Ritsuka's POV
The Shadow Border's steel ramp hissed as it lowered, the familiar hum of its engines echoing against the enclosed hangar walls. I led the way inside, letting the others filter in behind me. The air inside was strangely comforting....our last true sanctuary in this strange, fractured world.
Da Vinci's eyes sparkled with wonder the moment she stepped in. "Oh! So this is the Shadow Border created by my Rider self. I must say, she's got an eye for craftsmanship. Refined lines, elegant systems… but she have more room to learn.!"
I chuckled at her enthusiasm. "This is replica, Maybe one day you'll get to meet her.... I think you'd like each other."
Da Vinci clapped her hands, cheeks glowing with excitement. "Oh, that would be delightful! Though I'm sure I look better than her, naturally."
Before I could talk more, I turned to the towering figure awkwardly ducking through the entrance. His yellow armor gleamed faintly under the Shadow Border's lights, his optics flickering as he shuffled in, muttering to himself.
"Alright, uh, introductions. The situation with Fury isn't good before," I said firmly, placing myself between him and the others. "So let's keep things clear here. I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka, Master of Chaldea. These are my allies. Da Vinci, Romani, Hakuno, Morgan, Castoria, Karna… and Moriarty."
The yellow bot straightened up, raising a hand. "Well, I'm BADASS—"
I held up a hand quickly. "That name's… good. But it sounds more like a codename than a real identity. If you're starting a new journey here, you'll need something else to go by." I tilted my head, "And honestly, you remind me of honeybees."
Hakuno tilted her head thoughtfully. "What about… Bumblebee? Close enough to bees, but softer. Friendly."
The bot froze. His optics widened, and then his metallic grin stretched wide. "Bumblebee… Bumblebee. I like that one. I really like that one! Yeah, I'm Bumblebee!"
He struck a dramatic pose, then immediately tripped over the Shadow Border's ramp and scrambled up again, muttering, "Nailed it. Totally nailed it."
I didn't smile this time. My expression hardened as I took a step closer. "Bumblebee, listen to me. I want to be serious with you now."
The bot stiffened at my tone, his cheerful fidgeting halting.
"You may not realize it," I continued, "but your situation is dangerous. Extremely dangerous. I didn't want to say it in front of Fury, but we brought you here so you'd hear it from us directly."
Bumblebee's optics blinked nervously. "Uh-oh. I don't like where this is going."
Da Vinci crossed her arms, her face unusually grim. "The way you arrived here… it wasn't natural. Space and time don't simply crack apart like that without cause. Reality itself broken and somehow bent to bring you here. Such event doesn't happen by accident at all."
Hakuno nodded firmly. "Being transported to a different world isn't like some wild adventure story. It's… catastrophic. A sign that something far larger is at play."
Romani adjusted his hair, speaking with that soft voice of his that somehow made the words heavier. "We only came here because Ritsuka acted as our anchor, using himself as a catalyst. You, however… you just fell through. That makes your arrival far stranger. And far more dangerous."
Bumblebee's servos whirred as he shifted uncomfortably, glancing between them like he was trapped in a room full of madmen. Their calm, matter-of-fact tones only made it worse.
"…Okay, note to self," he muttered aloud, "the otherworld aliens are the real crazies here, and I'm apparently the only normal person left."
Da Vinci caught his unease and softened, offering a small smile. "Forgive us. We didn't mean to frighten you, Bee. It's not as terrible as it sounds. Just… serious."
Bumblebee slowly raised a hand, pointing at her. "So… was it bad?"
She tilted her head, gave the kind of smile that wasn't really comforting at all, and nodded once. "Yes."
Bumblebee groaned, dropping his head in his hands. 'Primus help me. I knew I should've stayed in sidelines today…'
Bumblebee sat on the Shadow Border's reinforced floor, legs folded awkwardly like a kid told to stay put. His optics flicked nervously as the others surrounded him, their calm but heavy words clearly weighing him down.
Finally, he raised his hand. "You know what? I don't feel any bad in my body now."
Da Vinci tilted her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Imagine this, Bee. You have a place—your place. A world where every rule is yours. Then suddenly, someone from the outside steps in. A foreigner. They disrupt everything you know, change how the place works. Wouldn't you feel the need to… remove them?"
Bee blinked, gears whirring as he thought. "Well… yeah. I'd kick his shiny tailpipe out. That's my turf."
Da Vinci's smile turned bittersweet. "Exactly. Now… you've come to this world. That makes you the foreigner."
Bumblebee straightened up, shaking his head like a stubborn kid. "Hold up. I'm a good boy. Everyone loves me! I've got charm, style, sweet voice! Who'd wanna kick me out?"
Da Vinci's eyes softened, her tone almost gentle. "I do, Bee. I love you already. You're… a piece of art. Beautiful lines. A smile that could light up a battlefield."
For a moment, the massive Autobot actually froze. His optics flickered brighter, then dimmed, and if a robot could blush, he certainly did. "W–wait. You think I'm… beautiful?"
Romani groaned, rolling his eyes. "Da Vinci, stop flirting with the giant alien toaster."
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "And this is why I wear a special suit whenever I travel through different timelines or singularities. To match my body to the rules of whatever reality I step into. Without it, I'd risk breaking everything just by existing."
Bee's optics focused on me, and for once, he looked like he understood. "So… you're saying… I'm the foreign object. And if I don't fit in, this world might…"
"Crash," Hakuno finished, her tone sharp. "Like a corrupted foreign file or you will die on your own And we don't know if your presence is tearing at the seams already."
Bee didn't understand all of that.
The word file hung in the air. Moriarty, who had been unusually quiet, suddenly tilted his head, muttering to himself, "…foreign file…"
His eyes sharpened, the calculation clicking behind them. He looked up sharply at Morgan, Da Vinci, and Romani. "Tell me—would it be possible to use magecraft to stabilize a foreigner's body? To reshape them so their form matches the rules of this reality?"
Morgan crossed her arms, frowning. "It is possible. But it would require a constant spell, woven over their existence for the rest of their life. The moment the casting fails, reality would correct itself—with lethal force. Either the body would break… or the world would."
Moriarty's lips curled into a smile that carried no joy—only revelation. "Finally… I've found it. The thing that has been gnawing at me ever since we arrived here."
Castoria leaned forward, unease in her voice. "What do you mean, Professor? What did you discover?"
Moriarty spread his arms theatrically, his shadow stretching long across the Border's walls. His voice carried weight, venom, and dread.
"We are all… staged in this world. Pieces arranged by someone unseen. This isn't coincidence. This situation is created by someone."
Karna leaned against the armored wall, his arms crossed, red eyes burning with quiet intensity. "What do you mean, Moriarty?"
The young Professor chuckled low, a glint of smug satisfaction in his gaze. "Simple, my dear lancer. We came to this world in the same way as our metallic friend here but a little different way. That makes us all foreigners....just like him. And yet… no reality has shattered, no world-breaking rejection has struck us down. Curious, isn't it?"
Romani's eyes widened as the implication sank in. He adjusted his glasses, muttering, "Then… this world must have accepted us because… our physical forms already match the rules of this reality."
"Correct," Moriarty said with a flourish.
Da Vinci's smile faltered, her voice low and thoughtful. "And the fact that this world accepts us so perfectly… is no coincidence."
Castoria frowned. "Then…?"
Moriarty turned toward me, his eyes gleaming with unsettling insight. "Master… how did you come to this world? Think carefully. Anything unusual you remember?"
I closed my eyes, forcing myself to remember… nothing. My fists clenched. "I… can't. It felt like I was asleep. When I woke up… it was Hydra. I'm in the middle of Their ritual."
Hakuno tilted her head, her tone hesitant. "Maybe it's just coincidence. By luck?"
"Luck?" Moriarty's lips curved into a bitter smile. "If it's luck, it's cursed. I've lived long enough to know one truth: luck has never been my ally. Don't you all feel it? Every event, every turn… it's as though someone placed Fujimaru Ritsuka exactly where he needed to be, at the perfect moment to begin a new journey."
The air went heavy. No one spoke.
Bumblebee broke the silence, his voice tinny and nervous as his radio flickered random clips. "Whaaat the hell you are talking—?!" He threw his hands up. "I'm just saying!"
His outburst fell flat against the silence.
Moriarty's smile twisted. "I don't have evidence. Nothing tangible, nothing to pin down. But… someone cast a spell of unimaginable power. One that aligned us with this world, tuned our very existence to its frequency. As Morgan said before, such a thing would normally require endless maintenance. Yet here we are, walking freely, untouched. That alone is proof of intervention."
"I don't believe this…" My voice was low, almost a growl. But my chest tightened, and I couldn't ignore it. "But my heart… agrees with you. I don't know why."
Da Vinci exhaled, leaning back in her seat. "Then we have to face the possibility that someone is using us. The same way Marisbury Animusphere once used Chaldea, manipulating humanity like pieces on a chessboard."
Her words made my teeth grit. My hands shook before I realized it. The very name Marisbury was enough to stir the anger I tried so hard to bury.
Romani's face grew serious. "If that's true, then we need to know who's behind this. And more importantly… their intentions."
Castoria looked at Bee, her expression firm. "Then the same person is likely behind your arrival as well. You didn't come here by chance."
Morgan gave a sharp nod. "That explains why this world hasn't rejected him. His existence here was prepared—forced into alignment."
Bee froze, glancing around like a kid caught in class without understanding the lesson. "Wait, wait, wait—you're saying some creepy-y dude reached across the my world, grabbed me, and then dropped me here on purpose?! What kind of sick game is that?!"
I stood, the weight of everyone's eyes falling on me. "If that's the case… then there's only one thing we can do. Even if someone out there is pulling strings, using us as their pieces… we follow our hearts. Not their plan."
My voice carried across the cabin, sharp and certain. "That's how we win."
---
Note: The intelligent beings felt something is off. And James was first to find it. I believe such intelligent characters will get self-awareness of someone is playing with them. This behaviour lacks in og script. I think this chapter makes my story different to others. Because I not afraid of making them do what they think is right. I took Spiderman Into the SpiderVerse for reference and made the characters figure out.