//------------------------------// // The Key to Alchemy Part 2 // Story: May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key // by SoulboundAlchemist //------------------------------// May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key By SoulboundAlchemist Chapter 9: The Key to Alchemy Part 2 Before we begin, there is a great big SPOILER WARNING in effect. This chapter, while being set directly after the previous chapter, is also set several chapters down the line for both The Golden Eyed Sage and Diclonius Queen of Equestria. If you don’t want spoilers for either story, please be patient and wait for The Golden Eyed Sage, and Diclonius Queen of Equestria to update to this point. If you don’t care, please enjoy this chapter! I slowly awoke to the feeling of tapping on my cheek, making me feel like Izuku waking up to All Might. “Hey, Kairi,” Ed was the one tapping my face. “Yoohoo, anyone in there? Come on kid did I really push ya that much?” “Ugh, not really,” I groaned sitting up. “That last move I used knocked me out when I first used it. I figured I was on my last legs anyway, might as well go all out.” “Yea, I got a little carried away there,” Ed scratched the back of his head. “How bad are the injuries and where are most of them located?” I wince as I glance down. “Arms and legs mostly. I can barely move them. Not to mention my clothes are kinda ragged…” It was true. My skirt was ripped up, and both sleeves of my shirt and jacket were torn off, revealing my Fairy Tail emblem. Holes littered my clothes, revealing a bit of my underwear as well. “Any chance you could fix these up? I honestly don’t know if there are any spares in the Tower…” “No problem, just… Don’t move,” Ed clapped his hands together and red electricity spark from them. He pulled his palms apart as he stood over me and shower me with scarlet lightning. It didn’t hurt but felt extremely pleasant as I saw my wounds close with no signs of scarring and the holes and tears in my clothes were soon as good as new. “There ya go,” Ed stopped the lightning. He extended a hand helping to my feet. “Now that we’ve had our little spar now what?” “Now you head back down to the Doctor,” Sunset’s voice came over the intercom, as the Tartarus Arena dissolved into a blank, white, room. “He said that he was done calibrating the Stargate.” “Well, there’s your answer,” I shrugged before turning back to the door, leading the way out into the Control Room. “Thanks Sunset,” I called as I passed her and the recently arrived wife and children of Ed. “Can I come along, Big Sis?” Luna asked. “No,” I replied with a glare. “We still need to talk about what you did. Until then, Sunset is gonna watch you, and make sure you don’t get into any more trouble.” “Come on now Kairi, let her tag along,” Ed smirked. “What better way to learn about her big sister’s companions than to meet a few of them? Heck, my wife and kids are coming. Why not your little sister?” An awkward silence fell for a couple of seconds as I mulled over what Ed suggested. “For the record,” Sunset chimed in. “I’m kinda with Ed on this one. Personally, I think she learned her lesson, especially after that little display in the Simulator. I’m pretty sure you ‘scared her straight,’ so to speak.” I pinched the bridge of my nose before sighing. “Alright, fine, you can come along. But if something goes wrong, I want you to go straight to Chirithy, just like when we visited Lex. Got it?” “YES!” Luna cheered as she jumped up. “Thank you big sis! I’ll be safe, promise!” I nodded before turning back to Ed. “Well then, shall we?” “Onwards and upwards,” Ed chuckled. “Come along my dear wife and children.” “Stuff it Ed!” Ed’s Luna remarked as she walked after my Luna with her daughter in her arms. “Daddy in trouble,” Giggled little Solar as his father picked him up. “Guess I am, again. Lead the way Kairi,” Ed hung his head a bit. I giggled at his misfortune as I led the way back down the stairs to the Gate Room, where we could hear the Doctor making some final calibrations. “Now attach this part here, adjust the square jiggly lever there, ding the bell, and press the puce button for the funny sound!” “Having fun over there Doc?” I asked with a laugh. “Hmm? Oh! Yes, yes I am Ms. Kairi,” the Doctor replied with a chuckle. “Just making the final adjustments before we attempt to dial Nat and Sora’s world. Would one of you mind terribly pulling the round wiggly lever over on the wall there?” “I’ll do it!” Luna called as she ran to the wall. “This one, right?” “No, that’s the green timey wimey lever,” the Doctor replied. “Its the one next to it.” “This one?” “No, the other side. Yes, that one. Now, just pull it.” “Time ponies give me a headache when they get inspired like this,” Ed set his son down. “Need any help Doc?” “Only if you can put up an indestructible shield if this all goes pear-shaped,” the Doctor replied, placing the AR device onto the scanner. “He’s joking with me, right?” Ed raised an eyebrow looking at me. “One sec. Let me get a scan of this place.” Ed rolled up his sleeve as he knelt down. He took off the glove on his right hand and placed his palm on the floor. “Unfortunately,” I sighed. “He’s not joking. While there weren’t many accidents in the Stargate franchise, there was one, in particular, that was shown destroying the planet it was on.” “Yes, well, luckily for you, we put a failsafe into the system to prevent that when we first started our experiments,” the Doctor replied, fiddling with the controls some more. “Honestly, the only danger to us is an energy feedback that could potentially vaporize those standing in front of the Gate, placing the operator in the most danger.” “Shouldn’t be too hard,” Ed closed his eyes and a silver spell matrix formed behind him while he held out his left hand as it started to glow blue. A wall appeared between the Stargate and the DHD. “There ya go. Proto-Adamantium with a reinforcement spell for heavy plate armor from Skyrim. Think it’ll hold Doc?” The Doctor glanced up. “To an energy feedback? Yes. To the demolecularization effect from the initially unstable wormhole? No, nothing can block that, but since an unstable wormhole is inevitable when dialing, you just need to pull it back about, oh, a foot or two.” “No problem there.” Ed walked over to the wall and pressed a button on his right arm, placing his palm on the wall with a loud thud. “Just say when to stop pulling.” Ed began to pull the wall with ease toward us. He pulled it about two feet closer before the Doctor called out. “Stop. Right there is enough. More than enough in fact. Now that we have a good bit of protection we should be ready to start dialing, but before that Kairi get over here with your phone.” Ed stopped and detached himself from the wall and rejoin us. “Hungry work that is. Once Nat and Sora are here can we get lunch?” “Hungries,” Morning clapped her hands. “That’s my girl.” Ed walked over to his daughter and kissed her forehead causing her to giggle. I smiled as I passed them on my way to the Doctor, pulling out my phone. “What do you need this for?” “Recall app,” the Doctor replied, yanking the phone from my grasp and plugging it into a slot on the DHD. “When you want to come back just open this app and it’ll remotely activate the Gate. Also, who said anything about them coming here? We need you to go to their world to get an accurate test. Not only that, why would someone who has never seen a Stargate before go through one that suddenly appears somewhere in their world?” “You make a good point,” I hummed as he handed my phone back. “First ya need to activate the darn thing,” Ed commented as he was giving Morning a piggyback ride causing the filly. “We don’t even know if it’ll work yet.” “Quite right,” the Doctor nodded. “Now, everyone, move over to the wall on my left, just in case.” We all moved over to the indicated wall before I called out “Enough stalling Doc, dial the Gate!” “Fine, fine, sheesh,” he huffed. He then tapped seven symbols on the DHD before running over to us. The inner ring of the Gate began to slowly spin before stopping, a horn-shaped symbol lighting up. “It's working,” the Doctor muttered next to me. “It's actually working! Last time we tried this, there was an energy feedback!” I rolled my eyes as the ring spun again, landing on a handprint symbol before lighting up. The ring continued this until symbols that looked like a Pokeball, a spell matrix for Heavenly Body Magic, an Ouroboros mark, and a crescent moon with a white six-pointed star in the middle were all lit. The ring spun one final time before landing on one final symbol. A star-shaped like my very own token. As soon as it was lit, the Gate expelled an outward column of energy, before it was rapidly collapsed on itself, stabilizing into a blue portal that rippled like water a moment later. Our collective jaws dropped in amazement. The Gate actually worked. “Bright,” Ed remarked, “Better than Void portals if ya ask me.” “Pretty,” Morning Star waved her hands in the air still on her father’s back. “Shiny,” Solar Eclipse exclaimed. “Who knew you were just missing a few things?” The older Luna tapped the side of her had. “This is my husband's area of expertise and not mine but this is magic and science correct?” “More or less, yes,” the Doctor replied, glee clearly displayed on his face. “Oh, to think, after all this time, the solution was hiding right under our noses! Brilliant! Now, one last thing before you step through.” His face turned serious for a moment. “I’ve been told that travel through Gates like this hurts like hell.” “Language!” I called. “Yes, thank you, Captain America,” the Doctor retorted with a roll of his eyes. “In any case, it hurts. Enjoy the ride!” I roll my eyes at him, recalling a similar description being told in the first episode of Stargate Atlantis as a joke. But Ed didn’t need to know that. “Thanks Doc, for that oh so excellent advice.” The mischievous Time Lord gave a mocking bow, grinning all the while before I turned back to the Gate. Luna and Chirithy stepped up beside me before all three of us took a step through the rippling portal. It’s hard to describe what happened next, but true to form, the ride did not hurt in the slightest. All I can really remember of the trip was a sort of shimmering, tunnel effect with stars all around. Before any of us had time to really see anything though, we found ourselves stumbling out the other end of the portal onto the ground. Looking around, I noticed it was the middle of the night, Luna - er - a Luna’s moon high in the sky. Around us was what looked like an old forgotten garden, several broken and dirty pots were strewn about, with a bunch of vines and long grass growing over the area. Looking away from the former garden, I do a double take as I see something I wasn’t expecting. It looked like the Castle of the Two Sister, but it wasn’t decrepit and old. It almost looked like it was brand new and livable. “This is the old castle here. Must be the kitchen?” Ed picked up a nearby pot off the floor. “Freaking Time Ponies and their blasted pranks. ‘Oh it’ll hurt like there’s no tomorrow.’ I’ll strangle the plothole.” He threw the pot causing it to go through the wall. “Blasted Doctor.” “Oh, don’t be like that,” I said with a giggle. “Something almost exactly the same happened in Stargate Atlantis. It was just a joke.” “Sorry, but I don’t take jokes involving pain and my family very well,” Ed’s ears twitched a bit. “You hear a scrap going on over that way?” He pointed behind him. I narrowed my eyes. “Now that you mention it, I do,” I said as I turn to Luna. “Stay close to Chirithy. If there is a fight, get that barrier up.” Both Luna and Chirithy nodded before Luna grabbed Chirithy, holding him in a tight hug. “Don’t worry little one,” Ed’s wife pulled Luna in close to her side as she held her son. “Nothing bad will happen. We have Edward and your big sister here to protect us.” “I know,” Luna said with a sigh. “I just wish I didn’t have to sit on the sidelines all the time.” “Don’t worry about that right now,” I said with a soft smile. “If Celestia is to be believed, you should still have a Keyblade. It’s just a matter of summoning it right now. I promise I won’t leave you sidelined when you have it.” Luna smiled before she nodded. I then turned in the direction of the sound of battle. “So, what’s the plan Ed? Sneak in, see what the problem is, and jump in if needed?” “Nah, I’d recognize those voices anywhere,” Edward smirked as we came into the main hall of the castle. “Those are the sounds of my practicing nieces and their Twilight.” Then there was a large explosion. “Maybe a barrier or two wouldn’t hurt.” “One magic barrier, coming right up!” Chirithy called before a Reflect barrier bubble came into being around the Lunas, Chirithy, and the children. “I make big barriers,” the cat explained sheepishly. “And, it’ll follow us as we move!” “Good,” Ed let out a deep sigh of relief. “I don’t really need one and I know Kairi can cast her own. Let’s keep moving then.” I nod before summoning Destiny’s Embrace and continuing down the hall. Walking down a few halls, we arrive back outside in what looks like an outdoor training yard in the back. And then I had to duck as a gold energy bolt went past my head. Looking at the yard, I saw a pink haired girl with two off white horns, another girl in her teens with pink and blue hair with slightly smaller horns and a familiar mare wearing a black and dark purple cloak and a darkly colored sword going at it in the middle of the field. “Whirl Shock!” We hear who I assume is Nat yell, a whirlwind of air appearing before her, heading towards Sora. “Ice Make Shield!” A barrier of ice appears before her before Sora jumps back as Twilight tries to blast her before the mare focuses her attention on the displaced. Nat summons a couple of handheld swords to block her, the duo going back and forth in several quick clashes before jumping back as Sora jumps in with her own ice sword. We perk up as we hear a loud snap echo across the yard, the trio putting their weapons away. “Well done my students. I believe that was a long enough duel.” Luna’s eyes widen, with the irises shrinking in fear at the voice. I honestly can’t blame her, since we thought we had heard that voice for the last time two days ago. Looking over to the group, a black mist begins to seep around before them, before slowly forming into a familiar black Alicorn, her wings freshly preened (how did I notice that), wearing a dark purple and blue dress with onyx and sapphires. “So she survived here,” Ed scowled a little but then took in a deep breath and released it. “Calm down Edward, she’s not the same Nightmare from back home.” The trio straightens up and line up together before bowing to the mare. “Thank you mistress.” They reply in unison. Upon hearing those words, all I see is red. “Shadow Dragon Roar!” I launched the attack, enraged at seeing the nightmare of my little sister being bowed to by her rescuers. “Darn it Kairi! Gale Dragon Roar!” Ed shouted at my attack trying to cancel it out but ended up merging with it. The mare turns to look at what was heading to her, before the trio teleport in front of her, magic appearing before them. “Whirl Shock!” “Crimson Fire!” “Grand Chariot!” The two combined attacks strike each other, causing another explosion to go off, kicking up enough dust to cause us to lose visibility with one another. I growl and go to call out, before feeling something cold and sharp on my throat. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” I hear Twilight question, seeing she had her sword at my throat. “Gluttony,” I heard Ed whisper and the dust begins to dissipate “Cyack. Taste terrible. Bleheck!” I saw Ed stick out his tongue. I see the pony standing in front of me glaring all the while she has the sword at my throat before Ed is at my side and he grabs the blade with his right arm. “Hey there Twilight, how’s the arm holding up?” He easily forces her to lower the blade. “Oh, hey Ed.” She says simply, before pausing and jumping back. “The hell!? Edward!” Before he can respond, a couple of pink blurs go by and tackle him to the ground. “UNCLE ED!” The two Dicloni yell in happiness. “Yo!” He rubs their heads. “How have you two been?” “Oh, we’ve been great, yet busy. After the girls shell shock of me getting a body and Twi having a prosthetic arm things were a little awkward for a while and-” Sora says before I interrupt. “Uh, hello? Nightmare Moon over there! Why are we just sitting here chatting?” I growl, Keyblade held in a ready position. “I very much suggest not trying to attack my great-whatever grandmare.” Twilight says, her hand on her sword. I blink, rage giving way to confusion. “Uh, what?” “Different Realities means Different possible outcomes Kairi,” Ed got up and dusted himself off. “I met a Displaced who’s mothers were both Luna and Nightmare Moon as they were twin sister sharing one body in another version of Earth not too long ago.” “It’s true, she was a fiery yet sweet girl,” Ed’s Luna came out with the others. “Nat, Sora. It’s wonderful to see you two. Would you like to meet your niece and nephew?” The duo stood stock still and blinked a couple of times before Sora began to spark with pink lightning, shrinking down to the size of a seven or eight-year-old. She blinks a couple of times, looking at her body. “Ah damnit, not again!” She yells in annoyance. She takes a breath, and sparks again before growing back. “God I hate that. So, what’s this about you having kids?” “Uh, I think I speak for Luna and Kairi, as well as myself when I say, what the heck is going on?” Chirithy said, raising a paw. The natives look to Ed with raised brows before backing up and standing next to Nightmare, who suddenly stood behind Twilight with...fear in her eyes? “Ok, maybe we should start with some introductions. I’ll go first. Hi, my names Natali Basatin, Queen of the Diclonius.” Nat introduces with a small, awkward smile. “Hey, my names Sorano Elric, Diclo-homunculus and Nat’s little sis. Nice to meet you...I guess.” Sora says. “Even though I don’t think it’s necessary, hi, I’m Twilight of this world, Nightmares direct descendant and new weapons student.” I sigh, dismissing Destiny’s Embrace. “I’m Kairi. Sorry about this…” “Wow, really channeling Ranma there, Kairi,” Chirithy snickers. “Shut it cat!” I retort. “Hi! I’m Chirithy!” the cat informs the other Displaced, ignoring me. “Um, I’m Luna, but I guess you already know that. Pleasedon’thurtmeNightmare!” Luna whimpers. For the briefest of moments, a familiar black shape materialized in her hands before vanishing again. I’d have to talk to her about that later. Nightmare blinked a couple of times, looking to her descendant who just shrugs, before she sighs and comes out from behind Twilight, only a little bit. “Um..d-don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. I have been told about possibly meeting either another me, or Luna, so I know not to mess with alternate versions.” She says. I sighed, rubbing my temples. “I’m really getting tired of explaining this. In our world, you were Luna’s Heartless, created when she extracted her own heart in a misguided attempt at safeguarding our world a thousand years ago. That being said, she’s so young because the way a Nobody is formed, the body is aged backwards until it is nothing, literally nothing, hence why a Nobody is considered nothing. Luna’s body was becoming a Nobody, and Celestia managed to get a stasis spell in place before the process was complete, hence why she is so young now.” “You and me both and I teach at Luna’s school back home,” Ed grabbed his forehead as he shook his head. “Eh, Displaced and their worlds.” He then motions with his hand and his twin came up from behind his wife and got behind him peeking out from each side of his legs. Nat and Sora look down to the two kids, eyes wide as dinner plates before Nat squees loudly, turns to mist and appears behind them, picking them up and hugging them close. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” She repeats, rubbing her face against theirs. “Nat. Sora. These are the twins Solar Eclipse and Morning Star. We found out that Luna was pregnant while you two were staying with us. They’re only a few weeks old but due to how Alicorns age back home they’re physically about six to seven months old. Meet your niece and nephew,” Ed smiled warmly as he explained. “Well, technically they would be their first cousins once removed.” We turn to Twi as she states that, the mare blushing as all attention is suddenly on her. “Yeah, we should have seen that coming,” Sora mutters, smiling to her new family members still being clutched by Nat. “Speaking of family,” Ed looked from Nat then to Twi and back and forth a few more times. “How are you two fairing in that department?” Ed’s eyebrows went up and down as he snidely smirked. My jaw dropped. “Wait, are you saying that her and Twi…” The duo looks to me, then to each other before Nat smirks. Handing the twins back to their mother, she walks over to Twi, and proceeded to kiss her on the mouth. Hard. Twi wasn’t really affected negatively, even wrapping her arms around her and moaning a bit before they separate and smile. “Not embarrassed in the slightest anymore I see,” Ed nodded in approval. His wife giggled as she picked up her daughter. I, on the other hand, am still trying to pick my mouth up off the floor. “OK, so that’s a thing,” I mutter to myself. “Ignore it, just ignore it. You’ve seen and read weirder things, just relax.” Luna, my Luna I mean, walks over and gives me a slap to the back of my head, rebooting my brain from the internal meltdown. “Thanks, Luna,” I smile to her. “So now what?” “Oh yeah, not that we are complaining, but how and why did you come here uncle? I know it wasn’t just to introduce us to your kids.” Nat says, still holding her marefriend. “Testing out a portal with Kairi here but the first reason was my main reason,” Ed flipped his pointer finger out. “Oh, yea. You two have Granny Faust to look forward to as a Rainbow Ninetails to meet one day.” They just blinked a few times before shrugging, going back to playing with the twins. “I think I can explain our visit a bit better,” a familiar voice spoke up. We all whirl around to find the Time Lord himself grinning at us. “Doctor!” I cried in surprise. “What are you doing here?” “Oh, I got bored waiting for you to come back,” the Doctor explained. “So I came through after you. Now, to answer your question, Ms. Natali, we are all here testing out a device we call a Stargate. Essentially it is a ring made of a substance called Naquadah that can create a wormhole between worlds. Coming to your world was our test run since we can’t use Ed’s world for obvious reasons.” “Void Barrier,” Ed remarked. “Wonder if I’ll ever meet Gilgamesh?” Ed muttered to himself. “Quite,” the Doctor nodded. “In any case, I actually had something I wanted to tell you all. I was tweaking the DHD programming when I found a replication program in the system.” “Replication program?” I asked, tilting my head in confusion. “For what?” “For the Stargate of course,” the Doctor explained. “Basically, we can create a Gate wherever we want, DHD included!” “Can ya shrink them down for pocket use Doc?” Ed asked with intrigue. “Would be much easier than relying on my Rinnegan alone.” “In theory, yes,” the Time Lord nodded. “There were plans to place a Gate in space, back when the experiment first began. All I would need to do is have the replication program create a Space Gate, then have someone place a shrink spell on it. Why do you ask?” “My master does the same thing with his portal technology. He leaves behind a portal so he can revisit worlds at will,” Ed twirled his finger, “I have his portal set up in Luna’s Library so no one can stumble on it by accident. Mainly Pinkie.” “Hmm, I see,” the Doctor nodded. “I assume you want a similar set-up for our Stargates, right?” “It’s your portal. Do what you want with it.” Ed shrugged. “If you do set one up it would have to lead to my lab or the Library.” “Considering your expertise, I think we should have at least one that we can use to get in contact with you,” I reply. “I’d like to have one in your lab please.” “Like I said no issues on my end. Just don’t touch my experiments when we’re there,” Ed pointed at the Doctor. Said Time Lord snorted. “I wouldn’t have come along anyway. I really don’t like any form of travel between worlds if my TARDIS isn’t used. The app Kairi has is enough to activate the replication software.” “Speaking of which,” I cut in. “Do you guys want a Gate here somewhere?” The trio turn to Nightmare, who just shrugs. “I would recommend the main entrance to the castle. From what I have been told by my students here, this place is a pretty big constant in most realities, so I think it would fit.” The mare says. “In theory, that would work,” I nodded, before narrowing my eyes. “But, I don’t think it would be a good idea for anyone who is able to just walk into the castle to be able to use it. Better for it to be out of sight.” “Why not use the trap door that hid the Elements of Harmony all those years ago,” Ed suggested as Solar came to his side. He picked up his son and then looked at everyone. “The lock should be attuned to members of the royal court and family members by extension.” I smiled. “Sounds like a good spot. Someone will have to lead us there though, since we never actually had a Castle of the Two Sisters in our world.” The group all nodded and the natives led us back into the castle, Nightmare and Twilight leading the group through a few seemingly random corridors before pulling a few ornaments and revealing the trap door in question. It looked like a simple room at first, but a second glance would reveal the recently repaired banners of the night and darkness, a pedestal with the imprint of five spheres on the top of it, and a few windows in the room with extremely faded images. You could barely make out things like Nightmare rising up, one of leading a squad of thestral batponies against the solar guards, and of course, one of her taking over the roll of sun and night. That last one made Nightmare and both Luna’s visibly flinch. “Yeah, this’ll work.” The unicorn mutters, stepping aside for the rest of us. I take a step in, getting a good look around at the spacious room. “Yes, this’ll do nicely. So, Doctor, what next?” “Well, first things first,” the Doctor replied, turning to our hosts. “Pick a spot for the Gate to be set-up. Once it’s in place, it can’t be moved again, unless you have Ed’s freakish strength, so choose wisely. After that, we’ll set up a DHD in a spot where it won’t get vaporized.” The natives look around for a second, before deciding on the area right in front of the pedestal, making sure that it would set up so if somepony uses it, they wouldn’t just run into the stomach high pedestal. That would hurt, especially for the guys. “This’ll take a while to figure out,” I said as I turn to the indicated spot. “Feel free to ignore us while we get the Gate set-up.” “Been meaning to ask ya Twi?” Ed zip to Twilight’s left and grabbed her arm looking over it. “How’s this thing hold up in fighting?” “Oh, it’s been great. Like, when we got back we had to defend the town from a chimera that showed up and it was really helpful when it decided to take a bite out of me. It did not like the taste of it, nor my hoof after I kicked it. Spike on the other hand….let’s just say there is a reason the ring finger is a little off centre.” She says sheepishly. “Definitely needs a few tune ups here and there,” Ed examined the arm. “Still can’t beat Time Turner’s craftsmanship though. I have a few upgrades I can install for better magic flow if ya like.” “Really?! Hell yeah!” She turns to address her girlfriend. “Hey Nat! Come over here and help me with my arm please.” The trio go through a few automail things that really went over my head, and I almost missed when Sora scooted over to me. “You know, it was really funny when we went to the spa and Twi asked if she needed to take off her arm. Aloe and Lotus faces were priceless.” She laughs. Ed’s Luna came over. “You should have seen Tia’s reaction. Ed said my face almost froze the first I saw him do it. That was also the first time I blasted him into the castle wall.” She giggled. “I hate to interrupt,” the Doctor cut in from his spot by the newly erected DHD. “But could we get a copy of your token? We need it to act as an anchor for the Gate. A point of origin, if you will.” Nat nods and holds her hands out, what I guess is void energy gathering it them before a copy of their Aura Reader appears in their hands. She saw Ed’s Luna looking to her with a raised brow. “I figured out a while back I could just make copies of my AR with my magic instead of just handing out the original and hoping it would become a copy.” Nat explains, tossing the device to the Time Lord. “Excellent,” the Doctor grinned as he caught the device. “Now, if you’ll all stand over by me, we can dial this Gate back to our world and get Chirithy and our Luna back home.” The Displaced all line up for the stallion, watching in silence as he gets everything ready. “Alright, dialing now,” he said as he typed in the address for our Gate. “While the Gate is dialing, I think I need to explain to our hosts exactly how to operate it. First, the Gate will only be able to dial worlds that you have visited before, or have the token of. You also need a unique address for each world you visit, and the scanner here on the side will take care of that. Just place a token on the scanner, and the screen above it will display the address. Press the corresponding buttons on the DHD to dial the address, and the Gate will do the rest. Just, uh, don’t stand in front of it.” “I just had a thought,” Ed stopped playing peek-a-boo with his kids. “Did you ever try and use the video call function on the watch?” “Hmm? What video call function?” I asked confused. “Besides, my phone can actually call between worlds, courtesy of another Displaced.” “I set my token so it doubled as a video caller. If someone else has a watch then you can call them via video chat,” Ed pulled out his pocket watch. “You can also use it to send items to other through a small void portal. It’s how Lex and I send our research to one another without having to worry about prying eyes.” “Huh,” I crossed my arms as a thoughtful expression covers my face. “That could come in handy down the line. I probably won’t use the video call function, unless the person I’m trying to call doesn’t have a phone. To be fair though, I tend to give a replica of my phone to those I want to keep in contact with.” Just as I finish explaining myself to Ed, the Gate finished dialing, the energy column forming, then collapsing as the portal connected. “Excellent!” the Doctor cheered. “Now, Nat, if you have a phone, would you mind tossing it over to me?” Nat nods and digs into her shorts, quickly pulling out a regular iPhone before tossing it to the Time Lord. He caught it then once again plugged the device into the DHD, programming the app into the phone. “We won’t be using the Stargate to get to my place by the way,” Ed goes to get a look at the Stargate. “Much safer to use my Rinnegan portals. If you don’t mind that is?” “No, not at all,” the Doctor replied. “Personally, until there’s a Gate in your lab, I wouldn’t risk trying to dial your world. I’m doing this now so I don’t forget about it later.” “What would that be Doc?” Ed turned and raised an eyebrow. “Setting up a recall,” the Doctor replied with an eye roll. “If Nat, Sora, or Twilight decided to use the Gate without some way to dial back, they would be stranded. Now, as long as one of them has that phone, they’ll never be stranded.” The Doctor tossed the phone into the air, only for Sora to extend the fingers on her hands, catching the phone in between her two thumb and index finger, before running past us with a smirk towards the portal. “YOLO GUYS!” She yells with a childish laugh, disappearing through the portal. “Oi! Don’t just run through like that!” the Doctor yelled before she disappeared. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Chirithy, you and Luna head through. Make sure Sora comes back through before closing the Gate on your side.” The cat nodded. “Will do. Come on Luna, lets go.” “Alright…” Luna pouted, before waving at our hosts. “Bye guys!” And with that, the two stepped through the Gate. About a minute later the portal rippled before Sora came back in her child form again. “Alright then, looks like I can’t stay in my teen form when going through dimensions. That blows.” Sora complains, pouting. I shrugged. “Stargates can sometimes be unpredictable. Especially when the portal passes through a solar flare. You can easily tell if that happens, as the water-like surface turns cloudy and flickers,” The Gate powered down with a loud ‘kwoosh’ sound as I explained. “A solar flare causes the portal to not only travel through space, but through time as well, leaving you well and truly stranded. So, be careful when using the Gate.” “Or, if you have a version of me here,” the Doctor cut in. “Make sure you have a way to contact him.” “Every world has a version of you Doc,” Edward deadpanned. “Some more willing to help than others.” “My point exactly,” the Time Lord grinned. “Ok then, next trip to Derpy’s, talk to Time. Duly noted.” Nat mutters to herself. “Okay, so now on to my world I’m guessing?” Ed shrugged. “Not just yet,” the Doctor said with a shake of the head. “I need to explain the app. Nat, take a look at your phone and tell me if there’s a new app on it.” The woman nods and goes through her phone for a second, finding the app with the image of an inactive Stargate on it. She nods again and shows it to us. “Excellent,” the Doctor nodded. “Now, that app remotely dials the Stargate, locking onto your location to allow you to return here without needing anyone else’s intervention. Well, unless you accidentally get lost in time, that is.” The duo of Displaced lean back slightly with wide eyes, rapidly nodding with worried expressions. Twilight had to come over and hold her girlfriend for a second for her to calm down, Nightmare doing the same for Sora. “If that happens I bet Time Turner can make you a sort of beacon that his TARDIS can lock onto so he can come and pick you guys up or just call me and I’ll see what I can do,” Ed twirled his finger in circles. “At least you three can come for tea more often,” Luna giggled. The trio smile a little at the older Luna’s suggestion. “Sure thing auntie. Honestly we have only been learning from Nightmare as a precaution in case something happens out of order, or off the main timeline.” Sora says, the partially Astral Alicorn pouting to the girl. “Alright then,” I said with a smile. “That just leaves one last thing. Doctor, you programmed in fail-safes and alarms, right?” “Right you are, Ms. Kairi,” the Doctor replied. “Good,” I continued. “If one of the alarms go off, or a fail-safe activates. Do. Not. Try. To. Bypass. It! I can’t emphasize that enough, since a worst case scenario is the complete destruction of your planet!” The natives of this world just stared at us for a couple of torturous moments before their eyes locked on Edward, the Alchemist just shrugging with a nod, confirming my statement. “Ooookkkkay. I’ll try to make sure that does not happen. And Sora I swear to harmony and chaos if you bring the CMC here, I will blow your head off twice.” Nat says the last part sternly, her little sister just whistling innocently. “Have some news slash a warning for you two as well,” Ed butted-in in a very serious tone. “Be on the look-out for an Asta Displaced. He’s my younger brother and was sent into the Void about a month or so ago. This is his Token,” Ed held out a black hair band with a red four pointed star on it. The Diclonius duo look to the Token in a little shock, carefully taking it from their uncles hand. They look to one another and nod after a pause, Nat placing it in her pocket. I raised an eyebrow. “Asta? You mean from Black Clover? I don’t really see why that’s a warning, since from what I know of the show, he was a hero/protagonist.” “My brother chose to be a pacifist in his world. Also, he’s a former stuntman, body double and professional prop-maker.” Edward warned. “Asta is impulsive and my brother wasn’t. He never really acted on emotion ‘cause he didn’t have to, but now that he has Asta in him… Just don’t do anything stupid around him that would conflict with his moral code or piss him off. He’s also a dragon rider.” “That really depends on his position, but we promise to at least try and act like Frisk in Undertale instead of Chara.” Sora mutters with a grin, only to get a firm smack in the back of the head from her sister. “Sorano Elric. We do NOT antagonize family. Am I understood?!” Nat scolds, her sister nodding slowly with a frown. I giggle at the two sisters, before turning back to Ed. “Well, I think that covers everything. To your world next?” “Onwards and upwards,” Ed pointed to his side as a red and silver swirling vortex opened up next to the Alchemist. “You three coming along?” He looked at the locals. “It’ll give you a chance to experience the Gate for yourselves on the way back,” I threw in. “Maybe next time. We need to get back to town before Spike and my Pokemon realize we’re gone. Nopony….nopony really knows that we’re here. And we wanna keep it that way at least for a little while longer.” Nat says, before turning to me and my Luna. “It was nice meeting the two of you. Considering you came here from your world, I assume you have our token. If you ever need another Keyblade wielder, we’ll be there.” “One more thing,” Ed pulled a book from his satchel. “Here Nat, this is a much more refined version of the techniques, magic, and technologies we used to make Sora’s body. I recently used it to make a body for an artificial demon.” He handed the book to his niece. “Perhaps you can refine it even more.” We all turn to Nightmare as she begins to giggle with an evil smirk. “Perhaps you can use that to make an heir. It would be nice to have another grandchild.” That caused both Nat and Twilight to mimic Big Mac as their faces erupted into blushes. All of us just lost it when we saw their faces. “Don’t be strangers now,” Ed turned and walked into his portal. “Wait till you meet Lex again,” The older Luna chuckled as she led her children through the portal after her husband. “Goodbye you two,” I called with a wave and a smile. “If you guys need somewhere to train that can take a beating, feel free to come over. The Simulator in the Tower is… Let's just say that its extremely powerful and leave it at that.” “Understatement of the century there, Kairi,” the Doctor chuckled. “Take care ladies.” The last we saw, the four natives waved, though Twi and Nat were doing it numbly. And then we stepped through Ed’s portal. Honestly, I can’t really remember what it was like going through. One moment we were on Nat and Sora’s world, the next we were in a lab of some sort. No windows were on the wall. It was a large room with several area with various experiments on different tables. There was what appeared to be a series of prosthetic limbs on one table while another had various vials of liquids on them. I then laid my eyes on an intricate door with a large hour glass over it. On the opposite side of the room was another door but one made of wood. “Welcome to my Lab,” Ed walked of the wooden door and clapped his hand then placed them on the door and red electricity crackled up and down it. He then pushed it open and his wife and children left. He then repeated his earlier actions. “Now we can proceed.” “Excellent,” the Doctor nodded. “First things first, where do you want the Gate. If you don’t have a particular spot in mind, I would suggest creating a hidden room for the Gate. As we said before, not just anyone should have access to it.” “This way,” We followed Ed to the hour-glass door. “We can make a new room in the Time Chamber.” He pushed open the door and we were led us into a basic living area that led into an expanse of nothing but a void. “Down this hallway and left.” The Alchemist opened a door to an empty room about six feet high and twelve feet long. “Will this work?” Taking a look around as I step in, I nodded. “This’ll work nicely. Doctor, if you would?” “Right-o!” the Doctor said with a smile, before blinking. “You know, that’s the first time I’ve said that word before, and now the last time as well. It just sounds stupid.” He shakes his head. “In any case, here goes.” He took out a device I hadn’t noticed back on Nat’s world, presumably the same one he used to create the Stargate there. He pointed it at the back of the chamber and pressing a button. Immediately a series of lasers flashed into being, digitally replicating the Gate, and the DHD just to the right of the newly erected Gate. “And there we are,” the Time Lord nodded before turning to Ed. “Now we just need your Token to be placed into the DHD, and we’ll be all set.” Ed walked over to the panel and pulling another alchemist watch from his satchel he placed it into the DHD and the Gate started to gain power. “Might want to step back before the thing rips a hole in space and time.” He joined us off to the side. Each of the symbols on the Gate lit up in quick succession as the ring that they were engraved on spun for a few seconds as it calibrated, before the Gate deactivated. We all blinked in surprise. “Huh,” the Doctor said. “I honestly thought more would happen.” “Like what?” Ed eyed the Doctor suspiciously. “Well,” he closed his eyes in thought. “For starters, I had thought that it would automatically dial either Kairi’s Gate, or Nat’s Gate. Oh well, guess we can set-up your recall app now.” The Time Lord strolled over to the DHD. “You wouldn’t happen to have a phone would you? Or something that acts like a phone? Preferably with a way to use apps.” “I have nanomachines,” Ed smirked as he held up his right hand and a familiar cloud of silver appeared and formed a phone. “Or you just install the tech right into my arm. Doesn’t matter to me.” “Works for me,” the Doctor nodded. “Come plug your arm into the DHD, here. It’ll automatically add the program, as long as there is some sort of computer in the arm. Otherwise, have the nanomachines extrapolate the program.” “It’s a highly advanced prosthetic developed by my master,” Ed reached under his shirt and I heard a few clicks. “Here ya go,” He pulled his arm off and tossed it to the Doctor. My jaw hit the floor. Soon though Ed pulled a crystalline green arm and quickly attached it. “Wind model will do for now. Watch out for the blade, lightsaber, and repulser in the palm.” The Doctor caught the prosthetic, carefully slotting the portion that attached to the shoulder into the DHD slot. A few seconds later, he pulled it back out, examining the arm. “How exactly are you going to activate the program? I can’t see any sort of computer screen on here.” “Nanomachines Doc,” Ed was soon covered in what appeared to be liquid metal. “Terminator series. Liquid metal.” “Right, forgot,” he replied, slapping his forehead. “In any case, I don’t know why you pulled out that spare, since I’m done adding the program.” He carefully handed the arm back to the alchemist. “Needed to assimilate it into my body,” The spare arm was quickly gone as Ed walked over and reattached the original arm. “Now then,” He looked at me. “Kairi, your hand if you will?” Ed stretched out his left hand. I blinked in confusion, before placing my hand in his. “This is gonna sting a bit,” Ed smirked evilly. I felt a sudden sharp pain in my head as I felt my Gate of Truth open. “All done. You can now use alchemy without the use of circles.” “Ugh,” I groan, holding my head in pain. “Why is it that every time someone gives me an ability of some sort it hurts like hell?” I shake my head before my mind processes exactly what Ed had said. “Wait, I can use alchemy without circles now? Please tell me that didn’t have to pay a toll of some sort…” “I pay the toll in your place,” Ed pointed at my heart. “You have lost nothing more than a few skin cells.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh thank goodness. I’ve seen enough Fullmetal Alchemist to be worried.” “You’ll need to show that to Luna later, just to explain what it is,” the Doctor called from the DHD, where he was dialing our Gate. “And on that note, we should probably head back.” “Right, can’t leave Luna and Sunset there alone,” I nodded. “I have one more thing for you,” Ed held out his right palm and a large cloud of nanomachines appeared in it. They took on the shape of a Chibi Edward. “I call them Mini-Eds. They’re a semi-self sustaining artificial intelligence.” “Hello,” The chibi waved at me. He then floated over to me and landed on my shoulder. “They’re a direct link to my knowledge should you need a specific thing,” Ed explained. “If you need anything ask him or you can have him ping me and I’ll be available via IM.” “Sounds great,” I smiled before creating an orb with a musical note on it. “I might as well give this to you. This orb contains everything someone would need to know to be able to use my personal magic style; Music Magic. You can either use it yourself, or give it to someone else that you trust, it’s up to you. It acts like the Songstress Dressphere in Final Fantasy X-2, if you know what that is.” “Sweet,” Ed opened an orange holo-display and placed the orb in it. “Stored for future use in Archive. Well, if ya need anything else I guess that concludes our Marvelous Misadventures.” I nodded with a smile as the Stargate activated behind us. “It was indeed a Marvelous Misadventure. Until next time Ed.” I gave an oriental style bow. “May your heart be your guiding key.” “Take care of yourself Keyblade Wielder,” Ed smiled. “May your heart lead you to the path of which is the Truth.” With one last smile I turned to the Gate before stepping through, the Doctor right behind me. As soon as the light show ends and we step out of the Gate, we see ten figures on the other side of the room, eight of which had their jaws on the floor, while the other two just looked sheepish. Obviously, the two sheepish ones were Luna and Chirithy, the other eight were the Mane Six, Celestia and Sunset. Sunset was the first to recover, and she was not happy. “WHERE THE HAY HAVE YOU BEEN?!?!?” “We were testing the Gate, just like we said,” the Doctor replied confused. “For four weeks?!?” My eyes widened in shock. I didn’t have to look at the Doctor to know that his eyes had widened as well. “Four weeks?” I breathed. “That’s not possible. We were only gone for four hours!”