The universe existed as a cloud of air tinged a dark blue. Within this universe was an innumerable number of square, silvery-white rods, each side coursing with blue veins of energy. Upon these veins, structures were packed as densely as humanly possible – and in some cases even beyond that. Every visible square foot of these rods was occupied by houses, restaurants, office spaces, markets, and other structures of indeterminate purpose. There was no rhyme or reason to the location – it just was. And it seemed to go on forever. At the edges of the visible range within the blue ‘atmosphere’, the lights of other rods could be seen like distant stars.
At the intersection of three of the rods, the density of construction skyrocketed. Even though the rods meshed with each other seamlessly, the constructions added to them conglomerated into a vaguely spherical pattern of scaffolds upon which just about anything could be held. Ships docked at these scaffolds through fresh dimensional portals, some structures held on to the sphere with a tether, and other buildings floated within the scaffolding as if they were part of a tile puzzle.
It was at the edge of this spherical conglomeration that Pinkie and her team appeared. The jaws of the ponies dropped. Jotaro looked up, somewhat impressed with what he was seeing. From their position standing on the rod, they could see hundreds of people going about their business – buying, selling, bartering, running, anything really. The majority of these individuals were human or human-esque, but they could see strange crab creatures, bugs made out of crystal, and even a few energy beings floating around.
Vriska just grinned. “I wondered when we were going to find one of these!”
“One of what?” Nova asked.
Vriska held out a hand and Pinkie gave Vriska a stylish hat, holes for her horns included. “This, my little ponies and gigantic human, is called an Outpost. Hundreds of thousands of dimensional travelers pass through these kinds of locations every day.”
Flutterfree put a hoof to her mouth. “Oh my… Have we found one of the larger societies?”
“Nope,” Vriska said, smirking. She pulled out their loose map of the universe. “This is the E-Sphere, this is the Q-Sphere, and this is the D-Sphere. This area in between them? There’s less universes here, but these universes are densely packed and closely connected by a network of ancient constructs. Because of this, multiversal travel is nowhere near as difficult or unusual. In some places you can translate universes by walking. Thusly, this area in the ‘middle’ is called the Strands.” She smiled, glad for an excuse to go on a little monologue. “Outposts are a natural result of that. Previously empty universes that literally everyone starts moving into at the same time, creating a lawless mess. This mess is one of the best things about the multiverse. If you know where to look, you could probably find anything in one of these places. I even found an infinite sided die once. Man I wish I still had that, best dicekind in existence…”
“Is there anyone in charge we can talk to?” Nova asked.
Vriska chuckled. “If you’re lucky, there’s a trade-master or something in charge of that conglomeration sphere there, but there’s no way that guy will have any authority on, say, that conglomeration sphere you can see in the distance over there. As I said, lawless mess. And it’s great. Now that you’ve found this place you can probably easily answer a few of your questions.”
“That you refuse to answer?” Jotaro commented.
Vriska chuckled. “Yep! You know what, I have an idea. Why don’t I find an information broker and show you how shit’s done. You game?”
“I’m always game!” Pinkie cheered. “Vriska, take the torch of leader-for-a-day.”
Vriska took the literal torch Pinkie had pulled out. “About time. ONWARD!” She led them into the conglomeration sphere. The inhabitants and visitors to the Outpost paid them almost no mind. To the average person here, these five were normal. So what if three of them were horses? There was a gigantic creature that was nothing but an eyeball floating in the void that was more interesting. Or that hive-mind swarm of wasps.
Vriska looked around, narrowing her eyes. It had been a while since she’d been in one of these, and none of them had the same culture or unspoken rules. There were a few things you could assume – the place would operate on ‘everyone for themselves’ for the most part, but everyone also wanted to trade. Nobody would accept Merodi Universalis money unless Vriska found a banker, and finding a trustworthy banker in this pit of filth was going to be like finding a needle in a universe made out of hay. They probably existed, but Vriska didn’t know the place well enough yet. They’d have to make do with bartering…
“Pinkie, start pulling out bizarre things that might be worth something. We can probably get someone to give us basic information for a cake.”
“Gotcha!”
Vriska glanced at all the people around – regular shopper, family man surrounded by his kids, a weapon merchant, mob boss and his guards, a computer terminal, and – oh, there! The mole-man with thousands of data pads behind him. Vriska gestured for the team to go to him.
“Hey, sniffy,” she greeted.
“I am Laurence,” the mole-man said, sniffing with his powerful nose. “I take it you have an itchin’ to know somethin’? Well do I have the information for you! I’ve got dirt on everyone in the Outpost and reviews for virtually every established business on these rods. What’ll it be?”
“We might indulge in that later,” Vriska said. “Right now I’m showing my knuckleheaded friends here how things work. How about… something basic, like a basic multiversal glossary. Full-scope, Laurence, I’ll know if you’re giving them something that’s bullshit.”
Laurence raised an eyebrow. “As you wish. Not the cheapest item I have, you understand. Such high demand from newcomers for it.”
Pinkie popped up, setting a purple and brown cake in front of the mole. “This delectable treat is made from the finest natural ingredients found in my hammerspace. It’s baked to perfection in a time dilated oven and sprinkled with sugar generated through mysterious means. Its primary flavor is chocolate, but it also has pristine truffles baked in. The aroma should be reaching your nose right… about… now.”
“I’ll take it,” Laurence said. He handed them a small, white disc. “There you go.”
Vriska nodded. “We’ll probably be back after we review this.” She took the disc and twirled it on her fingernail. “Nova, do you mind if we use your hoof-screen?”
“Uh… no?”
Vriska slapped the disc to the back of Nova’s hoof, adhering it to her screen. Her device stopped displaying temporal and dimensional readings, instead showing a document entitled The Multiverse: Big Questions.
The biggest question in the multiverse: is it infinite? The answer is decidedly no. There are about ten quintillion individual universes in the entire multiverse, according to mapping software. That’s comparable to the number of stars visible to light-based telescopes within a standard-physics universe. It’s a big number.
The vast majority of these universes have no contact with the larger multiverse. 99.99% of universes are completely unaware and will remain completely unaware of what lies beyond for their entire existence. Only about a quadrillion universes can be said to be part of the multiversal scope of existence, and only a trillion are actually part of larger-scale societies. Only Class 1 societies would even appear on a realistic map of the multiverse, and even then only as a few pixels on most screens.
“Eve will love to have that question put to bed,” Flutterfree said. “The Sparkle Census too.”
“That’s still really, really big. Functionally infinite,” Nova pointed out. “I’m going to read about what these classes actually mean…”
Class is a scale devised to measure the relative influence of a multiversal society. The origin of the scale is unknown, but it’s simple enough that it could have been created in multiple different forms simultaneously. Some say there are only three classes, but enough use the term Class 4 for it to be included here.
Class 4 refers to anything that has access to reliable dimensional travel. Due to this vague definition, single entities can be Class 4 ‘societies’, which is why many think it isn’t truly part of the list.
Class 3 societies are ones who have unified more than a handful of universes (or sections of universes) together. The method does not matter; all that matters is that several universes are under the same authority. The exact threshold that turns a bunch of Class 4 explorers into a Class 3 society is vague, but societies never stay at the ‘middle ground’ for long, always converting into what is easily recognizable as a Class 3 or falling apart to nothing.
Class 2 societies are societies that meet two criteria. 1) They have the means to access the entire multiverse should they wish, even if they avoid dangerous areas. 2) If their core worlds were to be completely annihilated in one fell swoop, their society would still be able to function on roughly the same level as it had prior to the destruction. This does not take into account political fallout, merely the distribution of resources. The meeting of the second requirement is called ‘decentralization’, even if the society itself is ruled by a monarch. There are only a few dozen Class 2 societies in the entire multiverse.
Class 1 societies are harder to define, merely because each one is so different. One could say ‘they have enough direct control to actually make an impact on the multiverse as a whole’, or ‘they have so much power at their disposal that entire Class 3 societies could be wiped out with a snap of their fingers.’ The problem is that there are so few societies that reach such a level of unimaginable power – seven currently - it’s somewhat difficult to draw comparisons between them, especially since they rarely bother with any societies beneath them aside from the strongest of the Class 2s. Rest easy knowing that you will likely never draw the attention of one of these giants.
“Wow,” Nova said. “Just… wow. Vriska… Exactly how powerful are these Class 1s?”
“The Doctor’s race is known as the Gallifreyan Time Lords and they have access to technology that can distort and alter the timelines in multiple universes at once, giving them uncontested dominion over the temporal mechanics in the multiverse. They defeat their enemies by erasing them from time and then altering the physics of any given universe and the universes around it to prevent anyone from ever bringing it back, twisting paradoxes like candy to do whatever they want.” Vriska sneered. “They are a Class 2 society.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. The power scale is absurd. I’ve never actually been to any Class 1 societies. Seen a few individuals from them, heard rumors of others, but never been. They aren’t big on sharing information with us ‘lowers’.”
“Wow…” Flutterfree said. “Just when I thought we might be getting big… Class 3 seems kinda tiny.”
“You’re still more powerful than 99.999% of everything,” Vriska pointed out. “It’s just that now you’re out in the big leagues.”
Nova scrolled through the rest of the document. “Huh. Nothing about ka in here at all.”
“Courtesy,” Vriska said. “It’s something the multiverse has generally agreed people need to work out on their own. Buying information about it involves a lot of payment because it’s the secret most have subconsciously agreed to keep.”
Nova nodded. “Most of the other stuff in here I think we already know. How connections work… The idea of ‘metatime’… hold on, the Sea of Infinite Possibility?”
Vriska looked at the pad. “That big blurb there is making that seem more important than what it is. The Sea is just an idea that describes everything that could exist. It’s what the ancient crazies decided to name the stuff the multiverse sits in. Which isn’t really stuff at all, but a lack of stuff. Unless you’re going to start looking into the finer mechanics of universe creation and destruction, it doesn’t matter at all. And if you are, that blurb there isn’t going to tell you fuck all that’s useful.”
“Gotcha,” Nova said, prying off the disc. “Anyone else want to look at it?”
Pinkie pulled out a small television screen and placed the disc on it.
“Why didn’t we do that before?” Nova asked.
Pinkie shrugged. “Didn’t think of it. Come on everyone, crowd around!”
Nova rolled her eyes, taking a moment to look around the Outpost. She found it interesting to watch the people go about their business. There were friendly transactions, aggressive transactions, and even a few transactions that happened without a single word being spoken. Quite a few interesting characters as well; a man with three heads, an energy being that had a skull mask affixed to it, a sapient potato, a unicorn with goggles wearing a black suit, Sombra, green sl-
Wait, unicorn? Goggles? Black suit? Wasn’t that the Enchant-
The conclusion she was about to draw was lost. Sombra!?
Nova’s sights focused – that was Sombra all right. Could it be an alternate version of her? No… She was holding a Merodi Universalis-designed data pad.
Nova opened her mouth to call for her team, but she hesitated.
“We’re going to need to have a talk about your vendetta against Sombra.”
“Nova, come on, Sombra helps us a lot.”
“Loosen up a little. She is what she is.”
Nova closed her mouth. She couldn’t tell her team about this. They’d just let Sombra get away because she was useful. Nova sat down, fuming – Sombra was a criminal. Just last week, she had exposed the Diamonds and their secret visits to the Friendship School. That was private! Why would she do that!? It just… It was wrong. And she needed to be stopped.
But noooo, she was just too useful. And fun, apparently.
Screw that.
She tapped a few buttons on her hoof-screen. She wasn’t going to let this slide. She was going to do something.
She sent Froppy a quick message, telling her that she’d just seen Sombra and the coordinates to the universe. There was a footnote telling the USM to leave Nova out of this.
It was done.
She walked back to the rest of the group, who were wrapping up the reading of the document.
Jotaro folded his arms. “Now… what information should we barter for next?”
“Find out where a good tech depot is,” Vriska commented. “You never know what you might find in those. Ah-“
A human in a green suit cleared his throat and walked up to them. “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but notice that you’re new here. My name is Jargon, and I take it upon myself to introdu-“
“Fuck off,” Vriska blurted.
“I don’t think you understa-“
“They’re new here, I’m not,” Vriska said, glaring at him. “I know your type. You prey on the newbies who don’t know any better just to get things from them. That’s not happening today.”
“I assure you, I can be of great help,” Jargon said. “For instance, the tech depot you are looking for? Gearnix down the street is the best one, run by a machine that is programmed to be unable to deceive others.”
“There’s going to be some big catch,” Vriska pointed out, folding her arms. “There always is.”
“I assure you, I would only tell you the best of all possible options. And I will not take anything you have with you for myself. My services are free.”
Pinkie rammed her muzzle into his face. “I sense technical truths, buddy.”
Jargon shook his head. “You may not trust me, but at least allow me to come with you to warn you of dangers. I-“
Vriska pointed at Jotaro. “Hey, Jargon. You see the big guy behind me? Big guy doesn’t talk much. Big guy is also pretty easy to piss off. Now imagine, if you will, what will happen if you continue being annoying. Imagine big guy blowing a fuse.”
Jargon shook his head. “Physical size is not a criteria o-“
“ORA!”
The invisible fist punched Jargon across the face, sending him flying into a nearby wall. The man stood up, dusted himself off, and walked away. He took out a small device with a green screen and began flipping through what appeared to be data.
Flutterfree narrowed her eyes. “I think he was scanning us.”
“What the hell’s he going to do with a scan?” Vriska asked. “Nothing that concerns us, that’s what. Let’s go.”
They went back to Laurence and traded one of Vriska’s eight balls for the best tech depot.
It turned out to actually be Gearnix.
~~~
Sombra heard a loud crash a ways behind her. She instinctively turned herself invisible, just in case the noise was the start of a tremendous brawl. She did not want to get caught in another one of those.
That said; she did want to see what was happening. She poked her head around the corner and saw, to her surprise, Pinkie’s team glaring at a green-suited man. She paid no attention to the man, instead fixating on the team of people she knew.
They’d found her little secret. She was wondering if they ever would – part of her had hoped they wouldn’t since she liked her private access to this information, but the other part had always wanted them to figure out more things for her through this place. She was far from the omnipotent hacker she wanted to be in this Outpost. She was just another fish in the ocean, not a school of coordinated dolphins.
Pinkie’s team started walking away after talking to an information broker. Vriska looked like she knew what she was doing, so Sombra didn’t feel the need to help them in any way. Let them have their fun…
She was, of course, going to follow them and watch. Closely. Who knew, maybe she’d even reveal herself at some point? Heh. Nova would love that. Not. But the look on that unicorn’s face would be priceless regardless.
She tailed them to the Gearnix technology depot. They talked a bit to the truthbot, who directed them to a large cargo container filled to the brim with random salvage. Vriska went at the pile with gusto, showing off her knowledge of the multiverse. Nova paid rapt attention, clearly taking mental notes on every piece of technology she saw. Pinkie jumped around and found the shiniest objects while Jotaro and Flutterfree stood to the side, watching the other three do their thing.
Sombra caught a “Yare yare daze…” She chuckled. She had found that catchphrase annoying when she’d first started observing Jotaro, but now it was an endearing part of him. She had a few remixes of him saying it in tune to various memetic songs sitting on her Puddlejumper. She wondered why she hadn’t published any of those to the public yet… Something to fix when she returned. She really wasn’t sure what his reaction would be.
Pinkie’s team decided they wanted to purchase a green three-dimensional video recorder. They returned to the truthbot and Pinkie pulled things out of her mane until truthbot decided the payment was enough. They went back to the streets, heading back to the information broker for more.
Sombra continued her observations. If only they knew she had all the answers for them…
~~~
Allure walked into the main observation deck for Dimensional Drive Two within Celestia City. It was a small metallic balcony looking out over a brilliant white sphere surrounded by six rings rotating in different planes from one another.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“The drive started activating itself a few minutes ago,” Blumiere said, holding his hat. “The engineers cut off the emergency power, but it’s still spooling up slowly.”
Allure blinked. “Want me to call Engineetie? …Actually you probably have better engineers than that. Why am I here?”
“I need the League to prepare everyone for a possible sudden jump. Spread yourselves across the City, every district you can. I don’t know what’s going to happen if this triggers, but there’s a large chance we won’t be able to stop it.” He folded his hands. “It’s times like this I wish we hadn’t anti-teleported everything this deep down.”
“I’ll send some Sweeties down who might be able to stop it,” Allure said. “How long do we have?”
“Less than an hour, they tell me.”
Allure sent a message to the League, telling them to scramble. “Do we know what’s causing it?”
“No idea,” Blumiere said. “We suspect it’s coming from another universe, but they must be using a method of travel we’re unaware of because our blocking spells are doing nothing.”
“An attack?”
“Perhaps. Or just a fluke.”
“Do we have any idea of the destination?”
“At the moment, no.”
Allure didn’t like the sound of that. She ran back the way she had come, sending orders to the League to spread out. Thrackerzod and Engineetie needed to come down to the Drive, perhaps a few others she wasn’t thinking of…
Something was trying to make them jump universes.
Why?
She had the feeling they would find out soon enough.
~~~
“I still have no idea what flavor of snow cone this is,” Nova commented, spooning some of the purple shaved ice into her mouth with her magic.
“Isn’t that amazing!?” Pinkie blurted. “Brand new, alien flavors of sweets just for us!”
“Lots of universes have unusual fruit,” Flutterfree pointed out, having used her fangs to suck all the flavoring out of her cone in an instant. She was just munching on the ice now.
“But what if this isn’t a fruit?” Pinkie asked. “What if… It’s a type of celery?”
“Is it?” Vriska asked.
“I have no idea!”
“Had to ask.”
Pinkie opened her mouth to say something, but her stomach rumbled. “Sweet sugarbeets! I think all those snow cones did was make me even hungrier! We need lunch!”
Jotaro pulled his hat down. “Yare yar-“
Because he wasn’t looking where he was going, he ran into someone. Jotaro stumbled but kept his footing while the woman he had run into let out a comical “KYAAAAAAA!” and fell onto her back. She was a smaller woman with orange hair done up in a side ponytail that went all the way down to her waist. She was wearing what could best be described as a white battle-dress with blue designs criss-crossing it at mostly square angles. In her hands was a pointed scepter with a golden javelin-like tip encasing a floating red sphere in the center.
Jotaro wordlessly extended a hand to help her back up. She took it with an awkward smile. “Heh…”
“Sorry!” Pinkie blurted. “I was being silly and I got him distracted and the-“
“It’s fine,” she said, twirling her scepter around to ensure her arms were still limber. “I wasn’t really in a hurry to get anywhere or anything.” She smiled at them. “Well, I always say that bumping into someone is a good chance to make new friends. Hi! I’m Nanoha Takamachi.”
Pinkie gasped. “You… You offered to be friends before us!? That never happens!” The biggest smile crossed the pink pony’s face. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie, leader of this group of interdimensional explorers! That’s Flutterfree, Nova, Vriska, and big and quiet is Jotaro!” She shook Nanoha’s hand rapidly, even though Nanoha had never actually offered it. “We’re going to be besties!”
Nanoha’s grin widened – not as big or excited as Pinkie’s, but it was perhaps more vibrant.
“We were just going to search for some lunch, would you like to join us?” Pinkie pleaded.
“I was looking for some lunch as well! I was going to meet up with some of my crew but, you know, when fate calls!” Apparently this was some kind of private joke for her because she started chuckling. “Let me just tell them what’s happening.” She paused for a moment, looking into the distance.
Vriska put a finger to her head, sending a telepathic message to her. Nanoha reacted with only mild surprise, and over the next handful of seconds they engaged in a mental conversation.
“No fair,” Nova called. “Talk where the rest of us can hear you, please.”
Vriska chuckled. “I’ve vetted her. She’s okay.”
Nanoha put a hand to her head. “Oh no, you had doubts?”
“Jotaro had to punch a pesterer,” Flutterfree said.
Nanoha raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Oh, you had a bad experience. I am sorry – these places are just like that. No matter how nice you are, there’s always another person looking to take advantage of you.”
“Sad truth,” Flutterfree agreed.
Nanoha nodded. “Anyway! I know the best place for eating around here. Or the best one we’ve found so far, we’ve only been in this outpost a few days. For all I know that light in the distance over there is actually the best taco joint in the multiverse that I shall never uncover.”
“99.99%,” Nova commented.
Nanoha chuckled “Yeah, that is true. But you’ll love this place, I know it!”
“How do you know for suuuure?” Pinkie asked.
“I just do,” Nanoha smirked.
Pinkie looked at her incredulously. “Hrm…”
“I’m not psychic or anything, it’s just the best.” She pointed her staff forward. “To food!”
“That’s a pretty impressive staff you have,” Nova commented. “The readings are off the charts.”
Nanoha nodded. “It’s name is Raising Heart. Or Raging Heart. Translator spells have a weird time with its name. Isn’t that right Raising Heart?”
The red crystal core flashed. “Of course, my master,” it said with a synthetic, feminine voice.
“Ohmygosh it talks!” Pinkie declared. “That’s amazing!”
“AI?” Nova asked.
“Partial,” Nanoha admitted. “Raising Heart has thoughts and feelings, but they’re on a more limited level than our own. It seems odd to people at first, but where I’m from any mage needs one of these.”
“Really? You can’t just cast magic like this?” Nova asked, summoning a spark of energy from the aether.
Nanoha shook her head. “No, we can, but most can’t do anything complicated without an aid from a device. Devices also help awaken untapped magic potential.”
“Oh thank goodness,” Flutterfree said in relief.
“Hm?”
“Oh, I have a power that unlocks hidden potential and reveals things. It’s just nice to hear I won’t have to worry about accidentally triggering something from you.”
Nanoha smirked, “Rest easy, Flutterfree. I’m already a SSS+ class mage. If there’s more power I can tap into I’d be very surprised. An- Oh! Here it is!” She spread her arms wide. “The best bakery in existence!”
The restaurant was shaped like a loaf of bread. The sign outside just read The Loaf.
Vriska blinked. “Uh…”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover!” Pinkie decreed, bouncing into The Loaf. Half of the interior of the loaf was devoted entirely to the baking of bread; the rest was for the tables, of which there were only a dozen. Each was round and made of simple wood, with only half of them filled at the moment.
Nanoha sat down at the one closest to the bar. “The variety platter, Jordisk!”
A three-headed snake-man poked his head right over the counter. “Right away Misssssss Takamachi…”
“Come here often?” Nova asked.
“Found it the first day. I’ve come here every day since then,” Nanoha admitted. “I recommend their sourdough chowder bread bowl, but the variety platter should give you a taste.”
“This isn’t one of those restaurants with a mysterious chef who heals you by exploding parts of your body, is it?” Jotaro asked.
Nanoha raised an eyebrow. “I’d love to hear the story behind that one. No, this place just serves regular perfect bread. Of every kind that isn’t from some eldritch pocket dimension.”
The platter arrived, stacked like a small mountain. There were croissants, biscuits, rolls, muffins, strange stick-shaped pieces of bread, and slices of many others. Sourdough, rye, white, challah, a strange buttery one Nanoha said was ‘monkey bread’, and even a few slices of blueberry toast. There were plenty of toppings to the side from butter to jelly to exotic sauces. The aroma of all the baked goods was heavenly.
“Feel free to dig in!” Nanoha said. “And don’t worry about being neat and tidy about it, be loud!”
“Finally, someone who understands,” Jotaro said, devouring a nearby piece ravenously, Pinkie following suit.
“You wouldn’t be from a version of Japan, would you?” Nanoha asked.
Jotaro nodded.
“Same here! Logia, that life seems like forever ago… Oh! I’ve told you a lot about myself, but why don’t you tell me about you?”
“New Class 3 civilization on the block,” Vriska said. “Q-Sphere, in a very large cluster of equine universes.”
Nanoha clapped her hands. “Oh, there’s a pony civilization now? There wasn’t anything there last time our patrols went through - well, besides the things we may have been partially responsible for.”
“There is now!” Pinkie said, grinning. “Merodi Universalis, four years old, at your service. Well, fourish. Hard to tell sometimes.”
“There’s actually more than one,” Fluterfree added. “Our neighbors, the Sparkle Census, are ponies as well. Almost all ponies.”
Nanoha sat back, munching on a piece of bread that resembled a miniature lobster. “Cuteness overload…”
Nova facehooved. “Why does everyone always go to the cute thing?”
“Cause that’s part of your design,” Jotaro commented.
“I… But… Ugh,” Nova grunted.
“Oh, you know about ka?” Nanoha asked. “Not all the Class 3s do.”
“More of a recent discovery,” Pinkie said. “It helps that I’m Aware.”
Nanoha smiled. “That definitely would help. I trust your society isn’t falling apart then?”
“Nope!” Flutterfree decreed. “The bonds of friendship are too strong!”
Nanoha looked at her with an expression that seemed… sad. “…It’s refreshing to hear that from someone that isn’t us.”
Nova raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“The idea of friends driving things… It’s so rare in the multiverse. It’s all about power. Or money. Or expansion. Or part of some competition. Or ‘just because we can’. Or just because it’s for the greater good.” She smiled at them all. “I hope you never lose that part of yourselves. Keep hold of it, it’s a rare gift.”
“It sure is!” A new voice said. Sombra crawled over the back of an empty chair and sat down. “That’s why they’re so endearing.”
Nova froze. “S-s-sombra!?”
“Yes, it’s me, Sombra.” Sombra chuckled. “Here I am, crashing the party like I always do.”
Nanoha didn’t ask anyone who Sombra was. She extended her hand. “Hello! I’m Nanoha Takamachi.”
Sombra shook it. “See? This woman knows how to greet people.”
“I know how to greet people too!” Pinkie declared.
“You’re a freak of nature with uncanny people skills,” Sombra pointed out. “Talking about miss startled-light, mister poker face, and miss flipping-me-off in her mind.”
“That’s pretty much a constant to everyone,” Vriska admitted.
Sombra shrugged. “Eh, potato, potahto.”
Flutterfree smiled awkwardly. “Sorry about this, Nanoha. This is Sombra. A hacker. We have what can best be described as a ‘complicated’ relationship with her.”
Nanoha chuckled. “I understand. I’ve been around the bush a few times, had to deal with many unsavory types. Though Sombra, I have to admit you seem a lot nicer than most of them.”
“I’m turning into a softie,” she said, munching on a croissant. “I have to remind myself sometimes that I’m supposed to be a nuisance and leak some secret document or something. Bit hard to do when these horses don’t like secrets that much.”
“Ahahahahah,” Nova laughed nervously. “Heh, she called us horses!” She levitated Sombra off the chair and toward the front door. “I’m sure you have somewhere else to be, Sombra. How about you go do that?”
“Nope!” Sombra declared leaping back onto her chair with a smirk. “I’m going to sit down and talk to you face to face. I don’t think I’ve actually done that since I met you all those years ago! Isn’t that something?”
Nova whimpered. “Yes…”
Sombra put a finger on Nova’s muzzle. “Boop.”
Nova tried to bite her finger off, but Sombra was too fast. The hacker laughed. To Nova’s immense annoyance, Nanoha, Pinkie, and Vriska were chuckling as well.
Nova rammed her face into the table. “Sombra, you really should just go…”
“Nah,” Sombra said, chuckling.
“Yeah, Nova, calm down,” Flutterfree said. “You don’t have to like her, but you’re being a little mean right now.”
Nova would have started ranting were her stomach not in a triple-folded pretzel knot. Sombra was here. Talking to them. This was going to be a problem…
It turned out to be a problem a lot quicker than Nova had been expecting.
The front door of The Loaf flew open. Froppy hopped in, gun in her hand. “Sombra! By the authority of the United States of the Multiverse, I am placing you under arrest! Ribbit.”
Two men stood behind her – one with half of his face burnt, and the other with a small beard.
Sombra stared at them in disbelief. “How did… No, there was no time for anyone to rat me out, I was watching…”
Froppy didn’t even glance at Nova. “We’ve been trying to find you for multiple years, Sombra. We just finally caught up with you.”
Flutterfree stood up and flared her wings. “Hey, we were just having a lunch!”
“Are you protecting this criminal?” the half-burnt man asked accusingly.
“I… Uh…”
“Because if you are the USM will take direct action against you.”
Froppy sighed. “That’s true. Hand over Sombra. And Jotaro, stop thinking about pausing time. Please.”
Jotaro’s expression did not shift. But there was no use of time stop.
Nanoha stood up. “I don’t know what’s going on, but can you tell me what this woman has done?”
Froppy turned to Nanoha, analyzing her. “She has hacked into the highest security divisions of our government, interfered with our foreign policy in other universes, not to mention fraud, defamation, etcetera. Her actions have led to more than a few deaths.”
“Indirectly!” Sombra pointed out.
Froppy shook her head. “That only lessens the sentence slightly. You’ve done enough to get a life sentence.”
“Not the death penalty? I’m surprised.”
“If you want that we can push for that,” the burnt man said.
Nanoha’s face was one of intense calculation. Froppy noticed this and decided she couldn’t let Nanoha think of a way out of this. “Hand over Sombra now or we will be forced to use excessive force and cause a diplomatic incident. Now.”
~~~
Thrackerzod and Engineetie were sitting directly under Dimensional Drive Two. Thrackerzod was using all her power to keep the two of them from being fried this close to the immense source of power.
Engineetie adjusted the sights on her goggles. “I’ve got nothing. Hitting it with a wrench was the last idea I had. This drive is activating regardless of what we do. It just doesn’t matter.”
Thrackerzod used her magic to remove them from the danger zone and placed them back on the observation balcony. “We’re going to have to go through with it,” Thrackerzod told Blumiere. “We’re definitely going to end up moving.”
Blumiere put a hand to his chin. “I’m really curious what’s on the other side at this point… We’ve got all our defenses up, and the reality anchors are going to keep the portal we create open so we aren’t sucked into some eldritch void. But I don’t trust it.”
“It’s not going to do that,” Engineetie said. “It spooling up wrong. It’s going for a flash-translation.”
“All at once? The entire city?” Blumiere shook his head. “Can it do that?”
“Apparently,” Thrackerzod said. “Are you certain everything’s ready?”
“Our personal armada is ready, shields are engaged… The Sweeties are prepared. Everything beyond complete evacuation, which we just don’t have time for.”
“Celestia City goes into the unknown…” Thrackerzod said, narrowing her eyes. “Whatever’s on the other side, it’s not going to be friendly. I can tell you that right now.”
“How can you know that?”
“Call it a sense.”
Celestia City shook.
Engineetie whistled. “Look at her churn! She’s gonna go real soon!”
~~~
Flutterfree’s thoughts raced. We can’t hand Sombra over! What would Corona think? What are we going to do!? Wh-
Pinkie started laughing.
Everyone stared at her in confusion.
“Oh, don’t mind me, it’s just…” Pinkie snorted. “We’re not going to have to make a choice!”
Froppy’s eyes widened. “What’s going to-“
Everything shook. Through the Loaf’s windows, the view that had previously been dominated by the blue air and distant rods was replaced with the lower part of a haphazardly thrown together city. Its sudden existence and power sent ripples through the world, visibly shaking a few of the nearby rods. Power went off in the Loaf.
“Celestia City!?” Vriska blurted. “What the hell!?”
“That’s yours?” Nanoha asked.
“Yeah! But they aren’t supposed to go to unknown universes!” Vriska put her hand to her head. “What’s going on!?”
Pinkie giggled. “I have no idea! But I do know Sombra’s gone!” She pointed at the empty chair Sombra had been in a minute ago.
Froppy facepalmed. “Find her! Ribbit.” She and the USM scrambled out of the Loaf.
Flutterfree should have been relieved, but the existence of Celestia City had her decidedly concerned. “What’s going on over there?” Green ships of a triangular design began to surround the city by the hundreds, appearing from other dimensions.
Nanoha shook her head. “Those are Jargon’s ships… This isn’t good.”
“Jargon?” Vriska blurted. “Green suit, annoying?”
“You know him? What did you do to him?”
“He was trying to cheat us out of something,” Vriska said. “So Jojo here punched him into a wall.”
Nanoha sucked in a deep breath.
“I take it that was a really stupid thing to do?” Flutterfree asked.
“You had no way of knowing he wasn’t just another cheat,” Nanoha said. “He’s a mob boss. He by no means controls this Outpost, but he controls the section we’re in. From what I know he takes it upon himself to exploit promising newcomers and will bring his wrath on whoever won’t let themselves fall to his simpler schemes…”
“That’s fucking stupid!” Vriska blurted. “I… Agh that fits the M.O. of these places exactly.”
“I knew it, he did scan something from us,” Nova said. “…We have to do something.”
Pinkie nodded. “Nanoha, you know more than any of us, what do you suggest?”
Nanoha furrowed her brow. “I can get my ship in there. It’s a powerful vessel, but I’m not sure it can stand against that much firepower alone.” She pointed at the largest green triangle. “Jargon will be on that ship. If you can get on and make him give the order to stop, that would do it.”
Nova lit her horn. “Right. I’ll get us over there.”
Nanoha nodded, standing up and placing an earpiece in her ear. “I’m going to make the calls. Just go.” She ran out the door of the Loaf.
Nova teleported them into the air near the large triangle ship. The little ships saw them instantly, firing their weapons. Jotaro froze time and moved all of them lower with Star Platinum. The shots all missed, but the team slammed into the hull of the larger ship without any preparation time as a result.
“OW! FUCK!” Vriska blurted grabbing her arm. “JOTARO YOU BROKE SOMETHING!”
“Yare yare daze…” Jotaro muttered, ignoring her.
The smaller ships were no longer firing on the larger ship – they didn’t want to damage it. However there were two surface guns on the ship they were standing on that didn’t have any issue firing at them. Nova raised a shield to defend against one while Star Platinum smashed it.
The other one got a shot off on Pinkie, hitting her face first. She went flying over the back of the ship. She quickly reached into the back of her mane and pulled out the bomb mask, exploding herself back toward the ship and then using a suction cup on her hoof to adhere to the hull. “YOU CAN’T KILL SUCTION CUP PONY! How many times do I have to say it!?”
Flutterfree fired the bow of light dead center into the gun’s turret, jamming it. She smiled. “There you go.”
Vriska focused her luck into her dice, rolling them towards the ship’s hull. A gigantic drill appeared, boring through the metal in a second. “Move move move!”
Jotaro’s time stop had recharged, so he just moved them all in there before they were even aware of what had happened. They were in an empty, green hallway lined with ominous lights.
“We’re in,” Pinkie said, grinning.
~~~
Blumiere ran to the command center of Celestia City, Thrackerzod and Allure at his heels. “What is going on?”
“We’re in a new universe surrounded by green triangle ships!” Vivian shouted.
“Hail them.”
“They’re hailing us!”
Blumiere furrowed his brow. “Bring it up on the screen.”
The face of a human man appeared on screen. He wore a snazzy green suite and had truly devious eyes. “Allow me to introduce myself, mayor. I am Jargon. And your ship has conveniently fallen into my area of the Outpost, so I claim salvage rights!”
“Salvage!?” Allure blurted.
“We cannot allow that,” Blumiere said, glaring. “We will fight with all we have.”
“I was able to trigger a dimension jump from the safety of my own home across the multiverse,” Jargon pointed out. “What makes you think I won’t be able to trigger a core meltdown you can do nothing about?”
“Core has started heating up!” Vivian reported.
Blumiere didn’t flinch. “I know nothing of what salvage means. For all I know it’s a fate worse than death.”
Jargon clearly did not expect this remark. “…Really? You’re going th-“
“Explain to me exactly what salvage entails before I make my decision. And don’t even think about lying.”
Jargon ground his teeth – but allowed the core of Celestia City to stop overheating. “Fine. Salvage involve-“
His entire ship shook.
“What in the… Who’s doing that?”
“The people who insulted you, sir,” an aide answered.
“How di-“ before Jargon could get any further, another face showed up on the screen. It was of a woman with orange hair. She seemed to be running somewhere.
“This is Nanoha Takamachi of the Time Space Administration Bureau. The Hoseki is en-route to this dimension as we speak. Jargon, you are interfering unfairly with a world. I request that you stop what you’re doing or we will use force to defend those you wish to exploit.”
“You have no jurisdiction here!” Jargon blurted. “And they’re a Class 3! They’re technically above me!”
Nanoha smiled. “I can make jurisdiction. Regardless, it doesn’t matter what Class they are, your actions are still unacceptable. Cease immediately and we will forget everything about this.”
“I can take a single TSAB ship and you know it,” Jargon growled.
Nanoha glared at him. “Perhaps you didn’t hear my name. I am Nanoha Takamachi. Otherwise known as the White Devil.”
Jargon’s expression faltered. Then he grinned. “A chance to defeat the TSAB’s poster girl… Oh that would bring me so much… Heheh… Miss Takamachi, if you take any action against me I will destroy their reactor. You can be certain of it.”
“No, you won’t,” Nanoha said. “You aren’t the type of person to throw away your treasure. Mayor, whoever you are, do not retaliate. Keep everything of yours in perfect condition and do not fight. He will not destroy you if you stay dormant.”
Blumiere nodded. “Understood.”
“Let us take care of this,” Nanoha asserted. “Jargon, we will come for you.”
“There is no-“
Seven green ships vanished from existence.
“What the-“
Nanoha chuckled. “Did you forget? Our ships don’t have to be in the same universe to attack you.”
“Find the Hoseki!” Jargon shouted. “I don’t care about how, just do it!”
“Good luck!” Nanoha cheered, leaving the call.
Blumiere turned to Allure and whispered. “Don’t attack, but you and Thrackerzod get down to Dimensional Drive Four. Activate it as stealthily or as quickly as you can.”
The two Sweeties nodded and teleported away, running through the streets of Celestia City closest to the Fourth Drive.
“Thrackerzod, can you corrupt the area around it?” Allure asked.
“Definitely. Just a simple summon will do the trick. We have to hope they aren’t trigger-happy.”
“It’s all we got!”
They ran past the streets filled with scared people. None of them were panicking or screaming in the streets yet – the Sweeties were keeping them all under control with their presence – but the people would not remain calm forever.
They had to get out as soon as possible.
The two unicorns piled into an elevator shaft. They descended into the protected core of the fourth Dimensional Drive.
Allure ran to the direct control console. “Zod? Do you have it?”
Thrackerzod created a small summoning circle and called forth a creature that was a square eyeball. “This thing will mask everything. It all seems like corrupted physics from the outside, and while that’s concerning it’s not exactly threatening. So long as they don’t get too suspicious… Start spinning it up.”
Allure pressed a few buttons, setting it to the maximum charge speed. “Totally not safe but let’s blow the thing out anyway!”
Dimensional Drive Four began to rotate rapidly.
~~~
Sombra ran through the ‘streets’ and ‘alleys’ of the Outpost, invisible. She needed to lose them – otherwise they would be able to track her dimensional signature. She had hoped the initial surprise would get them off her tail, but the cameras showed they were somehow still following her. That bearded guy probably had a long range Stand that was keeping tabs on her while invisible – somehow.
She needed to be clever. But doing more than hacking cameras in this place would prove to be problematic while on the run like she was. She might have to fight. She was fairly certain her zat gun would stun all three of them easily, they didn’t look that physically strong – but that was three shots. And besides Froppy, she was unsure of their capabilities. Stands could be annoyingly creative and bizarre…
Something invisible made her slip. She kept quiet, landing in a roll to get herself back up. The same something punched her – it was a weak punch, confirming the existence of a long-range Stand, but it was enough to slow her down. Froppy and the others were catching up.
She used her scanners – but seemed to detect the Stand everywhere.
It can break itself into pieces. My scanners aren’t sensitive enough to pinpoint any specific piece.
Parts of it coalesced to her left, ready for another punch, but she dodged. She could easily dance with this Stand forever, she knew. It was pretty easy to deal with, considering how weak it was. But it was slowing her down. And Froppy was fast. It helped to be a frog sometimes.
Sombra cursed – the Stand had latched onto her suit. She took a header into a wall, smacking hard enough to daze herself.
It was the last little bit Froppy needed. She leaped over the nearest building and extended her tongue toward Sombra.
I haven’t done this in a while… Sombra thought, pulling up her direct interface. But I’ve always been ready to.
“Everything can be hacked,” she smirked. She pressed a few keys in rapid succession, tapping into a magitech piece of technology of her own design. The purple beam hit Froppy – and her tongue went limp, like long tongues were supposed to be. She dropped like a rock into the ground, no longer able to move with extreme agility. Her overall body shape still retained the posture of a frog, but none of the excessive powers.
“Wh-what?” Froppy blurted, standing. “Erase? That’s not...”
“Magic, amiga,” Sombra winked, dodging an attack from the Stand. “I’ve got the counter to everything.”
The man with half his face burnt showed up.
“Careful Shoto! She has an Erase!” Froppy blurted.
Shoto ducked behind a nearby wall before Sombra could hack into him. She smirked. “I’m going to get to you regardless, little Shoto…”
A tremendous wall of ice shot forth from where he was hiding, pushing Sombra into a nearby wall. She couldn’t recover in time to deal with the incoming flamethrower.
Fire and ice… that must be nice. She, despite suffering from numerous burns, pulled out her zat gun and fired. Shoto had been expecting a hack, not a laser gun. He was hit directly in the chest, falling to the stun.
Then Froppy lassoed Sombra with her tongue. She had tied the fleshy extrusion up and used it like a standard rope, tying Sombra’s arms to her side. Sombra attempted to activate her transporter device - but found that it wasn’t working. It had been jammed somehow.
Sombra’s eyes widened. She’d been caught.
Never until this moment had she actually believed she ever would be. She was too careful… Too good…
Froppy tried to give an official arrest statement, but given the state of her tongue she only gave out a few slurred words before giving up.
The bearded man appeared, smiling. “I see w-“
“STARLIGHT BREAKER!”
A beam of deep pink magic cut down the middle of the group, tossing the man over to Shoto, with Froppy and Sombra on the other side. A wall was blown to powder and the ground beneath them was shredded, revealing the inner circuitry of the rod.
Nanoha descended from the sky, tired from her run. Despite her clear exhaustion, she pointed at Froppy. “The USM has interfered in an official TSAB operation. The criminal known as Sombra was being lured into a false sense of security where she would have cooperatively entered imprisonment with minimal collateral damage.” She gestured to the destruction around them. “We are willing to forgive this slight if Sombra is handed over to us for processing into the criminal system.”
Froppy and Sombra stared at her.
Nanoha winked at the two of them and smiled warmly.
Froppy got the message and nodded, untying her tongue from Sombra. “Will you promise maximum security life sentence?”
“Definitely!” Nanoha lied through her teeth. “We have term lengths measured by the century back home!”
Froppy smiled. She knew exactly what Nanoha was doing. “Then we have no issue handing her over to you.”
Nanoha twisted Raising Heart, summoning deep pink foot and hand cuffs around Sombra’s limbs. “Thanks! The TSAB will forget all the unpleasantness.”
Sombra, intelligently, said nothing and just accepted her ‘fate’ of ‘maximum security life sentence’ with a smile.
Nanoha waved. “Goodbye! The TSAB will contact the USM with an update within the next few days!”
“Good to know. Ribbit.” Nanoha floated away, Sombra in hand.
Shoto rubbed his head, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. “What… happened?”
“They’re taking care of her for us,” Froppy said. Technically the truth. “Takes a bit of strain off of us.”
“Why didn’t she do that earlier then?”
“Wasn’t part of their plan. We ruined it.”
Shoto thought about this a moment – and accepted it. “Fine. Mission accomplished, I guess?”
“Ribbit,” Froppy said, beginning a report to Valentine.
~~~
Jargon was frantic – his ships just kept disappearing from space around him. That TSAB ship… How was he supposed to find it? What dimension was it acting from?! The readings indicated that the connection it used to attack changed every time! How was he supposed to deal with this?
Not to mention the intruders in his ship. He had already lost three teams of guards to them.
He needed a plan. At this point blowing up the city would do absolutely nothing to him – the invaders in his ship would have no way to know what he was threatening, and the White Devil was not one to back down… At least from what he knew.
He pulled up a file on the TSAB. Their ships were mysterious things that were rarely seen, but they had some information on them. Highly advanced technology built over centuries of growth. The exploration vessels weren’t armed with the most dangerous of the TSAB’s weapons, but her personal one would no doubt have extras installed on it. And their driv-
Right. Right. Their ships moved by creating pocket dimensions and ‘sailing’ them. They rarely had to actually enter a universe proper; they could access the entire existence from outside. And because they could move their personal pocket dimension, the coordinates would keep switching.
“Dial the coordinates WHILE you’re scanning the disappearing ships,” he ordered. “Catch them while they’re attacking.”
The next ship that vanished provided exactly what they needed. A direct portal tore through existence, revealing a small universe containing a single ship set upon a greenish-purple background. The ship’s structure was composed of metal with three domed structures underneath and three extended prongs out the front.
Now that it had been forced to reveal itself, the Hoseki saw no purpose in staying secluded in its pocket universe. It left, and the small bubble of space collapsed in on itself, sending a ripple of spacetime out from the place the portal had been. Several ships were disabled, while the Hoseki itself was unperturbed.
Jargon grinned. Now he had them in his sights.
The opposite was also true. The Hoseki’s other weapons started firing. Rotating magic circles protruded from the ship, firing complex energy beams that never went in a straight line. Invisible weapons triggered, distorting space in a pattern that disabled dozens of his triangles.
But the Hoseki were able to be hit. Their shields were impressive, but several dozen bullets wore down the impressive force field. The ship shook from the force.
Jargon laughed. He was going to take out a TSAB ship! He didn’t even care that he was scrapping most of his fleet to do it, the legends that would be told about him made it all worth it! He w-
Jotaro punched the door to the bridge down. After a quick time stop, he and Nova had taken care of the entire bridge crew save for Jargon himself.
Pinkie walked up to Jargon. “Hiya!”
Jargon glared. “What do you want from me?”
“Oh, nothing much, just call off all your ships. Please.”
Jargon growled. “I will blow your city to kingdom come! I-“ He slipped and fell face first onto the floor of the bridge. “Ow…”
Vriska smirked. “You know, Jargon, I could just make you have a heart attack. But I won’t. Because I haven’t seen Jojo get really pissed in a long time. And this is going to be good.”
Jotaro held Jargon up by the neck with Star Platinum’s hand. “Ora…”
Jargon gagged. “I-I’ll call them off! I will! Just don’t hurt me!”
“Promise?” Flutterfree asked, Staring at him. “Promise there’s no double crossing?”
“YES YES! NO DOUBLE CROSSING!”
Jotaro dropped him. Jargon scrambled to his microphone and gave the order to stand down.
So close… He could see smoke on one of the Hoseki’s prongs…
“Get up,” Jotaro demanded.
Jargon did so. “So… What now?”
“ORA!” Star Platinum blurted, knocking Jargon out. This would have triggered Celestia City’s reactor, if the city had not jumped out of the universe at that moment thanks to Thrackerzod and Allure.
“That,” Jotaro said. “Then we hand you over to Nanoha.”
Vriska laughed. “Yeah, Nanoha. Interesting ship design, I wonder who they are…” She looked down at a screen. It still had the TSAB article open on it.
Her pupils dilated. “No fucking way…”
“Huh?” Nova asked. “What is it?”
“Nanoha… Is part of the Time Space Administration Bureau. Holy shit.” She put a hand to her head. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize the name! The White Devil!”
“Calm down, explain,” Flutterfree said.
“The Class 1 Societies may like to be big and mysterious, but the Class 2s definitely do not. They love to compete and rank each other.” She held up the article. “The TSAB is number two on that list. We just… Wow. I had no idea the kind of friend we were making.”
“I think that was the idea,” Flutterfree commented. “If we knew who she was, we wouldn’t have been able to just sit and have some bread first. I think it’s good this happened the way it did.”
“No… No it isn’t,” Nova said.
“Huh? But Nano-“
“I’m not talking about Nanoha,” Nova said, sighing. “Let’s… Let’s wrap this up. I have something to tell you after.”
The team exchanged glances, unsure what to make of this. But they did as asked.
~~~
The inside of the Hoseki was smooth and perfectly clean. There were few designs on the walls – besides the clearly personal touches of art and plants, everything was designed with function rather than aesthetic in mind. Shapes were simple, all the walls were the same metallic color, and uniforms were a simple blue. The only ones who didn’t wear the uniforms were high-level mages, like Nanoha herself, who had their own magically constructed outfits.
The crew had accepted Pinkie and her team quickly, taking them to the briefing room first thing. They had been informed that Nanoha would be right with them after she made a preliminary report to Headquarters.
After the first minute, everyone turned to Nova.
Nova sighed. “I called the USM on Sombra.”
Jotaro, Flutterfree, and Pinkie reacted with mild surprise, but clearly understood why she did that. Vriska on the other hand…
“The fuck were you thinking!? We got caught in the middle of that!”
“I saw her long before that,” Nova said. “She didn’t see me, I’m pretty sure. It was very shortly after we arrived. Before Jargon. I just… I didn’t bring it up because I knew you wouldn’t want to do anything.”
“You were right!” Vriska blurted. “She’s not an enemy, Nova! She’s very helpful and useful!”
“She does stuff we’re not willing to do,” Pinkie said. “She has a finesse, you know.”
“I understand that,” Nova said. “But that’s a problem. We agree that what she does is wrong, but we don’t try to stop her because of what she offers us. That’s bad! That’s… That’s really bad!” She shook her head. “Whenever I try to bring this up, you guys all just dismiss me. Tell me to ‘loosen up’ or ‘let it go’ or ‘you don’t have to like her’ or…” She grabbed her head. “She’s not a good person!”
Flutterfree shook her head. “Nova, she has a spark in her.”
“I know! But she’s still a liar, a cheat, and even worse she breaks our own laws all the time! At least Alushy doesn’t go around defying us at every turn, she keeps herself within reason!”
Vriska narrowed her eyes. “Can’t accept a little gray area, can you?”
“I can accept a little gray area. We kill people, Vriska, when we have to. What I’m saying is we’re not treating her like the criminal she is anymore! She has a place of… Of honor! And she likes it. And we’ve been using her more and more for bigger and bigger things, expanding her influence…”
Flutterfree shook her head. “So? She’s done so much good. We can afford a few cracks.”
“…Flutterfree, didn’t Rev say something about white lies leading to horrendous monsters of betrayal eventually, if you accept them?”
Flutterfree’s pupils shrunk. She couldn’t keep eye contact with Nova.
“I’m not crazy, or unable to move past it,” Nova said. “Yes, I’m still angry, but I’d accept her. But not as a gray area criminal. That’s not what we are. That’s not what we stand for. Please, listen to me. We have to do something with her.”
Everyone was silent.
Pinkie began to slowly nod. “You have a point, Nova. I’m… sorry for dismissing you about this.”
“We all are,” Flutterfree said, head still bowed.
Vriska looked like she wanted to object, but thought better of it. Jotaro simply nodded.
“But it’s not that simple,” Pinkie continued. “Where we are, we have to do distasteful things. At this point we’ve lost count of how many people whose deaths we are responsible for, directly or indirectly. We’ve ruined worlds, we’ve saved them – it’s a mixed bag.”
“But we try to do what’s right,” Nova said. “Sombra doesn’t.”
“Sombra helps us do what is right,” Pinkie countered. “She’s not what we could call acceptable, no. She causes everyone problems. She opens the window to us doing more and more questionable things. But she’s also a powerful defense for Merodi Universalis. The skill she has, the network she’s created, the freedom she has… She’s more our defender at this point.”
Nova shook her head. “I’d drop the shield if it was poisoning me and fight the dragon on my own. Security and power isn’t everything, Pinkie.”
Pinkie sighed. “I don’t have an answer for you, Nova.”
“At least you’re thinking about it,” Nova said, smiling. “Bring it up with Eve and the others, okay? If they hear it from someone’s mouth besides my own… It might mean something. They need to see that we can’t afford to be corrupted.”
“What about Corona, though?” Flutterfree asked. “She and Sombra are good friends… If we do take action, it would drive them apart…”
“I have a solution for that!” Nanoha said, walking in the door – Sombra at her heels.
Everyone’s jaws dropped – except Pinkie’s. She just giggled. “Waiting for just the right moment?”
“I saw you needed to talk something out,” Nanoha said. “I let you. It’s why you were in this room alone.”
“You’re good,” Pinkie giggled.
Nanoha laughed. “Regardless… As you can see, I have Sombra. The USM thinks I’m taking her into custody. Maximum security prison for life. However, it won’t be what happens. At all.” She folded her hands in front of an excited smile. “Because I’m giving her back to you. And you want to hear my suggestion for what to do with her?”
Nova nodded. “Please.”
“Change her identity. Then hire her in an official position as an official citizen.”
Pinkie’s team was silent.
“The USM would never suspect a thing, you would still have Sombra on your side, and she would have to adhere to your laws and customs in an official job. She also wouldn’t have to hide anymore.”
Silence.
Sombra smirked. “Come on, amigas, amigo. I’m extending the olive branch of peace here. Don’t snub me.”
Pinkie laughed. “Well I like the idea. We’ll have to work out how to change your identity… Shouldn’t be too hard.”
“I can take care of that,” Sombra said. She turned to Nova. “Does this work for you, Nova?”
Nova narrowed her eyes. “Yes… But I don’t trust it.”
“Hey, it’s pretty clear that staying an all-powerful hacker free from everything is just going to get me hunted at some point or other. This way has so many benefits. Let’s see… Official security clearance… protection… actual excuses to hack into Valentine’s computer… Oh, and for you, I guess I don’t get to air out your dirty secrets anymore.”
“So, we get to put a leash on you?”
“If you can imagine the loosest leash in the multiverse, sure,” Sombra said. She leaned on one of her hands. “Look, I’m not asking you to like me or even be friends. But let’s find something that works, mmk? I’ll accept some limits if that means the Muricans won’t get called on me the moment someone sees me.”
“Wow,” Flutterfree said. “You’ve been reexamining your life, haven’t you?”
“I got caught,” Sombra said, simply. “Twice, actually, if you count miss laser of death.”
Nanoha smiled.
Nova turned to Pinkie. “I’ll… Accept this.”
Pinkie clapped her hooves. “Then by the power vested in me under Renee, I will see that this happens! You’re going to need a new name and identity, Sombra…”
“I’ve already got an idea.”
~~~
On one side of the table sat Nanoha, a warm smile on her face.
On the other sat Jenny, Hastur, the Grand Secretariat, a Melnorme named Brusk, Valentine, and Eve.
Eve and Valentine were clearly uncomfortable being in the same room as each other.
“The TSAB is pleased to make all of your acquaintances – except for you Brusk. We already knew your people.”
Brusk made no comment.
“I do wonder why you didn’t at least tell us about all these people. They’re delightful and we like to keep our records updated!”
Brusk said nothing.
Nanoha shook her head at this, turning to the rest of them. “Anyway, I’m Nanoha, as most of you know. I understand that some of you are hesitant about this meeting, not the least of which because you have bad blood between each other. I would love to help with that – but I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Eve said. “It means a lot that you’re considering it. It’s good to find a kindred spirit out there.”
Nanoha nodded slowly. “I’m going to be frank with you. I like you, and I’ll probably visit often to check in on how you’re doing. But we’re a high-end Class 2 society. The TSAB has a lot of other things closer to the seat of power to worry about. As a society, we won’t pay much attention to any of you.”
“Figured as much,” Hastur admitted.
“It’s a sad fact of life that when you’re up where we are, you start ignoring those below you. Eve, I’m sure you’ve noticed that worlds not part of Merodi Universalis mean less and less to you as time goes on?”
Eve nodded. “I try… But it’s hard.”
“It’s the same up here. It’s why the Class 1s are so mysterious. It’s why so many universes get forgotten as nations expand.” She folded her hands. “The TSAB tries much harder than almost every other society to keep strong connections with everyone, but we can’t keep track of everything.”
“Understood,” Valentine said.
“There are a few things I can say we will do,” Nanoha smiled. “If you’re ever threatened by a foe much stronger than you, I’ll do everything I can go get aid to you. I can’t control the full might of the TSAB, but I can control a significant portion.”
“Thank you,” the Grand Secretariat said with a bow.
“Valentine, your territories are actually somewhat close to ours. If you keep exploring rapidly you will run into our physical location soon enough. Don’t be surprised.”
Valentine nodded.
“And something else – much like Merodi Universalis, the TSAB grows by accepting willing members into it. Unlike Merodi Universalis, this is a painfully slow and time-consuming process. There are dozens of larger Class 3 societies in line and it will likely take centuries before we get to many of them. It’s something to think about, but I would recommend against jumping into it anytime soon.”
Eve nodded. “Thank you, Nanoha. It is good to know there’s a force like you out there.”
Nanoha smiled. “Thanks!”
“I do have a question,” Jenny said, producing a photo of the blue metallic man that took many interdimensional explorers as slaves. “Do you have any idea who this is?”
Nanoha narrowed her eyes. “Not me personally…” She held it up to a camera in the ceiling, scanning it into the computer in an instant. “The patterns are reminiscent of a variant of a being known as ‘Metal Sonic’ but it’s not quite right. This is clearly a suit of some kind, not a full machine. No version of Metal Sonic is a human, or even of the correct proportions for this. If anything, I’d guess… someone who designed their outfit to be like Metal Sonic.”
“That’s not helpful,” Jenny said.
“Sorry, I can’t tell you more. The database doesn’t have anything.”
“It’s okay,” Eve said. “You’ve already done a lot.”
“Not really,” Nanoha said, honestly.
~~~
Corona heard her doorbell ring again. With a groan, she trotted over to it and opened it.
She saw someone at the door she didn’t recognize at all. She had long, white hair streaked with a single silver strike. The strands were all draped over her left shoulder rather than hanging down her back. Her outfit was a combination of jacket and mid-length skirt, dominantly white with purple streaks around it.
“Heeeeey Corona!”
Corona blinked. “Do I know you…?”
The woman moved forward and touched Corona on the nose. “Boop!”
Corona’s jaw dropped. “SOMBRA!? What th- why the- ho-” Corona couldn’t process what she was looking at with what she knew. “What happened to you?”
“Got caught. Had to change my look.” She smirked. “How do I look?”
“Very bright.”
“Good. Nobody will expect Sombra to be bright. Anyway, we’re going to be roomies for a few weeks.”
“Wait what?”
This was greeted with laughter. “I already talked it through with everyone. You’re the best one to watch me before I reveal myself. If I appear right after my own imprisonment, it’ll be suspicious. So I have to lay low and establish a history. That’s you! Plus, everyone unanimously agreed you needed it.” She opened the fridge. “Wow, you don’t have anything tasty in here.”
“I…” Corona blinked. “Okay, right, this is fine. You do need to lay low and…” She shook her head. “Don’t touch any of the experiments, don’t put ‘What’s New Pussycat’ in the speakers, and… Wait, does Eve know…?”
“Yep. I’ve been hired. Ooooofficially! We’re the best of friends now.”
“Uh…”
“You could say that I’m finally ‘cleaning up my act’ after all these years. Congratulations Corona, you did it, you redeemed the immoral hacker.”
Corona blinked. “Huh. I… Guess I did have something to do with that.” She smirked. “You’re welcome, Sombra.”
“Not Sombra anymore.”
“Oh? What then?”
She turned to Corona and smiled. “Sombra’s gone – was never real, in a way. Just a mask I wore over top of another face.” She extended a hand. “Hello Corona, I am Olivia.”
Corona smiled a genuine smile. “Hello, Olivia.”
“Olivia Colomar, actually, but I’m going to alter the last name to Velazquez to keep the trail confusing. Also Velazquez is muy ‘awesome’.” Olivia winked. “Time for a new chapter, you know?”
Corona nodded. “I know.”