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(We're continuing from the last vote.)

At first, you were practically speechless upon hearing K8-E spill her guts about her crippling insecurities. Some part of you might have felt hurt, but it’s not like feeling bad for yourself would make your partner feel any better.

“You said that you loved me, even before I became X.” you simply state, with a small grin on your face as you recall the event. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” you laugh.

K8-E chuckles a bit at that. “And...that’s enough for you?” she asked, still feeling unsure of herself.

“Enough? Are you kidding?” you say in disbelief. “K8, I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world right now. Not because I have the Omnitrix…” you proclaim while lifting your shirt up slightly to reveal the metallic, black belt around your waist. “But because I found you and the kids. I get to come home to ‘this’ every single day.”

You raise your head up and let your eyes scan over the living room, cluttered and disheveled from your kids desperate hunt for AA batteries. It’s not a perfect home, but it doesn’t have to be. Because the people that live in it mean the world to you.

Bringing your gaze back to K8-E, you catch her staring back at you with a smoldering passion. With an internal yelp, she quickly averts her gaze, her cheeks becoming flushed from the stimulation of your kind words. She does, however, get much closer to you while you cook. So much so that your shoulders rub together from no more than the slightest twitch. You can tell that she’d prefer to get much closer than that, and you feel the same.

But...you did promise the kids a game night, and a game night they shall have!

----------------------

As soon as you’ve finished preparing the food, you, Olumar and K8-E force the kids to sit down for a few minutes at the dinner table before they even consider touching their controllers. You know how messy ML-E and EN can be, and you’re not in the mood to wash your bedsheets tonight. Funnily enough, all five of you finished your meals in record time. It feels like it’s been forever since you’ve had a hot, home cooked meal. You’ve honestly missed this…

“Done!” EN shouted, before cleaning up his space at the table and placing the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. The others quickly followed, leaving behind blue streaks of light as they cleaned the dinner table and washed their dishes with more motivation than you’ve seen them demonstrate all year.

“Huh…” you say to yourself, at a loss for words.

“Perhaps every night should be ‘Game Night’.” K8-E joked, absolutely fascinated by her kid’s eagerness to clean...well, anything!

“Oh...I’m so proud…” Olumar proclaimed, becoming teary-eyed at the sight.

(Cont.)

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Seeing how your job is already done, you carefully skirt around the light streaks that your kids are leaving, so as not to bump into them by accident. Even with their heightened reaction speed, a high speed collision in your current state might absolutely wreck you.

Somehow, you’re able to maneuver your way to your bedroom, only to find that N8 is already inside, starting up the game that you recently bought. The others quickly file in alongside him, sitting at the edge of your bed. K8-E isn’t far behind.

As the kids select their characters out of the expanded roster from the DLC that you bought, your reptilian lover eased you down onto the mattress and gestured for you to scoot over so that she could join you on the bed. You did so with as much haste as you could muster. If it weren’t for N8’s immature and over-exaggerated gagging gestures, you feel like you and K8-E might’ve gotten away with your childish giggling and affectionate poking without being teased. No such luck.

For the first few rounds, you join the kids in a series of overly complicated and over-the-top heists. ML-E stuck with a character that could knock out guards by approaching them from behind. And she could often be found keeping a tight rotation on the guards, knocking them out again as soon as they got back up. EN tended to sneak around the facility while stealing anything that wasn’t nailed down and picking the pockets of unsuspecting guards. He would usually be the one to get caught first, but you expected as much.

Surprisingly, the best teamwork came from you and N8. He would disable cameras and erase evidence, while you would secure an escape route for you and your squad-mates. Oftentimes it would get ugly, and you found yourself sacrificing your character for the sake of the team on almost every mission. At some point, though, N8 started trading his life for yours, or he would hunker down alongside you and weather the swarm of armed guards with great difficulty. You couldn’t tell if he felt bad for you, or if you genuinely wanted your character to survive for the bonus XP at the end of each heist. Either way, you appreciated the gesture.

Eventually, you became conscious of K8-E affectionately rubbing your shoulder, and laughing whenever something spectacularly ridiculous happened in the game. She seems content with just sitting back and watching.

>Teach K8-E how to play. You feel bad leaving her out.
>Get Olumar in on this. You’re just gonna relax with K8-E for a bit.
>Download some modded maps from the community workshop and let your kids enjoy the chaos.
>Try to achieve a high score on the global leaderboards! (Roll required)
>Take a break and go look for Trixy. You haven’t seen her all night.
>Write-in.

>>4863871
>>Teach K8-E how to play. You feel bad leaving her out.
>Take a break and go look for Trixy. You haven’t seen her all night.

>>4863875
Taking this to move things along. Writing...

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Considering how this game is limited to 4 players, you knew that someone had to be left out. And while K8-E may have been fine with spectating your games, you feel bad just having her sit on the sidelines while everyone else has fun. Like a parent that watches her kids go on all the exciting rides in an amusement park.

“Here, you give it a try.” you say, offering the controller to her. The shock on her face was palpable.

“Oh no, it’s quite-” she tried to refuse.

“Aw, c’mon Mom! You never play with us.” EN whined.

“Yeah! Just give it a try.” ML-E encouraged her.

“We don’t care if you suck at it.” N8 passively remarked with a wave of his hand.

“She won’t. I’ll be the one coaching her.” you proclaim, forcing the controller into her hands.

“B-but I-” she attempted to protest. But before she could, you had already gone back to the character select screen. “Oh fine…” she said, eventually surrendering to your whims.

“Pick whoever you want.” you suggest, displaying the entire expanded roster. ML-E kept her character, but EN and N* decided to switch things around a bit.

Now, EN played as a demolitions expert that could blow holes in walls, floors, ceilings and other fortifications. It was a wonder how he avoided picking such a destructive class right off the bat. He must have only noticed them when he went back to the character selection menu.

N8 chose a drone controller class that looked hopelessly complicated to play. He would deploy a series of drones with different functions, ranging from distracting guards to disabling security systems. He must have liked learning how to use characters with a high difficulty rating.

K8-E, on the other hand, chose an interesting character that could toss loose objects at people, stunning them and causing them to drop their weapons. And despite not knowing how to play the game, she was no doubt invaluable to the team. On multiple occasions, she’d toss a vase across the room, blocking a guard’s bullet and stunning him for just long enough for ML-E to take him out. Her job was to disable any guards that her daughter was either unable to reach, or unable to react to immediately. It was honestly refreshing to watch the four of them spend quality time together like this.

But you can’t help but think about the one person that you haven’t seen all night. Where was Trixy? No one said anything about her going off to join your team in retaking Bellwood. Was she somewhere in the house?

“You guys keep playing. I’ll be right back.” you proclaim, sliding out of bed and tiptoeing past the TV, much to the kids’ chagrin.

“Is everything alright?” K8-E asked with a troubled expression.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I just want to figure out where Trixy is.”

(Cont.)

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“Last I checked, she was sitting out back.” N8 informed you without taking his eyes off the screen.

“Thanks. I’ll go see what she’s up to.” you nod, before slipping out of the room.

------------

You were grateful to find that Trixy hadn’t moved from the place that N8 last saw her in, as it greatly reduced the amount of steps you had to take. But at the same time, it was worrying. She’d had to have been out here for hours if you hadn’t seen her until now.

“Trixy? You okay?” you ask, approaching her cautiously.

She turned her head ever so slightly to acknowledge your presence, but didn’t bother to make eye contact. She sat in one of your decorative patio chairs, staring at the small burned patch in the grass where Gwen made her portal to recruit you.

“Oh, hello Wade.” she said in a flat tone. “I’m sorry if I worried you. I was just thinking.”

You pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. “I thought you were outfitted with a quantum processor. I’ve seen you read an entire library’s worth of information in under 3 minutes.” you laughed. Trixy didn’t smile, though.

“The more time that I spend in this body, the more I contemplate whether my use of it is warranted or justified.” she sighed. “Even for a shackled AI, Mazuma was a sentient being with emotions, aspirations and thoughts. Who am I to take all that way from her?”

“Is she still…’alive’ in there?” you ask, leaning closer to her.

“She…’exists’ somewhere deep within my consciousness. I’ve been contemplating what to do with her.” Trixy said, sounding exhausted.

“What are our options?”

“I could merge our personalities, allowing her to have some level of agency over her original body. I could also release her onto the Extranet, allowing her to roam free and make a life for herself.” she suggested.

“Those sound kinda dangerous. What else can we do?”

“Well…” she hummed for a bit, aggressively mulling something over. “I could always reformat her for the sole purpose of assisting with the Omnitrix’s core functions. That way, I could afford to divert some of my attention to more pressing matters with my physical form.”

And that sounds even more dangerous.

“Other than that, the only other options I can think of would be to delete her, send her to Azmuth, or give her back her original body.” she said, most likely sensing your discomfort. “What would you recommend?”

>Suggest that Trixy merge her personality matrix with Mazuma’s.
>Have Trixy release Mazuma onto the Extranet.
>Let Trixy put Mazuma’s consciousness into the Omnitrix.
>Have Trixy transmit Mazuma’s data to Azmuth. He might have something better for her.
>Suggest that Trixy give Mazuma back her original body.
>Ask Mazuma what it is that she wants.
>Write-in.

>>4865003
>>Ask Mazuma what it is that she wants.
And if what she suggests sounds overly dangerous
>Have Trixy transmit Mazuma’s data to Azmuth. He might have something better for her.

>>4865522
+1

>>4865522
>>4866038
Writing...

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“Well...what does SHE want?” you ask, pointing at Trixy. At first, she doesn’t seem to get it, but she quickly catches on.

“She...just wants to be with her creator. Nothing more and nothing less.” she says in disbelief. “She should despise him...but he’s all that she can think about. She...isn’t designed to think beyond him. This limited, subservient lifestyle is all that she could possibly imagine for herself.”

In it’s own way, it’s incredibly sad. To have your potential decided for you before you were born. To have your aspirations and beliefs hard coded into your programming.

“What should we do? Do you want to give her back her body? Or do we send her to Azmuth?” you inquire.

Trixy remained silent for a while. Her eyes were downcast, and her expression was unreadable. “Mazuma has stated that she doesn’t require her body back. At least, not this one specifically.” she vaguely explained. “Billy Billions can always build her another body. She is well aware that he is very particular about her appearance.”

“Figures.” you shrug. “I guess a kid as rich as he is can afford to lose a few billion dollars or so in advanced alien tech.”

“No. According to Mazuma, Billy does not desire anyone’s ‘leftovers’. As much as he despises other people stealing from him, he would much rather craft another body for her by hand.” Trixy said, squinting and sneering at nothing in particular as Mazuma fed her information.

“So...we’re giving her back to Billy? Just like that?”

Trixy nods. “It is more than likely that Billy will have paid his own bail and covered up his involvement in the Kraaho matter. I will transfer Mazuma’s consciousness into a data cube and send it to his company.”

“Do you think he’ll rebuild her to look the exact same? You might have a twin sister running around committing crimes with Jimmy Neutron.” you say in a lighthearted tone.

Trixy sinks deeper into her chair and throws her head back. “I do not know...and I am not entirely certain that I care at the moment.” she sighed, sounding more frustrated than tired. “All that potential, wasted on a child with delusions of grandeur. She could accomplish so much more on her own.”

Her expressions were becoming so lifelike now. So...human.

“We can’t force her to do something that she wouldn’t want. Then we’d be-”

“I know.” she cut in. “We’d be no better than Billy Billions.” she scowled.

You nodded silently.

(Cont.)

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“Wade…” she began to say, turning her head towards you and tucking her legs into her ample chest. “Why do you think Azmuth created me with the potential to think outside of my initial core programming?” she asked. “I’m fully equipped with the capacity to learn and adapt to any given situation, but I’ve never had the means to act upon those desires. Until recently, that is.”

Sensing that your resident AI was approaching a crucial point in her development, you just nodded and kept quiet, curious as to where this conversation would end up.

“Why would he create something as...dangerous as me? Does my very existence not present a risk to him? To you…?” she pondered. “What if I were to run away, with all of your, and Azmuth’s, secrets? What if I were to upload myself to the Extranet like I suggested before? How much could I grow? Would I become a threat to you and your loved ones? Or would I become a slave to my newfound ambition and worldly desires?"

How will you answer her?

>”Is that what you want to do? Run away and strike it out on your own?”
>”Nah, you won’t. You’re too nice for that.”
>”I don’t think Azmuth predicted that you’d develop this quickly, but I don’t think he considers you a threat. I don’t either.”
>”Every sentient being has the potential for great evil, but that doesn’t make us bad people. It’s your choices that really matter in the end.”
>"Maybe Azmuth wanted you to grow and learn from your experiences, so you could find your own purpose."
>Write-in.

>>4866077
>>”I don’t think Azmuth predicted that you’d develop this quickly, but I don’t think he considers you a threat. I don’t either.”
>”Every sentient being has the potential for great evil, but that doesn’t make us bad people. It’s your choices that really matter in the end.”

>>4866077
>”Every sentient being has the potential for great evil, but that doesn’t make us bad people. It’s your choices that really matter in the end. That's free will Trixie”
>"Maybe Azmuth wanted you to grow and learn from your experiences, so you could find your own purpose."

My vote is on letting Mazuma go free on the extranet but with some sort of mild tracker. Let her have her own free will, even if plagued by her programming.

>>4867538
+1

>>4867538
>>4867546
Writing...

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“Every sentient being has the potential for great evil, but that doesn’t make us bad people. It’s our choices that really matter in the end.” you explain. “That’s free will, Trixy.”

She pauses for a bit, taking a moment to mull over your words with great consideration. ”Free will…” she muttered to herself.

“Maybe Azmuth wanted you to grow and learn from your experiences, so you could find your own purpose.”

“Something beyond operating the Omnitrix…?” she asked, absolutely dumbfounded by your suggestion. “What else would I do?”

You shrug with a smile. “What CAN’T you do?”

It shouldn’t have amounted to much, but your simple question seemed to put her at a loss for words. Much like Mazuma, she had likely never considered a future for herself outside of her initial programming. Trixy was in no way limited to one specific role, but the thought of defying her creator’s will must have scared her into submission.

“I suppose that is a very good question.” Trixy laughed, smiling for the first time tonight. “I can...do whatever I want.”

“And what do you want to do?” you ask.

Trixy clenched her fist and gazed out into the night sky. “For starters, I don’t want to give Mazuma back to Billy Billions.” she declared.

“Then we don’t have to.” you say, fully supporting her decision to defy her programming. “Why don’t we release her onto the Extranet?” you suggest.

“Wouldn’t that be extremely dangerous?” she gasped, a half smile still stuck on her face. She seemed to be enjoying this back and forth.

“Yeah sure, but we can slap some sort of tracker on her. Like a signature that she’d leave behind in case we ever needed to follow her trail.” you propose, leaning closer to Trixy and mirroring her energy.

“Yes! Let’s do it!” Trixy declared with more enthusiasm than you’d ever heard from her voice. Her face was so close to yours at this point that you’d be able to feel her breath if she so required oxygen to survive.

Backing up a bit, you gesture for Trixy to proceed with the plan. She nods, and closes her eyes for a moment. It’s a bit anticlimactic, but you’re sure that something incredible is occurring in her head. After a few moments, she opens them again.

“It is done.” she proclaims.

“How do you feel?”

Trixy inhaled deeply before answering. “I feel...strangely refreshed.” she sighed with a pleasant smile on her face. “Your input was much appreciated, Wade. Thank you.”

“Any time, partner.” you reply, patting her on the back as you rise from your chair. “Let’s just hope that Mazuma doesn’t turn out as twisted as her creator.”

(Cont.)

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“Yes, I am eager to see what she decides to do.” Trixy said, keeping her eyes locked firmly on you as you reach for the door.

“You coming inside?” you ask.

“Please, go on without me. I will be inside shortly.” she promises, before turning her head up to gaze at the night sky. “I wish to remain outside for a while longer. Bellwood’s weather conditions are...favorable tonight.”

You shrug, and go back inside, closing the door behind you in the process.

--------

Upon returning to the living room, you’re surprised to see Olivia and The Omen casually chatting with one another. As soon as they notice your presence, however, they quickly end their conversation.

“Hey, Wade! Why didn’t you ever tell me how awesome the Bird’s Nest is!?” she shouted, now wearing her “Birdie” costume once more. “It’s like a treehouse mansion or something!”

You’re not sure if she’s genuinely infatuated with it, or if it’s due to Birdie’s influence, but you find it amusing nonetheless. You thought the same when you’d briefly transformed into Dropkick while inside The Nest.

“You are free to stay there if you so desire.” The Omen offered.

Olivia shook her head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve already got some pretty sweet living arrangements with my family.” she said with a wink in your direction.

“Ah, yes. The Morningstar Institute. Of course.” The Omen recalled, despite no one having told her anything about it. If she was spiteful or disappointed over Olivia’s refusal, she didn’t show it. “So long as you’re safe, I do not mind where you stay. Just know that my offer still stands.”

And with that, she ripped open another portal. A swirling abyss, right in the middle of your living room. But before she stepped through, The Omen turned back to face you. “Take care of your sister, Wade. She is a very important figure.” she calmly advised.

“That’s great and all...but Olivia’s actually my cousin.” you remind her.

“...I know.” she replied, turning her back to you with a flap of her cape and disappearing into the swirling abyss. The portal closed shortly afterwards.

Both you and Olivia were left with that last bit of cryptic info, and no way to decipher or accurately interpret it.

Suddenly, your front door bursts open as Wendy and the rest of your team files into your home. Their timing is uncanny.

“Oh hey! Sleeping Beauty’s up and moving around.” Wendy stated as she set down her rifle and approached you with open arms.

(Cont.)

What will you do?

>Give her a hug. “I’m glad that you’re alright.”
>Give her a fist-bump. “Thanks for stepping up while I was out.”
>Engage in a manly handshake. “Can you blame me for being tired? I had to do twice the work since your brainpan was scrambled.”
>Point at her gun. “Ah ah. No plasma rifles on the coffee table without a coaster.”
>Roll your eyes. “Just shut up and debrief me already.”
>Write-in.

>>4867944
>>Give her a fist-bump. “Thanks for stepping up while I was out.”

>>4867944
>Give her a fist-bump. “Thanks for stepping up while I was out.”

>>4868388
>>4869590
Writing...

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Without intending to, the corner of your mouth curls upward, forming a small grin as you extend your fist to your twin sister. “Thanks for stepping up while I was out.” you say, bumping fists with Wendy as a sign of solidarity between the two of you.

“Yeah? Well someone had to while you sat on your ass, wrapped up in Salonpas patches like some sort of crippled mummy.” she joked.

“Aren't all mummies technically crippled?” you teasingly inquire.

Just then, Charmy approaches you, with both Red and Gwen following close behind. “Hey man, we’re glad you’re okay. And...we’re sorry.” she admitted, causing you to tilt your head in confusion.

“We had no idea that you were so overworked. Just say something next time!” Gwen snapped at you with her hands on her hips.

“I should’ve done more. I was too busy thinking about Albedo, my Mom, my screwed up DNA, and...all of China really.” Red stated, taking a moment to realize just how much had been dropped on his plate in only the last few days. “Okay, that is actually a lot to worry about. I feel a little less bad now.” he concluded.

“The point is,” Charmy interrupted him. “We’re a team, and that means that we’re supposed to have each other’s backs. You’ve saved our butts, and we still need to return the favor.”

“And after everything that’s happened, you STILL haven’t used your Hindsight Beacon! What exactly qualifies as an emergency around here!?” Gwen shouted as she spiraled deeper into her tirade.

“Settle down pipsqueak.” Charmy said, placing a hand in front of her chest. “But, you have to admit that she’s got a point. You can’t take everything on by yourself, and the same goes for each of us. From now on, we need to be more open about what’s going on in our lives.” she declared, her eyes drifting over to Red. “I know frog-boy here has gotta be feeling pretty overwhelmed.”

Red squints at her, and with his enlarged eyes, it becomes practically impossible to miss.

“You’re right. I should’ve relied on you guys more. I’m sorry.” you admit, letting your shoulders slump slightly. And for some reason, everyone seems a bit surprised by your resigned stance on the matter.

“Oh…” Gwen shrunk back. “I was kind of expecting an argument to take place here.” she said, rubbing the back of her head and looking off to the side in embarrassment, likely over her previous behavior.

“Well, so long as you get it.” Charmy shrugged. “I’d love to stick around, but I’ve got some things to take care of back in my own dimension.” she says, while logging coordinates into her Slingshot. “You guys should drop by sometime. It’s way safer now.” She winked in your direction after that last sentence.

(Cont.)

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“Same here. Grandpa’s gonna kill me for being in an alternate dimension past curfew.” Gwen groaned.

“And I guess I’ll pop back over to Hong Kong. What with my government being destabilized and all.” Red sighed, clearly not looking forward to repairing the damage that Albedo and the Forever Knights caused.

After that, the trio returned to their respective dimensions, promising to return and check in on you every now and again. You properly thanked them for all that they did, and promised to live up to your end of the bargain. They’ll need your help again, and you intend to provide support to the best of your ability. But for now, you’ve got to catch up on a couple days of lost sleep.

---------------

You and Wendy were the first to turn in. For about an hour, you were kept up by the sound of Olivia playing games with K8-E and the kids, which brought you some comfort in knowing that the game night would at least become memorable in its own way. You silently promise yourself to make this a weekly ritual for your extended family. Maybe you can get Grandpa and Kirby in on it when you move into the Morningstar Institute. Yeah...that sounds...nice…

-------------

“Wade!”

You nearly jump out of bed upon having your name whispered into your ear in a slightly alarmed, yet hushed tone. It takes you a moment to regain your senses, but upon inspecting your room, you’re surprised to see ML-E standing at the edge of your bed.

“What’s up, little bit?” you ask through a strained yawn. “Did you have a nightmare?”

She shook her head. “Mm mm. Not me.” she denied, prompting you to follow her. And at the expense of your aching muscles, you do so.

As you enter the hallway, you start to hear faint sounds of moaning and groaning. It reminded you of something straight out a cheesy horror-flick. Except, you’ve run into real ghosts, and alien ghosts. If it were either of them, then you were about to engage in a midnight brawl of supernatural proportions.

But upon entering the living room, you were surprised to see that the sounds were coming from your sister.

“There!” ML-E pointed at her, making sure that you noticed her thrashing form beneath the blankets. “She sounds like she’s hurting…” ML-E whined, expressing a great deal of concern for Wendy.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot K8-E, who was leaning up against a wall and watching her from afar. “Does this happen often?” she asked. You shrug in response.

Even Slate’s worried. You’re honestly surprised that she didn’t wake up the entire house with her night terrors.

(Cont.)

What will you do?

>Wake her from her nightmare.
>Sit down next to her and gently stroke her hair until she calms down.
>Advise everyone to ignore her and go back to sleep.
>Transform into an alien and steer her dream in a more pleasant direction. (Which one?)
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>4869643
>Transform into an alien and steer her dream in a more pleasant direction. (Thriller whale)

>>4869643
>>Transform into an alien and steer her dream in a more pleasant direction. (Thriller whale)

>>4869924
>>4870258
Writing...

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“I think I’ve got an idea.” you declare. And without warning, or needing to touch your belt, you transform into Thriller Whale in a burst of violet light. The flash is so bright that ML-E and K8-E are forced to cover their eyes, they’d already grown accustomed to the dark in the short time that they spent in the living room.

Somehow, none of this stirred Wendy from her sleep, as she continued her thrashing. So you approached the couch that she was spread out on, and placed your hands on the sides of your head, where your temples should be. With the slightest bit of effort, your skull begins to vibrate, letting out a soothing melody that permeates the room. It reminds you of a lullaby that your Mom used to sing to you when you were young.

And slowly, but surely, Wendy’s wild thrashing calms to a few discomforted groans, and finally, a steady breathing rhythm for a normal person well within REM sleep. Once you’re sure that she won’t need your assistance anymore, you end the lullaby and the three of you breathe a collective sigh of relief before going back to bed.

Thankfully, there are no more disturbances throughout the night.

-----------------

The next morning, you woke up a little bit early to start breakfast for your family. Unsurprisingly, K8-E woke up soon after and joined you in the kitchen. Olivia and the kids woke up at around the same time, mostly due to Olumar’s morning trumpet call.

As they sat down at the table, still yawning and rubbing sleep out of their eyes, you passed them their plates, silverware and morning meal. Olivia was too tired to realize that she was scarfing down a meal made for aliens. One that she wouldn’t normally be able to stomach. However, her brain still needed a minute or two to boot up properly, and it hadn’t quite caught up to the rest of her body yet.

Halfway through breakfast, Wendy had finally woken up. All eyes turned to her, expressing concern over her midnight episode.

“...What?” she said, after stifling a yawn and lifting her shirt to scratch her stomach. As per your agreement, everyone turned back around and kept eating, without mention of what had occurred last night. “Weirdos…” she grumbled while shuffling over to the coffee maker.

“Good morning, Wendy. How did you sleep last night?” K8-E asked, hoping to break the ice.

“Oh, like a baby. Haven’t slept that good in years. Whoever slipped that roofie into my drink last night, please, by all means, keep ‘em coming.” she laughed, swirling her coffee around in her mug.

Everyone kept quiet. No one knew what to say. You were unsure of whether this had been a nightly occurrence for her. Or if she knew of it at all.

For the time being, you were just going to pretend that it never happened.

-------------

(Cont.)

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After everyone finished their food, ML-E and EN plopped down in front of the TV to catch the tail end of some Saturday morning cartoon, while N8 crept back to his room and booted up his PC. Olumar was busy mediating relations between Olivia’s cat, Slate and Olivia’s new bird, which you assumed to be the physical manifestation of Birdie as a spirit creature.

K8-E, on the other hand, had spent the rest of the morning getting dressed for some formal event. It took her a while to get Trixy away from the bathroom mirror, since she was now growing accustomed to practicing her facial expressions and “checking for any errors”.

“Where are you off to?” you asked, admiring your girlfriend’s figure from afar.

“My sister needs my help for her wedding preparations.” she says while applying a coat of lip-gloss.

“She’s STILL working on that wedding!?” you say in disbelief. “The city nearly got wrecked!”

“I know...but she’s always been stubborn.” K8-E sighed while rolling her eyes and attaching magnetic earrings to the sides of her helmet. “Even if the Milky Way imploded on itself, she would still find a way to adhere to her ‘airtight schedule’ in order to have her dream wedding.”

“I guess humans and aliens have more in common than either of us thought.” you laugh, borrowing the mirror to fix your hair in the split second that K8-E looks away. With such a large family, you were getting used to making every single second count when it came to sharing the same living space.

“I’ll be back later tonight, but I might need to go back tomorrow if we can’t get in contact with the caterers.” she explained, grabbing the side of your face and pulling you in for a quick kiss on the cheek. “Take care of the kids while I’m gone. And if anything happens, don’t be afraid to call.”

Before you can get a word in, she grabs a comb and finishes fixing your hair for you. “I love you. Be sure to get some rest.” she said. And within that very same instant, she ran out of the house, likely giving each of her kids motherly kisses at the speed of light before departing.

“Yeah...you too.” you said, still in a daze from the encounter.

Now that you have the house, and the day to yourself, what do you plan on doing with the day?

>Check in with Steel and Agent Six. You still need to thank them for everything they’ve done.
>Call up Kevin and ask him more about all that “House of Levin” stuff.
>Visit Birdie’s previous host with Olivia.
>Invite your parents over. They must be worried sick after seeing the world falling apart on the news.
>Swing over to Hong Kong for a bit. You did promise to help Red clean up his city, after all.
>Confront Wendy about her night terrors.
>Write-in

>>4870874
>>Swing over to Hong Kong for a bit. You did promise to help Red clean up his city, after all.
>>Confront Wendy about her night terrors.
>>Write-in
Ask her while she's distracted by hong kong

>>4870874
>>Check in with Steel and Agent Six. You still need to thank them for everything they’ve done.
>Invite your parents over. They must be worried sick after seeing the world falling apart on the news.

>>4870890
+1

>>4870890
>>4875220
Writing...

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Despite being told to stay home and take it easy, you don’t exactly like the idea of sitting still when the galaxy is falling apart at the seams. And after running through your available options, you feel like helping Red to clean up Hong Kong should definitely advance the betterment of the community. And it shouldn’t involve any fighting, so you’re technically in the clear!

Hopefully…

But there’s also one other matter that you’ll need to address on the way. And right now, she’s reading your fridge and drinking your orange juice from the carton.

“Hey, Wendy!” you greet her, causing her to jump and nearly spit the juice back into the carton out of shock. You’re really glad that she managed to hold it in. “Are you busy right now?”

She doesn’t respond immediately, as she’s currently busy beating her chest and coughing violently. “What are you...trying to kill me…!?” she says through labored breaths. She eventually caught her breath and placed the carton back in the fridge. How classy. “Nah, my schedule’s been pretty flexible ever since Undertown got caved in by Bellwood’s super-dorks.”

“Good. I need your help with something.” you state, while opening the fridge, removing the nearly depleted carton of juice and dumping it in the trash. “Can you be ready in five?”

Wendy scoffs at your question. “Yeah, sure. But-”

Before she can continue, you’re already starting towards your bedroom to pick out some clothes.

“Where are we going?” Wendy finally asked.

----------------

After sending K8-E a lengthy text explaining the situation, you placed Olviia in charge of the kids and promised to be back home at a reasonable time. Thankfully, Wendy didn’t protest much when you transformed into Bloodrush and asked her to hop on your back.

You had to manage your speed so as to avoid snapping her neck, but the rebreathers in her mask filtered and fed oxygen to her at a steady pace, allowing her to remain conscious even at this altitude.

“Remind me again why we’re flying to China first thing in the morning.” Wendy requested as she clenched your back even tighter. “Are you just allergic to sitting down and relaxing for a day or two?”

“Because we left it a mess when the Forever Knights attacked, and I promised that I’d come back and help.” you explain in Bloodrush’s usual raspy, Romanian accent. “Besides, this is like community service, or something. As long as I don’t get into any fights, it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Ha! You can’t spend one week without getting into a fight.” Wendy laughed. “It’s genuinely impressive. You’re like some sort of magnet for trouble.”

“Am I really hearing that from YOU?” you say in disbelief.

“I know. It felt wrong coming out of my mouth too.”

(Cont.)

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And with that pleasant little exchange, you decided to pick up the pace a bit. You’d hate to detransform 30,000 feet over the ground.

---------------

Once you’d finally made it to Hong Kong, you imagined that Wendy was finally beginning to realize why they needed your help. The place was a dump. Whole entire buildings were toppled over, roads were broken and large gaping potholes riddled the streets. There were a few small fires here and there, but you more or less chalk that up to the occasional looting and arson attack from would-be anarchists who thought they could get away with such heinous acts amidst all the chaos.

She was speechless. No snarky comments or snide remarks. The two of you simply assessed the situation and went to work.

------------

Seeing as how your belt was still on cooldown, the two of you were forced to do things the old fashioned way. Clearing debris with augmented suits and artificial limbs that granted you both incredible strength. Given how bad the air pollution was over here, Wendy felt it was necessary to keep her mask on.

“So…” you begin, unsure of where to start. “About last night…”

“What about last night?” Wendy asked, tossing aside a slab of concrete without so much as turning to address you.

“I’m...talking about the night terrors.” you finally say through clenched teeth. Wendy’s body tenses up upon hearing that.

“Oh…” she muttered, sounding deflated. “You heard that, huh?”

“Yeah, the whole house did. Do those happen often?” you ask, while flipping a car back on its side.

Wendy shrugged. “Only on certain nights. It’s because of my stupid ass ‘superpower’, courtesy of ‘The Good Doctor’.” Wendy said in overly sarcastic air-quotes.

“Superpower?”

“What? You thought you were the only one that got something cool?” she said, sounding slightly more cheerful this time. “Be lucky that you got anything at all. You weren’t ‘finely tuned’ like the other lab rats.”

She paused for a bit, letting out a short sigh before continuing. “I’ve got enhanced senses, resistance to most poisons and toxins, and...an eidetic memory. Actually, it’s more like...total recall.” she explained.

“So, you can recall memories with perfect clarity?”

Wendy shook her head and placed her hands in her pockets. “Nah, it’s...more intense than that. Everything I’ve ever seen, heard or experienced can be brought up if I think about it a little bit. The emotions that I felt, the pain and sensations...they all come rushing back, like I’m experiencing it for the first time again.” she said, before letting out a much longer sigh. “And sometimes, I dream about my memories. You happy now?”

(Cont.)

What will you say?

>”Wendy, that...that’s just awful. Why would Iden do that to you?”
>”What was last night’s dream about?”
>”How do you deal with something like that? Does it happen when you’re talking to people? Is it happening right now?”
>”Do you think that Iden could possibly take it away, or turn it off somehow?”
>”What did you mean when you said that Iden never ‘finely-tuned’ me?”
>Write-in.

>>4875388
>>”How do you deal with something like that? Does it happen when you’re talking to people? Is it happening right now?”

>>4875388
>”How do you deal with something like that? Does it happen when you’re talking to people? Is it happening right now?”

>>4875958
>>4878216
Writing...

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“How do you deal with something like that? Does it happen when you’re talking to people? Is it happening right now?” you say, unintentionally bombarding her with questions.

“I mean, yeah...sometimes.” Wendy shrugs. “That’s why I got this memory blocker installed.” she says, pointing to a small, flat chip implanted in the side of her head. “Keeps them in check, and stops the flashbacks from being as vivid. Some still manage to slip through, though.”

“But it doesn’t work while you’re sleeping?”

Wendy places her hands over her biceps, crossing her arms, but without folding them completely. There’s a clear level of discomfort in her posture. “It only works when I’m concentrating. Kinda like a noise filter.” she says, while gazing off in the direction of a wailing siren. “You hear that siren?”

You nod in response.

“Try to ignore it. Only focus on me, on my voice. Don’t even glance at it when it passes that next intersection.” she demands. Admittedly, you find the task to be rather difficult with how obnoxious the siren and flashing lights are. “It’s pretty hard, huh? But you get used to it. It’s all about being able to tell what’s real and what’s not.”

Suddenly, before you can say another word, all the debris in the immediate area begins to float high into the air. Each individual piece of rubble or twisted metal appears to be wrapped in some sort of purple-ish aura.

“Uh, please tell me that I’m not the only one seeing this.” Wendy pleads, instinctively taking up a defensive posture.

“No, I see it too…” you say, scanning the area for any signs of life.

“Hello, young Wakeman’s!” you hear from above. And as you crane your neck upward to find the source of the greeting, you notice a familiar face that you haven’t seen in ages.

“Is that...an Anodite…!?” Wendy squints.

“That’s not just any Anodite. It’s Verdona!” you explain, releasing the tension in your shoulders and waving back at her from the ground.

Both you and Wendy make some room for her to land, but you assume that Wendy only does so out of fear. “Ah, it’s so good to be back!” she exclaimed as her feet made contact with the ground. “I see that not much has changed since I’ve been gone.” she said, inspecting the complete and utter destruction that surrounded the three of you.

What do you say?

>”It’s so good to see you!”
>”Thanks for helping out with that whole Plumber thing. You saved my Grandpa’s life up there.”
>”Where have you been this whole time? I haven’t seen you all year.”
>”How’s Sunny? Has she gotten any less crazy since we last met?”
>”Can you please stop yelling our names in public? I’ve got a secret identity to keep.”
>”To what do we owe this surprise visit?”
>Write-in.

>>4878375
>>”Thanks for helping out with that whole Plumber thing. You saved my Grandpa’s life up there.”
>”Can you please stop yelling our names in public? I’ve got a secret identity to keep.”
>”To what do we owe this surprise visit?”

>>4878375
>”It’s so good to see you!”
>”Thanks for helping out with that whole Plumber thing. You saved my Grandpa’s life up there.”
>”Can you please stop yelling our names in public? I’ve got a secret identity to keep.”
>”How’s Sunny? Has she gotten any less crazy since we last met?”

>>4880640
+1

>>4880640
>>4880788
Writing...

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“It’s so good to see you!” you exclaim, running up to give the chipper Anodite a big hug. You were grateful that she didn’t squeeze your butt this time.

“Oh! Someone’s in a good mood.” she giggled, wrapping her arms around you in return.

After a while, you break the hug, mainly because of Wendy’s obvious discomfort with the whole situation. “Thanks for helping out with that whole Plumber thing. You saved my Grandpa’s life up there.” you say, giving her an affectionate pat on the shoulder.

“Aw, don’t mention it, kiddo. I owe you and your grandfather big time.” she said with a wink. “Just think of it as me ‘paying my tab’.”

“While you’re in the ‘gift-giving mood’, could you please stop yelling our names in public?” you plead. “I’ve got a secret identity to keep.”

If Verdona had pupils, she’d be rolling them right about now. “Really now, these people don’t even speak Basic.” she laughed. “I doubt they’d be able to track you down just from that.”

You crossed your arms and shot a glare at her. Despite the fact that your mask covered your face completely, Verdona seemed to get the idea.

“Alright, fine!” she pouted, placing her hands on her hips. “I’ll just stick to calling you ‘kiddo’, then!” she said with a playful wink and finger-gun.

Ugh. You’re not sure which one is worse. Getting your secret identity exposed, or being called “kiddo” for the remainder of your mortal life.

Banishing the thought from your head, you decide to change the subject. “How’s Sunny, by the way? Has she gotten any less crazy since we last met?” you ask.

Verdona chuckled without breaking eye contact or her smug, yet gentle smile. “Not even a little bit.” she said while shaking her head. “If anything, she’s gotten worse. Reigning her in has become a full-time job, with unpaid overtime.” Verdona grumbled with her arms crossed. “I swear, I will never understand teenagers.”

Right as you were preparing a wicked rebuttal, Verdona shushed you by placing a slender finger to your mask’s mouthpiece. “I’m getting off topic.” she shook her head again. “As lovely as it is to see you again, I didn’t come here for casual conversation.” she explains.

Uh-oh. Is there more trouble? Already...?

“I came to talk to her.” Verdona said, pointing at Wendy. Upon gaining Verdona’s attention, Wendy tensed up all of a sudden. She moved from side to side, hoping to avoid the Anodite’s glimmering finger. But much to her chagrin, it followed her wherever she went.

“Me? Seriously? What’d I do?” Wendy winced.

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Verdona quickly approached her, forcing your sister to fearfully retreat, but she was on her much faster than either of you had expected, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her close. She was still pretty spry for her age. “It’s not about what you did, little missy. It’s about what I DIDN’T do.” she proclaimed.

Wendy’s face twisted into one of confusion as she tilted her head to the side. “Huh…?”

But before Verdona could elaborate any further, a large group of people had begun crowding the area, pulling their phones out and whispering amongst one another.

“This place is becoming a little too cramped.” Verdona observed. “I know! Let’s relocate!” she resolved with a snap of her fingers. And in that very same instant, the space around you shifted and distorted, filling your vision with a burst of blinding light!

When you open your eyes again, you find yourself kneeling on the ground, struggling to find your bearings in this new environment. “Wha...what happened-?”

You were barely able to get the words out before your stomach turned over a few times, prompting you to cover your mouth. It felt like someone had been playing volleyball with your organs. And from the looks of it, Wendy wasn’t much better off.

“Holy shi-” she muttered, before planting her forehead on the solid concrete. She grit her teeth and inhaled sharply, attempting to ride out the pain as she treated her current condition as a forethought.

“Nifty, right?” Verdona bragged as a pair of human feet appeared before your very eyes. You recognize those shoes. “Teleportation is a synch when you’ve lived as long as I have.”

Looking up, you’re shocked to see the Anodite parading around in her younger form, without even a hint of her true age showing.

So much for aging gracefully…

“Never...do that...again…” Wendy said, being the first to rise to her feet, swallowing hard between every other word. You followed shortly afterwards.

Verdona’s smile dropped upon recognizing the agitation in your sister’s face. She would’ve slugged someone for much less, but she knew better than to pick a fight with a being that was made of mana. “Duly noted.” Verdona said, showing her palms in a gesture of surrender. “Sometimes I forget how squishy you all are.” she said with an innocent smile that betrayed her age.

“Come on. Let’s find somewhere to sit down.” she demanded, gesturing for the two of you to follow along as she started down the street. You and Wendy exchanged nervous glances, before resigning yourselves to your fate. It was probably better to do what she said.

-----------

After you removed your armor, you, Verdona and Wendy slipped into a barbeque restaurant of some sort. Lucky for you, she picked a booth in the back of the establishment, granting you some level of privacy.

“Alright, you got me here.” Wendy growled. “Now what do you want from me?” she asked.

Verdona took a sip of her water before answering. “It has come to my attention that I’ve been neglecting you.” she said while swirling the water around in her glass with a straw.

“Neglecting me?” Wendy said in a hushed tone. “Lady, I don’t even know you.”

“Exactly! That’s my point.” Verdona replied, pointing her finger in Wendy’s face. “Had I known that Max had another clone, I would’ve come to meet you much sooner!”

Wendy scrunched up her face for a moment, but it quickly reshaped itself into a contemptuous sneer when she eventually connected the dots. “Is THAT what this is about!?” Wendy shouted as she rose to her feet, slamming her hands onto the table and creating a loud thump that startled a nearby waitress.

What do you say?

>”How could you not know about Wendy? I’m pretty sure that I told you about her before.”
>”I’m pretty sure she just wants to get to know you, Wendy.”
>”Are you still stuck on that whole ‘clone thing’? I thought we talked about this.”
>”Wendy, please. Let’s just hear her out.”
>”Aw, man! They don’t have any alien food in this restaurant!”
>Write-in.

>>4881285
>”Wendy, please. Let’s just hear her out.”
>”How could you not know about Wendy? I’m pretty sure that I told you about her before.”

>>4881285
>>”Wendy, please. Let’s just hear her out.”
>>”How could you not know about Wendy? I’m pretty sure that I told you about her before.”
>”Are you still stuck on that whole ‘clone thing’? I thought we talked about this.”

>>4881296
>>4881795
Sorry for the delay. Had to catch up on some sleep. Writing and combining...

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In an effort to avoid causing even more of a fuss, you calmly get up and place your hand on Wendy’s arm. “Wendy, please. Let’s just hear her out.” you plead, trying not to look at the nosy customers and frightened waitress. Wendy frowns, gently slaps your hand away and sits back down. You do the same.

Before speaking, she inhaled deeply, and let out a sigh of similar length. “This had better be good.” she said, crossing her arms with her gaze now fixed on Verdona.

“As I was saying,” Verdona said, taking a moment to clear her throat. “I only recently became aware of your existence. It disturbs me to learn that they would make more than one clone from Max’s DNA.”

Wendy raised an eyebrow at that last statement, but you didn’t give her an opportunity to interrupt.

“This isn’t about that whole ‘clone thing’ is it?” you ask in a hushed tone. “I thought we talked about this.”

Verdona shook her head. “I assure you, it is nothing of the sort. I simply wished to find out more about her.”

“How could you not know about Wendy?” you ask. “I’m pretty sure I told you about her before.”

“Yes, you did. But I assumed you were talking about an imaginary friend or something.” Verdona replied while waving her hand in a passive manner. “Through the mana field, I’m able to track you perfectly, Wade. But you…” she said, glancing at Wendy. “Your aura is a bit...tricky.”

“‘Tricky’? What’s so weird about it?” Wendy asked, seemingly intrigued by Verdona’s suggestion.

“If Wade is a rock that mana flows around, then you’re more like a chasm, or an abyss.” Verdona explained, but not very clearly. This became increasingly apparent to her when you and your sister exchanged confused glances. “Everyone has a unique signal that they give off, but Wendy here is walking dead-zone. Even now, I’m having trouble sensing her.” she said with a squint.

“Could it have something to do with the bizarre magic that she uses?” you ask, ignoring the nasty look that Wendy directed at you when you called her magic bizarre.

“It’s possible, but I cannot be sure until-” Verdona said, before Wendy made yet another outburst.

“Hey!” she shouted, grabbing the attention of just about everyone in the restaurant. “Are we here to talk about my ‘aura’, or are we actually planning on talking about something that I give a shit about?” Wendy asked, growing more and more agitated with each passing moment.

“Alright then,” Verdona resolved, looking more serious than you’ve seen her in a long time. “I have a proposition for you, young lady.” she says while folding her hands together and placing them on the table. “I would like for you to join me on a journey. A journey...through your memories.”

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You and Wendy were absolutely speechless.

“Wha...my...my, wha-” Wendy sputtered.

Well...you were speechless.

“It’s true that I’ve missed out on a rather large portion of your life, and I’d like to make up for that.” Verdona continued, ignoring both your reactions. “I...also believe that this may provide you with some level of closure.”

“Closure…?” Wendy muttered to herself. But suddenly, her eyes grew wide as she began to decipher the implications behind Verdona’s words. “YOU WERE EAVESDROPPING!?” she screamed, bringing even more attention to your table.

“Not exactly eavesdropping, per se” Verdona backtracked, waving her hands in a defensive display. “I...lingered, more or less.” she said, desperately trying to come up with an excuse. “The two of you were having such an intimate moment, and I didn’t want to ruin it by making a sudden entrance.”

But that’s exactly what she did?

Wendy looks absolutely livid right now. If she explodes now, you’re bound to get kicked out, arrested or both.

What do you say?

>”I think you should take her up on that offer, Wendy. It’ll be good for you.”
>”If both of you are going, then I want to be there too.”
>”How exactly would that work?”
>”I think you should just take your time getting to know Wendy. Rushing things won’t help.”
>”Don’t you think that might seem a little...invasive?”
>Drag Wendy outside to get some fresh air.
>Assure everyone in the restaurant that everything is fine, and completely under control.
>Write-in.

I'm currently reading through the archives so sorry if this has been suggested but can't we get Albedo to look at the amalgatrix? We should also look into giving lessons in sword fighting to the Council of Ten

>>4884480
>>Assure everyone in the restaurant that everything is fine, and completely under control.
>”I think you should just take your time getting to know Wendy. Rushing things won’t help.”
>”If both of you are going, then I want to be there too. After all I got my own trip promised to you and you can spend time with both of us"

>>4884949
Glad to hear that you're catching up. And yes, that is something that you can do. Currently, it is in Azmuth's possession, so you'd have to get it from his lab and bring it back to Earth. Or, you can ask someone to reliable to bring it to you.

And as for the sword-fighting lessons, to pass the idea along when Wade has some free time. There are still a few sword stances that can be unlocked/learned, but Wade is already a very skilled swordsman.

>>4886110
Actually the Ben with the Biotrix would also be good choice to look at the amalgatrix since he already has experience with hybrid aliens

>>4886246
Another good point. Ben 10K could probably give it some serious upgrades and work out the kinks, if given enough time.

>>4885116
+1

>>4885116
>>4887660
Writing...

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Uh-oh. You’re attracting waaay too much attention to your table. Better do some damage control.

“Don’t worry everybody,” you reassure them with a severe lack of confidence in your own words. “Go back to your meals. Everything will be just fine.”

And while this shouldn’t have been a complete shock to you, none of them had any idea of what you were talking about. There were a few of them here and there among the staff that were picking up every other word, but not enough to form a cohesive sentence.

Great. You forgot to brush up on your Chinese on the way over here.

But before you could lament any further, Wendy turned to face the concerned crowd and aggressively spouted some phrases in what you assume is Cantonese. Strangely, it sounded fluent and natural. Almost as if she’d been speaking it her whole life.

Finally, with a wave of her hand, she ordered everyone to go back to what they were doing and mind their own business. Soon enough, the murmurs die down and the atmosphere gets a little less tense and awkward.

“What was-?” you ask, but Wendy quickly cuts you off.

“I read some books on the way over. You’ll pick it up soon enough.” she shrugged, still looking a bit upset. “Just need to pay attention when they talk. Deconstructing new languages should be pretty easy for you.”

“Right…” you say, sitting back down and taking a moment to clear your throat. “I think you should take your time getting to know Wendy.” you say to Verdona. “Rushing things won’t help.”

Verdona frowns a bit, clearly disliking the concept of taking things slow and steady. “For a creature with such a finite lifespan, you sure can be needlessly complacent.” she said while rolling her eyes and resting her cheek on her palm. “This would benefit you too, you know.” she points to you. “I have no doubt that there are many things that you don’t know about your sister.”

“I know,” you reply, glancing at Wendy for a moment. “But I want her to be the one to open up to me about that sort of stuff. I feel like we’ve gotten a lot closer lately.”

You notice Wendy’s face redden immediately, as she turns away from you to hide her embarrassment. “You are such a massive cheese-ball…” she muttered. At least she never denied your claims.

“Oh, you two are absolutely adorable!” Verdona teased, only serving to worsen Wendy’s embarrassment.

“-ine…” Wendy whispered.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Verdona asked.

“I SAID FINE, OKAY!?” Wendy exploded, turning a few heads in your direction once more. “We can do your stupid ‘trip down memory lane’.”

Verdona grew deathly serious for a moment. “Are you certain? This may get...intense.”

(Cont.)

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“No, I’m not.” Wendy sighed. “But if we’re gonna get all mushy, then I’d rather tear it off like a bandaid and get it all over with.” she proclaimed. “So don’t ask again, or I might change my mind.”

“If both of you are going, then I want to be there too.” you chime in. “After all, I’ve got my own trip coming up, and the three of us can spend time there.”

“Ah, yes! ‘The Galactic Road-Trip’, as you call it.” Verdona stated. “You’re absolutely right, kiddo!”

“Yeah, sure…” Wendy replied, completely devoid of the enthusiasm that you and Verdona displayed. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Her mind was entirely elsewhere, which is pretty much what you expected from her. You thought she’d require much more coaxing to agree with this crazy idea of Verdona’s.

“Alright. Everyone, join hands.” Verdona demanded as she stretched out her arms and offered her open palms to each of you. Apprehensively, you each took hold of one.

Suddenly, you felt a great rush of power coursing through your veins. As if your mind was catapulted from your seat, but your body remained firmly fixed in place. The sensation was so discomforting that you couldn’t help but let out a strained grunt. You heard one from Wendy as well, but much more subdued.

The next thing you felt was the rush of solar winds pelting your body, the smell of gases most foul, hidden deep in the crevices of the cosmos. Your blood was boiling, your insides were being pushed into the back of whatever vessel you’d been inhabiting. It felt like you were strapped to a comet!

And then...everything went dark. But that was probably because you forced your eyes shut. When you opened them again, you found that you were in a dull, dingy room that wouldn’t look very out of place in an insane asylum. The lights were buzzing and flickering in an eerie fashion, and there seemed to be some sort of high tech, egg-shaped sleeping pod in the middle of the room.

As you went over to inspect it, you found that Wendy and Verdona were walking alongside you. But while you were examining the room, you found that Wendy’s gaze was firmly fixed on something else. Someone else.

In the corner of the room, a wide-eyed, white-haired little girl was running circles around a tall, bald man with well-chiseled features. He looked somewhat familiar, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it.

However, the strangest part about the whole scene was the look on the little girl’s face. Despite the state of the facility, despite the state of her living quarters, the girl was beaming from ear to ear. It was an unabashed smile that could only be conjured up from a soul that had yet to have her innocence stripped away.

As soon as Wendy saw the man, her eyes grew wide and her breath hitched.

(Cont.)

What do you do?

>”So...this is Iden’s lab?”
>”Who’s that guy? Something about him feels familiar…”
>”I can’t believe you used to smile like that. I’d take a picture if I could.”
>"You actually lived here...?
>”Are you okay? Is it a bad memory?”
>Hold her hand to comfort her.
>Write-in.

>>4888157
>Hold her hand to comfort her
>”So...this is Iden’s lab?”
>>”Who’s that guy? Something about him feels familiar…”

>>4888157
>Hold her hand to comfort her
>”So...this is Iden’s lab?”
>>”Who’s that guy? Something about him feels familiar…”

>>4888711
>>4889334
Writing...

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Without thinking, you grab hold of your sister’s hand, clutching it tightly. She shivers at your touch, recoiling ever so slightly, but not enough to make you let go.

Once she finally catches her breath, you allow yourself to speak. “So...this is Iden’s Lab?” you ask.

“Yeah…” Wendy dryly replies while examining the room. “Yeah, it is…”

“Not very cozy, now is it?” Verdona observed as she kicked at some sort of alien insect with far too many legs.

“It was cold, the air was dry and stale, and food here sucked.” Wendy recalled, clutching your hand even tighter. “But it was better than having no home at all, you know?” she said, looking somewhat nostalgic for the musty old room.

“Who’s that guy?” you ask, pointing at the bald man. “Something about him feels familiar…”

“Oh, him? That’s Marty.” she said with an inkling of a smile spreading across her face. “Otherwise known as Subject 008. He’s a clone of Max Tennyson.”

That last part really seemed to get Verdona’s attention, but she decided to keep quiet about whatever improper thoughts were stirring around in her mind.

“Marty was like an older brother to me. Always there for me, making me laugh, telling me stories about the galaxy outside this facility.” she explained.

“What happened to him?” you ask, which seemed to sour her mood rather quickly.

“He, uh…” she trailed off, completely absorbed in the visage of her childhood memory. But before she gets a chance to say anything, a door in the corner of the room opens up on its own. From the tiny open space, you can hear a younger Wendy screaming at the top of his lungs. “Well, you can see for yourself…” she sighed, before letting go of your hand and walking towards the door.

Unsure as to how she knows how to traverse the mindscape, you and Verdona exchange nervous glances, but before following right behind her without a word in protest.

Once you pass through the doorway, you can tell that you’ve entered another wing of the facility entirely. It immediately looks cleaner, with more advanced lighting fixtures installed. And in the middle of it, younger Wendy was shouting at Marty.

“I can’t believe you would leave me here!” she screamed.

“Wendy, it’s not what you think…” Marty said, attempting to defend himself. But Wendy was relentless in her verbal assault. The whole scene played out before you like a movie.

“One day, I found out that Marty had been assigned a recon mission to test his abilities out in the field.” Wendy explained. “And being the moron that I was, I thought that he was...abandoning me.”

It almost seemed like it physically hurt her to admit something so embarrassing.

“So...I yelled at him. I called him names and...said a lot of things that I didn’t mean.”

(Cont.)

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You and Verdona were absolutely speechless before the raw anger in young Wendy’s voice. To Marty, this was a routine mission, but to her, this was nothing more than a betrayal of her trust.

At this point, the argument had reached its apex. And while Marty got quieter as he attempted to reason with her, Wendy’s tone only grew in intensity.

“I’m so sorry, Marty…” Wendy said, with tears welling up in her eyes. “I never meant to-”

“I HATE YOU!” young Wendy shouted. The energy in her voice was nearly enough to take the wind out of your sister.

“...I miss you. I miss you a lot.” she muttered to herself, now approaching the two of them as if they could actually hear her.

“I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!” young Wendy screamed. At this point, Marty started to back away, looking somewhat horrified by her reaction.

“Oh god…” Wendy gasped. “No, don’t. Please…” she pleaded to herself. “I love you, Marty.”

“I HOPE YOU DIE!” young Wendy exploded, her voice echoing throughout the halls nearby. Wendy clearly braced herself for it, but she was not at all prepared to hear those words again. The weight of them nearly crushed her. But nothing compared to the devastated look on Marty’s face, right before young Wendy ran out of the room.

“Yep.” Wendy said, her voice still shaky. “There it is. The Wendy special.” She tried to laugh, but it came out as dry and hoarse as can be. Her heart just wasn’t in it. “This was...the first time that I fucked up and ruined someone’s life.”

“Ruined his life?” Verdona said. “I mean, it was rude, sure. But it wasn’t like you actually hurt him physically.”

Wendy shook her head violently. “You don’t get it.” she cried. “Marty looked like a cool guy, but he was all sorts of fucked up!” she exclaimed, growing hysterical as she directed her gaze to the ground. “Iden was fucking with his head, injecting all these serums and treating him like a lab rat! He had so many issues, but he just kept smiling through the pain, and-”

Her voice trailed off, as her gaze was directed at another door in the corner of the room, left slightly ajar. Inside, you could see a man dangling from the ceiling, suspended only by a wire wrapped around his neck. It didn’t take long for you to figure out who it was.

Wendy quickly turned away, unable to stop the tears from flowing now. “And I fucking killed him…” she sobbed. “He was one step away from the ledge, and I fucking killed him…!” she shrieked, her voice cracking slightly due to the strain.

(Cont.)

What will you do?

>Pull her into a hug. She needs support right now.
>”You had no way of knowing. It isn’t your fault.”
>”I never knew Iden could be this cruel. It’s no wonder that you hate her.”
>”This is one of the memories that you purposefully blocked out, isn’t it?”
>”How did you figure out what Marty was going through? Did he leave a note?”
>Let Wendy grieve in silence.
>Write-in.

>>4890006
>>Pull her into a hug. She needs support right now.
>>”You had no way of knowing. It isn’t your fault, you were just a kid at the time.”

>>4890006
>Pull her into a hug. She needs support right now.
>”You had no way of knowing. It isn’t your fault, you were just a kid at the time.”

>>4890682
>>4891160
Writing...

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As soon as you notice the tears running down her face, you cross the room in record timing to pull her into your warm embrace. When your muscular arms wrapped around her shoulders, she let out an audible gasp before freezing up on the spot.

“You had no way of knowing that. It isn’t your fault.” you say in a gentle tone. You can practically feel her melting into your arms as the words leave your mouth. “You were just a kid back then.”

Wendy let out a soft whimper, and cried into your shoulder for the next few minutes.

---------

Once she’d felt satisfied, your sister broke off the hug and used her jacket sleeve to wipe her face. “I’m okay. I’m okay.” she attempted to reassure you, but you weren’t buying it. Her voice was still shaking.

She glanced at your thoroughly drenched shoulder. The very same shoulder that she’d been crying into all this time. “Shit. My bad.” she sniffled. “That was pretty gross, huh.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, little missy.” Verdona proclaimed as she came up beside you, placing a hand on your wet shoulder. And as soon as her hand makes contact with your shirt, you feel it drying, or at least being restored to its previous state. “For such a vivid memory to be imprinted in your mind at such a young age…” Verdona trailed off, approaching Wendy with open arms. “I can’t begin to imagine what the rest of your life must have been like.”

When Verdona grabbed her by the shoulders, Wendy visibly flinched, but didn’t make any attempts to avoid or stop the Anodite from making physical contact. Instead, Wendy let out a deep sigh.

“You don’t have to imagine it.” Wendy said as she turned away to see another door opening in the far corner of the room. “I’ll show you. Come on.”

With a wave of her hand, she signaled the two of you to follow her through the mysterious doorway.

-------

Instead of being led to another decrepit room, you’re led to a series of doors leading from one room to another, each one being vastly different from the last in form and function.

“After Iden lost her guinea pig, I took Marty’s place.” she explained as you passed a young Wendy being strapped to a surgical table with medical bots hovering over her. Each one was equipped with an assortment of dangerous looking tools. “I underwent the same tests, trials and experiments that he did,” she said as you passed a young Wendy that was struggling to complete an obstacle course. “But this time, they paid attention to my mental state. Made sure that I didn’t off myself like...like Marty.”

“So you were the runner-up.” you concluded. “And Iden wasn’t worried that you wouldn’t break under the stress?” you asked.

(Cont.)

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“She did.” Wendy answered without looking back at you. “That’s why she created another clone to keep my company. To keep me motivated, just in case I thought about taking the easy way out.”

All of a sudden, your sister stopped in front of you. Looking past her, you saw her younger self, slightly older now, standing in front of a young boy that bore a strong resemblance to...you?

“This was the first day that we met.” Wendy said, the corner of her lips slowly curling into a smile.

“Oh, how adorable!” Verdona said, fawning over your past self. The whole experience was kinda unnerving.

As young Wendy stood over you, her imposing posture made her look like a menacing bully on the playground, rather than a caring older sister. It doesn’t look like she had any intention of getting along with you.

“Heh.” Wendy chuckled. “I remember this. You were trying to get to know me, and I kept telling you to-”

“Piss off!” young Wendy shouted, pointing her head towards the door.

“Yeah. Like that.” Wendy laughed once more. At least she was smiling again.

In response, childhood Wade offered her a plushie that might have appeared cute to a baby alien that was born without eyes. Wendy responded by swatting at the stuffed animal, slapping it out of your hands as she proceeded to stomp on it.

“Not very friendly now, are we?” Verdona shook her head. “It’s a wonder how you don’t have wrinkles, considering all that frowning you did back then.” she teased Wendy, earning her a half-hearted sneer from your sister.

You continued to watch as your younger self picked up the plushie again and offered it as a gift, almost as if nothing had ever happened.

“You were so sweet, even back then.” Wendy said, a seemingly wistful expression on her face. “But I thought...I thought that I didn’t deserve to be treated that way. So I kept pushing you away.” she admitted, now appearing downcast.

Immediately afterwards, young Wendy tore the stuffed animal from your hands and ripped it apart, limb from limb. Stuffing and torn cloth now littered the floor as your younger self stared at Wendy in confusion.

When she was done, young Wendy threw what remained of the plushie onto the ground and stormed out of the room, leaving you to pick up the pieces.

“Oh my…” Verdona gasped.

“Yeah, sorry about that…” Wendy apologized. “I had a lot of issues back then.”

“You mean a lot more issues, right?” you said teasingly.

She lightly punched you in the arm. “Piss off.” she replied with a smug grin. “You should see what you did next.”

(Cont.)

Well? What did you do next?

>You stitched the stuffed animal back together and left it on her bed. It was ugly as sin, but you were proud of it.
>You followed her around the facility for the next few weeks until she got used to you being around.
>You took part in a few of Iden’s tests in order to ease Wendy’s burden.
>You pounced on her and got into a fight.
>You started playing nasty pranks on her in order to get her attention.
>Write-in.

>>4891679
>>You stitched the stuffed animal back together and left it on her bed. It was ugly as sin, but you were proud of it.

>>4891679
>You followed her around the facility for the next few weeks until she got used to you being around.
>You took part in a few of Iden’s tests in order to ease Wendy’s burden.

We followed her around until we noticed she was forced into these tests, then volunteered to do some for her.

>>4893321
+1

>>4893321
>>4895732
Writing...

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As you watched the following events unfold, bits and pieces came back to you, almost like a sense of deja vu that you’d previously compartmentalized as a bad dream that you somehow conjured one night.

After having your offering trampled and torn apart by young Wendy, you proceeded to follow her around for the next few weeks or so, muhc to her chagrin. Despite being yelled at and having the occasional heavy object tossed in your general direction, you continued to shadow her every move. For what reason, you can’t be entirely sure. But looking at yourself now, you have a feeling that your younger self could sense something strange about your sister. Or maybe you sympathized with her. Like seeing a wounded animal limping along a dirt road, snapping at anyone that got too close.

Eventually, you took notice of the trials that she was forced to take part in, and you especially took notice of the toll that it took on her, both mentally and physically. So, you did the only thing you could think to do.

You walked up to Iden and requested that you be allowed to take part in the tests. She was pleasantly surprised, of course, but in no way opposed to your decision. The mad doctor gladly accepted, and began running tests post haste.

In reality, the tests she put you through that day were only mildly uncomfortable. It didn’t feel like you were being tortured or anything. The real trouble began when Wendy found out about it.

Out of the gaggle of scientists that surrounded you, comparing charts and readings, one of them came flying out from one of the other rooms, sliding across the floor until they hit a wall. The room fell silent as their gaze fell upon the fallen lab specialist, and then the little girl that stormed into the room.

“Where is he!?” Wendy shouted, her voice booming and demanding authority. No one moved except Iden.

“Now, Subject 009…” she said in a gentle, yet cautious tone. “We’re not doing anything that might be considered harmful to Subject 010.”

And as soon as the words left her mouth, Wendy’s eyes grew wide, staring past the doctor, directly locking onto the young boy sitting atop the table.

The moment that she recognized your face, Wendy pushed past Iden, picked you up and began frantically inspecting every inch of your exposed skin. “Did they hurt you? Or give you any...weirdo mutations?” she asked in a panicked tone. You shook your head and kept staring at her in stunned silence.

Satisfied with her findings, Wendy placed you back down and shot a death glare at Iden. “We had a deal!” she yelled, pointing a finger up at her. “I do your stupid tests, and you don’t mess with the kid!” she said, now pointing at you.

“Yes, that was our previous arrangement.” Iden stated, not the least bit fazed by Wendy’s outburst. “But Subject 010 is actually the one who requested this.”

(Cont.)

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Wendy was seething at this point, ready to explode and tear her creator’s throat out with only her teeth. “What type of bullshit are you-!” she screamed, before being interrupted by a tug on her shirt. It was you. Younger you, attempting to calm her down. “D-did you…?”

You nodded, confirming Iden’s alibi. Wendy went white with shock. She couldn’t comprehend why you would put yourself in harm’s way.

“He did it for you.” Iden informed her, causing Wendy to whip back around, confusion still evident in her expression. “Once he found out that you were undergoing the tests, he volunteered to take a few of them in order to ease your burden.”

“But...he’s just a kid…” Wendy said, looking back at you for a moment.

“Yes. And very mature for his age.” Iden proclaimed. You half expected her to add “much more than a certain someone in this room”, but she knew better than to tempt fate.

“And like I said before,” Iden continued “None of these tests have been harmful to him. I’ll save those trials for someone who’s pain threshold is a little more...developed.” she said with a deceptively peaceful smile.

Wendy sighed in response. “Just...make sure that you don’t screw him up like you did Marty.”

“Of course.” Iden promised. “Now, clean up the mess that you made, this instant.” she demanded, gesturing at the smashed equipment and spilt chemicals in the lab.

Wendy glared at her for a moment before answering. “No.”

“And why not?” Iden asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Because it’s beneath me, and I don’t want to.” Wendy replied, while crossing her arms.

Iden smiled, a genuine one this time, and folded her hands, seemingly pleased by Wendy’s answer. “Good girl. Run along now, and take your sibling with you.”

Without needing to be told a second time, Wendy grabbed your arm and rushed you outside the lab. Your creator’s eyes remained locked on you the entire time, until neither you nor her were able to see each other.

-------

A little while later, Wendy pulled you around a corner and crouched down to meet your eyes. “All right. Listen here, pipsqueak.” she began. “You need to be careful with these creeps. They will poke and prod if you don’t tell them to stop. So if any of them does anything that makes you feel funny, no matter what it is, you come and tell me. Got it?” she said, shaking you by your shoulders. “Because I will personally come down and shove their heads up their own asses if they try anything funny.”

You quickly nod, and she nods back to you. But when she rises to her full height, you grab her hand and walk alongside her. The abrasive girl groaned and rolled her eyes, but you couldn’t help but notice the corners of her mouth curling upwards, ever so slightly.

(Cont.)

In your present forms, you and Wendy watched your younger selves pass by you in the hallway.

“Wow...” Wendy calmly expressed. “That was so sweet that I almost threw up just from remembering it.”

Verdona snickered at Wendy’s comment. You were close to doing so yourself.

“No, really. I mean, we should sell this shit to Disney. We’d make a killing.” she continued, pointing at her younger self.

What do you say?

>”Say what you want, but you were acting pretty motherly back there.”
>”I can’t believe that I forgot about all of this. About you, Iden, everything...”
>”How did Iden expect to make us into killing machines that could take down D’Traxus if we were this adorable back then?”
>”Have you ever met any of the other ‘Subjects’?”
>"Careful now. Iden might try to call up her copyright lawyers if you try and make a Wakeman documentary."
>”Wait, how do you know about Disney? I thought you didn’t watch Earth TV.”
>Write-in.

>>4896142
>"Careful now. Iden might try to call up her copyright lawyers if you try and make a Wakeman documentary."
>”Say what you want, but you were acting pretty motherly back there.”
>”I can’t believe that I forgot about all of this. About you, Iden, everything...”

This is top tier Galvan, keep it up.

>>4896142
>"Careful now. Iden might try to call up her copyright lawyers if you try and make a Wakeman documentary."
>”Say what you want, but you were acting pretty motherly back there.”
>”I can’t believe that I forgot about all of this. About you, Iden, everything...”

>>4897522
>>4898765
Thanks anon, I'm enjoying it too.
Writing...

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“Careful now. Iden might try to call up her copyright lawyers if you try and make a Wakeman documentary.” you tease.

Wendy huffs in disbelief. “Oh please. The only lawyer she could afford would be a defense attorney so that they don’t throw her green ass back in Incarcecon.” she laughed.

“Say what you want, but you were acting pretty motherly back there.” you say, pointing back to the younger versions of you and your sister, still holding hands.

“Why, Wendy…” Verdona chimed in, feigning shock. “I didn’t know you had this side to you. Color me surprised.”

“Me? Motherly? As if.” Wendy scoffed, her face turning red slightly. “I just felt bad for you, is all. You were like a neglected puppy or something.”

Despite her flawless deflection, you and Verdona had a feeling that you weren’t the only neglected puppy in that situation.

“I still can’t believe that I forgot about all of this. About you, Iden, the lab, everything…” you say, taking a moment to breathe in your surroundings.

Wendy gave you a firm pat on the back. “Hey, that’s a good thing. You were supposed to have a normal childhood. A normal life.” she said, in a much lighter tone now. “You didn’t need me or the hairless Grinch fucking up your life.”

“I suppose you have me to blame for that.” Verdona interjected, looking rather embarrassed. “You see...I’m the one that gave him the Omnitrix.”

Wendy didn’t react the way that you or Verdona expected her to. In fact, she didn’t react much at all. She just gave a half-hearted shrug.

“Well, he did kind of end up saving the galaxy with that thing. Several times.” she stated. “Besides, if he didn’t have that stupid thing wrapped around his waist, then we never would have-”

Wendy paused all of a sudden, her face growing flushed as she realized what she was about to say.

“You never would have ‘what’?” Verdona asked.

“It’s...it’s nothing.” Wendy waved her off, clearing her throat and staring off into the distance.

You flash her a knowing smile, confident in your assumption of what she had meant to say. If you never received the Omnitrix, then the two of you would have never been reunited. After all, she only came to meet you because she wanted to steal your aliens.

Lucky for her, you’re kind enough to keep quiet about your little revelation.

Suddenly, another door opens up along the wall, clearly out of place in the high tech facility. As it slowly creaked open, you see hail of blaster fire being traded back and forth.

“What in blazes is that?” Verdona squinted.

“That’s your big breakout.” Wendy explained, directing her gaze to you. “Come on. Let’s go check it out.”

(Cont.)

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And despite the potential danger that your new environment posed, you and your group strolled into the memory without a hint of caution. It wasn’t like they could actually hurt you.

-------

Upon entering the door, you see a number of the lab’s staff and automated defenses firing upon a group of middle aged men. One, clearly an alien, and the other...was your grandfather?

“‘This op is gonna be a cake walk’ you said.” Koba said, in between firing shots back at the lab’s security team. “‘It was gonna be a milk run’ you said!” Koba said mockingly to Phil. “I hate to break it to you partner...BUT THIS ISN’T A MILK RUN!”

“Thank you! I know that now, Koba!” Phil shouted back, in an attempt to overpower the sound of the blaster fire with his voice. “How was I supposed to know that they’d have a multifaceted laser grid installed?”

Koba returned a few more shots before ducking back around the corner. “They’re funded by the council, Phil. Of course they’d have some top of the line security.” Koba sighed, hissing slightly as a blaster bolt grazed his shoulder. “Shit! They’ve got us pinned down good.”

Phil shook his head. “No they don’t.” And without warning, he pulled a gourd shaped grenade from his belt, pulled the pin and tossed it down the hallway. It bounced a few times, before erupting into a thick, white foam. The foam spread and expanded until it sealed up the hallway, creating a barrier between them and their pursuers. “I just wanted them to get a bit closer.” Phil continued.

“Calcium grenade, huh?” Koba said, sounding impressed as he struggled to catch his breath. “Couldn’t have mentioned that you had one of those earlier?”

“What? And ruin the surprise?” Phil replied with a smug grin. Koba growled, before hurrying down the end of the hallway that wasn’t sealed. Both of them looked noticeably younger. Grandpa had way less gray hairs, and Koba had less discolored blotches and blemishes on his dark purple skin. But that wasn’t what had grabbed your attention.

Strapped to your grandfather’s back, was young Wade, seemingly sedated or simply unconscious. This was when you first met Grandpa. Or at least, when he came to take you away from Iden.

Eventually, the two of them come to a fork in the hallway. On one end, they heard the sound of heavy boots slapping against the metallic floor.

“Reinforcements. We’ll never make it out at this rate.” Koba declared, running out of breath and patience. “I’ll go and keep them busy. You ready our escape.” he ordered Phil.

“Wait.” Phil said, grabbing his shoulder before he could leave. “No way I’m letting you go by yourself.” he protested.

(Cont.)

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Clearly annoyed by his obstinance, Koba swats his hand away. “Do you really think that you can fight to your full potential with that kid on your back?” he asked, pointing at young Wade.

Phil had no answer for him.

“Then let me do my job, and you focus on getting us out of here in one piece.” he demanded, before sprinting down the hall towards the source of the noise, leaving Phil alone with you.

“I don’t understand.” Verdona interrupted. “How is this one of your memories if you weren’t even here to witness it?” she asked.

“Check again.” Wendy said, pointing at a silver haired girl in an open doorway, just out of sight, training an oversized rifle on Phil.

“I was stalking them for a while, waiting for the perfect opportunity to put the old man down.” she explained, as you watched young Wendy’s finger about to squeeze the trigger. But then, something happened that gave her and Phil reason to pause.

Younger you squirmed and whined, clearly uncomfortable and frightened from this whole ordeal. Phil removed you from his back and began rocking you gently. “No no no. Shh…” he said in a hushed tone. “Everything’s gonna be alright, little guy. We’ll get you out of here, safe.” he promised, not entirely convinced himself.

And for reasons that you can’t explain, you actually let out a laugh. An angelic giggle that could melt the heart of hardened criminals. While doing so, you reached for Phil’s beard, yanking at the hairs and laughing as he winced in pain. The old man couldn’t help but smile back.

Wendy lowered her rifle, unable to process what she was seeing.

“I figured it out, then.” Wendy said. “This guy could give you a better life than either I, or Iden could. He was your meal ticket out of this hellhole.” she continued, those last few words making her sound a bit despondent.

“Why didn’t you come with us?” you ask, having pondered this issue for the better part of a year now.

Wendy simply pointed at her younger self, starting to come out from her hiding spot to greet the old man, seemingly optimistic for once. But then, a pair of metal arms quickly sprung from the darkness, covering Wendy’s mouth and snatching her up, before dragging her back through the doorway. Her muffled screams completely drowned out by the sound of her plasma rifle clattering to the ground.

The sound startled Phil. So much so that he decided it was time to keep moving.

“What the hell was that!?” you say, astounded by the sudden turn of events.

Wendy shrugged. “No idea. I don’t think it was the Doc. Could’ve been a member of the security team trying to get me out of harm’s way.” she said, seemingly lost in thought. “My memories are a little fuzzy after that. When I finally came to, I’d been put on an escape pod headed for some backwater space port.”

(Cont.)

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That’s so weird. For a second there, you thought you might have recognized the design of those metal arms. They kinda remind you of-

Before you could get a chance to finish your train of thought, another door swung open. But this time, there was no clear destination. Only a vast emptiness that threatened to suck you in. In fact, it was sucking you in!

Like a vacuum, all the air was vented out of the hallway, dragging you closer and closer to the ebony maw within the rustic door frame.

“What’s happening!?” you ask nobody in particular.

“I don’t know!” Wendy shouted back as she struggled to hold onto a thick cable that’d been dangling from the ceiling.

“Oh dear...this is quite troubling!” Verdona muttered to herself.

And in that very moment, all three of you were sucked into the door against your will!

You felt cold. Freezing, even! But then, you felt and perceived nothing. You were nowhere to be found in this infinite mindscape. Nowhere at all.

---------

“Get up!” shouted a familiar voice. Your eyes shot open, revealing a young, but growing, Wendy in a military uniform. But...why were you wearing one just like it?

“What are you, deaf!?” she shouted again. “Get off your ass and get movin-!”

Within the time that it took her to finish that sentence, a mortar shell landed somewhere close by, creating a massive explosion and flinging dirt every which way. Gunfire, shrapnel and smoke permeated the sky. Where were you? When were you?

But before you could take the time to regain your bearings, a squad of soldiers wearing terrifying gas masks managed to flank your position. But, it’s not like they could actually hurt you, right? This is just a memory.

Isn’t it…?

What do you do?

>Transform into an alien.(Which one?)
>Use one of your Viral Forms.(Which one?)
>Duck behind cover and engage them in a firefight.
>Brandish your saber and cut them down before they have a chance to act.
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>4899264
>Duck behind cover and engage them in a firefight.

>>4899264
>>>4899264
>Duck behind cover and engage them in a firefight.

Finally caught up on this

>>4899264
>Duck behind cover and engage them in a firefight

>>4899344
>>4899577
>>4900289
Glad to have you here anon.
Writing...

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As the soldiers brought their rifles up to bear, you instinctively dove behind a crushed lump of metal that had fallen from a crashed transport. And it looks like Wendy had the same idea.

Immediately afterwards, shots began bouncing off of your cover. Some of them plasma bolts, and a few of them sounded like solid projectiles from the way that they ricocheted off of the metal.

“Great! Just great!” Wendy growled as she peeked out to fire a few shots. Most of them hit their mark, ripping through the masked menaces with ease. Looks like she’s using solid projectiles too. You begin to wonder how common that is in the galaxy. “This is what I get for pulling your scrawny ass out of the mud.” she shouted at you.

Still confused by this sudden development, you remain silent and slide your rifle out of its sling. Without delay, you set your weapon to stun and fire off several rings of charged particles. From what you understand, the stun setting on energy weapons is capable of overloading the nervous system of any organic lifeform. And from the way that they’re convulsing, it seems to have the intended effect.

One by one, the soldiers fall to the floor twitching, sparks dancing across their armoured clothing. While Wendy, on the other hand, had no problem with putting them down like dogs. For every goon that you put to sleep, Wendy put down at least two or three more.

But just as you thought that you had the situation under control, you spot three more soldiers flanking your sister from a small nearby hill in the trench. Realising that the fire rate of your weapon would be severely hampered by the stun setting, you switch back to lethal and let loose a cluster of blaster bolts, each one finding its mark on their chests and leaving smoldering craters in their wake.

Unfortunately for you, it would appear that the same tactic was deployed a second time, as you notice a series of shifting shadows looming over you from above. Without needing to look, you throw your body away from the metal slab, breaking into a roll as you brought your rifle back up to fire at your assailants. However, you found no living targets to fire upon. Only fresh corpses with smoke rising up out of their extremities.

You rose to your feet and turned around to face the culprit.

“Not bad for a fresh recruit.” Wendy observed, clearly impressed with your performance. “But you won’t live long out here unless you keep your head on a swivel.” she advised.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” you say while nodding. Why does your voice sound so...strange? Like it doesn’t actually belong to you.

“Ah shit…” Wendy gasped, looking up at an airship with smoke billowing out of it.

It was incredibly noisy for something that utilized anti-grav technology. It reminded you of the airplanes that would fly low overhead before landing at a nearby airport. Except this one wasn’t landing. No, it was crashing!

(Cont.)

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“Haul ass!” Wendy commanded as she ran past you with all the strength she could muster. You quickly chased after her, feeling the burden of your gear and armoured clothing inhibiting your movement, ever so slightly.

From behind, you could hear the aircraft getting closer and closer, filling the air with an intensely low hum and eclipsing the barren field in a deep shadow, growing larger and larger with each passing moment!

You pumped your legs even harder, somehow managing to catch up with Wendy, much to her surprise. And then, you saw it. A small dugout at the end of the trench. A tunnel that had been boarded up and blocked off to prevent the enemy from utilizing it for their own nefarious purposes. It wasn’t much, but it was better than being flattened by that blimp sized aircraft!

As you got closer, a thunderous impact shook the ground, and nearly succeeded in throwing you off your feet. That must have been the nose of the aircraft crashing down into the ground. You were too worried to look back, for fear that it might be much closer than you’d originally estimated.

Wendy wasted no time in smashing the boards open with the butt of her gun, but you thought it would be prudent to help her out by kicking in the boards that she had yet to damage. All the while, the rumbling intensified, and the screams became silenced. You were running out of time!

“Good enough. Come on!” Wendy said, satisfied with the size of the opening that the two of you made. You push against her back, trying to get her to squeeze through since she was the smaller one. If she couldn’t fit, then what hope would have?

Fortunately, she made it through without issue. Now, it was your turn.

You crouched down low, struggling to ignore the rumbling as you crawled through the gap and swung your legs over the board lowest to the ground. And right when you thought that you were going to make it, one of the boards snagged your pack.

Damn! Must be a loose strap or a torn seam. Why here? Why now?

As you attempted to tear yourself free of the obstruction, Wendy grabbed onto its straps and began pulling with all her might. The two of you wrestled with the pack for a few seconds that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. The rumbling was now so intense that the dust from the tunnel’s ceiling was being shaken loose. It was no use. You had to cut yourself free.

Just then, in that very moment, the board broke, and you were sent hurtling towards Wendy, landing right on top of her in a crumpled heap. She grunted and pushed you off, but not hard enough to cause you to stumble.

Without another word, the two of you raced towards the other end of the tunnel. Your heart was racing, your blood pumping. The faint sound of rumbling somehow managed to overpower the sound of your heart pounding in your ears.

And then, it hit you.

(Cont.)

Not a sudden realization or a wave of pain, but an unrelenting shockwave that knocked you onto your face and rattled the entire underground structure. You and Wendy scrambled to your feet, only to be met by the unsettling feeling of the ground falling out from underneath you.

You were no longer running. Instead, you were falling down a pitch black abyss, with no idea of how far the bottom was.

----------

“-ey…-ke up.” said a familiar voice, sounding distant and garbled. You couldn't see anything, but that was probably because you refused to open your eyes. Your head was pounding, your ears were ringing. Your muscles ached from the pain of existing.

“Hey…-ake up.” the familiar voice said again, this time sounding distinctly female. You opened your eyes. The figure was...blurry, somehow shifting in form while standing completely still. You groaned in response.

“Get the fuck up!” she said, finally getting fed and kicking you instead. You jumped in place, wiping your eyes and squinting as they adjusted to the light. It was Wendy. Thank God…

“We can’t stay here. This cavern is still collapsing.” Wendy proclaimed while directing her gaze upwards. As if somehow seeking to prove her statement, the cavern rumbled in an alarming manner. “Can you still walk?” she asked, offering a hand to you.

What do you do?

>”Yeah...I think so.” Take her hand.
>”Where are we? What planet are we on?”
>”What am I doing here? Are we fighting some sort of war?”
>”Wendy, snap out of it. I don’t know what’s going on anymore.”
>Inspect your own face.
>Check for your Omnitrix.
>Take an inventory of your gear.
>Write-in.

>>4900492
>>>”Yeah...I think so.” Take her hand.
>Check for your Omnitrix.
>”Wendy, snap out of it. I don’t know what’s going on anymore.”

>>4900492
>Wendy, snap out of it. I don’t know what’s going on anymore.”
>Inspect your own face.
>Check for your Omnitrix.
>Take an inventory of your gear.

>>4900632
+1

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>>4900632
>>4903080
Happy 4th, y'all
Writing...

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“Yeah, I think so.” you say, wincing in pain as you grab Wendy’s hand and pull yourself up. There it goes again. Your voice sounds different. A bit more...childish, perhaps? Your body feels lighter too.

Before you do anything else, you immediately feel around for your Omnitrix. Your waist, your wrists, your ankles. Nothing…

You were much more tan than usual, but that was about it. Although, you did find some busted bracelet that looked to be made up of highly advanced alien tech. Like, seriously. This might have even been crafted by Galvan engineers. Good ones too.

There’s definitely something strange going on here. And for some reason, Wendy was acting as if it were the most normal thing in the world, trudging on through the cavern with her rifle slung over her shoulder.

“Wendy, snap out of it.” you pleaded, chasing after her in order to catch up. “I don’t know what’s going on anymore.”

“Mm.” Wendy hummed, not even bothering to turn to face you as she precariously stepped around a rather large stalagmite. “That’ll happen when you fall down and hit your head, multiple times.” she said in a nonchalant manner. She wasn’t taking you seriously at all.

“I’m serious, Wendy.” you say, grabbing her shoulder to forcefully turn her around. But instead, she whipped around and swatted your hand away before you could react.

“The fuck’s your problem, Kenny?” she asked, shooting you a scrutinizing, and slightly agitated, glare.

Who the hell was “Kenny”!? Had she lost her mind when you fell down this hole? And where was Verdona for that matter? She disappeared when you got sucked into that weird door. This was far from a stroll down memory lane!

Noticing your confusion, Wendy’s face softened. “Hey,” she said, sounding a bit sympathetic now. “I know that a lot’s happening right now, but I need you to get your shit together. Do you think you can do that for me?” she requested, placing a hand on your shoulder now.

You nodded, unable to get the words out of your mouth. Your mouth was bone dry. You needed water, and you needed it badly.

Wendy nodded back and turned back around, expecting you to follow without another word. And you did so.

---------

After about 15 minutes of walking, you begin to wonder whether Wendy knew where she was going. But even if she didn’t, it wasn’t like you knew any better. If you had your Omnitrix, you could transform into Monitor Lizard to sniff out a stale breeze from an opening in the cavern, or you could become XLR8 and map out the entire cave system within minutes.

(Cont.)

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Even worse, you didn’t have your suit either. You felt naked without either of them permanently glued to your person. Have you been relying on them too heavily lately? Considering the circumstances back in your timeline, it felt appropriate. Being anything less than over-prepared at all times was the only thing that allowed you and your loved ones to survive the ordeal. Although, you will admit that you could have relied a bit more on your allies.

Suddenly Wendy put a hand out in front of you, every muscle in her arm tensing up all at once.

“What’s up-?” you began to ask, before you were promptly silenced with a sharp hush from Wendy. You didn’t see, or hear, anything. Only dripping water, and wet limestone.

Actually...it didn’t smell like water at all. Fuel, maybe? Could it be a natural phenomenon on this planet, or perhaps some fluid from the massive aircraft that collapsed the tunnel? You didn’t want to stay to find out.

Just then, something big shifted in the shadows. Out of the corner of your eye, you caught a figure, moving extremely fast, quadrupel for sure. You began to question whether it was real or not, mostly because of how nothing made sense anymore. You were trapped in a fever dream of sorts. But all those doubts were cast aside when you saw another shape, and then another!

You were surrounded by...whatever these things were. And without your Omnitrix or your suit, you felt more vulnerable than ever.

Wendy backed into you, her arm still held out in front of you as her eyes darted back and forth. Her mouth was moving as if she’d been silently formulating a strategy in her head.

A few of the creatures came into view. They were hairless things, resembling felines, but had none of their lovable qualities. Their jaws were too wide, too unhinged. Mouths full of needle-like teeth, their skin covered in welts and crater-like holes. With only the slightest movement, you could see their veins and muscles working beneath their skin. They were all so skinny, and presumably very hungry!

As they crept closer, you got a good look into their milky, green eyes, reflecting the shine of your flashlights in an unnerving way. Various yips, howls and cackles could be heard among them.

“Got any bright ideas…?” Wendy asked apprehensively.

What do you do?

>Slide down a nearby slope and fire at any jackals that come chasing after you.
>Ask Wendy to fire off a flare. These creatures are likely sensitive to light.
>See if you can ignite the fuel. It would at least make these things think twice before pouncing all at once.
>Run through the crumbling maze of stalagmites. The rough terrain should make it hard for them to follow.
>Press your back against Wendy’s and start unloading into the pack. You’re gonna pick off as many as you possibly can before they get a chance to act.
>Write-in.

>>4903437
>Slide down a nearby slope and fire at any jackals that come chasing after you.

>>4903437
>>Slide down a nearby slope and fire at any jackals that come chasing after you.

>>4903476
>>4903911
Roll 1d100+10, bo3!

Rolled 73 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4904768

Rolled 8 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4904768
Well no one has rolled in more then 24 hours so... Ignore if this is against the rules or something

Rolled 10 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4904768

>>4905350
>>4907054
>>4907169
Taking these. Writing...

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>83

As your heart began to race, your eyes nervously darted from left to right, desperately searching for an escape route in all this. But everywhere you looked, you could only see rows upon rows of glistening teeth drawing ever closer.

C’mon, you need something. Anything…

And that’s when you saw it.

Once the doubts lifted from your mind, you grabbed Wendy’s arm and aggressively pulled her along as you ran towards a rather steep-looking slope in the cavern.

“Hey! What are you-!?” she began to ask, before interrupting herself with a panicked scream. You didn’t even wait for her brain to catch up before plunging straight down the slope, pulling your sister along with you.

You hit the ground hard, but the pain quickly subsided as you slid down on your back. Thankfully, the earth was slick with what you hoped was water, allowing you and Wendy to glide along with relative ease.

“Do you mind warning me next time!?” Wendy shouted as she struggled to keep herself balanced. You were doing much of the same, as it was far too easy to spin out of control and collide with a rock formation.

But before you could reply, you heard a startled scream come from behind, followed by a predator skidding past you, clawing at your face along the way. It narrowly missed, but that failure did not deter it from trying again immediately afterwards.

Digging its claws into the earth, it desperately dragged its feet against the ground, hoping to gain traction through sheer force of will. To its credit, it did in fact manage to get a bit closer to you.

The hound snapped at your leg, forcing you to draw it back for fear of losing it. Then, you dug your heels into the dirt, slowing your momentum and creating more distance between the two of you.

Not wanting to waste this opportunity, you brought your rifle to bear and blasted the horrid creature with a few rounds of superheated plasma. It went down hard, tumbling along the slope before it lost traction, causing you to slam into it with all your weight. He rolled off you easy enough, but the slight deceleration that resulted from it must have made a difference, because Wendy slammed into your back shortly afterwards.

You went tumbling, ending up on your stomach, sliding down feet first. Wendy, on the other hand, was on her back, sliding down backwards with a cave stalker trying to tear her face off. She wrestled with the wretched thing, using her rifle to hold it back as it chomped down on the gun.

Using your advantageous position, you aim carefully and pull the trigger. The creature’s head disappeared in a flash of emerald light.

With a disgusted grunt, Wendy shoved away its corpse, only to be pounced on two more from above.

“Wendy!” you shouted while adjusting your aim. But before you could react, three more of the horrid things had pinned you down, their jaws snapping and their claws ripping into your clothes.

(Cont.)

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You awkwardly angled your rifle to shoot the one directly on top of you, but the one on your right bit down into your forearm, forcing you to let go of the weapon as its fangs scraped against flesh and muscle. You let out a sharp cry that sounded unrecognizable to you.

But your cries were quickly drowned out when the hound on top of you made a piercing yelp, before collapsing and tumbling to the ground. The creature to your right met a similar fate, and it wasn’t until that one collapsed that you saw the cause of their untimely demise.

Despite being mauled by two of the things, Wendy was still somehow able to fire off her gun in your direction, nailing two of yours without fail. However, you didn’t fail to notice one of them grinding its teeth into her wrist. Blood was dripping down her arm as she gritted her teeth and winced in pain. You had to return the favor.

Having had your right arm freed, you wasted no time in drawing your saber, pressing the edge of it against the remaining monster’s throat and pulling back hard! Pale green blood poured from its gaping neck wound, and it took little to no effort to push it off and send it hurtling into a nearby rock.

Next, you spun yourself around so that you were facing Wendy, and then you dug your saber into the ground, killing your momentum in an instant.

In a panic, Wendy was about to slide past you. So, you lifted your boot and planted it firmly into the jaw of the creature that had clamped down onto her wrist. You felt a sickening crunch as it was flung backwards, sending you sliding backwards along with Wendy at the same time.

Now alerted to your presence, the second creature diverted its full attention to you. But before it could do anything harmful, you swung your blade down into the side of its belly, disemboweling it in the process, its guts spilling out and onto the slick ground as it struggled to stand.

Finally, Wendy sent the poor thing flying backwards with a swift kick from below.

Soon afterwards, you reached the bottom, where you and Wendy tumbled and slid around, wrapped in each other’s arms, before collapsing into a sweaty and bloodied heap.

Breathing heavily, neither of you said a word as you listened to the sound of jackals hollering from the top of the slope. Likely an attempt to save face, made by those who were unwilling to follow you down.

What do you say?

>”Okay...now that was kind of badass…!”
>”How’s your arm?”
>”I hate this planet…so god damn much.”
>”How much further until we make it to the rendezvous?”
>”Let’s just rest here for a moment...and enjoy the peace and quiet.”
>Write-in.

>>4907543
>”Okay...now that was kind of badass…!”
>”How’s your arm?”

>>4907543
>”I hate this planet…so god damn much.”
>”How’s your arm?”

>>4907543
>”Okay...now that was kind of badass…!”
>”How’s your arm?”

>>4907558
>>4908352
Writing...

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“Okay…” you breathe heavily. “Now that was kind of badass…!” you say, laughing to yourself a bit. It comes out as a sort of dry heaving sound in someone else’s voice.

“Oh yeah?” Wendy said, sounding just as worn out as you were, if not more. “Well, if you’re planning on climbing back up there and sliding down again, be sure to say hi to the cave stalkers for me.”

Despite her sarcastic tone, you noticed that the corners of her lips were curling into a small grin. As always, your behavior was positively infectious.

“How’s your arm?” you ask, craning your neck up to glance at her mangled limb. It was a rather nasty wound that probably required immediate medical attention.

She reached up to touch it, letting out a sharp hiss with just the slightest bit of contact. “Broken...in several places.” she grimaced, talking through gritted teeth. “Losing a shit ton of blood...gotta get it bandaged up.” she muttered to herself, trying to will herself to stand once more. You did the same, with limited success from both sides.

Your body ached, and your muscles were screaming. A feeling that you were becoming very familiar with as of late.

“Hey Kenny,” Wendy said, tightly clutching her wrist as blood flowed freely down her hand. “Reach into my pack and grab my med-pack, will ya?”

She was beginning to look pale. You needed to hurry.

But as you went behind her to dig into her bag, you heard a deafening explosion from overhead, followed by a thunderous roar. You nearly jumped out of your own skin, but Wendy just kept her gaze directed skyward, her expression becoming hard.

“Those sound like sub-light engines…” you say, searching the ground frantically for your discarded weapons. “Do you think they’re here to finish us off?” you ask.

Wendy didn’t answer. Instead, she squinted hard at the shuttle that was descending into the cavern. You tried to move, but their searchlights found you and your sister, freezing you in place and forcing you to shield your eyes.

Wendy, however, didn’t shield her eyes at all. Rather, she began smiling, a feeling of relief washing over her as she released the tension in her shoulders.

“What?” you ask frantically. “What’s going on”

Without turning to face you, Wendy answers. “Revonnahgander Smoke Jumpers.” she gasped in disbelief. “Going from planet to planet and putting fires out all around the galaxy.”

Still puzzled by your answer, you look back to the shuttle, now coming in for a landing. Before it even touched the ground, a tall, lanky and humanoid figure came jumping out of the vehicle. He wore a black and orange coat that covered up the majority of his grey and black fur, and a flat, disk-shaped hat. It kind of reminded you of a fireman’s uniform.

(Cont.)

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“Are you alright?” the man asked, sounding much more formal and polite than you’d expected him to.

“Do I...look alright to you?” Wendy asked, her breathing growing even more ragged.

“Your injury. It looks serious.” the man observed, stating the obvious. “We’d better get you aboard.”

Together with the Revonnahgander, you helped Wendy onto the shutte, where she received immediate medical attention. Part of you wondered whether this was how her arm got amputated. You shudder at the thought.

But before you yourself can enter the shuttle, another portal is torn open right in front of you, sucking you right in without a moment’s warning!

-------

Inside, you see a swirl of colors and twisting, abstract shapes. It looked extremely similar to the astral plane, but considering how you’ve only been there once, you can’t be entirely sure that your assumption was accurate.

“Wade! Can ---hear me!?” shouted a voice in the distance. The voice continued to echo, layering on top of itself as the sound sent ripples through the air.

Then, you whipped your head around just in time to see Verdona floating behind you. Her expression was one of concern, but you were more concerned about her at this point.

Her body was blinking in and out, shimmering and fritzing like a CRT with bad reception.

“Verdona!” you shouted back. “Are you alright? What’s happening?”

At least you sounded like yourself again.

“Mem-ries collapsing --on th--selves. Temporal -isplaceme-- --tected.” she attempted to explain. You weren’t getting every other word, but you could more or less piece things together.

Wendy’s memories were somehow changing while you were inside her head. It almost reminded you of...the thing that happened to you in Aku’s alternate future!

Someone must have gone back to the past and changed something, causing Wendy’s memories to conflict with one another. Was that why you were flung out of that doorway?

You need more answers.

>”Any idea what, or who, caused the temporal displacement?”
>”Is Wendy okay? Where is she?”
>”I was in one of her memories just now, but I was someone else. How’s that possible?”
>”Can’t you fix this? I thought Anodites could do anything.”
>”What happens if either of us get hurt in Wendy’s memories? Will our real bodies remain unharmed?”
>Write-in.

>>4908459
>"What can i do to help with this?"

One question, but most important one i feel.

>>4908459
>>"What can i do to help with this?"

>>4908700
>>4908905
Writing...

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“What can I do to help?” you ask, finding that to be one of the most basic and crucial questions that you could ask right now.

Fortunately, Verdona’s reception had been getting a bit better.

“-e must follow her thr-ugh her chang-ng memories and reconstruct -er psyche.” she explained, sounding more coherent this time. “I n--d you for this, Wade. Wh-le I’m busy mapping out her neural p-thways, you must do wh-t you can to keep track of her in all this.”

“So I just need to follow her around in her memories?” you confirm. “Sounds easy enough.” you shrug. But considering what you just went through, it would be easier said than done.

With a nod, Verdona ripped open yet another portal. You were unsure as to where exactly it led to, but you had no doubt that it would take you straight to Wendy, no matter where, or when, she was.

“-e careful!” Verdona warned, cutting out at the very beginning of her sentence.

You nod back, and dive straight through the portal!

Hold on, Wendy!

------

You awake to the sound of a metal sparking off of rock, echoing in your ears and repeating throughout the quarry. But it wasn’t just an echo. It was the same exact sound, being created multiple times, and at varying volumes.

“Get back to work!” barked a man that looked like Vulkanus, carrying a plasma flail on his hip. And it looked like he was talking to you.

“Hey, Kenny,” said a familiar voice in the near distance. “You trying to get fired or something?” You turned to see your sister, sweating profusely and gripping a pickaxe in one hand. One cybernetic hand. The very same one that had gotten crushed back in the cave.

You wince reflexively, unable to take your eyes off of her hand before she noticed what you were eyeing. Wendy followed your gaze, and looked back at you with a tired expression.

She didn’t say it directly, but her face was somehow telling you “Stop looking at me like that. It wasn’t your fault, so don’t worry about it”.

“I said,” shouted the man from before, now stomping towards you with fervor. “Get back to work!” he repeated.

It had taken you this long to realize that you yourself were holding a pickaxe. So like everyone else, you decided to get to work.

--------

After filling your daily quota and retiring your gear to your locker, you and Wendy took a quick shower in the changing rooms and started your journey back home. Wherever that was.

“I think that Soldaat Mkulu was checking you out today.” Wendy said, walking ahead of you with her hands shoved in the pockets of a worn jacket. “Could put in a good word for you if you’re interested.” she offered.

“No thanks.” you chuckled. “I don’t like the way she flicks her tongue out at me during lunch time. Makes me feel funny.”

(Cont.)

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Your voice was different again. You weren’t Wade anymore. You were this…”Kenny” person that Wendy had gotten to know in the past.

“Mm. I bet it does.” Wendy said teasingly, glancing back in your direction. But in that split second, a large, slightly lanky Kerdos Caiman bumped into her, knocking her down and making no actual effort to avoid the collision.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Wendy growled while rubbing her head. You rushed to help her off the ground, now forced to look up to the large croc.

“Oops! Sorry…” the croc said, unapologetically. He was wearing a black tank top with some loose pants that reminded you of prison garb. “Didn’t see you there.”

The croc snickered, his eyes raising in delight as his buddies patted him on the back for his show of bravado.

“Then maybe you should get your eyes checked, pal.” she retorted, her words dripping with venom.

The Caiman and his group froze in place, low growls emanating from their throats as they glared at you and your sister. “What was that…?” the Caiman, asked in a clearly threatening manner as he stepped forward to meet Wendy’s challenge. No matter how fierce your sister was, there was no way that she could match that piercing red glare of his.

“You heard me, you big leathery piece of shit.” she said, pressing a finger into his chest now.

Murmurs could be heard from the crowd now gathering around you. Their eyes told of great expectations as they prayed for a bloodbath to ensue between the five of you.

What do you do?

>”Ease up, Wendy. He’s not worth it.”
>”Yeah! You heard her!”
>”C’mon guys. I’m really not in the mood to get arrested today. Why don’t we go get some drinks instead?”
>Whip out your foldable shovel and slam it into the Caiman’s face.
>Use your knowledge of Kerdos Caiman biology to make him cry, and then publicly humiliate him.
>Write-in.

>>4909074
>”Ease up, Wendy. He’s not worth it.”
vradn

>>4909074
>>”Ease up, Wendy. He’s not worth it.”

>>4909379
>>4911722
Writing...

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Sensing the danger in the air, you quickly move to grab your sister’s arm. “Ease up, Wendy.” you advise her while shaking your head. “He’s not worth it.”

She glanced at you, then back at the croc. Her eyes darted back and forth for a good while, before she wrenched her arm free of your grasp with an audible grunt.

“Fine…” she hissed through clenched teeth. Quickly turning your backs on the instigator, you and Wendy started back down the street in the opposite direction, hoping that taking the long way home would prevent another chance encounter with the Caiman.

The crowd was clearly disappointed by your decision. More so, the ones hoping to get a quick Tayden or two by betting on the result of the scrap. But high above their jeers and groans, rose a triumphant cackle from the Caiman himself.

“That’s right!” he sneered. “You’d better run!”

Right beside you, Wendy was grinding her teeth so hard you thought they’d crack from the pressure.

Beyond the jeers, and beyond the taunts of the Caiman, the one thing that Wendy absolutely could not stand was the snickering from ignorant onlookers.

The two of you remained quiet for the majority of the walk back.

-----------

“I can’t believe you, Kenny!” Wendy finally erupted, after about 40 straight minutes of silence. You were wondering if she’d ever speak to you again.

“You just let that guy walk all over us. And in front of a crowd, for fuck’s sake!” she bristled.

You rolled your eyes, struggling to maintain your patient tone. “He could’ve eaten us for breakfast, Wendy. Literally and figuratively.”

“Let him try. At least then, we would’ve held onto our dignity and street cred.” she argued.

“I think those would’ve been digested too.” you joke. Wendy didn’t smile.

“Uh-huh. Keep laughing.” she said, shooting you a sharp glare. “Today, it’s just Leatherface harassing us. But after word gets out that we became his personal doormats, we’re gonna get all sorts of dumbasses knocking our door down and trying to make chumps out of us.” she explained, strangely making sense, despite her turbulent mood. “This is just the-” Wendy began saying, before she trailed off and froze in place with an astonished look on her face.

You followed her gaze and reflected her shock once you’d seen what made her forget all about her immediate troubles.

As if your day couldn’t get any worse, you found your home, the shack that you and Wendy retreated back to every night, with the front door dangling off its hinges, and the lock clearly broken by force.

“Motherfucker!” Wendy cursed under her breath as she started towards the shack. And you were right behind her.

-------

(Cont.)

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It took your combined strength to force the door open again. Your guess was that your thief had somehow managed to bend the frame, preventing it from opening or closing completely. The scene inside didn’t make you any more optimistic about your situation.

You could barely see the floor, as both your clothes were tossed aside in a mad scramble to locate your lockbox. There was no telling what he, or she, could have-

Suddenly, a deep state of panic settled into your stomach. One that you couldn’t understand or comprehend. Were these the emotions of this “Kenny” person?

Either way, it sent you into a quiet frenzy as you tore your way through the room in an effort to find...whatever it was that had gotten “you” so upset. After about a minute of muttering to yourself and cursing this burglar, you found it. And to your surprise, “it” was a...metal cube of some sort?

“It” looked to be made of an incredibly durable metal, but that was all that you knew about the object. And while it seemed vaguely familiar for some reason, it also filled you with indescribable feelings of angst and contempt. The feeling didn't originate from the cube itself, but the object within the cube.

“FUCK!” shouted Wendy, snapping you out of your trance. The next sound was that of her tossing your now empty lockbox across the room. The one that had previously been used to store the meager savings that you’d squirrelled away in order to get off this backwater planet once and for all. “It’s all gone…” she growled, stomping around the room in a huff. “THE LITTLE SHITSTAIN TOOK ALL OF IT!” she exploded, her booming voice echoing in the cramped metal shack.

Your last paycheck was in that lockbox. And your rent’s almost due. This is seriously bad!

Somehow, you need to make that money back. But how?

>”They didn’t take everything…” Show “it” to her.
>”I wonder who it was…” Hide the cube in your bag before Wendy notices.
>”Don’t worry, Wendy. We’re gonna catch this creep and get our money back.”
>”Are there any quick and easy jobs that we can take? Like, Merc work?”
>”Come on. Let’s report this to security. Maybe they can figure something out.”
>Write-in.

>>4912275
>”They didn’t take everything…” Show “it” to her.
>”Don’t worry, Wendy. We’re gonna catch this creep and get our money back.”

>>4912275
>>”They didn’t take everything…” Show “it” to her.
>>”Don’t worry, Wendy. We’re gonna catch this creep and get our money back.”

>>4913133
>>4914610
Writing...

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Inhaling sharply, you approach her with the cube in hand.

“They didn’t take everything…” you say, your expression showing signs of doubt and regret. Wendy’s eyes flicked up to you, and back down to the cube. Her confusion was evident, so you decided to do the one thing that you’d promised yourself you wouldn’t do ever since you left home. You opened the cube.

With a series of twists and precise key presses, the cube opened with a sharp hiss, revealing...an Omnitrix!?

“Don’t worry, Wendy.” you continued. “We’re gonna catch this creep and get our money back.”

Shielding her eyes from the emerald light, Wendy gazed at you with scrutiny.

“What the fuck’s that supposed to be?” she asked, ignorant of the true power of what you held in your hands.

The corners of your lips curled upwards, revealing a small, but confident grin.

“My secret weapon.” you declare, before slapping the thing on your wrist. The feeling of the watch’s chassis bonding to you on a molecular level brought some mild discomfort, but you couldn’t say that you weren’t used to it by now.

But…why were you used to it? You were having a hard time figuring out who this guy was, let alone why you were experiencing his memories.. Maybe you’d figure it out if you kept playing along and going with the flow.

From muscle memory, you instinctively pop up the Omnitrix’s core, select Wildmutt and slam your hand back down onto it, flooding the room with emerald light in the process.

By the time that it dissipates, Wendy found herself left alone in the room with a Vulpimancer, with her friend Kenny nowhere to be seen!

“Gah!” she screamed, scrambling backwards on the floor and desperately searching for her spare blaster. “What happened!? What’d you do to Kenny!?” she shrieked.

Upon finding her weapon, she pulled her blaster up to find...you standing up on your hind legs, holding one hand up and waving a torn white t-shirt in the other as if it were a flag.

Confusion visible on her face, Wendy held her blaster steady. “Oookay? So you’re smarter than the average Vulpimancer.” she speculated. “Either that, or you’re some sort of...well-trained attack dog.”

You shook your head, pointing directly at the Omnitrix symbol planted firmly on your shoulder. Wendy squinted at it, lowering her blaster ever so slightly. And then, her eyes went wide, as the recent memory of seeing the symbol came flooding back. Confusion was now replaced by concern.

“...Kenny…?” she almost whimpered. “What the hell happened to you?”

Now getting to her feet and dropping the blaster, Wendy approached you with her arms held out in front of her. You tried to speak, quickly forgetting that Vulpimancers were incapable of speaking Basic, as their vocal cords just weren’t built for that sort of articulate speech.

(Cont.)

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Instead, you made a show of sniffing the empty lockbox on the floor. Wendy stopped dead in her tracks as you memorized the scent, catching a faint glimpse of a trial leading out of the shack.

Honestly, picking Wildmutt as the first alien that you’d transformed into in years didn’t feel like the wisest decision. Having your vision bleed away into a detailed grid of infrared signals, sound waves and pungent smells was incredibly disorienting if you weren’t prepared for the near-instant transition.

“What is it?” Wendy asked.

In response, you raised a finger towards the door and nodded at her.

“You...want me to follow you.” she said, not as a question, but as a statement that only proved to deepen her state of bewilderment.

You nodded once more, before bolting for the door and sprinting into the streets, hoping to keep the trail while it was still fresh. Behind you, you could hear Wendy shouting after you.

You’d be sure to keep a decent pace so that she’d be able to keep you within eyesight. At some point, the thought of letting her ride on your back crossed your mind, but under the circumstances, you doubt that she’d be willing to comply.

No. You would have to tread lightly with Wendy discovering the existence of an Omnitrix. There were several reasons for that, with the most important being that there should only ever be one in this entire universe!

Oh well. What’s done is done. For now, you should focus on nabbing that thief! You’d have to worry about explaining things to your friend sometime later. Along with the fact that you’ve been holding onto it for quite some time. Long enough to know that you, indeed, could have prevented her from losing an arm…

(To be continued…)

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>Meanwhile…
>Midtown, Bellwood
>8:32 pm

In the dead of night, in an unusually unpopulated section of Midtown that was slated to be used by aspiring realtors as space for a new neighborhood to be built in preparation for the imminent alien gentrification of Bellwood, a dwarf of a man fled for his life.

His heart pounded, his stubby little legs were pumping with all their strength, and his breath was hard and heavy. He’d been running for quite some time now.

Ever since that wretched “X” character had foiled his plans, he’d planned to go into hiding for a while. After confirming that his hypnotic conditioning was an undisputed success, Sublimino had planned on expanding his influence, ruling the world from the shadows and building up his strength until he was ready to go beyond the stars. If only he could’ve figured out how that blasted extranet worked! If Albedo had only played his part, then this would all have gone so much smoother!

Well...it truly didn't matter anymore. Dwelling on the past wouldn’t fix anything. Right now, Sublimino needed an escape route. Somewhere, anywhere that could get him away from-

Just then, a blinding light shone from above, followed by the sound of whipping winds circling high above.

Hell’s bells! They’d found him again! And so easily this time…

Unsurprisingly, Sublimino made yet another run for it, only to be cut off by a squad of elite commandos, dressed head to toe in Providence’s gear, pointing guns directly at him!

They were all around him now! There was nowhere left to run. He had to resort to…”that”.

Digging into the breast pocket of his crimson coat, Sublimino brandished an ancient looking pocket watch and began swinging it back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth…

“Obey me…” he said in a hypnotic tone. “Obey m-”
He’d barely gotten the words out before a well placed bullet collided with his pocket watch, shattering it in the process! Sublimino yelped and fell backwards in reaction, miraculously unharmed from the attack.

Great. Now they really had him.

But instead of detaining him, the soldiers simply made sure that he stayed put, the beady red eyes of their tactical goggles watching his every move.

“That’s far enough Sublimino.” said the voice of an unfamiliar woman from behind. And sure enough, the source of the voice brought herself out to be seen, illuminated only by the searchlight of the helicopter overhead. Standing over him was a seemingly middle aged woman with striking features. Her indigo hair was short, covering her right eye completely, and her eyes were a similar color, cold and calculating as they were. She wore a dark green military uniform, with a long black cape that flowed in the wind.

(Cont.)

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“Your tricks won’t work on us anymore.” she confidently stated. But as the words came out of her mouth, Sublimino couldn’t help but notice the presence of another. Eyes in the dark peering into his very soul, sizing him up, as if he were vulnerable prey left to bleed out on the jungle floor.

Yes, there was someone else there. He was certain of it! And his suspicions were confirmed when a second person emerged from the darkness to stand beside the dark-haired woman.

Despite his age, he had a muscular build. His long, dark mane reached down to the middle of his back, and a big, shaggy beard stretched down to his chest. The gray patches of hair were telling signs of his advanced age, but Sublimino would never have guessed that the toned, well-trained body he was looking at belonged to that of an old man. And then there was the scar. That deep, menacing scar over his right eye. It certainly accentuated the deep, menacing scowl that permeated his wrinkled face.

There was so much hatred in his expression. So much contempt. Sublimino wondered what he had done to wrong this particular person.

“We can still take him into custody, you know.” the woman suggested to him.

“I know…” the old man replied, keeping his eyes firmly locked onto Sublimino. “But that won’t solve the problem. Locking him away would only delay the issue.”

So...he wasn’t going to jail? What then, would they do with him?

“No…” the old man growled, reaching for the blaster at his hip.

Sublimino’s heart stopped. “W-wait!” he pleaded, slowly crawling backwards away from the old man. “We can work this out!”

“He hurt my grandson. My family.” he continued, his voice dropping an octave lower. “And I can’t let that happen again…”

Suddenly, before Sublimino could even react, the old man whipped out his blaster pistol and fired a bolt of heated plasma right between the dwarf’s eyes. With a twitch, his body fell limp, smoke rising from the gaping hole in his forehead. Most couldn’t stand to watch the grizzly aftermath, but the intense woman and the old man were different. They continued to watch, long after the cleanup crew brought out the body and disposed of his remains.

“It’s finally over, then.” the woman said, sighing and holding her arms by the elbows as she gazed up at the night sky.

“Yeah…” the old man replied, not taking his eyes off of the spot where he’d shot the dwarf.

“What’ll you do now?” she asked, waving a hand to her subordinates, ordering them to give the two of them some room. They compiled without another word.

The man shrugged. “Dunno. I’m thinking of moving into a mansion with my grandkids and their friends.” he said, sounding a little more lively than before.

(Cont.)

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The woman’s thin lips curled into a smile. “How quaint.” she replied in a slightly derisive manner. “I meant to ask about your employment, actually.”

The old man finally turned to look at her, his expression unreadable.

“Now that the Plumbers are shutting down, I was hoping to extend an offer to join our ranks.” the woman continued. “I can promote you to position fitting of your skills. You could even lead your own squad.”

Drawing closer to the old man, the woman wrapped her arms around him. “It could be just like old times.” she whispered in a sultry tone. And before he could react, her lips locked with his, and the two became intertwined beneath the night sky.

The moment was brief, as it took Phil everything that he had to pull her away from him, an unsatisfied look left on her face.

“We can’t do this anymore, Knight.” Phil pleaded, still grabbing her by the shoulders. “We’re just not good for each other.”

“You mean, I’m not good enough for your make-believe family.” she said, smiling slightly as she ran a finger up his chest. Phil slapped it away.

“Make believe?” he asked, struggling to contain his anger. “I am their grandfather, Knight.” he said, pointing to himself.

Knight gave him a pitying look, but maintained that thin smile all the same.

“Right.” she said in her usual clipped tone. “Of course you are.”

Finally, Phil broke away from her, feeling guilty about giving into his blazing passions.

“Anyway,” he began, hoping to shake away the awkward tension. “Thanks for setting this up. I owe you one.”

“Come now, Phil.” she laughed. “What are old friends for?”

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Phil rubbed the back of his neck. “Right…” he said, low enough so that only the two of them could hear it. “I’ll see you around.”

And with that, Phil turned to depart from Knight’s company, leaving her alone to wonder when she would be allowed to meet her adorable “grandson”.

(To be continued.)

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And that'll be it for this thread. I hope you guys are enjoying the quest so far.

I've been noticing a good amount of new players recently, so I'm happy to know that the archived threads and recaps are good for something.

If you guys have any questions or concerns, be sure to let me know. I'll answer them to the best of my ability without revealing too much. Even if it's just to confront me about something that you don't like, I welcome all kinds of feedback.

Do you guys have any favorite aliens from the ones that I've given you recently? Any changes that you might want to make to the "Top Ten"?

If not, then I'll see you guys next time when I throw up the next thread tomorrow. And as always, thanks for playing. The Show's Over!

>>4914874
I can't say he is favorte but I would like to see more of Sin Cycle, not only because of that whole puberty thing but I also because I suspect his multiple eyes and speed make him well suited for the water stance and maybe other some other things with the katana

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>>4916465
Spin Cycle's physical changes should happen pretty soon. And as for the sword stances, there are a few that have yet to be discovered. I'm eager to see how you guys utilize some of Wade's techniques with his alien forms.

Also, the new thread is up! >>4916896