Zero

[gantzgun74]

Lea looked to the young boy, her ears twitching... But that didn't tip her off that something was wrong... No. It was when her pom-pom (The little red ball on the end of her antennae) twitched that she knew she would have to REALLY proceed with caution. This boy just didn't... FEEL right.

"I must admit young man, that I have not seen anything of the sort." She chuckled awkwardly. "I will admit that my last visit to the local village near the foot of the mountain was... A bit more then a week ago kupo."

Now that Zero thought about it, he started to notice. Lea's clothes were notably dusty. A few patches of it was covered in grease that probably dried not too long ago. Her fur also looked a tad musty and unkempt, though there was thankfully no stench or odor to her.

"I HAD been meaning to go back down and make my rounds, kupo... But... I figured I'd stick around and see if I could get Giruveganus here working..." She pat the ship. "No such luck I'm afraid. I was JUST about to leave for town when I met miss Kaitlin." After a sucond she shrugged. "I do apologize. Sorry I couldn't be of any help..."

She could tell that that wasn't the answer Zero was looking for. Her mind raced a moment, her eyes looking to Kaitlin before returning to Zero. "BUT, kupo." She pointed down the hiking trail. "Mayhaps you could find a hint or two of what your looking for at Bonsai Village Kupo? It's an hour or so hike, but there's more people there you could ask kupo." Anyone that saw this WOULD have probably booed Lea's decision to tell him this, but at this time, she was just concerned with the safety of the civilian in question...

[doctorzero]

Zero gritted his teeth. Of COURSE these people wouldn't be of any help. Why, oh why am I not surprised?
Kaitlin fought to remain calm as Zero and Lea addressed each other. Whoever this guy was, something about him was setting off alarm bells in her head. I swear to God, this creep had better not--
"Well then," Zero said out loud, breaking her train of thought, "I'm glad for the help you could give me." His tone was laced with sarcasm. "If that's the case, then you'll just have to excuse me--"
Kaitlin reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder just as he was about to walk off. "Now wait just one minute, pal!" She had just had ENOUGH of this nonsense. "Who are you?! And where'd you get that thing on your arm?!"
It happened before they could react--Zero grabbed Kaitlin and flipped her over him, driving her into the ground. Pinning her with his elbow, he said calmly, "Like I said, none of your business. Keep out of my way and you might just live another day." He stood up and dusted off his coat. "Now, if you will excuse me."
And with that he walked off, disappearing through the trees.
Kaitlin got up shakily. "Ow ow ow ow OW...who the HECK does that guy think he is?!"
Meanwhile, her mind was racing. He mentioned Crystal Room thugs...guess those guys are here too. What the heck would they want here anyway?

---

Meanwhile, the orb of light was quickly leading Otto, Wally and Rin towards the downed airship. They would be there in a matter of minutes.

---

Kaitlin sat down in front of the hatch next to Lea, brushing off her attempts to help her. "I'm FINE, he didn't hurt me that much. Darn creep just caught me off guard, that's all."
She took note of her current situation. All right, I'm on some mountain, God knows where Jaron and Max are, Kavma's loose on the island, Princess is probably on the rampage--why she's even here, I'll never know...and Alex is here too.
She thought for a moment. ...It makes sense. Jaron probably ran into Alex when he got here ahead of us. Knowing him, he'd be sticking to him like glue right now, he liked the guy so much. But Alex is a regular trouble magnet wherever Kavma' concerned. Is that why he lured us here? Because of Alex?
...
Right, that reminds me...
"Hey, Lea...you said you were from Ivalice. It's a bit of a stretch asking, but did you ever hear of anyone called Al--er, Gantz?"
The odds of Lea hearing about Gantz was highly unlikely, Kaitlin knew, but it was better than nothing.

[gantzgun74]

With Otto, Wally and Rin-Rin, they continued chasing after the light running as fast as they could go. "Where is this thing taking us?" Otto wondered as they ran.

----------------------------------------------------------

....... COMPLETELY unlike what Kaitlin had thought would be the response, Lea's face brightened and she smiled widely. "Do I know Gantz, she says! Heheheheheh, kupo-po!!" She laughed a bit. "Of course I know Gantz! He and I are compadres, he and I! I'm his clan, Clan Highwind!" She held up a fist to her chest. "Clan Highwind! Monster-hunters, bounty hunters, head-hunters, Errand boys. Just about anything you want done, we can do it kupo!"

[doctorzero]

Kaitlin stared at her, flabbergasted. "Wha-whoa whoa whoa wait. Clan Highwind? Gantz is part of a CLAN?! Are you serious?! When was this?!"
What the heck has that guy been DOING over the past two years?! Kaitlin thought. I mean, sure, we all knew that Alex could get by by himself, but a clan?! And what are the odds of a friend of his just winding up on this island? She put it aside. There were more pressing matters to discuss.
"Well, anyway, when did you see him last?" she asked.
It was right then another thought crossed her mind.
"Oh, and...did he ever mention anyone named Jaron?"
And it was RIGHT THEN that the orb--followed by Wally, Otto, and Rin--entered the clearing.

[gantzgun74]

Lea was JUST about to answer when Otto and the others ran in...

"Huff... Huff... Where'd that ball of light go??" Otto groaned after a moment. "Sweet YIN. If it wanted us to follow it, you'd think it'd go slower then this..."

Wally however took notice of something. "Uh... Guys?"

He pointed straight to Kaitlin, the Giruveganus and Lea...

The last of which only smiling more at the sight of them. "MY WORD!! Otto!! What a great pleasure seeing you here!" She walked over to the young man. "Look at you! So you survived after all!" She jumped up and took Otto's hand. "Seeing you again is such a treat! Such a treat indeed kupo!" Otto was a bit shaken up once Lea got finished. "And Wally!! You're here too!! Awww, kupo-kupo! Adorable as always!" She flapped her wings and jumped up to pinch the boy's cheeks.

"U-eee-aaaah-meeeeeh-oooooh-?!?" He blubbered, unable to make a, say, NORMAL grunt of confusion with Lea playing around with his face.

Rin Rin could only look on and laugh. "Oh! Friend of yours from this side boys?"

Shaking off Lea's previous handshake, Otto recovered quickly. "... I know this is the first time I've ever met this... Woman..." At least... He THOUGHT it was a woman...

By that time, Lea got done playing around with Wally, and lowered herself down, smiling widely. Her ears and whiskers seemed to twitch excitedly. "Oh I'm so sorry boys! But I'm just really excited!! It's been months since I've last seen a familiar face kupo!!"

....................................... Otto FINALLY appeared to catch on to what was going on and suddenly looked... Uncomfortable.

[doctorzero]

As Lea flabbergasted and bamboozled the two, Kaitlin looked on with an expression of total surprise and befuddlement.
...
"Well."
Everything stopped at that word. Kaitlin walked over to Otto, staring at him eye-for-eye.
She grinned. "It's just one thing after another today, isn't it?" She took Otto's hand and shook it, being much more gentle than Lea had been. "Haven't seen you two in weeks. How've you been, Otto, Wally? Still up to your shenanigans? What're you two doing here? I didn't know you guys knew Lea, too."
FINALLY, familiar faces! She thought. Don't know what Wally and Otto are doing here, but It's always nice to see them. I just wish that Max and Jaron were here...
Meanwhile, the sphere had ducked behind Rin, unnoticed by Kaitlin.

---

The guard's neck snapped at Zero twisted his body. Throwing the corpse to the ground, he continued through the trees as a building came into view.

[gantzgun74]

....... Oh great... There were TWO people here who didn't know the whole story... There were two people here who knew the 'other him'...

Great... Looks like he had a LOT of explaining to do...

Rin-Rin likely noticed Otto's groan and put a hand on his arm to comfort him.............. Likely freaking out both Lea and Kaitlin. Neither were fools. They knew that Otto had a girlfriend in Misty...

Didn't they?

"Look... Apparently there's a few things that need to be explained... If you ran into Gantz, he would've told ya, but-"

"Y-YOU-!!"

Otto was cut off mid-sentence when he turned to see, much to his fear, Misty flying up. She was followed by Metal Sonic and Max.....

And just when you think that this scene couldn't get ANYMORE confusing...

[doctorzero]

Kaitlin was more that baffled by Rin's action. And what was with Otto? "Is something the ma--"
"KAITLIN!"
Kaitlin spun around to see Metal, Misty and Max entering the clearing. "What the--Max?! MAX!"
Kaitlin, Max and Buizel ran to each other, Max and his pokemon grabbing Kaitlin in a big hug. "Oh, thank Arceus, you're alive, I thought..."
"Hey, hey! It's all right!" Max let go of her. "Sorry to worry you, Max. Wait, where's Jaron?"
Max shook his head. "He's with Gantz. Geez, there's so much I have to tell you..."
"Tell me about it, but that can wait. Look who's here!" Kaitlin jammed her thumb towards Wally and Otto. Max's eyes widened into dinner plates.
"Wally and--OTTO!!!" Max laughed, relieved. "What are you doing here? See, Misty! I told you he wasn't dead!"
"Well, obviously, guy's like a tank," Kaitlin chuckled.
...
...
...
...
...
"WAIT, WHAT?!"
This loud outburst caused the sphere to jump in shock, grabbing everyone's attention. Upon realizing it was being noticed, it zoomed behind a tree, shaking.

---

"AAAGGhH..."
Zero slammed the unfortunate man against the wall. "What's the code?!"
"Eat sh*t and die!" The man gasped.
There was a crack as Zero broke the man's spine and threw him aside. He slammed the keypad next to the door, annoyed. "Come ON, the code can't be that complicated..."
...
"Screw it."
One loud explosion later, the door fell of its hinges as Zero walked into the bunker, surprising all of the men inside.
"Knock knock."

[gantzgun74]

....................

For a long time, no-one said anything...

"What... What in the kupo was THAT???" Lea asked completely in disbelief.

Otto had WANTED to get this whole misunderstanding all taken care of, but seeing the orb again caught his attention. "We..." He cleared his throat. "We followed that sphere to this position." Otto said to almost the entire group... "Don't know what the hell to make of it..."

Metal immediately scanned the object in question. "Hmmm..." Using his scanners, he picked up the light's energy, even from behind the tree... "Give me a second, and I'll be able to tell you exactly what it is."

Misty landed on the ground a second later... A frown appeared on her face. While the others decided to keep back and watch...

Her approach was a bit more forward...

She turned into her mist form and sneakily circled around the tree to try and take a good look at it. "The hell is that thing?"

Rin-Rin, completely unused to experiences such as this, just watched on in fascination. "Otto, what's going on?" Otto just shrugged.

[doctorzero]

"Okay, TIME OUT!" Kaitlin yelled. "What the HECK is going on?! What do you mean by Otto being dead?! Why are you two here?! And for the love of God WHAT'S WITH THE LIGHTBULB?!"
SPLOOOOOOSH!
For those who haven't a clue what just happened, Kaitlin had just been sprayed by Buizel's Whirlpool.
"...Sorry."
"None taken."
"Listen, Kaitlin," Max began, "I know you're confused--believe me, I sure am--but we just have to be patient, all right? We can't just go and panic."
Kaitlin wiped the water off her face. "Always the voice of reason," she muttered, smiling. "But yeah, you're right. Let's deal with the matter at hand, THEN we can sort out all this nonsense." She gestured toward the sphere. "Lea's right, though, what IS that?"
"Who?"
"The moogle. Friend of Alex."
"Seriously?! And, uh, don't you mean Ga--"
"Max, I already told you a hundred times, that name is silly and I refuse to use it."
As Misty approached the sphere, it seemed to notice her prescence and fly over to Kaitlin, hiding behind her and shaking.
"What the--" Kaitlin jumped back from it, glaring. "Stay away from me, you...whatever you are."
Max gazed at it curiously. "...Hey, doesn't it seem familiar to you almost?" he asked Kaitlin, edging toward the thing so he could try to poke it.
Kaitlin looked at the sphere. "...Now that you mention it...yeah, I think so. I mean, it feels like we've been around this thing, but I've never actually seen it before..."

---

The head of security was sent sprawling against the the control board as total bedlam reigned in the bunker. He grabbed the microphone and screamed into it, not caring who he contacted. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! SEND--"
Jihl's voice burst from the speaker. "Now is not the time!" There was an audible click as she hung up.
Five seconds later, the man was pinned against the panel, four amber blades pointed at his head. "Now, let's try to discuss this in a calm and civilized manner," Zero said nonchalantly. "Tell me where Kavma is."
The man burst into sweat. "I-I don't know where he is, honest to God..."
"Please don't waste my time," Zero sighed. "I know you Crystal Room people are so fanatically loyal to that freak, so tell me where he is. Now." His grip tightened.
"I don't know where he is!" the man insisted.
"You really going to stick with that response?" Zero asked, sounding bored. "At least tell me where he might be. I'm sure you can scrape up some brain cells to accomplish that."
The man's mind raced. "He...he may be going to the Heart Temple underground," he lied. "It's the core of the island...he believed there was something of great importance there!"
It was total crock, of course--Kavma had shown absolutely zero interest in the temple when they had arrived, and he had no reason to go down there, as far as the security head knew. But he wasn't going to go and tell Zero that.
Zero contemplated this. "...Fine." He punched the man in the head and threw the K.O.ed victim aside. "Just pray that you aren't lying like everyone else. Now, let's see what we have here..." He proceeded to access the monitor, mumbling to himself.

[gantzgun74]

".... The hell?"

Metal tried scanning the thing again as it floated over to Kaitlin to hide.... That scan was about as successful as the last one. "What in the world-" He tried again... Same result.

What... WAS This thing?

Seeing it ran away, Misty reappeared and became human once more. "What is that thing though? That's the question here..."

Rin-Rin took in the light a moment, thinking to herself... Slowly she approached Kaitlin and the light... "Guys?" She looked to everyone present. "I think this thing is... Alive."

Looking more then surprised at this, Wally widened his eyes. "Alive?!?"

............... "OH... My... WORD!!! How FASCINATING!!" Temporarily forgetting how screwed over this scene seemed for a few people, Lea immediately got excited and curious at what was going on. "Well what is it then!? Is it some sort of sprite??"

As she said this, Rin-Rin held out a hand. "Hey... Hey there little guy. Don't be scared." Rin-Rin held out a hand to it. Really, Rin-Rin may have been the gruff sort, but she knew when she needed to be gentle.

[doctorzero]

"Alive?" Buizel scoffed. "It looks more like a glorified lightbulb to me."
The 'glorified lightbulb' in question drifted towards Rin a little, allowing her hand to make contact. It was warm to the touch. Rin could hear an audible hum coming from it.

"Lea, calm down," said Kaitlin. "I don't care WHAT it is or WHY it's here. What I want to know is what's going on. First of all," she walked over to Wally and poked him in the chest. "What are you and Otto doing here, anyway? You guys were doing just fine in Toon Town when we saw you last month. Did Lucas call you guys and tell you what happened? Because if he did, I'm flattered, but--"
"Kaitlin?"
"What?" Kaitlin glanced at Max, who was looking rather perturbed.
"Um, I don't think they're here because of Lucas."
"What do you mean? There's no way that this can be a coincidence--"
"Wally, what was the name of the fortune teller you went to with Lucas before you met us in Toon Town?" The question came right out of nowhere. Max was staring at Wally, expecting an answer. He had a hunch, and if he was right...

---

Now, Zero wasn't what you would call technologically inclined, but he had a basic understanding of computers and knew when to apply 'accessible maintenance.'
AKA punch the damn thing until it brought up what he wanted.
"God DAMN piece of junk!"
Finally, part of the screen lit up. He read the text, frowning. "...Nightmare relocated to Sector Nine, Industrial Park..." He noted the picture. "That's the same hunk of metal I saw on the ship. Hm..."

[gantzgun74]

Kaitlin likely turned to Wally after Max said that. Both knew the answer to that question; Madame Koap. The teenage girl that defied everyone's description on what a fortune teller was; Girly, a laugh and a half, outgoing, and generally social...

...... Kaitlin did NOT like how long Wally was taking to answer this question. He should know the answer; he had met Koap. They were good friends! Hell they even DATED some time ago (Though they were broken off after a few months)...

FINALLY Wally looked to Max confused. "Kid... I'm sorry..." Understanding came...

"I'm not the Wally you know mate."

........................ Otto sighed and joined him. "Yeah..." He looked to Kaitlin and an ever confused Lea. "That's... What I was trying to tell you earlier..."

Misty stepped in after a second... "I'm... Sorry Max... To be honest, I kinda hoped we could avoid this..." She sighed. "Max... This is Otto Shinryu. He's a good friend of ours..." .... She looked down. "But... He isn't OUR Otto... Or MY Otto..."

The Otto she had lost.

"Think of it this way mates..." Wally took a breath. "Gantz explained it to me like this. You see, try ta imagine that there's more then one Otto and even me throughout the entire multiverse. There's literally thousands of people that are the us you know in a sense, but isn't... Putting it simply, we're a different Wally and Otto."

Rin-Rin decided to walk in upon hearing this. "I heard this story myself... See. These two come from my home; Arcadia Valley. Which is just on the other side of this mountain range." She pointed further up the mountain trail. She bowed her head a bit, as if she suddenly realized something. "I am Rin-Rin Unimaru by the way... And... I'm this Otto's student and fiance."

Misty briefly took in Rin-Rin, this being the first time she had ever seen the girl... And she sighed, Rin-Rin was indeed a pretty young face, and Misty could tell the girl could be tough as nails. That definately fit Otto's type.

[doctorzero]

Now, Kaitlin, Max, their Pokemon, and Jaron (By extension) had seen, heard, and on occasion, done some crazy things in the past. Such things could be classified in two categories: Bizarre Yet Manageable and Total Mindf*ck.
This fell under Mindf*ck.
"What?!"
"Wait, WAIT! You guys--" Max gestured at Wally and Otto, totally mind-blown. "From another universe?! And--fiance?! How did--I--HUH?!"
Kaitlin, however, stayed eerily calm during Max's outburst. When he had finished, she said calmly, "Pardon me for a minute." She retreated behind the downed airship.
...
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"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! I THOUGHT WE WERE DONE WITH THIS ALTERNATE UNIVERSE GARBAGE! RIGHT! THAT'S IT! THE GLOVES ARE OFF, KAVMA! YOU WANT SOME OF THIS!? COME AND SMITE ME, O MIGHTY SMITER!! WHAT'S WRONG, SCARED?! TERRIFIED TO COME OUT WITHOUT ALL OF YOUR FANCY WEAPONS AND MOOKS?! ANSWER ME!!!!!!"
Max and Buizel winced at her outburst. "Geez...guess she's really upset...."
"Bui..."
Max turned to Misty, confused. "But...that doesn't explain why...I mean, Otto and Wally were alive when we saw them, and that was last month! So why--"
Kaitlin came out from behind the ship. "Okay, I'm calm. And what was that about Otto being dead?"
Before Misty could stop him, Max pointed at her, saying, "When we were at the station, Misty told me that Otto had died a few months ago..."
"That makes no sense," Kaitlin interrupted. "Unless we hung out with a couple of zombies, then I don't see why they would be dead. And for that matter," she pointed at Misty. "Why would you say that? You were there, too, weren't you? I mean, sure, you had to go leave and deal with something before the others met you, but you were there. I saw you. Heck, we sparred with each other. You even had a lovey-dovey moment with Otto before you left--and let the record show that this will be the one and only time I will say 'Otto' and 'Lovey-dovey' in the same sentence. Start explaining, girl. Oh, and while we're on the subject--" She walked forward and grabbed Misty by the collar, bringing her close. And Let me assure you that MOST people would be mauled if they attempted this with her. "I want to know where Jaron is, why ALEX is here--"
"Kaitlin--"
"--and, needless to say, what the HECK was going on before we got here."
"Kaitlin--"
"START TALKING before I beat you into the ground a second time!"
"KAITLIN!"
"WHAT, Max?!" Kaitlin turned to him, incensed. Max wordlessly pointed at the sphere, which was flying through the trees and out of sight.

[gantzgun74]

Misty growled angrily at Kaitlin, as she held her up by her shirt collar. "Put me down, Kait. You don't wanna push me."

"SHUT UP!!! BOTH OF YOU!!!!"

A blast of kii that hit like an impact attack seperated both Misty and Kaitlin... And from where they stood?

Rin-Rin stood, her fists smoking from the kii usage. "Listen!! First off, fighting each other isn't going to answer ANYTHING. Besides look what you just did!" She pointed to the retreating light. It was just starting to get comfortable too, and you had to scare it off!!"

Otto looked to the pissy looking Kaitlin with a deep frown on his face. "Okay, listen here miss. I don't know what your problem is. But Misty speaks the truth." Kaitlin was JUST about to yell when, "Do you wanna know what she was did when she first came to this island? She mourned for the other Otto's death... For days." Shakes his head. "I even saw a sample of it... You can't fake emotion like that."

"But it still doesn't answer the question on how this is possible." Metal said, throwing reason in the near chaos. "As far as we know, Kaitlin and Max saw Otto and Wally, the other ones, a month or so ago... And Misty's claiming that her Otto and the Wally respectively almost two months ago..." His metal finger rubbed his metal chin... "There's no logical way that BOTH stories can be true... Right?"