Reactions: Shadow Moth @TruthHurts22, Poison Ivy @Crimson Flame, Horus @Dead Cruiser, Bonesaw @Lewascan2, Cyrus @Randomness.

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The machine seemed to stare absently at the spot where Poison Ivy had just stood, briefly losing her in the haze and flames beginning to plume around...But it didn't take long. It had only missed her by a few feet, after she hastily tucked and rolled out of the blaze of the flamethrowers. With her words falling on deaf ears (so to speak), it began to turn towards her once more, the crackle of heat growing, and as a new inferno began to blossom...

It found itself stonewalled. Or should I say woodwalled?

While the oak wasn't exactly impervious, it held its ground against the onslaught of fire, as the crackle of burnt wood could be heard and smelt across the plains. Noting the ineffectiveness of that method, it was already changing one of its arms back to normal; likely to topple the giant oak with brute strength. However, it wasn't given the chance; yet again, the Techadon found itself bound tight, this time by overgrown, mighty branches. This wouldn't last forever, though, as the spray of flame underneath the wood bindings could be heard growing, and with each flex of its nanomechanical muscles, the oak entrapment budged and creaked with effort. It would only be a matter of time before it freed itself....

But for now, it was a vulnerable target.

More pressing matters made themselves known shortly, however, as at last, a new light was breaching the blue-sky horizon; nearly double the size of the initial crashlanded invader, this looked to be a far more troublesome arrival. For Driscoll's small part, it was all he could do to brace himself before the new entity thundered onto the sea of green. The shockwave alone was enough to knock even the mightiest of the villains to the wayside; even Horus could find his footing loosened by the result, and the Forever King barely caught himself from falling and crushing poor Bonesaw.

Quite literally double the size of the prior constructs, even standing head and shoulders above Horus, was the last and greatest of these Techadons. In comparison to the dark blue and harsh-steel colorations of the ones prior, this one possessed more light blue shades and stark white metal as it passed its gaze over the meatbags of this realm. And, to everyone's surprise, this one spoke.

"Initiating crowd control procedures." Without hesitation, it rose a single hand skyward, launching what appeared to be a giant sphere of blueish energy...Which promptly began to rain laserfire across the plains, like an artillery bombing of hellish proportions. Dirt and grass was turned to ash as the assault continued, with the new Wardrone passively watching this turn of events.

Driscoll was quick on his feet, and it likely saved both his and Riley's life; in haste he yanked her from his back, and acting as a wall between the young girl and the widespread attack, he raised an arm up, forming an energy tower shield. Even still, it was barely enough. Each blast that connected nearly caused his energy creation to dissipate, and pushed the pair further and further into the ground.

At this rate....It looked like the tides had turned yet again, and not in their favor.

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Cyrus initially leapt backwards as the barrage of energetic bullets pelted the ground. The bullet trail did not go unnoticed by his fire producing canine who immediately turned from the smoldering mess it had left to defend its master. Unfortunately, it would not get there in time. In less than a second, the barrage would be on top of Cyrus even as he ran the from the attack. In some regards, he was right. One of the energetic blasts cut through his jacket and shirt, burning the skin on his side. Cyrus ducked down after the initial hit, but since none of the other shots landed, he looked behind to see what had happened. The half formed war machine had fallen, the remaining bullets firing uselessly towards the sky. Shortly after its collapse, its structure broke apart as though it was being eaten by some kind of acid.

Cyrus’s attention was quickly drawn in by Driscoll who was still with the little girl, Bonesaw. Driscoll had commanded he lend aid to the woman who was also targeted by the robotic pair’s initial attack. Initially, Cyrus didn’t feel a need to have to help the woman, but given his circumstance, he sought to do as requested. Cyrus looked towards the other machine. He had ignored it after realizing that Houndoom’s flamethrower would not reach both of them, instead putting his attention to the one that melted and the spawn it had created. Only now did he realize that the flame covering the ground were not that of his Pokemon, but that of the second robot. Cyrus questioned why it would commit to such a tactic. Surely, another barrage of lasers would be enough.

The ground shook as below the lady’s feet sprouted some kind of tree. She sat atop the mighty oak ike a pedestal. How she was able to command the plant-life like that of a Pokemon escaped Cyrus as he watched the battle unfold in front of him. As if they were extensions of her very being, the branches of the oak bent and swayed with the movement of the redheaded woman’s arms. In seconds, the branches had grasped the fire spitting machine, surrounding it, crushing it even. The machine struggled, but Cyrus knew it would not hold for long.

“Houndoom, prepare. Get in there and use fire blast” Cyrus commanded. The black and orange fiend immediately charged forward once again. Not towards either the oak or the war drone, but to the inferno between them from the initial ignition of the robot’s flamethrowers. Without fear, the hound jumped into the roaring fire, lost behind the bright light. Then, the fire died down. At the heart of once flaming field stood Houndoom. Blackened field of ash and soot, the only flames that remained were those surrounding the canine. Blue fires flared from underneath its paws, radiating a heat not felt before now. His back to the oak, the stuggling war machine in front, heat continued to build. Its eyes glowed bright orange, visible even in the light of day. With a growl, Houndoom opened its mouth again and a ball of white fire was launched like it were a cannon.

Like a blur, the fire had burned through the branches of the oak, striking close to center mass of the entangled machine. Erupting from the ball of fire was an inexplicable, but recognizable shape to those from worlds with similar countries. A three stroke symbol in kanji that translated to English as ‘big’ (大). White fire, hotter than Houndoom's earlier flamethrower burned through the machine. With the binding of the oak, it had no time to sever a limb in another feeble attempt to escape its destruction. The fire quickly started to spread up the branches towards the tree, but were quelled as Houndoom howled its eerie howl once again, claiming victory.

A victory perhaps short lived. Once again, both he and Houndoom found themselves tumbling across the ground, slamming hard into the sturdy trunk of the oak tree. The second machine from the sky crashed into the fields below. It was much bigger than the others. Cyrus was too winded to do anything immediately.

Location: Paradox Engine's Control Center
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While everyone else had gotten used to oddball characters popping into existence around them, Giovanni was notable because of how utterly pathetic his entrance was.

He appeared hunched over the ground in a fetal position with his eyes screwed shut. Over his bright yellow uniform were twigs, bits of grass, chunks of moss, all sorts of forest-y gunk. A crude stick-skirt held together by flower stems hung at his waist, his face was speckled with mud, and he was holding a whole chunk of bush over his head.

"Is it gone?" He said in a hushed, hurried tone. "It was a car, right?... Car Crash? Fred? Ah, ahh! A snatch job!" Thoroughly convinced of an attack against him, the shrubified man sprung to his feet, whooping and yelling while brandishing a wooden baseball bat with a kitchen knife taped to it. "You won't take ME so easy, you--!"

Giovanni's bloodlust faded away pretty quickly once he saw his actual circumstances. Instead of cops, Banzai Blasters, or bounty hunters, he was surrounded by a bunch of kids, an old man, and a guy with some killer fashion sense. Granted, that didn't mean they weren't there to beat him up, but it was enough to stop him from whacking anyone.

"...this isn't the forest," he expertly surmised. "Whah, where the heck am I? Who're all of you? What did you do with Fred?!"

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Shadow Moth took a moment to dust himself off before proceeding. Even with his focus this machine managed to land a decent blow. If there were any doubts left that he was dealing with anything he was used to, they were rectified. Still, he couldn't help but act smug towards the Techadon's capture. He strode closer, his sentimonster keeping it in place, and gripped his sword still lodged in its arm. "Consider this an even trade." Shadow Moth yanked his sword free in a single move and slid it back into its cane.

Before he could decide on what to do with the thing, the second missile came down upon them. Shadow Moth braced himself this time, though it didn't help against this bigger, stronger variant. He flew backwards, skidding further along the ground than last time, and his taken-over Techadon fared much worse, landing right on its back beside him. Luckily, Static Cling was made to take a beating. Luckier still, behind beneath the Techadon it jockeyed protected it against the volley of laser fire from their new foe. Shadow Moth had a tougher time, putting his full concentration in avoiding the attack.

"Static Cling!" Shadow Moth called for his sentimonster, spurring it to action. Even though the thing it was attached to looked worse for wear, Static Cling was still able to control its limbs, perhaps even easier now that part of its processors had been shelled. It rose and charged the larger Techadon, closing the distance as fast as its mechanical legs could, preparing a beat-down on it... with any luck, testing the waters in what else it was capable of with a dispensable puppet.

Location(s): Control Center, Paradox Engine.

Mentions: Bruno Bucciarati @Lewascan2, Terra @Dead Cruiser, Danny @Crimson Flame, Tai @Martian, and Giovanni @TruthHurts22

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"Mm...True enough, Daniel. Yes, I surmise this title means astonishingly little to any of us; merely a formality, so as to know what I mean when I refer to it, yes?" Brainstorm prattled off, answering Danny's claim as to why such a name held importance; well, it was the first answer they had received, and it should not be taken lightly! However, he was taken slightly off-track by the Half-Ghost's claim of being...Well, Half-Ghost.

"Most intriguing...So you mean to say, in your world, ectoplasmic entities are not mere bogeymen tales, but real, pseudo-living creatures? Well, I must insist you continue!..." After a brief pause, the Cerebrocrustacean realized the situation once more. "...Er, later, I mean." He now turned his attention to the Viltrumite in the room, who had yet again begun bombarding him with questions.

"But of course, dear Terra! The Paradox Engine is a space station....Of sorts. Perhaps calling it a 'station' is more accurate vocabulary. To put it as simply as one of my intellect can manage...It would appear that the Engine resides in an area separated from both space and time; a true scientific enigma! Perhaps the source of their choice of name!" However, as he was preparing to keep moving on, Ben took notice of her trying to access the controls.

"Ahem! I highly recommend you leave these complicated systems to me! I am afraid their modus operandi is far too much for a...." The Cerebrocrustacean couldn't even finish his sentence before it happened. Just as had happened to him, a flood of information rammed itself headfirst into her cerebrum. The only difference being her brain wasn't the size of an engine block. It practically became nothing but horrifically painful white noise to her mind almost immediately, forcing her to step away before suffering any permanent injury. "...Less sophisticated lifeform. No offense." While it was hard to tell with the facial structure of this form, Brainstorm could be made out slightly smirking.

"As for a power source? Why, my mentally scrambled companion, you're standing next to it!" Pointing a pincer towards the column-like structure that took up the majority of the center of the room, surrounded by the main controls, Ben nodded along. "Yes, that is the power source of the Paradox Engine. Although....Even I am unaware exactly what it is, or how it runs. The most I can surmise is that my Conductoid form, Feedback, had managed to jumpstart the system, hence" He made a wide motion towards, well...Everything in the room. "Why everything is online. Granted, there is something strange...Judging from the initial lack of power, and of course, this locale being seemingly devoid of any residents, it implies it has been abandoned for some time. And yet....Everything seems to be in perfectly working condition. There isn't even dust." To emphasize the point, he scratched his pincer against the floor, drawing up nothing but brief, small sparks from the interaction.

"As for what the Paradox Engine is for..." Mentally flexing his electrokinetic ability, the map seemed to warp itself, highlighting a particular section that, with Brainstorm's translation patch, simply read 'Testing Grounds'. It was the peak of the station; the very top floor. "One can make the educated guess that this floor will have our answers. However, I believe we have more pressing matters, given Bucciarati's condition." Yet again, the map fluctuated once more, this time focusing on two different floors; Floor 6 and Floor 2, labeled as 'Luncheon Room' and 'Medical Bay' respectively. "If he is to make a proper recovery, then in my professional opinion...He is in desperate need of nutrition, which I safely presume would be present in the Luncheon Room, and it would behoove us to be safe rather than sorry, and attempt a 'check-up' of sorts...The best we can manage, at least. I safely presume none of you possess medical training?"

Staring around a room of blank stares, Brainstorm sighed. "...To be expected. I can handle that myself. While I, Brainstorm, possess a truly unmatched Intelligence Quotient, it may not translate perfectly onto the medical field...Especially given my appendages. But I possess another entity with the knowhow, if you'll excuse my rudimentary lingo, that can perform this task. Though for the time being..."

The crustacean creature scuttled forth, allowing Bruno to prop himself with his sturdy shell. "While I am a thinker, and not a fighter, I am more than capable of aiding you to the transporter. You will find my chitinous exterior suitably stable for your support!" Before he scuttled off, however, his electrokinesis snatched up the spare map and dropped it into Danny's hands. "Take care with it; it was surprisingly tricky to figure out how to manage that, and the system seems unable to construct more at the given time." On that note, as Ben left, he was keeping the original with him as it neatly folded back in the rectangular shape. Though, before he could leave, yet more newcomers emerged. How to handle this....

"...Whoever doesn't intend to leave and obtain some form of sustenance from the Luncheon Room, plan to accompany me and Bucciarati to the Medical Bay, or investigate the so-called 'Testing Grounds', can give the exhaustive explanation behind this predicament." With that, Ben scuttled away with Bruno in tow, careful to accommodate his pace. When the two reached the platform near the back-end of the room, Brainstorm turned to him with a slight look of concern. "A word to the wise, Bucciarati. This is not quite an elevator or lift, per se...If you feel that you still possess food in your stomach, I request you hold onto it. This may get uncomfortable for a beginner in the lightspeed travelling arts..." Clicking a small elevator-like button, the chamber of the transporter closed, and in a blinding light, they were gone...

Only for them to appear once more less than a second afterwards, in what seemed like a new location; bright white tiling and walls, with the universal sign for medical care plastered to one; a red cross. Just looking at the area gave a sense of sterility as most hospices were known for. Multiple small rooms filled corridors, with most being patient rooms, though a few that looked to have filed away a number of amenities and equipment. Welcome to the Medical Bay.

While the giant crab next to her prattled away, Terra, halfway listening, she continued to futz with the controls. She had worked out a few of the commands by that point, and was beginning to piece together what some of the runes meant. This was "access," this was "database," so on. As far as alien control systems went, this one was relatively straightforward. She just hoped she wouldn't accidentally deactivate their life support; it could be bad for the others.

Eventually she found what she figured she was looking for: the command sequence to unlock the system computer banks. At least that's what she thought it was as she was entering the command, and only heard Ben's warning half a second too late. The computer attempted to beam all of its data directly into Terra's brain, and she reeled back like she had been kicked in the forehead. At once her fist raised to smash the console, but she restrained herself, instead staggering back a few steps, gripping her forehead. The stupid thing had instantly given her a migraine, which sucked.

The crab continued to blather on, and Terra responded, "Maybe my lifeform is too sophisticated for this system, ever considered that?" She didn't mean to snap at Ben, but her head really hurt. She took a bleary-eyed look at the crab again. She was starting to be reminded of her aunt Haluma, who was also a crustacean lifeform. A small concern was starting to take root in her mind. First he had activated the power source of this station. Then he turned out to be the only one that can access its computers without neural feedback. Not to mention he was the first one here. Terra kept her concerns to herself for now, knowing that it wouldn't help to create suspicions now, but she still decided to keep an eye on him when she could help it.

Her head was feeling better by the time that others were splitting up to investigate other parts of the station. The transport system seemed teleportation based, which made Terra wonder if the different parts of the station weren't geosynchronous. They were apparently already floating in a pocket dimension, it wouldn't been any less unlikely that each part of the station had its own pocket.

Striding toward the transporter, Terra called back, "I guess I'll go check out the 'testing ground.' I wanna see what they were testing here, and who was doing the testing."

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There was very little time to react after Asta had successfully learned how to incompletely perform Demon Union with the demon possessing him: Liebe, who exacted revenge against all other demons. All of Asta's closest companions and squad members had left to attack the spade kingdom and were now waiting for him at a stakeout post they had created. His mentor was just barely been able to teach him, as 15 minutes had passed since the planned invasion. They moved forward without him, carrying out their plan and fighting the corrupted members of royalty.

Present in the Clover Kingdom was a giant demon summoned by the lords of the Spade Kingdom. As the large demon began charging a devastating blast, Asta had appeared from the sidelines after his vigorous training. Using his immense strength, he'd launch himself up ward towards the ball of energy, preparing to counter it, his Demon Destroyer Sword standing at the ready. The ball would transform into a highly concentrated beam of light, which fired in the general direction of the boy, however something had gone wrong. Rather than cancelling the attack altogether, it seems that Asta had been enveloped in the bright light created by it. Why didn't his attack cancel.

Asta received his answer as he mystically appeared into a room full of... whatever type of creation magic the room was full of, with their being screens and information plastered amongst each one. Plummeting directly into a set of computers, Asta had accidently destroyed items which had been standing by, creating a loud clang and clatter of metal hitting the ground. Asta's blade then dropped directly to his side, clattering as loud as the tech Asta knocked over and his Grimoire now laid dormant to his collapsed side rather than how it normally floated at his waist.

There was a groan of recovery as Asta managed to pull himself off of the ground, dazed for a moment as his Grimoire began levitating back at his side. The boy blinked a few times as he looked at his surroundings for a moment, not fully taking them in. It was on his second sweep he blinked rapidly at the new location he found himself in. "Woah!" He said somewhat in shock and awe. "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS PLACE?!" And there went his hyperactive personality. No longer facing the conflict of an otherworldly entity and being pulled out of reality, Asta was now curious with his new surroundings. "I didn't die... Did I?..." He scratched his chin for a moment, genuinely thinking he was alone.

How wrong he was. As he came more to his senses, he discovered there were five others in the room each with their own unique and differing appearances."AND WHO THE HECK ARE YOU PEOPLE?!" He shouted boisterously at the group as he waved his finger at them. None of them seemed to be aggressive, in fact, all of them seem to be on terms with one another. Maybe these people were allies? But then why did they look so... weird? Many of them wore clothing that appeared absurd to the young boy, with an exception to the old wizard who actually reminded Asta of the man who conducted to Grimoire Assignment Ceremony.

It was in the time frame while Asta was examining the room that there was a boy with a creature next to him. Asta gasped as he pointed at the tiny dinosaur-like creature. "Guys, look out there's a monster in here!" The creature looked awfully small to create any devastating harm, which left Asta to scratch the back of his head stupidly. "Nah, nevermind. Guy seems friendly enough."

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Location: Control Center, Paradox Engine
Mentions: Bruno@Lewascan2, Terra@Dead Cruiser, Danny@Crimson Flame, Giovanni@TruthHurts22, Ben@Mintz, Asta@XoXKieroBombXoX

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As Tai introduced himself and Agumon, the old wizard looking guy turned to them and introduced himself as Merlin, an actual wizard. Tai considered the possibility that he was some kind of wise digital being like his mentor Gennai. Like Tai and Agumon, Merlin seemed unsure of how he arrived in this room. He mentioned a Matrix, a term that Tai knew had to do with computers. So was this a part of the Digital World? Tai had been teleported around enough on his adventures with Agumon to not be freaked out about suddenly being somewhere else.

But somehow who was disturbed by teleporting then abruptly showed up, a few feet away from Tai, in a fetal position and covered in mud and plant matter. He then rose to his feet, brandishing a bat with a knife taped to it, asking about someone named Fred. Agumon quickly put himself between Tai and the newcomer at the sight of the weapon. But after a few seconds the man seemed to calm down, asking where he was and what happened to Fred.

Tai took a step in front of Agumon as he said, “I’m not really sure where this place is, having just arrived a minute ago. And I don’t know a Fred, but my friends who were just with me are not here. Also I’m Tai and this is Agumon.”

As Agumon waved at the recently arrived man, he then noticed that the crab creature was talking again, so he grabbed Tai by the hand and brought him close enough to hear what he had to say. As Tai and Agumon got into earshot, the crab person was mentioning ectoplasmic entities and pseudo-living creatures. Tai didn’t really have a clue what he was talking about. He wished that Izzy was here as he would be able to make sense of this.

The crab person then explained that the Paradox Station was a space station. Tai was familiar with the term from sci-fi films and the fact that they had built an international space station a few years ago back on Earth. But then the crab creature said that this station wasn’t in space, but actually outside time. It quickly became evident to Tai that he was much farther from home than even the Digital World was.

As Tai mulled over this thought, the crab man told the woman named Terra to stop messing with the controls only for the database to download itself into her brain. As she reeled back in pain, Agumon immediately ran over to make sure she was alright. But she recovered quickly, managing to remain standing as she gripped her head. Agumon thought of placing a hand on her for support, but decided against it as Tai’s lessons of manners reminded him that she was a stranger and it might not be appropriate.

The crab creature immediately began speaking again, seemingly ignoring the pain evident on Terra’s face. He mentioned the power source in the room and that the station had seemingly been abandoned for a long time. Then the crab man put up a map of the station, noting a Luncheon Room. At the mention of possible food, Agumon turned to Tai.

“Can we go to the Luncheon Room? I’m so hungry!” stated Agumon.

“But you just ate that fruit. Is food really that important?” asked Tai.

“Of course!,” replied Agumon as his stomach rumbled, “I need sandwiches, chips, chocolate.”

Tai chuckled, “You know what? Sure. I guess if we are exploring the station, then we might as well get some food first.”

But then Tai and Agumon both heard a clattering behind them. Turning around they saw that another person had appeared, a sword and book next to them. As he got to his feet, he shouted, asking where he was and if he died. The thought hadn’t occurred to Tai before, that this was some kind of afterlife. But that didn’t really make sense to him as both he and Agumon were here.

The newcomer also asked who everyone was. But before Tai could introduce himself, the man pointed at Agumon, declaring him a monster. At this declaration, Agumon simply scratched the back of his head. But the new man quickly decided that Agumon wasn’t a danger.

Tai walked over to the man with the floating book, saying, “He’s technically a digital monster, or Digimon. But I’m Tai and he’s Agumon. And none of us are sure how we got here, but apparently we are outside time and space, whatever that means.”

“But we are going to get food,” interjected Agumon, “If you want to join us. You look kind of hungry.”

Tai was glad that Agumon remembered to include others, as he knew that he could be pretty single minded when it came to food. He was also glad that this man with the sword had declared Agumon not a threat. It was all too often that when people are first introduced to a Digimon to immediately fear them. But it seemed like most of the people on Paradox Station were alright with the short dinosaur monster.

Tai @Martian Asta@XoXKieroBombXoX Ben @Mintz Terra @Dead Cruiser

A lot off stuff had happened in a small space of time. Apparently, the paradox engine they were in was a space station. It also existed outside of space and time, but Danny wasn’t interested in the specifics of what that meant. Danny’s eyes went wide at the fact they were in a space station, and he got excited. “Did you say space station? Oh my gosh, I’m actually in space? I always wanted to be an astronaut! I saved the Earth from a meteor, never actually left the planet.”

Terra tried to mess around with the power source, causing Terra to get shocked. Danny giggled, not at Terra getting shocked, but at her response to being called a simple lifeform. Honestly, Danny wished Ben would turn back into a human. That crab thing was starting to get irritating with its big words, and bragging about smart he was…

It was then decided that they would all go their separate ways. Before Ben left, he handed Danny a second copy of the map of this place. Danny returned to his human form, and placed the map in his pocket.

Then more people started to arrive. All of them confused as Danny was when he first got here. With Ben leaving to assist Bruno, it was on him to explain what was going on. Even though he didn’t really get it himself… “Ok look, long story short, we’re in space… kinda. No clue why we’re here, but it looks like we’re gonna be stuck here a while.” Danny sighed saying that last part. He was just going to have a date with his girlfriend. Why did he have to get dragged into this mess.

Danny walked over to two of the new arrivals. The boy with the orange dinosaur looking thing, and the gray haired boy with a sword and a book. They both talked about going to the Luncheon Room. “Listen, we probably should investigate that testing ground, but… I was going to have lunch before I got sent here, and I’m hungry. May as well see what kind of food a space station has. It can’t be any worse than the stuff at the cafeteria at school. I’m Danny by the way.”

Just as the others had begun to get acquainted with one another or make plans on where they were going to start with their exploration of the station, another portal popped into existence. Three-quarters the size of most of the bipeds in the bulkhead - as well as glowing an odd violet - it seemed completely out of place; not some maw of immaterial darkness, nor some bright passage spanning between worlds, but some phantasmal creation ... almost artificial.

What emerged through it, though, contrasted greatly to the many dramatis personae that populated the deck.

"... I'm telling you, darling," the perfumed, equine grande dame that emerged chattered to no-one. "You'd LOVE it in Las Pegasus. The 'City of Lights', the shopping, the fashion!" It was clear that the unicorn had no idea where she was ... or that she was talking to thin air. "Why just recently, I -"

Opening her eyes, her trail of thought and pace both screamed to a stop. The unicorn's eyes boggled out of their sockets and her voice hitched in her throat. Well-combed mane and tail alike stood on edge, her ribs heaved as panic - realising that she was nowhere in her native lands anymore - took its grip to her.

No surprise, then, when the next noise to pass her vocal chords was a sound more then a few of the new arrivals to the station would have WANTED to make on their arrival:

LOCATION: The 395, United States of America

Driving along the 395 between Adelanto and Inyokern was a black two door coupe. The smooth, aerodynamic body of the vehicle quickly betrayed that it was not an ordinary family car such as, say, a Chevrolet Malibu- no, the sleek design belonged to a sports car, a Pontiac Trans-Am to be exact. Its driver, a tanned man with a messy hairdo and a garish black leather jacket, was sitting leisurely behind the wheel. He was singing along to a song that was blasted on the vehicle's entertainment system. The whole situation could best be described as an ordinary road trip: just a man and his machine, cruising along a highway through the desert. One thing was off, however: the man in the Trans-Am was being chased by bikers.

Two burly men on bikes were chasing after the vehicle at high speed. One of the men was riding a Harley-Davidson FXB-Sturgis, the other was on a modified Harley-Davidson FXS, which happened to have a sidecar with another man in it. Said man was equally burly as his bike-mounted companions, and happened to have a gun that he used at his leisure to fire at the fleeing vehicle.

"Michael, I told you that it was a remarkably bad idea to punch the leader of this local biker gang", said a voice coming from the car through a device in the dashboard.

"Chill out, KITT! I couldn't just let them get away with harrassing that woman, couldn't I?", answered the man, whose name we now know is Michael.

"I had calculated 11 different strategies to deal with the situation in a non-violent way. You refused to listen, Michael. I blame you, and only you, for the situation we currently find ourselves in", responded the car, whose name was KITT.

Michael laughed. "Not like you can't handle a bunch of grumpy bikers, eh?".

"I can handle them with ease. I merely find our current predicament highly annoying, Michael", said KITT.

The duo continued to cruise along the highway. Occasionally, a biker drove up to them and attempted to open the door or draw Michael's attention by slapping the roof of the car. Nothing seemed to work as Michael ignored them and continued his solo karaoke session. That is, until he was interrupted by KITT as they approached a large billboard welcoming them to a small non-descript Californian town.

"Michael, I regret to inform you that I detect some highly suspicious individuals hiding behind that billboard. I calculate a 95.5% possibility that these are also members of the biker gang that currently wants you dead", informed KITT.

"What's the other 4.5%?", said Michael, half curious and half joking around.

"There is a small possibility that they could be members of another biker gang that, coincidentally, also wants you dead. You have an unfortunate tendency to attract highly homicidal individuals, Michael", KITT responded.

Michael smirked. "Well, we know what to do, don't we?".

The Pontiac veered off road, raising its suspension and popping spikes from its tires to deal with the desert soil. The bikers looked on in awe as the car reached a speed they didn't think was possible for a motor vehicle that went off the asphalt. Their awe soon turned into worry as they noticed the car was heading towards a billboard that their friends were hiding behind.

"I assume that some stunt work is sufficient to convince them to leave us alone", remarked KITT.

The car jumped towards the billboard, and then…

A flash. A flash as bright as a thousand Peterbilts' high beams.

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LOCATION: Control Center, Paradox Engine

A flash... and KITT landed on a floor alien to him. It was definitely not desert dust. He slammed on the brakes, did a slick 180 and with screeching tires he crashed with his rear end right into a wall in a curtain of smoke. He was fine, of course- his Molecular Bonded Shell protects him from accidents. What's worse was the worrying conclusion KITT came to.

"Michael? I no longer detect your presence, Michael".

"Michael, please confirm your whereabouts. Be it through visual, auditory, olfactory or any other means".

"...Michael?".

KITT's sensors were going haywire. Whatever happened, it was probably not good. He attempted to calibrate his sensors and entered Surveillance Mode. Through the smoke, his red Anamorphic Equalizer panned left and right. And left and right. And left and right.

Swoosh swoosh

Swoosh swoosh

Swoosh swoosh

He appeared to be in a room of some sort, filled with other individuals. There were a few humans. Teenagers, judging by their vital signs. One… woman? Maybe? Also a horse, confusingly enough. And a small, non-descript animal that was not in his database. KITT wrote it off as a glitch caused by whatever happened to him, one that would soon be fixed as his sensors calibrated. One of the individuals was screaming. It appeared to be the horse- that couldn't be right. Probably also a glitch. For sure, though, it was a sound that wasn't particularly pleasant to KITT's Etymotic Equalizer. KITT was not sure whether he was the cause of said screaming or not, but he did not particularly care either. Where was Michael? Who are these people?

Location(s): Paradox Engine (Central Controls, Testing Grounds, Luncheon Room)

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Whatever Brainstorm had done to the Central Controls with his access, it seemed to bring the room all the more to life after his departure; various screens began to illuminate as power once more ran through the systems, and the machines began their various designated processes. To any of them, the text of any of the screens present was completely illegible, a foreign language unlike any other...But even without the gift of words, some of the intentions of these consoles could be made clear.

For one, it showed video feeds across the station; or at least, it should've. It seemed that much of the feed was inaccessible for the moment, although it was being slowly restored, with vision made clear in the Testing Grounds and Luncheon Room, where onlookers could see some individuals warping into the rooms. For those in the know, these were, of course, Terra in the Testing Grounds, and Danny alongside Tai and Agumon arriving in the Luncheon Room.

However, the most jarring thing was when a voice began to echo through the chamber; perfectly clear and articulate, though it had a synthetic edge to it that made it clear that something artificial was speaking. Or rather....Making observations on the remaining individuals. "Systems online. Identifying unknowing individuals..." Those remaining in the Control Center were none the wiser as to what was happening....Except for KITT. Beyond the human eye, while he could not detect a source, infrared scans were being passed across everything in the general area, KITT included.

"Entity Giovanni Potage. Designation: Soup. Universe: EE Prime. Confirmed. Entity Asta. Designation: Anti-Mage. Universe: BC Prime. Confirmed. Entity Knight Industries 2000's Micro Processor, alternatively K.I.T.T. Designation: Spycar. Universe: KR Prime. Confirmed. Entity Rarity. Designation: Magic Equine. Universe: MLP Prime. Confirmed."

After that....An eerie silence. Whatever had just happened, and whatever had done what just happened, didn't seem to care about conversating with the strange arrivals.

---

---

The Testing Grounds might not have been what Terra anticipated. Some weapons-grade super-factory? A training area for unnatural super soldiers? No, it certainly didn't fit any of these images, and likely nothing else she could've puzzled together. After the jarring warp to the top of this station, she was met with a dim hallway, only barely lit by the pulsing red lights that seemed to travel down this expansive, one-way hallway. These light sources were attached to somewhat menacing archways. In fact, some might remark that they looked like gateways. They looked to be built tough, each one standing a solid ten feet away from the last, as the Testing Grounds stretched for what felt like forever. It seemed unrealistic for someone to have to walk through this whole thing.

Though, adjusting her eyes to the darkness, it would be made clear that that wasn't how they handled traversing this location. Across the empty stretch of the room (if you could call such an expansive place a simple room), two tracks of conveyor belts seemed to lead off; one forward, one back. Maybe a bit primitive compared to the teleporter she had just used, but hey, who knows? Maybe it was to save power, or maybe it would have just been too inconvenient to work something else in.

Regardless, there were two other stand-out details here. One was that next to each of these gateways was a stand of sort, with a built-in pad; one side of the pad seemed to be for some form of data processing, though all of them seemed shut off in that regard, though the other side showed what looked to be a handprint. Some kind of palm scanner. Then, there was something else....

The gateway nearest to the transporter had a green light, instead of red, and the data side of the pad was online, funneling information through. Nothing Terra would be able to make heads or tails of, but being the only one active in the room was certain to be...Interesting.

---

---

The Luncheon Room was a far different story; like an old-school cafeteria, fluorescent lights shone across the area, where a number of tables of all sorts stood, seating anywhere between three to six, if judging by the number of seats themselves. All in all, the room could probably fit well over a hundred people, ready to dine. While clearly there wasn't anyone on duty big surprise, it wouldn't take Danny or Tai much effort to recognize a spot near the back that looked to be where food would've been doled out, if their schooltime sensibilities weren't failing them. Behind that spot, a heavyset metal door could be seen closed tight, with a small drift of briskly cold air coming from it. Some kind of freezer, perhaps? Regardless, around there was hopefully where some grub could be found.

Still hollering her lungs out as KITT practically exploded into existence on the deck - narrowly avoiding knocking her over - Rarity's panicky screams finally gave out. The unicorn fainted, collapsing onto the deck like a sack of potatoes.

Coming to, Rarity's eyes flickered open once again as the control center lit up, whirring into life. "What ..." she began, hoarse and croaky from her over-exertions. "What is this place?" She began to rise unsteadily on her hooves. "Where ... am I?"

"Systems online. Identifying unknowing individuals...

Entity Giovanni Potage.
Designation: Soup.
Universe: EE Prime. Confirmed.

Entity Asta.
Designation: Anti-Mage.
Universe: BC Prime. Confirmed.

Entity Knight Industries 2000's Micro Processor, alternatively K.I.T.T.
Designation: Spycar.
Universe: KR Prime. Confirmed.

Entity Rarity.
Designation: Magic Equine.
Universe: MLP Prime. Confirmed."

Rarity shook her head to clear her mental fogging, a forehoof rising to the side of her forehead in disbelief and bafflement. "I don't understand this. One second, I was with my friends, taking a quick trip to Las Pegasus; the next I'm ... here." She glanced left and right. "Well, wherever 'here' even is."

She trotted briskly up to the others. "And I've never seen any of you before in my life. What ... Who ...?" The incomplete question hung in the recycled air of the command deck.

Direct mentions: World - @Mintz, Danny @Crimson Flame, Tai and Agumon - @Martian, Terra - @Dead Cruiser

---

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Asta nearly jumped out of his pants as the boy who stood next to the creature introduced himself as Tai and introduced the creature Asta had presumed to be his pet at first as Agumon. He nodded his head politely, his attitude slightly shifting to a quieter one so that he could introduce himself properly. "Asta." He rose his hand in an introductory way. He wanted to keep things short and simple so that he could find a way out of... Well, wherever he was. It was then that the tiny dinosaur monster had proclaimed it were hungry. Surprised by this, Asta pointed back at the creature, re-startled by it once again."Did that monster just talk? Like a person? This is starting to get weird, even for me."

His shock was quickly erased when his mind returned back to what had happened the past few minutes. His home, the Clover Kingdom, was still in danger, and there wouldn't be much time to return. It seemed something had happened in the room Asta was in because the black haired guy spoke to him hurriedly, summarizing the information he had been relayed previously. This took Asta by surprise. "Wait... WE'RE IN FREAKING SPACE?!" He seemed taken aback for a moment. "Like... THE PLACE IN THE FREAKING SKY, SPACE?!"

He had almost ignored the "trapped here for a while part" because of his shock, but quickly reacted to that as well. "We're gonna... Be here for a while? Oh crud..." He seemed very concerned now that he had left his home in shambles now. "Then we need to find a way out of here as fast as possible! My country's in danger! Y'know... Not to be rude." He'd begin lifting random electronics and moving things around, trying to find a way out, not familiar with the new door technology. "Just gotta... Find a way outta here."

It was then a newcomer joined the fray, a tiny white and purple pony donning a horn. The creature spoke in a human tongue similar to the dinosaur was able to. Asta was now for certain something was wrong here. "IS EVERY SINGLE MONSTER HERE ABLE TO TALK?!" He could tell the unicorn was just as frightened by the overall situation as he was, because as soon as she saw all the unfamiliar faces, she shouted at a pitch-breaking squeal that could shatter eardrums.

Asta personally wasn't bothered by it. The ruckus at the Black Bulls HQ was always more than enough to beat the yelling by a tenfold. RIGHT! Asta was looking for a way out. He'd go back to looking around and under. It was when a large black hunka metal began talking behind Asta as he lost attention that he knew that this place was weird. Why the hell was literal METAL with wheels talking. Someone had to be using some form of illusion magic... Then again... All these people seemed human, or at least possessed some human attributes to them... And no illusion magic ever was this complex. He was somewhere, with people he didn't know. The machine they were in certainly knew, as it claimed their names and... Apparently universes they were from. Asta refused to believe that and wrote it off as a mistake.

Many of the members had claimed to be hungry, but Asta's nerves were so racked, surprisingly, he wasn't in the mood for food, so it'd seem he'd be following... Whoever wasn't going there. When the woman in a yellow-blue body suit left, Asta saw fit to follow considering she had been the only one not wanting to fill herself. She left through what Asta only now found out was an door. How odd it looked to doors in the Clover Kingdom. He'd quickly pace himself up to her, trying to follow her steps. "I don't think I ever got your name, miss."

He'd offer his hand as a curtesy shake to the woman. He was trying to be polite, as he had never met any of these people prior, but the truth is, the majority of his new surroundings caught his attention. He had no clue where she was leading him, but trusted it would be somewhere of value. Walking down the halls of the facility, Asta looked back to the lady, trying to make sense of where they were. "So... I know that dude said we were in Space... But..." He scratched his chin for a moment. "I've never been to space... Nor do I think anyone from home has been here."

There was a space of quiet before the short blonde boy looked back to Terra. "Wait, so where are you from? Because it seems like no-one here is from the Clover Kingdom or any of the four Kingdoms in that case... Are you guys, like, foreigners or something? From some far away island?" None of them would have known, but Asta was using information he had gotten from Captain Yami, otherwise he'd have no idea what to ask. Nothing of what was happening made sense, but he was kind of just rolling with it.

Once they had climbed into what was seemingly a small, compact empty room, the walls and everything blinked, taking Asta and Terra to a new location. It could've made the boy sick if he hadn't been used to being flung around in magic portals all day. They were lead to an eerie hallway, which Asta would've avoided if Terra did too, but regardless, he followed, trying to make some sense of things. He'd look around, noticing the pads, and buttons, and all the fancy shenanigans that were in the hall. He'd seem amazed for a moment."Woah! This place is huge! What do you think they use it for?"

He'd notice the pad with the palm on it. "Huh... What would happen if I stuck my hand on this thing?" He said pointing at it as if Terra couldn't see it. He'd examine it closely before ultimately deciding whatever it did wasn't worth figuring out without another person. Walking around, Asta checked out some more of the area, confused as to what anything did. All this tech and metal-y stuff is so new and interesting to him.

---

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Location(s): Paradox Engine, Simulated Universe #1 (Open Fields, Current Simulation: Unknown)
Mentions: Driscoll @Mintz, Cyrus @Randomness, Shadow Moth @TruthHurts22, Poison Ivy @Crimson Flame, Ganon @ActRaiserTheReturned, and Horus @Dead Cruiser.

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The Pretty Green Lady and Mr. Cyrus seemed to be handling themselves okay. The Green Lady's chlorokinesis really was rather impressive, growing an... oak tree apparently? Yeah, that did seem to be what it was -if the lady’s boasting was any clue. Growing it in seconds! Wowee, that was impressive! The gears of possibilities began to turn a bit harder in Bonesaw's head. Unless the Pretty Green Lady was carrying around seeds with her in that very much pocketless dress, then she'd just spontaneously created life from nothing!

Oh-hoh-hoo-hoo~! Bonesaw couldn't stop a gleeful smile at the possibilities. First a potential source of technological mass via the nanobots, and now a biological one? Well, plants weren't exactly her preferred ingredients for her Art, but she could still make some nifty poisons with just flora!

Mr. Cyrus and the Best Mascot Ever -who was apparently named Houndoom (Bonesaw could have swooned)- were making short work of the bots that were inconvenienced by the Pretty Green Lady in a spectacularly flashy manner. The sheer heat wafting off the adorable hell puppy made her feel like she was standing near an oven almost, even from this distance!

And last, but certainly not least, Mr. Horus's power-suit really was something to behold. The mind behind it wasn't too shabby either, she decided, as she watched from the corner of her eye him adapt to his opponents' tactics, carefully probing their defenses and ability to adapt to him in turn, before ripping into them with a respectable savagery. His mindfulness of the risk of reckless attacks seemed to inform his response well, his strikes calculated to maximize results and minimize consequences. The result? Two thoroughly wrecked drones and not a single new foe to replace them. Sure he'd been caught off guard initially, but it seemed Mr. Horus had a gift for sniffing out weaknesses and exploiting them.

Bonesaw smiled glibly. She'd have to watch out for him in particular.

As if on the que of the obliteration of all but one of the remaining enemy drones, the larger meteor made impact. And what an impact it was!

"Eeek~!" Bonesaw squeaked, as she tumbled tooshie over teakettle from the shockwave, flying off of Driscoll's shoulder into the grassy plains. Shaking her head after the impact, Bonesaw was already moving back towards her lovely chivalrous meat-shield, her internal safeguards against concussive force serving her well in preventing the small child from being left stunned by the rough fall. A quick once-over of the state of the battlefield saw that most everyone had been disoriented by the new arrival. On the one hand, it seemed her fragile hold on her perch meant she hadn't been landed on by Mr. Driscoll. Sure, he'd managed to catch himself somewhat, but the risk was there! On the other hand...

Bonesaw pouted at the number of grass stains visited upon her formerly flawless blue dress by the tumble. Those were going to be annoying to get out later... especially without a place to wash in sight! Glaring at the new Big Bad Robot, the little blonde's hands planted themselves on her hips. Oh, she was going to make him regret that!

The big robot (And wowee was he big!) said some quite ominous stuff about "crowd control" before launching a giant, not-so-friendly-looking blue orb of energy high into the sky… which began to immediately pulse… and scatter.

“Oh…” Bonesaw’s eyes widened minutely, before she urgently picked up speed, lunging into Mr. Driscoll’s grasp, as he deployed his energy shield overhead once more. Thunderous blows rattled down around them, pulping soil and turning greenery to ash. Every impact was one that she could feel vibrating through her reinforced skeleton, titanic enough to destroy Mr. Driscoll’s shield in a single blow and drive the power-suited man deeper into a slowly growing crater, as the little blonde tucked herself as far down as she could safely manage.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all that far, all things considered. If she let him fully shield for her, she might get crushed beneath his bulk! Well, given her reinforced skeleton, she’d live… probably. The only real question would be how many more hits his body could take for her once the shield gave out for good. Instead, the little blonde huddled to the side of her protector, still under the shield but not exactly pressed against him.

Looking to the sky, her baby blue eyes narrowed at the energy orb, squinting, as the laser artillery continued to pour off of it like rain. To her effectively 20/20 vision, the orb was shrinking… barely at all, sure, but it was there. Unfortunately, that rate of decline was… “Eheh-” Her giggle was a bit understandably restrained in humor. “Oh dear, this may take a while… several minutes if I’m not mistaken.” And even disregarding the precariousness of her own situation, the rest of her current allies didn’t have the same protection she did. Swallowing, Bonesaw turned her head to the Forever King from where she lay mostly flat against the soil, inwardly lamenting the further despoiling of her dress. “Mr. Driscoll Sir, how long can your shield take this kind of punishment?”

As if punctuating Bonesaw’s sentence, another blast struck against the shield, briefly obliterating it, and forcing the two further into the ground. ”Hrgh…” Quickly, a new one formed before any further artillery could land on them, as Driscoll took this brief reprieve to answer. ”In truth…My shields have not been taking these attacks since the beginning, but I have enough reprieve to set up anew before another strikes. I could keep this going for quite some time. However…” Risking a glance across the drastically war-torn field, he could see the others scrambling for cover and desperate to find ways to guard themselves. ”I don’t believe the others have such a luxury.”

Frowning, Bonesaw’s small brow furrowed, before she nodded resolutely. “Your power supply then. Can it handle firing the water gun again while also maintaining the shield?” She glanced back up at the orb of death and then at its creator, who loomed over them all a dangerously nearby twenty feet away. The arms hadn’t undergone any particular shifts that she could see since its landing, so she couldn’t say for certain if destroying them would grant a reprieve from the assault. Or even if destroying the drone in its entirety would matter other than preventing another orb from being created. Truly, it was unclear at all if the orb was a one-and-done attack… or if it was currently being maintained remotely, which might explain how it was lasting so long.

Actually, that might explain why there was only a single orb at all. If it were a one-and-done attack, then the robot could simply make more and bury all of them under the onslaught. Instead, only a single orb existed, and the attacks… They didn’t look random. No, they were guided somehow, preventing the creator from being hit.

An unseen smirk played on Driscoll’s face. Could it? What a ridiculous question….Though it wasn’t like the young girl could’ve known what he possessed. ”Undoubtedly. Why?”

“I’ll aim it this time,” she said simply. “I saw how you opened it up and manually adjusted the pressure before, so I should be able to replicate it.” Curling one leg up, she flicked open her other pinkie toe and plucked the virulently-green acid capsule out. Grunting, she rolled over onto her stomach and pushed up into a low crouch. “I just need you to maintain that shield and pull the trigger, Mr. Forever King Sir. I’ll handle the rest.”

Hm. No more cute inflections or the sort; perhaps this had gotten a modicum of seriousness from the child? An amusing thought. Obliging, he reformed the cannon once again, and in another small flex of his arm hidden deeper in the machine, the dial unveiled itself once more. ”Our conditions this time seem far harsher. The distance is wider, the target larger; and likely far more tenacious. If we miss…You’re certain you can aim this?” If anything, the tone of his voice spoke more of a challenge than a genuine question.

Bonesaw’s cherubic grin was a touch feral. “Oh, but Mr. Driscoll Sir, you said it yourself: the target is oh so much bigger~!” Reaching out, Bonesaw took hold of the water cannon and crouched, laying the barrel atop her shoulder like an RPG gun, as she sighted down it towards the looming foe over the lip of the crater she shared with another. Humming, she double-checked the pressure of the gun, turning the dial as far down as she could manage, before settling back in. She refrained from placing the capsule in the barrel yet, mindful of the risk of an unexpected disruption from above potentially fouling her shot and setting off the volatile weapon.

As the thunder of artillery sounded all around, Bonesaw’s brow furrowed in concentration, aiming the weapon at a somewhat upwards angle. At the lowest pressure, there might be a risk of her shot arcing low at this distance, and she could only safely afford to ramp it up once the stream reached the target.

That settled, she considered her targets: waist, arms, or head.

Arms were almost right out. Even if destroying them would likely cut power to the artillery orb, they were a small enough target to easily miss. She’d already seen how these drones had a surprising amount of agility. If she tried to be a greedy little smarty-patootie, she’d be punished for it by hitting nothing at all. Plus, there were two of them, and she could only hit one, unless the bot was foolish enough to grab the affected one. The small one had been, but this one looked a tad smarter.

The waist…? Well, that was greed all the way. Considering the size of the thing, her capsule wouldn’t have enough fuel to eat through all of it, considering how it was entirely inorganic. With that in mind, she could wipe out the bottom half and leave the upper control center untouched aside from whatever damage it might take being removed from the main body by overenthusiastic allies… And oh sweet sister Panacea did she want that more advanced control center intact~! The only problems, of course, were that this carried the risk of the big guy having time to potentially adapt to even her acid, to say nothing of the fact that it would be able to likely replicate itself just like any of the lesser drones if it got the chance to tear off part of its remaining upper body. And she really didn’t want to think about what might happen if it could replicate her acid as a weapon. In theory, that should be impossible. Her acid was entirely organic and outside such a machine’s reach, but she didn’t really understand the limits of nanotechnology. If she gambled and was wrong…? She might as well have signed their death warrants. If this was to work, she needed her allies to defeat it incredibly fast once it was crippled.

The head -or, more accurately, the upper torso- was a simple death blow. Quick. Clean. Efficient… and leaving nothing of use to scavenge afterwards. It was immediate reward at the cost of hurting -or at least, waylaying- their future efforts.

Choices… choices…

A wild grin overtook her expression, as she made her choice… and aimed ever so slightly lower.

Looks like she was putting her trust in these strangers for now. They had better appreciate the opportunity to do some damage!

Sucking in a deep breath, Bonesaw exercised her vocal chords to their maximum, straining to be heard over the eardrum-rattling roar of artillery, as she addressed her allies. “BIOLOGICAL WEAPONRY STRIKE: INCOMING! STEER CLEAR OF THE ACID! RIP OFF THE HEAD!” Gritting her teeth, fuming silently at the measures she had to take to make this work, she finished. “AND WHATEVER YOU DO, JUST GRAPPLE THOSE ARMS! DO NOT LET THEM MOVE! DO NOT LET THEM REPLICATE!”

Turning her head to double-check the pressure dial a final time, Bonesaw slid the acid capsule down the barrel, steadied Driscoll’s arm with both hands and took hold of the dial. “FIRE!”

Driscoll was surprised the little lady could muster such a warcry. He’d admit (at least to himself); it was impressive. Still, there were more pressing matters. Turning his gaze to the combat at hand, noting a bolt of energy approaching them. It was now or never. Bonesaw would feel it first before it released, the rumble of water blasting out like a geyser of force forward, heading towards…The waist?

His scoff couldn’t be heard over the rushing water and artillery fire. Seemed this one had a reckless edge to her…Best to keep that in mind. Still, he wasn’t entirely remiss on the idea either; if they could have something salvageable from a Techadon like this, it could prove to be an interesting foundation for future works…He, too, found a grin beginning to form beneath his helm.

As the water traveled, it almost looked like it wouldn’t make the mark. The tension in the air was palpable as the capsule flew in the air, mere inches off-target….And in that moment, the balance of the technological titan was stricken from it. From below, Static Cling had forced its puppetted Techadon to, for lack of better term, football tackle one of the gargantuan machine’s legs…And surprisingly, it had buckled from the strength. Not by much, but enough. The capsule was as close as it could ever get, and all that was left was to crank the pressure.

With an adorably savage smile, Bonesaw turned the dial. From this distance, over the roar of water next to her head and the thunder of artillery, she couldn’t hear the capsule crack, but she imagined it sounded a whole lot like the click of the pressure dial maximizing.

This drone was bigger, significantly so. Even so, the water helped carry and splash the newly-loosed volatile payload upon the internals, and soon, a gush of water splurted out the other side of the titan. Just as the water carried the deadly acid about the inside, so too did it scatter fragments on the ruined greenery and trickle and splash down the drone’s legs, leaving scars of ruined metal that soon began to grow in size with a terrible hissing noise that was audible even over the cacophony.

Unable to support its own weight, the titan of steel and nanotech was driven to its quickly nonexistent knees, even as the crawl of acid began to ominously slow in its efforts to climb the torso properly, the by now highly diluted substance quickly running dry of the vital organic materials it needed to continue on.

As an aside, it was quite unavoidable that the hijacked drone that had salvaged her fumbled shot was also doused thoroughly in the acid-filled water, quickly becoming a ruined dangerous mess all across the front. It was unfortunate and a waste of potential resources, truly, but... smirking in the face of the alternative payout, Bonesaw decided that was a sacrifice she was willing to make. That little drone’s valuable contribution would be remembered.

Refocusing her attention upon the crippled titan, she grinned and crossed her fingers. It was all up to the others to finish this thing… hopefully leaving the good bits intact.

As the titanic hulking construct crashed to the ground, blowing dirt and debris across the battlefield, another thing seemed to bring the odds back in favor; all of the energy, mid-air or otherwise, dissipated, having been held by the concentration of the mechanic menace. With no more artillery to call upon, and the reproduction of the lower half crippled by acid, this was their moment; either strike now, or lose, there would be no in-between.

More arrivals poured in, and Terra's anxiety that something hostile would drop in grew. She wanted to get out of there, but one of the new arrivals tagged along directly behind her. She gave him a quick look over, trying her best to discern if he presented any sort of threat. It didn't seem that way, at least to her. Seemed like a decent kid, strong, but human.

"I'm Terra." She said, taking his hand. She gripped his fingers as gently as she could; humans were very delicate. She listed to him rant at her a little more, and replied, "Uh, I can't speak for anybody else for certain, but I'm basically from space. I was born on Earth though. Not your Earth, I mean. Well," Terra sighed and crossed her arms. She was just making this more confusing for him. "I'm from a planet called Earth. There are lots of planets called Earth, but they're really far apart from each other, because they exist in different universes. They can be really similar, or different. I hope this makes things easy for you, I don't think I know anything about the world you come from. Anyway, needless to say, we're all very far from home right now, so let's work together, yeah?" She smiled at Asta, and stepped through the transporter.

While she wasn't sure what she was expecting, it wasn't quite this. She peered down the hall, but it was too dark to clearly see what was all the way at the end of it. She looked to Asta and said, "Just a sec," before taking off down the hall. It took slightly less than one second for Terra to fly down to the end of the hall and back, returning to Asta's side in a gust of displaced air. Terra lowered to the ground slowly, and looked at what seemed to be the sole activated doorway.

Asta offered to activate the panel at the door's side, and Terra stepped forward to caution him. "I wouldn't if I were you." She briefly entertained an ideation of the booby-trapped panel blowing off Asta's arm. "Let me check it, maybe stand back a bit. Even if this isn't a trap, it could still be dangerous. These might be cages, or portals."

Testing grounds... What could they be testing? Obviously the answers were behind these doors, but she didn't want to open one with no idea what might be behind. What evidence did she have? They had seemingly been pulled from different universes, possibly at random, but there were a few common themes among the people that had been brought so far. The word "hero" seemed to get passed around a lot. The name, "Paradox Engine," could it be that simple, a machine designed to create paradoxes? She had a feeling she was beginning to understand what tests might be going on behind the doors. Terra stepped forward and pressed her hand against the panel. Only one way to find out.

Mentions: Terra- @Dead Cruiser, Asta- @XoXKieroBombXoX, Rarity- @CHammer, World- @Mintz, Tai & Agumon- @Martian, Giovanni- @TruthHurts22

LOCATION: Control Center, Paradox Engine

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As the disruptive noise of the incessant screaming finally came to an end, KITT's sensors could eventually complete their calibration and confirm that he was in this room with at least four other entities. He disregarded what appeared to be a young woman with black hair, dressed in a strange yellow, black and blue body suit. Even after calibrating his sensors, the vital sign readings of the woman came up with nothing but errors. It must be some sort of persistent glitch- something to be reported to FLAG if he were to re-establish connection. It left this place anyways, so KITT directed his attention towards the individuals still in the room.

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For one, KITT could confirm readings of three male teenagers, all within the age range of 15-20 years old. One of them had an ostentatious pink haircut, as some kind of bold fashion statement perhaps. His bright yellow uniform formed an… interesting contrast with his hair colour. To KITT it suggested he belonged to some sort of organisation, but the processor could only speculate as to what kind of group this would be. None of the organisations he knew wore uniforms with such garish colours and such peculiar shoulder pads. Perhaps it was a private military organisation? Nonetheless, his clothing didn't seem practical for combat purposes. The bright yellow would stick out like a sore thumb. Maybe that is why the teenager had attempted a rather amateuristic display of camouflage, with plant matter and mud stuck to the fabrics of the uniform. The boy couldn't be older than 20- KITT estimated his age to be within the range of 18-19. He seemed confused about his situation, asking general questions about his whereabouts.

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The other teenager was much more brash and loud, and had an equally remarkable fashion sense as the pink-haired mud-covered individual. The costume appeared hand-made, at most made with assistance of a hand-driven machine. Perhaps this was some new niche fashion sense of the youth? KITT's Voice Stress Analyzer made clear that the boy appeared to be in distress, or at the very least he showed general discomfort with his situation- or was it annoyance? For one, he loudly asked whether "every single monster" here was able to talk, referring to the horse. While KITT would not personally refer to a horse as a "monster", it was indeed impossible for a horse to talk. KITT's own presence also seemed to confuse the teenager, which was to be expected. KITT was used to confused humans.

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Swoosh swoosh

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KITT could not get any clear readings on the third teenager. He left soon after KITT appeared in this room. It was clear that this one was at least dressed in a conventional way, but he seemed to be accompanied by some manner of creature. When attempting to check the vital signs of the creature, nothing came up- was this some manner of animalistic machine? Unfortunately, they left before he could get any detailed records.

Swoosh swoosh

Swoosh swoosh

Swoosh swoosh

As for the screaming horse the blonde 17-year old was discomforted by- that was a real horse, alright. One with a most peculiar biology, in fact- its posture and build were unlike those any Equus species KITT knows of in his database. A keratinuous growth on top of its head made matters more confusing. While not necessarily biologically impossible, this made the horse look much like a unicorn, a creature known only of legend. Voice stress readings showed that the horse was in much distress, but vital signs show that it was otherwise healthy (despite collapsing from panic). KITT was delighted to know his Voice Stress Analyzer worked on non-humans, but the accuracy of the readings could be brought into question.

Swoosh swoosh

Swoosh swoosh

Swoosh swoosh

That seemed to be it for this room- No, wait, there was something else. A wave of infrared washed over the lot of them. KITT could not pinpoint the source of the signal, but it appeared to be a scanner of some sort as a synthetic voice (another AI?) then began summing up the names of the four individuals still in the room.

"Systems online. Identifying unknowing individuals..."

"Entity Giovanni Potage. Designation: Soup. Universe: EE Prime. Confirmed. Entity Asta. Designation: Anti-Mage. Universe: BC Prime. Confirmed. Entity Knight Industries 2000's Micro Processor, alternatively K.I.T.T. Designation: Spycar. Universe: KR Prime. Confirmed. Entity Rarity. Designation: Magic Equine. Universe: MLP Prime. Confirmed."

The voice identified four individuals, providing KITT with valuable information. He had names now. The voice referred to the entity known as "Rarity" as a "magic equine". That means the horse's name must be Rarity, although the designation of "magic" equine was ridiculous. That leaves "Giovanni Potage"- with the preposterous designation of "soup"- and "Asta", who was an "anti-mage". Those must be the two teenagers left in the room. KITT also heard his own name, and scoffed.

""Spycar"? Do I look like a prissy Aston-Martin to you?", KITT said, not really expecting an answer as the voice kept silent afterwards.

Regardless, something stirred in the room. One of the teenagers went after the black-haired woman, the glitch, only to disappear from the room. The horse, on the other hand, babbled something about being with friends on a trip to a location known as "Las Pegasus". No such location exists in KITT's geographical database. It sounded like a legendary horse-themed pun on the name of the city Las Vegas, so perhaps this location was also a city.

Most interesting was the voice's reference to universes. KITT had "KR Prime" as his designated universe, but what this meant was beyond his understanding.

For now. There were computers in this room. Computers meant information. And seeing as the other individuals were mostly expressing confusion and were not being particularly helpful, KITT decided to take matters into whatever counts as his own hands. Especially considering he worryingly was not able to contact FLAG or Michael. KITT rolled past the others, in the direction of the machines.

Swoosh swoosh

Swoosh swoosh

Swoosh swoosh

KITT attempted to establish a wireless connection between himself and any computers in the room. They seemed rather advanced, but it was worth a try to hack into the system. There had to be some manner of information in there. Information about where he is, who the others are, and most importantly, how to get back to Michael.

Mentions: Astra - @XoXKieroBombXoX, KITT - @Atlantic

With her questions gone unanswered, Rarity had been forced to briefly turn her attention to one of the 'ruffians' who perturbed her with a crude comment:

"IS EVERY SINGLE MONSTER HERE ABLE TO TALK?!"

"'Monster'?! Excuse me?!" Rarity boggled in outrage. "If I ever hear you call me by such again, you young rascal, I'm going to-" Unfortunately, Astra would not have been able to hear much, if anything, of Rarity's threat as the former disappeared into the teleportation system to another bulkhead. Vengeance postponed, the unicorn seethed, beginning to calm herself down once more and return to the matter at hand.

Which brought her to the bulkhead's sole vehicular occupant. Breaking into a trot alongside KITT's chassis, Rarity leaped a few times, trying to get a good look into the driver's cabin. Cars had only been a part of her homeland's infrastructure for some years; none of them were as advanced as KITT's chassis.

'Nor,' Rarity thought to herself on the next bounce. 'As gauche. Dear Celestia, half the lines on the chassis are just ... wrong! No pleasing aesthetics, a dull black colouration and what in hay are all those lights for? Certainly not to -'

She nearly tumbled to the deck again as a vital factor had stared her in the muzzle: she had missed the now-obvious fact that, however it was moving under its own power, the vehicle - which, the fashionista presumed from the computer's audio, was 'KITT' - had no driver at the controls! Landing and shaking her head Rarity decided that it would probably be better from now on in if she stopped questioning everything and everyone around her on the tiniest of quibbles .... Or, at least, tried to.

Finally arriving at one of the terminals that KITT was not blocking the others from, Rarity propped up on her hind legs to get a better view of the terminal, shortly before - bemused by the complex, indecipherable interface in front of her - she began to regret her prior curiosity.

"Twilight always had a book or two about these strange things." she commented aloud in annoyance, beginning to try and study the buttons and terminal screen in front of her.

Ash Williams

Location: Control Center, Paradox Engine

Mentions: @CHammer- Rarity, @Atlantic- Knight Rider, @Martian- Tai and Agumon.

The last thing Ash remembered was celebrating killing some Kandarian demons with some Norwegian twins, and a bottle of chocolate syrup. Now he was in a tightly compacted and dark place that he could not recognize, "Helga? Britta?" He called out at first to the response of silence. "This ain't funny..you know I hate it when you blindfold me, It freaks me out" He responded standing up and looking around. It looked like some sort of space station, "Where the hell am i?" Checking that he was wearing all of his clothing and not in his underwear again, a quick inspection confirmed that he was not in his undies."Guess I took too much of Helga's awesome kool-aid" He said mimicking badly a Norwegian accent. The most important thing was that he had his weapons. He didn’t know what he would do without his weapons. From what he could observe of his surroundings, it looked like he was in some sort of spaceship. The first thing that came into his head was being teleported by the Necronomicon, but this seemed unlikely as he has it on his person. “Wait a sec.” Frantically checking his clothes, he could not find the book of the dead on him. “Shit!” Yelling loudly that his voice echoed throughout the hallway. Now he had to find the book before someone else does. There was no telling what kind of trouble could be happening with someone reading from the book. Heading further down the hallway, having his shotgun in one hand and his pistol in the other.

As he made his way further down the hallway, his eyes were scanning his surroundings in case of a surprise attack from any deadites. Hearing voices speaking in the distance, he assumed it was deadites trying to convince Ash to join them. Walking into a large room, he assumed was a control room of some kind. Noticing a lot of strange-looking people talking to each other, the most noticeable part of this situation was the pony and the dinosaur. Now he assumed he was drugged by those twins, and all of this was some sort of bad acid trip. Slowly puts away his pistol, while keeping his shotgun at the ready. “Guess this isn’t some bad trip, Anyone wanna tell me where the hell I am?” His eyes noticed the 1982 Pontiac Trans Am that could talk, he was reminded of some good memories in that car. But he was in awe seeing such a beautiful car, ignoring the fact that it could talk. Slowly walking over towards KITT, running his metallic hand over the hood. Moving his hand away from the hood of the car, turning his body towards the group. “A better question would be why I was brought here.” The people in the group didn’t look like deadites, so he assumed they were friendly enough. But they could be easily possessed, which means he would need to cut them into pieces. Best not get to know them that well.

_______________________________________

LOCATION: Spearshafts
The sun stood high above the Spearshafts, beating down on the local fauna and flora with intense heat. It was a particularly hot day, today. The arid mesas of the Carja Sundom were dotted with a few tall trees that made ample use of the sun's bright light. Desert animals were doing their daily business. Foraging. Resting. Hunting.

It was not just the desert animals that were on the hunt. Three tribesmen were sneaking through red-topped tufts of grass scattered about the desert. White wooden masks dashed with red paint covered their faces, and black hoods protected their skin from the immense warmth of the sun. One of them was armed with a spear and was scouting ahead. The other ones had ropecasters that looked like they could tie down a dinosaur.

Their prey was near. They spotted a herd of antelopes grazing the desert sands. A couple of vultures were scavenging the body of an antelope that had died. Cassowaries were on the lookout for threats, protecting the group of animals from any threats… such as tribesmen.

Except… these were not animals.

They were robots.

The antelopes- aptly named Lancehorns- were busy digging up resources for whatever goals this group of machines had. Their drilling horns bore through the surface to dig up soil and materials for fluid. The vultures- Glinthawks- rigorously took apart the broken down Lancehorn. Arrows in its body betrayed that it was killed by some hunter, a short while ago. Its materials would be reused in the cycle. As for the cassowaries, called Longlegs- their antennas betrayed that it could call for reinforcements whenever necessary. The hunters would have to be careful.

But these machines were not their target.

CA-LUNK

CA-LUNK

CA-LUNK

WHIRRRRRRRRR

CA-LUNK

CA-LUNK

A massive, 24 meters long and 9 meters high hunk of steel appeared from behind a mesa. Vaguely shaped like a massive theropod dinosaur, the metal monstrosity appeared to look around, scanning the area for threats. Spears in its body and some loose armor panels betrayed that this beast had been through a lot of encounters with human hunters… and survived every single one of them.

The tribesmen were wary. They obviously knew of Redmaw's reign of terror over this part of the Sundom. They knew of its killing spree against the Carja. The beast would be useful for their purposes. There was only one issue: catching it.

Redmaw's blue eyes were shining like headlights in the dark, even in the bright sunlight. But then…

Its eyes turned yellow.

And then red.

It turned towards the bush the hunters were hiding in, and charged at them, an ear-shattering roar escaping from deep within its mechanical bowels.

"CHRRRRRRRRYYAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHH"

"NO! IT SAW US!", screamed one of the hunters.

CA-LUNK CA-LUNK CA-LUNK CA-LUNK

"LURE IT TOWARDS THE PASSAGE!", shouted another one.

The beast ran towards them at a frightening speed for such a large hunk of metal. It trampled over the spearman like he were a mere toy, killing him instantly. The two archers sprinted as fast as they could towards a narrow passage. It was just wide enough for Redmaw to enter: its armor plates scraped against the walls of the canyon. An unexpected enemy awaited there: a Corruptor.

A black mechanical four-legged, insectoid abomination with a singular eye and a writhing tail much like a scorpion. The machine screeched at Redmaw, and launched strange, smoke-like tendrils at the Thunderjaw, who did not exactly appreciate being assaulted by this… thing. Another screech made its anger clear.

"SCCHHHREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAARGHHH"

"MOVE! IT'S GONNA CHARGE!", warned one of the two hunters.

The remaining hunters quickly moved out of the way as Redmaw threw itself at the Corruptor. It gripped the machine between its powerful mandibles and slammed it against a wall. The Corruptor attempted to break free, to no avail. Tendrils intertwined the two machines, wrapping themselves around Redmaw's neck as it threw the insectoid machine to the ground, stomping on it like it were a mere bug. The Corruptor clamped itself to Redmaw's foot as it attempted to maintain a connection…

"WE DID IT! WE NEARLY DID IT!", shouted one of the hunters in triumph as the Corruptor slowly infected Redmaw...

And then a flash of light. Redmaw and the Corruptor were gone. The hunters looked on in confusion and fear, left behind near a herd of Lancehorns with only their dead companion left as evidence of Redmaw's onslaught.

"Wha- What happened?!"

____________________________
LOCATION: Open Fields

The earth trembled. Redmaw was in a field of unknown territory. It appeared frozen for a while. The Corruptor beneath its foot twitched just a little, trying to free itself from Redmaw's claws, but to no avail. After about two minutes, Redmaw seemingly came to life again, and looked at the Corruptor beneath it- almost as if it were taking pity- but ultimately crushed the machine with little effort.

It had genuinely no idea what just happened to it. The sudden shift in location made its mind short-circuit. The tendrils of smoke still hung around it, remnants of the Corruptor that tried to install some kind of virus into its mind.

In which it succeeded.

One word coursed through Redmaw's datalogs: Eclipse.

Eclipse.

Eclipse.

There were no Eclipse, though.

There was nobody.

Redmaw was alone.

Its eyes turned back blue. It was ready to go on patrol again. The beast started to mindlessly roam around, maybe lost in whatever counts as its thoughts. The flags on the spears stuck in its neck waved faintly in the gentle breeze. It was… peaceful. There were no threats. There was no danger. The onslaught of humans, and their alien machines, was gone.

Aside from, perhaps, some noise in the distance. Having no current goal, Redmaw decided to check out where the noise was coming from. In the distance, it saw a large machine. Not a machine that Redmaw could connect to, that much was clear. It headed towards the bipedal robot, and noticed that it appeared to be involved in a brawl. Fighting it… were humans. Humanoids?

Humans…

Humanoids…

ECLIPSE?

Mentions: Ash - @Eviledd1984, KITT - @Atlantic

Having been completely unable to make head or tail of the multitude of unmarked buttons embedded in the terminal she'd examined - and presuming that trying to 'trial and error' them was a Very Bad Idea - Rarity's scrutiny and train of thought were thrown by the newest arrival to the station. Glancing over, the pony privately admitted that, clearly-mechanical hand aside, the man was ... 'unique'.

Ash seemed to leave his half-muttered question hanging for the moment as he examined KITT. Rarity plopped back onto all fours again and trotted up to Ash, ensuring that she approached him from the front to avoid startling him.

"A question, my dear," Rarity started, holding herself aloof as she stopped before Ash. "I'm sure we're all trying to answer." She extended a forehoof to Ash, bowing her head slightly in greeting. "But forgive my rudeness; the name's Rarity. Or, if you're wanting to be formal, 'Miss Rarity' or 'Miss' will do fine."


While those stranded occupants of the Engine who had come to the Med Bay saw to their own treatment, a secluded part of the infirmary further back held a far more unusual - and terrifying - find. A squat sarcophagus, hewn out of obsidian and carved with runes in a long-dead tongue, sat amid a tangle of crunched bed framing and cast-about machinery; the flecks of carbon around its base seeming to indicate that the coffin had not been an original part of the facility or had been taken in by ordinary means.

But it was not the coffin that would instill in any finder of it dread - but the lack of its lid and the armoured form of the man inside.

The individual that lay in the recess was clad helmet-to-sabatons in a futuristic battle armour, coloured in military-green and unmarked, save for a mysterious rune above the helm's HUD visor. At his belt was the menacing iron-like form of a sword's grip and blade=guard; the blade itself seemed nowhere to found and it lacked a scabbard, but the emblem in the guard repeated the same runic device. A glance at the man's left vambrace would allow the viewer to make out what looked like a spring-loaded blade, as long as a desk ruler, and sharpened to a gleaming shine. Finally, two longarms were locked in place to the man's left and right. It was if the man had been entombed within, but dressed and given all the accruements and tools of a soldier.

As if he had been readied to fight again at a moment's notice.

The man's eyelids, closed and concealed behind the severe tint of his helmet's visor, began to flicker ...