Chapter 21
Jero stepped into the command center after hearing the sound of the teleporter. Zane was standing there looking confused.
“Oh, hey, Zane,” Jero said to him as walked over.
“What just happened?” he asked, completely lost.
“Lance apparently has been just sending you guys back without warning,” Jero said as he lifted up a pamphlet for Zane. “So I made this, it’ll explain everything that’s going on.”
Zane took the pamphlet, “Actually it was Greg that hit me with this weird ball.”
“Oh,” Jero chuckled, “it's usually Lance.”
The teleporter flashed again, and Cody stood there with wide eyes.
“Cody!” Jero said as he ran around Zane and stepped up to Cody, helping him off the platform. “They found you!”
Cody looked around the room, confused, but before he could ask, Jero held up a pamphlet that said ‘So Lance hit you with a pokeball and didn’t explain anything: The story so far’.
“Greg is the one who sent me here, I think. I wanted to hold his pokeball, but I guess it went off and sent me here,” he said as he took the pamphlet and opened it.
“So how are things there? Lance looking like he’s doing okay? The others said he’s acting off, more than usual,” Jero asked.
Cody blinked as he read over the information, “Oh, uhhh, yeah he looks good. I didn’t get a chance to talk with him, so I’m not sure how he’s doing inside.”
Again, the teleporter flashed. Dana stood there, a perplexed look on her face.
“... Hi, Mrs. Greenfield,” Jero said sheepishly, holding up a hand to help her down.
“What just happened?!” she asked, looking around the room with a scornful look on her face.
“Someone, probably Lance, hit you with a pokeball, which teleported you here, where it's safe,” Jero responded carefully, not wanting to set her off.
“Where is here?!” She asked, noticing Ominus near the teleporter working hard on tracking the Watcher.
Not wanting her to distract him, he held up the infamous pamphlet, “Here, read this!”
She eyed it, then snatched it as she buried her face in it.
He stood there awkwardly, realizing the other two had quickly left the room once she appeared.
“What does this mean by ‘Lance is now technically seventy three’? He was the same age as I last saw him!” She exclaimed, eyeing him hard.
“Oh it's really really hard to explain…” he said with a forced smile. “He got sent to another dimension where time worked differently, and was there over forty years before we got him out.”
Her eyes twitched, “My son is not allowed to be older than me.”
He wanted to laugh, but he knew it wasn’t in his best interest to do so. “If you want, I can take you to the lounge. We have basically every form of entertainment to ever exist.”
“Send me back to my son,” she demanded, crossing her arms.
“No can do,” Ominus said from his chair, fingers typing away furiously. “If they send you back with one of the beacons, then you’re banned from returning.”
“That’s not going to work,” she announced, putting her hands on her hips.
Ominus glanced her way, actually looking a bit worried, “Mrs. Greenfield, I’m sorry, but I really can not send you back.”
She began to square up with him, but the teleporter flashed again.
Jero turned to it, a pamphlet already in his hand for their next friend. But the sight before him confused him greatly.
“Ah, so this is the Travelers domain,” a suave man said, his face hidden behind a scarf, only his intense eyes visible between the mask and his tricorn hat. A cloak with a high collar sat on his shoulders, attached in the middle with a chain. His clothes under the cloak resembled those worn by a Victorian era noble.
“Uh, who are you?” Jero asked the man, who just cocked his head at him.
“Get back!” Ominus bellowed as he slid between them, his Travelers blade materializing in his hand, taking the form of a longsword.
“Nathan Traveler, the famous Ominus. I’ve heard a lot about you,” the man said, giving a bow. “There’s no need for the weapon.” He tilted his head back up, a smile clear on his face despite the mask, “It won’t do you any good.”
“Jero, enact the emergency protocol’s I showed you,” Ominus said calmly, taking his weapon in both hands. “I’ll handle this.”
Jero slowly backed up as the two men stared each other down. He quickly waved Dana over, letting her leave first.
“I know you know who I am,” the man said, stepping off the platform.
“Lorenzo Pompeo, the Insane,” Ominus said, then smiled, “And also the Eternal Coward, the Master Escapist.”
This seemed to press the right buttons as Lorenzo’s blade flashed and the two clashed swords.
Jero quickly ran from the room, sprinting down the hallway. The sounds of an epic battle could be heard behind him.
He sprinted down the hall, catching up to Dana.
“Follow me!” he yelled, causing her to chase after him.
“What’s going on?! Who was that?” she asked in a panic as they ran down the hallway.
“I don’t know! I think it’s one of the people aligned with the Watcher!” he yelled back, the sounds of fighting increasing.
They sprinted into the main lounge where everyone else was.
“What the hell is that sound?” Seth asked as he and Zorrow played a game together.
“We’re under attack!” Jero yelled, getting all of their attention. “We need to get to the safe dimension! Now!”
Everyone immediately jumped into action, already knowing what they’re supposed to do. That is, except for the three who’d just arrived.
“Zorrow! Help Cody, Zane, and Lance’s mom!” Jero commanded as he ran to a compartment on the wall and pulled out a strange device. Turning it on, it lifted up and slammed into his chest. This allowed him to have his own personal pocket dimension.
“Come on!” Zorrow yelled as he led the three out of the room. Everyone else was gathering up their things, not wanting to leave it behind.
Suddenly, Ominus and Lorenzo blew through a wall as they traded blows. They seemed evenly matched as far as skill goes, but Lorenzo seemed to be faring better as he somehow redirected all of Ominus’s attacks back at himself.
“GO GO GO!” Jero yelled to everyone around him as the two titans battled each other.
Despite Lorenzo being able to somehow redirect his attacks, Ominus seemed to be holding his own very well. His sword changed over and over again as he attacked, taking on different shapes to try and get around the other man's defense and abilities.
“Jero! This way!” Zane yelled, not following Zorrow like he was supposed to.
“Damn it, Zane! GO!” Jero yelled as he dodged around the two men, heading for the hallway where the others had gone.
Ominus was suddenly thrown past him, flying down the hallway.
“My my! Nathan, you fight harder than I expected!” Lorenzo said from behind Jero.
Jero spun around to see the man strolling towards him, following after Ominus.
“We met again,” he says in a mocking tone. “You look more scared than a few minutes ago.”
Taking a step back, Jero stared back at the man with wide eyes.
Before he could react, Zane shot past him and slammed into the man, trying to knock him down. But it looked like he’d run into a brick wall, as the man didn’t even budge.
“Go, Jero! I’ll handle this fucker!” He yelled as he tried to lift the man up.
“You idiot!” Jero screamed as he heard Ominus sprinting back towards them.
Lorenzo just smiled at Jero. “Ooo, good chance for some character development for you.” He reached down and grabbed Zane by the back of the neck, he threw him up into the ceiling, where he slammed into the hard metal and began to fall back to the ground.
Before he hit the ground, a portal of some kind seemed to open within him, sending blood spraying in all directions. A stream of hot blood splashed across Jero’s shocked face as he watched his friend be shredded form the inside out.
A hand grabbed his shirt and flung him backwards, sending him flying down the hallway as Ominus reengaged the heinous man.
Jero began to breathe heavily, but the yells from his friends further down the hall got his attention, breaking his shock for now. He scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could away from the battle.
When he entered the room, he saw his friends arguing as they tried to remember the code to enter the safe dimension.
“Get out of the way!” Jero snapped as he pushed through them and punched in the correct code. The door whooshed open. “Get in, now!”
“Are you okay?!” Dana asked in a panic as she grabbed a cloth and went to wipe his face.
He stopped her hand, shaking his head, “I’m fine. Everyone in, NOW!”
They all looked at him in shock, not used to him being this forceful and loud. But they listened as they all quickly filed into the safe dimension.
He began to close the door, but Cody put a hand out to stop the door. “Get in, man! What are you doing?!”
Jero only shook his head, “I have a few other responsibilities. I’ll come back soon to join you all.”
“What?! No, get in!” Cody demanded as he reached out to pull him in. But to his surprise, Jero punched him square in the face, causing him to fall back into the other dimension.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he pushed a button and the door slammed shut, locking them away safely in another dimension.
With a shaky sigh, he turned and ran out of the room, heading for the command center.
Upon entering, he saw nothing but destruction as the previous fighting had been more intense than he could have imagined. To his dismay, he saw the main devices and teleporter was smashed to pieces.
The world seemed to shake as the battle between the two seemed to increase in intensity.
Moving on to his next task, he ran down the hall to Ominus’s room. He ran in and began to go through his personal effects. It didn’t take him long to find the few items he was told to grab if something like this happened.
A Dimensional Key, which would allow them to travel between dimensions, if they knew how to use it. Two devices used for cross dimensional communications. And finally, one of Ominus’s personal pocket dimensions filled with random items.
Jero tossed those items into his own pocket dimension, and moved on to the next task.
He sprinted down the hall to a special room covered in runes and strange symbols. Being careful not to step on any of it, he jumped through the room and landed in the middle of the main circle. Taking the special chalk, he added a few specific symbols to the mess, causing the whole room to light up as a golden glow covered the chalk lines around him.
Carefully leaving the room, he ran towards his final task.
The next room he entered had a large platform like device in the middle. He ran up to a panel and opened it, taking out a note left for him by Ominus, instructions written on it.
Reading the list of instructions, he began to type away at the console. After a moment, the platform lit up and a hologram head appeared before him.
“Yes, Nathan?” the head said, before glaring at him. “You’re not the traveler.”
“Eh, no, I’m not,” Jero said as he read more of the instructions. “I’m a friend. Ominus is currently fighting someone who’s with the Watcher. I’m supposed to tell you that Ominus is calling in his favor.”
The head frowned at him, but sighed deeply. “What does he require?”
Reading the note, he says, “Send your son to the Eternal Plains with a packet of XND-09-PLO, and give it to a pony named Greg.”
“Is he crazy?” the head asked, eyes wide. “Those drugs will kill anyone outside of the UAD! They’re too powerful!”
“I’m just reading the note,” Jero admitted, waving the note up at the head.
The head sighed again, “Tell Nathan I will do this. But this is the end, his favor with me is used up.”
“Thank you,” Jero replied, bowing awkwardly.
“Hmm,” the head disappeared.
Letting out the breath he’d been holding, he spun around and ran back down the hall. That was the last task, now to get into the safe dimension.
But as he neared the door, he saw Ominus moving his way, looking worse for wear. “Go back, now!” he yelled, waving Jero back.
“Did you win?” Jero asked, but got a grim look back.
“No, I just bought us some time, he’ll break out of my hex cage here soon,” Ominus said as he led them to a locked room.
“Aren’t I supposed to go into the safe dimension?” Jero asked, not sure what they were doing now.
Ominus placed his hand on the door, causing it to open. “Change in plans, I need you to get down to the Eternal Plains and warn the others.”
“Why warn them?” he asked, looking unease. “Aren’t you going to be able to beat this guy?”
“I don’t know,” Ominus admitted. “Did you get the message to my friend?”
Nodding his head yes, he looked back down the hallway.
“Good, then as long as my theory about Greg is correct, then this’ll all be worth it.”
“What do you mean?” Jero asked, raising an eyebrow as Ominus stepped up to what looked to be another teleporter.
“Honestly, it's hard to explain. But I believe Greg is the key too…” a tiny portal seemed to materialize before him as a blade flew out of it, stabbing right through Ominus’s gut.
Jero’s eyes went wide as he spun around to see the man, clothes ripped to hell, standing in the doorway. His mask was gone, revealing a crazed smile with bone white teeth.
“Lost your focus there, Nathan,” Lorenzo mocked, reaching into a portal next to himself and ripping the sword from Ominus’s gut. “Honestly, I think you are the only one who ever stood a chance against me. You just didn’t commit.”
“Jero, get up there,” Ominus coughed as he stepped around Jero, holding his stomach.
Not wasting any time, Jero hopped up onto the platform and began to mess with the console. He wasn’t an expert, but he’d been taught how to use the teleporter to at least ping Lance and the others.
“You know, Lorenzo,” Ominus said as the two squared up yet again. “You have one hell of a major flaw. You talk too much.”
They clashed again, blades sending bright flashes all around the room as they connected.
A portal opened in front of Jero, and Ominus’s sword almost removed his head. Luckily, Ominus had noticed his attack had been deflected towards Jero and stopped his momentum, saving him. But by doing so, he left himself wide open.
As Jero hit the final button, sending the teleport request to Lance, he heard a dreadful sound. Followed by Ominus gasping loudly.
Reluctantly, he spun around, seeing Lorenzo standing over a kneeling Ominus.
“Good fight, Traveler,” Lorenzo said with a touch of respect as he lowered himself, blade raising behind him.
“Ominus!” Jero screamed.
Ominus slowly turned his upper body to face Jero, his left hand holding his midsection. He smiled up at Jero and raised a hand, giving him a thumbs up. “It’s going to be okay, Jeronimo.”
Jero heard the teleporter ding as he began to get teleported away. As he began to fade away, he saw the blade of Lorenzo flash through Ominus.
“SEAN!” Jero screamed as he was swept away.