Data put the Green Heart into the center of Flipside without much fanfare, and the heroes went immediately to rest for tomorrow’s venture into the new world.
This did not mean things stopped happening in Flipside, far from it. For now that the battle was over, the nations of Hume descended on the city like a pack of wild dogs. Ambassadors from the Federation, Romulan Empire, Klingon Empire, and Cardassian Union arrived, enabled by the recent installation of the door in the middle of a desert on a planet inhabited by no one. The door was open to the public, not that any of the universe’s governments would let anyone in who wasn’t influential in some way. Notably, the Borg didn’t even try to enter the door. Not because they couldn't force their way through, but because they saw no purpose in destroying the best shot at ending the Void.
The visitors swarmed into the elevator and down into the lower city itself, quickly outnumbering the previously dominant Mobians. It was a bit of a frenzied madhouse as everyone tried to learn as much as they could.
Picard had to order guards to be stationed around the entrances to Diqiu and the new world so nobody would go through and make a mess of things. “We’re not children! We’re going to do this in an organized, proper fashion! We’ve just completed a draining campaign against a mysterious enemy, give everyone a day to rest!”
Naturally, they had listened to him only partially. Nobody tried to rush the guards, but very few people actually took a rest. Eggman was still working nonstop on opening up the secrets of the city, and he suddenly had a few dozen engineers from various different nations all competing to be added to his team.
“Romulans are known for their cunning and creative thinking,” a Romulan woman said to him. “I am sure to unlock this ancient ruin’s secrets.”
“Do not listen to the female,” an orange humanoid with massive ears hissed—a Ferengi. “She thinks only of her own gain. Meanwhile, we Ferengi seek for mutual profit.”
“They will charge you,” a Vulcan—one of the Federation’s most logical races—said. “I can provide an unbiased opinion unclouded by emotion.”
The Cardassian—a gray-skinned race with a spoon-like depression in their foreheads—spoke with a calm smirk. “I say, we are overwhelming the poor Doctor. We should allow him to make his decision among which of us is the best.”
Doctor Eggman and Ty Le glanced at each other and let out a terse sigh.
The Vulcan cocked her head. “Have we offended you?”
“Oh, how to put this…” Eggman said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You all…”
“You’re all being suck-ups,” Ty Lee huffed. “Trynna get into the big project because you want to take advantage of what you might find.”
“We do need you, though,” Eggman said. “This city is too big for just two people to scramble over. So you’re on board. All of you.” He pointed at the Ferengi. “I’m not paying you, you will do this just because you think the work will be profitable.”
The Ferengi hissed. “...Primitive and backwards, but I will accept.”
“And!” Ty Lee’s smile widened considerably. “You will have to take orders from me! The female!”
The Ferengi shivered; the mere thought revolted him. “We are… used to doing such things in backwards cultures. I will not do so happily.”
“I’ll get you to smile before the day is out!” Ty Lee winked at him.
“Now…” Eggman pulled out a large screen. “I’m going to send you all to different ‘districts’ of Flipside to begin investigation. I’m transferring all the information now. Go there, do your thing, and report back.”
“Yes sir,” the Romulan, Vulcan, and Cardassian said in unison. The rest weren't quite as immediately obedient, but they did scatter after they watched the rest leave.
“So disciplined and proper,” Eggman said. “I could use more servants like that.”
Ty Lee rolled her eyes. “You don’t exactly promote that kind of behavior given your endless OH HO HO HO HO!”
Eggman let out a snort. “Your mockery is meaningless.”
“I doubt it!” She cartwheeled onto her hands and walked around on them for a while. “Still, that was agonizing. All these politics I don’t understand! They basically all hate each other!”
“Could be worse.”
“Hm?”
“You could be Merlon.”
~~~
>> What? <<
“I asked what type of nexus is used in the dimensional doorways,” a Romulan scientist asked.
>> I do not believe that is pertinent. <<
“You are the city computer, you should know, and I desire to know. Why do you hide from me?”
>> I’m hiding nothing, I am simply not a comprehensive computer. I know more about the Light Prognosticus than the city I reside in. <<
“Who would build a city and a computer that didn’t know each other?”
>> The Wandering Ancients, apparently. <<
“And where did that title come from?”
>> For goodness sake, I have better things to devote my processing power to than endless questions. Find your own answers! <<
“...The Romulan Star Empire will remember this.”
Merlon understood that was a threat, but at the moment he really didn’t care. It had been one visitor from Hume after another, asking the same questions he couldn’t answer, accusing him of hiding things, yada yada… It had been annoying at first, then insulting, and now it was just boring. The only visitor who had been of any real insight was Picard, and he hadn’t come back since the battle had ended.
“Merlon!”
>> What now!? <<
Tails jumped in front of one of his screens. “Hey! Hey, I need to contact Captain Picard!”
>> ...May I ask why? <<
“I’ve successfully transported a replica chaos emerald to Hume using the transporter and, uh…” Tails tapped his fingers together. “I think it ended up on the Enterprise.”
>> Calling… Patching you through now. <<
Picard appeared onscreen, standing on the bridge of the Enterprise. “Yes, Captain Tails?”
“Oh, Picard! I successfully performed a trans-universal teleport.”
“While that is excellent news, why is that urgent?”
“Uh, well, it was a replica chaos emerald and it might have ended up on the Enterprise.”
“Ah.” Picard turned to Worf, gesturing for him to perform a scan.
“Found it,” Worf reported. “It is on deck thirteen in a hall. Not near any vital systems.”
“Good, I’ll just come get it,” Tails said. “Don’t touch it.”
Picard nodded. “Before you go, how did you accomplish this feat?”
“I had Knuckles shunt power from the Master Emerald into the replica emerald, and then I used a complex translation matrix that took days to program that transferred the chaos energy into code that the transporter could recognize. Using the Master Emerald as a focal point, I was able to force the transporter signature out of Mobius and into Hume.”
“And would this work on… say, a ship?”
Tails nodded. “Most definitely, though the Master Emerald would only be able to move one ship every few hours, and it would have to be installed on each ship to do it…” Tails tapped his fingers together nervously. “Captain, while I love the Blue Typhoon, I believe the Enterprise is better equipped for dimensional transit and dealing with whatever might attack us. With your permission, I would like to install the Master Emerald on your ship.”
“You want to turn the Enterprise into a multiversal ship?”
“If you’ll let me.”
Picard sat down and folded his arms together. “Give all your reports to Commander LaForge and have Doctor Eggman review your calculations.”
“Is that a yes?”
“That is a yes if your procedure is approved, Captain. I will want to see a proof of concept before we finally attempt to move the Enterprise.”
Tails beamed. “Thank you, Captain! You won’t regret this! Tails, out!”
Merlon cut the feed. >> A dimensional ship… <<
“Is there something bad about that?” Tails asked.
>> No, it’s just that there are a few places in the Light Prognosticus that speak of the City of All Space that will push the boundaries of all the worlds. <<
“...That’s good, right?”
>> I believe so. <<
~~~
While Twilight and her team woke up, had breakfast, and went to the door… Doctor Eggman and Ty Lee were investigating a site uncovered by their Vulcan engineer.
It was a perfectly ordinary circle etched into the ground.
“This isn’t that interesting,” Eggman said, stomping his feet on the metal. “Not worth my time.”
Ty Lee cartwheeled through the air, her shadow casting a spinning pattern on the ground. “Yeah, pretty normal.”
“Are you certain?” the Vulcan asked. “You do not see anything… amiss?”
“It’s just metal, buddy.”
Ty Lee stood on one foot. “Yeah, nothing weird here.”
It was at this point Amy the hedgehog walked by with her hammer, no doubt from one of her many searches for Sonic. Ty Lee had only seen Sonic once since the battle, and that was running away from Amy. The miffed look on Amy’s features was completely understandable.
“Oh, Amy…” Ty Lee said, returning to a normal standing position. “I…”
Amy looked at them with angry eyes that became shocked an instant later. “What the—you guys have shadows!”
Ty Lee looked at the shadow she was casting on the circular metal sheet. Frowning, she stepped off the sheet, and she was no longer casting a shadow. Her eyes widened. “Woah…”
“No other place in Flipside casts shadows from the natural light,” the Vulcan reminded them. “This place is an anomaly.”
Amy walked up to them, discovering that she had a shadow as well, so long as she was close to the circle. “Wow! Weird! I bet Sonic wishes he were here for this discovery!” She held a hand up to her ear. Naturally, nothing happened.
“Hmph!” Amy hefted her hammer. “Stupid thing!”
Eggman’s eyes widened. “Wait, n—”
Eggman did not get his warning off. Amy smashed her hammer into the ground, breaking open the floor. She jumped back from the dark tunnel she had opened.
Ty Lee had not left Flipside since she had arrived. She had not seen darkness in that entire time. The presence of such unnerving, utter blackness was enough to make her drop her smile. “That’s wrong.”
“And fascinating,” Eggman said, leaning forward to peer into the dark hole. “We will need to run some tests.”
Amy had calmed down slightly and was now looking at the hole uneasily. “Did… did I mess something up?”
“I do not know, my dear,” Eggman said, cracking his knuckles. “Why don’t you stick around to find out?”
~~~
The woman stopped writing and took a moment to think on what was ahead. Their journey would lead the heroes somewhere close to her, and yet simultaneously was a place she had never set foot. However, there was more to it than that. Each world stood apart in its own way, the winds of fate swirling and twisting often to a specific goal or truth. Rules were never arbitrary, each had a reason, a purpose.
And the purpose behind the green door was unlike the others. Yet, there it stood, fully realized, contrary—refusing to be silenced just because the visitors might not like what it had to say.
It was an entirely different sort of challenge. One the woman found delightful, despite how others may object. With a coy smile, she set her pen to the page once more...