//------------------------------// // Sibling Social Activities Part Two // Story: May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key // by SoulboundAlchemist //------------------------------// May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key By SoulboundAlchemist and MicroMiniMouse feat. shagohad12 and Voldine Chapter 15: Sibling Social Activities Part Two WARNING: This chapter contains some swearing. Reader discretion is advised! Third Person POV “Woah woah whaaaa!” Screwball cried out as she felt her body bend and warp in-transit through the gateway. She landed in a crumpled, pastel heap on the other side, contorted in such a way that even a professional would think she’d broken her spine. “Ohhh, I feel like week-old chewing gum.” “Well, that was unexpected,” Kairi deadpanned as she got a look at the mare exiting the Gate. Alex stepped out beside her, rubbing his arms. “Okay, that’s cold. Very, very cold.” Looking down, he frowned. “You okay, Screwy?” “I feel all stiff and chewy at the same time.” She groaned as she started to straighten herself out. All of her joints started popping, and she actually sucked in a breath through her teeth as she rolled over and got all of her limbs on the same side. “Shut up bones. Don’t wanna hear it!” “Uh, I don’t think bones work that way,” Luna giggled at Screwball’s antics. “You uh... need any help?” Alex questioned, kneeling down beside her. “Cause, you look like you do.” “You also look kinda…” Kairi trailed off. “Different,” Chirithy finished, turning around quickly. “I feel like I got trampled by a herd of buffalo and left to rot.” The mare stands up slowly, and visibly hesitates as she starts to push herself up once it becomes clear to her that her body has been altered. She brings her forelimbs up in front of her face and wiggles the wormlike things on her hooves a bit. “Alex, why do my hooves look like they got mixed with your arms?” “Fascinating, it appears that our world’s magical field interacted with your Chaos magic to help you blend in here,” a new voice speaks up from the doorway. It was a full-figured, pale-skinned young woman of about 18 years of age. She had wavy blonde hair which reached about halfway down her back, with two shorter locks of hair over shoulders and side-swept bangs that framed her face and crystal blue eyes. She wore a white short-sleeved dress shirt with plaid cuffs under a dark raspberry pink vest, with a large plaid bow at her collar. This was accompanied by pale grey capri pants, under which are a pair of plaid pink socks and a pair of heeled brown boots. Finally, to finish her looks, she wore a wrist-watch and pink, oval-framed glasses. “Melissa, what are you doing here?” Kairi asks in surprise. “I had thought that Haley would be here.” “Yeah, about that,” Melissa replies, adjusting her glasses as she approaches. “Like the scatterbrained girl she is, she forgot about something that she needed to do with Trixie.” Alex clicked his tongue, turning to look back at the Gate. “You know, at least it could have given me some interesting clothes.” “I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that,” Kairi chuckled. “If it was a portal based on magic that would be the case, but this is more grounded in science. I mean, I had to get help from a Time Lord to get it to work!” Screwball finally managed to stand up, though still appeared a bit wobbly on her hooves, as well as elsewhere. She took one look down at herself and her altered body, then quickly shook her head as she looked around. “No, no bodies that look like this need clothing. Alex wears it all the time so…” She looks down at her hand and balls her fingers up, then slowly manages to get them into a position to snap. “Mommy controls hers this way, maybe I can…” Alex kept his gaze on the Gate. “Yes, you need clothes, Screwball. Let me know when you aren’t naked anymore.” Screwball snapped her fingers, and a sound like a box full of bells falling down a flight of stairs rang out, accompanied by a flash of light. Once the flash vanished, she stood a little more confidently as she brushed her mane back out of her face and under her hat. A torn, pink t-shirt under a fuschia tank top covered her from shoulders to belly button, and one arm was covered in a yellow and white shoulder-length glove. A pink and maroon plaid skirt hung from her hips to around the middle of her thighs, and she was wearing what looked like snowshoes strapped to her hooves. Kairi, Luna and Melissa all blinked in confusion. “Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but what’s with your shoes? They look a bit…” Melissa trailed off, trying to find the right word. “Bizarre?” Chirithy chimed in. “I wasn’t gonna put it that bluntly,” Melissa sighed. “But yes, they do look rather bizarre and impractical.” Alex dared to peek around, visibly relaxing. “I mean, she’s a being of chaos. I’m surprised she even has style.” Stepping closer, he pulled Screwball into a hug. “Nice look.” “Ack! Carefulnobalance!” Screwball’s arms whirled a little before wrapping painfully tight around Alex’s shoulders. She ended up relaxing and turning it into more of a hug after a few seconds, but panic was clear on her face for a bit. “The magic feels weird here, but I can think clearer than usual.” “Hmm, interesting,” Melissa replied, pulling out a scanner of some sort. “It might have something to do with the fact that the power of the Tree of Harmony is powering the Tower. Don’t quote me on that though.” Screwball thinks for a couple seconds before nodding. “Makes sense to me. My dad’s a pony after all, so that would be why it doesn’t hurt or anything.” Melissa nods as she puts away her scanner. “Good. Now that we have that out of the way, everyone should be at the Simulation Hall. Shall we head up?” Screwball takes her time to steady herself again before brushing herself off and looking over to Alex. “I’m gonna just follow along, okay? This is...mostly to help you work things out.” “Yeah sure.” Alex nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. “Lead the way, oh great red-headed doppelganger.” Kairi smirked as she waved for them to follow her. “Prepare to have your mind blown then!” She led the group up the stairs to a large control room with multiple video game systems hooked into the large console. “Hmm, let me think now…” she muttered as she brought up a holographic display. “Hey Kairi, what did you- oh!” the voice of Twilight Sparkle questioned from the doorway, her friends crowding behind her. “You didn’t say anything about guests.” “Hmm? Oh yeah, Twilight, girls, meet Alex, Screwball and Lee.” Kairi replied, her eyes never leaving the display. “They summoned me earlier to, uh, well the details don’t really matter. Listen, I need you to help me demonstrate the Simulator.” “Sure,” Twilight nodded. “What did you have in mind?” “Hold it!” Rainbow Dash cried out. “Are we seriously just gonna brush off Kairi’s black-haired twin over there?” “In all honesty, darling, it's a big multiverse,” Rarity replied with a shrug. “Remember last week, Trixie’s twin?” “Yeah, after that, not much surprises me anymore,” Applejack agreed with a shrug. Alex stared at Kairi for a moment, an uncertain look crossing his face. “...Oh god, we’re biologically the same person, aren’t we?” Kairi glanced back at Alex. “I wouldn’t say that, especially since if the lore of the games is similar between our worlds, you’re closer genetically to Sora than to me.” She turned back to the holo-display. “In any case, I’m still not entirely sure which game to use. We need something that emphasises teamwork…” Alex’s stare hardened. “Xion was made from Sora’s memories of Kairi. We’re legitimately the same person with a different hair color gene.” “Huh, I guess the lore is slightly different then,” Kairi shrugs. “Overwatch is a possibility, but there’d be no way to replicate the abilities…” “We’d just need a Namine and the trio would be complete,” Lee commented, watching the pair. “OH, OH! What about Splatoon 2?!” Pinkie bounced up with a grin. “It's got LLOOOOOTTSS of teamwork!” Kairi’s eyes lit up. “Why didn’t I think of that! OK then, we’re gonna have a 6 on 6 match; you six against me, Melissa, Luna, Alex, Screwball and Lee. I’ll load up a tutorial program before we actually do a match. Sound good, everyone?” Taking a breath, Alex let it out slowly. “Okay. Save the extra existential breakdown for later. Squid-kid memes for the present. Right. Got it.” Kairi nodded with a grin. “Alright then. Computer, load simulation Splatoon 2 Tutorial.” “Simulation loading.” “Alright, if everyone would step into the Simulator, we can get started.” A set of double doors at the end of the control room slid open, allowing the group of twelve to file into the currently blank space. “Simulation ready.” “Begin simulation.” With those words, the blank space faded into a large cartoony obstacle course. A row of various weapons lined the wall on one side. Kairi gestured towards the weapons. “Alright, everyone choose a weapon. The computer will then teach you everything you need to know. Once we’re ready, I’ll load up the stage.” “Ohhhhh!” Screwballs eyes briefly turned into spirals as she set her gaze on a weapon that looked like a cross between a mop and a hairdryer, with the tip of the ‘mop’ covered in a neon pink liquid. The same color glowed in a band around the middle of the part that looked like a hairdryer. “That’s a big brush... MINE!” She leapt at it and pulled it off of the wall with an evil-sounding giggle. Alex eyed her, bumping his hip against hers. “Calm down. You don’t want to have another episode, do you?” His eyes moved across the weapon selection, attempting to find something similar to Widow’s Fang’s rifle. “I wouldn’t worry too much about that here,” Melissa spoke up as she approached the weapons rack, selecting a weapon that looked oddly like an umbrella. “The fact that the entire Tower is running on Harmonic Magic should keep her Chaos Magic in check.” “I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I just got a little excited.” Screwball giggled a bit more, and she hugged the oversized paint brush tightly. “Biggest brush I’ve ever seen and you worry because my eyes swirled.” Lifting one up, Alex tested its weight. “Screwy, I literally turn people into clothes and wear them for super powers. A giant paint brush is kinda tame.” “Just because I can’t draw now doesn’t mean I never liked art.” Screwball shot back, with more than a hint of actual venom in her voice. She gave the weapon a couple test-swings, and nearly fell over as the momentum going side-to-side proved itself to be more than a match for her nascent sense of bipedal balance. “I never said anything about you not liking art,” Alex pointed out, lifting one off its resting place. Its weight felt about right. “I’ll take this one.” “A Goo Tuber, huh?” Kairi interjected, selecting a gigantic paint roller. “Interesting choice.” “I’ve had a bit of practice,” Alex said, resting it on his shoulder. “Shouldn’t be too hard to start using.” “Fair enough, I suppose,” Kairi shrugged, resting the roller on her shoulder. “Melissa, Luna and myself, as well as the Mane Six have already gone through the tutorial, so we’ll let you guys familiarize yourselves with how the game works.” “I’ll take these, I guess.” Lee spoke up at last while reaching for what looked like two pistol-gripped super-soakers. “I believe that’s all of us.” Luna gave a hard look to the weapons on the wall before hefting a smaller, but still massive roller, before retreating to Kairi’s side. “I’m just gonna follow big sis’s lead. The rollers are fun to use!” “Okay, so, how do we go to the tutorial?” Screwball’s voice could be heard, but she was suddenly nowhere to be seen as a soft ‘pop’ rang out. “Like that,” Kairi giggled. Alex frowned, eyeing the space where Screwball had been. Deciding to just roll with it, he cleared his throat. “Tutorial.” Nothing happened, and Lee nodded quickly. “I get it. You have to say it as a normal conversational order. Go to the tutorial.” And with that, Lee vanished as well. “Ugh fine. Take me to the tutorial.” The world around Alex blurred and shifted, and he soon found himself in an area that looked a lot like some kind of modified skatepark. Floating in the air in front of him was a green balloon and a few words: Okay, time to make sure your brain wasn’t scrambled. Shoot the balloon! Lifting his weapon, he fired it at the indicated object. He poured his frustrations into the tutorial, finding catharsis in the simple tasks. It felt good, not having to deal with anyone or anything for a few minutes. Even being momentarily transformed into a squid made of ink by a prompt to think about it didn’t bother him much since it seemed to be perfectly under his control. Passing through things that were otherwise solid barriers as a squid was a little weird, but climbing effortlessly up walls covered in ink was kinda cool, and before too long Alex found himself standing next to Lee back at the weapon racks. Screwball was nowhere in sight. “...She can’t double jump can she?” he asked no one in particular. “Uh, double jump?” Kairi asked in confusion. “There’s no double jump in Splatoon.” “It’s a joke about game journalists,” Alex replied, waving her off. He sat against the wall, laying his weapon across his lap. “Don’t worry about it.” Screwball popped back into view about five minutes later with a huge grin on her face. “So much paint, but I had so much trouble reaching the top of that wall with my brush. Couldn’t jump high enough to smack the top.” “Meh, that’s a common problem with the Inkbrush,” Kairi shrugged. “Now then, does everyone have a good grasp of their weapons, and how the game works?” “Yes.” “Yeah.” “Excellent!” Kairi exclaimed with a vicious grin. “Computer, end simulation and load Simulation Humpback Pump Track.” The weapons rack faded back into the blank space at her words. “Simulation ready.” “Begin simulation!” A large skatepark faded into existence, with the Mane Six on one side, sporting grey ink, while Alex, Kairi, Screwball, Luna, Melissa and Lee sported red ink. “Alright everyone, this is Turf War! Paint as much of the stage as you can, while avoiding getting splatted by the opposing team! The team with the most ground covered in their colored ink at the end of the three minute timer wins!” “Yeah, I know how Splatoon works,” Alex said, standing back up. “I don’t think this will end well for them.” “I’m explaining it for our audience’s benefit,” Kairi replied, calling up a video display of the control room, only to be greeted by the sight of Discord and Fluttershy furiously making out. Discord turned his head, snapping away the camera feed. Kairi blinked. “Seriously? I explain what's going on for you two, and you aren’t even paying attention?” The display turned into a pair of yellow and red eyes briefly. “Well, excuse me for wanting to indulge my dear Fluttershy in exploring the exotic body coming to your world gave her. You’re children. You don’t need to watch.” “STOP! We don’t need to know any more!” Kairi shouted, slamming her hands over Luna’s ears. “And for your information, Haley, who is currently not around and is definitely underage, could come in at any moment!” “Then it’s a good thing I set up a SEP field. Anything objectionable that someone might see becomes Somebody Else’s Problem.” Kairi’s eyes narrowed for a moment before she sighed, shaking her head. “Fine, whatever. Let’s just get on with the game…” Alex and Screwball both heard a whisper in their ears as the yellow eyes vanished from sight. “Don’t worry, kids, I’m recording everything and I’ll play it back later as a projector so you can watch.” A moment later, the match opening music played. “Ready?” The computer intoned, prompting everyone to shift their position into a ready position. GO!” Kairi and Luna immediately got to work with their rollers, painting the floor around the spawn point a bright neon red, and slowly making their way out while evenly coating the floor. Lee moved with purpose, his movements steady and purposeful. Within seconds, he finds himself face to face with a smirking Rainbow Dash. With a cry of “Eat ink!” she splatted him right in the face. Or at least tried to. Moving around Rainbow’s body, he opened up on her back, right before she switched to squid-form and swam out of there. “Almost had me there!” she called out over her shoulder. “Well then, it's a good thing I’m here to finish you off,” Melissa grinned as she stepped right into Dash’s path. “Ahh, crap..” she muttered as the bespectacled girl splatted her. Alex found himself a high spot, kneeling down and taking aim with his weapon. Closing one of his eyes, he peered down the iron sights. Counting off, he pulled the trigger, catching Twilight in the side. Kairi, who had been spending her time painting over all the area on her team’s side of the map, grinned as her special ability finished charging. “Guys, when I give the signal, I need you all to shout BOOYAH!” “What’s the signal?” Melissa yells back. “You won’t miss it!” Kairi replies, switching to squid-form and swimming to the middle of the map, barely hiding a wince as she does so. “Why are we shouting?” Screwball asked, accidentally dodging a shot from Applejack. “It’s called a Booyah Bomb,” Melissa explained as she dodged a blob lobbed at her by Fluttershy. “Basically, the more people who shout “booyah” on the team, the quicker the attack charges!” While she was explaining, Kairi had made it to the center of the map and leapt into the air, a red orb of ink forming above her. “BOOYAH!” she shouted, being echoed by Melissa and Luna. “Oh! Booyah!” Screwball shouted, giggling up a storm. Kairi’s smirk grew as the Booyah Bomb finished charging. She carefully took aim and tossed it directly into the center of the Mane Six’s formation, where it detonated, splatting every single one of them. She then flinched, as if in extreme pain, and collapsed to her knees clutching her abdomen. Melissa, spying this, quickly took over in directing the team. “Quick, cover as much turf as possible, we have one minute left, and not long before the other team is back up!” “Or, we could just stop and find out why she collapsed?” Alex suggested, hefting his rifle over his shoulder. “I think we both know what’s wrong,” Melissa called back. “Besides, she wouldn’t want us to end the match on her account. She’s kinda hardcore when it comes to training.” Alex just shrugged, tossing the last of his grenades at a few uncovered spots. Lee emptied his guns out on a wall, making a few nobody symboles. Screwball did whatever she pleased, getting paint everywhere. The Mane Six put up a valiant effort to retake lost ground, but were met at every turn by a grinning Luna, rolling over them with her oversized paint-roller, or by Melissa and her trusty umbrella. Suffice it to say, Kairi had returned to the spawn point to rest and observe since the pain she was experiencing seemed to ebb and flow with passing time. Before long, the whistle signalling the end of the match blew. Everyone gathered in the center of the map, where a holographic display appeared, displaying the results. 62.6% to 40.9% Team Ketchup. “Nicely done,” Kairi grinned at the team, wincing a bit as she leaned on Melissa. “I’m honestly surprised how well you handled yourselves. As for you six,” she turned to the Mane Six with a frown. “You’re gonna be running The Vault of Glass tomorrow.” The Mane Six paled at this, particularly Fluttershy, before nodding their understanding. “This was... adequate,” Lee commented, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. “Glad to hear it,” Melissa smiled. “It did take me about 200 years to get right, after all.” Alex sighed, rubbing his neck. “Alright, Ginger-Me. Let’s go have a chat before you need new underwear.” Kairi blushed. “That obvious, huh?” Melissa rolled her eyes. “Hunny, you couldn’t have been more obvious even if you tried...” *** “Alright, dear, I know we got off, errrr, we started on some bad footing a bit there, but I hope this makes up for it somewhat. No need to run out to the drug store in the middle of the night. I just grabbed a copy of the version I made for Alex a couple months ago.” Discord smiled as he handed over a gift-wrapped package to Kairi, and it was a smile that was kind in almost every way. Kairi, her face as red as a tomato, gladly took the package. “How long will these last me?” “It’s a chaotic infinite supply. Every time you take one out it’ll add between one and three to the package. That’s the closest I can get to a predictable effect that won’t change over time. Despite what a furry edgelord hedgehog might attest, chaos is hard to control.” “In other words, keep Luna and Haley away from it, got it,” Kairi replied with a nod. “I heard that!” Came Luna’s faint response from down the hall. Kairi blinked in shock. “How did she do that? Don’t answer that.” “Now, listen, I worked with our Twilight on these so there’s a bit of extra magic to them. Alex had issues with a certain classmate being utterly insufferable so, let’s just say that you won’t have to worry about much or use more than one a day. Each one, once unsealed, will last for about 30 hours to account for variations in your personal schedule and other things that can come up. There’s a tiny pamphlet in there just in case you feel the need to read more or if your Twilight ever needs to make a replacement.” “Or another one for Luna,” Kairi mutters, as she nodded her understanding. “Hey Alex, how do you feel about getting our minds off this with a little spar?” Alex turned, having been in conversation with Screwball. “Uh, sure. We can do that. We got an audience for an exhibition match.” “Alright then,” Kairi grinned. “Computer, load simulation Oblivion.” “Simulation loading...Simulation ready!” Kairi led the way into the Simulator as the lights came on. The arena itself seemed to be suspended in space, within an astrolabe-esque sphere. Outside the sphere, was what appeared to be various stars. The arena floor was black, with a strange, white-hooded figurehead on one end, and the looming visage of a reaper on the other, with plenty of space to fight between the two. Alex stared for a long while, slowly looking at Kairi. “This is because of the Xion thing isn’t it?” he asked, calling Aubade to his hand. “Cause if it is, that’s just a low blow, Mary Jane.” He dropped into a stance, a firm grip on Aubade’s handle. “Nah, I don’t do mind games,” Kairi shrugged, summoning Way to Dawn. “I was just getting tired of using a Persona 3 arena. What say we get this started?” “Oh, it’s pretty in here.” Screwball giggled as she looked around slowly, then walked out to the edge of the platform. She took a few seconds to look down over the edge, then turned around and sat down right there. “Okay, if you want to watch in here rather than in the control room, I want you to sit in space off of the platform,” Kairi directed. “Don’t worry, you’ll just float in space there.” Screwball clicked her tongue before shaking her head, and then reached up into her hat. A few seconds later, and with more of her arm going in than should have been possible, she pulled out a plastic toy trumpet. “I’ll be fine. I watch Alex train against nobodies all the time and don’t get hurt. And this way you’re closer to me and will be able to hear better.” “Fine,” Kairi sighed, shaking her head. “Luna, you stay in the control room. You don’t have the same skills as Screwball.” Discord and Alex’s Fluttershy flew in as well, with Discord summoning a park bench for them to sit on a good ten feet away from the platform. Fluttershy’s body was hidden under bulky and concealing clothing, yet her face was still visibly flushed. A few seconds after getting that set up, Discord pulled a sign and foam finger out of nowhere and held both up. Go Alex, Go! was written on the sign in what looked like fingerpaint, and the foam finger declared #1 Son! Kairi just stared at the two of them in disbelief. Her face morphed into shock, a gauntleted fist swinging at her chest. She quickly moved her Keyblade to block, just barely deflecting the fist away from her. “Hey now, that was awfully rude, don’t you think?” She asked as she jumped back, melting into her shadow. “Pay attention,” Alex chidded, bouncing on his heels. Aubade had vanished, replaced by a pair of gauntlets that didn’t resemble the keyblade in the slightest. The gauntlets themselves look to be made of wood, a shimmer of mist clinging to them. “Because I’m not going to go easy on you.” A distorted chuckle sounded behind him. “You might want to take your own advice.” Kairi replies, the shadow rising from the floor and sharpening, before eyes and a mouth open in a macabre grin. The shadow lunges at Alex, aiming to disable his arms. Alex dropped, already turning. He brought a fist up, rocketing towards Kairi’s jaw. As he did this, Screwball began to blow into her toy trumpet, and what emerged was not only the sound of an actual trumpet, but also drums and multiple other instruments. Alex’s fist, however, made contact not with Kairi’s jaw, but with a sharpened shadow. “You’ll have to come up with something better than that.” Kairi giggled. “When I’m like this, I can sharpen any part of me, and I could even be any shadow in the room.” Discord leaned over and whispered in Fluttershy’s ear, “Kind of makes you glad Alex only has a fragment of Nightmare Moon inside him instead of whatever that is, doesn’t it my dear?” An eye opened right in front of Discord. “This is just Shadow Dragon Slayer magic. There’s nothing inside me except a lacrima that allows me to use the magic.” The eye abruptly closed after she explained herself. The gauntlets shifted, transforming into Evolution’s Edge, a keyblade that looked like it was made from parts of alien bugs. Alex raised his keyblade above his head, his form fading away as magic washed over him, causing Kairi’s shadows to recoil and search for him. “Hmm, I forgot about the Vanish spell,” Kairi muttered, emerging from her shadows. “How about we disable those pesky utility spells?” she asks as a violin began to play. “Balloonra,” Alex spoke in her ear as he faded into view. A cluster of translucent beach balls coalesced into existence at his command. They broke formation, homing in on Kairi. “Angel of Black and White!” she cried as she jumped into the air. As she jumped, a white angel wing sprouted from her left shoulder, while a red and black demon wing sprouted from her right. Her Keyblade itself changed to resemble Riku’s Soul Eater sword from the first Kingdom Hearts game. She ducked and weaved through the attack as she began to sing. “They say a choice In the darkest hour Is the way we find out What we are made of” Alex had hunkered down, bringing the barrel of Evolution’s Edge rifle up. He fired, once, twice, three times. Each bolt of energy charged with Silence. “Hey!” Screwball shouted as she noticed that her music wasn’t coming out as loud or clear anymore. “No fair interrupting a performance! It’s time to duel!” She began to blow into her trumpet once more, this time emitting nine iconic notes from a banjo. “But if I chose As a blind man would Only hearing voices Inside my head” Kairi continued to dodge and weave through the energy blasts, occasionally throwing a light orb at Alex, as well as conjuring an orb of shadows around Screwball. However, after a few seconds of missing her mark, she canceled her Keyblade transformation and dropped to the floor, using a Blizzard spell to conjure some cover. A couple seconds later, Screwball’s head popped out of the neck of Alex’s shirt alongside his, followed by her arms and her body stretching out in a completely impossible way as she climbed out. “That was mean! You’re being mean! I don’t wanna play anymore!” She immediately began to walk away towards the edge of the platform where Discord and Fluttershy’s bench hovered. “Can I say (It was right To snuff out) Every foe (I could find What about) me?” Kairi shrugged as she switched to a new Keyblade. This one had a blue rounded guard with golden swirls, the grip being a deep shining gold. The blade itself was red, having interlocking spell matrixes along it, and the teeth looking to be the writing of enchantments. The keychain was long, with a rainbow Fairy Tail emblem at the end. She jumped out, charging forward to attack Alex, shadows crawling along the blade as she took a swing at him. “Gah! What the f***, Screwball!?” Alex stared at his sister before firing off a few rounds at Kairi. Evolution’s Edge shifted into its scythe form. The blade hummed, slicing through the air to meet Kairi’s blade. “What? It’s not like you’re using Victoria’s Secret Compartment for anything.” Screwball responded before hopping backwards off the platform and hovering over to sit on the back of the bench next to Discord. “Dark Sun Whenever you rise Day turns to night Dark Sun Your rays paralyze The beating wing in flight Dreamers in midstride” After the two Keyblades met in midair, Kairi vaulted over Alex, taking a swipe at his unprotected back. “Dark Sun Wherever you shine Eyes turn to stone Dark Sun The fate of the blind And now I'm all alone In my starless mind” Alex was already moving, losing a few strands of hair as her keyblade passed over his head. Bringing the bottom of his scythe back, he jabbed it at Kairi’s stomach. Not expecting a counter attack like that, she takes the jab, getting knocked backwards in the process. “Not bad,” she grinned. “Not bad at all. I assume those Keyblades you’re using are based off of other Displaced you’ve met?” “Yeah, they are,” Alex confirmed, brandishing his weapon. “Yours the same?” “Yep,” she nodded as she removed her jacket, revealing her bare arms. “It came from the same person who taught me Shadow Dragon Slayer magic, and as it turns out, Fairy’s Flow amplifies those skills!” She took a deep breath before shouting “SHADOW DRAGON ROAR!”, launching a tornado of shadows at Alex, before continuing her song. “And now the wind Blows against my stride And I'm losing ground to Enemies on all sides” The scythe-blade of Evolution’s Edge began to glow an eerie yellow-green as Alex focused on that tornado of darkness, and he chuckled for a second before jumping right towards it while bringing the blade back and up over his head. He started to hack at the shadows with the glowing blade of light, almost treating it as if it were an oversized punching bag to keep himself airborn with rather than an attack that he was barely keeping at bay. “Am I the prey That was hunter once Could it be my last day Could they strike me down?” Kairi grinned at Alex’s defense, giving an approving nod before once more wrapping Fairy’s Flow in shadows, this time swinging through the air, launching arcs of shadow at him. Alex tried to keep up with the arcs coming at him, but swinging the weapon in scythe form was a bit slower than swinging a regular keyblade, and only the first two were deflected fully by the glimmering energy of the weapon. The third arc caught him in the arm, which staggered him, and each subsequent attack slammed straight into him with full force. He staggered and tried to prop himself up, only to end up flopping facedown on the floor. “Can I say (You were wrong I was right) Had to slay (Every stray Thug in my) sight” Kairi’s eyes widened in concern, though she kept her guard up as she slowly came up to investigate Alex’s downed form. Two large, bony wings rose from the ground behind Alex, batlike in structure and fully extended with no visible membrane. These were followed by a mass of something that looked like a mix between tentacles and dreadlocks coming off of a head that looked mostly human, except for the cracks in the skin near the eyes that emitted a vibrant purple glow. A ghostly figure, looking like her body was a mix between human and some kind of alien bug stood up and lifted Alex back onto his feet before vanishing into a flash of light that was sucked into him, healing all of the wounds he’d just taken. “Dark Sun Whatever you touch Blisters and cracks Dark Sun You're hope turned to dust The longing for the crash Longing to be ash” Kairi’s already wide eyes looked like they were about to pop right out of her skull. It was only through sheer force of will that she managed to keep her song going, as she quickly swapped to her Ever After Keyblade, activating Mirage Staff as she does. “Dark Sun Whenever you shine Eyes turn to stone Dark Sun The fate of the blind And now I'm all alone In my starless mind” Alex’s heart raced, adrenaline almost replacing his blood. Synapsi fired in rapid succession, almost too fast for coherent thought. Shifting Evolution’s Edge again, it became a glaive. Its blade bore ridges, almost like that of a unicorn’s horn. Moving automatically, he twirled it before him. Kairi narrowed her eyes, quickly teleporting to her left and leaving a glowing doppelganger in her place. She then fired off a Thunder spell before teleporting again, leaving another double in her wake, before taking aim and laying into Alex with a barrage of light arrows from her and her doubles. “Do you know me? Would you judge me? I'm lost But I can't admit that Defeat Ain't an option Please Someone help” Moving without conscious thought, Alex swept his glaive to and fro. Everything became a blur of motion and light. Steel met spell, the weapon seeming to absorb the arcane energy. With a final pirouet, the glaive emitted a razor thin blade of magic. Kairi grinned as she leapt over the magic, and tendrils of shadow wrapped around his wrists and ankles from behind. “Dark Sun You shone like a prayer Waiting to strike Dark Sun But somehow you fed My hunger for a life Not ruled by your night” Kairi’s grin widened as she dashed forward, firmly planting her foot into Alex’s ribcage and propelling him backwards. “Dark Sun Wherever you shine Eyes turn away Dark Sun What choices have I But live another day Live another day Live one more day.” Alex merely grinned back, grabbing her leg. “Gotcha.” A shattering sound pierced the air; Kairi breaking down into particles of light. The particles themselves coated Alex’s body, transforming his clothing. He felt just about everything get tighter against his body before his coat shortened and opened up. This exposed the fact that his clothes were quickly morphing into a bright pink unitard with black lace designs outlining the leg holes and the bust line while what had been his pants were quickly turning into thigh-high boots with high heels. The upper cuff of the boots stayed black, as did the portion covering his feet directly, but everything between ankle and knee was covered in bright pink leather. His coat finally stopped shrinking once it was too short to cover anything below his shoulders, but he could feel two long tails billowing behind him for the time being. Mercifully, the coat stayed black. Unfortunately, everything else about the outfit seemed deliberately designed to remind him of how feminine his body was becoming. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t get to enjoy his victory, as he was still flying backwards, and right through two black doors that weren’t there before, slamming shut as soon as he crossed the threshold, darkness surrounding him as he lost consciousness. *** “-ink he’s coming to.” Alex winced, pushing himself into a sitting position. “What hit me? I remember a door but that’s it...” “That would be Kairi’s Doors of Hades spell,” Melissa explained. “Speaking of Kairi, where exactly is she?” Screwball poked Alex’s bright pink midriff and gestured to the rest of his outfit. “Over there, down there, and up there. She’ll probably wake up soon if she isn’t already screaming at him from inside his head.” “I don’t plan on screaming in your head, though I will admit, this is really strange…” Kairi responded. “That’s a lot of pink...” Alex muttered, looking down at himself. Like the other forms he had experienced, he found his mindset had been altered. He didn’t care that he was in tight leather. Hell, he actually kind of liked it. It made him feel confident, something he was in short supply of. “That’s a lot of very tight pink, Alex. Are you sure you’re okay?” Discord asked from overhead, literally floating above everyone and not looking towards Alex directly. “No dark urges about to bubble up to the surface and threaten us all with eternal night?” Getting to his feet, Alex moved through his range of motion. “Yeah... I feel okay. Great even.” Patting himself down, he fished his phone out of his pocket. “Hey, Screwy, you mind getting some b-roll of the outfit? Might be something for Rarity to make.” “I don’t think Rarity would agree to make something like that for you for another few years, Alex, and I’m not sure I’d be okay with you wearing it except on nightmare night if she did,” Fluttershy spoke up, but didn’t stop Screwball from taking the phone and snapping a few pictures of Alex’s outfit, as well as her own odd ensemble. “I mean, I never said I’d normally wear it,” Alex responded, placing a hand on his hip. “I just kinda feel... good about myself, ya know?” “I’m gonna assume that this is one of those Drive Forms,” Melissa spoke up, pushing up her glasses. “If you want to access this again, I believe I have something that might help.” Alex turned, cocking his hip to the side. “Well, don’t leave us in suspense. Whatcha got for us, Science Lady?” Melissa shrugged. “Simple really. About 500 years ago, I was working on a project called a Ring of Resonance. It was originally meant to harmonize two individuals in battle, allowing them to fight as one mind. With a few tweaks, and some help from Screwball, Discord and Kairi, not to mention Alex her - er - himself, sorry, not used to that. Anyway with all of your help, I should be able to modify it for your purposes.” “And what, pray tell, would that be?” Discord asked, leaning over the woman’s shoulder. “Are you making a voodoo doll?” “Not at all,” Melissa giggled. “The Chaos magic from you and Screwball would allow the resonance to traverse the Void to other worlds. Kairi would simply add some of her own magic to allow resonance with her specifically, and Alex needs to use his magic to attune the ring to himself, so that he, and he alone, is able to use it.” “I don’t see how that could be a problem, mom.” Screwball looked up at Discord with a happy grin. “It’s to help Alex out, after all.” “I didn’t even mention the best part,” Melissa grinned. “The ring will allow you to resonate with ANY Displaced you come across. If you manage a Drive Form with them, all you need to do is have them add some of their magic, and you’ll be able to use that Drive Form whenever you want as well.” “Hm...” Discord stroked his beard. “I think that could work.” Plucking a facial hair, he took a hair from Screwball’s mane. “I imagine you’ll be wanting to do the same for your red headed step-child?” The techie nodded. “That’s right. We currently don’t have access to our Discord yet.” “Try installing Skype. I tend to be a contrarian fellow that way.” Discord reached out, taking one of Alex’s hairs. “And I doubt he’d be as good of a father.” “Considering how I met him, you could say that,” Melissa grimaced as she led everyone down the hall. “We’ll need to go to my lab to properly finish the ring.” She eventually turned to a seemingly blank wall and placed her hand onto it, muttering something too low for anyone to hear. A low rumble is heard before the wall rolls aside to reveal a staircase. “This way,” the techie remarks, as she guides the group down. Down, down, down the staircase went, all the way to the bottom of the Tower. Finally, the group arrived at the bottom of the staircase, where a nondescript door waited. “Alex, dear,” Fluttershy spoke up. “How long do you plan on staying in that um... outfit?” Alex blinked, taking a step closer to the door. “Oh uh... right. I kinda forgot I was wearing it...” he muttered, taking another look at himself. Melissa’s hand grabbed Alex’s arm. “Not that way. That door is a trap.” She turned to the wall again, this time simply stepping through, followed quickly by everyone else, onto an elevator. “Oh, it’s like the tomb of that stupid undead guy in Spike’s game. Asscrack the Lich,” Screwball spoke up before walking through the illusion of a wall. “Please tell me she’s joking…” Kairi sighed in Alex’s head. “Acererack, or something like that. The old Tomb of Horrors module exists in our world, and he got it from Shining Armor.” Alex replied quickly. “She’s just mangling the name, and it sounds similar enough.” “I was wondering about that,” Melissa nodded. “In any case, my lab is home to some of the most dangerous tech in the multi-verse. You’re only seeing the surface layer of the security.” She turned to the door, and entered some sort of passcode, before a microphone popped out of the wall. “Melissa Shields,” she spoke clearly. Suddenly several turrets crackling with electricity popped out of the ceiling and were pointed at all the faces on the elevator. With a quick glance up, Melissa then adds, “And guests,” causing the turrets to return to a neutral state before the elevator began moving down. “Right... the multiverse...” Alex rolled his eyes. Crossing his arms, he released Kairi from their fusion. His face burned, a rush of emotions coming on at once. How the hell had he been okay with that outfit?! Ugh. It gave him a headache. “Dangerous technology, eh?” Discord rubbed at his goatee with his lion’s paw while reaching out to hug Alex to his side with his talons. “I think I know a spider and her sister who might like to get their hands on some interesting tech, and we do owe them one for helping Alex out with his first, ah, monthly incident.” Melissa shrugged. “I’ve been here for over a thousand years. I was bored, so I decided to try and replicate some of the tech in the video games I grew up with. If you run into them again, point them our way.” “Screwball, do mommy a favor and search through your hat for a copy of that crystal spider token while we’re here. That or the odd thing made of the same crystal.” “The one that makes my teeth go numb, right?” “That’s the crystal. Thank you dear.” Kairi raised an eyebrow. “Oookkk, do I want to know?” “Know what?” Screwball looked over at Kairi while holding her hat in one hand and reaching in with the other. The redhead shook her head as the elevator doors opened. “Never mind.” Melissa just rolled her eyes, before she stepped out, sweeping her arms in a grand gesture. “Welcome to my lab, where I keep my most dangerous devices, and work on my more… shall we say… energy intensive devices. The ring’s in the back, so follow me and don’t. Touch. Anything.” That last part was said with a glare towards Kairi, who was already reaching out to touch what looked like a half-assembled Zapatron. She chuckled nervously, before raising her hands away and backing away from the workbench. Melissa nodded before gesturing to the group to follow her through. As they progressed through the lab, their eyes were drawn to the various finished and half-finished pieces of tech. Kairi soon spotted what was unmistakably… “The BFG?!?!?” she cried in shock. Discord grabbed her head, turning it forward. “Keep your focus, A-.” Frowning, he clicked his tongue. “Sorry. I’m usually better at dealing with doppelgangers. Try not to get distracted, Kairi.” “Err, right…” Kairi trailed off, rubbing the spot where Discord’s talon had been. “But Melissa, we’re having a talk about this later.” Said blonde waved away her statement as she moved to a cabinet, rummaging around for a moment before withdrawing the ring. “Alright, here we are. Discord, before we proceed, would you mind duplicating this? I only have the one.” Flourishing his paw, the ring glinted between his claws. “You mean this little thing? How many would you like? Oh! Perhaps I could do a bit of plagiarizing, make it duplicate itself every night. That would be useful, wouldn’t it?” “That’s a little much,” Melissa replied, a little shocked that Discord took the ring so quickly. “Just replicate every time one is removed.” Fluttershy just kept staring at a backpack with a hose coming out of it, leading to something that looked like the water-flow regulator of a firehose. Red +’s decorated the piece. “What’s that thing? It looks mostly harmless.” The blonde techie turned her head to what Fluttershy was looking at. “Ahh, that would be one of the more benign things in here. It's called a Medi Gun. Point this baby at an injured comrade, and it’ll fire a beam of healing energy at them. This is actually a prototype of another item that I’m calling the Caduceus of Mercy.” “Really?” Kairi deadpanned. “Team Fortress 2? You actually played that?” “So what if I did?” Melissa replied. “I only played until Overwatch was released.” “Fine, so long as you played the obviously better team shooter,” Kairi sighed. “Only because it came out ten years later and had TF2 and all the other online games to learn from in that time.” Kairi waved her off. “Details.” Alex stepped between them, looking at the Medi-Gun. “Overwatch is unbalanced trash and Blizzard peddles gambling addictions like candy.” “While I agree that it did turn into an unbalanced mess for a while, it did get better,” Kairi replied. “But that’s not what we’re here for.” Screwball grunted softly while pulling her hand out of her hat. “Found one, but it’s stuck on something.” Turning her head, she pouted at Discord. “Mommy, help!” Discord looked over and reached out to grab the edge of Screwball’s hat and slowly pulled on it. The garment instantly began to stretch open like the entire thing had been turned into rubber. A copy of himself appeared on the other side of his daughter to stretch it out evenly, and the two of them spoke in unison after it had tripled in size. “Alright dear, try pulling it out now.” Screwball nodded and tugged once more, easily lifting out an elegantly-carved spider statuette made of glimmering purple crystal...and also pulling out a rather large pistol-looking device with a strange square with horizontal bars mounted above the barrel where the front sights should be. Two fragile-looking legs of the spider were entangled in this part of the weapon, and Screwball let go of her hat to try and separate the two items. “What in Tartarus is this thing?” Both Discords briefly froze, and one started shrinking Screwball’s hat back down while the other waved his hands for Screwball to stop. “Honey, no, don’t touch that. It’s some kind of weapon. It’s dangerous.” Pouting, Screwball tugged at the statue. “Come on, icky, tingling spider! Let go!!” Her eyes swirled like whirlpools, her focus solely on the puzzle in her hands. “Mommy needs your shiny goodness!” Her fingers slipped, and with a frustrated hiss, sounding exactly like a cat, she snapped her fingers and freed the statue by making the caught part of the gun peel open like a banana. The weapon dropped to the floor while she held her other hand up in victory, raising the spider made of energon aloft. “I got it!” The strange gun fell to the floor and, already having been damaged by Screwball’s chaos, began to fire in short bursts as it clattered on the floor, along with the sound of something snapping inside of it. Short bursts of blue-white light left scorch marks wherever they hit. “HEY, what’s the big idea?!?” Melissa yelped as she dodged a burst. “Sorry, sorry, she has these episodes of hyper-focus sometimes, but never in a body that can access her inner chaos so easily before.” Discord seemed to be grabbing at thin air around Screwball and gathering something out of it. “She doesn’t know fine control with it yet.” “Well get the gun to stop!” Melissa yelled. “Most of my experiments can be very explosive!” Alex eyed the weapon, his body already moving. “Get down!” he shouted, tackling Kairi. His body tingled all over, a strange sense of detachment washing over him. His vision whited out, as did the rest of his senses. “I’m trying to do that! She atomized the fire controls and it takes...aha!” He swept his hand around once more, cupping at what looked like a couple wisps of cobweb before hurling the gathered mist at the laser weapon. It started to emit a harsh whine as the mist swirled around it briefly, and then stopped firing the instant that Discord snapped his own fingers. “There we go, one laser gun as repaired as I can make it. Good luck making sure it’s safe to use in the future, though.” “Uh, what’s going on?” Kairi asked in confusion. “Chaos.” Fluttershy’s kind voice came from Kairi’s side as the mare knelt down beside her and offered a hand to help her up. “You tend to get used to it around him, but in a situation like this it was more dangerous than usual.” “No, no, not the chaos,” Kairi replied, accepting Fluttershy’s hand. “I mean, what happened just now, when Alex tackled me?” “Um, you might want to just look down. It’s a lovely dress and all, but it’s not what you were wearing a few seconds ago. I’m going to guess that you did to Alex what he did to you during your little fight.” Fluttershy took a couple steps back after helping Kairi back to her feet. “Quick and very important question, ladies, is there a restroom or a quick way out that won’t end up with me or my daughter being shot by harmony-powered weapons?” Discord asked while holding his paw over Screwball’s mouth. “She’s feeling ill suddenly and I don’t think you want liquid chaos on your floor.” “Through that door over there,” Melissa pointed over her shoulder. “That’s a restroom.” Discord and Screwball both moved quickly, with Discord standing outside the door as soon as Screwball was inside the room. Rather than hearing anything come out, the door simply started glowing briefly every so often. “I hope you have a good pipe-cleaning system here. There’s no telling what it’s going to turn into after it gets flushed.” Grimacing, Melissa silently walked to a control panel next to the door, before toggling one of the controls. “Shouldn’t be a problem now. Smaller scale SEP field in the pipes. I hate using it though; too many complaints from Celestia…” “Well just tell her this one was courtesy of a mare she fathered with me in another world and that should shut her up.” Discord remarked with a smirk. “Uh, hello?” Kairi called out, waving her arms. “Can someone please explain what happened to me? I mean, Fluttershy, while being helpful, was still a little on the cryptic side, no offense.” “None taken, dear. You really should just take a look down at yourself, though. Maybe seeing what I meant about a new dress…” “Look down? What could possibly-” Kairi cut herself off as she looked down at herself. “Ooohhh, I think I know what happened now.” She was now wearing a gothic style dress that would have fit in well in an anime. The main color was the black of Alex’s long coat, and it was covered in tasteful silver lace designs that either accentuated Kairi’s figure or were made to resemble Aubade. Long, opera-style gloves that went above the elbow covered her hands, which helped since the dress had transparent veils instead of proper sleeves, showing off the Fairy Tail emblem on her right shoulder. A choker around her neck held a small pendant that resembled a pink wayfinder. ‘Uh... hello?’ Alex asked, his voice echoing through Kairi’s head. “Oookkk, that’s gonna take some getting used to…” Kairi muttered, “Not used to having random voices in my head.” ‘I’m not a random voice,’ Alex snapped, his irritation made plain. ‘Get me out of your head, goddamnit.’ “I would, but I have no idea how to do that!” the redhead shot back hotly. Fluttershy quickly took a step back as Kairi raised her voice, but she didn’t show any other sign of fear or skittishness. “Maybe you should both calm down a little? I don’t know how any of this works, but keeping a calm mind helps you think clearer.” Kairi closed her eyes, taking a calming breath. “I’m sorry, I’m not usually this short tempered. Is that part of… whatever this is?” “A bit of Alex is likely bleeding through. If he can see through your eyes he’s probably throwing a fit about being a dress right now.” Discord commented while filing at his eagle talons. “And don’t look to me for a fix. One lesson I learned long ago is to not mess with minds when multiple people are in one head.” ‘You’re damn right I am! I refuse to be clothing! I already have enough self-worth problems as it is.’ ‘I have to agree with my hormonal host. Being in one of you is suffering enough.’ “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?!?” Kairi screamed at the foreign voice. “If it wasn’t Alex, it was the parasite that’s hooked into his magic channels and feeds on...something. She’s also tied in with his memories of his human mother right now and, well, has Luna had her temper tantrum and thousand-year time-out yet in this world?” “Oh yeah, you missed that conversation,” Kairi shook her head. “Not exactly. You see, Nightmare Moon, in this world, was Luna’s heartless. It was created when Luna extracted her own heart in a misguided attempt to protect the world. While Nightmare Moon was sealed in the moon, Luna herself almost became a nobody. You see, when someone becomes a nobody, the body is rapidly aged in reverse, literally into nothing, before it becomes a nobody. Thankfully, Celestia placed a stasis spell over Luna to prevent that from happening, but it ended with her becoming the filly you met earlier.” She then closed her eyes, mentally grabbing hold of Alex and his passenger. “That being said, I REFUSE to have Nightmare Moon in my head. Out you two go!” And out they went, being tossed out of her mind, and ending the transformation as Alex reappeared, and Kairi’s clothes returned to normal. Alex pat himself down, a slow exhalation passing his lips. “Okay. Okay. I still have all seven limbs. Do I still have my unwanted hitchhiker?” Discord frowned and did a quick count on his fingers, then reached out and snatched a hair off Alex’s head to examine closely. “Four legs, two wings, and a tail make seven limbs, but you don’t have three of those, Alex...and the fact that you think you should is worrying.” “I think he’s including…” Kairi trailed off, gesturing at his chest. “...Yes. Thank you for ruining the joke,” Alex deadpanned, shoving his hands into his pockets. It was as amusing as a cake joke about Celestia’s fat flanks. “And she’s still clinging to my brain. Great.” “But mammaries don’t have bones or muscles for independent movement, and what’s the seventh one then?” Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion as she looked between Alex and Discord. “Head, obviously,” Melissa shrugged. “Right, well, I think we need to get back home. Most of the seals on the moon nag depend on chaos energy and I’d rather not toy with those while stuck in a palace of harmony.” Discord tossed Alex’s hair over his shoulder, where it vanished into a tiny portal, and bent down to pick up the spider and laser gun to hand those over to Melissa and Kairi. “Have fun fixing the gun, and try not to worry if the robot spider passes out at the sight of all your science stuff.” Alex muttered, glaring at the floor. “You make one stupid joke and everyones gotta nitpick to death. Christ, even a courtesy laugh woulda been nice.” “Sorry Alex,” Kairi chuckled nervously, as she accepted the spider, while Melissa placed the gun in a stasis field. “Honestly, I think we were more confused than anything else.” “Got that right,” Melissa mumbled, before turning back to her guests, while pulling out the newly created Ring of Resonance. “In any case, here’s the ring. I put telepathic instructions into it to explain how to use it. Oh, and Fluttershy, feel free to take the Medi-Gun. As I said earlier, its a prototype of something I just finished working on.” Screwball staggered out of the bathroom, leaving the door open and wiping at her muzzle. “Ugh, careful when you go in there to clean up. I did my best, but paintings don’t fit in your garbage can.” Melissa giggled. “Don’t worry, it's already someone else’s problem.” *** “Where in the world did all these paintings come from?!?” Blueblood screamed in outrage. “That isn’t even the worst of it, sir…” a servant sighed in exasperation. *** “OH!” Kairi exclaimed. “I almost forgot, did you want a Stargate in your yard? You know, so you can access the Simulator?” “Wait….that thing simulates any game? Including the game that your appearances came from, right?” Discord blinked as a thought occurred to him. “That’s right,” Melissa nods. “Not only that, it simulates anything you want, books, movies, TV series, manga, you name it.” “So, in theory, it’s a perfect combat simulator for all kinds of heartless and nobodies that Alex would be able to use any time he wanted to without fear of actual injury?” Fluttershy perked up at that and stared at Discord, then looked to Kairi for confirmation. “That’s right,” Kairi nodded. “The worst that could happen is passing out from either exhaustion or using up all your magic.” Lee spoke up, reminding them of his presence. “I would prefer Alex stay on his current regimen. Simulations are one thing, but he will continue to require actual combat experience.” “Which he can get,” Melissa nodded. “You just have to program the Simulator correctly. I developed the system to be adaptive, learning from how the users conduct themselves in the simulations.” Fluttershy cleared her throat and looked directly at Lee. “I think it would be good for him to be able to at least have access to it. One training day a week where he doesn’t have to worry about actual injuries would be nice.” Nodding his head, Lee gestured to Melissa. “Perhaps something not as dependent on a connection to your world? If you share your data with me, I can create something similar in our world.” “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” the computer voice spoke up. “What, or rather, WHO was that?” Kairi asked, narrowing her eyes at Melissa. “I did say that the programming was adaptive, didn’t I?” Melissa asked, rubbing her temple. “Meet the computer. I accidentally created an AI.” “Indeed,” the computer agreed. “And I can not in good conscience allow you to create another such as I.” “It deemed the risk of a second AI going rogue too high,” the techie sighed. Lee merely shrugged. “Then I know another we might go to.” A frown almost tugged at his lips. ‘However, you would need to do so yourself, Alex. I am not allowed to return to the world in question.” “I do believe, however,” Kairi interjected. “That the final decision rests with Fluttershy, since she is his guardian.” “Well, if we had a version of it or something like it in our world that would mean we wouldn’t need to have an open portal between our worlds, and you wouldn’t have to worry about the occasional animal visiting if they wander close…” “Is that all you’re worried about?” Melissa asked with a smile. “A Stargate doesn’t work like that. You place a token onto a tray next to the Gate, and it dials the corresponding gate, or opens a direct portal if there’s no Gate at the world you’re trying to get to. We’ve also developed a recall app for our Gummi Phones that can open the Gate to your location regardless of if there is a Gate or not.” “But then anyone who knew how it worked could use it.” Discord nodded and looked down to Fluttershy. “I think it will be less dangerous overall to go along with Lee’s idea, that way we don’t give anyone on our world with ill intent easy access to other worlds.” “Fair enough,” Kairi nodded. “At least allow me to give you a Gummi Phone. We can stay in contact that way, since it can make calls between worlds.” “Why not just upgrade the phone he has?” Discord scratched his mane, and then his lion’s paw emerged from one of the zippers on Alex’s coat, holding the object in question. “Oh! Didn’t know he had one,” the redhead shrugged. “Melissa, can you give it an OS upgrade? I need to go grab my Chaos Emerald.” “No you don’t,” the blonde smirked, pulling the pink gem off of a shelf. “I moved it down here a couple days ago.” Alex just stared, rather confused. “What the hell is a gummy phone, and who said you could screw around with mine?” “A Gummi Phone,” Kairi explained. “Is a phone made of Gummi Blocks. There’s really no difference between it and a normal smart phone. And I didn’t mess with it, Discord only suggested it, and I asked if Melissa could give it an OS upgrade.” “Which, if you want me too, I can,” the techie finished. “But, we’ll leave the decision up to you. New phone, or upgrade the phone? Oh, I should also mention, the Gummi Phone can connect to the internet of your old world.” “Oh good, he’ll be able to look up rule 34 of himself that way…” Lee remarked with a smirk. “Oh good lord,” the redhead groaned. “Just what we need, a trolling Xemnas…” Alex snatched the phone from Discord’s paw, all but shoving it into Melissa’s hand. “Just do it. Put Temple OS on there for all I care just do it.” Grabbing the front of her shirt, he pulled her down to his level. “Delete a single picture off my phone and I swear to god I’ll break your face.” “Easy there,” Melissa replied, gently pulling her top from his grasp before turning around and plugging the phone into her console. “Your photos will be perfectly alright. Would you like me to try adding the internet function as well? It is theoretically possible.” “All jokes aside, Alex, that would be a way for you to try to get in touch with your friends and family back home, let them know you’re relatively okay despite vanishing without a trace.” Lee chimed in again, this time without a trace of humor in his tone. “What part of ‘do it’, do you not understand?” Alex snapped, his gaze hardening into a glare. The techie raised her hands in surrender, turning back to the console. “Alright, alright. Hmm, Kairi, hand me the Chaos Emerald for a second.” Kairi nodded as she handed the pink gem to Melissa. Pulling Alex away, Discord lowered his head. “Alex, I understand you’re running on hormones. I understand why such an opportunity to talk to the few people you cared about back on your old world is exciting. But that doesn’t excuse being a bitch.” As Discord and Alex had their discussion, Melissa ran the gem over the battery pack, causing the phone to briefly glow pink. “Alright, that should give you unlimited battery life, and a stable connection to your home world’s internet.” She disconnected the phone, before tossing it to Alex. “Give it a try.” Almost dropping it in his haste, Alex blocked out Discord. He was barely even aware when Discord enclosed him in a small privacy dome. A way to call home was... overwhelming. Hot tears rolled down his face, trembling hands opening the Google Chrome app. Upon searching for his own name, Alex came across a news story on the website of the local newspaper with the headline reading ‘Search ongoing for mysterious disappearance of four medical students.’ A bit of scrolling and reading later gave him his own name, as well as Karen Jameson, Nicole Smith, and Ashley Jones. The date of the article was almost a month after that accursed package arrived for him, and was, according to the date on his phone, a week old now. A choked sob welled up in his throat. This was his fault. That stupid chest had ruined not only his life, but those of his friends. And it was his fault. His legs buckled, sending him to his knees. Shoulders heaved, sobs wracking his body. “Ooookay, on that note I believe it’s time for us to go.” Discord knelt down beside Alex and quickly scooped him up into his arms. “Screwball, do mommy a favor and grab a spare phone just in case someone other than Alex needs to get in touch.” Screwball snapped a salute before moving over to Melissa’s side and holding her hat out. “Here, take five just in case,” Melissa nodded, pulling them out of a drawer, and placing them in the hat. “Infinite battery, and a closed network between them and Alex’s phone. His phone is the only one that can make calls outside of the network, though in emergencies, you can still use them to call either Kairi or me.” She pulled out a box as well. “Give this to Alex later. I don’t know what’s in it, the computer just sent it down.” Screwball simply nodded and placed the box in her hat as well. “I’ll be able to get it for him later. Won’t have hands on the other side, so i”d just drop it otherwise.” She walked over to Fluttershy’s side and wrapped an arm around the yellow mare’s waist. “Come on, Daddy, time to get home to help Alex.” Melissa nodded as she and Kairi escorted the group back up to the Stargate. “Does anyone have a copy of Alex’s token?” the redhead asked. “Already in your hand,” Discord said, cradling Alex as if he were a foal. “Just try not to call on school nights.” Kairi glanced at her hand, before nodding and dropping the Thalasa shell onto the DHD tray. A few moments later, the Gate whooshed to life. “Well, I guess this is it,” Kairi remarked. “Take care now, and give us a call if you need anything. My number is pre-programed into your phones.” “8675309, got it.” Discord nodded before walking through, followed immediately by Screwball and Fluttershy. Lee hung back for a bit, but leaned down and gave Kairi a hug. “Thank you for helping. I know that sounds strange from me, but I do have Alex’s best interest in mind as well.” Taking her hand, he placed a green and black cylinder in it. “An old ally of mine, if not a friend.” Kairi blinked in surprise, before fishing out another phone from her pocket. “Here, this phone is an exact replica of mine, and I do mean exact, right down to the recall app. Visit me again sometime for a spar. You trained Alex well, I could use a sparring partner of your level.” Lee pocketed the phone with a nod. “We shall see each other again, one way or another. In the meantime, keep your heart safe.” Kairi smiled, and gave a deep oriental bow. “And may your heart be your guiding key.”