looked around. The silence was deafening, filled only by the sounds of her breath. Marinette could feel her lungs move, hear her body working to keep her alive. Was she alive? More and more questions filled her mind, a dark cloud of doubts eating her brain. She had a weapon. Would it be enough? Was a yoyo enough for what was coming?

Her eyes paralyzed, adrenaline rushed deeply through her veins, as she heard the call of justice:

A scream coming from far into the forest.

Marinette wanted to leave the location as soon as possible. But no matter how much she ran, the feeling never went away. A feeling that someone – or something – was close by. Could it see her? Did it know she was there? Or was she just paranoid? She had only one direction to go. A mission to accomplish! After all, she was Ladybug, protector of Paris, protector of people!

Follow, turn, turn, and follow. Her legs moved faster than her mind, her objective getting closer and closer. What is the plan, Ladybug? Do you even have one? Well, I am sure you will pull through, whatever it is. After all, you always found a way, so why not now?

And there it was. A boy floating from the ground, accepting his fate as the ghost in pink stood before him. Wait, there was too much going on… yet no time to process! She knew the scenario already: a civilian in danger, about to be attacked by an akumatized villain! Right before her stood two – no, three people! And one of them was brightly pink – Ladybug was not racist, but something was off with her color – like a shining spirit! This should be it!

Using her yoyo was only natural at that point, her hero instinct. Her movements were synchronized, almost automatic. It flew past the civilians, just near the woman. At the right time, Ladybug would pull the yoyo, trapping her in an instant!

Except… it did not happen. The yoyo stopped midair as if something had firmly caught it, falling to the ground, not as a weapon, but as a toy. The villain did not move, not even an inch. She only stared.

For a moment, Ladybug could see her very well. The villain’s appearance seemed off from every angle. Not like a human dressed in a different costume, or turned into a mystical creature. No, it resembled something that was trying to look human. Her face – it did not have a face. It was only two shining eyes and a big, bright, smile. It looked made, drawn. Suddenly, it was not a feeling, nor just a sight. It could only be defined as eerie.

There was no time to think. Only act.

The yoyo did not work anymore. It was all right. After all, she still had her second weapon:

Muscles.

She jumped and rose like a bird, reaching the nearest branch, and throwing herself above their heads, ready to strike the villain. The kick came in: no matter what happened, Ladybug would protect-

Before she could think, something pulled her leg. Without a warning, her body rotated a thousand times. Once it stopped, Ladybug fell, barely standing up, too dizzy to process what happened. Her stomach was at the top of her tongue, and her brain felt like it was upwards. Her body did not respond anymore. Two hands held her, being Marinette’s only support to stand up. The citizens only looked. The mysterious woman stared at her, with an ominous smile.

Either way, Ladybug lost.

The Naive Boy

I know, we’ve made mistakes

Trying to hold on to something

That was meant to let go

And now, everything is falling [apart]

And you’re the one who regrets it  

More than anyone else

…

But it is not our fault to desire it

To want to go back home

And to play videogames

And chat with our friends

To never grow up

…

But that’s just how it is

And now, it is up to us

To fix our mistakes

And save ǼLmǯDZǰ

No matter how hard he tried to remember, the last word always faded away from his mind, leaving only a blur of sounds that were too familiar, yet too distant to recognize. Nevertheless, he kept on trying, holding onto something that grew faint to the touch of his mind.

…

This is our second story. Well, there is no particular order, but if there was, it would be… probably the last, or the last but one. In any case, this is the story we will tell now. Unlike the previous one, this story is about a deuteragonist – Darwin Raglan Caspian Ahab Poseidon Nicodemius Watterson III. Or, as most of you know, Darwin Watterson.

It all began when Darwin was a little fish, still in an aquarium, inside a mysterious, creepy van. Ricardo Watterson, a father that desperately needed a replacement for another pet fish, as to keep his demonic child quiet enough for him to rest at least two hours, soon adopted him… as a pet. At first, Darwin was just like any other fish, but with arms. Soon, he grew legs and lungs, to no longer be Gumball’s pet, but his brother.

Most of the time, Darwin and Gumball would live as normal kids, in a normal town, where anything could happen. Literally anything. They are cartoons, so it is nothing unusual to expect. A cartoon loved by kids, who laugh at the jokes and action, and by adults, who love the hidden jokes, easy to identify when you grow up. Unfortunately, it never had an ending.

At that day, maybe a Wednesday, Darwin was also in a forest, sleeping peacefully on the floor. The ground was very comforting, embracing the young boy with its soft, colorful grass, and the breeze covered him like a smooth blanket, delicately touching his face. It was a good spot to take a nap, a very silent one as to not disturb his sleep. That place was paradise, a dream…

Although, it could be better if he was underwater.

Nevertheless, it was just as perfect as it was… Like a prince, he slept peacefully in the middle of the strange enchanted forest, with no animals around… nor other living beings besides plants, grass, him… and a figure that ran silently behind the similar trees and bountiful bushes, very close to his current location.

He fully woke up at the time the shadow – although, a silhouette could define the real image better, since shadows were not allowed in this holy place – passed through. He looked around and just then realized he was not at home. Darwin was not scared, though. When you live in a town with a dinosaur, a giant, a robot and a bad-tempered monkey, all at the same school as classmates or teachers, at minimum you get mildly irritated.

From where Darwin came, danger was present every day, coming any time at the doorstep of his home. It could be a mysterious clown, an evil out-of-reality old friend, or someone that was pissed off. However, the most dangerous people that defined pandemonium and lived in their town, causing havoc almost daily, were the Wattersons. Well, that was what their neighborhood said. It was not because they wanted; most of the time it was a butterfly effect that grew too large to be controlled (which literally happened once, ha).

Most of the time, they were the threat of the city. And he was one of them.

Standing up and looking at the place gave him a familiar feeling, as if it was not the first time he passed there. Darwin didn’t remember anything before that moment. In spite of that, it appeared to have something (or someone) hunting near him. Or hunting him.

Yet, he was not scared, at all. As a matter of fact, he felt strangely calm.

As he looked at the region, the figure appeared behind him, his presence so ominous he did not even need to turn around to know it was there. Its eyes burned his back, staring at him with malicious intention, or what it seemed to be.

Something inside clicked on him. A strange feeling, maybe some type of knowledge, lightned like a lamp inside his mind. 

It was then he realized...

"Of course!" Darwin slowly turned "I am inside a game! Must have been because of some haunted game that Gumball bought. Didn’t that already happen?" In front of the metallic figure, he looked up to find two glancing eyes staring directly at his soul. "Well, that is not out of character for him." He said as if there was not anything wrong at that moment. In case you did not get quite yet, Darwin is a little naive to the intentions of people. He believes anyone can be good if they only try. Well, not anyone. Certainly not his neighbor Mrs. Robinson, born directly from hell, who makes any devil bow in respect.

The figure took Darwin with only one hand, rising him up far above the ground, until their heads were on the same height. It revealed itself a cyborg who looked like he came from a cyberpunk boyband. The iris of his eyes were as gleaming yellow as his spiked blonde hair. But the sclera were an intimidating black. His composure screamed danger. Unlike it, Darwin stared back with puppy eyes.

"Who are you, and what is this place?" The figure asked, in a serious monotone voice "State your next words very carefully." He pointed the palm of his hand at Darwin, glowing with a fire that could come out at any moment.

"I’m Darwin Watterson, nice to meet you!" He raised his hand, waiting for the cyborg to shake it back. The figure only looked at him with disdain.

"Let him go." Someone called out. From behind the woods, came a young woman, who looked to be a princess from the past. She had a braided strawberry blonde hair, and a refined dress, its upper part black with golden chain-stitches and rosemaling, off-the-shoulder straps, and the large skirt, covering her kneecaps, being a degrade of a greenish yellow that seemed to glow, screaming old wealth, and royalty. In contrast, she held firmly to a simple frying pan, entirely gray, possibly made of cast-iron, in position of attack.

"State your business" responded the mysterious cyborg – or are you perhaps with him?

"I don’t care about who or what you are. If I have to, I will fight!" She said with great confidence, but her voice cracked a little, revealing her fear that the princess tried to hide.

And she had reasons to be afraid. All the young woman had was a frying pan. A princess could deal with ice monsters, but what about metal ones, that can shoot fire? Impulsive or not, she is certainly brave to even try facing him. My respect and sincere condolences. Luckily, no one will go to a funeral today, because – first, there are no cops, nor any human – or something else – around to examine a possible crime scene and preserve a body long enough for a ceremony – and second, because a superhero is on his way to crack this case!

He gripped Darwin – butt, back, who knows? – With only one hand, without any effort. Differently from the woman of the past, he looked to be someone from a distant future, with a body made entirely of metal, except for the artificial skin on his face and pierced ears. He wore street clothes, a sleeveless white shirt and long black jeans covering his equally black riding shoes. Certainly, at his time, many needy teenagers fell for him, just like the nowadays fangirls who run incessantly after a celebrity. As she got closer, the figure prepared himself to fight. Fortunately, the superhero was ready to save the day!

Before they could do something, a scream came from above them, and someone fell right at the center of conflict. A blonde teenager faced the soft ground in a bad position. Even though he had fallen from a fair height, the boy was up with fairly ease, only looking at them when the cyborg called his attention. His face was a little dirty with the grass, but unlike dirt, it was colorful and shone like jam, glowing with the lavender light that passed through the leaves of the trees. His expression showed his determination to fight and protect. Moreover, here he is, our savior. Honestly, I expected something more too.

"Is this an attempt of a trap?" The tall figure was more serious than before "Because if it is, it's more pathetic than you are."

"What are you talking about?" Asked the woman, confused yet kind of irritated "You’re the one holding a kid hostage!"

Darwin felt... weird, to say the least. No matter how many people appeared, or how the situation escalated, he couldn't feel much besides a type of serenity. As if he was watching the world through a TV, a new animated show no one had heard yet. The scenes showed each character perspective of the situation, their exaggerated reactions, even their thoughts. 

Wait, what?

Dammit! I shouldn’t have been so careless climbing on that tree. Darwin heard from a distance, with difficulty to discern what it exactly said. It sounded like rumbles, and, somehow, he could tell it was coming from the boy dressed with refined, modern clothes. I can’t even transform. And even if I fight, I still need to find Ladybug to purify the akuma, because if I don’t… The strange model boy did not even want to think of the consequences, which would be pretty big if he dealt with the akumatized alone. Oh what, a new superpower convenient enough for this situation, out of nowhere?! Well, I did not say it was from nowhere. Where did it come from then?! Just let me grab my coffee and I will explain (Spoilers: she won't)

All of them were in an impasse. One little movement and an ugly fight would play out. Darwin watched the confusion unfold, before he finally started to speak.

"This is a big misunderstanding! We were just complementing each other!" Oh, my sweet, sweet boy *sips*.

"He is literally holding you with a weapon next to your head!" The woman contested, and sure, the man’s fiery hand was very close to his head, keeping it very warm, but Darwin didn’t see it that way. He couldn't see it. *sips*

"He’s just keeping me warm! Besides, it’s quite cold." Darwin reasoned, and continued, even when everybody looked at him, very confused. Oh, sweet, naive, *sips*, boy. Differently from the futuristic cyborg, the Victorian woman (and yes, I made a research), and the modern model (which appeared to be a superhero from a series for young teenagers), Darwin was the "closest" to normal there. Or, at least, it would look like it for others.

Now, before we continue, let us explain the “science" behind this world. By this, I mean why Darwin is the normal one, despite being a fish. You see, unlike other famous, glorious movies, this is not a movie. It is a written fanfic. In this story, their minds adapt differently to their reality. For instance, what most of them see is a boy wearing an orange hoodie, hiding his merfolk characteristics. The only one who sees him as he is… is Darwin himself. For him, Darwin was still a literal orange fish with legs. His shoes were the same, though; green with a white sphere and stripes, the same for his shorts (that only others saw).

Everyone looked at the other differently. To explain it better, imagine they had a reality visor, which created a filter in which they saw other things with characteristics from other universes. Darwin didn’t wear one, because in his reality, there were a lot of “different styles”. This was not the same case for the others. Now, enough with technical information. I just finished my coffee, and another character entered the show.

"Why don’t we talk? I’ll start! I’m…" Before he could even finish, a strange ghostly blue man appeared facing all of them. To say the minimum, he was the definition of uncanny valley. Even the cyborg was unsettled. Their weapons were now pointed towards the new integrant of the “group”, who was about to make an announcement.

Oh what, you expect to see the announcement? Well, not before I get another coffee. Then I will start writing the next chapter. Until then, see you at the next chapter…

Chapter Text

Long ago, lived a land of dreams in the balance of spirit and fallen, the reminiscence of light and the omnipresence of darkness. But it all ended when war throughout realities lead Caos to drown all souls into desperation. Losing its core of life made it a land of desolation and mourn, without any guardians to protect the faith of a new beginning.

Nevertheless, an old traveler put their heart into the center of the world, making it a new core of life… Anima. Light had dissipated, and darkness was illuminated. The order had finally prevailed after long eons of waiting.

However, the land is losing its balance once again. A silent war begins to emerge. The only hope of Anima is the Book of All Truths, with old tales of an ancient past, guarded by the heroes of passionate spirits.

And thus, a new story takes place.

*-*…

GREETINGS, NEW TRAVELLERS!

TO THE LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS!

YOU WERE CHOSEN TO BRING THIS WORLD

THE BALANCE OF MANY EONS AGO

SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO

WELCOME

TO RPG!

Protagonists

Hello again, reader, and thank you for reading the next chapter. It means your attention span is still intact, holding still to the thin line of patience. Congratulations! Here is a piece of cake, one that I made on my own. Unfortunately, I do not have the capabilities of giving the cake through a dimensional breach accessed only by text, so you might receive it only in your imagination. It looks pretty, does not? I assure the taste will reach the expectations. Now, back to the story.

If you saw the title of the first half of the chapter (which you most likely saw), you will know that we will follow two groups: one of protagonists and another of deuteragonists. I assure it is the best way to give equal time of spotlight to each member of each group.

Our group of protagonists of their respective stories heard the dialogue.  Marinette heard all of it, no longer dizzy from the roundabouts followed after her attack. She was standing on her own, looking as confused as the rest of the people there to the pink ghost, who was casting a pose after the presentation. The girl looked at her hands: she was still Ladybug. Did they know her? The people around her seemed unfazed. She could worry about this later.

RPG? Did that mean they were on a roleplaying-game? If so, was the only way to defeat the akumatized to complete the game? Ladybug pondered the situation, trying to recall all of what have happened.

However, the moment she tried to remember, her mind became fuzzy, as if her memories had curled on themselves. She couldn't even remember what she had for breakfast the day before. No, worse...

She couldn't remember what Adrien had for lunch the day before!

The only way to find a solution was to use the information she already had. What information? The one acquired by logic, and some experience. For instance, Ladybug had dealt with games before (meaning the ones established by the akumatized). Like other scenarios, they were fruit of a conflict that happened beforehand. Now, was there someone in Paris who loved RPGs? Or, perhaps, hated them?

Or was the akumatized really from Paris? After all, the people around her do not seem to be from the same region as her own.

"A… RPG? What exactly is that?" The woman asked, utterly confused about what happened. She was wearing a large dark cloak, covering most of her body, but her face. Ladybug could see some parts of it; her eyes were blue as a clear sky, and her skin was as pale as snow. She had a long, wavy, white hair, and the air around her was very cold. Her presence… it appeared to be the same of the silhouette before. Under her cloak, the superheroine could see crystals of ice forming like a sign of danger.

"It’s a type of game were you… act like the characters, I guess." The man replied. Marinette had not looked at him yet, even though he was the one that helped her when she almost fell. Looking at him at that moment, the first thing she noticed was his sleeky, shining, almost mirror like, baldhead. At first glance, it appeared to be a common hairless head, but upon closer inspection, it resembled a type of armor, and she wondered if that was truly natural or product of some sort of surgery, maybe…

"Hey, are you looking at my head?!" The guy called out, irritated.

"Aaahh, sorry!!" Ladybug replied, suddenly embarrassed for what she had just done. Looking at him (and not directly his head), she could see he wore a normal hoodie, white, and red in the sleeves, with something written in another language, probably Japanese. He wore usual jeans, and sneakers. He looked like someone about to go shopping.

"Well, it’s not our fault if our brains makes us disturbed about the uncanny valley, which your head fits in." The boy said, in a kind of arrogant tone. Now, he was a peculiar one. First, his hair was light blue, nothing usual about it. What called her attention were the cat ears moving as naturally as if they were of a real cat. He wore a tan sweater and gray trousers, but no shoes or anything to cover his feet. If that were not enough, he had a tail sticking out from the trousers. He seemed the type of person to like danger. Or, at least, get into trouble a lot.

"W h a t?" The man looked at him, with a disturbing face, full of rage in its pure form. Ladybug avoid looking at his head again, despite her curiosity screaming for her to do it. Not that it was otherworldly, it was just unusual to see a head that shone so brightly, and so round like… an egg.

"If you were to be studied, it would be scientifically proven that your head is humanly impossible. It would be easier to believe you are a polished potato that became a man than someone with the rarest mutation of all ages." That boy surely had some grudge against the guy. Ladybug felt a great danger after those words, directly coming from the bald man. The way he looked at the boy was not only of rage; it was ominous, full of malicious intent. If he hadn’t any morals, he would straight up punch him in the face. Why was he teasing him, anyway? It appeared to be a conflict originated before her arrival.

"And you?" The woman replied, with a maternal yet bitter look "You talk more than a parrot, but your face is of a moose, and every part of the rest of your body is as tiny as a mouse. Now" after casually offending the boy, shutting his mouth and leaving him with a scowl full of resentment, she turned their attention into their main problem "Let us stop the insults and know what is going on in here." Ladybug could hear from the tone of her voice she was too impatient, maybe even nervous, for any futile discussions. Something about her intimidated the superheroine a little.

Nevertheless, she was right. Marinette knew she needed all information possible to find a way to defeat the akumatized, and find Cat Noir. She was already transformed (a step done), so how long would it take the villain to realized Marinette was not present anymore? Was her plan to actually find out Ladybug’s identity? Before anything, whatsoever, she needed to know who those people were. She never saw them in Paris, nor on TV, as far as she knows. Her memories were not right, so might as well discard them for a while. The priority was to know whether Ladybug could trust them or not. Oh, so many things to consider. Just another day for Ladybug, and another mission to accomplish.

"It seems we are in a game." The protector of Paris responded "A roleplaying game. In these types of games, there is a story defined by someone, and we include characters that we create, as far as I know." Marinette was not much fond of roleplaying games, but she had played them some times before. It was easy to recall the rules "Or, in some cases, we take roles of pre-existing characters."

"It’s pretty much what I said." The man said in a low, disappointed tone. Perhaps mildly annoyed. It was hard to tell.

"Let me guess: all of this is happening because I didn’t share my videogame with Banana Joe." The boy muttered to himself. The situation was getting weirder, somehow. Why they were not scared, or at least, preoccupied? The man and boy treated the situation more like an inconvenience, unlike her and the mysterious cold woman. Talking about her, she appeared to be very suspicious-

"YOU WERE CHOSEN" The ghostly pink woman suddenly said, startling everyone off. They put their strife aside to pay attention to her, and she continued "TO SAVE THE BALANCE OF THIS WORLD." It was clear what she wanted was to get her attention. Yet, half of them did not seem to even care that much. Who were those people, either way?! If you did not realize yet, do not desperate yourself, for I will explain everything to you.

Right after I get another cup of coffee.

Deuteragonists

Ah, yes, nothing can beat a good cappuccino in a very small cup. Now, to the story. We are now going to follow the misadventures of the second group: the deuteragonists. *sips*

Everybody looked confused at the blue ghost casting a ridiculous pose after the presentation. It took them some time to let their guard down, but they still hold tight to their weapons. The girl had a frying pan, the metallic man had flaring hands, and the boy had his fists (although he preferred a baton or any type of rod). Darwin did not have any weapons, but he felt no need of having one.

"RPG? What’s that?" The woman asked, utterly confused.

"A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making regarding character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines." Responded the man, like a walking Wikipedia (perhaps because it is from Wikipedia).

"Wow, seems like you are very into these types of games." said the young boy, almost in a provocative way.

"I’m… not." The man replied, seeming to be quite surprised by his great knowledge of what RPGs were, and how automatic his response was. He didn’t remember if he had a recent update related to storage of information.

"Uh, hey…" The boy asked, a little shy "Could you put me down? It’s not very comfortable being held up for a long time."

The man stared at Darwin for some time, analyzing the fish-boy before letting go of him. "You don’t seem to be involved in any of this. Neither are they." He directed his glance at the other people, before gazing at the ghostly man "You! What’s the meaning of this?" He shouted, holding himself firmly to prepare for a possible attack. 

"Yeah! Why would you put us in a RBT?" The woman followed. Oh what, do not laugh at her! RPGs were only created in 1974, and she is from the time fax machines were invented! 

"OH SILLY!" The ghostly man appeared behind her. She screamed, trying to hit in self-defense. Before she could do anything, he held her frying pan and took it from her hand, causing her to fall on her back. Darwin did not have time to react to it, but the other two did. They tried to move, only to desperately realize they were paralyzed. The ghostly man playfully swung the pan with his finger, pushed it a little and took it in the air, pointing the frying pan at the woman, all in mere seconds. He had a big smile all the time. "I DID NOT PUT YOU IN! YOU WERE CHOSEN!" His voice was robotic, yet weirdly full of emotion. Some kind of happiness, making it a funny tone.

"Chosen by who?!" The woman shouted, quite terrified of the situation she was in. "OH, YOU WILL SOON KNOW!" The ghost didn’t act as a threat, but rather, kind of friendly. Looking at him for some time let the woman finally decide to, at least, trust him a little. She grabbed the pan by its body, and stood up with his help. Getting her utensil back, she walked backwards, being side-by-side with the paralyzed people (and Darwin). Both the man and boy were finally free, and soon, all of them were paying attention to the explanation that was about to unfold. *sips*

Protagonists

Yes, indeed, this will be an alternating chapter. One time it will be the protagonists, another will be the deuteragonists. Well, you are patient enough to stay until the end, aren’t you? *sips* And just like that, my cappuccino is done… I will come back after getting another one.

The pink ghost had called great attention with her monotonous scream (not much of a scream, but very loud nonetheless), gazing at the little group with a gentle, yet uncanny smile. Everybody looked at her, confused on whether she was an actual danger or not. She continued with her explanation:

"THE WORLD OF DREAMS USED TO LIVE IN HARMONY MANY EONS AGO, UNDER THE REIGN OF TWO GODDESSES: MAMI, AND NI-MA. TOGETHER, THEY BROUGHT BALANCE TO THE WORLD, FORMING THE LIGHT OF THE MOUNTAIN THAT SHONE OVER ALL KINGDOMS, BRINGING PROSPERITY AND PEACE.

HOWEVER, NI-MA WANTED MORE; MORE POWER, AND ABSOLUTE REIGN, WITHOUT HER SISTER. WAR BROKE BETWEEN THE TWO, AND ALL KINGDOMS ENTERED THE CONFLICT, FIGHTING THOSE WHO FOLLOWED THE GODDESS THAT WERE NOT THEIR OWN.

IN THE END, NONE OF THE GODDESSES WON. BOTH DISAPPEARED, LEAVING BEHIND THE LIGHT OF THE MOUNTAIN… AND DESTRUCTION. NONETHELESS, THE HATRED OF NI-MA CULMINATED INTO A DISEASE, THAT TURNED ALL LIFE CORRUPTED.

THE KINGDOMS, WITH NO ONE TO FOLLOW, BEGUN TO FADE AS WELL, FALLING TO THE RISING OF THE DISEASE. NOW, IT IS UP TO YOU, TRAVELLERS, TO END THE DISEASE, AND RESTORE THE BALANCE OF THIS WORLD."

So we’re definitely in a game. Ladybug thought. The explanation did not bring any bells to who was the akumatized, nor why they would put her on a game. Nonetheless, she pretty much knew now they were very into RPGs. She looked to the other people. With the exception of the white haired woman, they seemed very bored with the explanation. The guy yawned very loudly, quite sleepy, and the boy was rather impatient for the dialogue to end. The peculiar lady was very surprised, as she did not seem to understand anything of what was going on.

"Alright, we have a mixture of a magical kid’s show with dark action adventure and a bit of alternate universe fanfiction. Very original." The boy said in a low tone, tired just from hearing the explanation "Now, when does the gameplay starts? Is there a jumping dialogue op-"

"But… Why m- us?" The looking old, yet young woman asked. "Is it… my-"

"YOU’RE VERY SPECIAL, THAT’S IT." The ghost replied, in a monotone voice. She always had the same expression on her face, a grim smile and shining half-closed eyes, which made her more ominous. Marinette did not trust her, and the others probably felt the same.

"Are you finished already?" The man asked, rubbing his right ear. The pink spirit only stared in silence. An awkward silence that arose after that question. Her smile was always the same.

"I’m sorry if I’m being rude, but" Ladybug decided to break the silence "What are you, exactly?"

"I AM GLAD YOU ASKED." And, as if she is reciting an automatic response, explained "ALL BEINGS IN THIS WORLD ARE ELEMENTALS, BEING ALIVE OR NOT. BUT WE’RE ALL DIFERENT, USUALLY SEPARATED INTO FAMILIES. I, FOR INSTANCE, AM A GUIDE. YOU’LL FIND A LOT OF DIVERSE BEINGS IN YOUR JOURNEY WITH DIFFERENT PATHS."

Each word coming out of the woman’s mouth made Ladybug more confused. She did not remember any games with elementals, or anything alike. It might be a new RPG she never heard of. The woman spoke of the game like it was her home, and not a challenge to someone, not even Ladybug. Was she even after her? The best way to know was to play along, for now.

"Paths? What do you mean by it?" Ladybug engaged more into the rules of RPG, and the woman did as well, but quietly. The other two were not even listening anymore, and instead, started to throw small talk (it did not seem to be a very pleasant one, though).

"PATHS ARE INDIVIDUAL ATTRIBUTES THAT YOUR ANIMA FOLLOWS, OR, AS YOU MAY KNOW, YOUR SOUL." As she pointed at Ladybug, her chest started glowing. Its glow was identical to of her transformation. It was a different, but felt the same. It moved independently, as if it was alive. It did not go far away from her, though. As if it had a urge to keep close to her… one that she reciprocated, in a way. While trying to understand the nature of it, Marinette did not notice the other glowing things that appeared to the others. "SOME MAY LOOK EQUAL TO OTHERS, BUT IT IS THE TINY DETAILS THAT MAKES ALL SOULS DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER. ALL ANIMA IS UNIQUE. WE CAN ENTER MORE TECHNICAL INFORMATION, IF YOU WOULD LIKE."

Ladybug knew she needed all information about that world, if she wanted to find out a way to defeat the akumatized. Maybe it could tell something about his memories, or likings. The worst possibility is that it could be someone outside of Paris that she never heard of.

"Yes, that would be great!" The woman seemed a little impatient, but decided to stay and listen. Meanwhile, the other two were almost getting into a conflict again. They would not get along very well on the journey…

Deuteragonists

While the pink elemental explained the subject like she practiced many times for the presentation, the blue elemental was more like someone that had just entered the classroom, after reading the text and decorating it in two hours.

 "WITHIN ANIMA, THERE IS QUALIA. IT IS THE MANIFESTATION OF YOURSELVES, WHICH TAKES DIFFERENT SHAPES TO EACH UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL. ANIMA MAY LIVE WITHOUT QUALIA (WHICH I GUARANTEE WILL HAVE TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES), BUT QUALIA ALWAYS NEEDS ANIMA TO BE." Everyone were bewildered. The boy pretended he knew what he was saying, when, in fact, he felt really dumb for not understanding a single thing. Same with the woman, but she did not disguise her feelings very well. The cyborg was almost breaking his own head trying to learn the technical rules of this new world. Meanwhile, Darwin was just empty-headed, forgetting why he was listening in the first place (and the explanation altogether). Instead, his mind wandered through the forest, listening to the thoughts of others, hearing without paying attention. Something about that place, good or not, made him forget about himself for some moments.

The ghost continued with his explanation "YOUR SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES COME FROM YOUR ANIMA, AND USING IT WILL CAUSE QUALIA TO INCREASE. TOO MUCH QUALIA CAN CORRUPT YOU, SO BE CAREFUL, ALL RIGHT?"

"Corrupt? What do you mean by that?" The woman asked, tried to understand at least something. The ghost’s expression suddenly changed to a (what they assumed) was a more nervous one, and his monotonous voice started to crack.

"I MEAN, UH, UUHH…" The Elemental looked at them, trying to come up with something "IGNORE I SAID SUCH A THING. WHAT I MEAN IS… YOUR SOUL… WILL CRACK! YEP, THAT’S RIGHT!" The blue ghost restored his big smile and formal expression, but a little more expressive than before. "USING TOO MUCH QUALIA WILL CAUSE YOUR ANIMA, YOUR RECIPIENT OF QUALIA, TO BREAK. THAT’S WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. EXACTLY THAT."

The small group looked at him suspiciously (the cyborg, specifically). They knew he was hiding something. Moreover, the elemental realized he screwed up very badly. Darwin didn’t know what was going, but something about Anima clicked, again, something deep in his mind.

"Anima, you say... I think I get it" Darwin calmly said. And as he took a deep breath, the little fish boy proceeded to retell all the information told forward, backwards, in twiddles and strolls and loops and on and on another. "...Qualia comes from the outside, but there's none to experience than other than its own vessel. Light and darkness, they make what is the culmination of a being, and shining upon oneself can make one liberated." - Gosh darn, not even I get it. Suddenly, he spoke in his usual tone, happy and strident. "It's actually really simple when you come to think of it!

In the end, everything was told correctly, but much more confusing than the first explanation, in a way that made all sense. They needed some time to process all that. Even Darwin, who's head instantly became cooked for unknown reasons (maybe even his brain didn't know how to process all that)

+-<|_|>-+                                                         

"WELL… THAT’S EXACTLY IT! A LITTLE MORE CONFUSING, AND UNDERSTANDABLE, BUT STILL IT!" The elemental congratulated Darwin, giving him some head pats. His head was… strangely warm (and a faint scent of fried fish took over). They seemed to have forgotten the screw up he made. The elemental continued his explanation. "WELL THEN, NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE BASIC RULES OF THIS WORLD, IT IS TIME YOU EXPERIENCE THEM BY YOURSELVES."

Suddenly, a bright white portal appeared in front of them, right behind the ghost, giving him a more spectral look. Somehow, he was more visible this way. They could see better now his elongated suit (one that is seen in birthday parties, with a bow tie and high socks, the types of clothes magicians wore). His hair looked curly and short, covering his ears and a great portion of his neck. They knew that, even if they did not trust him, that portal was the only way out. Staying on a forest is only good when you have a picnic, or something to do, isn’t that right?

One by one, they went through the portal. The cyborg was going first, but the woman was already ahead of him. Some tension rose between them. The trip was going to be something with those two. The boy stepped back when their little conflict occurred, but soon, he was confident enough to step into the portal. Darwin was the last one to go. As he looked back, he saw that the blue ghost was no longer there. All that remained was that mysterious, weirdly colorful forest, peaceful and quiet. He wondered if what awaited them could be the same as that place. Soon, with no hesitation, he stepped into the portal.

Now, on the next chapter- oh, oh dear, oh no. My cappuccino! It spilled all over the desk! Oh, not my poor cappuccino… I did not even had the chance to drink it! Well it was cold by now. But oh, my cappuccino! Well, you may stay with the doubt of what will happen next. As for now, I will clean this mess. See you in the next chapter.

Chapter Text

Protagonists

Hello again, dear reader, to another chapter. I see you stayed curious from the previous chapter for what would happen next. Good to know. Now, it is time to tell you more about the characters. If you saw the tags before, you may already know. However, it is good to give insight to those who do not know all the characters, or are not so interested on their previous stories.

***

The other side was ethereal.

Ahead of them, a star shone on the top of a giant mountain made of solidified rainbow. Moreover, its glow was weak, like a star shining from the distance of space. The deep dark of the sky contrasted with the colors of the mountain and colorful transparent paths leading to its middle. Below the land elevation, a thick gray fog covered the ground, more than a thousand meters to their current location. A long fall awaited them if not careful enough…

Ladybug was hypnotized for a moment by that beautiful view. She had never seen a place like it before, and it mostly reminded her of a mix between watercolor and freestyle… An entire world coming to life directly of a picture. She appreciated the view, but it did not recall any past memories. This world was something entirely new for her.

Meanwhile, the other three looked in awe altogether. Stunned by the sight of the new world, it took them some moments to something be finally said.

 "This sure is a good graphic." The man said. She had forgotten for a moment that they were still inside of a game. Although it was normal for role-playing games to have beautiful backgrounds, looking at it was very much different from being in it. They could feel the environment around them, with them. Even if they were not part of this world, the group needed to go through it to finally go back home.

"By the way" Ladybug said "We did not introduce ourselves. What are your names? I’m Ladybug." They did not seen to know her, so she might as well say who she is, and reassure everything was going to be all right.

We already talked about her. Ladybug, a.k.a. Marinette. A superheroine teenager with a mission to protect these poor civilians from the game created by the akumatized. Oh boy, is she in for a surprise.

"Saitama." The man said, in a monotonous, quite bored tone. Saitama, which is the only name we know. Little does Marinette/Ladybug knows, he is also a hero. Nonetheless, his title of hero is much more different from hers. First, it is a job. Marinette does not receive anything besides applause and appreciation from other innocent people. Meanwhile, Saitama receives the salary equivalent of a teacher’s (in the usa or even other western contries, like Brazil for instance), so we can say they are pretty close in this point. He also has a sidekick, one that not only lives with him against Saitama’s will, but who also considers himself his disciple. If that is not enough, Saitama is not recognized to his contributions to society (after all, many heroes take credit for it). It is also worth noting he kills monsters.

"I’m Gumball." The boy said, in the same tone. Gumball Tristopher Watterson is Darwin’s brother, and one of the main reasons that there are 75 additional safe rules in the laws of Elmore. He is a very creative boy, and even optimistic, despite seeing the world crumble more than once. Like any child, he used to be more energetic and have dreams, ones which were slowly crushed by the cruel hands of reality. He is not a teen, but is very ahead of his age by acting like one. Sarcasm and narcissism reign supreme inside his brain.

The mysterious woman was the only one left to introduce. They stared at her, waiting for a response.

"I’m… Eliza..." She finally said.

"Short for Elizabeth or-" Ladybug asked.

"Yes! I’m Elizabeth!" Said the woman, interrupting Ladybug at the spot. Ha ha.

"Cool!" Ladybug thought she was shy, so she tried to uplift Eliza, making sure for the woman to feel welcome in the group. "Elizabeth is a nice name. Would you rather be called Eliza as a nickname, then?"

Oh, you think she is an original character, despite this fanfic having tags for frozen, huh? Well, if you thought that, you are... a fool! Heh, he... actually no. Scratch that, I didn't mean to insult you, please, keep going, don't leaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaveee.......

*sips*

"That would be great." Elizabeth, also known as Elsa, queen of Arendelle. You thought this was an original character, didn’t you? What could have made the queen of snow, once a runaway pursued by her own kingdom, hide her identity from otherworldly strangers? And why she was colder than usual? Ha ha. Well, to explain this, first I need another cup of coffee…

"All right Eliza!" Ladybug said, reassuring the woman she was welcome and safe with them.

Walking through the large, colorful path was very boring, to say the least. It gave them some time to know each other better. Ladybug kept on continuing their conversation, most of the time being the one to start it. Despite Marinette being very shy herself, Ladybug was more confident and out-going.

"So… Where are you from?" A good way to start a conversation with introverts. Well done.

"Elmore." Gumball answered, tired from walking so long.

"Z-City." Saitama casually answered.

"I… live in the woods." Eliza answered. Marinette never heard of these places before, not even in her history classes. Elmore sounded like a real place, and living in the woods was… explanatory, per se. However, Z-City was atypical, to say at least. Although, there were many locations with a great variety of strange names, so it could be his case.

"Wow, I’ve never heard of these places before!" Ladybug said, engaging with the conversation. Although, even she was getting a little tired of it. "Where are they from, exactly?" How are there so many extroverted people who could talk with so much ease, without sounding awkward, or fake? Dear Lord, it was hard.

"California." Gumball quickly answered. Meanwhile, Saitama looked muddled at them.

"Uh? What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean which state, or country are you from." Ladybug answered. For a moment, she spiritually fell from the bridge.

"I still don’t get it." Everybody looked at him, confused by his misunderstanding. Her spirit came back to the living, now curious for what was going on. Unintelligence was the quickest way to define it, however…

"Uh, well, then…" Ladybug thinks for a moment before again asking "Which continent are you from?"

Saitama still looks bewildered at them "You mean a large portion of land, right?"

"Uh… yes?" Ladybug is just baffled at this point. Gumball only gives wary glances at him.

"But isn’t there only one?" His question gets everyone by surprise. If his responses were not already unusual, this one just defied what they actually knew about each other (or what they thought, better saying). Though he didn't appear so smart, something about his mannerisms, about how he didn't know her, and the situation in general (with two unusual people at the edge of the... super-human? Maybe mutants?)

"What do you mean?" Ladybug asks, puzzled with him. Meanwhile, Gumball started to prepare his arguments. It is common to find people on the internet who believe Santa and Jack Frost are the same person, but meeting them in real life was another thing. Same case with politics and geography.

"What is the name of your continent?" Ladybug asks.

"Uh…" Saitama tries to remember, recollecting the few memories left from school. "I think it was something like “Mini Pangea” or something… Or was it Third… no, I think it was it." As Gumball seem to have realized what was [possibly] going on, Ladybug was still piercing the pieces together, along with Elizabeth, who was more baffled than ever.

"But you’re saying that" The young teenager slowly formulated her question "if your continent is a mini Pangea, then it would be the only continent on Earth? Does that mean…" Memories of her previous fights flashed before her eyes. One of then, in particular, was against alternative versions of herself and Chat Noir, in which they were taken to another universe to save the other world. As if a lightbulb was turned on above her head, she came up with a rather simple, yet complex explanation. Nevertheless, Gumball had an idea about his origins as well, and their apex of theory formulation lap on each other.

"You’re from a secret continent [another universe]?" Gumball and Ladybug say respectively. They look at each other. "From another universe, I mean." He quickly corrects himself.

"It makes sense!" Ladybug continues "We are very different from each other, in a way. Like you" she points at Gumball.

"What about me?"

 "You are a cat boy, aren’t you?" Her previous suspicions prove themselves correct.

"Yeah, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any “humans” in my world." Gumball does not say that they are mostly weird, ranging from abominations that grow sides to other dimensions to just weirdos that look right while at the same time seeming off. Ladybug fitted the first extreme, while at the same time being far from it, along with Elizabeth. He decided to keep it to himself. "And you!" Ladybug points at Saitama next, getting more and more excited as her theories are proven right "How does your world work?"

"Well…" The hero has some trouble explaining. I mean, you can tell an alien about your world, since everything is new to him. But what about someone that lives in a world similar to yours? As far as they know, the only thing that could be different are how ice creams are made. "I mean, I guess it is pretty much like yours, isn’t it?"

Ladybug thinks for a while. What is something that can differentiate their universes? Time? How thermodynamic laws work? Dictatorships that rule the world in disguise of corporations?! (Maybe that one is too similar, so it might as well be discarded as an option). Then, she has an idea.

"Do you know heroes?" None of them recognized her, or even thought of Ladybug as a superheroine (as far as she knew, after all they only gave weird glances at her suit, with expressions that far differed from admiration or even hatred. Like she was... dressing weird). Perhaps they did not know the concept?

"Yes." Saitama could explain more, but he is the type of person to only answer what they ask him.

"How are they in your world?" Ladybug asks, affirmative he will define the differences between their worlds-

"They’re normal, I guess." What she did not wait for was the variation of the concept of “hero”! If you want to quickly know:

• Marinette’s definition of hero is someone that protects the people, fights against evil, and believes in love, hope, and yada yada yada. Basically, the basic.
• Saitama’s definition, however, is a little more complicated. Although it is essentially the same, there is more than one definition for the word hero:
  • The hero that is a worker, someone who works as a hero to survive, become famous, and other reasons;
  • The hero that is the ideal. The one who cares for humanity, believes that anyone can change if they want to. The hero most people want to be.

What Ladybug wanted to ask was, “Do you know any superheroes?” After all, superheroes in her world could possibly be different from his. This would help Saitama give a more detailed explanation, and show the differences between their worlds. Instead, we got a misunderstanding.

"What do you mean by normal?" Ladybug insisted, now determined to prove her point, despite no one really caring about it anymore. Elizabeth would care more, if the path wasn't so long…

"Are you a hero?" Gumball asked, trying to end this conversation so they can continue their path for once. Ladybug found it a strange question, but Saitama answered what she could never expect.

"Yes. I mean, I registered as a hero some time ago, but I worked before hand as on-"

"WAIT, HOLD ON…" Ladybug was flabbergasted at that point. "You’re… a hero?! But why tell us, I mean, what about your secret identity?" Saitama was more surprised by her reaction than her questions.

"I don’t have one." He could feel Ladybug’s brain frying, so he decided to explain better: "I mean, there are some people who have secret identities, but there are many who don’t."

"Okay, all right…" Ladybug recomposed herself. He was from a different universe, so it should not be so much of a surprise. Yeah, there could be an universe where heroes didn't have secret identities, where they... exposed themselves... to be directly attacked by the villains?! Maybe they didn't have Miraculous, maybe their powers were natural, but still, it didn't make any sense! Oh well, she could ask more later. After all, the path was... quite long. Far from finishing. Always ahead. Yeah.

"What about you, Elizabeth?" She was quiet for a while, probably because she was shy. But not to worry! Ladybug could help her engage in the conversation... and try to subtly change the subject to find out more about their universes.

"Well, I don’t know any heroes- I mean, the ones I know save people, but, uh…" A kind reminder that workers, such as medics, can be considered heroes, and even ordinary people at the right circumstances. The definition of hero is, indeed, very complex.

"What about superheroes?" Gumball asked, ready to close the subject.

"No, never heard of such thing before."

Ladybug’s theory was correct! This meant so many things that could open their minds to so many new possibilities! Alright, she was ready to ask more questions...

Though, by looking at their faces alone, she could tell they were all tired, almost devoid of life (yeesh). Perhaps she could find another time to talk more. Maybe find a place to sit, relax, tell stories of their worlds, and even eat something. That path was huge! It never seemed to end... It was a very long way, so they silently agreed to hold their thoughts for a while until they reached the ground.

Deuteragonists

The walk through the colorful, glass-like path started painfully quiet. Whether the others did not have a subject to talk about or just wanted to keep quiet, they did not exactly know. Instead, each one of them was focused on the landscape, with some occasional commentaries from the blond teenager, who was amazed by this new world. The woman began a small talk with them, except with the cyborg. He stayed silent the entire trip, analyzing the new environment. Darwin, on the other hand, was always dreaming? Of what you ask? Well, I'll tell you, but first, I need to get some sugar.

Now, it is a good chance to know more about the characters.

You already know Darwin. A sweet, optimistic, chaotic boy. However, he has some new peculiarities in this story, such as the occasional ability to read minds. It could be something related to how they got to this world. Maybe he got it from radiation? For now, it stays as a mystery.

Next is Anna, or as you will know, Agatha. Elsa’s sister, who cannot create ice, but despite this, holds only love for her. And maybe some doubts. She used to be easy to fall in love, but now… well, it is not so easy anymore. What, Kristoff? Never heard of him. Anyways, no matter how much magic she has to handle, no matter what obstacle, she will fight anything and anyone to protect those she loves, and other people as well.

You already know Adrien, maybe just as much as Darwin does. If it is the case, let me tell the tragic tale of a boy kept prisoner from life by his own father. Alexia, play Melancholia.

From his birth, Adrien was not only a child, but also a promise of love and a good future.

However, what was a wish became the doom of his own mother.

Gabriel, the father, the image of a good man, soon separated the world from his own young son.

The boy had no one to console himself, but a friend, a child born of neglect.

He grew, and became a teenager.

Oh, the misery! To not meet other humans, other beings!

Oh, th- What, are you getting tired? Oh well, perhaps you would like me to continue in a more… ordinary fashion. Or normally, as you say so.

To shorten things, he is a superhero overshadowed by Ladybug, seen as only her… occasional partner. This sparked a lot of intrigues, conflicts, and a slow degradation of their relation. If that was not enough, his love for the greatest hero of Paris was too much for his heart, yet never answered by his love. All he wanted to do was to please his poor father and his lovely lady, but could he not please himself as well? Oh, the misery of finally having an identity, one that was rejected and not seen by so many!

Oh, what a tragedy, such a sad story! But it is not even near the tragedy of the lost boy, turned a hero of justice at such a young age. Alexia… well, you know what? This explanation is getting very long for the both of us, so I might as well make it short.

After losing his family to a mad cyborg, Genos became one himself and began seeking the destroyer of his town, uncovering the strength no one had ever acknowledged before, of his master, Saitama. He is a very serious young man, a very intense man, who also dresses as if he just exited a boy band. Or entered one. Either way, he is so serious it is almost comical. No, pardon my mistake.

It is very comical.

Now, let us come back to the story.

Darwin did not listen to their conversations. Instead, he was constantly bothered by a distant thought that came and went before he could hear it, like a distant memory trying to remember itself. It guided an invisible way that no one could see, not even himself, but only he could follow. For now, it did not stray away from their current path.

After a long way, they finally put their first steps on a moist grass, purple stained with hues of magenta covering it with a blanket of bushes blocking the sides of the road, leading it to only one route, full of pink flowers and shining olive. The scent was a mixture of pansies and lilies of the valley, giving an ever-staying feeling that they did not know how to explain. Darwin was gratified by the view, but he could not focus much on it because of the present sensation to follow a way.

Walking for some time through the quiet garden of delights, the woman decided to continue their small talk.

"Hey, we didn’t introduce ourselves!" She turned to the young boy, as to not look at the cyborg, for they did not get along very well. The boy seems to follow her train of thought almost perfectly.

"Yeah, you’re right! We might as well know each other if we’re going on the same trip." He says.

"Well, I start! I’m… Agatha." For some reason, she had doubt of her own name. Agatha brushed this feeling off, and continued "And you are…"

"Adrien." He smiles, cheery to finally know each other. Both of them look at the remaining two, who are lost in their own thoughts. Darwin notices they are looking at him, and while he listened to some of the conversation, the boy was still caught off guard.

"I’m Darwin, nice to meet you!" His response was... automatic, to say the least. Although he appeared happy and innocent, something bored him too much, yet he couldn't tell why.

While they did not see nothing wrong with his presentation, Genos noticed something was off. Darwin was the first to turn to him, ready to engage him into the conversation. "And you’re Genos, right?" He looked innocently at the cyborg, almost like a cute baby with eyes hinted wih gold. However, Genos turned wary with his affirmation. Maybe he heard his name in one of his thoughts, while we were talking about the characters. Do not look at me this way, Genos probably thought about his master’s coupons or something like that. There was not any important information we lost, I assure you that. Another expanation is he knew from the start, but oh well, who am I to spoil what will happen. It's not like I, myself, know what's going to happen, anyway, I mean, anything can differ from the way it's going. Well, I mean... you know what, forget I said any of that.

"I never told you my name. How do you know it?" Genos stares at him, examining Darwin all over again to see if he was not a threat.

"It was a hint. And it fits you well!" He answered nicely, as if there was nothing wrong. Agatha was already holding firmly her frying pan, while Adrien became more attentive to them (a little more to the cyborg).

"WELCOME TO THE FOREST OF BITTERSWEET DREAMS!" The blue figure appeared out of nowhere, breaking the rising tension with an announcement (and creeping everyone out). "THE FIRST ZONE OF THE FIRST AREA OF THE TUTORIAL MADE ESPECIALLY FOR YOU!" The Elemental happily told them, even though the group was [fairly] pissed by his sudden apparitions. He appeared more cartoonish now, like he was actually drawn.

"Can you stop scaring us like that?!" Agatha asked, irritated.

"OOOPS, MY BAD!" He humorously said, and kept on with his explanation "IN HERE, YOU WILL LEARN THE BASIC MECANICS OF THIS WORLD… IN THE PRATICAL WAY!" The Elemental seemed more excited than all of them together – BUT FIRST, ALL MEMBERS MUST BE ALLIGNED IN A LINE, IN THE CORRECT ORDER. – He sounded more robotic when he was finishing speaking. The group found it strange, but followed nonetheless. As they were aligning, one by one noticed a member was missing.

"Where is Darwin?" Adrien asked, looking at Genos. "Wasn’t he with you?"

"He was." Genos started looking everywhere for him, examining all over the place. Moreover, he noticed something very strange about the place. "I can’t… identify anything in here. Every time I try, it just-" Before he could finish, a bunch of screen errors appeared before him, a functionality of his body that was going out of control. Many of them alerted problems about his scanners, but also random problems, such as “LEFT ARM MISSING” or “1110 DID NOT RESPOND”. He fell down on his knees, trying to focus as he almost lost control of his own body. Adrien was the first one to respond, trying to reach out to him.

"Is he okay?!" Agatha asked, worried about Genos, despite their mutual despise.

"I don’t know…!" Adrien said, on his knees at the same level as Genos so to try to look to his face. The cyborg held his head firmly, and as he slowly recovered, his senses took longer to come back.

"You take care of him, while I go look for Darwin!" Adrien said, formulating a quick plan like his lady would. What could have happened to her? Was she in there? Focus boy! There is no time to think about that!

While inspecting the place, he found a small breach through the tough bushes, one large enough to pass through. And so they had their first quest: to find Darwin!

~*~

Darwin, meanwhile, had already passed through the tunnel, and was now in a smaller path, leading to a closed road of bushes, where many vines covered a shining, yellow object. Taking them out, Darwin found out it was a book of considerable size, almost as half as a Wikipedia. Its cover was golden, full of strange circular symbols craved deep into it. Its middle texture was surprisingly smooth, while the edges were unusually rough.

And that distant thought became persistently loud, giving him the courage to finally open the gates of a still, undiscovered world.

See you on the next chapter, my dear readers... Oh, about my coffee? I started drinking it silently. You do not expect this to become an ASMR now, do you?

Chapter Text

Deuteragonists

“They woke up in an unknown plane, with the everlasting feeling it was all a dream.”

Hello once again, dear readers, to another chapter of this strange story. This time, I came prepared, with a gallon of coffee. Yes, that is correct. I will not need to leave, as I can now drink coffee whenever I want, without leaving my seat once. Now, to our deuteragonists.

As Adrien crawled through the tunnel, the leaves became sharper and larger, slowly contracting it so to block the boy’s way. However, they barely did any scratch on him, for they had not become harder, rather being too soft and easy to cast aside. They only served as a warning, although Adrien did not notice any of their signs. He was not focusing on anything in particular for a while, with the exception of his current objective to find Darwin. Instead, he was lost in thoughts about this new world, at least in the time he was passing through the small tunnel.

Who they were, really? These people seemed to be otherworldly, or from a different time. Maybe they were. He had already seen a couple of supernatural beings and events, along with many superheroes he met, some recruited by his lady, others from different countries. He thought to himself, as he dragged his body through the small passage between the bushes. This world could be the work of an akumatized, as far as he could tell. However, something still bothered him dreadfully. A predominant feeling that something was missing. Something so important, it should be common knowledge to him. Moreover, a big chunk of his memory was missing, but he could not tell what it was about.

“Was it really important?” He muttered quietly to himself, feeling his bare hands touch the soft grass. Its calm and quiet environment made that place perfect for sleeping; if he was not on a mission, one day he could take the time to relax there, hidden from his world inside the passage of faint lights. Even if it was completely covered by bushes, darkness was never present. Only the sky was dark, but even then, the mountain hid the darkness of it, replacing it with trees, bushes, and faint lavender clouds. Was it possible? Or was there some type of a source of light always present wherever they went?

A strange golden light shone at the end of the tunnel, quickly dissipating as Adrien got closer to it. When finally arriving on the other side, he found Darwin, far away from him, in front of a bunch of teared vines and holding what appeared to be a book.

"Darwin!" He called aloud to the kid, standing still and slowly turning his head. Moving closer to Darwin, he noticed something else before him; a strange creature resembling a ghostly axolotl floated still on the vines, with big white eyes shining brightly like two lanterns. His body appeared to be made of golden light, faintly enough to look directly without getting blind. Darwin, unlike Adrien, did not seem to be surprised. It resembled something too familiar to him, but he could not tell what.

"Is it… another Elemental?" Adrien asked, slowly standing on their side, but close enough to block any possible advance from the being to attack Darwin.

The creature yawned for a little bit, and started to drift around.  

"So… is he a new friend?" Adrien asked, putting his guard down a little bit. Even if everything appeared to be in control, something was still off. After all, Darwin had just run away from the group without a reason, only to find an unknown creature and a mysterious book seemingly hidden from them. It was a bit weird, to say the least.

"Not really a new friend." Darwin answered, his voice sounding distant, as his mind was somewhere else.

 "Wait, so you know him?" Adrien asked, confused.

"Nah, we just met." His voice was back to normal. "Also, he is a bit old."

The creature suddenly stopped to look at Adrien, his shining eyes staring directly at Adrien’s eyes. Caught off guard, he tried to say something - either a compliment or a question - but found no words. Instead, he only stared back, finding a very strange familiarity with him.

"WOWIE, IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?" Ghostly blue man said out of nowhere, appearing on their side as if he was always there. "AN ELEMENTAL FROM OLD AGES!" He came closer to the creature, speaking with a curious expression on his face (or a simulation of one). "THESE ARE RARE NOWADAYS." Behind him, the other two members of the group crawled one after the other, fighting over something. When they got out of the tunnel, their “conversation” became clearer.

"Next time, I’ll leave you to… rust!"

"It’s not like I’ll need your help, anyway." Genos looked to be fine, walking without any problems… but he was certainly not happy to be looked over.

The axolotl quickly moved away from them, seemingly overwhelmed. Adrien noticed, but could not tell what was scaring it.

"We should leave. He is getting uncomfortable by being surrounded by so many people." Darwin realized what it was right away.

"OH, LEAVE IT TO ME!" The blue elemental raised his hand towards the passage, turning it bigger with the simple command of his gesture. It was now large enough for them to walk through.

"You could have done it before we dragged ourselves on our way here!" Agatha complained, irritated by having to crawl while quarrelling with Genos all the way through. He shared the same feeling, silently grumbling with his face alone.

"'BEFORE TRAVELLING A PATH, YOU MUST CARVE IT WITH GREAT WILL.'" The ghostly man recited, as he floated his way out. Both of them bitterly came behind, while the rest serenely followed them.

+-< |_ |>-+         +-<|_|>-+

When heading out of the small garden, Adrien saw Darwin clutching the strange book, full of what appeared to be peculiar drawings.

"By the way, what’s this book you’re holding?" He politely asked, peeking through Darwin’s arms to try and take a better look at it.

"I found it covered by the vines." He said, releasing it from his embrace, yet still holding it with both of his hands to show it fully.

"I see…" Examining the book, Adrien noticed it had circular patterns, resembling a person made of circumferences. The borders and lines of the symbols sparkled against the cover of old leather. The edges were scratched by what he could tell where many years of existence, giving it a wise, resistant look.

"So…" Adrien prolonged his question, trying to ask it in a soft, yet direct way "Why did you run away?" Darwin turned his head a little, making Adrien quickly reformulate his question "I mean… Uh…"

"I felt like something was calling me, and I had to follow it. Eventually, it lead me to this strange alley, where the book was." Darwin answered before Adrien could say anything else. He sighed in understanding. "Sorry if I worried you."

"Don’t worry about it, we understand." Adrien softly said, speaking for the rest of the group, which was almost getting in a physical fight.

"By the way" Genos said, deflecting Agatha’s comebacks "what is this book you’re carrying?"

"I found it." For some reason, Darwin’s answer appeared to be automatic, but not in a usual way. Adrien could not explain, however something was odd about all that happened. Darwin acted strangely from the moment they met at the forest, even if it was just for a little time. He appeared more distant, robotic at times, yet at the same time, he also acted like a happy, out-going kid. Did the others notice it too? Or was he mistaken? A feeling never really left Adrien, one that he could not identify. Was it loss? Fear? Was something stopping him from knowing? If so…

Were their minds being manipulated?

Protagonists

“Full of divergent trails, they blindly followed its streams.”

Gumball felt a sudden chilling static energy running from his feet to his head. A gushing feeling took over his heart for some moments, as if he had lost something important. However, he did not know what it was.

"Are you okay?" Elizabeth asked, noticing his strange, out of nowhere, flutters. 

"It’s nothing." Gumball quickly said, forcedly casting it aside. He swiftly found a distraction – Hey, what’s that? – Ahead of them, some of the bushes looked different to the others, darker and quite separated from the usual ones in a weird shape.

"THAT IS" The pink ghost answered "YOUR FIRST BOSS."

"Our what?!" Ladybug and Gumball exclaimed, astounded. The rest only paid attention to the rising enemy, as a faint song played from a distant.

It was a call for battle, one they could not decline.

***

Nothing was ever the same

Everything stayed, yet faded away

There was no aim

Only an empty way

Would he ever wake up again?

    +-< |_ |>-+     +-<| _| >-+

Extra: A Conversation

Gumball and Darwin were sitting in the kitchen, waiting for the SUPER DELUXE BOMBASTIC NOODLES to be ready to eat. The only sounds present were of the microwave, with only twenty seconds missing to finish. Maybe it was because of the cold, or the hunger for their meal, but the siblings did not say a single word. They only looked at the table filled with three white plates, each of them having a fork.

Their mom was watching the microwave, and their dad was in his room. Anais was with them, tucked on her high chair. She would soon need a normal chair for herself. The three looked down, messing with the forks. Gumball hit its tip on the plate, making a sharp, vibrant sound resonate in the room. It was not too loud, and it lasted for only a couple of seconds. He kept hitting it, gently enough to not break the plate, but strongly enough for the sound to be heard. Darwin instinctively followed by making a rhythm, hitting his hand on the table. Anais followed by hitting her hands on then small table of her chair, and together, they created an improvised song, born from boredom.

Soon enough, the song came to an end, as the microwave blipped, signalizing that their meal was ready. Nicole brought it to the table and sat with them in silence. The smell of the SUPER DELUXE BOMBASTIC NOODLES spread through the space, filling many rooms of the house. As their mother opened her mouth to speak, a loud noise interrupted her, originated from their parents’ room. She sighed, and went to see what was wrong. Once again, the kids were left alone in silence.

There was not much to do there. They were not motivated to improvise the song all over again, so they only waited for their mother to come again. Time went on, the ticks of the clock filled the space occupied by a small… actually medium, family. Anais looked outside the window, while her brothers stared down, and noticed something strange. She touched Gumball’s shoulder, and when caught his attention, she pointed at the window. She did the same to Darwin, and now all three were looking at a peculiar situation outside.

Two crows were fighting because of a small potato. For any person, they were only shrieking and making bird sounds. In their language, however, they were debating who deserved the potato the most. One of them, with a red tie, said he needed it to feed his children, and that if he did not bring any food home, his wife would make him the lunch. The other one, with a blue tie, said he needed it for his small business, as he only needed one more potato to sell the promised quantity to a client that had requested 50 potatoes. The debate went on and on, until they both took their ties off, ready for a physical fight. However, Idaho asked if he could leave, as he was late to come home. They told him to shut up.

In the end, none of them hit the other. They only put their ties back, and decided to split the potato. Idaho screamed as they separated him with their beaks.

Well, that happened.

Their parents were finally coming. They both sat on the table, and the family served themselves. Nicole was ready to speak, when Richard started sucking the noodles like spaghetti, interrupting her. The mother only stared at him with a serious expression. He slowly stopped, realizing that was not the moment to eat (yet). Nicole sighed, and opened her mouth to speak.

An airplane flew very low, and once again, making it hard to listen to what Nicole wanted to say. She was very tired at that point. Again, she began to speak. Again, another airplane passed by. They waited for another inconvenience.

Everything stayed quiet for a while. No sounds, only chirps of birds and leaves falling.

Finally, she could speak.

"We need to tell you something."

***

Seems like it is the end of the chapter. Well, it was undoubtedly shorter, but we hope you enjoyed it enough. If you would like more content regarding Anima Project, be sure to check out @theverse on Tumblr, where more stories await you.

Preview on a skit of The White Space (but not actually the white space):

- Please please please!

- No, I won't do it!

-Pleeeeeeease?

- I will not create a giant sentient snowman with a face of a pterodactyl and bat wings.

- How about a normal sentient snowman?

- Not you too...

- Or maybe just a snowman?

- Sister, I love you, but I swear-

- How about a snow block?

- ...

- ...

- ...

- Well, I can do that.

Chapter Text

Protagonists

The strange bushes moved without wind, the leaves shaking and hitting each other in chaotic manners. The walls grew and shrieked like the waves of a soft sand beach, smoothly moving in changing groups, moved by something inside of them. Slowly, little gaps appeared across the bushes, most of them giving way to wines expanding the cracks. But the one in the middle of the bushes, one that slowly caused the leaves to move like ripples on the water, created a strangely shaped hole. One that opened, and closed, opened, and closed. As if it was breathing. A stoma, perhaps?

But then, it suddenly stopped. Struggling with its own breathing. First, a little petal fell from the struggling mouth. Then, another. And another. Until there weren’t any more fallen petals, but a unison of them, together in a giant flower still closed.

Elizabeth tried to get air into her lungs, yet she found it very difficult for a moment, as if that thing had stolen it. She wasn’t cold, yet her legs were unsteady, her arms trembled with a breeze that wasn’t there. A certain energy flowed through her body, one that broke her skin open after many uncareful uses, creating cracks in her vision and her soul. After so long, she struggled to keep it hidden, overloaded by emotions she had trouble to understand and truly feel again. As if her body was overreacting, yet Elizabeth didn’t know it.

She was shaking inside her dark, frozen cloak.

"What do you mean by first boss?!" Ladybug exclaimed "We didn’t fight any enemies yet!"

"She’s right!" Gumball followed "We didn’t even level up! We´re not ready!"

Although most of them were upset, the ghost did not flinch, showing no signs of remorse for the given situation.

"OH, I THINK YOU’RE MISTAKEN!" Ladybug barely blinked when the Elemental promptly got closer to her "YOU ARE PREPARED FOR IT!" The ghost continued as she swiftly backed away "YOU ONLY NEED TO LEARN THE MECHANICS OF BATTLE!"

A beautifully torn pansy slowly emerged from the depths, bringing along chaos with vines and branches (and trunks?) from itself and the bushes (which began to open themselves more to look like trees…).

The situation appeared to be despairing. There were two kids, and most of those people didn’t seem to be fit for combating (except for, at least, the girl in red and black dots), but even then, that was too much of a threat for them.

Yet, when those words were proffered, the kids calmed down. – Ooohhh, that makes sense now. – Both said, alleviated. The man was unfazed by everything. None of them took that situation as seriously as it should be.

"Why are you so calm?" She tried to keep her stance, but her voice cracked "Are you relieved? For what?!"

"Well, you’re from a different time, so you most likely don’t know." Gumball said, no longer panicking. No, he was now even mocking the situation, walking around, never looking at the monster emerging.

Ladybug continued the explanation "The first boss is just a tutorial! I don’t usually play RPGs, so I had forgotten about it."

"A… tutorial?" Elizabeth could not understand. She felt, deep in her heart, a powerful presence growing stronger as it awakened. Her body hair was standing up; the tips of her fingers grew colder. Her body was preparing itself to fight. How could it be a tutorial, if they were about to face such an ominous creature?

"Don’t worry, these types of fight are not really serious." Gumball said, exercising with no worries.

The ghost automatically explained, flouting around them, watching with her devious still smile. "A BARRIER HAS BEEN FORMED AROUND THE AREA. YOU CAN ONLY LEAVE WHEN YOU ACCOMPLISH THE FOLLOWING ASSIGNMENTS:

• DEFEAT THE BOSS."

"You’ve got to be kidding me…" Elizabeth widened her eyes, horrified, as the closed flower opened itself, revealing itself to be a beautifully torn pansy bringing along chaos with vines violently swaying inside and out, branches (and trunks?) from the bushes (which began to open themselves more to look like trees…). The flower, finally opened, revealed a mouth on its center and petals full of small teeth.

At last, the battle started.

The elemental began to explain "THE FIRST TURN IS YOURS. EACH INDIVIDUAL TURN WILL OCCUR ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF THE LINE IN WHICH YOU FOLLOW THROUGHOUT THE GAME. IN THIS BATTLE, THE ORDER WILL BE: GUMBALL, ELIZABETH, SAITAMA AND LADYBUG AS THE LAST ONE.

THE MECHANICS MAY WILL VARY DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF ENEMY. FOR THIS ONE, THE BATTLE WILL BE DIVIDED INTO TWO [GENERAL] TURNS: YOURS AND THE BOSS. HIS ATTACK WILL LAST 10 SECONDS, IN WHICH ALL OF THE GROUP WILL BE THE TARGET. I RECOMMEND YOU DODGE, AS ATTACKS MAY NOT BE SO EFFICIENT DURING THE BOSS’S TURN.

IN YOUR TURN, YOU CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN ATTACKING THE BOSS OR HELPING YOUR FOES. THE CHOICE IS YOURS. NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET’S START THE BATTLE!"

"Alright" Gumball cracked his fingers, ready to go into combat.

By the time he was in front of the giant plant, the height difference was very clear. The giant pansy was about five times larger than Gumball. Its petals radiated danger in colors of red, blue and yellow, its inner mouth slowly stretching out, welcoming its prey as his lunch. Its stalk was as large as the trunk of an oak. His vines, full of red spikes, spread wide through the path, blocking any advance of the team. Like the bushes, grass, and the guide, it had a faint glow, although it was lesser than other elementals. It could not do a thing, not even move, and yet, its silence, its size, they revealed a havoc soon to unleash upon them.

The boy did not fear, however, as his confidence with the thought of this new world being nothing more than a game gave him courage to face such destructive threat with only his bare hands. His feet left the ground, his fists ready to encounter his throat (that is, its pedicel) with such impact it would make the boss swallow its entire pride. Soon, he was in the air, ready to give a blow…

...only to fall face to face with the ground before he could land a punch.

Gumball got up and faced his reality for a few seconds. He could not jump too high. As a matter of fact, he could only be a few inches above the ground, before gravity pulled him back. The boy looked at the plant and analyzed his situation. He decided to get closer to the giant pansy. The ground was filled with vines, those with numerous spikes from imperceptible to big enough to notice after it was too late. It was a no-no, then. He could throw a rock, but he did not have any.

Finally, he decided to ask the guide.

"So, uh, what exactly do I do?"

"DO WHAT YOU CAN DO!" The guide tried to motivate him. It did not help. He looked at his body, trying to channel an inner power, or some hidden ability he needed focus to awaken. Yet, he felt nothing. Once again, Gumball decided to ask the guide.

"Do I… get a power, or something like that?"

"ONLY AFTER YOUR UPGRADES."

There was not much he could do, still.

"Maybe… a tip?"

"JUST PUNCH HIM."

Everybody watched him with such pity, and the elemental only deviously smiled. His protagonistic ego was getting more hurt, and his limits were drawing nearer. With a sigh, he tried to find something he could do. The last thing Gumball wanted to resort was to scream the name of an attack, perhaps because of the strange people he only met then, or the new environment that took his bravery away. Despite being a game, it was too real than his own reality.

Gumball looked at the spiky vines. Well, they were close enough. It was the only thing to do, after all. He closed his fists and, as hard as he could, hit the vines. Some numbers appeared. 13. It was the damage the boss took. They also appeared next to him. 26…

 "I TOOK MORE DAMAGE THAN IT!" He shrieked while holding his harmed hand.

Elizabeth only then realized she was hyperventilating, as she stared down to look at the color of the ground clearing more and more as it got closer to being blue. The elemental looked at her, with the same devious smile of usual.

Elizabeth swallowed. Her voice cracked a little more, with a voice lower than before "May I perhaps skip this turn?"

"OF COURSE, DEAR" She didn’t hesitate in her answer "SAITAMA, IT’S YOUR TURN MY DEAR!"

Hearing those words lessen down her power’s reaction, watching the blue fade away from the ground. Elizabeth sighed and turned to the man next to her. Saitama was still as before; his eyes were vague, his mind filled with many thoughts outside of that battle. Ones that took him back home. “Did I watered the cactus before leaving?”

Before the guide could say anything, he punched the air in the direction of the boss without reacting. The blow was so strong it shattered the plant completely, dividing it into multiple pieces of shining petals and vines. Everyone looked at it amazed, except for the Elemental, who kept her still expression, a bright grin and squinted glowing eyes.

"EFFECTIVE BLOW. WELL DONE!" She said with her monotonous robotic voice.

With just… one punch?!  Ladybug was at a loss of words. She had met some strong foes, like Chat Noir, who could destroy anything with his cataclysm; or Purple Tigress, who could send anything or anyone in orbit (if she wanted to) with her powerful charged punches. But his strength was beyond any force. Could it be… that he never hid his identity… because he didn’t even need to?!

The strongest hero looked at the remains of the boss, his expression changing just a little bit. He heard some flowers were edible but could not recall which ones.

"YOU ACQUIRED:

• 30 PANSY PETALS;
• 500 EXPERIENCE."

When listing the prizes, a strange glow appeared in front of Saitama’s hand. When he tried to grasp it, pansy flowers started to appear. At the first time, he only got a couple of petals, and the glow decreased a little bit. He kept on grasping it, until all the thirty petals were on both of his hands, with the glow completely vanishing. The rest of the group was still shocked with the battle, impressed and fearful of his immense strength.

"YOU MAY PROCEED TO THE NEXT AREA OF THE TUTORIAL."

Saitama left as if not happened. He then noticed the others were not following.

"Hey." He called out, stopping to wait for them "Are you not going?"

Ladybug got out of her paralyzed state and hurried up to catch up to him. Elizabeth was slower, walking in small steps while trying to process what had happened. Gumball was as pallid as humanly possible, with a complete blank horrified face as if he saw not just a ghost, but also a four-legged cave dweller that appeared on his window at 3 a.m. The first time they met, Saitama just appeared to be a douchebag, first scaring the boy, and then holding him by the collar of the sweater. Now, he regretted a little to have insulted the guy afterwards. That was not a very good day for him, especially after the fight…

They continued to walk through the giant garden, with only one path to follow. If it were not for the petals and experience acquired, nothing had seemed to change. Gumball held his injured hand. It was not bleeding, even after hitting the spikes of the vines. Why would it bleed?

"Wait a second" Gumball realized something "We didn’t even learn anything!"

The Elemental appeared right before him "THAT IS BECAUSE THIS WAS YOUR FIRST EXPERIMENTAL FIGHT! AND YOU DID WELL! CONGRATULATIONS! ON THE NEXT BATTLE, YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT ELEMENTAL DAMAGE."

Gumball found the explanation strange. Despite going away, she said one last thing before disappearing. "ALTHOUGH, I EXPECTED FOR THE FIGHT TO LAST MORE."

They continued to walk in silence. There was no wind, and tiny flowers silently bloomed between the bushes. Ladybug wanted to know more about the strange hero. How did he get so strong? Where did he come from? Was it genetics? There were so many questions, yet her lips forced themselves shut. It was either the calm walk, or the sudden fear she unknowingly felt of him, her mouth refused to speak, the air on her lungs only used for breathing.

"Master Pansy." Gumball said out of nowhere.

"What?" Ladybug asked.

"It could be its name. Since it is a pansy, and a boss… Master Pansy."

"Master Pansy…" Saitama repeated, staring at the petals. His impulsive thoughts were fighting his common sense, almost winning.

"Master Pansy." Ladybug repeated, accepting it as the boss’ official name. They did not bother to ask the guide; after all, it was very funny. Elizabeth did not take part in this weird conversation. Instead, she walked in silence, trying to keep the cold inside her cloak, only inside. Her breathing wasn’t as unsteady as before, yet the anxiety didn’t leave her. If any of them found out…

Only bad things could happen.

Finally, Saitama’s impulsive thoughts won. Either it was because of boredom, or hunger, he took a bite out of one of the petals.

The taste was… surprisingly good. Soon, it caught the others attention, who took some petals to eat. Gumball hesitated at first, but soon munched the snack. It was not the best food, but it did its job. Ladybug liked it a little more, whereas Elizabeth did not take it. Ladybug insisted for some time, and Elizabeth finally accepted. They were, indeed, quite good.

However, the first area was yet not completed, for the other group still had to face the boss… Mother of All Flowers (his true name).

Deuteragonists

The grass tenderly glowed, tinted by the light passing through the bushes and lavender clouds covering the darkest sky. It was surprising how it was called the Forest of Bittersweet Dreams, despite having no trees present in their entire trip. Everything was the same, except for the presence of an old book and a mysterious creature that Darwin proclaimed to be Prys. It would mostly float around, exploring everything to its minute details.

It appeared to be a golden axolotl, and as such, it swam through the air, always keeping close to Darwin. His eyes were wide open, in contrast with the boy, whose eyes were deep, and slowly emptying of glow and spirit, as he distanced himself more and more from reality. Adrien noticed something was wrong, and the others were starting to catch up.

The boy was fallen into a deep sleep of remembrances and distant memories that did not belong to him. It was hard to know what was happening. Everything glowed, and at the same time, darkness was everywhere.

"Darwin!" He finally awoke with a call from Agatha, her voice distant, yet strong enough to wake him up. "Are you ok?" And for a moment, everyone stopped walking; standing around him to make sure that he was fine. He did not fall, nor did he show any signs of sickness. Darwin was simply unresponsive. His body walked without emotion, as if it was devoid of spirit. Yet…

"Yep." It was all he had to say. It was an automatic response, one that did not show tiredness, nor sadness. It was almost non-empathic. His smile stayed bright, but all his actions showed something was wrong.

Agatha slightly frowned at Darwin’s response. A certain silence fell between the group, a disconcerting one, if it weren’t for the meeting of two pair of eyes who had silently achieved and agreement.

Before anyone knew, two metallic hands had captured the small creature, which fought against the strong grip. His shrieks loudly echoed through the Forest of Bittersweet Dreams, shaking bushes and withering flowers in fear. When Agatha saw the defenseless creature held by force by such a brute man, fury fueled her actions, her eyes consumed by the fire of justice.

"Hey! What are you doing now?!" She could not take Genos’ actions much longer. However, Adrien got in the way before she could proceed, his eyes the same as hers, but with different reasons.

'Agatha, wait!" His voice was full of determination. Meanwhile, Darwin stood still in static, looking at the events unfolding with shocked eyes. His hands held the book much stronger, as he looked at a second fight unfolding. This time, however, he did not try to stop it, or explain a misunderstanding. It was different now.

His friend was in danger.

"Didn’t you notice something weird going on?" Adrien continued, trying to put Agatha on their side.

"I noticed that he tried to attack us two times!"

"No, this time he is right!" Adrien glanced at the old elemental, one that appeared to be innocent at first. "Since that golden elemental appeared, Darwin has been acting weird! Don’t you think that he may have something to do with it?"

"But Darwin was already like this before we even found this creature!"

"But how do you think he found the creature? And the book? How do you think he knew the way to them?"

"What are you saying?"

"I’m telling you that this elemental is c-"

The boy could not take this any longer.

"Stop!' It was too late when they noticed. Darwin charged at the cyborg, holding firmly the book in his hands. It did not surprise Genos, who held his hand against the boy’s head. Darwin tried to hit him, but his fists could only find air, without landing one single blow at the metallic body of the cyborg. Adrien once again glanced behind. Then, he completely turned his head.

The book was floating.

His pages went left and forth, blown by an unknown being. The symbols on the cape glowed brightly, taken by a sort of sorcery. Time went slower in Adrien’s eyes, as he watched the following events happen.

Prys suddenly disappeared without ever escaping the cyborg’s hands. No, he was ahead of him. Genos searched the creature in his hands, looking everywhere, until his attention finally fell into the palm of his hands. Specifically at the ports, where the fire came through. It was the access to the inside of his body.

A golden light shone behind his sleeveless shirt, trying to find another exit. His body automatically tried to burn it, as it did to any intruder. Despite this, it became faster and brighter, and Genos could not do anything to stop it. The cyborg watched as a panel only he could see appeared at his front. He protested the program to launch the creature out of his body.

For the first time, it denied his commands.

His hand opened wide; his arm extended outside of his control. Prys was pushed out of Genos’ body, working mostly robotically. As soon as it was next to Darwin, the pages finally stood still. The book had chosen a spell of his will.

A golden shield surrounded Darwin and the creature, allowing no outsider to pass through.

***

Once again, he was inside his mind. Voices called out to him from every side, yet not a single one could reach him. Once again, Darwin felt alone, abandoned by those who he believed to be close with. Were they really this close? Or was it just his imagination again? No, it couldn’t be. He knew his reality. He knew the people close to him. Why were they lying to him? Were they trying to hurt him?

Where was the one he needed the most?

The one that was always by his side.

Even when their own family was against them?

His brother.

Gumball.

Where was Gumball when he needed his help?

He was always by his side, after all.

His supporter.

His sidekick.

And yet

And yet

And

Yet

…

Those words started flowing through his mind again

A strange song

A familiar voice

So close to hear, yet so distant to understand

Yet…

Everything was always close to him

Yet he never could reach them

Why?

All he wanted

All he ever wanted

Since the beginning

Since it all begin

All he wanted…

…

Was to help

That was his purpose, after all

His only purpose

That was how they made him, after all

Darwin?

***

Well, that was a strange chapter, indeed. Oh, missed me? Pardon for not giving commentaries this time. I was busy drinking the product of my great intellect. Sadly, it ended sooner than I thought, despite drinking it for only two hours. I am sure two gallons of coffee in two days do not cause any harm. Or was it one? Well, there are multiple empty plastic gallons in here… Well, I am sure it will not cause any harm. I already said that didn’t I? Oh, but do not worry, for the story will soon continue… in a couple of days…

Maybe I should get another cup. Of coffee. Or tea. It will most likely make me feel better. See you, dear readers.

Chapter Text

Hello once again, dear readers. I am deeply sorry about the timing of posting chapters. These last couple of days were certainly something in my life. Turns out, it is not healthy for a human being to drink so much coffee in such little space of time, as it is recommended to drink only… four to five cups a day. Unfortunately, I found that out some days ago, after an overdose – which happened just when I finished writing the chapter! The saddest part is that I did not even have the time to post, since at that hour, I was immobilized on the floor.

Anyhow, do not worry for my well-being, as I now am a new person. You see, the doctors told me in rehabilitation that I should not drink coffee for an undetermined period of time. Until them, I must follow a strict diet, which did not include coffee. Or a cappuccino. Or any type of drink with certain amount of caffeine. They said that to treat addictions – my dear god! An addiction! Since when drinking coffee is an addiction?! Is it not a part of life? Necessary for humans to survive? Is it not just as needed as beans, as meat, as vegetables, as water?! How can I have an addiction on such a basic thing? Dear lord.

My deeply apologies. Like I said, I have now a strict diet – I could at least have a latte. My god. Why did I not think of that? There are so many types of coffee. Latte – Hold on for a moment. No, it cannot be. No, the internet is full of lying robots and petty “scientists”. How can I not even have a latte? A LATTE?

***

Caden was a guide. It was not considered a… modern job, per say. A long time had passed since outsiders from Animaland – the mountain where he was born – had come, so guides were considered – pretty much – useless. However, his years of studying could not go to waste. After all, sacrificing your own face for nothing was, at the very least, depressing. All he could show now was a big smile, a face of a friendly greeter who could do no harm to his visitants. Turns out, they did not like his face very much. Well, that was what Jenna thought. Although, he did not think the same. Their faces were alike, after all! How would they not like it?

“Humans are much complex than us” that was she said, along with other thoughts that they partially shared. Jenna was a good friend – even if that opinion was mutual only for one – however, she was much more pessimistic and quite impatient. No, that was a strong word. Nonetheless, Jenna would never hear his thoughts.

Well, he hoped for that.

Even if he hated to admit it, she was right about something. That is, they never actually­ waited for an outsider to come. Why would they? As far as they knew, all the Doors were closed, since some time. No one knew why, or the reasons behind Mami’s decisions. Was she even real, anyway? There has been a long time since the Golden Palace answered. It was likely they had fallen, by then. That was what Jenna thought. Caden was not so sure anymore.

Either way, the unexpected happened: outsiders had arrived. For courtesy, they would be called travelers. That was the instructions for them, but Caden did not understand why by then. He thought they were basically the same, maybe for some different features.

Oh boy, he was wrong.

Not completely, though.

They had Anima and Qualia, so it was a start. Moreover, they were alike, yes; they were intelligent, emotional, and quite sensitive. What rather freaked him out was of how opaque they were. Something about it was almost… uncanny. But oh well, that did not matter. They were still elementals, ghosts on the inside. Literally. Caden was more optimistic than Jenna was.

It was almost time for them to face the tutorial. Jenna and Caden had prepared everything according to the instructions of the book “How to be a Guide! Vol. 87”. That is, they got two “parts” of the Mother of All Flowers, and gave them Star Ghast, weakening and putting him to sleep for some time. Creating a single path was not hard. The problem was that the trees ended up too compressed and appeared to be giant bushes. Other than that, everything was ready for the outsiders. They called it a day.

Afterwards the awakening of the travelers, the guides did the explanation. It was a piece of catte, according to Jenna. Caden could tell from then, their groups were fairly different. He watched the travelers from afar and could tell most of them had a lot of issues going on. Insecurity, mistrust, doubt… why would someone attack their fellow species? It was almost absurd. Was it because of different features? Yesh, he did not want to know.

Caden casted it aside and finally confronted them. Everything went according to plan afterwards.

Well, almost everything.

He was now relaxing for a little bit, feeling the scent of flowers as he played a little song on his ukulele. Despite the name, the Forest of Bittersweet Dreams had a very pleasant view, almost sweet enough for him to experience. However, it was only magnificent seen from above. The real dangers laid outside of the path, where dangers of all kinds resided, hidden in and behind trees, those presenting their own dangers as well. Once between the strong beasts, the scent of flowers and the sweetness of the view would never feel the same. As for now, it was a calm moment. But it is just that, isn’t it?

Just a moment.

“MY GROUP IS ALREADY FINISHED. YOURS?” Her voice echoed in his being. It was best to check if everything was all right. After all, they were peskers, a bunch of little rascals always looking for trouble. Not so little, actually. Oh, the terror his soul shone when he observed what could only be described as ancient incantations used at the wrong time. They were not even at the boss yet, dear Mami.

Caden stood still for a while. Maybe a career as a musician was not so bad. No, it was not the time to lament. He straightened his voice, put his bow right, and went to work.

"I SEE YOU’VE GOT A LITTLE PROBLEM. AGAIN!" What did they do now? Somehow, the boy – the most haywire of them, in some way – created a shield around him, compelling any outsider to stay out of it. The book was the one to do it, and the old elemental… it was inside too, but what was he exactly doing? The woman, Agatha, tried to get in contact with Darwin, while the cyborg, Genos, tried to break it. Adrien, the teenager, was in the midterm of the other two. The shield was opaque as well. No one could see what was going on inside of it.

Except Caden.

Being a guide gave its benefits. Besides replacing your face, you could also have access to other planes of reality. It was supposed to make it easier to prepare tutorials and such. But there were some other uses for it as well. For instance, he could see beyond the shield, only to experience… a sad view.

He needed to know what was happening (protocol n.57).

"MIND TELLING ME WHAT IS GOING ON?'

"The book…! It trapped Darwin inside!" Adrien answered, stopping for a moment to think.

"OH, IT WASN’T THE BOOK!" The other two paused for a moment, unsure of what to do. The shield did not break, despite Genos’ strength, and no matter how much Agatha called out to him, the boy never said anything back. They were at an impasse.

Adrien was confused "What do you mean? Darwin didn’t use it, I mean, he couldn’t-"

"APOLOGIES FOR INTERRUPTING, HOWEVER, THERE IS A FLAW IN YOUR STATEMENT!" Caden did not meant to be rude. Nevertheless, time was running out.

Very quickly.

Soon, Jenna would come and give him a lecture. She was not a guide for more time than he was, yet acted as if she was more experienced and intelligent. No, they were at the same level, and Caden was going to prove that to her. Luckily, he knew a couple of things about the old era as well.

"THE BOOK CANNOT USE ITSELF, NOT AT ALL! IT NEEDS A PROPHET, SOMEBODY THAT CAN CHANNEL THE POWER HIDDEN IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE OLD. IF THERE IS NONE, IT WILL BE UNACTIVATED FOR EONS TO COME, JUST LIKE YOU FOUND IT!"

"But why Darwin? He is just a kid!" Agatha exclaimed "What about that old elemental, Prys?"

"WELL, IT IS A LITTLE COMPLICATED, SO WE’LL GET TO IT LATER IF YOU WISH. AS FOR NOW, YOU NEED TO CALM HIM DOWN."

"What…" Caden interrupted Adrien before he continued.

"THE BOOK IS CONNECTED TO HIS QUALIA, THAT IS, HIS EMOTIONS. NOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS FOR SOMEONE TO ISOLATE THEMSELVES." As he said that, a pen and notebook appeared on his hands. He sat in mid-air and begun taking notes. For some reason, Caden was now wearing glasses.

"THE QUESTION IS: WHAT ARE HIS REASONS?"

Agatha was the first one to tell.

"Probably the fact that you attacked his friend out of nowhere! I mean, what were you thinking?!" She had a point…

"That “friend” was sucking the life out of him!" …but Adrien had another. "Before we passed through the portal, Darwin was livelier, agitated even! It was only when he came close to the forest he started to act weirdly, like he was tired. I mean, is this even a forest?! Because there aren’t any trees around, only these giant bushes and some flowers!"

'You’re diverging from the point' Genos called out.

'What I’m saying, is that this place is weird! It just… doesn’t make any sense!" Adrien was irritated at that point. If only he could transform, Chat Noir would find a way. Yet, there was always someone watching him from afar, and even if he just ignored it and transformed, there was nowhere to hide, and no reason to justify. He was stuck.

If only Ladybug could help…

Wait.

Why could he not help himself? He was just as capable as she was.

He was her partner­. Not a sidekick.

So why-

Suddenly, he felt something in his mouth. Caden was in front of him.

"YOU KNOW, IN THESE SITUATIONS, CHEWING ON A PEN HELPS ME THINK CLEARLY AND CALMLY." Oh. The pen was in his mouth. Well, at least part of the cap. Without realizing, he was holding the body while nibbling the pen, thinking of a solution to his problem. "AND ALSO, THERE ARE NO BUSHES AROUND, ONLY TREES! THEY JUST… LOOK A LOT LIKE BUSHES. ANYHOW!'

He moved away from Adrien to give him space. Agatha, once again, started reasoning. Ultimately, the problem was not so different from what she had with her sister. A child with powers that cannot control and using it to isolate themselves from others. At least, she had some experience.

"Well, maybe he feels unsafe! So, we should… uh." Trying to talk to him was not working. She could try something else, though.

Without explaining much, Agatha hugged the shield. It was quite big, enough for her arms to only embrace less than half of it.

"What are you doing?" Genos asked, with complete confusion, translated on his face as certain disdain.

"Making him safe." It was all she could say. It was a way to hug Darwin… indirectly. To show him affection, and that he was not alone in his struggles. In her head, it was an action of kindness and heartfelt. In reality, it appeared to be dumb.

Even then, Adrien joined her and hugged another part of the shield. Now it had two thirds of the dome surrounded by caring people who were not sure of what they were doing. The boy had a relatively firmed expression, his commitment overshadowed by the pen still in his mouth. When drawn, it would appear to be a loving picture, but seeing it actually happen was an entirely different thing.

Genos was not sure of what to do. On one hand, they looked insane, appearing to be people worshipping a solid dome, and trying to integrate themselves in it. It was also futile. On the other hand, according to the explanation of Caden, Qualia activated the book. So maybe the shield was connected to his feelings as well…? It was an incomplete, flaw logic. Yet, there was not much else to do besides that.

Now, there were three people surrounding a golden dome, embracing it and telling words of affection.

"We love you, Darwin." Said Agatha with reassuring words.

 "We don’t know him." said Genos.

"Well, your family loves you, Darwin."

"We don’t know if he has a family."

"Please, just stop ruining it."

"I’m just saying. It doesn’t help a lot saying to an orphan his parents love him. Only in some cases…"

"Do you know a better sentence?"

"Hm… somewhere, someone likes you."

"Thank you."

"I wasn’t talking to you."

"I know, it’s just… you know what, never mind.'

It was Adrien’s turn to speak 'Don’t worry Darwin. We will get through this, because we’ll stay together no matter what."

Genos could refute, saying, “Until we split up”. However, he decided to stay silent, just hoping it would work, and to no longer be in that awkward position. Some time passed, and the dome begun flickering, until it completely vanished, revealing a small boy in fetal position, with an old elemental stroking his head. Between his arms, a book was no longer glowing, going back to its original form.

"WELL THEN" Caden stood up from his invisible chair, a bit impatient to end this conflict already so they could procced. Jenna would appear at any moment "NOW THAT EVERYTHING IS BACK TO NORMAL, MAY YOU GET IN LINE TO FACE THE FINAL BOSS?"

"Wait a minute!" Agatha exclaimed in disbelief "We’re not ready yet! Darwin just-"

"FEAR NOT! DARWIN’S TURN CAN BE SKIPPED, AS FOR NOW IT WILL BE JUST A SMALL TUTORIAL ABOUT THE BASICS OF COMBAT."

"Don’t worry, it is just a tutorial. It won’t be a serious fight." Adrien had played a couple of RPGs before, besides other types of games. He could at least agree with the guide on it. Agatha found it strange but decided to trust him either way. Even if they did not know each other very well, she could tell Adrien was a good person, and someone she could trust. Not entirely, of course. She knew from previous experiences of people who do anything to get power over others and could pretend very well to be someone they were not. He could be different, or someone who just pretended to be different.

In any case, she would keep her guard up. Agatha held firmly to her frying pan, ready to strike down anyone who wanted to do them harm.

Even if it was one of them.

And so, they continued their path. Darwin was sleeping since the shield dissipated, so Genos carried him on his back. Prys stared at him with fire in his eyes. The cyborg did not dare to do the same. It was enough trouble for today. Meanwhile, Caden explained what the Forest of Bittersweet Dreams was (at least, some part of it). However, the group was more focused on the upcoming boss.

"ABOUT HIM" Caden excitedly told them, floating above and below the compressed trees, around the group, with no worries for what was to come "THE MOTHER OF ALL FLOWERS IS – OR ARE – THE ENTIRE FOREST!" He extended his arms dramatically "OR, AT LEAST, THE MAJORITY OF IT." Which followed by crossing his arms, decreasing its mouth (still smiling) and squishing his eyes, showing a thinking semblance. The Elemental quickly dropped the pose when they got near strange, dark bushes, which seemed out of place in relation to the other ones.  "AND HERE WE ARE, AT THE FINAL BOSS! AREN’T YOU ALL EXCITED?" He had his big smile again, taking a confident posture as he looked to the other people.

Unlike his previous explanation, this one was more carefree. Probably because it was not in the script, and the guidelines told nothing against it. He could tell all he knew to the group, like a teacher experiencing for the first time having interested students in his class. However, at the same time, he did not have much confidence like Jenna, so his teaching was more like of a physics scientist.

"SO, EXPLAINING IT QUICKLY, YOU WILL FACE THE MOTHER OF ALL FLOWERS! HE WON’T ATTACK AT FIRST (FOR NOW), SO THE FIRST TURN IS YOURS. HE (OR WAS IT SHE? I CAN’T QUITE REMEMBER) WHERE WAS I? OH, YES, SO SH- HE WILL ONLY ATTACK WHEN ALL OF YOU ARE DONE… ATTACKING. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M SAYING? OH! BEFORE I FORGET, HI-HE- THE MOTHER OF ALL FLOWERS WEAKNESS… IS… FIRE. LITERAL FIRE. YES."

His explanation was very quick, full of cracks, but weirdly enough, his voice was monotonous the entire time. Still, his twitchiness was clear as glass, more so at the end. They were not sure of his nervousness that came all of a sudden, but they had a hint on the misinterpretation of pronouns.

Darwin was still sleeping by then, so they left him outside the area of battle. The cyborg gently put him on the grass, where he laid unconscious for the most part.

Adrien equipped himself with a giant branch he found between the “bushes” (so they were, after all, compressed trees…?), and the other two used their previous weapons. Beforehand, Adrien decided to ask the guide something important.

"Hey!" He turned her head in his direction "We presented ourselves, except for you! So" In small steps, the teenager positioned herself in front of him, being able to look directly in his eyes despite his gleaming nature. "What’s your name?" He had a self-assured posture, despite his lack of protection and good weapons.

"WOAH, ME?" He pointed at himself, eyes wide opened, and instead of a smile, it became the exaggerated shape of a laid pineapple without the top, like a cartoonish surprised expression "YOU MEAN… OH…" The light blue in his face became darker. He was not used to someone asking his name. Not that anyone would ever use it, anyway. The only one who cared enough to ask was Jenna. They were business partners, so there was that. However, he was just their guide, and nothing more. Well, maybe now they could be something else. "WELL, IT’S… CADEN."

Adrien let out a friendly laugh "You’re a good guide, Caden."

Caden had a certain grudge with them before. They were a quite difficult group of travelers, after all. Fighting, getting in trouble, not following the line… yet he felt a little close to them. He looked at them go, as a voice echoed in his being. Oh, he would not listen to that now. He was busy at the moment.

He needed to guide the travelers through battle.

Agatha took the first step into what was the battling area. In a matter of seconds, Caden took a more formal swift and began explaining the mechanics of battle, like a robot reciting instructions, without hesitation or cracks.

"THE FIRST TURN IS YOURS. EACH INDIVIDUAL TURN WILL OCCUR ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF THE LINE IN WHICH YOU FOLLOW THROUGHOUT THE GAME. IN THIS BATTLE, THE ORDER WILL BE: AGATHA, ADRIEN AND GENOS. DARWIN IS OUT OF BATTLE FOR THE MEANTIME.

THE MECHANICS WILL VARY DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF ENEMY. FOR THIS ONE, THE BATTLE WILL BE DIVIDED INTO TWO [GENERAL] TURNS: YOURS AND THE BOSS. HIS ATTACK WILL LAST 10 SECONDS, IN WHICH ALL OF THE GROUP WILL BE THE TARGET. I RECOMMEND YOU DODGE, AS ATTACKS MAY NOT BE SO EFFICIENT DURING THE BOSS’S TURN.

IN YOUR TURN, YOU CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN ATTACKING THE BOSS OR HELPING YOUR FOES. THE CHOICE IS YOURS. NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET’S START THE BATTLE!"

Soon enough, an opening slowly grew between the dark leaves, from where vines came out and slowly covered the area. In a matter of minutes, a giant blue and white pansy appeared, teeth in his petals, a murderous mouth in his stigma. It was time to fight.

Caden was more patient than Jenna in many ways, which compensated for his nervousness in tense situations and explanations. Agatha was the first one to fight, holding to her frying pan in defense, waiting for an attack.

"DO NOT WORRY, DEAR AGATHA! HE WILL ONLY ATTACK AFTER ALL OF YOU HAVE DONE YOUR MOVES. AS FOR NOW, YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON ATTACKING HIS STALK."

And so, she did. With a smooth swing, Agatha threw her frying pan directly under his petals. Numbers appeared under him. 56. It caused some damage!

"WELL DONE!" They started well. However, the frying pan was now between the spiky vines, right under the boss. It would be hard to retrieve it…

Adrien decided to do the same. He threw his branch at the stalk. 59. It was something. Genos finished the turn, by just burning the plant down with his incinerator. His sheer power amazed the group, even more to Agatha. When using his ability, he resembled her sister, someone with ice powers that she never knew up until one day.

In a very small moment, she thought something was wrong with her memories. As if there was something important, she should remember.

The plant burned fiercely. But it did not turn to ashes. It kept on burning, its vines moving onto positions, ready to fight.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

***

Continue on the next chapter...

Chapter Text

When Caden realized, it was too late. The boss tossed his vines with great force, screeching and shouting flames and spikes. One of them came close to the group, destroying and burning the ground and grass in its way. Genos clutched it before it was too late, pushed away by many centimeters, close enough to the hero in disguise. He tore it apart, pulling the vine away from his owner, who howled fear and anger from within his being. And so, began his job of protecting the defenseless ones from the havoc of the giant pansy.

"I thought his weakness was fire!" Adrien said, warning Caden of his faults.

"IT WAS!" The desperate guide shouted, unsure of what could have gone wrong.

He searched his manual “What to Do When You Screw up as a Guide. Vol.56”, trying to find what could have happened. He seeks the creature, looking at his parts and comparing it to the illustrations in his book – and there, under its stalk, one wound bleed pitch black. Oh, he had committed a big, big mistake.

'NO… OH, NO NO NO NO NO! IT SHOULDN’T BE! IT COULDN’T BE! THE MOTHER OF ALL FLOWERS… HE’S…!" In his panic and terror, Caden heard a voice in his being.

"I SEE YOU’VE GOT A LITTLE PROBLEM THERE." Jenna said, without fault or much commitment. Her voice was sarcastic, almost mean. She had a very good reason for it. "I’VE BEEN GUIDING MY GROUP THROUGH A POINTLESS MAZE, JUST SO I COULD GIVE A COUPLE OF HOURS TO YOURS. MAYBE IT IS ABOUT TIME FOR ME TO INTERVEINE…" Her tone almost irritated him, touching a part of his ego too sensitive to just let go. Despite the weight of the problem, Caden decided to take it on his own.

"DON’T WORRY, DEAR FRIEND. I KNOW WHAT TO DO." It was not true. Everything had gone wrong by now, and he could not go back. He could call her if things went horribly wrong. It was easier to think that than consider what could happen if everything went horribly damned wrong.

"IF YOU SAY SO." Her voice was quick, and he could tell Jenna was impatient. Caden nearly let out a sight, knowing she would not see the mess he made (and bring it up every opportunity she had in the future). The guide came back to her group, leaving her partner on his own.

Five seconds had passed. Most of the attacks were not hard to dodge, except the vines, which passed entirely through the path, blocking any advance or even retreat. The only barrier present was the flames of the giant pansy. Genos only had to defend two people, since Darwin was, fortunately, outside the reach of the boss, laying on the moist grass in stained purple and hues of magenta, untouched by the dangerous flames growing closer and closer to the fighters. The cyborg ran against the attacking vines, and would shortly throw attacks at the plant, being it small missiles or kicks and punches. Numbers appeared everywhere on the plant, meaning she was at least taking damage.

Yet, the monster slowly grew stronger with the attacks.

Finally, the boss’ turn was over. Genos stopped to breath, smoke coming out of his body. He looked at his arm: parts of it fell to the ground, overwhelmed by the attacks of the flaming plant. Meanwhile, The Mother of All Flowers stopped attacking, laying the vines on the ground, resting steadily outside the dark bushes. Genos could not tell what his state of mind was (if it had a mind). However, there was something he did notice.

That the plant regenerated very quickly.

Soon, all the vines he had teared apart soon grew back, with two or more coming from a cut part. In a short period, it had just about the double of vines than before. Some of them were darker, with spikes as pitch-black as the dark sky. The flames consumed those parts the more, becoming larger and more powerful, an orange fading to green and lime. It seemed that his attacks only gave the monster more power.

Finally, the guide came closer to them, ready to confess his mistakes. He could sense the disappointment in their faces, confused and angry as to why all of this was happening. And he had to explain.

He had to explain everything.

"I AM DEEPLY SORRY FOR THE INCONVIENCE; HOWEVER, IT APPEARS THE MOTHER OF ALL FLOWERS WAS… INFECTED BY THE DISEASE."

"What disease?" Agatha asked.

"THE DISEASE!"

'I mean which one?!" Agatha uttered, now irritated.

"You mean this wasn’t part of the tutorial?" Adrien dodged her question, focused on another problem. The boy had a solemn expression ingrained deep into his face, as he stared into the eyes of danger with no weapons or armor, or even strength to help him. He needed to transform, but first the hero needed somewhere to hide. However, there was nowhere to run, since the flames surrounded them, burning brightly and closer each turn.

"FEAR NOT, DEAR TRAVELERS, FOR THERE IS A SOLUTION TO THIS SEVERE SITUATION!" Despite it all, Caden stayed bright as ever, seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Did he really know how to guide them there? Everyone silently had this question. Even himself.

"YOU WERE MEANT TO MEET THE DISEASE ONLY LATER ON. HOWEVER, SINCE WE HAVE NO OTHER OPTION BUT TO FACE IT NOW, YOU MIGHT AS WELL KNOW ABOUT IT." The boss had them at his grasp, hungry for a meal of heroes from afar. Despite its corrupted desire, he could not attack. After all, he was also subject to the laws of the game.

Caden stood still on the ground. His posture changed, and his voice became automated.

He was ready to explain. Ready for the consequences of his mistakes. To reveal an information meant to be told only when they learnt to deal with this world.

"THE DISEASE, AS YOU MAY KNOW, WAS CREATED BY NI-MA’S HATRED, WHICH SLOWLY TOOK OVER THE WORLD, AND ACCELERATED THE PROCESS OF CORRUPTION. FOR MANY YEARS, THE OLD ELEMENTALS, ALSO KNOWN AS THE ASVAR’AH, OR THE ILLUMINATED ONES, WHERE THE ONES WHO COULD FIGHT THE DISEASE AND PURIFY THOSE INFECTED BY IT. IT WAS NEEDED MANY OTHER ELEMENTALS OF STRONG ANIMA TO REPLICATE A PART OF THEIR POWER, BUT EVEN THEN, THEY WERE AT RISK OF BECOMING CORRUPTED THEMSELVES.

IN YOUR JOURNEY, YOU WILL FIND MANY INFECTED BY THE DISEASE, AND IT IS UP TO YOU TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE A CHOICE: EITHER TO SAVE THEM…

OR END THEM."

It was not so hard to say it: after all, it was an automated explanation, one scripted in him by the “Manual of a Guide: Congrats, You Are a Guide Now! Vol. 110”. The real problem was if this was against the protocols of a guide. Since they had to learn the basics of RPG! (That is, all the laws that determined Animaland) in a specified order, told in the first volume of “How to Be a Guide: Starting from The Beginning”, this could lead him to a lot of trouble.

He kind of deserved it, honestly.

Caden grasped some air, his face remaining still all the time. He looked at them, eyes of flawed heroes ready to act.

"SO, TO SHORTEN THINGS UP… WE NEED THE GOLDEN CREATURE. AND THE BOY."

'NO, it’s too dangerous for him!" Agatha exclaimed "What if he gets hurt?"

"Even if we protect him now, sooner or later he will get hurt. After all, this is just the tutorial." Genos was opposed to her opinion once again.

"He is not ready!" Agatha insisted "Just a while ago, he created a shield around him with that strange book and has been unconscious ever since!"

Agatha looked at them in plead. The flames were too strong now, blocking the view to the outside. Because of this, they could not see Darwin to check if he was awake or still unconscious.

But they had no other option, had they?

"THERE IS… ONE PROBLEM."

He watched as confusion arose on their faces. Faces that expressed so much, unlike him, who could only smile at all times, even in desperate situations.

"TO INTEGRATE DARWIN IN YOUR GROUP, ONE OF YOU WILL HAVE TO LEAVE THE BATTLE, COUNTING AS A “FLIGHT MOVE”, AND BY ESSENTIALLY CHANGING THE INTEGRATION AND POSITION OF THE TEAM, IT WILL GIVE THE BOSS A FREE TURN. FOR INSTANCE, IF GENOS LEAVES… YOU WILL HAVE TO DEFEND YOURSELVES WITHOUT HIM."

Adrien stared at Caden, while at the same time seeing nothing. The voices, the sounds around him, suddenly began to disappear. His chest moved swiftly, as his ears were embedding by pressure and the weight of decision. He needed to transform, to protect Agatha from the boss. At the same time, he could not reveal his identity to anyone, as it was a vow made with Ladybug as to prevent their miraculouses from falling into the hands of Hawk Moth. What if she was there? It would make it worse for them to know…

The superhero in disguise fell into a dilemma. One so simple to solve…

Which Caden knew how.

"BUT THAT WON’T BE MUCH OF A PROBLEM, WILL IT?"

This time, he smiled for real. He changed glances with Adrien, sharing the same thoughts and different opinions.

The boy knew from the very start that somebody was watching him, and now he was sure it was the guide. He could have transformed then, if it was not for him. What did he want, after all? To reveal his secret identity? To tell Hawk Moth? This would surely be the case if he was the akumatized. But why have all this trouble? Why not just fight him at once?

Caden spoke, as if he was answering all the boy’s questions.

"I KNOW SOME OF YOU HAVE A HISTORY WITH BAD PEOPLE AND SUCH. HOWEVER, RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE NO ENEMIES BETWEEN US (EXCEPT FOR THE MOTHER OF ALL FLOWERS). WE ARE ALL PALS HERE! SO DO NOT FEAR! FOR WE ARE HERE NOT TO FIGHT EACH OTHER, BUT TO BE EACH OTHER’S SHOULDERS."

Why should he trust him? Was there another option, anyway? Adrien stared at Caden’s eyes, hollow yet full of spirit. Maybe he was right. Maybe he could trust him. Maybe…

He needed to decide quickly.

 Well, whatever happens, it happens.

That single thought was enough for lightning to pass through Adrien’s whole body, from his chest to his head, his heart to his mouth. And just like that, he shouted the magical words.

"CLAWS OUT!"

A green light swiftly passed through his body, covering him with a cat suit, an entirely dark cloth with cat ears and a belt as a cattail. He wore gloves with fangs, and a golden bell next to a zipper on the front.  A simple staff was held by it, one that could extend and contract by a green button in the shape of a paw. He was ready for whatever was to come. He only hoped it was not a mistake-

"Wait, you could do this THE WHOLE TIME??" Agatha exclaimed, surprised and annoyed.

Well, at least they didn’t know who Chat Noir was.

"I wanted to keep it a secret, but I don’t have any other choice, do I?" He looked straight at Caden, blaming him a little for what he did now. Meanwhile, the guide was more agitated than ever, balancing his legs, feet and hands at midair, when suddenly standing still and pointing straight up at them.

"ARE YOU READY FOR THE FIGHT?" His excitement was brighter and vivid, waiting for the action to come. The group was in stance for the coming battle, each one with their weapons and strategies. They were ready.

"I CAN SEE YOU ARE! WELL THEN, LEEET’S GET TO IT!"

***

Hello there! I promise to be quick with this commercial bre- (wait, there are no breaks? A fanfiction? Oopsie…)

U-hum, as I was saying, I am C, and I’m here to recommend you the best stories that The Verse can offer! What is The Verse? Well, I’m glad to tell you! It is a [SPEED UP, WE DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME AND WORDS FOR THAT!]

As I was saying, Anima Project is a little small bitty part of The Verse, which is connected to many other stories present in this strange multi-universe! If you want to see more stories of our wretched heroes, be sure to check @theverse on Tumblr!

That is all for now! See you on the future! (Which will be, apparently, not here… Not ever again.)

(Oops).

***

"FIRST, I NEED AGATHA AND ADR- I MEAN, CHAT NOIR TO SKIP THEIR TURNS. GENOS WILL THEN LEAVE THE BATTLE TO BRING DARWIN AND THE GOLDEN CREATURE HERE. ARE YOU READY FOR TO DO THIS?"

Chat Noir was more confident than ever, determined to defend Agatha and himself from the attacks to come. "I’m ready" He says, almost to himself. His heart jumps from his chest (it is not every day you fight literal monsters on fire, is it?), the air on his lungs leaving and coming swiftly. The adrenaline rushed through his body, just like Agatha’s. I honestly do not know what goes through Genos’ body.

Just like that, Genos disappears in the midst of the flames. The Mother of All Flowers rises once again, his vines swigging smoothly at first, becoming faster and more aggressive in a short period of time. It was now Chat Noir’s job to defend them against the boss.

***

Outside of the arena, Genos found Darwin loudly yawning, sitting with his eyes closed next to the book. It seems he had just woken up.

"Darwin." The cyborg firmly said, to which my sweet boy the young boy only moved his head slightly up. “Hm” was his only invitation for Genos to talk.

He froze for a moment. The plan began to fall apart inside his mind, breaking apart by the view of a kid who was not even ready to punch a monster, let alone be the one to defeat it. He could just get the book and the creature of golden light, after all it was all they truly needed. Getting someone of that age to an arena would just be another problem to deal with.

Before he could say, however, Darwin spoke first "I know you guys need me, just give me a second."

For a moment, he stayed with his eyes closed. He slowly got up, putting his hand on his knee, using the pressure on it to get up. He stretched out for a little bit.

"How did you know?"

"Jonaraja told me." He was calm now, with a soft voice and a clear mind. Some seconds later, he stayed still for a moment. Genos wondered about the name, but quickly brushed if off. It didn’t matter much to him whatever that creature’s name was.

"Alright" His face suddenly assumed a very serious expression, and his voice got deeper "Let’s do this."

***

The vines full of flames swung violently at all sides, accelerating more each second. It made it harder for Chat Noir to dodge, as he not only did not have the same strength and stamina as the cyborg, but he was also only partially resistant to fire. Despite this, he fought beyond his limits, always standing up and preparing himself for the next attack.

Agatha did her best: she did not have her frying pan anymore, but she ran away from the attacks as much as she could. However, when the giant vines swept through the area, the superhero was the one to hold his staff against the attacks, burning himself on the process.

At the end of the turn, Chat Noir was full of bruises and burns on his face, alongside Agatha, who had them all over her body. Some parts of her dress were ripped apart, either by the spikes that tore her skin apart or by the flames that burned her almost endlessly. Finally, through the lit barrier of plants, they came. A golden light that shone bright as ever. The vines were broken and casted aside, giving way to a demonic cyborg and a naive fish.

Caden watched from afar, unable to help them much on the battle. Now that the other half had come, they could put the infected Mother of All Flowers to rest. His smile was as true as he was to his Anima.

"Hey guys!" Even with his grim injuries and multiple scratches, the superhero kept a smile as bright as day "Ready to end this battle once and floral?"

They did not share his excitement, especially with that bad pun.

"Are you serious right now?" Agatha was baffled.

"Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I just really like making punsies!"

"If you keep up with this, I’m going to incinerate your-"

"Well, I’m already burnt out, so it won’t do much." Chat Noir was having the fun of his life, while the others had dismayed feelings about him. Darwin did not care much; he cracked his fingers, stretching himself before finally settling to fight.

Between his hands, there was a mysterious book, one that brought alongside a strange creature, ancient spells that could create shields, and float with flourished emotions. Now, could it end the Disease? There was only one way to find out. The boy opened it, flying from page to page, until he found one useful for the occasion. One with multiple circles, each inside the other. A single four-pointed star resided at the center, made by a peculiar dark ink, like the rest of the drawings on the old sheets of paper. Prys (or Jonaraja, or the Golden Creature, whatever you may want to call it) quietly moved in front of him, between the mother of All Flowers and the young fish.

What followed was a simple ritual; one made with silent words and shared thoughts. One that even Caden could not understand.

The old elemental began to shift in a circular motion, leaving behind a trace of golden light that rejoined as he accelerated, until a complete circle was formed, one so hypnotizing which could fool anyone’s bare eyes.

The Golden Creature suddenly appeared in the middle of it, and ahead of anyone’s expectations, a blast of light was cast upon the corrupted beast, blinding all those next to the attack. The Mother of All Flowers shrieked in agony and pain, letting out a final scream before disappearing, leaving behind only a couple of petals and a distant memory.

It was over.

***

"YOU ACQUIRED:

• 13 PANSY PETALS;
• 700 EXPERIENCE."

***

Deep into the Cave of Shimmering Memories, a deep cut crystal shone brightly and deeper than other crystals. It was the most purple of all, keeping the secrets of who was once a lovely mother. In her last breath, her voice echoed in a whisper, telling of the place she once brought only those she cared about, now left to be forgotten... or so she thought. 

Being forgotten was one of the worst destinies of an Elemental. It meant no Qualia, other than of local living beings - if there ever was - ever passed or stayed there. When someone died, all that was left of them were their exposed Qualia, which scattered through the place they died or walked on, leaving their history behind to be seen and known. It became part of the environment, leaving their marks by attracting insects or living beings that they knew, or changing the colors of the field. If not took care, it would disappear with time, hiding the trails of someone that ever lived and died there.

That was how it worked in most places. In the Cave of Shimmering Memories, however, you could guard told memories in the crystals, who would keep those messages to tell anyone willing to hear. Many dying folks, when insignificant to the rest of the world, traveled to the cave to find a crystal of their own, as to keep their essence alive, even if just by a message. It was a last chunk of hope, one which anyone, brave or not, was willing to do. After all, the oblivion was the nightmare of most. If not to remember themselves, then at least they did it to remember others.

Nevertheless, there was still one fear that began to arise in recent times. One that came when the Disease, once again, began to spread, slowly but deadly. What could be worse than being forgotten.

There, behind loads of crystals and rocks, inside the deep cut crystal, black as the void, it slowly grew inside the crystal, consuming its memories, and corrupting its message. The purple crystal glowed more than any rock, becoming darker and darker, creating cracks from inside to outside, letting out what was now distorted hatred and agony from fading memories. The crystal, a hostage, was now an egg that began hatching.

Chapter Text

Protagonists

Days passed by. Maybe years. Gumball did not know anymore. It did not matter if he opened or closed his eyes. All that he could see, in the end, was the finale of the universe, extinguishing staidly into oblivion. He took a last gasp of air, before finally succumbing to the extinction of everything that ever came to exist. He lived a good life, one insignificant to the order of all things. He had some regrets, thoughts, remembrances… grief. It was time to let go, and finally, once and for all-

"Gumball! GUMBALL!" A distant voice called out to him. Was it a product of delusion? Had he finally fallen to delirium? It kept calling him, shaking his body to wake him up…

Meanwhile, Ladybug tried to rouse the boy, ready to take off with the group. It had been hours since they stopped, and the starvation was getting to her head. The petals were not enough to feed them, the flowers around hid themselves when they came closer, and even then, they didn’t know if they were edible. The worst part was that their guide had suddenly disappeared, saying she had to business somewhere, and all she said was for them to “keep going”.

That’s what they did. For a long time, they walked, walked through the weird bushes, through the endless maze that, despite walking on a straight line, always led them to same spot. The spot where a weird flower stood in the middle of the path, a dark blue iris rising between the purple and magenta of the grass. Do you ever look around, and think of everything as a weird dream?

At first, when the group realized it was some type of magical maze, they tried to find other ways to get out. Saitama began by jumping high enough to see an exit. He saw some paths out of that path, and led them through for a while. That is, until the paths begin to change every time he saw them.

The second plan was to fool the maze, and just go through the bushes. That is when they found out they were not bushes, but strangely compressed trees. He traveled for a while, which was not so difficult for a basically invincible, impenetrable guy. But the maze, it was smarter, smarter and larger than any of them. It drove him always to the same point he left, over and over again.

Finally, he had enough. He punched a way out of this place. The group was amazed by his feat, once again. “Why didn’t you do it before?!” Asked Gumball, with sore feet, tired eyes, and an empty stomach. But the maze, once again, it was smarter, larger, and faster. It grew trees and plants as quick as he had punched them, covering not only their way out, but also possible paths they could have taken. It was trapping them inside, forcing the hungry group to behave.

The guide had not appeared for a while, and they were completely lost. What could they do now?

Well, they could walk.

They walked, and walked, until their legs were numb, the stomach roared, and their minds lost track of time. Once again, they stopped. For their luck, the ground was soft, the grass, smooth as butter. Soon, they laid down and rested their eyes and thoughts.

However, as all dreams come to an end, it was time to move forward.

Ladybug was cogitating using her lucky charm, as it contained a solution to their problem. At the same time, she would have some minutes to hide and rest until transforming again. It would solve one issue, but it would create another. She sighed, tired and running out of energy to think. A big problem.

"I could leave this place and find some help for you." Saitama suggested, laying down while contemplating the sky.

"Didn’t you already try that?" Eliza remarked, her skin as pale as snow, that seemed to melt from exhaustion. Or were they freezing more? The others could not tell much, but they did know something, as clearly as day:

She was very malnourished.

"Instead of going through the bush… I mean, these trees, I could just jump them at once."

"We will fall into oblivion…" Gumball was half-awake by this time, so what he was trying to say is: “Won’t the maze attack us, or… SWALLOW us?” You see, in this state, we are at the peak and lowest of intellect, which makes us Albert Einstein and Franz Reichelt at the same time. A genius that can only ramble theories and thoughts. Sometimes we find out the meaning of life, and can only say that a sponge is, in fact, a furry. Sadly, no one paid attention to the implications of his statement.

"It is better if we stay together for now." Ladybug winded up the discussion, worn out yet thriving, like that one shirt you won’t let go. Yes, that one with the “ROLL N’ RUN, JOSH!!!”. This reference doesn’t even exist, so why keep it? Honestly, I won’t judge you. It will just pile up with the other judgments that do not fit in the furniture boxes anymore.

The superheroine kept on speaking, either to them or to herself. Neither of them listened. She spoke about the dangers of the maze, how the forest was sentient, stuff, stuff and stuff. Meanwhile, Gumball had passed half the way to woke up, staring at the wiggling plants moving irregularly between the bushes. The trees. Between the trees. Hold up.

Before anyone knew, Gumball was literally swallowed by the maze, as quick as teens destroying their lives when deciding that they will be independent, while making the stupidest decisions known to humans. Not that adults are smarter. They just have experience. Sometimes, they have the learning skills of a fish.

+-< | _ | >-+

The maze was swift and clever, devouring them one by one. The forest moved their bodies, through the thick leaves and annoying sticks, held by the vines out of their reach. Soon enough, they were at another open road, their faces and clothes full of plants and twigs. They were some bugs as well, ones tiny and shiny quickly hiding from the wights. The path was the same; a straight line, front and behind. They looked at their sides, aware of the dangers, and at each other, sharing the same plan. Except Gumball, who had just fully woken up by then. Sometimes, you fall asleep, only to find yourself in the middle of a negotiation between the mafia and the Yakuza. Or in the middle of a forest that just transported you in the most inconvenient way possible.

They waited, firmly fixated on the ground. They waited for the attacks, for a move, for anything to come out of the forest. What they didn’t expect was for the ground to become the danger. As their feet sunk, their bodies inclined, and the floor turned into a ramp into the unknown, the forest forgot the group, erasing the last traits of four ordinary people with mystical and fantastical feats.

Now the only ones who met them were the tiny flowers around the forest, who would last hear their muffled screams coming from down below, before completely forgetting their existence and continue to bloom as they always did.

***

Round and round and wound they went, in circles and triangles and squares, some going smoothly as melted butter on a crunchy toast, others hitting all the walls and cracks and rocks, breaking more bones than they ever did. A long fall awaited them, observed, and waved, as their trip was coming to an (abruptly) end.

The first one to arrive was Ladybug. She came laid down, the position almost perfect for a slide in a toboggan. She sat still, seeing her life flashing before her eyes very late. She wondered if this was the longest time Marinette stayed as Ladybug. How much time had passed since her transformation?

Her thoughts were precipitously interrupted by the fall of a very, VERY heavy man, who landed right on top of her, like a cherry on the top of a tiny cupcake. And by that, I mean very tiny cupcake, so tiny that it is crushed by the weight of the cherry. Not that Ladybug was small (I mean, she was), but she was bended in a position that made her as fragile as the hypothetical cupcake. Mostly her spine.

Saitama was actually excited. Sometimes, all that it takes for a man to be happy is to experience surprise and adventure, like going to an amusement park. That was one, but for free, and with only one attraction. Unfortunately, for Ladybug, he did not notice her. And even worse: the new place was as sadistic as the man who created The Last Airbender (The Movie) and thought it would be a great idea to put it in cinemas, dooming the money and time of many poor souls. Thus, it made way for Elizabeth to fall on top of Saitama, crushing the poor girl and her skeleton.

The new place was darker than night, the silence was mightily deafening. All their eyes could catch were the glows of small rocks and crystals, spread around the circular ground. Some crystals hanged from above, others grew from below.

Elizabeth was more shocked than scared, canceling her immediate reactions to the situation. Luckily for her, Saitama reacted by catching her on his arms. The dark made it hard to see, and the touch was as familiar as grass she had touched some time ago. His eyes reflected the tiny lights, showing a stare devoid of life, from the same man beyond might.

"You okay?" Saitama asked.

"Yes." Elizabeth answered. She got off him, slowly coming to her senses. It was even more difficult to move without being weirdly uncomfortable, as they could only see with their hands.  When Elizabeth got down to the ground, her feet stepped onto something soft, quite squishy, one she could not clearly define with her espadrilles. Both man and woman found out by a stifled scream that it was the girl’s hand.

"Uh…? OH, I’m so sorry, I’m didn’t see you there…" Saitama rapidly got up and began to apologize as Ladybug quickly got up and grasped some air, forced to crouch down by the pain of her back.

Soon enough, Gumball came last, dropping into a pile of shining, pointy, hard rocks. They responded to the impact by resonating sounds of falling and distant screams, shining as brightly as the plants from the surface. His pain, exceedingly and ineffable as it was, closed his throat with a clamp and stomped his brain with stilettos, letting out a deaden scream.

***

The group once again reunited (although they were separated by only a mere minute). Their eyes searched for clues on how to get out. The first one was a massive open entrance, guided by shining rocks and crystals only. One by one, step by step, they moved through the tunnel, making sure to not trip over or slip. However, giving that they were very close together so to not get lost from the group, they stumbled upon each other very frequently.

Eventually, a robotic voice echoed through the tunnel, and at the end, a glow invited them to come. Either it was a trap or a blessing, they did not know. To make sure, Ladybug went upfront, so to protect them in case it was another enemy. Saitama, however, thought he same, and went side by side with her. Gumball quietly hid behind Elizabeth, who anxiously waited for the outcome.

"HELLO, MY DEAR TRAVELLERS! YOU ARRIVED JUST IN TIME!" The guide made one of her extravagant poses, showing off a banquet full of sparkly gelatins, mochis and dangos.

"I STARTED TO WONDER IF I WOULD HAVE TO EAT ALL OF THESE BY MYSELF…" Before she had finished the sentence, the party jumped straight into devouring the sweets, taken over by their monstrous hunger.

While Elizabeth quietly took small bites out of dango, keeping certain courtesy despite her famine, the other three forgot what composure even was. Filling their mouths with mochis, consuming three, six, thirteen dangos at once, swigging a polished crystal spoon from the gelatin to their mush, sometimes occupied with ingesting, holding or letting themselves cry from satisfaction. Courtesy didn’t matter. It did not matter in heaven.

In a sweet, delicious, heaven.

"OH MY…" Maybe it was best to have given them snacks at their first meeting. But oh, well, she did not expect for travellers to starve as quickly as they did. It could be their solid bodies that consumed more energy. If they just listened to her explanation… Now, she could only watch as their happiness died into a horrifying surprise.

A sudden clack came out of their striking teeth. Saitama was the first to spit out what were fragments of purple crystals. He was lucky to have a resistant mush. The others, however, were not as much.

Elizabeth was able to identify the shards ahead of cracking it, and clasped what was a strange translucent polygon, one she could not identify. Turning to the rest, she saw Ladybug’s mouth moderately bleeding, while Gumball let fall broken teeth out of his mouth. The girl couldn’t stare down, with a petrified mien. The boy, in contrast, was frustrated and quite surprised.

– I SEE YOU WERE CRAVING FOR SOMETHING TO INGEST, BUT LET ME TELL YOU THAT POLISH AND SEASON CRYSTALS ARE NOT MY SPECIALITY! SO THERE MAY BE SOME SWEETS WITH UNDONE BITS. – Despite her ever-staying smile, her eyes moved cartoonish down, looking fearful in a way. It was likely she felt this to a certain degree.

– You mean that… those are made of literal crystals? – Elizabeth queried, gazing at her intact crystal.

– WELL, OF COURSE! WHAT YOU ARE TRYING IS A SMALL PORTION OF WHAT THE CAVE OF SHIMMERING MEMORIES HAS TO OFFER!

***

Hello, my dear readers. I’m sorry for my lack of presence in the latest chapters. I’ve been… Well I’ve decided to silently sit here and watch the story unfold, together with you. You must know, it is very silent here. Very… silent.

My addiction? Oh, don’t you worry about it, for I have replaced it with something even more appetizing, mouthwatering and succulent… tea! It is tea. Tea has some caffeine, but it is very little, it does not cause any harm.

It gets better! For you see, tea becomes even more luscious, more delectable, with small cubes of white sugar. Look at them! So white, so pure, so sweet… Into the cup you go.

Ah! This taste is… wonderful. It even makes me forget any type of coffee. Who needs an espresso, or an Americano, when you have… tea… Yes, tea is, indeed, wonderful. Tea… is precious. It is sustainable. It is essential. It is… tea.

Tea… tea… tea…

Oh, the other group? What was their name… Oh, why does it matter? Why does anything in this story matter?! We have tea! Tea is more entertaining than any other story, than any existent sweet, drink, food! Yes… tea… tea is life. It is… tea…

Oh, who am I kidding?! This is just some warm water with leaves – and what, sugar?! SUGAR?! I HATE IT! Something that is just sweet, it is... unbearable! No, I need something bitter! Something that can be bitter and sweet, maybe something with a scent of acid, something…

Oh, my misery! I can’t have it! The only thing that fulfilled my goals, my dreams, my hopes, was coffee. I NEED COFFEE.

But how, where, I can’t even savor its scent, its delicious smell, its… Oh, it is terrible, awful, dreadful… ominous! The gods, the heavens, they all hate me! Have they forsaken me? Have the demons finally taken over the world? Oh, no, no, no… It is the end… the end of me…

…

Well, let’s see what happened to the deuteragonists.

Deuteragonists

"You really expect us to just trust you like that?" Genos uttered, staring coldly at Caden.

"OH, BUT IT IS NOT SO BAD! I MEAN, IT IS REALLY DARK, INDEED– BUT ONLY FOR SOME MOMENTS! THERE WILL BE LOTS OF CRYSTALS, AND ROCKS, AND SHINING THINGS… "The guide pleaded to the group for them to enter a giant hole in the ground through a ramp made by the rise and shelve of the floor.  "I ALSO– THERE ARE ALSO SWEETS, LOTS OF SWEETS, A BANQUET OF FOOD! YOU ARE, ATLEAST, QUITE HUNGRY, RIGHT?"

– That’s… what a creep in a white van would say. – Darwin pointed out.

Caden, at this point, did not know what to say more. It was more difficult to convince them than the other group! He wondered what Jenna had done for her party to accept the quest so easily?

"C’mon guys! Where is your sense of adventure?" Agatha teased the other three, entering the cave ahead of them. Despite the lack of any light deep into it, she continued to walk forward, bold enough to face any surprises.

"Wait, Agatha! We shouldn’t separate now." Adrien warned, coming right after her. He turned to the other two when he realized them weren’t following  "Caden is a good guy, and he helped us out before. We can trust him."

He waited until the other two gave their first steps into the cave. "You trust anyone, don’t you?" Genos hassled, alert to any dangers around them. The young teenager brushed it off, until he became distressed for a while.

"By the way" Adrien slightly mumbled, filling in the silence of the cave 'Could you guys keep my secret identity… a secret?"

"You have a secret identity?" Darwin asked, oblivious to some events of the battle.

"That was your secret identity?" Genos questioned with a certain doubt and understanding.

"What do you mean?"

"You need more than that mask to hide yourself."

"But it always worked!"

"Did you work at night?"

"Not always. Actually, most of the time I did my duties at day!"

Genos looked at the young boy questioning his reality and his life. They kept on talking about it for a while, but it isn’t important. Just small talk.

What is important, however, is what is about to happen.

My favorite part of the story.

Well, one of them.

The next ones are even better.

A lot better =)

Chapter Text

Loads of crystals and memories shone brightly through the cave, filled with voices of a distant past. Voices of hope, despair, love, surprise… and hatred. One, that screamed and cried, permeated with animosity, walked through the corridors of the cave, a thousand ways that could drag and trap anyone who stepped foot in there.

It did not want to get out, though.

It wanted to go deeper.

In its trail, thousands of crystals were now eggs beginning to hatch.

***

Deuteragonists

The group walked through the corridors of the cave, following the light of crystals and rocks. Memories echoed from the crystals, recording moments of someone’s life or places from the mountain, which glowed in different colors, depending of the emotion. They were usually moments of happiness, ecstasy, and surprise. Some were sad, a few were terrific, and some were revolting.

"AH, WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT? AN EMPTY ONE!" Caden appeared in front of them, looking at a particular white crystal. It recorded nothing, and its glow was weak and frail. "YOU ARE VERY LUCKY! VERY VERY LUCKY! NOWADAYS, IT IS HARD TO FIND A SINGLE ONE OF THESE WITHOUT QUALIA! LET ME EXPLAIN: THESE CRYSTALS GUARD THE MEMORIES OF AN ELEMENTAL. THEY HAVE THE QUALIA OF SOMEONE THAT LIVED, AND RESTED FOR ETERNITY IN THE CAVE OF SHIMMERING MEMORIES, IN THE FORM OF A BEAUTIFUL CRYSTAL! HERE, IF YOU TOUCH IT, YOU CAN SEE REMEMBRANCES OF YOUR PAST! CAREFUL NOT TO USE IT TOO MUCH, OR YOU MAY PUT A MEMORY INSIDE OF IT."

Caden first gave the crystal to Adrien, which began to display moments of him as Cat Noir and his partner, Ladybug.

"Oh, I can see m’lady in here!" The boy stared in awe, to moments of his past. Moments with his friends, his birthday party, his trip to Shanghai… and his father. He quickly landed it to Darwin, who saw memories of him with his brother, his family, and his friends.

"I remember this! It was when Gumball became corrupted with the power of the lucky helmet, and almost jumped inside the volcano to save it!" Everyone looked at him, confused. "It’s a long story."

"Hey, let me try!" Agatha excitedly received the crystal, and waited to see moments of herself with her sister. She remembered almost perfectly the plays in the snow, when they made a snowman together. She wanted to see it, and remember once more the days spent with her sister. Ones she wished to share again.

"It… I can’t really tell what is showing."

"HOLD ON, LET ME SEE…" Caden watched close to Agatha as the crystal showed only glimpses of moments, a bunch of lines that could not work together. It was something Caden never saw in his life as a guide, which carried many years. There was not much he could do, but seeing the confusion form as a cloud inside her eyes, he came up with a solution.

"WELL, HM… THIS ONE IS PROBABLY BROKEN. BUT NOT TO WORRY! I’LL FIND ANOTHER ONE FOR YOU! JUST WAIT A LITTLE…" The guide, in the glimpse of an eye, disappeared, leaving Agatha with a particular pain in her chest, one that she could not define.

"Hm, sorry…." Darwin said, almost muttering. His voice was full of embarrassment and some fear.

"Hey, don’t worry! It’s not your fault, after all, we don’t know how these things work. Maybe, I don’t know…" Agatha tried to find an excuse, either to assure Darwin, or to explain the reason to herself. – It’s… too old?

"It probably overloaded." Adrien followed, gently petting Darwin’s head. Genos examined the crystal, as it showed unusual patterns of colors and lights.

Protagonists

Elizabeth heard the many memories and remembrances of sisters, fathers, mothers, families… Her chest hurt, as the echoes remembered the woman of her own story. Each step was heavier than the one before, her hands shaking by the sudden cold of the cave. Her mind filled with thoughts of old and regrets, of a life that was not hers to belong anymore.

"Elizabeth?" Ladybug awakened her from those damned thoughts, and from the cold that started to form. "Are you okay?" Despite wearing a mask, Elizabeth could see the worry on the girl’s face.

"I’m fine." She could feel shards of ice inside her clothes, her feet numb from the cold below. She wanted no worries from anyone; loneliness was a best option for her.

"IT’S TIME YOU LEARN ABOUT ANIMA AND QUALIA… ON PRACTICE!" Her sudden loud appearance startled everyone, her shouts echoing through the tunnels of the cave.

"Jesus Crist, can you stop scaring us like that?!" Saitama was annoyed, much like the others. Their guide did not seem to care much, though. She only responded with a bright grim.

"BUT FIRST, YOU NEED TO FIND THE CRYSTAL OF ETHERIA." Between them appeared a projection of a cluster of colorful crystals predominantly pink (likely by the nature of their guide).  "ONCE YOU FIND IT, YOU’LL HAVE TO CALL ME, SO WE CAN BEGAN OUR NEXT TUTORIAL!"

"How do we call for you?" Ladybug questioned.

"SHOUT MY NAME, AND I MAY ANSWER." This was the last line their guide said, before disappearing without warning.

"So, uh… what is her name?" Gumball asked, and once he saw the others bewildered faces, he could only say "Well, dammit."

Deuteragonists

Agatha stared at her crystal echoing incomprehensible noises and images, trying to make something up out of it. Yet, she never understood anything of what it said.

"I don’t think it works anymore." Genos said, walking alongside her. His attention was purely on the nature of the crystal, one he tried to understand with his own knowledge of science.

"Are you sure?" Agatha knew what Caden said, and it could be true. So why wouldn’t she let go of it? Why still bother? Maybe deep down, she wanted to see those memories again. To know those happy moments. To remember their reality.

"Let me see." Genos took the crystal, expecting it to stay that way. Instead, it showed images of his past, the times he was with his teacher "I… remember this day. We bought many groceries with a few coupons…" There were many times that that scenario happened, but for some reason, that day in particular was remarkable, even if he could not tell why.

"Well, it probably needs some time to charge, then." Agatha grabbed the crystal from the cyborg’s metallic hands, frustrated and confused. Once again, the crystal showed only glimpses of a lifetime, never able to show a clear image. For a moment, Genos felt pity for her, even if he didn’t show it.

***

Unlike the first time they had gotten there, the cave had become loud with the echoes of the crystals and their steps. Despite being the only sounds present, they were enough to fill the emptiness of the cavern, along with the shimmering lights of crystals and memories. The cave was more lively than the surface, even if it was a closed space. It felt like an underground city, one so odd yet unique, with stories of so many places, from all kinds of people. They were surrounded by people, even if there were none. When long enough inside the cave, it can be heard a certain rhythm, made by the thousands of voices and millions of lights. An opera created by eons of visits that never left, of homes so small, to keep memories alive. A harmony, which could resonate in one’s soul.

It suddenly stopped.

The harmony was broken when Adrien stood still, facing the wall with an intense stare. The other two stopped, wondering why of his sudden reaction.

And then, Genos heard it too.

Agatha could not tell what it was, her ears closed by the clouds of doubt leaking from the “broken” crystal.

The steps of someone else coming by, growing closer each second. Maybe there were other people with them, travelers that were, too, lost in this strange world. Maybe they were other elementals on a mission or a trip inside the cave.

Maybe it was something else.

Darwin, however, did not, and kept on walking until he got to an intersection. When they realized the boy was ahead, it was too late.

In an intersection of tunnels, he saw something.

Protagonists

It looked at him with familiar eyes; of someone he knew his entire life. It acted like a mirror, coping his movements as if it knew what he would do next. Gumball stood still, and it did as well. He moved his hand, and it moved its hand as well. The boy moved another hand. A foot. The other foot. And played rock, paper and scissors with it. Two, three times, until he won and his brother lost. His brother… It was his brother! It was Darwin!

"DARWIN!"

"GUMBALL!"

The two kids jumped into a hug that transcended all walls and obstacles, one that took them to the ground and erased all pain. The others would soon follow, to find the people closest to them in each other’s front.

"Ladybug?" Adrien felt joy in finding his lady in another world, to know he could fight as her partner and be on her side.

"ADRIEN?!" Ladybug, on the other hand, was despairing, seeing that the love of her life was on another world, one full of dangers and traps, without weapons or protection. On the bright side, he was with people that could protect him, like the cyborg. Oh boy, there is a cyborg.

"Master?" Genos was surprised, yet he could understand why his teacher was there. He was always there when people needed in the most.

"Genos!" Saitama felt some contentment in seeing his disciple there, although he didn’t really know how to react.

Finally, both sisters met. At first, they stayed silent for what felt like eternity. Both felt different from the last time they met. Elizabeth was now in a dark cloth that covered most her body, and Agatha wore an atypical dress, one so close to her old one, yet off in a few details. Elizabeth’s eyes were carried by heavy bags, whereas Agatha’s shone brighter than ever.

Something clicked on Agatha, and the crystal flinched. "ELIZA!" She said, happily jumping on her sister’s arms. The woman, on the other hand, did not react, staying still for a moment before slowly getting away from the hug.

"It’s… good to see you again…" Elizabeth was at the verge of tears, yet the water froze inside her eyes, forced to be kept and never show. She was supposed to be happy. That was what she wanted, after all. However, the only feeling stuck in her chest… was despair.

***

Caden explored the endless tunnels for a crystal laying empty in its core. Such crystal was rare, much rarer than ages ago. Since the disease began to spread, people came to the cave in fear of being remembered by their corruption only, so it was to expect that most crystals were filled with memories. He did not tell Jenna, not yet, for it was a mission he took to himself, to not let any tears fall from the travelers. She would deem it useless, either way.

 Thousands of voices echoed at once, in a melody that played through the cave.

A broken melody.

Caden noticed something was off with the song of memories. A tune was out of place. Where could it be? Deep into the cave it appeared to be. Could he make it that far? Despite knowing the cave on the palm of his hand, would he face the dangers ahead in the cavern? There was only one way to find out!

The guide did not worry much about the implications. He knew that place since his past life, before the job. The young elemental had visited a couple of times to listen to the guarded stories, the journeys of so many people he one day wished to know. Now, as a wise, mature guide, Caden knew all the stories as if they were his to tell.

Well, most of them. He was one Elemental, in the end. He was bound to forget some of them.

The guide adventured deeper into the numerous, never silent tunnels. Dancing on the crystals, to the rhythm of their song!

Until his foot touched a black ground.

A ground full of hate.

One that never sang.

One that shrieked, screamed, and screeched.

A ground filled by the Disease.

Caden jumped behind, taking by the terror of such implications. His voice violently left his throat, for no one to hear. He fell to his back, taking down by the horrors in his front. A tunnel that did not shine anymore. One filled with crystals that bleed the darkness of Ni-Ma. One consumed by hatred. And would consume more.

The guide had no time to think. He traveled through the Points of a Guide, meeting a different tunnel with each travel. As long as he was far away from corruption…

His ability suddenly backfired when he met a wall traversing his body. Oh, not now! Since the Points of a Guide were from an old era, it was expected that some of them would led to inconveniences like that one. But at this time?!

No matter how much he pulled, pushed, and fought, the wall did not collapse, or at least, let his body run free. Such a persistent wall it was! Well, there was not much he could do about it. Now he had to wait for Jenna to rescue him… or the travelers to find him.

"…THE TRAVELERS!"

Together

"So… how did you get here?" Agatha asked.

"Well, huh…" Elizabeth knew the answer, yet her voice was stuck in her throat. Perhaps it was the shock of meeting her sister once more. It could not be something else, yet the reason, as certain as it was, did not fit right for her. It was up for someone else to respond.

"The forest pushed us to a hole that led us here." Gumball answered instead, without joy of remembering the moment he fell into the cave. On the hard, pointy crystals. It was agonizing to recall that moment…

"Uh? Didn’t you have a guide to take you to the cave?" Darwin asked.

"Let’s say she abandoned us on the trip…" Ladybug confessed. Ironically, their guide appeared right after.

"LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE FINALLY UNITED! CONGRATULATIONS!" Some confetti appeared out of thin air, as the pink guide struck a pose, alone. Standing perfectly still, she slowly turned her head to the sides, looking for someone. Probably the other guide.

"HUH. IT SEEMS CADEN HAS FORGOTTEN TO COME." She stayed silent for some seconds, with a grim that never faded from her face. The guide continued "OH WELL, I CAN’T LEAVE YOU ALONE NOW. WE’LL JUST HAVE TO KEEP GOING WITHOUT HIM."

"So you’re their guide?" Adrien said.

"YES, AND IS NICE TO MEET CADEN’S GROUP. I SEE YOU’RE VERY… PERCULIAR." At this point, her group could tell by the way she stared at the other ones almost in a tease. Caden’s group, however, did not notice this.

All of a sudden, a tremor was felt, slightly balancing the crystals, moving rocks from above and below, making some jump, and others fall.

"YOUR MISSION TO FIND THE CRYSTAL OF ETHERIA WILL BE EASIER NOW THAT YOU’RE TOGETHER!" Without reaction, the guide continued to speak, as if nothing had happened.

"What mission?" Darwin asked. As a matter of fact, Caden had forgotten to tell them their first mission, focused to find another empty crystal for Agatha, and now was stuck in a wall in one of the many parts of the cave.

"Are you going to ignore what just happened?" Genos spoke with a fierce voice, impatient for their lack of response.

Another tremor was felt. It repeated twice, before suddenly stopping.

"IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE, JUST CALL ME."

"Wait-" Before Gumball could ask her name, she disappeared.

"What’s wrong?" Adrien asked.

"We… don’t know her name." Ladybug answered.

"You don’t know your guide’s name?"

"We didn’t have the chance to ask her!"

"You know yours, right?" Elizabeth entered the conversation. The cold was not as strong as before.

"Yes, it’s Caden. He’s a really nice guy! You would love to meet him."

"Can you call him now?"

"Well, we could try. But how exactly?"

"Try shouting his name." Ladybug said "That’s what she told us to do."

"Alright then!" Adrien cracked his fingers, took a deep breath, ready to call their guide.

"CADEN" His shout shook the ground, likely because of the echoing nature of the cave. His voice traveled through the many tunnels, moving something buried deep into the ground, now awaken by his sound.

"Not that high!" Ladybug covered her ears, surprised by how loud he could be. Most of the present people did the same.

"My ears. I can’t feel my ears." Gumball said in an almost monotonous voice, stumbling with his own feet, disoriented by Adrien’s scream.

"Sorry…" Adrien muttered immediately regretting what he had done, his face red of embarrassment. Some time had passed by, until a blue panel appeared in front of him, speaking with Caden’s voice.

"NOT AVAILABLE AT THE MOMENT. PARDON!"

"Great…" Elizabeth frowned.

"Hey, there is no need to worry! We still got a long way ahead of us, so until then, we should stick together." Ladybug said, looking forward to protect everyone, including Adrien. After all, he needed a superheroine like her by his side. At least, that was what she thought.

"She is right. We should get going now." Genos replied, by Saitama’s side. The hero stayed silent, knowing how the trip would go from then. He was not annoyed, but wasn’t happy either.

Another tremor hit the cave, shaking the ground below their feet.

"We better hurry then…" Elizabeth remarked. And so, the group of eight people traveled together, to face the dangers hidden inside the cave.

***

Inside the Book of All Truths rested the Elemental of Light, replenishing his energies from the battle against the follower of Ni-Ma. He could hear the memories of the prophet, ones that guarded hope and happiness of youth. One of them was very peculiar to him, as it told the last moments before the destruction of a world.

Extra: Strange ability

The group sat on the ground, next to the banquet of sweets. Agatha’s mouth was stuffed, much like Darwin’s, while Adrien and Genos slowly ate the food. The young teenager de-transformed by then, tired from the previous fight. Some thoughts came from the events before, and one in particular was the time Genos answered what was an rpg and being confused afterwards by his own answer. The thought stayed for a while, followed by a strange theory.

Adrien decided to test it.

"Hey Genos." The cyborg turned to him, swallowing a mochi. His mouth was empty. Good.

"What’s a mochi?" The question confused Genos, but before he could say, something else took control of his mouth.

"It is a Japanese rice cake made of mochigome, a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The steamed rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape." Once he finished explaining, everyone looked at him, quite baffled by his explanation.

"Cool! So you’re like a walking wiki." Adrien stated in a laugh that died when Genos stared at him with an aggrieved face.

"Heh, walking wiki." Darwin said with a chuckle, before choking with the sweets. Agatha tapped his back, until he could breathe again. She looked at Genos, pondering the questions that he could answer.

"If you do that again, I’ll-"

"Define sweets, Genos." Agatha finally said, and watched as his eyes turned to her in fury.

And so went on, what was a fun game to three of them was the hell of one cyborg. Whatever that upgrade was, he hated it with all his passion. Why did doctor think this was a good idea in the first place?

If you would like to see more content of Anima Project, be sure to check @theverse on tumblr!

(This comic was based on an episode of Powerpuff girls)

Chapter Text

Today is a Thursday, which I personally think to be a day of bad omen. You can say Mondays are bad, because rest is over, and blah, blah, blah. I tell you what, Thursday is a day of bad omen. Almost every day, a disaster happens this day of the week. For instance, that is when I had my overdose of caffeine. It was also when I lost my cat. However, today is going… fine. Nothing bad happened, at least until know, and surprisingly, I am in a good mood.

Therefore, I decided that, before we continue onto the story, it would be good for you to know a little more about me. We have been here for ten chapters after all, so it would be rude of me to not tell you.

Welcome, dear readers, to today’s chapter. I am-

"Sarah." He slouched on the old gaming chair, giving me the stare of someone who just woke up from a two-hour nap. Maybe worse. Burring his hand straight to his face, Simon tried to think of a response, yet in the end, the tired young man could only stare at me with worn out eyes.

He crouched on the chair, holding his hands full of callouses together, ones that had typed for hours on end. I knew his struggle – we both had it. We are programmers, after all. We suffer to do our jobs – we hurt our hands from typing and brains from thinking too much. Sometimes the program would work, but there is just something, a very little that doesn’t fit right with the whole system. It is just not enough for it to work, most of the time. These problems could have countless solutions, or only one, all too distant and unreliable for us. Other times, it could be something as simple as a sandwich of bread and cheese. Ones that could even make the program better than default.

So why wouldn’t he just accept my solution?

Since he would not say anything, I spoke first – C’mon man, we’re still at the beginning. It will benefit us later-

"The idea is good" Simon finally said. He got up, pushing the chair backwards, and started wandering through the small room, probably to better cogitate the suggestion. "It’s good, but what we have- what it has, isn’t it fine, the way it is?"

"It could be better!" I turned to him, spreading my arms across the bedroom.

"I’m just saying that, you know" He paused for a moment, carefully pondering his explanation "The script took hours to make, and adding something more could create, uh, errors and such. The thing is- we need to fit it, into the code. It can’t overlap-"

"Now you’re just saying gibberish." I was having enough of him, of his endless empty talking, adding words and rebuttals to create problems that didn’t even exist. I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands.

The moment I sat down, Simon had become disgruntled, as he would always do when someone else wanted to alter his program – even if that someone was me. However, that was also enough for him to add to the script what I had in mind. The code was ready, now it just needed to input.

***

Together

Gumball was a unique boy. For some, he was a menace to society, a walking havoc. For others, a lovely boy, full of hopes and dreams. Someone who was loyal, persistent, weird, with dubious morals. Or just a messy kid. As a matter of fact, Gumball is a little of all those. Depending on the situation, he can be just a little child, or an eldritch horror near human comprehension.

However, there is something that everyone knows, and it is common in any perspective. That is, the presence of someone very important to him. His brother. Darwin Watterson.

Since childhood, they had a special bound that went beyond space. One that was able of wondrous miracles, such as giving a fish lungs and legs. One that would always bring them together, no matter what. As they grew, that bound never faded away. It became stronger, even. At one point they knew how one would react, their tastes, their likes and dislikes, and so on. They knew everything about each other. They were not just brothers.

They were best friends.

No matter what happened, even if the world were to end, the brothers would always fight together, be at each other’s side, and face what was to come. In all adventures, they would be with each other.  Because they were best friends. And they would be best friends, for all years to come-

Wake up.

"Uh?" Gumball suddenly felt awaken from a dream, despite walking without stopping. He turned to his brother, who was quieter than the silence of the cave, with an empty stare to nowhere. The boy slightly moved Darwin’s shoulder, waking him up as well.

"We’ve been walking for a while now…" He said with a sigh, tired from so much exercise (since both were used to sit on a chair most of the time), unlike the other members of the group, who were familiar with striding through long distances. Thereafter their meeting with the guide, it had been a long walk through a tunnel of the cave. Some of them, like Ladybug, felt a little dizzy. Whether it was because of the strange food they ate, or the nature of the cavern, no one could tell. The people could only hope to find that strange crystal the guide tasked them to get and get out of that place.

Gumball was bored to death, and the path never seemed to end. At the same time, he didn’t want to talk much, even if it was with his brother. The more he looked at Darwin, the more he appeared to distance himself. Despite finally meeting again in that strange world, both spoke no word since then. Gumball gazed at his brother. Once again, Darwin had that empty stare, with lime green eyes looking at nowhere to exist, as if he was stuck in his own thoughts, dreaming while staying awake.

"What’s wrong with you?" Gumball spoke in frustration and worry, awaking Darwin from daydreaming once again. "You’ve been acting weird since we met."

Darwin glared at Gumball fully awake, yet his eyes were still cold and devoid of life, gazing to something beyond his brother. "It’s nothing." His brother mumbled, staring ahead once more.

Inside his hoodie, the book stayed dormant, with dreams of a past coming to an end. Its slow awaken brought light, glowing golden bright to the outside.

"Darwin, your back-" Before he could say anything else, the creature of light awoke from its sleep with a presentation of immense glow that surprised all those in the same tunnel. Gumball watched as Prys stared at his soul, one connected deeply with Darwin’s. The holder of the Book of All Truths stood barely on his feet, and suddenly became upright, turning to his desperate brother with a serene expression.

Ladybug ran between the creature and Gumball, ready to fight whatever was that that had come out.

"Wait!" Screamed Agatha, running towards them. "Don’t attack him. He’s… he’s…"

"He’s Prys!" Darwin said with a strange grim on his face. His eyes were now as golden as the sun, with the same stare as the floating creature. "My friend!"

"Your… friend?" Gumball was perplexed, looking at his brother as if he was someone else.

Well, that was what it appeared to be.

"Hey Agatha." Adrien composedly approached them "Why don’t you show your crystal to Prys? While we, you know… check if there are monsters nearby?" His words were citated with much thought, alarming Gumball of a danger close to them.

One that was next to his best friend.

"That would be a great idea!" Agatha followed his lead, staying with Darwin while Ladybug grabbed Gumball’s hand, taking him far away from the other two.

***

As they went deeper into the cave, the echoes grew louder, and vertigo became stronger in some of them. Gumball felt it less; as his heart was taken by a kind of pain, one which suffocated his mind and throat. He looked back, where the two were left behind.

"Are you guys going to explain what’s going on?" Ladybug said, apprehensive.

"What is that creature?" Elizabeth remarked, as the cold suddenly came back stronger.

"Let’s just say he’s…" Adrien tried to come up with an answer.

"Some kind of parasite." Finished Genos, confident in his theory.

"That’s what we think it is, but we’re not sure!" The teenager tried to ease the situation. It doesn’t work well.

"You let this thing possess Darwin?!" Gumball was awakened from his shock by exasperation and despair for his friend.

"We didn’t want to!" Adrien stated, quickly growing distressed "He was behind us, and suddenly disappeared! When he found him, that thing was already-"

Elizabeth fell to her knees in a trice. Her skin was paler, and her breathing was heavy. Before others could help, however, she shrugged it off, standing up on her own. Gumball then, noticed the other people were also quite pale, along with himself. Could it be that the cavern was making them sick?

"Look…" Adrien continued. His voice cracked a little "We can’t attack it directly, or it will put Darwin in a dome, or something else. If we want to save him, we must be cautious."

"Can’t you just talk to him about that?" Saitama was confident of his answer, as it appeared to be a simple solution for him. It was not for others, though.

Silence had taken over the room, as others tried to think of a better answer or the consequences of that plan. It was simple yet found too hard to be done by others. After all – If you found out your friend was a parasite, how would you react? – Ladybug put across her question, an opening for ideas or resolutions.

Gumball thought about it for a while. All things considered "knowing Darwin, he’ll probably react badly to it. It’s best we came up with another plan."

"How badly?" Elizabeth stated, gazing at Gumball with tired eyes. Her appearance scared him a little, as she reminded him of a ghost, but not the good kind. The type of ghost that torment others without will or commitment to it. One that lives only by regrets of their past life.

"He wouldn’t trust us. The only way for him to believe it’s to see it with his own eyes."

"Well then" Her voice was firm as the earth, yet cold as the ocean. Her body was remarkably relaxed, but her eyes were fiery. For a moment, Elizabeth acted as a queen, someone with enough power to rule even magic.

"Let’s make him see it."

***

Caden waited for rescue. That’s all he could do, after all. Even as a guide, he was too weak to fight a wall. He could shape trees, create paths, teleport… but he couldn’t face a wall. Great.

All the elemental could do was to hear the songs of stories and the distant echoes of the cave. He could also move his legs, arms and head, although Caden was too tired of doing so after trying to fight back the wall for so long.

That is, until he felt something tickle his feet.

And do it again.

All the despair the guide ever felt in his life never compared to that moment. He fought more than a warrior, he pushed and pulled the wall as if his life depended on it. It did, to him.

Succeeding his fight for survival, Caden got out of, falling to the ground alongside a chunk of the wall. The guide sat back, looking back to the hole made, to whoever was on the other side. There, shone a pink elemental with a grin on her face.

"OH, YOU, YOU LITTLE… SASSY WOMAN!!"

"GOOD TO SEE YOU TOO, CADEN." Jenna disguised her laugh too well.

The blue elemental shortly got up cleaning his suit and putting his bow in place. It was to expect for Jenna to do little pranks on him, but at this time, he was too focused on something far more sinister.

In the distance, there echoed a scream.

Caden was almost instantly startled by it, while the pink elemental only turned her head to the source.

"IT’S NOT SAFE FOR THEM TO BE HERE." Caden could only smile, yet his voice showed the fear present in his soul.

"THEY HAVE TO FINISH THE TUTORIAL." Jenna’s voice never faltered.

"THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW, AND YOU KNOW IT!"

"AND YOU KNOW AS MUCH AS I DO THAT THIS IS OUR ONLY WAY OUT."

“Once the tutorial starts, guides must only leave in its conclusion” the manual said.

That damn manual.

***

"So, Agatha, how’s it like being a princess?"

The creature floated around the woman, examining her with its big shining eyes, while Darwin stared at her with an unnatural grin on his face. She felt confined by them, despite their small size. A certain pain grew in her chest, created by doubts of her past and the situation she was put in.

"Well, uh…" Agatha tried to come up with an answer, but her brain was suddenly covered by fog. The empty crystal on her hands showed incoherent lines and drawings. She looked at it, thinking without having thoughts. "I didn’t know its name was Prys… I thought it was Jonaraja?"

"He has many, many names…" His eyes were golden and intense, almost inhuman (or infish, if you may say).

"DARWIN!" The three turned around to see the rest of the group coming back. Gumball was striding towards Darwin, but before he could get closer, his brother dashed far away from him.

"I know what your intentions are." Darwin was holding the shining book, moving the pages without touching them.

"Darwin, please, just listen…"

The boy had nowhere to run, however, alongside the parasite, both could cause a great mess, and taking the fact they were in a cave, it could turn into a massive catastrophe.

They were in a stalemate.

***

The Darkness roamed the walls of the cave, awaken by the sound of another of kind. It had scattered to hunt for food, something other than the crumbs present all over his world. His hands moved through the cave, taking some specks of memories and consuming them, even if they never satisfied it.

A strong scent finally got its attention, one filled with reminiscences of past eons, ones that outlived it. Yes… that was it.

This would be his first true meal in eons of waiting.

The walls of the cave moved again, now with great strength. The cyborg suddenly felt pain in his eyes, the errors once again appearing out of nowhere. This time, however, he could handle it.

But not enough to make a move.

Gumball didn’t notice that. He couldn’t see the ground shaking, the crystals falling, anything else that was not the golden creature taken over his brother. He had to put doubt in his brother, put some sense on him about what was truly happening. After all, he was his brother. His best friend. Only he could do it.

Right?

Yet, Gumball didn’t find out this time, for the walls crumbled down, destroyed by a monster with no hesitation to kill and consume the Dream of Anima.

Extra: The Ordinary Life of a Hero

If it wasn’t for his super strength, Saitama would be a completely ordinary guy. He had a normal life (when you take out the part where he is a hero and kills monsters, lives in an abandoned building, has strange friends, a one-sided rival who is a ninja…), a normal appearance, and he was poor.

Genos, on the other hand, was a determined cyborg, one who would do anything to achieve his goal. His grim personality somehow gave him a lot of fans, although it could be because of his beauty. He had a stylized hair, and a pretty look. The battles he fought were fierce, leaving him without limbs when fighting against strong foes.

Yet, Genos followed Saitama, as he considered the ordinary man his master. It was, of course, because of his immense strength, but over time they talked, ate together, hang out, and did many activities together. Genos said it was for his training, and Saitama went along with it, though he waited for the opportunity to live alone again.

That was life now. Most of his friends were more one-sided, as Saitama felt like there was only one person who understood him. It wasn’t Genos.

He didn’t know what to tell the cyborg most of the time. He didn’t have the answers he needed, nor the knowledge and wisdom Genos thought he had. It was… tiring. But it didn’t bother him that much after a while.

They weren’t friends. At least, the two of them didn’t consider it friendship. For Genos, their relationship was of master and student, as Saitama taught Genos how to be stronger, and the cyborg respected and protected his master’s honor. For Saitama, they were something close to acquaintances. Genos helped him doing chores, and he gave some advice (or he made up bullshit to appease the cyborg).

That didn’t mean they cared for each other. Saitama worried about Genos breaking himself to much, until he was beyond repair. Meanwhile, Genos cared for his master, and made sure that he was respected by everyone (even if it didn’t work, most of the time). Sometimes, there would be a certain void when one of them weren’t present for too long. It could be because they were used to be together for so long. It was a strange relationship.

There was a huge problem with their relationship. Genos didn’t understand Saitama, or at least he thought so. They didn’t communicate well with each other, as Genos would only look at Saitama as a master, as someone with great intelligence, with immense strength. Someone who would only help him achieve great power. And Saitama would keep on lying about it.

They couldn’t be friends.

Yet, Genos would follow Saitama wherever he went.

It made Saitama wonder what would happen if Genos left one day and never came back.

Maybe he would feel guilty for lying for so long. However, if Genos achieved his mission, it wouldn’t be so much of a deal, as he would have probably done something right as a master. There was also the possibility of things going entirely different. Of Genos failing to take revenge, or something worse happening. He didn’t want to think about this. He didn’t think about it.

It was 6:30 in the morning. The cyborg was already up, making breakfast. Saitama stared at the ceiling, before finally standing up and following his everyday routine. It was Thursday.

Chapter Text

“They say there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. What guarantees it isn’t a trap?”

Since he got to that new world, his mind became fuzzier the deeper they went into the heart of it. What did that even mean? Darwin felt lost, even inside his own mind. There was always something blinding his way to the outside. Something that was too bright, even for him. Something that burned a lot. Yet, he didn’t feel pain.

The world crumbled before him. The wall collapsed; the ground fell apart, and the monster behind him backed away from the attack received by one of them. He could hear their thoughts, their feelings, their strings… but he could not hear his own. He couldn’t feel his own body falling inside the darkness, along with others. Prys, Jonaraja, Damian, him... It was the only one that could share his feelings. He was always by his side, telling stories of a past it seeks to follow still.

"NO!" It was all he heard, before his friend was taking away from him by his brother. He reached to him for help. The boy fell deeper into the darkness, without breath and strength, able only to hear a distant echo from one of those people.

"DARWIN!"

***

The cave was shaken by the sudden attack, one so strong that even Caden and Jenna could feel far away from the group’s location.

"IT’S BEST WE GO BACK NOW" Jenna said, ready to travel.

"WAIT!" Caden called out for her "IT’S NOT SAFE FOR US TO GO! I MEAN, IT’S NOT SAFE FOR THEM EITHER, BUT–"

"AND WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO, THEN?" Jenna stared at him with the same expression, one that did not need to change to show her irritation.

Caden took a deep breath, before telling her his plan "MESSAGES" …in one word.

Jenna had only one thing to say to it "…HUH."

***

One Punch Man

A.K.A. the strongest hero in the multiverse, the hero nobody knows, etc. I’ll admit, he’s one of my favorite characters, and for a lot of reasons, which I won’t tell now, because if I did this story would take a completely different turn. So let us stick to the basic: after training for some years, he lost his hair, became super duper strong, and was depressed because of it.

One thing I must say is that it would be a boring story if it was “defeat all monsters and save the day” formula, since he can do it in one punch anyway. So, I decided to take a different approach. Instead of dealing with monsters, he would meet with many dilemmas. It was quite difficult to do ones that were an actual challenge though, especially since my partner would rather just put monsters and call it a day. He often forgets how our job is not only to… make a game, but to make it interesting. It would be a bummer if they found it boring to watch. No, they need to be impressed by our creation. It is the only way to achieve… our goal.

Let’s return to our current storyline. As everything crumbled down, Saitama tried to protect the others by taking them to another area. He glanced as Genos, expecting him to do the same, as they usually did before. This time however… he wasn’t moving. He was standing frozen in place, without moving an inch, not even to save others. He reached out to him, only for the rocks to separate them. He didn’t have much time now. He took the people he had somewhere safe as quickly as possible.

There were many tunnels in the cave, and knowing they were too deep into it, getting out of the cavern was not a viable option for now. At least, until he retreated the ones stuck. However, as he run through the chaos of destruction, he noticed something moving along. The monster was pretty much alive and following them. Saitama was sure the thing was fully destroyed, and it should take at least some more time to heal if it was this type of creature.

Saitama was not so happy about it. Maybe in other circumstances, he would like to have a longer fight. But with this many people around, it was very inconvenient.

The whimsy girl was shouting some things. “It’s following us!” It was harder to discern what she said, but he did get some things. “Don’t worry, I can- hey, what are you- “. It was even harder to keep the grip on them, as the weird blue cat tried to keep – whatever that golden thing was – from getting away. It moved rapidly through them, and it made matters even more difficult to him. Saitama briskly made a hole through a wall with a kick to finally get some ground and get things done. Luckily, nothing collapsed this time.

Saitama tried to land straight, but the sudden movements of the children made him lose balance, causing everyone to fall on the cave’s floor. While the girl slowly got up, stretching her back from all the damage it got (kind of his fault), the boy moved rapidly, keeping the golden creature stuck in between his hands.

Saitama had only gotten two people out of seven. He didn’t know whether Genos had already recovered or not, but in any case, he needed to check.

"Why are you so agitated?!" She shouted at the cat.

"I’m trying… to keep… this parasite away – ugh – from my brother – A ha!" He firmly held the golden creature, who tried to bite his hands. It didn’t hurt him.

 "You don’t have any teeth, do you?" The creature stared at him, ceasing from struggling.

"Wait – You got that thing?! How?" She looked at it in awe, getting closer to them. Both seemed to be all right.

"You guys wait here." Saitama said, leaving the newfound place in a hurry.

"Wait, where are you going to?! We need to stay together!" The girl stood up, getting closer to him.

"I’m going to rescue the others."

"I’ll go with you!" She was confident, like any child who thinks they’re invincible.

"No, you’ll stay right here."

"Why? I’m a superhero too!"

"Listen, uhh…"

"Ladybug."

"Ladybug. This monster is very dangerous, even for a strong hero, so you should stay, and protect him" He pointed at the cat looking like they’re about to devour the golden creature. "While I’ll go and see if Genos needs any help, got it?"

"But… my friend – I mean – Adrien Agreste, a very famous model who I happen to know, is in danger and uh…" She thought for a little while "uhhhhh… can you make sure he’s OK then?"

"Sure. You mean the blond one, right?"

"Yes! The blond, most beautiful, wonderful… ah, person…" She had lovey-dovey eyes. The girl obviously had a crush on that kid.

Saitama needed to get there at once, so he just went without saying anything else. However, before leaving the tunnel, the walls began to shake again, and something huge moved below the ground.

"Dang it!" Saitama quickly picked up a rock and blocked the hole before the monster could enter the location. His tentacles (or whatever that was) tried to spread through the entrance but were taken back by the closure of the hole. Nonetheless, it still tried to get through, leaving Saitama no choice but to hold the rock in place, using his back as support. It wasn’t so difficult; the monster was rather weak to him. The real problem was to keep it from getting the kids.

The hero decided to solve the issue through the usual way, raising his fist "Alright kids, step back a little."

"Wait! You’re not going to punch it again, are you? Because if you do, then the whole place will collapse!"

"I mean, it’s not like it wasn’t collapsing beforehand." The cat said, looking the at Ladybug with skeptical eyes.

"It’s going to make things worse." Both of them looked at him, waiting for his decision.

Saitama sighed, putting down his fist "I guess we’re stuck here, then."

Demonic Cyborg

Genos, Genos, Genos… oh, my angsty boy, my –

"Who are you talking to?"

"…Just doing the report."

Where was I? Oh, right, Genos. He is a cyborg of justice (his words), one who’s looking for revenge for his family against a mad cyborg. Oh, to become what you hate the most, just *muah*, one of the best tropes. Anyways, to the story.

It happened again. He only glanced at the monster, and the system was already out of control. He couldn’t move, or even think right. Innumerous panels appeared before him, screaming “ERROR”, “NOT FOUND”, “08/15”, numbers and words that didn’t make sense. His body didn’t answer to the commands of his mind, leaving him at the mercy of the giant monster. It was only when the ground broke, taking him away from the creature, that his body answered his calls. Genos quickly gathered information of the situation, checking his surroundings and sounds around him. He heard Agatha’s screams, who fell right below him, and swiftly got her, carrying the woman to the ground.

She was still screaming, and it took her a few moments to realize they weren’t falling anymore. At first, Agatha was relieved, but when she realized Genos was carrying her, the woman quickly got up, stroking her dress from the accumulated dust of the fall, and looking away from him. There was an awkward silent, until Genos said “You’re welcome” before she even said anything.

He could now check the environment calmly, without any risks or problems – at least he hoped so. It was a larger tunnel, about 200 meters in height, 250 meters in width and 100 meters in length. The ground was divided in columns of varying diameters. Three columns ahead (two of 50, and one with approximately 25), on the fourth column, which was 5 meters taller than the rest, there was a floating purple crystal, one with unknown properties. It had its own source of light, shining in hues of purple and violet. The walls, unlike the previous tunnels, did not have any crystals. However, they did have a strange type of rock, one darker than Vantablack, also of unknown material. The giant tunnel trembled very little with distant echoes, probably from the monster moving through the cave. He needed a plan, and quick.

"Where are we?" Her voice didn’t tremble, and her composure was strong, standing firmly and checking her surroundings. It appeared that type of danger wasn’t new to her. Good, it was less of a burden for him. At least the other kids had some type of ability and experience with fighting, having weapons of their own and ways to defend themselves, but she? Agatha held her damaged frying pan, which she kept on her back, a little under her clothes, when not using. It wasn’t enough for fighting, which was made even more difficult with the corset and giant dress that she wore, which limited her movements. Even if she knew how to fight, he would still need to defend her. Besides, parts of his body (mostly his arm) were damaged from the fight against the first boss, and he didn’t have the parts nor the means to fix them. They were, mostly, at disadvantage.

"What is that?" She stared at the mysterious crystal, hypnotized by its beautiful and strange nature. Its light reflected in her eyes and dress, mixing with the aureolin and other hues of yellow, becoming a faint white light. Something about the picture seemed off to him, but he couldn’t tell exactly what it was…

-ERROR-

It happened again.

-404-

But only when he stared at one thing.

-08/15-

Every time he looked at those crystals on the walls, something triggered his system.

-ERROR-

However, they weren’t like this before.

-ERROR-

Unless something changed on them.

-MONSTER DETECTED NEARBY-

***

He thought he was dead.

He could be dead. After all, there was nothing to see. Absolutely nothing. Only darkness was present. The ground, the ceiling, the walls… it was all pitch black.

He was most likely dead. It was a huge fall, after all. No one could have survived that.

He was dead once, but only to participate in a party for other dead people.

How was it? He didn’t remember well.

I know, we’ve made mistakes

Ugh, that song again.

Trying to hold on to something

Every time he tried to recall memories from the past, this song popped up. He didn’t know what it meant, nor where was it from. It wasn’t even that catchy, so why was it stuck in his head?

That was meant to let go

…

Where is Damian?

No, it wasn’t it… what was his name again?

And now, everything is falling

Why couldn’t he remember? Why couldn’t he recall anything?

And you’re the one who regrets it 

Why were his memories running away from him?

More than anyone else

What happened to him?

What had he done?

*-*

A screech suddenly echoed through the place. Darwin looked everywhere but could still see nothing.

Until he finally saw something.

Something he wish it wasn’t real.

First, it was a pair of hypnotizing rainbow eyes. Then there was more. And the eyes didn’t stop appearing.

They all stared at Darwin. As if he had disturbed their sleep, and now was their prey.

He wished it wasn’t it.

Or at least, that it was a nightmare.

Darwin tried to run, but his feet tripped on some sort of sludge, one as dark as all the darkness around him. Luckly, his hand touched on something familiar. The book!

He opened on the hope it would show him the answer, like it did before. The pages glowed a faint light, one he could see.

However…

He didn’t understand any of the words written.

He couldn’t understand the meanings behind the drawings.

He didn’t know what any of that meant.

Extra: And what happened to the lonely witch?

Elizabeth was fine. Well, fine was a rather strong word to define her situation, as she was just above a vast ground of very pointy spikes. She had just survived because of the small ice bridge made in a flash.

Eliza promised to herself not to use her powers again, but that was an emergency. She was literally on the brink of death! Although, she had told herself she preferred to die than to use her powers again. Alas, she had broken her promise.

Again.

“And what happened to the lonely witch?” A faint voice echoed through the chamber, coming just at one end of the bridge. She slowly came closer to it, and found a sky-blue crystal, one with memories of children.

She didn’t want to look.

She didn’t want to know.

But the story told captivated her.

“After breaking her promise, she ran away from her new home, and searched for another-”

“It wasn’t home though. It’s just a house.”

“What’s the difference? Home and house are the same thing.”

“No, it’s not! A house is a building where you live inside, and a home… well…”

“It’s a building where you live inside. Can we go back to the story?”

“No! A home doesn’t need to be a building. A home can be anywhere, even below a tree.”

“That seems absurd.”

“A home is where you feel… safe… and welcomed no matter what. Yeah, that’s what a home is! And it can be anywhere! It can be a place where you live, or even a person!”

“A person?”

“Yeah, I mean- because- well, whenever you’re with that person, you feel welcomed and safe anywhere, as long as it is with that person!”

“Ok, ok. So, she left her new house, and- “

“Why is it not her home, though?”

“C’mon guys- “

“I mean, she was safe there, she had food, a bed… why wasn’t she safe?”

“No, that’s not the point!”

“Guys…”

“I mean- she wasn’t- she didn’t feel safe. The guy- she didn’t like him, and she was going to end him from the start!”

“She didn’t say that.”

“She didn’t like him, either way. She wanted to continue her journey, so she fooled them all, and- “

“The catte is ready!”

“Aw c’mon. It’s your fault, Aliza!”

“What did I do?”

“You question things too much.”

“Wait, I want to know what happens!”

“Kids…”

“We need to go.”

“Aliza, I’ll get you for this!”

…

Eliza felt… something. She didn’t know what exactly it was, but it pleased her. Maybe some kind of resonance?

The crystal was surrounded by many others, some who had darkness in its core. Maybe she shouldn’t do this… but she wanted to keep that memory. Keep it safe, maybe.

She held to the crystal, and easily took it out of the wall. Her ice made it brighter, and she preserved it as a resonant memory.

Maybe she didn’t want to die. After all, Eliza had finally reencountered her sister, after many years of longing for her warm hug. However, she didn’t hug her yet. And until then, she needed to live.

Either way, she would never break her promise again. Eliza would protect herself without this damned curse.

Chapter Text

“Hush now, hide all your little ones

Rush now, into the middle of nowhere

Singing and laughter will die

 

Dreamless sleep, follows the nowhere king

When his kingdom comes, darkness is nigh

[…]”

Nicole, Megan; The Nowhere King, from Centaurworld

The walls of the cave shook on the presence of a maleficent force. All nature crumbled to its feet, to the creature of the night…

The Monster of Decay.

From the depths of below, came the giant, with its rainbow eye falling upon the tiny creatures, little dreams that would endure no more. Ahead of them, however, there was a greater dream, one guarding all memories from the cave.

He was awoken for too long, and it was time for lunch.

"Genos?!" Agatha shouted, as the cyborg shook, about to fall. She gave one step, when the woman noticed the attention of the creature to the strange crystal ahead. Even if it didn’t have a mouth, an eyebrow, or anything else but an eye, it expressed some type of desire for it. His colored irises focused on the glow of it, always expanding from an inexistent pupil.

The other guide had said something about a type of crystal. Could it be…?

Agatha didn’t think twice. She ran to the next column, leaping from one to another to get to the crystal first. The creature watched for a minute, before dropping to the darkness below.

Meanwhile, Genos couldn’t move. His body seemed to panic on its own, unable to process what was in front of him. His mind was stuck, inside of a machine that didn’t respond properly. It was only when the creature moved out of sight, he was able to make a move, almost falling to the ground from the pressure he had experienced.

First thing he did was to look for the monster. Although he couldn’t stare at it directly, he needed to know its location. He went to the edge of the pillar, where no light could reach.

ERROR

It only appeared once. The creature was moving rapidly, in the direction of the crystal-

He looked behind him. Only then Genos realized what Agatha was doing.

She screamed, almost falling to oblivion. The woman was clinging to the border of the last pillar, trying to get to the crystal first.

404

The creature was close to her. Too close.

He ran and jumped as far as he could to get to her. He extended his arms, ready to catch both her and the crystal. At the same time, the monster rose from the darkness, shaking the pillars and the walls full of memories. The moment he looked at it, Genos went down.

***

The Group of The Strong

The parasite didn’t fight for a while, surrendering itself of tiredness. Gumball still held to him with great strength, making sure to never let go of the little monster. Ladybug, meanwhile, tried to think of a plan, using a rock to make a drawing on the dusty ground.

The tunnel had some crystals on the walls, but not as many as the rest of the cave. Its emptiness was almost… unsettling. Because of it, the place wasn’t as illuminated, so they had to work in the dark for a while. The space was… large enough. There were some holes on the walls, and no other exit. The only was blocked, for obvious reasons.

Saitama was still holding the creature outside, and his legs were getting tired from holding the same position for so long. Just as he closed his eyes, the monster stroked the rock stronger than before, catching everyone off guard, and almost knocking Saitama off the place. He quickly held back, taking some more rocks and blocking the way of the creature. It was… really tiring.

"Why don’t they leave already?!" Gumball exclaimed, startled.

"I don’t think they’re coming after us…" Ladybug said, inside her thoughts.

"Oh, so they just want to go through this way? Too bad we’re blocking them. Let’s open the way then, maybe they’re friendly!" Gumball uttered, more satiric than any existent adult TV show.

"What I mean is" Ladybug began to explain "The creature is basically made of darkness, right? And it’s coming after us, but why? Maybe because it wants something from us."

"Oh, really? I didn’t know that." Gumball showed all the discontent of the world in his words.

"Just listen" she continued "Yeah, maybe they want our souls, or something, but why from us? After all, it could have gone after the others, even after Darwin! But it didn’t. Why? Because we have something they don’t have."

Gumball didn’t say anything. The thought of his brother in danger came back to haunt him, and he held Prys (or Jonaraja) more firmly.

"What do we have they do not? The very opposite of them; something made entirely of light!" She pointed at the tired creature in Gumball’s hands.

"You’re saying they want this parasite?" Saitama finally said, trying to distract himself from sleep.

Gumball’s eyes lit, as the solution surged in front of him "Wait, that’s great! We can toss him to this thing, and he will be gone for good! Darwin won’t be in danger anymore!"

When it heard his words, Prys started to fight back again, trying as hard as it could to free itself. A battle between it and the boy began once again.

"I have a better idea." Saitama said, changing positions to place his arm against the blocking rock. "We don’t know if this thing just wants it. They could come after you too."

He stopped to breath. The man was more tired than ever in his life, to the point where opening his eyes were a tough fight.

"I say we let the monster in, but only to destroy it."

"What?! No! That’s too dangerous!" Ladybug protested.

"For you, yes. So that’s why you’re going to hide, while I take care of it."

"What if you get hurt?!" Even if he was a hero, Ladybug knew this creature was more dangerous than any monster she had ever fought. Even if he was strong, the monster could be worse.

He gave a little chuckle. Whether it was to calm them down, or from being very confident in himself, Saitama calmly answered – It takes more than this to hurt me. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.

Suddenly, he stopped struggling. The force behind the wall had stopped. The three of them looked at the blocked entrance, waiting for anything to happen.

For a moment, the creature of light screeched in a tone so high it hurt Gumball’s hearing, forcing him to put his hands on his ears to block the noise.

When he realized, it was too late.

"NO!" Gumball shouted, running to capture Prys. Ladybug used her yoyo, and Saitama jumped to get him. None of them were fast enough.

The creature of light quickly got to a hole, managing to pass through it. Saitama didn’t have the time to get him, nor to react. He quickly got back to the blocked entrance, placing himself against the rocks.

Gumball desperately tried to find a way to get Prys/Jonaraja back, but in vain. Ladybug tried to calm him down, unsure of what to do. She searched through the hole with him, seeing the golden light slowly disappear as it went further into it. Ladybug looked at the hero to ask for help – and she noticed the dark circles that had suddenly appeared below his eyes. The man was sitting down, almost falling asleep.

"Are you okay?" She got closer, forgetting for a moment of the biggest problem they had. Gumball didn’t pay attention – he tried to enter the hole to go after the creature of light.

"I’m… fine. Just a little tired." Saitama then loudly yawned, almost unable to open his eyes again.

Ladybug examined him, trying to find out where he was hurt. She noticed a little dark stain on his shirt, one darker than darkness. It appeared to slowly spread.

"I think that thing hurt you!"

"No, this is probably just a small part of him." Saitama said, looking at his yellow shirt, now with stains of dirt and glowing dust.

The dark stain continued to spread, now disappearing from its previous part.

"Wait… that stain… it’s moving!"

Ladybug deflected its attack just in time, a large, thin tentacle that tried to pierce through her. Without any collision, it instead jumped from its location, moving through the walls until it entered a hole.

For some time, it was silent. The crystals didn’t echo any voices but were full of colors. Images moved inside, but were confusing, full of lines that did not converge nor diverge right. Their glow was weak, unable to fight the darkness consuming the cave.

Suddenly, the room turned bright.

***

The Guardians of The Crystal of Etheria

He didn’t move. His eyes didn’t glow any longer, and his body was devoid of any heat, without some pieces from the arms. All she had now was a damaged frying pan, and a giant crystal that was the only disponible light source.

She touched his face with the frying pan, before eventually given up and sitting down, looking at the crystal in front of her. The place they were now was consumed by darkness, and the only echoes were distant rumbles from a creature that was now hunting them. Agatha tried to come up with a plan, or at least anything that could them out of this place.

Below the dress, just under her skirt, there was a small pocket sewn in it, just the right size to fit in the empty crystal. She didn’t remember having it, nor why her dress seemed different than before. Her memories were deceiving her, and that scared her more than the dark or any monster as big as a cave.

Her sister… there was something about her, a secret maybe? She couldn’t remember. And her parents? There were more familiar than ever, their faces engraved in her mind. Did she have a friend? Maybe one made of magic, or a friend of meat and bones? She couldn’t tell anymore.

Her eyes stared at the crystal, one presenting incoherent image. Agatha glanced at Genos, a man made of a strange metal with fire powers, rude yet very brave, now laying down, probably dead. She hoped not.

Her leg was hurting a little bit. It wasn’t so damaged by the fall (thankfully), but it did have more than some scratches. The pain was just enough for her to handle. Agatha didn’t wonder much about how they survived their fall, after all she had lived through drops far higher than this one. Still, she gave props for him for saving them from the dangers of this new location. He was rude, nonetheless, he was very heroic.

An echo came from above. A screech made by a creature looking for food.

Agatha tried to find where to hide, which was difficult with nothing to be seen around. Besides Genos, she had to hide the crystal, as it was their way out of the cave.

Or she thought so.

Agatha first attempted to carry Genos, who was too heavy even for her. He barely moved inches, despite using all her strength. She felt weak, but didn’t know why, since the woman was not exceedingly hurt. It felt strange, as if her strength was fading away.

She tried to carry the crystal. It wasn’t as heavy, but it did weight much, nevertheless. Agatha barely gave three steps, before almost dropping it to the ground, next to the man. The woman quickly put it down to rest, despite having gone nowhere.

Just as the crystal touched Genos head, a purple shock went through his body, and he woke up with a shock and a scream. At the same time, a bright panel appeared in front of them, startling the duo.

The Group of The Strong

A bright pink panel had appeared to them, one guarding a message to be read out loud by itself.

"HELLO TRAVELERS! WE’RE SORRY FOR THE INCONVIENCE, BUT IT APPEARS WE HAVE COME TO FACE A VERY DANGEROUS THREAT, ONE APPEARING EARLIER THAN EXPECTED."

"This voice…" Ladybug’s eyes radiated with hope.

"It’s the guide!" Gumball said, paying attention once he recognized the voice.

"YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED SOME PARTS OF THE CAVE THAT ARE COVERED WITH A STRANGE DARK SUBSTANCE, OR EVEN ENCOUNTERED DANGEROUS CREATURES ALONG THE WAY. IF YOU HAVE NOT, YOU WILL FACE THEM EVENTUALLY. THOSE THINGS ARE INFECTED WITH THE DISEASE, WHICH IS VERY DANGEROUS, AS IT CAN CORRUPT THOSE WHO COME IN CONTACT, ESPECIALLY ELEMENTALS. RIGHT NOW, ME AND CADEN ARE SURROUNDED BY THE DISEASE, SO WE MAY TAKE LONGER TO FIND YOU. HOWEVER, IF YOU HAVE TO DEFEND YOURSELVES, USE THE LIGHT WHICH YOU HAVE – MORE SPECIFICALLY, ONES THAT ARE VERY BRIGHT, SUCH AS THE GOLDEN LIGHT OF THE OLD ELEMENTAL. WITH THAT SAID…

GOOD LUCK."

The pink panel stood still for a few moments, before disappearing into nothingness. The trio stared at what it once where, before looking into the hole where the black stain had gone. The hole where weird sounds were coming out of. Familiar screeches and screams.

"So, let me see if I get it; the only way to defeat these creatures is to use the one creature that we have now lost?" Gumball asked, already knowing what the answer was.

"Pretty much." Saitama said, preparing himself for what was coming, already with a large rock in hand.

"Actually…" Ladybug walked to the front of the hole, with a plan in place "We don’t need it. Because I already got a solution."

The Guardians of The Crystal of Etheria

"HELLO, DEAR TRAVELLERS! I AM SO SORRY FOR DISAPPEARING ALL OF A SUDEN! I HAVE GOTTEN MYSELF INTO A… COMPLICATED ISSUE. BUT FEAR NOT! FOR ME AND JENNA ARE SEARCHING FOR A WAY BACK TO YOU!"

"What is happening?" Genos said, disoriented.

"The monster knocked you off- and I tried to find a place to hide- but the crystal, and now the panel–" Agatha couldn’t find the right words, as her voice quickly ran out of breath. She felt more suffocated than ever.

A distant scream grew closer. The panel continued "FOR NOW, YOU MUST KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT OF THE CAVE OF SHIMMERING MEMORIES. THERE ARE MANY EXCITING THINGS I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU, BUT IT WILL HAVE TO WAIT, AS THERE IS A DANGER VERY NEARBY OF YOU-"

"Turn this thing off!" Genos uttered, watching the walls tremble closer to them.

"I don’t know how! It just appeared out of nowhere!" Agatha slapped it, yet her hands touched nothing but pure light.

The panel continued without interruptions "THE CRYSTAL OF ETHERIA WILL BE YOUR ONLY WAY OUT, AS IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT KEY TO COMPLETE THE SCENARIO. TO FIND IT, YOU MUST EXPLORE THE CONFINES OF THE CAVE – BUT NOT TOO DEEP, SINCE THE CAVE AT ITS CORE GUARDS A VERY DANGEROUS CREATURE WHICH – I REPEAT – YOU MUST NOT INTERACT WITH!"

***

The monster followed the traits of light, ones that vibrated into the air in very irritating waves. It promptly destroyed it, releasing itself from its annoyance. Once silence prevailed, the creature felt a familiar flavor in the air, close enough to it. Hiding somewhere very close, along with the little dreams guarding its prey. It inspected the place, as clear as any darkness could be to it. After all, its vision was better without lights. Its ears heard more distant into the silence. Its mouth could taste all that was close.

Behind it.

***

"I think it saw us" Agatha said, trembling from head to toe. Not even the giants of snow scared her as much as that thing did, with its large eye overseeing all darkness as if it was clear day. Genos, however, couldn’t focus much. He held his head, trying to go beyond the errors that kept appearing to him.

The cyborg tried to alter the body’s functions, yet he couldn’t find out what was exactly the problem. Soon, he would collapse again, and he wouldn’t be able to fight the monster of Disease. He didn’t have a heart, yet his chest hurt from a pain that was invisible and unerasable. One that should never exist, yet it was present inside his mind, reflecting into the nerves he had long replaced.

Then, everything stopped. There was no error appearing, and the ground appeared clearer to him than it ever was. The walls were covered by darkness, yet he knew their exact position. He slowly moved his hands through the hair.

Genos was free.

He looked at Agatha, appearing concerned for him. She had done something that fixed his biggest problem. Yet…

She noticed he was staring longer than usual and began to explain. "I noticed that, when the crystal touched your head, you woke up! So, maybe it could, I don’t know… give you some type of resistance?"

"Why in my ear, though?" He said, touching a broken crystal almost inside his head.

"It’s… closer to your head. And your mouth was really shut."

Before they could continue talking, the Monster of Decay appeared right to their front, screaming to the highest notes possible, hurting Agatha’s hearing. However, Genos didn’t even flinch. Instead, he analyzed the creature, from its body, stature… and its weak points.

It would be hard to fight it, specially with a crystal inside his ear that could fall or break from any harsh movements, but he could cause enough damage with a plan. But first, they needed a hiding spot. Then, time.

"Hold the crystal." He said, without even glancing at her.

"Why? What’s the plan?"

"First, we need to get out of here."

Extra: White Cat

Adrien woke up with a headache, between shattered crystals and broken rocks. His body ached, and his mind was fuzzy. Around him, crystals glowed with voices and images, memories from all kinds of people. Aside from them, there were no voices from any of the people he knew, not even Ladybug.

Was she okay? Did that monster hurt her?

Where was Darwin?

He could barely move. The monster had moved at high speed against him, so he had suffered a lot of damage. He felt something warm on his head but paid no attention to it.

In front of him, a white cat sat still, staring at it.

It didn’t shine like the other creatures from this world. Its fur was white and appeared soft; his eyes were big and blue. From its dark whiskers, he could tell the cat was young. It appeared almost… real. It didn’t do anything besides stare, with what appeared to be a grin on its face.

Adrien tried to get up. He felt very weak and was almost transforming to try and get over this fatigue. Still, for some reason unknown to himself, he couldn’t. Whether it was the cat, the presence of Ladybug, or the place alone, Adrien couldn’t get himself to say those words.

He looked at his hands. He felt as if something missed from them but couldn’t tell what. Like when he was at the Forest of Bittersweet Dreams, the young teenager felt observed by something. Something that hasn’t any good intentions.

The white cat ran away, and when it left its sight, Adrien finally said those magic words.

"CLAWS OUT!"

From one second to another, he became Cat Noir, and felt stronger than before. Although he still felt very hurt. He took his staff and used it as support, at least for some time until he recovered. Right now, he needed to find his friends, especially Darwin, who was probably in the most danger.

Cat Noir walked through the empty corridors full of memories of sadness and overcome. At the other side of the tunnel, behind him, the white cat stared behind a crystal filled with regret.

Chapter Text

Welcome, dear readers, to another chapter. Today I sat down at the saccade and stared at the stars. How strange, isn’t it? To be alive, to think and to know. To be human, an animal, a primate that through conflicts and wars was able to evolve and is now everything’s and its own doom. I mean, all things were made through fights, and through power. The stars eat one another, the air shape the earth by hitting it very hard. In the end, balance only exists because there is a conflict. Harmony is created when there is no battle to be fought. But it soon gets very boring, and we create another war for our amusement. It’s part of our heritage, given by the monkeys, the fish, the bacteria…

"We didn’t come from monkeys, though. We only have the same ancestors."

"Whatever man, in the end it doesn’t matter."

…

"I mean, it does matter."

"What matters?"

"To have more power. To eat all the stars."

"If you become too powerful, you’ll either explode and turn into a blackhole or turn into a white dwarf. At least, that’s what I remember from the astronomy classes."

"You learned astronomy?"

"It was a long time ago, and I did it for a competition."

"Cool."

"I got first place."

"Cool."

…

"Did they finish the battle yet?"

"…let’s wait a few more minutes. It’s not like we can intervene, anyway."

"What if they fail, though?"

"We’ll restart, make another experiment."

"But it will take a long time, though. I don’t know if we’ll have enough time for the delivery."

"Relax, we’ll do it. And we’ll make it just perfect."

"Perfect?"

"Perfect."

The Guardians of The Crystal of Etheria

Genos carried Agatha and the crystal, dodging the monster’s advance as he jumped back and forth through the walls of the cave. Smoke rose from the traction of both bodies, glowing with the particles of crystals and minerals, creating a curtain of light. Soon, the monster view was blocked, and it stood still, waiting for any type of movement. However, the curtain of smoke went down, and the outsiders were nowhere to be seen.

They kept on running, as far as they could from the creature. Agatha held tightly to the giant crystal, with eyes shut from the wind of the run.

"Ugh, why is this crystal so big, and sharp? It’s almost ripping off my skin! If only it was smaller, or less…"

Genos suddenly felt his face change and his mouth move without his permission.

"The Crystal of Etheria was a gift from a distant world for the Elementals and was used by them to guard memories of all residents in the world of Animaland. The crystal holds all the stories of the world..."

"Huh?" Agatha couldn’t hear very well what he was saying, but she did understand some key words. Why was he suddenly telling the crystal’s information, even if not even he knew?

Wait…

"Walking Wiki!" Agatha said aloud in her realization. Genos continued to tell its info, as he ran to find a place for them to stay.

The Group of The Strong

"Alright! We’re ready!" Ladybug pronounced, holding her open yoyo to her chest, standing in front of what was now the only opening to the outside. All other holes were blocked with stones and some small crystals for support.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Gumball said, standing behind her.

"I can hear something coming." Saitama said, beside the small opening.

"Prepare yourselves!" Ladybug shouted.

And they waited.

And waited.

…

"Maybe they don’t know we’re here." Saitama said.

"Thank goodness…" Gumball sighed, a little relieved.

That was, until Saitama knocked on the wall.

Almost instantly, the walls began to shake. It was as if an earthquake had hit them.

Suddenly, a dark substance came out of the opening, heading straight to Ladybug.

"Brace yoursEEEEEEE-" The strange material almost knocked her back, if it wasn’t for Gumball, who helped her to stand up. Saitama tried to regulate its coming, blocking with his hands its way, making the material come almost in a straight line, towards Ladybug chest.

Before they knew it, the yoyo started to absorb all the substance, its light being almost suffocated by all the darkness.

"My yoyo has the ability to purify akumas." Both boy and man looked confused to her "It’s a type of corruption used by Hawk Moth to turn normal people into villains."

"A type of corruption, huh." Saitama, despite the tiredness behind his stare, was more focused than before. "I think I get what you want to do."

"But…" He continued.

What were 10 seconds felt like an eternity. The strength of the projectile was stronger than what even Ladybug could handle. Gumball was barely holding her, and soon the two of them were being taken aback by the force.

"Are you sure this little thing can take a monster that size?"

"It would be very difficult to attack in this crumpled place, indeed. However, we saw that the monster could change shape, or at least turn into a more liquid matter. In addition, he would try to use any opening he has to go inside."

"Or he could just destroy the walls." Gumball added.

"Either way, Saitama is strong enough to stop it from doing so, and…" Her gaze focused on one opening at the other end of the cave. "Make sure it goes only one way in."

"I can do that" He yawned. –"If I don’t fall sleep before…" He didn’t mean to say it, but the words came in an impulse. The children were startled by this thought, knowing they were probably running out of time.

"Why should we destroy him, though?" Gumball spoke, showing a certain anger in his voice.

"What do you mean?"

Saitama had to use more and more strength to keep the opening still. The monster was ferocious, trying to escape by the sides. He wouldn’t let it happen, though.

His eyes gradually closed the more he fought it.

"That thing is only going after the parasite, right? Which means we’re not really at risk anymore. We could just leave. And even if we find other monsters like that, you could just fight it. – His face was closed, and they could see how upset the boy was against the very creature that took his brother away."

Ladybug looked at him with the most compassionate eyes "I know that you’re angry at it, and I mean… We don’t even know what that thing is capable of! But is just like our guide said: that creature of light is our key to fight back all this corruption. And also…"

"If he’s that close to your brother, he might try to get back to him." Saitama finished, looking back at the hole which the elemental had escaped through.

"But… We should stop him from getting near Darwin!"

"What if your brother is being chased by a monster as well? How can he defend himself?"

Gumball stared down, thinking of an answer. However, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, they were right. Darwin was in more danger than them, and the parasite knew where he was, and could defend him.

"We need to find it then. He’s going after Darwin, so we can follow it to get to my brother."

 "He is the only golden light we’ve seen so far, so that won’t be so difficult." Saitama nodded.

"Well then" Ladybug finished "Now we just need to follow the plan."

Finally, nothing else passed through the opening. The moment all the matter was inside the yoyo, Ladybug shut it at once, as to keep the creature from coming out. The three were tired, and stared it for a long time, and then at each other, before she opened it again, very reluctantly.

A thick glowing dust came out of it at once, making the room brighter than before. The crystals shone more, showing and echoing memories of elementals that had once come into the cave. The air was filled with lights of thousands of colors, flying through the space and erasing the darkness which once consumed it. The sight was one of the most beautiful they had ever seen.

"It worked!" Ladybug exclaimed, gazing happily at the scenario, almost hypnotized.

"Huh, guys?" Gumball faced the other way, at a wall mostly shining, filled by a few cloudy crystals, staring at a dark corner of it.

One darker than darkness.

It moved a few inches before Ladybug quickly caught it with her yoyo. Instead of opening it at once, however, she went near those cloudy crystals, and released the thick dust onto them. They regained their vibrance and voices, showing tender memories of friends and heroes.

"It seems this dust can also purify the crystals of the cave!"

"Although it would probably take a lifetime to clean the entire cave." Saitama thought aloud and saw Gumball’s face quickly dissipate happiness, regaining a semblance of worry.

"We need to find Darwin." His tone was a little deeper than before.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Saitama stretched his hand to the boy, who held it, ready to travel once more through the tunnels, this time to rescue all others from the group, including, and specially, his brother.

The Guardians of The Crystal of Etheria

Genos had finally stopped, finding a small tunnel with a few crystals, ones which were almost rumblings. Once the two weights were down, he fell to his knees, breathing heavily and tired from speaking while running, even if it was more of a reflex than actual fatigue. Agatha placed the crystal carefully on her side and sat down to rest. She had never felt more exhausted than that moment, feeling as if her strength was taken away.

Soon enough, Agatha felt her energy come back, and the idea of sleeping was more distant than ever. She looked at the cyborg, who stared down at the ground, with a serious expression that always stayed.

"How do you know so much about the crystal?"

"I don’t know…" Agatha noticed a certain worry in his eyes, even if it was hard to discern his emotions. "This knowledge… it’s coming from somewhere, but one I can’t fully access. It’s as if…" He stopped, as if he couldn’t explain what it was. Or maybe he did, but wasn’t so sure of it, so he left it aside.

– Can you… say it again? – Genos glanced at her – About the crystal. Can you tell the info of the crystal again?

At first, he was reluctant. He did comply after a while, but…

"I can’t."

"How? You said a lot of things about it when we were running away! Can’t you remember even one little thing?"

No matter how much Genos tried, he couldn’t recall a single thing about the crystal. He tried to search its names – “Etheria”, “Crystal of Etheria”, “Giant purple crystal” … yet nothing came up. The information appeared to have been erased from his mind.

That is, until he had an idea.

"Ask me a question."

"Uh, what kind of question?"

"Anything related to the crystal, just, anything."

"Alright then…" Agatha quickly pondered what question she would ask, until she came up with one "How does the Crystal of Etheria work?"

Genos mouth soon began to move without his control, and both listened carefully to what he was going to say.

“'The Crystal of Etheria shows all stories of the world and will help remember those who were lost in the darkness.'

Once per eon, a ritual was realized on the top of the mountain, where the Elementals of Golden Light would cast a powerful blast onto the crystal, and it would project in the entire history of the mountain on the sky. It would be brought by the residents of the Cave of Shimmering Memories to the top of the mountain, as only they had access to the Crystal of Etheria.

However, once the Disease began to spread, stronger than before, the residents of the cave closed the entrance to the cave, which remained sealed for thousands of eons. At some point in time, the cave’s entrance was opened, and the habitants of the cave had disappeared. Moreover, the way to its core, in which the Crystal of Etheria would theoretically be residing, is unknown."

Once Genos had finished speaking, both stared at each other, waiting for some type of conclusion.

"So… does it mean we have to use a powerful light to shine the crystal?" Agatha cogitated.

"Maybe" Genos continued "But where can we get a powerful-"

Before he had finished, both came up with the answer. Almost at the same time, they told the solution.

"We need Prys/Jonaraja." Genos stared Agatha in confusion "It’s his other name. I think there’s more, but-"

"Let’s just call it the Old Elemental."

"Doesn’t really fit him, though. He looks more like a… young type of fish."

"An axolotl, you mean? It is very similar…"

Agatha didn’t understand the term very well, and tried to pronounce it, failing to do so. She decided to go with another name "How about Golden Elemental?"

"Let’s stick with it for now." Genos concluded at once, getting up.

Agatha got up as well, feeling replenished "Now we just need to find it… and the others."

Agatha at once thought of her sister, hoping she was alright. Genos, on the other hand, thought of his master Saitama, who although would most likely be fine, still couldn’t shake an odd feeling, some type of insecurity in relation to him.

In the end, both thought of Darwin, who was almost certainly in more danger than them.

The Chat Noir

The hero jumped travelled through the tunnels of the cave, in what appeared to be an endless maze. From all sides, he could hear voices and sounds from memories inside the crystals, yet nothing from the people he knew. Not even his group. Not even Ladybug.

He wondered if she would believe he was already there before. Maybe she would assume Chat Noir is someone from either her group or his.

He casted those thoughts aside and continued to focus on the sounds of the cave, to try and find one that wasn’t a projection of a past time. Yet, despite the noise, there was only silence. The only real echoes were from the traction of his shoes against the dusty ground and walls of the cave, from which rose tiny scintillating lights that floated before disappearing.

Right ahead of him, there was an intersection of tunnels, which separated the current tunnel in two by a fissure. Chat Noir jumped it on instinct.

Crack!

When Chat Noir heard it, it was too late. On midair, he glanced at the monster coming silently at full speed towards him. In less than a second, he was thrown by almost 10 miles per hour against a wall on the other side of the cave, leaving him unconscious once more.

***

Stop.

You always treat me like I’m below you!

Like I’m uncapable-

As if I can’t fight-

ON MY OWN!

Chat?

I DON’T NEED YOU.

CHAT!

***

Adrien abruptly woke up frightened, feeling his body deteriorate in a billion of thousands of particles. His heartbeat was hurried and heavy, like a hammer beating him on the chest. The air was suffocating, and the view was darker than the void. Adrien could feel his body ache and shake uncontrollably, as tears flew down past his face.

***

You need me. And I-

There’s only one Ladybug-

What about me?

You need me.

WHAT ABOUT ME?!

***

The world rotated a thousand times. The boy cowered, holding his head with all the strength in the world, trying to block off the noise and the silence.

***

You can find another Chat-

I know we can get through this… together.

What am I to you, then?

What are you doing?

***

Why are you just sitting there?

***

Don’t you know others are in danger?

***

You’re a superhero. So.

Be. One.

***

Everything stopped. It’s almost as if it never happened. He didn’t know why, or how. His chest hurt more than anything, but it was a pain that appeared to be distant.

He didn’t feel happy. Nor confident. Nor scared.

He couldn’t feel anything at that moment.

Almost as if something had taken all his emotions away.

He still breathed heavily, as if the air didn’t reach his lungs still. The ground, the walls, everything appeared to be more distant than ever. As if now, he was watching himself being pulled by invisible strings.

He could see himself getting up and using the staff to travel further into the darkness. Now, he felt alone, more than ever.

***

Chat Noir searched for a golden light, and soon enough, he found it fighting the Disease will its own light. Coming closer to him, he extended his hand, showing what appeared to be a black hole in the palm of his hand. Now, it just needed a touch.

Extra: Oopsie dupsy!

"IT’S NOT OOPSIE DUPSY, IT’S OOPSIE-DAISY." Jenna discussed with Caden.

"WELL, IN MY HOMETOWN, IT WAS OOPSIE DUPSY. WE ALL SAID IT, AND IT WAS PRONOUNCED THIS WAY."

Both were checking the map of the cave, trying to find all available Points of a Guide. It was tiring… and they were preparing to send other signals to each person.

"UGH, CAN WE JUST TELEPORT TO EACH ONE OF THEM?" Despite the distress, Caden continued to smile, just like Jenna.

"AND RISK BEING CAUGHT BY THE DISEASE?"

"SO, WE WILL KEEP ON BEING COWARDS? INSTEAD OF HELPING OUR GROUPS, LIKE PROPER GUIDES?! HONESTLY JENNA, I THINK-"

"YOU CAN GO THERE IF YOU WANT."

Caden stayed silent. Jenna continued "IT ONLY TAKES A TOUCH FOR US TO BE INFECTED, AFTER ALL. THEY ARE MORE PROTECTED WITH THEIR, FLESH, CAPSULES. WHATEVER THAT THING IS. WHILE WE ARE AS EXPOSED AND WEAK AS-"

Before she continued, however, Jenna heard a strange noise. She looked back at Caden and- he wasn’t there anymore. He had teleported. Caden had thrown himself into the deadliest danger of Animaland, to a direction she really hoped wasn’t the most unstable part of the cave – specifically, the one covered by the Disease, known by the guides as The Void.

"FOR MAMI’S SAKE." And there she went, to save Caden from his deliriums.

Chapter Text

I watched the monitor, the lines and lines of code that kept on appearing on the multiple panels, endlessly without interrupting. The words were shown, and quickly faded on the screen.  It was hard to keep track on everything happening… at least, that way.

I didn’t know how Simon could understand all that so easily. “I only focusing on the errors”, he said. Even I needed more time to process all that, and not mere seconds. However, by the time I would have taken to understand all that was occurring, more events would have already happened.

I must admit I made a good choice choosing him. After all, even if he was weird, didn’t know how to communicate well, didn’t have any friends, and was odd, he’s still smart – heck, even more than the teachers. And not only that, but he obeyed me like a little… hey, wait a minute.

Did they-

I checked one of the panels. Some special characters appeared on the code, between the letters and words displayed.

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

"SIMON!" I can’t take my eyes off the screen for some minutes, and the program is already corrupted.

The Guardians of The Crystal of Etheria

"Are you sure? Because I don’t think that parts of you falling is just an inconvenience…"

"I’m fine. I’ll repair those when we find a safer place. But for now, we must keep our guards up."

A muffled scream echoed through the chambers of the cave, trembling the walls for a few seconds. Dust fell from the ceiling, making Agatha cough while Genos didn’t even flinch. It was almost a sign of bad omen.

"Alright, but… where are we even going to?" Agatha looked around, and noticed Genos stared only at one direction. To the other side of the tunnel, to a place hidden by deep darkness, without any crystals to set light, but the ones from the Crystal of Etheria and a small piece of it inside Genos’ ear.

"To the only place we can go."

The Group of The Strong

The trio walked together through a maze of tunnels and closed ways. The walls trembled a little, letting particles and small rocks fall on them.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Gumball felt tired, and his feet hurt more than ever "Oh, forget it. We don’t even have a way…" He said in a sigh.

"By the sounds around us, we can say the monsters are on our right side – wait no, on the left – wait…" It was almost as if those things were playing with them.

All of a sudden, Saitama almost fell. He quickly got up and yawned louder than ever before. His eyes were full of tears, and his walk was slow and almost leisurely. He was nearly dragging himself through the floor.

"Do you… want to rest for a little bit, Saitama?" The hero stared behind at Ladybug with half-closed eyes. He yawned again.

"I feel like if I… sleep now, I won’t wake up." His voice was weary, as if saying anything was making a great effort.

The three stood still for a while, in complete silence. Perhaps it was the gravity of the situation, or the voices of crystals, or planning what would they do when facing those creatures. Gumball opened his mouth, when the ground abruptly collapsed.

***

The golden light was different.

***

Ladybug was taken by surprise, screaming at first during the fall. Then, the hero quickly positioned herself mid-air, ready to face whatever was coming for them, while also searching for the other two. She first found Saitama, shaking by the fall. He didn’t try to fight it. In fact, the man wasn’t doing anything at all.

Then, she saw his face. At that moment, she realized, in panic, that the strongest hero she ever met, had fainted.

Without hesitation, she used her yoyo to try and get him. As it got closer to him, something else did as well.

In a fraction of a second, he was gone, and the yoyo hit back something huge and dark.

"NO!" Ladybug shouted and was answered with what appeared to be screeches around her. With time running out, she looked out for Gumball.

Below her, to the right, he screamed, yet his voice was suppressed by the creatures and the rocks hitting against something and breaking, and the fall itself.

The girl quickly did the same, and this time the yoyo curled around the boy’s waist, pulling him towards her.

The moment they were together, Gumball held tightly to her suit. He hid his face, shaking in desperation.

"Don’t worry, I’ll get us out of here!" Ladybug inspected the environment, trying to find something which could be useful for then. Her eye caught a rock large enough for them to step on and get enough impulse to leap from (to where?).

With her yoyo, she reached for it.

At the same time, the monster passed through the rock, which turned into dust almost instantly, while taking the weapon in its mouth.

"HoOOOOOLLD OOOOONN–" Almost instantly, both kids were flying at full speed.

***

Elizabeth felt the cave tremble before her, as if it wanted to fall altogether, barely holding up. Something was breaking it more and more, and from recalling the events that led to their separation, she could tell what it was.

There were lesser crystals than before, and the tunnel became darker the more she deepened into it. In a trice, the woman watched a flash of golden light appear and disappear.

At first, Elizabeth stepped back.

Then, she ran ahead, as fast as she could, towards the void.

…near it, she could hear a voice.

A very familiar one.

***

Ladybug

The air pressed against their bodies, making it harder to breath. They couldn’t feel their faces right, as they were taking almost backwards from the immense speed they were going. The monster made loops and zigzags, rotated, speeded up and down, until…

…it abruptly stopped.  

Ladybug and Gumball were taking by surprise, thrown with great force against a type of column. Soon enough, the hero protected the kid from the launch, taking him as safely as possible to a sufficiently stable ground. From the rising smoke, Ladybug carried him with her bare hands to the top of the column, taking him on her (almost broken) back, as she held for dear life not to fall to the unknown. Below ground, there was only darkness.

Once they were on the top, Gumball laid down, feeling his body ache from head to toe, while the superhero stood up, ready to go beyond her pain and face the creature of nightmares. Amid the void, she could hear distant screams and screeches, memories once cheerful now corrupted and broken, trying to hold on for some type of existence, perhaps a light they could feast from.

Rising from the darkness, came the creature of the night, ready to prey on the soul.

Before Gumball knew, Ladybug was already gone. He could hear strikes and punches from somewhere, yet he could not see a thing. The darkness was too much. For the first time in so long, Gumball felt completely alone, weak and scared. He wanted someone, anyone, to free him from this nightmare.

***

Ladybug was fighting for her dear life, using her yoyo to purify whatever she could from the monster. But no matter how much she swung her yoyo, hit the creature with kicks, and tricked it into hitting the walls to hurt itself, it didn’t stop growing.

It became more aggressive.

It became faster.

It became more intelligent.

It became better.

***

Darwin?

Amidst the void, Gumball saw a light.

The Guardians of The Crystal of Etheria

The giant crystal became brighter as light faded from the walls and crystals around, fighting against the darkness getting closer through each step. The lack of crystals and the walls that disappeared brought a dreadful feeling to them, one of an ominous threat nearby.

"I think it’s reacting to something." Agatha wide opened her eyes, yet no light got to them, except for the one carried in her arms "But what is-"

Genos blocked her path, his arm emanating fire inside like the rest of his body. Although, its light was not blinding, suffocated by the dark wanting to consume their souls. Despite that, Agatha could see now the “wall” ahead of her, one full of holes and cracks, and devoid of any colors, being as gray as metal, though it was more lifeless.

"There are multiple columns here." Genos scanned the area, searching for any dangers or traps hidden. His face, even if it lacked the ability to express most emotions, showed an intense feeling of surprise and distress. He had his back to Agatha, yet his body suddenly trembled as much as for her to know something was truly wrong.

"What is it?" Her voice almost failed, stifled by the foul air, the vile ground and the wicked darkness that wished to enter their hearts.

"This… place…" The fire within burned brighter than before, showing cracks from the previous fights and flights. – It’s full of… corpses.

His sensors alerted him for the presence of living beings’ remains, even if there were no bones, nor rotting meat, but only a strange black matter covering most parts of the environment., all seeming to breath with his agony and of many others left behind.

Agatha didn’t move. She couldn’t. Her hands wanted to stumble, but the weight of their salvation was on her. She couldn’t give herself away to despair.

The silence was deafening. The mist unveiled the true nature of the cave – all the memories held inside crystals, as memorials to countless lives, countless people who found their fate inside that place. Those people, those beings… they would never leave. No one would ever remember them, as all others that could remained inside this place.

The truth was that the cave, despite its vibrant colors, and multiple voices, appearing as alive as the outside, was the last place anyone would ever solace.

A graveyard.

The darkness showed it all. Instead of cheerful, disgusted, sad, lovely voices, there were now only screams of pain and suffering. The souls were trapped by the Disease, helplessly trying to get out.

Were they going to be a part of them?

Agatha wanted to faint. The weight of the crystal, filled with good remembrances, was nothing compared to the mist. To the voices. To the ground sinking them down.

Genos didn’t say anything. His feet were below the floor, disappearing into oblivion. The fire was stifled by the air, fading into nothing. The light of Etheria was dim, failing to fight off the ominous gloom.

Agatha looked up, awaiting for a miracle. No matter what, she held on to that glimmer of hope, for a way to leave that nightmare.

Then, a golden light appeared.

***

The entire cave was shaking. It could feel it, its stomach emptying and falling apart. The Golden Light of Anima refused to be digested, making their fight a poison to itself. The Light of Anima, as luscious and appetizing as it was, it too killed it little by little. Oh, but the Monster of Decay was patient. They would do anything it could to have a taste of heaven, to finally leave its confinement, to find its freedom it wished for so long in its sleep.

Its screams echoed through all tunnels, awaking all corrupted memories from their slumber of ephialtes.

***

Soon enough, all walls crumbled down, letting crystals shatter and dark matter drop, expanding the corruption through the complex of scintillating reminiscences.

"CAREFUL!" Agatha first saw the falling boulders coming to light, awaken from their nightmarish slumber. Genos didn’t say anything.

She pushed Genos with all her strength, almost taking him down to the cursed ground. At once he became aware, pulling his feet from the ground and grabbing her by the waist, running from the falling rocks of the golden dazzle.

Elizabeth called out for them, at the same time the floor collapsed. She lost the touch of her feet, felt the sudden pressure on her body, yet not a single sparkle came from her hands. This time, she wasn’t going to use it. She would face whatever was coming for her.

Gumball was sure he heard Darwin? He was sure he heard him… scream.

The golden light was nearer to him, and he was sure, more than ever, that the creature was hurting him. All he wanted was to help his brother, to fight off those creatures, and to go back home…

Yet, he felt weak. He couldn’t even help his own group, even putting them in danger. Now they were gone from his sight, fighting against those demons, and he couldn’t do anything. His tears rolled down his face, as Gumball once again felt just like a little boy, all over again. An uncapable child. A reckless idiot. All he wanted was to get out of that place and do something for them. For his family. For his brother.  

In the end, all he could ever do was watch. Watch everything unfold, without any control, without any choice.

Watch.

Ladybug felt cuts all over her body, wounds that deepened with each hit of that monster. It attacked her mercilessly, and no matter how much she fought back, it only grew stronger. That thing… it wasn’t just a villain anymore, nor a creature she could stop like they always did. It didn’t even have weak spots… and it wanted to truly destroy her. It didn’t show any fear, nor anger, nor regret. It was as if… it followed a wicked programming.

The heroine was almost down, crouching and panting. She could barely stand, shaking from soul to body. Tears rolled down her voice, strangely red. The pain was covered by her adrenaline, but it wasn’t enough to help her enough. In the end, she couldn’t do much more. The creature approached at a high velocity, not before screaming into a pitch tearing her brain apart.

Marinette was tired.

***

Simon is not coming. Ugh, where’s that-

Seems like they’re having a pretty tough battle, huh. Whatever, they’ll take care of it… somehow.

I wonder if we made the monsters too strong.

Talking about strong…

…?!

Well, they can dream. And… we can see the dreams. Hm.

Let me just-

GAH!

So many pop-ups… Fuck, did I screw it up? C’mon, maybe if I- ok it just got worse.

SIMON!

Let me close this one… and this… I hope it wasn’t important… Ok, I think I get it.

…Nope.

For fuck’s sake… SIMON!

I was just talking to him! Did he leave? That-

That-

Hm.

Hm.

What’s this?

Where do I see…?

…There’s nothing.

The window just appeared, and it doesn’t tell me what it is.

Let’s see on the program…

…I think it’s he- nope. Maybe…

UGH, why is it so CONFUSING?!

THERE’S LITERALLY NOTHING TALKING ABOUT IT!

I’m not gonna read the manual.

…

Oh, fuck it.

Where is it?

Did I throw that freaking thing away? Oh, just wonderful.

…

Well.

…

This is it.

It’s fucked.

We’re fucked.

Oh my, Simon is going to, freaking, ugh.

“Mimimi, what did you do Sarah, don’t you know how to program, mimimi, mimimimi-“

WAIT.

Ok, maybe I should have looked into it before.

I mean, I tried to find why the window showed up, but not what was inside of it…

…

…

?

Ok, I think I got it.

This one… is one of their consciousness. I think it’s supposed to be active.

Since Saitama fainted I think, it is not active…

Hm…

There is nothing in it. Alright, but the other one, I mean, these ones, they… I think… other parts of his brain? Some of them, it’s just…

(Why so many H’s?)

Whatever they are, there is this one, see, this one, it’s definitely a dream.

I mean, this one has a name.

(Where did I see the name? Ah, whatever, I’ll just ask Simon later).

Or find the manual.

Where is it, anyway?

I can’t just leave, though…

RIGHT. THE DREAM.

Well… I think, uhhh, hold on let me just-

I think I understand what’s saying.

…

“Flowers blooming. I miss…

…tea?”

What?

…

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but I can’t remember why.”

I think it’s what is saying.

God, I hate this language.

Uhh…

Huh?

OH, right, I locked the door. I think- I hope it’s Simon.

…

…

…

…

…

…

He-

…

…

I think I heard something.

What’s the problem?

Chapter Text

"GREETINGS, EVERYONE!" At once everyone looked up, except for one person.

"I’M SO SO SORRY FOR BEING LATE!" His voice filled the tunnels, found through the thousands of staring eyes.

"YOU SEE, I HAD SOME TECHNICAL PROBLEMS, BUT NOT TO WORRY!" His blue light infested the area, bringing the void once lost color of flair.

"FOR I AM…" And at once, the Monster of Decay greeted its pray. "HERE."

The Boy Without Family

Gumball sat frozen, watching a new being of light pop up from nothingness, one that looked like a man dressed in fancy clothes – a bright suit and what looked like a type of shoe that man usually wore in fancy parties – and wearing an uncanny smile, despite facing eldritch horrors looking down to their lunch.

Yet, no matter how bright he was, no matter how much hope he displayed, the void was forceful,

dominating,

terrifying.

Its rainbow eye tried to enter his soul, and for a moment, Gumball saw a hell worse than his mother’s anger, filled by the purest feeling of perversion the boy ever saw in his life. Inside of it, there was only crashed hopes, illusions of a past that never came to be, screaming failures, including his own, all at him.

It was too much.

Too much.

Yet, that being continued "FIRST, WE MUST RESTABLISH SOME RULES. YOU MUST KNOW THAT, IN REGARDS OF OUTSIDERS AND INHABITANTS OF ANIMALAND, ALSO KNOWN AS RPG, SIMULATOR 3049, THE ETHERIAL WORLD, AND MANY OTHER NAMES TO THEM" The monster growled.

From its mouth, poured a white, strange matter floating in its fall "YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! LET’S GET TO THE POINT" In a swing, the ethereal man invoked a strange glowing book "CLAUSULE 20: BATTLES MUST ALWAYS GO IN TURNS" Before he could finish, Gumball was suddenly pulled behind by the handoff the man, at the same time the monster’s tongue punctured the book, swallowing it whole without ever taking its eye out of them. The man was now all up and tingling, disclosed by the appearance of his messy clothes and upright hair. Gumball felt like him, his clothes felt grubby and ugly, his hair all messy, and his throat uncomfortable tight. He could the collar of his shirt pulled by a hand, but no ground for him to stand. His breathing increased rapidly, as danger drew closer. The thought of what was to come frightened him to his bones. His feet the air, against the darkness below looking forward to eating him alive.

The man took a silently deep breath "I GET THE MESSAGE."

Just like that, his hand loosened the grasp. Once more, Gumball was falling into the darkness, now with no one to save him from doom.  

He hoped it was all part of plan, though his wet eyes and startled body and feelings warned him otherwise. Inside his mind, resided the stare of the monster’s giant eye. That eye, where hundreds of despaired souls resided. They never left his mind – his family, his friends, the world he left behind… what was it for? They wanted him back; he knew that, his brother knew… why couldn’t they just go back to them at once? Why did Darwin… why was him like that?

A thousand years of thoughts passed through his mind, as the darkness consumed him from all sides.

Right. It wasn’t him.

It was that thing.

The Guardians of The Crystal of Etheria

Genos ran as fast as he could. No matter the weight or the depth of the ground, nothing could hold him back now. Not even the sudden pain growing inside his head.

"CAREFUL!" Agatha shouted amidst the escape.

"I KNOW!" Genos regretted at once responding to her, as the sound of his voice hurt him even more, a pain going from his ear to his head.

***

Agatha held tightly to the giant crystal in her lap, recoiling from the noise of chaos around them. Her heart was near to coming out of her mouth, and the butterflies inside her stomach screamed to get out. She wanted to run away, to get out of that damned place. That golden light stayed, as if it invited them to freedom, even if it was the same taking the sky down. Was it fake? An illusion? Agatha didn’t know…

That is, until she saw a blue light pass above them in a blink of an eye.

Could it be…?

***

She said more things to him, but he didn’t listen. The thousands of rocks breaking, the scintillating lights, the screaming in his ear, all tried to destroy Genos through his sensations alone, leaving the cyborg no choice but to block all sounds from his system.

Yet no matter how much he tried to focus on the path ahead, Agatha kept calling out to him, pulling his shirt and trying to get his attention. Only when he finally looked down to her, the woman gestured for him to look up.

He had no time to it, nonetheless.

A boulder blocked their path, leaving the cyborg no choice but to jump backwards. In doing so, the force created almost took down their key object, if it weren’t for Agatha’s tight grasp. Something still fell, however. A little purple crystal went forward, Genos’ protection against the darkness.

"GEN-"

***

Voices.

So many of them.

Screaming, shouting,

Pulling him back and forth.

He tried to remember, but all his memories were suffocated by the thousands of voices.

He could only recall the fire. The crashed buildings. The ones he loved most dearly, gone out of his sight, into that damned darkness.

The hungry darkness, who wished for more.

He remembered running to it.

It was a trap; he knew better than anyone.

But they were there, and he needed them back.

And he shouted:

“BRING THEM BACK!” Yet his own voice sounded wrong.

***

There was nothing left.

All she tried to protect, in less than one second, only one…

It all faded away into the light.

She couldn’t reach them anymore. She was left all alone, in the void of her world and her heart. It was empty. No one would come for her now…

Except for me, m’ lady.

For a moment, both gazes had met, the soothing eyes of a Cat, and the hopeful stare of a Ladybug. For a moment, she thought it would be the last eyes she would ever see again. For a moment, the world fell and rose again.

Not even darkness could hide the sparkle of the golden bell, the belt fallen between his legs, the cat ears on his blond hair, and his green eyes with sharp pupils.

"Don’t you worry now." His voice was soft, yet it guarded a strong resentment, letting a shadow cast upon his face once he turned to the monster "I’ll take this battle."

The monster growled. Hunger pierced his body apart, taking over as an indomitable fury, ready to strike anything in his way.

The Boy Without Family

At first, Gumball felt the air pressure against his skin. Then, for a moment, he felt a firm grasp onto his shoulder. At last, the solid ground against his face, and a great nausea overtake him. His head was spinning, his stomach was at his mouth, and his eyes caught the shaky dark ground.

"Took you long enough." His ears ringed, but despite the aches, he could hear and recognize the familiar voice on his side. There was exasperation in it, colder than ice from the South Pole. In front of him, a pink light faintly showed herself.

In an instant, lightless spikes rose from the ground, almost piercing Gumball’s feet. The grasps on his lungs vanished, as his vision grew darker. When he finally looked up, the boy saw their guide moving at a rapid speed, dodging the ground’s attacks.

"THERE IS A REASON WHY I COULDN’T HELP YOU" Her voice stayed the same, robotic and almost monotonous as ever "THE DISEASE REACTS MORE TO DIRECT ANIMA, WHICH MEANS THAT IT WILL TRY TO CONSUME ANYTHING VULNERABLE ENOUGH. HOWEVER, CADEN LEFT ME NO CHOICE. SO, IF YOU MAY EXCUSE ME FOR A MOMENT."

Just like that, she disappeared, leaving Gumball baffled and puzzled. He felt angry, more than anything, of her incompetence, of her cowardness. Wasn’t her their guide? Wasn’t she supposed to guide them through this place, instead of just throwing them there, let alone with the dangerous monster that separated them, and even defeated the strongest in the group?

That man… it was the other guide. He was the first one to appear – but wasn’t he sooner? Why didn’t he help them before Darwin was taken? Before that baldy guy and the ladybug girl were taken? Instead, they decided to hide, those cowards-

"Are you okay?" Elizabeth, with her cold breath and dark cloak, turned to him, giving him a hand. The only one left from their group. Something about her ominous gaze, the strange blue on her skin, along with snowflake patterns and cold breath, startled off Gumball, and he quickly dismissed her giving hand.

"Who does she think she is?!" He stuttered, the air stuck in his lungs "To leave us like that in the middle of so much danger, it’s…!" Tears rolled down from his red face. His teeth clenched against each other, as he tried to swallow his cry. His legs trembled, barely standing up from pressure, guilt, fear.

The silence between them was deafening. There was no noise from any battle that could erase it enough. Screams, screeches, collapsing rocks and shattered crystals, none could replace what missed now.

So much was missing, so many pieces of a never-ending puzzle.

Then, some steps echoed through the chamber. "If you want to save your brother" Her hand was solid as ice, sending chills through his entire body. Her voice pierced through his soul, freezing his tears and his heart "You must step up into the darkness."

The Guardians of The Crystal of Etheria

The Darkness.

It was all there was.

Once again, he was too weak to fight.

Too weak to stand up.

To save those he cared about.

To save… them.

…

He drowned in his guilt.

He knew why.

Yet.

Yet…

Something about it all…

It always felt wrong.

It always felt out of place.

Maybe it was him.

Maybe it could be him.

Why so much…

Why…

CRASH!

Genos fell to the ground, awaken by an intense energy running across his body. He felt an increasing heat in his body, the same one that came up when he got ready to fight. However, this one was different. It was suffocating.

Genos could barely turn his head. His arm glowed, but not with the same fire he was used to. The cyborg’s system didn’t respond properly, so his arm didn’t move despite his will. His arms, legs, most of his body, was unresponsive. With great effort, he rose his head, to find the danger ahead of him.

Nothing appeared at first glance. Nothing but the giant crystal puncturing his torso. Sparks came out of the upper part, near the core, along with broken wires and metal pieces fallen everywhere.

Yet, despite everything, he didn’t feel weak. He felt stronger, even. Much stronger.

So much stronger that it overloaded his system.

Genos saw thousands of reflections at once, of people’s lives flash before his eyes. People who were made of light, with otherworldly costumes and different senses. Thousands of love-hearted confessions, of yearning achievements, top and low performances, small talk with strangers, laugh with families, lonely cries, lashing outs, denials, regrets… All beating hearts at once.

***

"GENOS!" Agatha screamed, desperately fighting the clinging Disease consuming her. Her voice was shaking as much as her eyes, her heart pounded twenty times heavier, and her strength left her quicker than ever. Above her, two flashing lights, blue and pink, surrounded a black mass with rainbow eyes.

The Chat Noir

Chat Noir jumped back and forth through columns, fighting the Monster of Decay with a power he never felt before. Swing after swing, he beat the creature’s skin, until he finally got to his eye. The monster shrieked in pain and anger and began a series of attacks faster than the human eye could see.

Chat Noir, however, didn’t need to watch the creature to know when and where he would attack. Somehow, its presence felt clearer now, something that was not only the entire cave, but a thing of its own. Defeating it would solve half of the problems.

CLASH!

The hero held the Monster of Decay back with his staff, and pushed him with a strength beyond his, down to the darkness below. Without a second thought, he jumped into the unknown.

It Wasn’t My Fault, I Swear

Simon watches the monitor silently, staring at the thousands of lines passing faster than any normal human being could see and distinguish.

At least, any other human being that isn’t him.

Standing beside him, pretending I’m staring into something else, as to not invade his personal space, I peek at his face. His eyebrow is furrowed, yet his eyes are wide open. He got the palm of his hand over his mouth. Frick.

"Look, before you say anything, I was looking into it, and I didn’t alter anything, I was just watching-"

"There is nothing wrong with it."

"NO, BUT I- wait, what do you mean?"

Simon keeps staring at the monitor. For a moment, I thought he was angry, but his reaction… I honestly don’t know what he feels about me right now.

"I mean, it’s just following the code that I insered."

Well, now I’m irritated.

"Simon."

"What?" He said with a gruff voice.

"What do you mean there is nothing wrong?! There’s literally hundreds of weird symbols and dislocated lines there…!"

"From the Monster of Decay, yes." He meant as if it was obvious.

"This thing is going to break the game!"

"No, it won’t."

"WHY?"

– Because this is how it’s supposed to work. He’s made of Corruption, after all."

Oh.

Oh.

– OH.

"What now?" Now he’s getting impatient. Incredible.

"Simon, listen to me, listen carefully. When I said the Disease was like some sort of corruption, it didn’t mean it was supposed to corrupt the game. It was supposed to be – listen now-"

"Sarah."

"A FREAKING GAMEPLAY. Oh my god, Simon, you’re UNBELIAVABLE."

"But you said-"

"I DIDN’T SAY SHIT, SIMON."

He stays silent, pretending to be some sort of victim, oh poor guy, he didn’t know what he was doing. Oh, he’s just a sweet man, one WhO dOeSn’T kNoW wHaT hE's DoIn- oh fuck off.

"Can you, I don’t know, fix this? Maybe, delete it?"

He stays silent. Unbelievable.

"Simon."

"It’s part of the gameplay."

You know what? I’m done. I’m going to leave

"Sarah."

And he can deal with whatever the fuck this is. I need some goddam coffee.

I close the door to his face. I enter the elevator. It closes before he can reach me.

I’m dealing with this tomorrow. Not today. Not freaking today.

“Ugh, I didn’t even record the process.”

“Eh, whatever, it’s not like someone’s going to listen to a crap of fanfiction, even if it’s a real experiment.”

“People are just…

“A bunch of ignorant idiots.”

“No one freaking cares about anything.”

"...Not even him."

Guides To The Rescue

They couldn’t do much. Caden didn’t know how to fight, and Jenna knew only some moves, ones which were useless against this type of creature. One touch was all it took to finish them (at least, as far as they knew).

***

Caden was thrown against a wall (luckily one unaffected by the Disease), left disoriented for a while. Jenna kept doing whatever she could, which involved distracting the monster.

So, basically nothing.

Her mind ran a thousand times, trying to figure out a way to get all outsiders (and themselves) to safety. But first, she needed to know their exact location.

There are four of them inside the void, somewhere near impossible for her to go. It was a death sentence for any Elemental… and even them. Two of them are getting closer to it – she needs to stop them before something bad happened-

In the blink of an eye, Jenna was pierced by the Disease.

"NO!" Gumball tries to reach for her, from a tunnel’s entrance trying to recall her name she never told them. Elizabeth stands frozen in place, unable to let out a word.

Jenna teleported away, to a random Guide’s Point that felt safer. She was fortunate enough that the creature attacked her shoulder, so there was a chance for salvation. She held her arm firmly, feeling the Disease quickly spread. She had to be quick, yet the guide couldn’t help but hesitate, knowing what would come next. Without uttering a sound, Jenna pulled her arm, tearing it apart from her body, taking out the infected part and saving herself from being entirely corrupted. Sparkles surrounded the place, fading away at the same moment. The guide tried to pull herself together, but the pain was too unbearable to handle.

***

Meanwhile, Caden barely moved from the shock. His head was spinning, and he couldn’t recall what was even going on. All he saw was his sister playing with his mandolin, accidentally snapping one of the chords.

From below the darkness, a scream echoed through the cave, awakening Caden from his dead faint. He swiftly got out of the crater (it was quite an ugly one, yeesh) and searched for the source.

It came from the void. Hehe, he didn’t need to bother with it then. It was probably some monster down there or-

"HELP!" Oh, that scream was clearly, very clearly from Darwin.

Oh.

Oh no.

Caden looked around for Jenna but couldn’t find her anywhere. Not even the Monster of Decay was there anymore. It probably thought they weren’t worth the effort anymore. Or maybe…

Just maybe…

It found something more valuable than them.

"HM, NOT LIKE I HAVE MUCH OF A CHOICE" Caden said more to himself, trying to stay positive. There was nothing positive about what he was about to do, of course. Nonetheless, he needed to do something, for he was their guide, and it was his responsibility to-

"HEEEELP!!"

Well, he can’t waste anymore time now. Off he goes to the darkness below!

The Chat Noir

He thought the darkness would be a little brighter, though. Not even his night vision was enough to see much into it, so he used the lantern on his staff to show more of the way ahead. Chat Noir searched for the creature, feeling its presence everywhere around him. The hero was not afraid, though. No, he felt braver than before. Stronger, even, for the darkness wouldn’t be able to consume him that easily now!

"Adrien?" A faint, soft voice came from his side.

"DARWIN!" Chat Noir recognized the lost boy, directing his staff’s lantern at him. Darwin appeared to be unharmed, standing on the dark ground without an expression. He must have gone through so much, alone in the dark with these creatures coming out of the ground… huh?

Rainbow eyes glowed in the darkness, growling loudly from all directions. Damnit, he had no choice but to fight in the dark!

"Don’t worry, Darwin, I’ll protect you now-"

Suddenly, Chat Noir felt a sharp pain in his chest.

"Thank you for bringing Prys back," His voice balefully shifted "we’re all very happy."

"W-we?" The hero could barely speak, before letting out a groan, falling to his knees. His breathing was heavy and short, each gasp of air torturing him with agonizing aching.

"We can finally bring back light to these memories. You’ll find true comfort at least, Adrien."

"What do you… m-mean, Darwin?" He turned to the boy, realizing the creatures surrounding him, only him. Darwin was ignored by each one of them, some of which passed by Darwin staring only at him.

Chat Noir only then realized…

"My hand…" He was without his suit. Darwin was with the book, becoming more and more alight as the creature flew in a circle.

At first, he was enclosed by those creatures. Bites and punctures and stabbings went all through his body, yet Adrien didn’t even have the strength to scream.

Then, a beam of light.

We’ll find each other

"ADRIEN!"

The ground was now colorful again, freed from the Disease consuming the Cave of Shimmering Memories. Caden didn’t know if he felt relieved, or wretched. After all, the freedom of all those memories came with a price.

The girl ran to an unconscious body, one with uncanny bright golden eyes, unresponsive to her shaking and her touches. Near them, was the culprit of it all, the Golden Light of Anima, and its host.

Why didn’t he do anything before? Because that creature was sacred, even to the non-believers. He was one, so he knew well.

There was nothing he could do now to repair things. It was done. The void was pristine clean, yet to that someone he had to protect, and guide became the sacrifice of purification. Was it worth it? Logically, it could be.

Not to him, though.

He had failed.

***

"ADRIEN, PLEASE!" Her screams reverberated in all chambers, unable to keep her despair inside any longer. It was too fast. The moment Chat Noir left, she tried to recompose herself, as she knew he couldn’t fight it alone. However, the moment the heroine was ready to leave, her soul pulled her down. She didn’t know why, so she looked down. Something was happening in the darkness, yet the girl knew it was too dangerous to go.

That is, until she heard Adrien’s scream.

Without a second thought, Ladybug ran to his rescue. But she was too late. She was too late.

She was too late.

She was too late.

She was too late.

She was too late.

She-

The Guardian of the Crystal of Etheria

Agatha was free from the Disease, which had vanished when the light beam took over. However, despite it, she didn’t move. Her body was frozen by something else. Her throat was closed, reluctantly letting out only one word, letter by letter.

"G…Ge…n-nos?"

The cyborg stood up, looking at the sky with manic eyes. The crystal impaled him, radiating with an eerie light, one white surrounded by different tones of violet. His limbs moved back and forth in odd ways, as if they tried to relocate in his body individually. More than ever, he looked like a monster rising from the dead.

On top of that, his mouth abnormally opened and closed, as if it tried to say one thousand words without a single one coming out.

His head slowly turned to the sides, yet she couldn’t tell where he was looking at, for his pupils had disappeared amidst the intense gleam from his eyes. Genos smoldered without reaction, as if only his body was ready to fight, but not himself. His head was turned to her, waiting for a reaction. At that moment, Agatha perceived that any response she gave, even if it was just a flinch, could potentially end in a body burned to ashes.

***

Extra: A [-----------] Poem

Flowers blooming

I miss tea

…

Is that all I can think of?

I’m sorry

I’m so sorry

But I can’t remember why

I don’t know how to write poems

I forget so much

Time slips away

A door opens

No one comes through

Was it all just me in the end?

Chapter Text

The Guardian Zombie of The Crystal of Etheria

"YiaaAAAkkiiiii…… moooonnnn STreeeeeeee" Thousands of voices let out at once their memories of another world, desperately trying to free themselves from a prison of metal and crystals, and in their unison, came only a form of gibberish.

Agatha watched as the person who saved her, despite their differences and dislikes of each other, became a dead-alive monster glowing with a giant rock going through his body. His movements were now stiff yet bent, moving by a hundred wills, none belonging to him. His eyes were charged, yet beyond that energy, that deep light of yellow with violet, there was a cry for help.

The body tried to run, but to no avail, for its legs were too broken, barely making it from one step to another. It smoldered entirely with different hues of purple, as an ancient energy tried to escape through a small tube, gradually blowing holes until it inevitably exploded. His hands moved straight and open to all sides, trying to release the energy through his powerful attacks… yet nothing came from under his arms. Nothing but a faint heat released from his palms.

On the bright side, the ground was no longer as obscure as before, instead shimmering with dark blue and violet. No monsters came out of it, no tentacles, nothing but a faint mist surrounding the area. They were now the only living beings in there (if those things were alive). Now Agatha had only one thing to worry about: what to do next.

Better saying, what was the better way to react to this new danger?

Was he still the person she knew? The person who had saved her multiple times, who… was kind of rude? Despite being a jerk, he was still a person – well, not exactly one, but still – and a hero. Their beef didn’t matter now. She had to save him, in any way there was!

Agatha shut her eyes, nearly blinded.

In the blink of an eye, Genos’ largely opened hand launched a light beam to his right side, shattering a giant column in the way. The light was so strong she felt its heat burn her, blurring her vision with giant spots. The blast left a constant buzzing on her ears. Collapsing rubbles and giant rocks raised the dust from the ground, giving her violent coughs and shallow breaths.

She couldn’t even walk, but she couldn’t stay planted in place either. Whatever happened, it would be the worst option. So, Agatha decided to stay. Falling backwards or frontwards was less likely to happen if there wasn’t a misstep, yet her coughing and aches in her ears made it very difficult to stand up. Coughing, tearing up, pain… that was far from her worst day. Whatever happened next, she could probably deal with it. Strangely, Agatha felt optimistic, like positivity came in a wave.

That lasted for some seconds, until she opened her eyes, and saw the crystallized zombie in front of her, staring right into her soul, muttering nonsense like a lunatic.

Like a wave, that feeling faded away.

The Narrator

Then, it is this moment that comes the Deus-Ex Machina. You know, the one to save the heroine at the very last second. It’s probably there, waiting for its chance to appear… right Simon?

"Simon?" I watch the monitor, keeping my head down instead of turning around. The silence is almost deafening, filled only by the sounds of the monitor and our own voces. God, I wish there was something else too, like music – then again, why didn’t I put it before? I could put it now, but – eh, I guess it’s better this way.

"I always wondered…" Oh, here we go with philosophical shit, or whatever he’s pondering about that’s probably about cartoons or bugs, whatever’s stupider.

"Why did you stop narrating the events? It was quite fun to listen-"

"Because it was STUPID. And I’m not in the mood for it." I don’t even want to talk, ugh. All I want is to fuck up even more my eyes staring endlessly at this blue screen, without needing to think much, except when the project needs me to.

"You seemed to like it before." His voice annoys me too much.

"BEFORE. Now I just… don’t want to." He’s probably going to extend further this conversation, trying to be a “good friend”. Because friends always want to know everything about your life and pretend to care when they just want an interesting story to tell.

That’s why he’s not my friend.

"Did something happen?" His honeyed tones make me want to break his bones.

"Hey, before I forget" It feels tiring to move, even laying my head down at the table wastes me. I stretch my arm to reach for a cup of coffee that isn’t there.

"What is it?" Simon’s closer now, I can feel his wicked presence and unpleasantly warm breath on my shoulder.

"Right, I need to know what’s the homework from English class."

"I think she didn’t pass anything. She talked about reading some pages from the book, but-"

"You don’t remember, do you?" Just get to the point, end the talking now.

"…As far as I know, she didn’t."

"Alright then."

There ya go. Blissful silence. Nothing but the computer running and the thousands of lines appearing and disappearing.

Then, together

Ladybug wailed with visceral despair, gasping and choking with memories of whom she had loved the most. She held him tight in her arms with all the strength in her body, to try and keep his soul inside himself, letting fall her own tears through her rosy cheeks to his pale face glowing faintly with a golden light coming out of his eyes.

Caden stood frozen in place and time, unable to cry, to scream, knowing full well it was all his fault. He didn’t have the strength to reach out to them, to comfort, because what there was to do as him? He had failed as a guide. And, despite it all, the smile always stayed.

Steps resonated through the chamber, some slow and sharp paired with others quick and shrill, ones that stopped the moment they arrived at the painful scene.

While Gumball stayed behind, unable to proceed with the reality just ahead of him, Elizabeth drifted into it, staring coldly into what appeared to be a lifeless body of a young boy. Ladybug’s voice had long faded, leaving only glimmering eyes and a small puddle of salty water below his head.

"He’s not dead." Elizabeth stated as she walked past them, disregarding their reactions to search for someone else "Where is my sister?"

'WAIT WAIT WAIT HOLD ON HOLD ON DEAR Q- ELIZABETH!" Cadem ran to her, nearly breathless out of exasperation "YOU CAN NOT JUST LEAVE AFTER SAYING THAT!" The turn of her head, the mere sight of her blue eyes, let out chills in everyone’s spines (except Caden, who hadn’t one). "CAN’T YOU ATLEAST TELL US WHAT TO DO TO HELP THIS POOR BOY?!"

"Someone casted a spell on him" her response was immediate "so you should check with the spell caster about it."

Like a breeze in the wind, she left, no more or less words said.

***

From afar, came a figure with a devious smile. His eyes were as golden as the sun, petrifying Gumball as he recognized who was behind him "Hey Gumball! How you’ve been?"

Before he could react, someone else did "DARWIN!" The guide quickly put himself between the two brothers, standing farther from the possessed one. "YOU SCARED ME THERE PAL! GOOD TO SEE YOU… H-HEY" “Darwin” slowly got closer to them, giving each step with dire intent. Caden tried to back off, but Gumball didn’t move back. Instead, he turned and gave a step forward.

"Get out of my brother’s body." He uttered in a gruff voice, with fists clenched and heavy steps.

"What do you mean?" “Darwin” frowned, holding the book closed with both hands.

"I SAID GET OUT!" Gumball lashed out to him, only to be pulled away by one hand of Ladybug. She walked past him, past Caden, to the boy.

"You… did that?" Her voice was low, with fresh tears falling to the ground.

“Darwin” gave an ominous grin "I can reverse it, if you want."

Ladybug’s eyes opened wide, Caden’s too, except for Gumball, who narrowed his eyes in distrust "Don’t listen to that thing. He’s lying."

Suddenly, “Darwin” sobbed. Tears rolled down from his face, and his grasp tightened. For a moment, a distant memory of childhood came back to Gumball, one between others he tried to put aside "You think I’m a thing, Gumball?"

"STOP USING MY BROTHER!" Now it was Gumball who sobbed in desperation. Memories came back in a distorted voice to him, shaking the cat to his core.

Ladybug turned back to Gumball, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, to find her gaze, one that was desperate for hope. Something about that moment – he hated it more than anything else. A remembrance of a strange, close past, one that shouldn’t be. He stared at Caden, who despite smiling at all times, resonated with her feeling. Once again, felt alone, all because of that cursed cave.

He felt powerless as he watched “Darwin” open the book. His expression, his face, his eyes, they were somewhat blank "Then, promise me one thing."

The Zombie of The Crystal of Etheria

Another blast of light came from behind them, taking “Genos” eyes from Agatha to look at the source. The crystal through him resonated together, in sync with the magical explosions coming near them. Taking new steps towards it, each one heavier with the crushing weight of the giant rock and the scraps of his own skin piercing his legs, the metal man moved his mouth in uncanny ways, his furrowed eyebrows and wrinkled eyes showing an internal fight of control, possessed by the agony of his own will against something else’s.

Agatha could tell those magical attacks with golden light were of no good. Being him or not, she couldn’t let go. After all, all hope wasn’t lost yet, and perhaps he could be brought back from whatever was happening to the man.

"NO!" She reached out to him, holding his arm back "Stop… MOVING!" Her black ballet shoes dragged in the dirt, pulled instead of pulling him. Her own strength was too frail against the unstoppable force walking to its doom. No matter how much she fought, he was closer to rip her arms out of her body than to ever bring him back.

But she wasn’t going to give up.

Not yet.

Elizabeth

One day, she was known for another name. She was supposed to be a queen, to help her kingdom, to honor her parents’ words. To finally reconnect with her sister. Yet fate took everything from her, leaving behind only fear of the thing she swore to control. The only regret she had now was of keeping her ice powers, instead of sacrificing them along with those memories.

The darkness was more familiar to her than those gold relics and the crown could ever be. After all, she used them for only one day. The dark, however, always appeared since her birth – the closed rooms of the castle, the night of her flight, and what followed the incident. She brought those days on her back, a past that always came back for her. No matter the promises, she could never escape it.

However, she could free her sister from it.

Far away, a purple light shone brightly on the distance, getting closer as one more light beam emerged behind her. A near voice kept repeating the same words – “Stop moving! Listen to me!”, her sister’s words echoed through an empty space of columns and rocks.

"An- Agatha!" She faltered, memories of an old self surfacing again. Elizabeth promised herself it would all stay behind, and they could start anew. It was a promise she wasn’t going to fail.

At first, a shriek.

Then – “Sister?”

Complete silence, nothing but the pounds of her own heart.

Elizabeth didn’t waste time "Get away, you’ll get hurt."

"Wait!" The light was blocked, casting a shadow on the ground full of crystals. Were her eyes deceiving her? "He’s… uh… look, I think we can fix him, we just need to-" Agatha muttered something. On her side, there was a statue of a family. No, this didn’t make any sense- "Agatha, get back here!"

"I can’t… leave him… alone!" Agatha appeared to be struggling, but why? Why was the statue there? Why-

In the blink of an eye, there was something in front of her. A figure.

…and Agatha was behind of him.

"I think he can listen to us, but we need to find Caden…" She couldn’t listen anymore. The statue had disappeared. "Sister?"

"Alright, alright" Elizabeth held her head, softening the sudden headache. "Let’s get out of here. I know where the others are."

Extra: A Friend

The door creaked open. Crap. It was supposed to go hushed, she had done it other times, so why didn’t this one work? Just this one time?

It didn’t matter anymore. Her father called out, sitting at the other side of the room, behind a desk full of books and papers and documents, all those things of latest technologies and computer science. He was at his phone, talking to some CEO or whatever. Sooner or later, he was going to talk to her but right now?

Did she ever have a choice, either way?

Her room was next to the office’s door and worked in its own terms. It was probably cursed, since it always gave her away at the worst possible moments. Sarah couldn’t make an excuse now, since she was right next to her father’s room. There wasn’t much do to except walk in.

Behind her, there was a picture of one of her grandparents. People who did great things, who worked hard to achieve their dreams, to build a career, a family, a legacy. They were one of a kind. At least, most of them.

There were always those who stranded afar, who were failures of their own. Not that they never accomplished anything; they just hadn’t gotten the interest to so. They married, had kids, worked simple jobs, became other people. They weren’t hated by anyone – they were just those who decided to follow a different path. Like becoming an artist, for instance.

Right now, Sarah was building herself the same path of her antecessors. The path her parents followed. She worked hard for it too; she studied a lot, was as healthy as she could be, and despite everything, was holding up pretty well.

Still, Sarah was bored. Like something was still missing. There wasn’t much to do about it, except lie to herself that it was fine. She was good at it, too.

The inside of the office was as comfortable as it could be unnerving. Instead of red, the walls were bleak white. The wood tiles on the floor were bland and overdone. The opposite wall was a giant glass window, with yellow curtains big enough to leave the room in complete darkness. Her father had just finished speaking on the phone and told her to come closer.

Sarah obeyed, sitting on the chair in front of the desk.

"So, how’s that project going?" He was relaxed, weirdly enough. He laid on the gamer chair (one of the most comfortable in the area), staring at her with a smile.

"Well, it’s… going, dad." Sarah felt bothered, suffocated even. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have at that moment.

"What’s wrong? You were so excited about it. Did something happen?" Sarah knew her father. He squeezed secrets out of everyone. Like they were lemons full of juice, and he was thirsty for a lemonade. He wouldn’t stop until the lemons were dry, without a tear of juice inside.

"It’s just that" in these moments, she gave away secrets at surface level, maybe give him enough drops. It didn’t need to be all hers "this project is too boring, more than I anticipated. Like, I kind of knew how it was going to be like, but I can’t really watch what they were doing behind soooo many screens and languages and such. At least I can see what they’re doing, like a gameplay, but it’s just a half quarter of what I do, like I also have to see and compare-"

"Honestly that sounds like more fun than you say it is." Her father usually interrupted when the conversation was redundant, or the person behind the desk was boring. "I can only watch lines of code, and nothing more. Games are hard too, and it’s your first time!"

"I just think it’s more than I expected, more… toilsome, like that." They were probably done talking by now.

"Programming is just like that." Her dad got up, and so she did. Sarah stepped back to the door, to get to her room, get dressed, play some games, and maybe – By the way, Sarah.

"Have you seen my pen drive somewhere?"

"The newer one?" She could feel her skin crawling out of her body, wishing to get out.

"Yes, have you used it already?" She could feel his eyes on the back of her neck.

"Yeah, I’ll give it to you." Sweat dropped like a rainstorm through her hair.

"I need it today, to transfer a big project."

"Lots of PDFs?"

"That too."

"I’ll give it to you today." In no time, Sarah had finally entered her bedroom, locking the door behind her. With a big sigh, she looked at her own quantic computer. The one she had told him it was necessary for the project. “We need more simulators, because we don’t know if it will be ready in only some months. Besides, it will probably be too heavy to work on only one”.

It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either.

***

Are you still there?

…

Don’t worry, I can take care of you…

I don’t want it.

…

…

Look, uh, I can, what do you want?

Uh?

Do you want something?

No.

Then what is it?

This, you. It… It bothers me.

I’m… I’m sorry then.

What does it mean then? What… What do I mean?

Just give it some time. You’ll get used to it.

It feels like time stopped, so… no, I don’t think that helps.

…maybe, maybe talking will clear your mind.

I don’t want to talk to you, I already told you, I don’t…

…

You know what? There is nothing for me to do anyway.

So-

What do you want from me?

…

…

I- I don’t know.

You must have a reason to do it. Why?

…I guess I just… I wanted to see what would happen.

Chapter Text

The walls of the cave shook on the presence of a maleficent force. All nature crumbled to its feet, to the creature of the night…

The Monster of Decay.

Chapter Text

“Quiet, crawl to the in-between

Silent, secretive feeling

Of fearsome hatred that reaches the skies

 

You will bring joy to the Nowhere King

When he sees the light leaving your eyes”

Nicole, Megan; The Nowhere King, from Centaurworld

Awaken

Adrien woke up with a gasp. His vision was taken by dazzling lights, unsteady dark figures and after-images, and blurred voices surrounding him on all sides. The earth suffocated his touch, as if it tried to swallow him whole, and his clothes pulled him apart, like a rope tightening around his body. He felt uneasy, dead even, and stitched back alive. In a matter of seconds, he walked to hell and came back.

In front of him, Adrien barely recognized the two figures, one who shone so bright it stinged his eyes. It was a familiar blue, one that blended with the bright, colorful walls, yet contrasted with the dark environment of the cave. The other figure was darker, yet reflected all those lights in a soft manner, almost ethereal way. Both moved standing still, and one of them released little sparkly pieces of themselves, ones most alike with the bright pointy walls, which beauty only endured less than the blink of an eye.

For a moment, Adrien didn’t know what to think. He couldn’t think. His mind was empty as it was woozy, detached from his own body as it watched the dark sky grow infinitely high, into an unknown closed to his own vision, too far for him to ever reach, guarding secrets never told to anyone, secrets that would forever linger too close and too far away from himself, despite one day having reached it with his own bare soul.

Then, he remembered.

At first, he didn’t move. Adrien’s body was frozen as if it was dead, letting not a single breath out. The only sign of hope was his opened eyes, staring intensely beyond Ladybug and Caden, to a tunnel perpendicular to the ground, filled by the now purified crystals and dark blue dirt and rocks. Below him, laid the mark of a powerful spell, a yellow hinted floor.

Then, his lips moved, trying to formulate something to say.

"I can’t… feel my-"

Ladybug hugged him, keeping his head close to her beating heart while holding his chest tightly, taking the air of his unfinished last word. Her eyes once again filled with tears, gladly talking in an indiscernible language, shouting sentences fusing into confusing words. Adrien didn’t say anything, instead he let himself be carried by her, certainly relieved to know she was alright, although it costed him sense of balance (and motion sickness).

Caden, meanwhile, maintained some distance, showing his jollity through celebrating shouts and rapid movements, checking Adrien minutely.

"IT’S UNBELIEVABLE! YOU’RE… YOU’RE ACTUALLY ALIVE AND ALRIGHT!" The guide carefully inspected him without any touches. Watching his face suddenly shift, pounding his head from Ladybug’s shoulder, Caden worried "YOU’RE ALRIGHT, AREN’T YOU?"

"Don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s just some… nausea." Adrien covered his mouth with his right hand, holding back what could turn their reunion into an embarrassing scene.

Ladybug quickly let Adrien go, suddenly red-faced and holding her face with both hands "I-I’m so, so sorry! I’m didn’t know you were sick- although I should know because you just went through a terrible accident, and I should’ve known you would need time to recover because of what happened but I was so happy that I shook you around without even asking if you were…!"

"Alright, the boy is okay, and everyone’s here" Elizabeth cut her short, calmly and sternly speaking and gesturing to all the group "Now we need to devise a plan, and quickly."

"Why? The cave’s purified; we can leave now" Gumball’s voice was shaken, yet fiery at the same time. Adrien turned his head, to where he could see the boy’s face looking down in frustration. Beside him, there was… Darwin, whose grin accentuated his bright, golden eyes.

"There wasn’t just one of them" Elizabeth barely turned her head to him, instead focusing on the open tunnels from which them came from. "The cave is bigger than this section, and that attack couldn’t be enough to defeat those things" Adrien saw her standing firmly straight, appearing more to be a ghost than a woman. Alongside her, there was Agatha and-

"WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?!" Adrien jumped in shock from seeing the cyborg pierced through the stomach by a giant crystal, with a dead expression equal to one of a walking corpse, and deep purple eyes.

"Oh, he’s just a little… fuzzy right now." Agatha tried to shrug it off, perhaps so Adrien wouldn’t feel strong emotions, as he still needed time to recover. She could be right; after all, he barely moved when he felt a strong aching in his entire torso. His limbs were still quite numb, and his heart felt on the verge of explosion.

"Augh, what… happened to me?" Adrien held his stomach, curling in pain.

"You were hit by a powerful spell." Elizabeth walked a little farther from them, concentrating on something else beyond that place.

"Do you want my- uhh, need my- any help?" Ladybug stuttered.

"Don’t worry, m’ lady, I’m fine. I just need… to move a little slower now." Adrien paid no attention to her immediate blushing.

***

He wouldn’t let any of those souls walk off again. They had done enough damage. His hunger consumed more of his being, eating his own body to feed itself. The Light of Anima had erased a good portion of himself, leaving the Monster of Decay broken and fading away.

However, there was still one soul he could feed on.

Although it was hard to digest, it slowly gave way, giving him small parts to eat. Yet too little, those parts were enough, they made him stronger. Now he only needed to share this strength with her, and together they could finally be free from that torment.

The Beast of Decay

Genos started to growl, walking towards the monster in sloppy steps, dragging himself through the weight of the crystal in his chest glowing in an intense purple and hues of violet. His voice let out a mix of a thousand, memories of anguish and torment aligning to the eyes of the beast.

"Don’t you dare…!" Agatha blocked Genos’ path, pushing him back from ceasing himself, almost cutting herself with the sharp giant crystal. For a moment, she saw in his eyes true anger, one as true as the spirit yet so destructive that his body couldn’t handle it to move and fight. As if his power was becoming too much for his body and mind. She let out a sigh – Alright big guy, let me at least do this for you.

Adrien barely held himself still when a sharp pain in his chest echoed through his body "Augh!" But before anyone could help him, Adrien refused "I’m fine, don’t worry about me."

"Stop lying, Adrien" Ladybug reprimanded him "Even if that light brought you back, it clearly left you damaged. You need to stay back and protect yourself."

"But Ladybug, that monster is too strong, even for you! Believe me, I…" Adrien shut his mouth in time, almost revealing himself to be Chat Noir. Not now. He had already told his secret to other people, and he knew it was irresponsible, even if it was truly necessary now. Right now, he had to keep it from her. Ladybug, of all people, could never learn his secret.

At least, for now.

"I saw that monster fighting. It’s not just coming for your miraculous; it wants to-"

"I know, I’ve realized it while fighting it" Ladybug hesitated for a second. She thought about Chat Noir, whether he was fine or not. Those beasts, they were more dangerous than any other sentimonsters they had fought. And if they made her bleed, then… what could they have done to him?

No, she needed to find him as quickly as possible. The last moment she saw him was when he went down while chasing that thing, and last thing she knew, a blast of light took over the cave. When she went down to search for him, she expected the worse. But what she found, at that moment, was worse than any of her worst nightmares: Adrien laying down unconscious… and unresponsive.

Thankfully, Adrien was healed. Now she needed to find Chaton.

Elizabeth could tell something was deeply wrong about the beast’s nature. It was distorted, a corrupted force of nature willing to contaminate and destroy everything within its path. Something in her soul screamed to be set free, and she hid it deeper in the pit of her body, focusing on controlling her emotions as much as possible. Now it was not the time to despair. She had already made too many slips on that world.

The boy took steps back, away from everyone. The noise, the shaking ground, the falling walls, and the broken columns made his spirit tremble. His voice was stuck in his throat, the only moving part was his mouth, gasping and closing. Gumball wanted to go back home as fast as he could, to his home, to his family.

“Darwin” walked towards the monsters.

And from the depths of the cave, you heard a twisted song.

"SO UH, I DON’T THINK THERE WILL BE A TUTORIAL FOR THIS ONE." Despite his ever-staying smile, Caden’s fear was clear as water. He stayed ahead of the group, since he was the guide until the end. He always needed to be ahead of them, even when he really wished on the contrary "THE ONLY ADVICE I HAVE, RIGHT NOW, TO YOU, IS TO BE CAREFUL WHEN CLOSE TO IT-"

He barely finished when Ladybug jumped into the air, swinging her yoyo at the two chimera heads without hesitation.

"I JUST TOLD YOU TO BE CAREFUL!"

Limbo

His mind lingered in oblivion, enveloped by a fabric of soft, delicate silk. It covered his whole body, it laid upon his eyes, covering his mouth and blinding his mind of his senses. It enfolded his being with warmth and cold; fleecy material holding his strength as alight as a feather. Stars twinkled distantly in the endless horizon; there was everything at the touch of a finger, yet so hard to grasp, it was far easier to let go. Such a sweet illusion. Yet he stayed, he stayed and waited, again and again, for those eyes to meet again, and to hear that voice amidst the oblivion. He wouldn’t stay for long. One day, he would leave in a way or another, and she would cry tears of salt and hurt. He would hurt her, again, and again, just like they met on that very path. She would ask him one other day, but he would never answer – he won’t need to.

The Protector

The superheroine reminisced of her first fight. To back, when she was more scared, insecure, and a lot clumsier than now. The first time she transformed, Ladybug felt confused about everything – she could barely manage the yoyo, had suffered a couple of accidents, and failed to capture the akuma, which resulted in a city full of stone people looking for the Miraculouses and causing havocs in Paris. She was a lot more awkward and clumsy, back then.

But now, she had managed everything. She was able to overcome her flaws and defeat every monster as Ladybug. In a way, Ladybug became what Marinette could rarely do; be stronger, smarter, and always save the day. Sometimes, when she couldn’t do something as a civilian, she would do it as a superheroine – she gained the strength and capabilities to do it.

…Although,

Even when she succeeded, when Ladybug made that fist bump with Chat Noir and went home, back to her normal life, she never really left her other life. Sometimes at night, Marinette would often think of close calls they had, of moments where they almost lost everything.

Really everything.

There was a reason she always succeeded. Because if they failed, it would be over. The end. The universe would be rewritten, and she wouldn’t be able to fix it without her miraculous. But then again, there was the other heroes as well. People who helped her when she couldn’t make it alone. Times when they needed to teleport, to travel through time, or even go back in it.

(Ugh, time is quite difficult to understand. It was hard to truly know how it worked)

In the end, most times, she was the one to tie the loose ends. They gave her a push, and she fixed everything in the end. She had to do it. After all, Ladybug was the protector of Paris. She was Ladybug.

Now, she had to find Chaton and a way to beat those monsters.

Not yet. If I transform now, I won’t be able to hide. I won’t be able to disguise myself, and I know, I’m sure that “guide” wants me to detransform. From the moment we met, I felt her eyes on me. I know it was her eyes. Even if this is another world, even if these people are truly from other dimensions, I need to make sure Hawk Moth isn’t involved in any of this. He always is. He always tries to find ways to get our miraculouses. I know, I know he’s involved in this.

And what is this lock surrounding your heart? Have you lost what was truly important to you, Marinette?

***

In mere seconds, the heads and Ladybug were in a fierce battle of switching and defending attacks while the small superheroine moved from one side of the cave to the other, using her yoyo and jumping on pillars, stones, and even running over the creatures’ heads. The two coordinated monsters advanced against Ladybug, almost overwhelming her.

"OH DEAR, OH NO! THIS IS TOO MUCH!" Caden shouted, nearly cracking his voice out of the robotic tone. "NO, THIS WON’T DO!!"

"LADYBUG!" Adrien wanted to run and transform as fast as he could, to help her in the fight. But no matter how he tried to transform, the pain came back and hit him like a truck at once. Whatever that thing had done to him, it left a lot of damage. Even so, he didn’t want to reveal his identity to any more people.

That moment, back against the giant flower, I knew I had no option but to do that. I could’ve thought of something, but… it felt like there was no other way out. Maybe there was, and I didn’t try hard enough. I know Ladybug would’ve thought of something – she always does. And I couldn’t do it, and now I’m hurt and can’t even help her. Even at my strongest, it feels like I’m too distant from my partner. Like no matter how much I try, I can never be at her feet…

"What are you talking about?" Adrien looked ahead of him, to see “Darwin”, with golden eyes and a spiteful grin, staring back with a mocking expression "Can’t you see how foolish that is?"

For a moment, Adrien saw not a kind kid, but a strange creature possessing someone’s body, which taunted others around it… and hurt them too. He couldn’t help but feel an indescribable rage against it.

"You… What did you do to me?"

"Only the necessary" They promptly answered "See how weakened the Disease is? I had to make a sacrifice for this to happen."

That moment, that mere moment, they had the book on their hands. Opened and glowing within the dark.

"All we need now is a one shot, and we’ll be freed from this wasteland."

Adrien couldn’t help it now.

"DON’T YOU DARE DO ANYTHING AGAINST HER!" Adrien ran towards “Darwin” and the book, ready to knock it off his hands.

But before anyone knew, before Adrien could even touch the instrument, standing only one feet apart between them, before anyone else could stop the fight, before Caden separated them, his eyes glimmered within the dark.

Adrien was thrown back by a blast, knocked out by the attack.

"ADRI-" Ladybug, upon realization, had lost her focus. She was hit from behind without having time to dodge, a scream that echoed across the tunnels, following the body tossed across two pillars and stopped by the third. The Monster hurled through two mouths, as the columns shattered and its fractured parts fell to the ground, rising the dust once again and leaving a trail of destruction and infection.

"Look at what you did now. I lost my chance" “Darwin’s” voice was lower, and his smile stayed no more. The book glow diminished, as it closed between “his” hands.

Through all of it, Caden searched for a pink light, one as small and distant as the occasional sparkles from the dark sky. He turned to the group of travelers, falling one by one as the situation escalated. “OH, WHAT AM I DOING? JUST STANDING STILL AND DOING NOTHING, WHILE THE WORLD FALLS APART? FOR MAMI’S SAKE, I’M A GUIDE!”

Caden rose from the ground. "LISTEN UP, EVERYBODY!" The little crowd on the ground paid attention to him at once "THIS WILL BE YOUR FIRST MAJOR BOSS FIGHT, SO LISTEN CAREFULLY TO WHAT I’M GOING TO SAY." He took a breath in, and a breath out. This was still the tutorial, one that had gone off the rails. But they could still do it, him and wherever Jenna was. All he had to do was to explain how turns worked, and how their abilities would work inside the cave, and how by using them in a correct order, they could defeat the monster. After all, that was how guides did their jobs; by helping their travelers.

The Sisters

Elizabeth stared, her gaze remaining dark and secretive, yet too clear to conceal her thoughts. Her cloak stood still like a wall of dark blue and purple, the perfect disguise for the naked eye. Even her skin and hair were too pale to reflect the light, the colors in her eyes hiding beneath the darkness covering the soul. Something so strangely opposite to her sister, who kept shining with a light of hope, one reborn not so long ago.

"Hey, Genos, come back! HEY!" Agatha ran to the cyborg walking in large steps in a zombified manner. She held his arm firmly, pulling back to their stand in front of a column. "Why do you keep running towards that monsters? Can’t you see how badly injured you are?! There’s literally a giant crystal in your chest!"

The cyborg turned his head, looking at Agatha dead in the eye, almost humming a coherent insult in his mouth. Agatha sighed "Well, good to see you’re still there."

She turned to her sister standing silently, a little distant from them. Their reunion had been strange ever since they met at the cave. Her sister remained far from her many times, and there was something in her, something that kept them apart in some way. She reached out for the guarded empty crystal, holding it firmly in her left hand. It only showed lines of confusion, a dirty-white quartz-looking crystal. She waited for a memory to appear, one of her and her sister, where they played in the snow, throwing snowballs and making snowman. A time where their parents told them bedtime stories and sang lullabies, from when they shared the same bedroom before an accident. From when she played in the castle, with the butlers and the servants, jumping on the sofas and eating candies when the maids weren’t looking, and hiding in the closet or below the table to scare anyone unfortunately close enough. Or even a memory from the first man she kissed, or from when she traveled alone in the winter. But why did her parent’s faces look blurry? Why can’t she remember the faces of the servants, of the maids and the butlers? What was the accident, the winter alone, the places she had been, from which she could only remember the cold, the ice and the loneliness? Why didn’t any memories showed up even when she held firmly to the crystal, waiting for anything, for a single face, for a single snowflake to appear?

Yet, all it showed was that show of dark lines and confusion.

There was something Agatha wanted to tell her sister, but what was it again? Something about her, was she really her sister? No, maybe she was thinking about it too much. All the princess could do now was wait, and- hold back the zombie man trying to get away once again.

For a single moment, she forgot what name to call her sister by.

"Elizabeth!" Something about it sounded strange, off, but still, she turned her head. That was her name, her name since birth. A beautiful one, yet odd, she couldn’t put her finger on why.

"Yes?" Agatha noticed the dark circles below her eyes, to an expression almost devoid of life. It was distracting for a little bit, until the question came back in her mind.

"Do you want to drink hot chocolate after all this?"

Her mouth trembled for a split second, and her eyes looked down, before turning to her sister. "It would be a pleasure."

The Brothers

Gumball was quite weak, to say to least. He wasn’t that intelligent too, like Anais, or had any special abilities of some kind besides having a relatively high sense of hearing. It compensated that he was astute, in a way. Not too much, but enough to survive the day to day in Elmore.

Despite this, he usually got in a lot of confusion from time to time. Many people loved him and hated him (Gumball even had his own arch-nemesis!), and he was fairly famous in the city for a lot of reasons, most of them were for the problems he caused. Although, a lot of them started out as mundane things, such as wanting to eat something different, buying a new game or having some beef with someone, which then escalated into national news.

So, Gumball was used to being a trouble. But now, he had a problem bigger than he could handle. Usually, when it came to dealing with a giant threat, he either ran away or dealt with it by force (and he would complain all the way). And when he did deal with it, it was usually with Darwin, sometimes with Anais or someone else he knew. But when he was alone, and had to face it on his own, without running away, well… he tried to forget about it, even though that feeling of helplessness and insecurity came back at night when everybody was sleeping, except for himself. But it was just a few times, and therapist was expensive, so it was easier to ignore. Not that someone else wouldn’t understand what he was going through. Not that he knew it.

But, right now, he would probably never forget the chain of events that lead to that moment. Having to deal with weird strangers from other worlds IN another world, far away from home, with his brother was possessed by something evil but that could defeat the monsters that were even MORE EVIL, and with guides that didn’t know how to guide.

That was the worst day of his life.

"Hey you!" He called to the thing possessing his brother’s body, something he never thought he could hate more than anything else he hates (almost on the same level as Alan). It turned around with that spiteful smile and golden eyes "I’ll promise this one thing; I’ll get you next time. And when I do, I’ll make sure you’ll NEVER get near my brother again."

It frowned a little bit, somewhat mocking him "That’s two things."

The Tutorial

Ladybug struggled to move. She was deep inside a collapsing column, and she only had a couple of seconds to leave before it fell to the ground. Despite this, she kept on fighting, while searching for any sign of Chat Noir. It was hard to grasp onto anything to swing with her yoyo, since they crystals were too slippery, and the walls too flat. There were only a few spots where it could grasp well. If it wasn’t just for that, it would be fairly difficult to defeat the monsters. However, besides them being fast despite their size, the cave was too small for a fight of that scale. She needed more space to fight.

The cave seemed to extend a lot upwards. Ladybug could try going through it, but she would have little to no places to swing, since holding the crystals could lead her yoyo to slip or even break while held. But it was one of the only options left, and she needed to get those things as far away from the group as possible.

As far away from him.

And so, she went. With her yoyo, she used a big crystal pointed upwards as her support. Avoiding the attacks and the Disease spreading once more in other tunnels, she was taken to the giant tunnel above the ground. The air shook against her body for a few moments, she slowly got closer to the wall full of pointy, sharp crystals. Going from down to up, Ladybug let go of her support as she stepped onto one crystal. Her feet slipped, and for a split second, Ladybug’s heart felt down with what could have been herself. Fortunately, she held a crystal with her hands in time, one that was somewhat resistant.

Now came the tricky part.

From one jump to another, she stepped onto another crystal, and then another, using them as stairs while avoiding the weak and fractured ones. The tunnel was large, making it nearly impossible to jump from one opposite side to the other. This situation was bad enough, and she didn’t have any cards up her sleeve.

Well, except for one.

Ladybug didn’t use her Lucky Charm, for a very good reason: it would inevitably reveal her identity to the others, and she would have nowhere to hide, or no way to fight. It was a dangerous world, and she didn’t want to be left without powers.

And that was pretty much it.

Ladybug was going to find a way no matter what, she knew it with all her heart. Yet, when the monsters got closer, charging at incredible speeds at her, her own heart sank again. Something about, it was all wrong. What was she doing wrong?

Why couldn’t she just use the Lucky Charm now?

"LADYBUG!" She heard the shout from her side. Caden floated next to her, gripping onto two crystals on the wall – WHEN I SAY JUMP, YOU JUMP TO THE CENTER OF THE TUNNEL!

"What?!" She could hear the hurls becoming closer.

"YOU NEED TO FALL AT THE RIGHT TIME!" Despite being able to float, Caden held tightly to the crystals, which let out cracking sounds that resonated in their bodies and souls.

"But I-" And then, there was no more time left.

"JUMP!

There was a time where she was the most confident person in the room. What did this result into?

Ladybug jumped right when both heads arrived. Thousands of crystals splattered against it, millions of shards and sparks filled the air in a party of colors and lights. All the music, the sounds and the memories clashed into one, resonating into a beautiful, ethereal melody, but only for a split second. In that moment, Ladybug fell graciously, listening to the voices of remembrances guarded inside the vessels, to the feelings left frozen forever, to forever be remembered by others who could find them. Voices of people from eras, eons ago, from people who had wishful, happy, sad and caring lives, all dreams floating from the sky, into the abyss. That moment glimmered into her soul, showing itself to the melody of memories and dreams and nightmares.

She fell down the tunnel. The air compressed her body, as she rotated many times before finally stabilizing herself in midair to find ground to properly fall onto. Yet, no matter where she looked, all places seemed to have been broken apart, and there was no support for her to swing, no crystal to hold onto, nowhere else to go but down.

She shut her eyes. For a moment, Ladybug fell back onto Paris, where the sky was blue, and the Eiffel Tower stood tall no matter where she went. That moment, she felt the clouds around her body quickly dissipating as she fell not towards the ground, but to another swing to another building, going for one place to the other along with her Chaton, just travelling and enjoying the moment, just to take a bit of time off after the defeat of another akumatized villain. They were planning where to go before her earrings started beeping along with his rings, and they talked about their plans without revealing too much of their identities.

Suddenly, Ladybug felt something clasp onto her. Not skin, but a different texture, one of resistant and soft cloth, like hers. She heard a woosh sound, almost like a sword being drawn out but not quite. A clacking sound followed, as something hit the ground and gave them momentum. His boots were shining with colors, and his claws held her tightly against his chest. For a moment, for a mere moment, she felt safe.

They landed on a steady column. His voice echoed through the chambers, enveloping it with a soft tone – Are you alright, my l- AEUGHHHAH – Their moment was interrupted by his fit of coughs, sounding like he was dying. He probably was, either because of the monster or the blast.

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug tried to assist the hero, falling to his knees, supported by the staff. He held his stomach firmly, feeling the pain slowly spread across his body from there. She held his shoulder, looking into his droopy green catlike eyes, into a smile he tried to keep despite the ache, which turned into another fir of coughs as his head averted her eyes, staring into the ground. "What were you thinking? That creature is too dangerous, even for you, and still-"

"I know, aeugh, and I’m sorry." He chuckled, as if he tried to brush off the situation. His hand still gripped his abdomen. – However, – he slowly rose up, standing barely on his two feet. "I didn’t make the same mistake again." He looked towards the two monsters quickly falling from the tunnel – Because now we’re following the tutorial.

***

Below the columns, two kids stared directly at the Monster of Decay, one of them charging an attack with a palm pointing towards an emerging circle of light, holding a book that shone so brightly against the dark.

"You don’t need to stay, if you want to" “Darwin” calmly stated "I can do this by myself."

"Oh, I know that" Gumball countered "But I have to make sure you won’t hit anyone with that blast of light."

"And how are you so sure you can stop me?" His head slightly tilted, revealing bright golden eyes as unsettling and soulless as the parasite "Because my brother would never hurt me, and I know he would never let you do it, let alone with his body."

"Hm" It was all it could say, now fully charged. A dissipating sound anticipated the launch, and a flashing beam of light travelled across the cave in a millisecond, from the ground to above, and one of the heads could only watch, with a gaping mouth, as its doom arrived.

Then, an explosion, a cry of horror, and the sound of turning and falling dust followed in order. For a moment, the cave was as bright as day. Silence fell between the crystals, the thousands of voices suddenly going silent. The tunnels resonated the sounds, trembling the earth with the power of the light. On the soil above the cave, the animals paralyzed, the trees briefly shook, and the air stopped their wails to hear the order of the Light of Anima. Everything stood still, as the elements found their balance once more inside the Cave of Shimmering Memories. There was no peace yet, but only a silent, violent war to maintain the stagnation once more.

But it was all for only a moment.

In the other, the floor shook more violently than before, as the other head emerged from its hiding to fight once more, taking over ground to attack and consume once more. It traveled the opposite direction of the attack, from the holder of the Book of Anima, to find somewhere else to hide and hibernate.

But it chose the wrong way to go.

"Genos, yo-" He didn’t need any orders to fire the immense amount of energy sealed inside the Crystal of Etheria against the rest of the Monster of Decay. Elizabeth and Agatha held him still, as they were slowly taken back by the utterly amount of force the blast created. Elizabeth could feel her hands getting cold, but she kept on holding – she could hold it for just long enough. Agatha didn’t notice the proximity between the two of them, as she was more focused on using all of her strength to keeping Genos steady. With a painful scream, he finally released the burden of power inside his body. But the beam wasn’t silent, on the far contrary, it too screamed and wailed with thousands of millions of voices of eons and eras residing inside of it. Once again, the Monster of Decay wasn’t fast enough. It was hit and could only bawl as it was dissipated by the light.

The beam, instead of disappearing like the golden light, bounced on the walls of the cave, fragmented by the crystals and spreading out through the thousands of tunnels connecting it. It purified the remaining crystals, finally bringing peace upon the shimmering memories. The scattered group watched the spectacle of colors with awe, sighing as they could finally rest from the battle.

Elizabeth had quickly gotten away once it was over. Genos eyes turned fully black, as he fell behind. Agatha had barely caught him.

Ladybug and Chat Noir watched the spectacle close, amused by the show of colors that followed. For some time, they had forgotten all their worries, as they could enjoy something like that as if it were Paris all over again. However, Ladybug briskly remembered of "Adrien! I need to check if he’s OK-"

"OH, don’t worry! Aaeuugh. We, huh, we rescued him." Chat Noir could feel his suit get soaked with sweat. Besides having to worry about a new scar, he too had to deal with the other identity, and what lie or sugar-coated truth he should tell.

"Oh, thank goodness he’s okay! I don’t know what I would do if he was gone…" Her lovey-dovey manner made him somewhat jealous of himself (what a weird thing to feel… yet it was something Chat Noir was used to).

– Well, uh, I can hear my aaeugh ring beeping, he heeugh. I should get going- He was almost jumping from the column to the unknown (somewhere he could hide) but couldn’t make it.

– Wait Chat! – He frowned with a nervous smile. His body was aching to detransform, but he had to make sure she wasn’t going to follow him. – You could come with us! We have two groups who have joined-

"I’m in another group, you know, a third one, and they reeeeaaaally need me right now, because I got lost! Ha ha, anyway I’ll come back byeeeeee" Chat Noir said with one gasp of air, and finally jumped down.

Ladybug was paralyzed for a few moments. Then, realization hit her like a truck:

"There are more groups?!"

However, before she could process that any longer, Ladybug saw something fall from the sky.

***

Chat Noir finally de-transformed, feeling a weight drop down as the light surpassed his body from head to toe. He sat at once, hidden below the shadow of a broken column, and took a deep breath. He felt drained of power and life, trying to hold it back by pressing his arms against the stomach, as if a hole had formed in there. Yet, when he touched his belly and his chest, Adrien felt the skin intact, with nothing more than a slight burn at the struck area. Sweat ran down his face, soaking his hair and clothes. As dark as that spot was, Adrien could still see the crystals relighted and freed from the Disease, scintillating like stars on the horizon. They were even more colorful now, just like the ground and the rocks, though these where darker still. He stayed for a little while, watching the “sky” of the cave, listening to the memories filled with love, hope, and other thousands of emotions, before he moved on to the area where they would all meet.

It was a long walk. Adrien felt a strange breeze pass right through his heart as if it was exposed, despite having the whole chest covered. It was agonizing, but strangely recomforting, as if he could feel what healing was in real time, slowly pulling together the damaged parts, maybe leaving a scar on the way there. And then, the breeze would never leave.

Just as it had come, it suddenly vanished as well. In front of him, right beside a pillar, on the meeting spot, he could see the entire group surrounding something. Their faces- he couldn’t see them well. Were they worried? He got closer, his heart beating fast once again, slowly hurting more with each step.

That is, until the loud snore.

***

Despite the fall, Genos was still a little conscious, rumbling some things she couldn’t understand well. It was hard to carry a metal body, and it didn’t help that Elizabeth could only hold him by the arm.  She didn’t want to get too close, as her cape was already agitated from the danger they passed through. So, it was not worth trying to touch. He did help a little, by giving some steps and supporting himself, although he almost lost complete balance from time to time.

They were near the group, able to see Caden on the distance, waving at them, when Genos gave in and fell at once. Agatha could barely hold him back, and Elizabeth was too reluctant to try and help. They tried to wake him up, but to no avail.

Agatha didn’t see it, worried more with waking him up and calling for help, but Elizabeth saw something her sister did not. She could clearly see his face, and the closed eyes, closed to rest. He was likely dying, but something had recomforted him, something he saw.

Elizabeth looked ahead to Caden “running” towards them.

Oh.

About Time

Saitama was at the kitchen, cooking a meal of crabs and hard pieces left from a weird snake monster he had defeated not so long ago. The frying of the dish filled the apartment with its aroma and the sizzling of the oil, the cracks and the pops. It jumped to his hand, cooling down in less than a second. He barely felt it, though the habit of whispering the hurt (Ouch!) and flapping the hand stayed.

The futon was still in place, arranged with one warm blanket and a big, soft pillow. The shelves were filled to the brink with mangas and books of all kinds – some of which he hadn’t read yet or didn’t recognize. The sun hit some of the mangas organized on the ground in pillars, almost as tall as the shelves, and one pillar was inside the drawer closest to the floor. The wood scintillated a little, so clean it was almost new again, just like the white walls, so brilliant in reflecting the light that they burned someone’s eye. Saitama was finishing browning the meal, when his stomach rumbled. Perhaps he should go to the bathroom before eating.

However, in his first two steps outside of the kitchen, he realized something was wrong.

Genos hadn’t arrived yet, and he was usually punctual. He stared at the door, closed and noiseless, with no sounds from the outside either. He wanted to check there, but his stomach growled once more. This time, it came with an acute pain.

“Wait, but I need to check-” But the floor extended between his steps, those becoming heavier as he gave each one towards the door. It was still too far away, so many steps ahead. And his stomach rumbled louder, taking him down to the floor. Saitama grinded his teeth, unable to hold back any longer. He needed to go to the bathroom as fast as possible.

With his heart racing and sinking, as his vision curved, Saitama reached for the knob of the bathroom door. His hand clenched with all his strength, and it slowly turned to open. The door barely moved, too heavy even when pushing it with his entire body. One step. Two steps. His head was entirely immersed in the area, his legs refusing to move. When the front door opened.

But nobody called Sensei.

***

At first, Saitama’s vision was completely dark. He could feel his face all messy and dirty with saliva, and his clothes full of dust and small rocks, in and out. The man slowly opened his eyes, to a giant hole above him, one that shone bright with hues of violet and cyan. For a moment, he didn’t think of anything more than the current time, recalling that it was night, and that he probably woke up because of a nightmare. Saitama could sleep a few hours more.

That is, until he remembered where he was.

In what situation he was.

With what people he was.

"HOLY CRAP" His shout startled everyone around him "How long was I asleep?"

"You slept through the ENTIRE FIGHT!" Gumball replied with fury "Seriously, when was the last time you went to bed?"

"We tried to wake you up multiple times" Ladybug added, with a droopy voice as she toyed with something the man couldn’t recognize at first "When we found you, you were snoring so loudly we bet anyone on the tunnels could hear you." Saitama scratched his eyes, trying to see better in the dark. He was fully awake by then, and his eyes now refused to close again "We tried a lot: shaking you, screaming at you, even-"

"Kicking you" Elizabeth said at the back, a little further away from the group. She played with a strange piece of shining gray stone strangely familiar to him. He stared at it for a while, trying to recognize what it was.

Ladybug continued "Yes, but nothing worked! In the end, we just waited until either you woke up, or–" And then, it clicked.

"Is that a scrap of metal?" He could see it glittering in the dark with different lights, like the rest of the floor. On it, there were more pieces of metal, different pieces of engines that, despite not understanding what their purpose was, could deduce who they were for. – Where is Genos?

"Um, well…" Ladybug stuttered a little, and Gumball took the lead "We’re fixing him. Don’t worry, it was a big damage, but it didn’t hurt his brain or something worse."

Saitama looked past them. He gazed at a body of metal sitting far ahead, next to a strange campfire of blue, white and violet. Next to him, a woman angrily scolded him, while Genos complained back, refusing help to fix some part of himself.

Gumball kept on talking, discussing something with the girl, something Saitama didn’t listen anymore. For a moment, everything became blurry, and he could only hear two voices at a distance.

“Really?! After ALL we’ve been through-”

“You don’t understand how any of it works”

“I can LEARN.”

“It would take you years. “

“Then tell me the basics!”

“Just leave me alone.”

“UH?”

He sighed, coming back to his senses "Sorry about the blackout. I got really tired all of a sudden, and I guess I fainted, or something."

Before Ladybug could say anything, he asked "So, when are we leaving?"

"We were waiting for you, so… I guess we can leave now." Gumball answered before the superhero could, again. She frowned, keeping quiet with her lips shut and averting her eyes from them.

Saitama looked for the dead monster. The columns had regained their colors and lights, and even the ground scintillated more than before. Voices echoed from the most colorful and shining places, where agglomerates of crystals stood, sticking to the walls of the cave. Cave of Shimmering Memories, huh?

…No matter how I look at it, it still feels like a fever dream.

…talking about a fever dream-

"MASTER!" The group (including Elizabeth) jumped at Genos sudden apparition. "ARE YOU OKAY? HAVE YOU GOT ANY FEVER? ARE YOU-"

"I’m fine, I’m fine, don’t scream so loudly." Saitama said.

"I’m very sorry, master." Proclaiming with a loud voice, he bowed right in front of him, disregarding the others’ reactions.

"Eh, it’s fine, it’s fine." Genos was the same as ever, it seemed.

"Are you feeling better, mister Genos?" Ladybug asks, and immediately the cyborg loses its energetic manner, changing to a more serious one.

"Yes, the parts Jenna brought me came in handy, to say the least." His white shirt was torn apart, revealing exposed parts of his stomach (if you could call it that), and a hardly covered core. Strangely, the fire that kept it running had a certain hue of violet instead of an all blue like usual.

"Hey Genos." Saitama called out "Why is your fire kind of purple?"

"Oh, this?" Genos was ready to raise his shirt, although it didn’t really matter since it had a hole in the middle anyway. "It’s probably the side effect of using the crystal as fuel."

"The… crystal?"

"Oh, of course, you weren’t there. Actually, you were there, but asleep…" Saitama lowered his gaze, signalizing with his head an affirmative Uh-hum. "Fair enough then, I shall tell you everything that happened since we separated-"

"How about we do this another time?" Genos huffed the moment he heard Agatha’s voice. She let it slide "C’mon, Jenna and Caden finished fixing the giant crystal, so we can get out of here."

"Ugh, finally." Gumball snorted "I can’t stand this place for another second."

"Me too." Ladybug murmured, touching the lobe of her right ear.

***

"HM." Caden stared intensely at the Crystal of Etheria, to its inside and exterior, to the sharp points of each individual crystal. "IT SURE IS A RARITY. I WONDER HOW THE INHABITANTS USED IT."

Jenna didn’t answer, not even with a single nod. She stood against a giant wall, where the supposed opening of the cave would appear. Her arm and shoulder faintly glowed in a different hue than the rest of her body, a little bit clearer.

Caden’s eyes lowered "…WELL, I FOUND IT STRANGE HOW OVERWHELMED THE MONSTERS WERE WITH THAT MAN’S POWER. YOU KNOW, THE ONE FROM YOUR GROUP?" But she didn’t answer still. He could tell what the problem was, but as much as he wanted to, Caden couldn’t admit. At least, not at that moment. He kept on talking "DESPITE USING HIS POWER, THEY DIDN’T PUT IT INTO GOOD USE. OR, AT LEAST, THEY COULDN’T. I MEAN, WHEN YOU STARED REEEEAALY CLOSELY INTO THEM, YOU COULD SEE THEIR COLOR WAS PARTIALLY RESTORED. I MEAN, THE ORANGE, GOLDEN PART, I GUESS. IT WAS HARD TO DIFFER-"

Jenna wasn’t there anymore. He turned his head backwards, to see her talking to the entire group, by herself. Oh, she was really mad at him, wasn’t she? But she was right, and he was entirely, completely, utterly despicable. If only he could’ve apologized at that time… However, that would have to wait.

***

"NOW THAT WE HAVE THE CRYSTAL OF ETHERIA, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO, IS ACTIVATE IT." Jenna struck a dramatic pose, following the procedures of guides, whatever you may call it. The group was now reunited, except for one missing member.

"Why don’t you do it?" Gumball exasperated voice echoed in the chamber louder than hers, turning everyone’s attention to him. Caden was a little far ahead from them, making the preparations. OH BOY, HERE WE GO. He thought to himself. Jenna kept her position, without answering. He continued "I mean, you had the time to find second-rate pieces for the robot, despite there being nothing but crystals and rocks in this cave.

So, you left us here, didn’t you?"

Jenna didn’t refute. She stood straight, keeping the same expression, the same mask she always had. Ladybug realized something was wrong "Gumball, wait-"

Nonetheless, he continued "And here we were, getting our butts beat, and worried that you might’ve gotten badly hurt, or worse. But, well, here you are, as if nothing ever happened."

"Don’t do it, kid" Saitama knew he was going too far. Whatever happened, it wasn’t what he was thinking. But that kid jumped to conclusions quicker than he did pondering the situation, just like some people he knew.

But the boy didn’t listen "I wonder if that thing really attacked you, or if you-"

"Gumball, ENOUGH." Elizabeth said louder and clearer, now standing against him. That should be enough for him to shut his mouth.

What she didn’t know, was that if Gumball wanted to say something, he would say to their faces without shame.

"Faked it." His words were as sharp and painful as he could make them.

…yet.

Jenna didn’t flinch, as if she didn’t even care about them. She didn’t talk back, she didn’t even frown. She just smiled. She always just smiled. Was that the worst part? Or the fact, that no one of them said anything? That between all those people, not a single one agreed with him. They all stared down at him, bothered, annoyed, frowning and pitching mouths, as if he was the problem. Well, it was clear none of them wanted the boy there, and he would rather stay alone than with any of them.

He bumped into one without seeing who it was. He kept his head low, avoiding the staring eyes of those people, hateful and pitiful. He hated them. He hated being in there. He hated everything in that place. In the end, nothing mattered anyway. They had lost.

"Hey guys…" Someone far back on the group yawned, a kid who had just woken up, and held a book with one arm. They walked past Gumball, who didn’t greet them or say anything at all. He didn’t even look at Darwin. "What’s up with him? Did I miss something?"

For a moment, he couldn’t recognize their faces. They appeared to be censored, unlike anything else in the cave. The crystals were clearer and easier to distinguish than where one’s faces started and ended. I probably need to wear glasses Darwin thought.

But that didn’t bother him more than the many voices playing at the same time, that seemed to come from a crowd of people, despite there being only a small group currently inside at the same place. Humph, maybe I need some hearing aids too, to… lower the sounds? That doesn’t really make any sense." 

"He’s a little angry about everything. Just, give him some time." One of them said, and another person left the group, following his brother. The sounds were quite muffed, strangely enough.

"O…kay?" Gumball was mad about something, then. Not unlike him, he was after all a guy who could be annoyed pretty easily, and knowing him, Gumball would either brood over it, or he would let it go.

The problem was it was difficult of his brother to let go of anything.

There wasn’t much Darwin could do, but sigh.

***

"ALRIGHT, WHO’S READY TO OPEN OUR WAY OUT?" No one answered. "I GUESS WE’RE ALL VERY EXCITED TO FINALLY GET OUT, RIGHT?" They all stared back, with part of their faces dark. Were they embarrassed, perhaps? Or it was likely anxiety to get out soon, so much that they couldn’t even properly express it! Which meant they were excited! Now Caden could feel some relief, knowing that he was slowly, but surely mending their relationship, and doing a good job as a guide.

Now, they just needed to put that crystal to work.

"JENNA, MIND DOING THE HONORS!" Caden bowed to her, waiting for her enthusiasm too, knowing they were finally moving one to another bright new step of their lives.

Jenna wanted to scowl, but she could not let her persona fall. She silently groaned instead.

Both the guides raised their hands. They glowed with their Anima, reflecting it on the Crystal of Etheria, a gift from a lost world of countless eons ago. It told of what was once a great friendship between nations, a collaboration to survive and tell stories of grandeur, of wars and of truces. It told the stories of Elementals and the lost Etherian culture whose people became nothing more than distant memories residing only in the Crystal and the Cave of Shimmering Memories. But now, all those memories, they would finally come back to light once again, to remember all the forsaken ones, and bring back those lost voices once again.

And then the wall fell.

"It… worked!" Adrien celebrated "We can finally get out of here!"

"YES, YES WE CAN…" The guides could deal with the repercussions of destroying a sacred sanctuary (for the most radical followers of Marrow) later. For now, Caden should take them to a nearby village to rest, and Jenna could have her breakdown somewhere a little farther and secret from there.

Their jobs did not start well. Oof. Alas, they will have more travels and tutorials to make up for it, so for now, they should take a little break too.

***

Darwin could feel his head tingling with a distant feeling, one resonating far deep within, like a little egg waiting for the right time to hatch. Or was it something to awake? Honestly, he couldn’t tell. Prys (or Jonaraja, or Vera, or Cameron, or Devon, or any other name he might not remember now) had taken a nap inside the book, whose energy had too eased down. In a way, it made him feel more leaned to cry, despite not knowing why.

He looked back. His brother was back ahead, along with someone he now recognized as one of the guys from the other group, with a head that reflected so brightly the light of the mountain it almost burned his eyes. When Gumball noticed Darwin, he stared down, avoiding any eye contact with him. He seemed… hurt.

"Hey!" Someone touched his shoulder. Darwin turned around to see Adrien trying to squat down but failing to do so "Ouch! Sorry, my stomach hurts a little bit, so I’ll just stand up."

He felt sad again. And it increased more when he saw the others, with torn clothes, tired and hurt, while he didn’t almost feel anything wrong. His hands, his shoes, they were all clean, barely dirty and his body didn’t ache at all. It felt somewhat… unfair. Unfair that everyone else was aching, except for him.

"Darwin?" Adrien worried about him (and many other things too)

"I’m fine, I just… need to sleep for a bit." The boy got away, holding the book closer than ever. Adrien, on the other hand, watched him go, and raised his hands to his face.

No ring.

There is something weird in this place. Like there is someone else controlling the strings. Maybe He looked up to the dark sky, devoid of stars and any lights other than the one on the top of the mountain. This place really is the creation of someone evil.

Extra: Learning Process

Are they dumbasses? They could’ve dodged that! Why did they take so long? Are they stupid?

They’re still learning, Sarah.

Well, they should’ve learned it by now…

It takes time, you know how it is.

Yeah, but we’re using a new engine, a new- new AI, you know. They should’ve-

It’s faster, but nonetheless, still based on existing ones. It works similarly to other AIs in the first runs…

Bah, whatever. I just expected them to be more similar to the ones from the series, the movies- the actual characters, you know? Hm, I guess we didn’t filter well enough the database…

The content we got was far too little than what we needed, so yeah, maybe the fan-productions did pollute some of the code.

Ugh, about that. Do you think we’re getting sued?

…no? I mean, the teacher said in class we didn’t need to worry about that, since-

They did try to sue the school… do you think it will get to us?

…no, it won’t. Besides, we’re not actively trying to sell it, we’re just using it for our school project-

What if we ever want to sell it, though?

…do you want to?

I know it’s nothing new, but… we could give it a try, you know? It is an upgraded version of most AIs, so we could give it a shot.

Yeah… maybe.

Chapter Text

Heeeyy there guys! It’s me, your favorite narrator! Missed me? Oh ho, I know you did! [What’s that voice you’re making?] (Hush, I’m talking now) So, a lot of stuff has happened since the first chapter, heh? These characters are really in for an adventure!

So, let’s recap: All characters were teleported into a mysterious world, where they had to learn to survive together, while also being separated from their closest friends (that’s so sad;-;). There are also the guides to help them, but they don’t seem to be so useful… hey, at least they’re trying their best!

First, the characters learned a little bit about this new world (we will have to make instructions about it, or something) [yeah, got it] and then headed out to the strange colorful mountain. There, they headed to their first location: The Forest of Bittersweet Dreams. They found many things: a flower boss, a book, a golden creature that possessed Darwin (Oops!) and acts as his parasite (Oh no!). Luckily, they were able to defeat the corrupted boss!

Then, the two groups finally met at the Cave of Shimmering Memories, where Gumball realized what the creature was doing and got reeeaally angry about it! But THERE IS NO TIME! For a massive monster attacked them, the Monster of Decay (boooo~) and separated the group once again. After many hardships, close confrontations, and conflicting emotions, they were finally able to defeat the massive monster (yoo hoo!)

Now, you may be wondering: what are they doing since they got out of the cave? That’s what we’re going to find out!

***

Genos didn’t know how or why he was alive.

The hole in his chest was too massive, yet barely scratching the core. It had some cracks, but it was stable enough to keep the blue flame alive, regardless. It wasn’t the first time something like that had happened, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. Somehow, the guide had found materials convenient enough to replace parts of his body, and though it wasn’t near enough to fix the body entirely, it was enough to allow the cyborg movement.

The problem was that massive amounts of energy that had flown through his body after the crystal had pierced him. Millions of memories flooded his mind, almost erasing who he was with the voices of all those beings. It had scarred him somewhere, but Genos couldn’t tell where.  Yet, that power, that massive amount of power, it almost destroyed him. The cyborg couldn’t handle such a great power. This bothered him a little, even if that energy wasn’t even near to his master’s strength.

“Frankly speaking, you’re a cyborg, so training your body won’t do. Instead, a change in mindset may lead you to greater strength. So, in other words, it’s not about having raw power or technique. It’s about training your mind.” Could it be that his mind was not yet ready for a great power? After all, he barely managed to keep himself together as he was possessed by such energy. Indeed, he still had a lot of training to do. His master was very wise, as always.

He looked at his master, standing alone in front of the cave’s opening, pondering about very important matters of their situation. He wore casual clothes, having been transported into this world after shopping (98% chance), and despite this his master maintained his composure, facing their new circumstances with caution and patience, without ever seeming to lash out. His head reflected the lights of Elementals with greatness and glory, and for a moment, he could his master’s white cape flowing the wind, impeccable as a token of hope contrasting with his yellow suit his bright red gloves and shoes, creating the image of the ideal hero, one he was… Truly, a man ahead of his time, just like expected of master.

[Lord, he talks too much, and it’s not even that important. Not going to put everything on the report, obviously]

Meanwhile, Saitama couldn’t help but think about something that deeply bothered him, ever since he found himself in the cave. “Why did I even sleep that much?”

All he remembered was a sudden exhaustion that took over him, and from one blink to another the hero realized he had lost an entire battle. Saitama knew that during this time, he had the weirdest dreams, but couldn’t recall what they were about, except for something – or someone – with glasses present in them.

What is worse? Letting all those people get hurt? Missing the chance to fight? “Man, I really have to put my sleeping schedule in place.” Saitama sighed, staring back at the darkness and crystals inside the cave, somewhere that was once filled with two big monsters contaminating everything with their sickness (that’s what they meant by Disease, wasn’t it?). He rested one hand on the waist, below the stained white T-shirt.

Though, I was sure I’ve been sleeping well these past few days…? Saitama suddenly felt a shiver on his back, as if someone was watching him. He turned around, to find Genos gazing at him intensely. It wasn’t… enjoyable, but he didn’t reprehend the cyborg, after all Saitama was used to it. Right ahead of them, there was a small village, from which they could see only some houses and a tiny fence. Looking up, the mountain extended to the star situated on the dark sky without any clouds or other stars. Just a pitch-black void…

Saitama could hear some people talking on his side, a little far off from the path. It was the teenagers, the blue-haired girl, a boy near her age and a princess-looking older girl. The cat one was isolated, same as the fish and the old woman, all of them scattered across the place. The guides were somewhere off, probably discussing something about the tutorial or doing anything else.

Either way, he still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched by something else.

Guides

The tutorial wasn’t over. After all, there were many steps and lessons they had to teach the travelers still about the world. It would be difficult, especially after the first-hand encounter with the Disease, which made matters more difficult and confusing to explain. Caden went through all his notations and books to find how he could fix that mess. “Out of boundaries, out of boundaries – UGH, EVERYTHING IS OUT OF BOUNDARIES!” For a moment, his inner monologue cracked. Calm down, dizz, diminish a little bit, let the golden light cross over. It was what his mom used to say, though he didn’t really know what dizz meant.

Golden light – right, there was also the situation with the book and the boy. He thought this would make Jenna a little happier, since having a tool of golden light in their hands could help their fight against the Disease – that was the objective, after all. But Jenna just got PISSED, inverted and negative, oh she hated it! Why? Because of progression, progression, INVERTED PROGRESSION. This made everything more difficult – how would they explain battles if they could defeat any monster with such ease? Wasn’t it a good thing, though? Oh, he could not get it, but since she was top class in the school of becoming a guide (in which there were only the two of them) he couldn’t complain. He could not say anything, nothing at all! She was right, and he was wrong. He wished to prove her wrong, but BAH! What could he do? He MESSED. EVERYTHING. UP.

Ugh.

But it should be alright. He could fix everything up and put a little bow on the new product. He would make it just perfect, tidy and good, and Jenna would not complain then-

“CADEN, ARE YOU LISTENING?” Jenna’s impatient voice got him by surprise, snapping her fingers right in front of his face. “OH, IT’S NO USE. EVERYTHING’S JUST GOING TO SPLAT.” She turned around, covering her face in despair and anger, yet keeping the same welcoming, devilish smile as always. She took a moment to light up and down, probably thinking of something by the way she covered her smile with the tip of her edges (?) [it’s- it’s fingers, but they’re like, different biology, light stuff, and, you know- they’re not really fingers, at least for them- I mean I’ll shut up now, you seem discomfortable].

Caden wanted to say something but didn’t really know what. Maybe he just wanted to fill the silence.

And so came the most stupid thing he could have ever come up with:

“You seem to be pretty on shape, huh?”

The LOOK she gave him, oh no.

“…what?”

“I MEAN I AHEV TO MAKE AMENDS FOR TRAPPING US INSIDE THAT PLACE BY TAKING YOUR GROUP FOR A STROLL!”

The silence was even worse now.

“I MEAN WE SHOULD – YOU SHOULD – MAYBE TAKE – TAKE A-”

“ALRIGHT, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.” And just like that, she left, leaving behind a trail of embarrassment and disappointment.

OH BOY, WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF. Thought Caden, wishing to hide at the tip of the mountain or the deepest cave, despite the dangers.

…he kind of deserved it.

Ladybug and How to Survive in a Isekai World

“OK, so, to recap.” Ladybug walked around in circles with a handbook and a pen on hand, while the others were sitting down on the grass. “Anima is the soul, which is basically us, and Qualia is the properties inside Anima, being the manifestation of ourselves (but wouldn’t that already be Anima?), and it is unique to all individuals (maybe it is the combination of both that makes us unique). So, our special attributes come from Qualia, which means our powers manifest from our Qualia, but if we use our powers too much, we… break?” Darwin snores, feeling his eyelids being as heavy as stones. Agatha, meanwhile, looked away at times out of boredom. Adrien didn’t seem to be paying much attention too, but for other reasons “So too many Qualia overwhelms (overwhelms?) overwhelms can lead to the collapse of Anima, it can be too intense for the soul to handle (which seems right), which means using too much a power can break us. For Qualia, or the special attributes (the same thing?), there are also paths (wait, aren’t they for Anima?)”

Out of nowhere, Agatha screamed, startling the others “IS THAT A FLYING DRAGON?” Ponting at something white and translucid moving near the peak of the mountain.

“I’m pretty sure that’s a cloud” Adrien stated.

“Maybe it’s a… flying narwhal?” Darwin doubted.

“Guys, you need to pay attention!” Ladybug exclaimed “We need to know these things if we want to survive this new world!”

“Hey, maybe the locals will know!” It was unclear whether Agatha was talking about the explanation or the flying narwhal (or dragon) (or cloud). She followed the sounds of people coming from the village and getting nearer.

“Wait, Agatha!” Ladybug called in vain. “Sigh, we shouldn’t separate so soon. You guys are staying, right?”

“Nah, I already know everything.” Darwin left, holding the book between his arms.

For a moment, it was just Ladybug and Adrien. Just two teenagers, together in a strange world, a little distant from other people. Looking away, then at each other, then smiling awkwardly.

“So, uh…”

“Yeah, I guess it’s just the two of us, right?- I mean, you can leave if you- BUT I’M NOT SAYING YOU SHOULD, I mean, if you want to stay, do you want to stay? I sure do- I MEAN, oh, what a weather, huh?”

“…yeah, haha.”

“Yeah…”

“What a… weather.”

Silence. . .

“HAHA, I sure hope Chat Noir appears!” [Adrien POV: neuron activation]

“OH RIGHT” Adrien coughed middle sentence.

“Adrien are you okay?” She got closer, then backed off herself, then got close again.

“NO NO NO IT’S FINE” Adrien got up in one movement and quickly stepped back “I just need to go to… go to… cough the bathroom.”

“Oh, right, ha ha, alright, alright, you can go if you want to-”

“THANK YOU VERY MUCH” And there he ran as far away as possible from everyone. Ladybug couldn’t help but sigh, holding her red hot cheeks against her equally sweaty hands. Why can’t I talk to him normally?

When all is Lost (The Blue Cat and Solitude)

Gumball sat down alone. No one could tell what he was thinking, what he was feeling at that moment – after all, everyone had worries of their own. Adrien didn’t even notice the cat ears down from the kid’s blue hair, nor even the dirty torn sweater he still wore. All he knew was that Chat Noir needed to appear as soon as possible, to keep appearances (and not worry Ladybug).

The grass was soft, yet sharp. Its tiny leaves had fractal symbols, strangely enough. Of course, nobody had realized that, except for Gumball, who focused solely on the ground, moved with a finger to form a drawing.

A plan to destroy the parasite.

“So, the plan is simple. I get the parasite, I throw him into a cage, and throw him somewhere on the mountain, where he will roll down to the edge and fall off. That way, he won’t be able to possess Darwin anymore. Any questions?”

The strange slimy little green creature with two black dots as eyes and no limbs didn’t see anything, as he was occupied eating away the grass. It only stopped when it noticed Gumball staring at him. Besides it, there was no one else to ask him questions.

“Well, how will I get the cage?” Asked Gumball.

“Well, that’s a good question! With wood, of course!” Answered Gumball.

“But how will I keep it in there? What if it screams loudly again, and gets away?” Asked Gumball.

“That’s a good point. For that, we’ll have to set up a trap.” Said Gumball.

“Right, but how I will convince Darwin of this plan?” Asked Gumball.

“Well, that’s simple. We don’t.” Gumball answered. When Gumball frowned, he reformulated “Look, it’s for his own good! He’s been influenced by that evil thing, so he won’t think straight when we- I try to convince him! Just look at him!” He pointed at Darwin, who was reading a book and laughing when the golden creature mimicked the scenes (or images, but that doesn’t matter) “Darwin doesn’t like reading books, especially those big ones with lots of words!”

“But how will I know he just didn’t start liking books no-”

“Shh…” Gumball hushed Gumball. “We know each other for a very long time, buddy. We both play games in our free time, and read the encyclopedia at school, and in special cases out of it. Believe me, the only things we like to read are comics and people’s comments on Elmore Plus (and even sometimes wiki forums). Darwin is not like that, and we need to save him. One way, or another. Hehe, hehehehe, hahahaha, HAHAHAHAHAHA, HUAHAHAHAHAHAHA” and he continued to laugh hysterically, alone, despite the watching eyes of others.

From a distance, Saitama heard his maniac cackle. Somebody should check up on him.

***

Elizabeth watched from afar as Agatha got closer to the locals, babbling about things like “dragons” or information about the sky, while forming bonds in a way she didn’t even know how to. From one second to another, they were following her back to their location.

She sighed, sitting below a tree filled with strangely shaped fruits, a dark purple in contrast to the deep blue of the leaves and the bright pink of the grass (those colors made her eyes hurt). In a way, that place made her want to vomit at the same time it gave her the most comfort of all the locations she had been.

“Hey.”

Elizabeth jumped upon hearing the voice, so near to her yet undetected, right above her. At first, she couldn’t find it on the tree, despite hearing its movements getting closer. It was only when she turned around that the woman found a little crack in the trunk, where a little red snake appeared. Something about it didn’t feel right, whether it was the raspy voice it had despite its tiny size, or its color, a red so faded it felt more real than everything else, an animal jumping from the drawing made of chaotic colors and disproportional shapes.

“When the red comes from below

Beware the witch that doesn’t glow”

“What?” Her hands reached for the animal instinctively.

“When the time comes, the rainbow flow

The sky falls, the rain will grow” The moment it finished, the snake retreated to the crack, leaving Elizabeth to ponder what it meant that strange poetry. She left, getting away as far away as she could from that tree, without hearing the last sentence of the poetry “Once you know, the ice will show”

***

“Ugh, didn’t I tell you already? Leave me alone.” Gumball could leave it there, after all he had bigger priorities at that point. However, that goofy thumb looking face couldn’t just keep his mouth shut at that point.

“Well, I just came to see if you’re… ok.”

“And why wouldn’t I be?” Says Gumball, scratching the soil (and dragging the grass along with it) with his bare hands.

“Well, either way, remember what I told you.”

“That eggplants aren’t eggs who grow from the ground?”

“Yeah- wait what, NO.”

“That if I work too hard, I’ll get past my 50s before I even achieve the 30s?”

“What?”

“Sometimes, losing my hair can be a sign of strength and not that I’m one step away from-”

“Ok, stop messing with me.”

“You know, you really look like a relative of one of my friends.”

“Wha- Who?”

“His name is Idaho.”

“Oh, ok-ay?”

“He’s a potato.” Gumball said with a devious giant grin. Saitama immediately clenched his fist, pressing his fingers so much at the palm of his hand he could feel the nails entering the skin. Despite wanting to shout at that cat, to insult him back or something worse, the man kept his mouth shut. “What’s wrong? Did I hit a… weak spot?” Said the GODDAMN cat, looking at his FREAKING bald head.

“Now, listen here, you-” through grinding teeth, he was ready to say a thousand insults, to fight that cat without thinking of the consequences. That was, until Agatha called them, alongside some elementals from the village. “Guys, c’mon here, now!”

When he turned back, the cat had already bypassed him, looking back with the same little damned smile. “I try to help, and this is the thanks I get. Next time, I’ll just stay on my lane.”

***

People From a Village

“These guys are from the village, and they’ve agreed to help us!” Agatha said, standing right next to three elementals – red, deep pink, and violet – all with the same big eyes and little mouths.

“Uh, hey-” before Saitama could say anything, the three of them went up to him, too close to his personal space than what he would prefer.

“Are you really humans?”- “What world you come from?”- “Woww, you format is so cuute:3”- “Can I really touch you?” The questions came one after the other.

“HEY HEY HEY HEY, CALM DOWN NOW” Saitama quickly moved away from their clutch, annoyed by their lack of common sense. Seriously, no one just comes to a person and holds them like that!

“Hey, wait a second.” Agatha called out “Your voices are really… human?”

“…that’s how we usually talk.”

“W-well, it’s just that-” Agatha became embarrassed at once by her question.

“HOW ARE YOU DOING, MY FELLOW FRIENDS AND FOES?” Caden’s voice was robotic and loud, with quite a monotonous tone that despite showing no emotion, it also did the opposite. Agatha couldn’t describe it but hearing it right then and understanding his words suddenly felt uncanny. The other Elemental’s voices, on the other hand, appeared more natural, closer to human voices.

“Oh, are you the… guide, is that it?” The red one asked.

“OH, YES GENTLEMEN, THAT’S RIGHT! I’M THE SECOND AND ONE OF THE ONLY GUIDES TO EXIST IN THIS EON-”

“Cool, so you know the directions to HombowTow?” The last word was weirdly pronounced, but it sounded something close to that. It was a somewhat unique name, one that Agatha found hard to replicate.

“Hombow…Town?”

“No, HombowTow.”

“HombowTow?”

“Close.”

Are these guys messing with us? Saitama thought, still quite annoyed by them.

Caden coughed. “WELL, I CAN TELL YOU, BUT – AND I DON’T WANT TO SOUND RUDE, HAHA – BUT MY TOP PRIORITY HERE ARE THE TRAVELERS.”

“Oh, cool!” The pink one answered “So, could you show us?” They suddenly got closer to Caden.

“WELL, HUH HUH, UH, WELL, COOL, I MEAN, LET’SA GO! BUT I WILL BE QUICK” Caden suddenly sounded nervous, and his blue color got darker. Just like that, the guide and the three other elementals disappeared in front of them.

“Uh? Where did they go?” Agatha looked for them.

“I… don’t think we need to know.” He said, have watched the very stretched beams of light crossing each other through their way to somewhere off the village.

Alone

Jenna walked off to an empty place, where she could breathe in some air away from her own and only job. Maybe they were right,

She wasn’t fit anywhere.

But that was too early to think about, so she decided to wander it off in a dance. Shake off the “impurities of the soul”, and let the light take over. In a trance, she did just that.

Liiiiiiighttt Uuuppp…

Liii- OH CRAP

Jenna flinched when a strange shadow passed through the trees, shaking too much from the shock. For a moment, she was petrified, letting the figure get away. When she finally came to her senses, though, the guide decided to not chase it. Whether it was because of the scare, or the surprise, or the danger, she let it get away.

Yet, Jenna couldn’t help but smile. Of course, because it was her job, just like maintaining the same tone of voice and act perfectly according to what a human’s expectations should be.

At least, for the ideal humans she had learnt so much during class.

But still, the shadow could be something of the Disease. Maybe even a monster of Ni-ma, or some sort. Shadows weren’t coming, and they were always deemed as a risk to all Elementals.

Well then, why did she let it run off?

Ohh Mami. She should really find it before something bad happens.