Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to go to another world?
Maybe have a field day doing dumb stuff without consequences, or maybe even take a break from mundane work life?
All of us have thought like that at some point in life. If not as adults, then definitely as kids.
But, probably not for a while huh...
After all, no one has time for anything that can potentially cause more unnecessary drama.
Unfortunately, there's always some idiots who can't leave trouble well enough alone.
Or rather, idiots who always get in over their head.
Which leads to the events of our soon to be protagonist.
But before that, let's back up a bit.
It all started with panicked running.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
7 hours Ago
Hurried footsteps filled the air, as a black haired male ran down the hallway, his headphones bouncing up and down on his neck with each step, a strand of blue splashed through his hair being the only glaring thing off about his appearance.
Passing a corner, his sneakers let out a fearsome screech as he slid around it, and continued running, sprinting past the cafeteria as he did so.
One of the lunch ladies stuck her head out after him.
"Ren! Slow down. The principal already warned you about speeding through the halls!"
The boy in question, now identified as Ren, merely sped up his pace, causing the lunch lady to sigh and shake her head in bemusement.
"Kids these days. Always in a rush. It's not like it's a matter of life and death..."
_
"Pepe! This is a matter of life and death!"
Purple eyes stared up at Ren with dry amusement as he hunched over, panting from running all the way here from his house.
"How many times do I have to tell you, my name isn't Pepe? Whatever, what's got you all worked up? You look like you were told some earth shattering news."
Ren continued panting as he tried to find his words.
After a brief period, he lurched forward and grabbed the person he dubbed Pepe's shoulders.
"Where's Michael?! Today is June 7th and tomorrow is the day I leave for Japan!"
Pepe raised an eyebrow in confusion, her expression the epitome of the word 'and?'
Seeing this, Ren shook her harder.
"We were supposed to celebrate his birthday before I left! But I overslept and now I have only three hours till I have to go home!"
Letting her go a few minutes later, he began pacing around the room frantically, mumbling to himself.
Pepe meanwhile was straightening her clothes out and watching him go back and forth, listening to him mutter.
"Should I just pretend to have left early? No, that would be rude and completely out of character..."
"Ren."
"Maybe I can use Chelsea as bait? I know he's dating my sister so that could work as a distraction..."
"Ren."
"Or maybe I could-"
"REN!"
Having enough of his frantic mess, Pepe let out a yell to gather his attention.
Turning quizzically, crimson pupils looked at Pepe's raised hand pointing behind her.
"If you're looking for Michael he's right there. You ran him over on your way in."
Ren quickly looked over, only to flinch upon seeing the state of the person he was looking for.
Michael was twitching in a crater on the ground.
"Wjeshdzsdjns ehfndndeija...."
Gibberish left the boy's mouth as his arms and legs twitched, and white froth slowly dribbled out of his mouth.
"Oh shit! Don't go into the light!"
Cue another round of panic as Ren rushed over, only to make it worse as he ended up stepping on the poor Yamcha pose hitting boys nads, leading to another round of screaming and panicking as Michael's eyes rolled up into the back of his head.
Pepe watched from the sidelines, sipping a can of soda she had gotten from God knows where.
'Those two... I can't say I'll miss these interactions...'
Musing to herself quietly, she took another sip and watched Ren slowly drag the body away.
"Pepe! Help me! We gotta make sure no one finds out about this. Maybe the dumpster will work? They do it often in movies..."
"You'd be lost without me."
Standing up, she grabbed the arms of Michael, and together Ren and Pepe managed to haul the limp body of Michael out of the school.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"Woo.... Can't say that wasn't a hassle and a half to deal with..."
The black haired boy was now walking back home, hands on his head as he walked across a rooftop, a method of avoiding the crowd.
Ironically, despite how scary it sounds, as long as you don't look down it isn't that bad. Stellar advice right?
Michael luckily turned out to be ok, if not a bit out of it from his future generations being destroyed. However, with what little time they had, Michael suggested just playing a few games as a last ditch effort to hang out together. He only did so under the premise that Ren agreed to make it up to him the next time he comes back to the states.
"Still though. I am going to miss the states, no matter how much I complain about them. Even if it costs an arm and leg to afford a Chicken sandwich, I made some decent friends down here..."
Ren paused as he got lost in thought for a bit, his foot slipping off the rooftop edge as he began freefalling.
"Oops!"
With a surprised gasp, his hand flailed around before he barely caught the ledge reflexively, stopping his fall before he actually met his demise.
Letting go he landed in a crouch on the ground, which was luckily less than 20 feet. So no injury sustained. (I'm not joking either, a human can survive most falls under 25 feet without injury. Not bad. Look it up.)
Sighing to himself, he began itching his head as his pulse slowly descended. Ignoring the looks of the passerby who were debating whether or not to call an ambulance.
"I've got to stop doing that... That's the fourth time in the past two days!"
"Oi! You over there!"
"!"
His head creaked backwards to see a strand of blue in the crowd, rapidly approaching his vicinity.
...And... That's his cue to dip!
With record time, Ren's legs were moving before his brain gave the conscious order, screaming internally all the while as he ran because the all too familiar person behind him was closing in.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Ren's run slowly trickled down into a light jog as he neared his home in the countryside, his pursuer having finally given up after the first mile.
The sun was just now setting, golden rays of dazzling light, dimming to a more serene orange and pink. The clouds which were there since early morning, now slowly ebbed away into the background, creating a tapestry of beautiful colors.
A sight he was one of the lucky few to enjoy due to living out this way.
"Well then. The not so fun part....Packing my stuff."
He walked up to the house, hand reaching for the doorknob, only to grasp nothing as the door was already cracked open for him.
...
His heart fell as he slowly closed the door behind him, and began to ease his way towards the stairs.
His foot made it to the first step before the sound of a throat clearing made him lock up.
"You're late."
"Ahahaha....Mercy?"
"...No."
His shoulders slumped as the one person he was trying to avoid stared deadpan at him from her position of sitting on the couch.
Sitting there in all her 5 ft 9 glory was a rather pretty girl with shoulder-length dark brown hair and oddly languid crimson-colored eyes. She had fair skin, doll-like features and a light complexion.
She was slouching in white shorts and a red windbreaker, a black scarf adorning her neck. A controller hung loosely in her palm.
A real keeper if one must admit. And she... Was his identical twin. Younger if Ren had anything to say by it. And a bit awkward when she started dating Michael, cause when you have a friend who looks like your girlfriend, mistakes will happen.
Shudder
"We were supposed to finish the Duos Cash Cup when you got back, but you ended up making us miss the first hour!"
She also happened to enjoy Fortnite a bit too much, and as such was a bit livid that she was forced to ditch it while waiting on Ren.
Imaginary arrows stabbed into his ribs as he slumped forward.
"Can I at least pack my stuff....?"
"Tell me what you think my answer is."
Upon hearing that voice, and seeing the 'kind' smile on her face, Ren sighed as he moved his foot away from the stairs, before walking over and plopping down next to his sister.
She tossed a controller his direction and tapped a foot impatiently as he signed in to his account and joined her party.
'This is going to be a long two hours...'
Ren could only lament his situation in his head.
He was promptly shredded from across the map by a hacker, before he even fully rendered into the game.
"..."
"Woah dude. Talk about seriously unlucky huh?"
"..."
Clench
Ren's controller began letting out an unholy whine as it was slowly squeezed to death.
Scratch that. It was going to be a long two hours of testing his self control and patience.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"...."
"Zzzzz..."
"Oh thank goodness..."
Ren let out a sigh of relief as Chelsea finally succumbed to her fatigue.
He noticed all through the matches played. Her head was nodding downwards before she quickly caught herself.
A fact that definitely didn't go unnoticed.
Cradling her in his arms, he carefully carried her to her bedroom, nearly tripping over the thousands of books she had scattered on the floor.
Shaking his head, he laid her down on her bed, before pulling the blanket over her.
Quietly exiting the room, Ren let out a quiet yawn before walking back downstairs, and sitting on the couch.
He still needed to pack-
But the couch was so comfy...
"I'll just do it in the morning..." he resolved to himself before dozing off.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"Shit shit shit! I still need to pack!"
Suffice to say he overslept.
A fact emphasized by his panicked shouting as he woke up from the couch.
He quickly stood up, or rather tried to, as his legs tangled in the blanket covering him, causing him to immediately take a nose dive on the ground.
Groaning, he shook his head before remembering he still needed to pack.
And as such made a mad dash for the stairs, skipping several steps as he made his way towards his room, and slid to a stop in confusion.
Sitting in front of his door, were his bags fully packed.
All of his clothes, games, and other excessive memorabilia were tucked together neatly.
A note lay atop the bags, which he quickly picked up and began to read:
'Hey Ren
I was hoping I could get one last game in with you before I fell asleep, but I couldn't. I know you're going to Japan tomorrow so, I just wanted you to have something to remember me by.
But you came home late and sorta ruined my plans! Oh well... Oh yeah. Breakfast is on the table for you when you wake up. Make sure to eat your fill, I heard Japanese people don't do large portions so this will probably be your last big meal! Oh and I didn't forget to pack that weird stuffed animal of yours, since you can never sleep without it.
Plus, I stuffed several of those weird battery modules you made for your headphones in the bags. Oh and Japan is a hotspot for trouble, and I know you can't leave trouble well enough alone, so I packed a gun with 7.62 mm armor piercing rou-
"..."
Folding the note, Ren tucked the note into his pocket with a small red flush adorning his cheeks.
Nevertheless he was thankful, it wasn't often he was reminded someone cared, so it was nice when it happened.
"Wait did she mention something about a gun? And why is it armor piercing specifically?!"
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Terminal of Eras, Unknown POV
The gears of fate were churning. Everyone could feel this, but none could really understand like They could. This was a fact none could avoid. Though Terminus treaded the path of Finality, even it can't escape this fact. Finality is the end of other Aeons and Paths, Finality causes amber to rupture, immortality to wither, music to mute, light arrows to dim, the Dark Sun to be reduced to ashes, and the Tavern to be covered in dust.
Even Destruction itself cannot be spared from destruction. Yet, Finality isn't the end of everything. All things will originate from there and move on to the next Finality. Finality is not the end, but rather the beginning.
Yet for there to be a beginning, there must be an end. For there to be an end there must be a beginning. If one removes a cog from this cycle of causal variables, then what would change?
They were uncertain of when, but they soon saw an anomaly in this cycle. There was no Trailblazer to blaze a path forward, so everything would soon fall in disarray. Unacceptable.
They could not accept this. Balance must be maintained, a piece must be used to ensure this cycle is not destroyed.
So They looked. They gazed until they found it, a person suited for Their needs.
All that was left was to ensure They could bring him here, even if it meant the worst possible outcome.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Ren let out a sneeze as he passed through the airport scanners.
He blinked while looking around, briefly wondering if someone was talking about him, before shrugging and putting his headphones over his ears as he walked to board the plane for his flight.
He would admit if asked, he was a bit nervous considering this was his first flight, hence the fact he was quite literally blasting music into his ears to drown out everything with sound.
The flight would be 12 hours.
Not the longest flight, but not the shortest either. Definitely not something he wanted to be awake for.
So once he got into his seat, he immediately dozed off to Ashes Remain blaring in his ear.
It was a pity he fell asleep though.
If he was awake he would have noticed several things were awry.
One,
The people that should have been on the plane with him, were nowhere near.
In fact he was the only passenger as far as the eye could see.
He can be forgiven for that, after all, one could assume he was the first passenger on, and the rest had yet to board.
However, from the time he got on, til the 15 minutes passing after he dozed.
None. Not a soul more boarded.
Now for two,
The plane was moving, or rather, there was the sensation of moving, but if you looked outside, the plane was actually staying still.
Speaking of outside, that brings us to number three,
Outside the window, where the sky should have been visible, there was nothing.
I don't mean there was no sky or anything.
There was quite literally a void outside.
The absence of color.
The absence of light.
The absence of anything that could symbolize life.
It was surreal for lack of a better phrase.
At some point the plane itself had disappeared, leaving a blissfully unaware Ren floating in that void, still asleep, still... dreaming.
Time lost all meaning in that area.
Sound did not permeate the air.
Everything and nothing simply... were.
It was an indeterminate amount of time, but soon, Ren was found by a pink haired lady.
She had just finished some business of unknown origins on New Babylon. A trail of red was left in her wake, but she moved unfazed. As if the thought of those behind her mattered not.
So imagine her surprise, after hijacking a spacecraft, sorry, borrowing, she finds a boy hugging himself as he drifts through the void.
"My my~ Things just got a bit more interesting it seems...."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Herta Space Station, Present
Dan Heng was not having a good day.
He had just finished going through the ordeal of having to stop March from accidentally starting a civil war between Himeko and Pom Pom over whether Coffee constituted as a healthy beverage.
As dumb as it sounded (cause it definitely was exceedingly dumb), it actually led to an argument ironically.
Having to play mediator was a sordid affair, and it took nearly 30 minutes to get the two to stop bickering, though Dan Heng had the feeling Himeko was doing it mostly to mess with Pom Pom.
As reliable as the train conductor was, Dan Heng would admit it was surprisingly cute when teased. Watching its little face scrunch up in frustration as it pouted was adorable, though Dan Hen would take that secret to the grave. Er, at least his grave if he thought about it. Future him could deal with the aftermath.
Point is, Dan Heng was mentally drained, and he had quickly retreated to the Archives to relax, his own approved little rest place.
He hadn't even begun to read the first page of his novel before Pom Pom's agitated voice blared throughout the train.
"Attention all passengers! Due to an unforeseen circumstance, we will be stopping by Herta's Space Station! Please meet in the lounge for further information."
As the Conductor's voice tapered off, Dan Heng let out a small frown, but followed the instructions nonetheless.
25 minutes later
25 minutes later, Dan Heng had the unfortunate virtue of slaying the antimatter legion footsoldiers.
Thankfully, March had split up to go scout the area ahead so he didn't have to deal with her engaging in conversation spanning three lifetimes.
A bit of an exaggeration but wow could she run her mouth.
A beep from his phone had him pausing to check, his spear pinning a twitching Void Reaver to the wall beside him.
"Hello?"
"Dan Heng! Quick come quick! I found a person here and they're not moving!"
...
He was speechless. How in the world did she-
"...I'll be there shortly."
Hanging up while shaking his head in bemusement, Dan Heng pulled his spear from the wall, before twirling it as he beheaded the void reaver and went to go find March.
Shortly afterward, both Dan Heng and March were standing over a raven haired boy lying peacefully asleep on the ground. Headphones hanging loosely from his neck, and a sword embedded into the ground beside him.
And soon, he opened his eyes, a piercing red shining as he stared up blinking.
"Who... Are you?"
Fin~