Oblivious: Aberdeen (OPEN)

[Pink Moon Wolf]

There exists an innumerable, possibly even infinite amount of different and unique universes within the multiverse. These universes each contain their own worlds, their own species, their own physical laws and constants, their own states of existence governed by their unique forms of space, time, matter and energy. All are connected by an endless network within the void that separates them. Within this void, everything and nothing coexists. Within this void, worlds are born, worlds thrive, worlds die. All things come from the void, and when their time comes, all things return to the void.

At the center of this void is a small world known as Dimensional Island. Created by the chaotic flow of space, time, matter and energy, shaped by the worlds that surround it and the people who have crossed the void and made this land their home. It is the culmination of all existence. The heart of the multiverse.

In the southernmost region of Dimensional Island, a rainforest grows. A diverse, tropical terrain teeming with strange flora and fauna of every shape and size. Somewhere deep in this jungle, residents have built a civilization amongst the treetops. An entire city of tree houses and bridges entangled amongst the canopy.

And in this immense city in the trees, there lives a girl.

Her name is Aberdeen.

Juno Aberdeen.



In the upstairs bedroom of her and her roommate's tree house, Juno groggily opened her eyes and threw her covers off. The noontime sunshine gleaming through her window burned her raw corneas, but she did her best to ignore it and halfheartedly pick herself up. When she tried to roll out of bed, still lethargic from her prolonged rest, she clumsily toppled to the floor and wound up slumped upside-down against the mattress, her head craned and her tangled mess of brown hair strewn about in all directions.

Juno sighed and gazed into the mirror directly in front of her. A new day had begun. She could only imagine what fresh hell awaited her.

"I've been tryin' real hard t... to realize"

She turned slightly so that she could lay flat on the floor and stare at the ceiling.

"But some things take a long, long... long, long time"

Her attention shifted to the space beneath the bed. "A long time"

Quickly finding the proper energy, Juno reached under her bed and pulled out a pair of ripped jeans. Chances are they had been lying there for days, maybe even weeks, but that didn't matter the slightest bit to her as she threw them on, followed by her socks and shoes, leaving on the same striped shirt had slept in.

"Hold the phone, hit repeat
Got me foamin' at the knees
Saw the flame, tasted sin
You burned me once again
Cut the cord, she's a creep"

Once fully dressed, Juno stood up and looked in the mirror once again. She didn't bother with her hair, teeth, face, or really anything else regarding personal hygiene. She simply glared at the short, messy fourteen-year-old that the mirror reflected back at her and reminded that girl who she was.

"ABERDEEEEEEEEN!
WAY BACK! WAY BACK! WAY BACK!"

Ready as she ever would be to face the world again, Juno noisily trotted downstairs and into the kitchen, where her roommate was fixing his lunch. She didn't speak as she opened the cupboard, glaring at the vacant spot where her Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs cereal was supposed to be. And there was no way in hell was she starting her day without her Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs!

"Ugh. Alfie, I'm gonna go get more cereal."

"You do that." Having long since learned that there was no arguing with this girl, Alfie minded his own business as Juno made a swift exit from the tree house. Although, as he watched her go, he couldn't help but muse...

"Never saw my dark side in... in your eyes
Back and forth bloody fingers paintin' up the sky"

Alfie chuckled once. "The sky"

Beyond their little house, Juno briskly stormed through Canopy City, walking past several residents who were already well into their daily grind. Many of them looked up as Juno passed them by without even the slightest acknowledgement.

That girl... That girl who had been nothing but trouble ever since her arrival three months ago.

"Hold the phone, hit repeat"

"Got me foamin' at the knees"

"Saw the flame, tasted sin"

"You burned me once again"

"Cut the cord, she's a creep"

"ABERDEEEEEEEEN!"

"WAY BACK!"

"WAY BACK!"

"WAY BACK!"

[ParamountKeymaster]

High above Canopy City, an angel could be seen making his descent. He swooped down into the trees, landing next to a familiar tree house, then he circled around to the kitchen window, peering inside at the house's owner.

"Alfie." Despite carrying his usual level-headed demeanor, there was a strange sort of urgency in Rhys's voice. "Is Juno awake yet?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

With a mouthful of sandwich in one cheek, Alfie peered out the window and replied, "Just missed her, buddy. She headed out to get some more of that cereal she likes. You'd probably still be able to catch her."

[ParamountKeymaster]

Rhys frowned and shook a fist in frustration before hearing Alfie's final remark. "Right. Hopefully she'll hear me out. Thank you." He then took off, flying out into the nearest hub.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Alfie nodded and watched Rhys go, questioning what could have possibly gotten the calm, cool angel as worked up as he clearly was. What did he need to tell Juno? What did she have to do with anything? Just what was going on?

Curiosity winning him over, Alfie dropped his sandwich, bolted out the door and chased after Rhys. "HEY WAIT FOR ME!!"

Meanwhile, Juno descended one of the many ladders that led to the rainforest floor. Even disregarding the fact that she was usually in a foul mood (and her lack of breakfast), she seemed particularly angry as she navigated through the trees, evidenced by her heavy footsteps, rough handling of the foliage she stepped through, and repetition of the harsh words that seemed to be the theme song to her life.

"Hold the phone, hit repeat
Got me foamin' at the knees
Saw the flame, tasted sin
You burned me once again
Cut the cord, she's a creep"

Then, something drove her to stop in her tracks, throw her head up and scream to the heavens...

"ABERDEEEEEEEEN!
ABERDEEEEEEEEN!"

Her shouting possibly could've been heard for miles. It at least seemed like that as Alfie started catching up to her. "Oh boy..."

With her rage reaching its boiling point, Juno swung about in random directions, tearing up whatever plant life she could get her hands on.

"WAY BACK! WAY BACK! WAY BACK!"

The forest was spinning. Her head was pounding. Everything converged into a single green blur. The emotional explosion dies as Juno stumbled about and ultimately fell to her knees.

"WAY BACK! WAY back! Way back! Way back...!"

She pounded the ground, her punches steadily growing weaker until she simply planted her fist in the grass.

"Way back... Way back... Way back... Way back... Way back... Way back... Way back... Way back... Way back... Way back... Way back... Way back..."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Juno!" Midway through her tantrum, Rhys swopped down and leaned over Juno, gently grabbing her in an attempt at calming her down. "Juno, stop! It's okay... Calm down..."

This was nothing new. He had seen Juno in this state many times before. He had seen her throw fits powerful enough to bring her to her knees and leave her in a crumpled, emotional wreck. And just like all those other times, Rhys did his part to help her with a much-needed mental boost.

His hands lit up in tiny sparkles of white, creating a brief, soft glow around Juno. A Spirit spell, powered by the elusive White Dust, which would hopefully bring her back to a much more positive state.

"You're okay, Juno... Everything is okay..."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Juno panted heavily as all the steam inside her escaped, letting out a series of near-insane mumbles in between. The touch of Rhys's White Dust did eventually work its way into her psyche, calming her down to the point where she fell completely silent.

Alfie cautiously approached her, placing his paw on her hand. "Hey. You alright there, June Bug?"

It took Juno a moment to answer. When she finally did, it was nothing more or less than anyone would expect. "Eh."

"Come on, now, what's wrong?"

After turning around to sit in the grass, Juno answered in a low murmur, "I had that dream again."

"What dream?"

"That dream! Y-You know!"

Alfie raised an eyebrow. "No, I don't know. That's why I'm asking you."

Juno sighed and rubbed her temples. "Never mind. Rhys... W-What're you doing here?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Ah. Yes." Rhys rubbed his hands together, hesitating for a moment. Even after using the Spirit spell on Juno, he was wary of just how she would take the news he was about to give her. Once he was ready to face the music, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little glass case with a small, multi-colored stone inside. "I found this out west just last night."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Alfie leaned in for a closer look simply to admire how pretty the stone was, but otherwise said nothing. Juno stared blankly at the stone, then she smiled and shot the angel a thumbs up. "That's great, Rhys. Now why the hell should I care?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"This is Dust, Juno," Rhys sternly explained. "Physical, solidified Dust. And this is just one of many stones that had landed and scattered in the desert."

As if to indulge Alfie's fondness for it, Rhys handed the glass-encased stone to him and continued, "Given that these stones contain a balance of all five Dust colors, I theorize that they are fragments of a lost world that had been drawn to the center of the void. Do you know what this means?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

At the mention of Dust, Juno tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. AT the very least, she was on the same page as Rhys, but he was still getting ahead of her. "Uh, no. I don't know what it means. That's why I asked you."

"Well, on one hand, we could potentially have more sources of Dust at our disposal," Alfie pondered, eyes never trailing away from the stone in his paws. "But I don't wanna sound selfish. It is possible these are pieces of another world that... you-know-who wiped out. And if he follows the Dust trail here..."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Precisely." Rhys nodded to Alfie. "I've suspected this from the very beginning. The presence of Dust, even the tiniest bit, is almost guaranteed to draw Kalon's attention. At first I was simply concerned about our own Dust, but now... for some reason, Dimensional Island has drawn in the remnants of a Dust-producing world. And given that this island is at the center of the multiverse, who knows what would happen if he came and destroyed it?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Okay, stop asking questions I don't know the answer to," Juno flatly demanded.

"He kinda has a point," Alfie offered, looking up at Juno. "I mean, this island seems to be the default go-to when dimension-hopping. He could find us fairly easily."

"Pfft." Juno folded her arms and turned away. "This island is small fry. That dickhole's not gonna waste his time coming after one little world just for a few pieces of Dust."

Alfie lowered his ears and eyelids. "Let's not kid ourselves here. You're dodging reality again, June Bug."

"You're gonna need to start dodging my foot, Alfie."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Juno..." Rhys calmly spoke. "Kalon is still out there. For all we know, he could be laying waste to another world as we speak. Once he's consumed every Dust-producing world out there, he'll come here to pick off the remnants, and God only knows what will happen once all the Dust in the multiverse is his to command."

He stepped closer. "Someone has to stop him, for the sake of all existence. And this island may house the perfect army to finally do it."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Oh sure, that's a GREAT idea, Rhys!" Juno spat, whipping around to scowl at the angel. "Why don't I just go door-to-door and say, 'Hey, uh, there's this demon guy who ate my home world and I need you to help me kill him. I mean, he might've destroyed entire worlds and wiped out entire armies, but I'm sure we can beat him with EVEN LESS PEOPLE ON AN EVEN SMALLER PLAYING FIELD!'"

Alfie blinked, a bit blown away by Juno's outburst. Then he meekly offered, "Well, the power of one, right?"

"SHUT THE F*** UP, ALFIE!!"