05-03-2016, 06:41 PM
There was a flash of light, and the next thing Matrix knew, he was standing in the basement of his Cinnabar home. He’d finally gotten a breather after assisting his new friends with the bandits that plagued the Endless Dunes. They had left to further their goal, but he’d taken the first moments he’d had to rest and activated the recall beacon in his cybernetic eye. After a short wait in the middle of the destroyed bandit camp, he’d been whisked away.
He was pleased to see that such a contraption had actually worked. He stood on one of several pads, right next to the Dataverse uplink pod he’d left this place in. What a journey it had been. He stepped down from the recovery point of his recall station, and walked through the basement. He wasted no time ascending the stairs to the main level his home, and opened the door that led to the hallway. Just as soon as he exited the staircase, he hit the button on the wall that caused the hidden door behind him to close and blend right back in.
He walked to the doorway of the kitchen, where he saw AndrAIa standing with her back to him. She was gazing out at their view of the wooded descent that led to the river. Matrix smiled and crossed his arms as he looked at her. It only took a second for AndrAIa to spin around, having sensed the arrival of someone else. A look of joy and relief washed over her face when she saw her long lost boyfriend.
“Enzo!” AndrAIa screamed in bliss, rushing to him and embracing him in a tight hug, that he was happy to return. She brought her mouth to his, and they shared a quick, but powerful kiss as well. Afterwards, she resumed the hug, resting her head on his shoulder. “I was so worried.”
“Sorry about that,” Matrix tried to be calm, but his heart was racing, too. It was good to be back.
They separated, and decided to move to a place a bit more comfortable than the stuffy doorway. Matrix took a seat at a barstool by their kitchen’s island. AndrAIa took a standing position across from him, leaning onto the island as she did.
“What happened?” AndrAIa was quick to ask, as the last she’d seen him, he’d vanished from the Databanks right before her. “I got your email, but something else came up, I couldn’t even get off the island to come meet you.”
“Probably just as well,” Matrix said. “Some monster emerged in the Nexus, so it wasn’t a good idea to travel through it.”
“You got taken back to the Nexus?” AndrAIa asked, tilting her head.
“Not exactly,” Matrix tried to explain what had happened. “I guess what happened was the Omniverse’s version of a game. I got taken from the Databanks to some ‘verse that’s normally inaccessible, and alongside other primes from all over I had to help free some spirit. Afterwards, they sent me to the Nexus. I went to the Dunes to get away from the aftermath, then recalled here once I got a moment’s breath.”
“You left a potential fight?” AndrAIa found the amusement in that, especially now that she knew he was safe.
“This is a strange place,” Matrix reflected on his choice. “I couldn’t tell the good guys from the bad. I already didn’t want to take the wrong side, then this creature emerged from several primes fusing. Sort of like Gigabyte, when we were younger.”
AndrAIa nodded, understanding thanks to that analogy. “What a ride. I’m proud of you for not thinking with your weapon first. But what about that ‘verse? No one, not even in the Databanks, knew what happened.”
“I’m not sure I do, either,” Matrix shrugged. “I’ll have to ask Mewtwo next time I see him. He’s been here much longer, so he might know something about why that happened.”
AndrAIa continued to nod in agreement. For now, the events would just have to be part of the mystery of this world. They might have to be content with never finding out why such an odd thing had occurred.
“I know one thing, though, we’ve been going about this all wrong,” Matrix suddenly spoke up, and AndrAIa’s look shifted to one of confusion.
“What do you mean?” she asked, almost hesitantly.
“I met a man in the Endless Dunes. He was from a land sort of like that ‘verse, and he was fighting the bandits there, just like he did before arriving in the Omniverse,” Matrix explained. A warm smile began to creep onto AndrAIa’s face as she listened to him. “When we traveled through the games, we left every system we came to in better shape than when we arrived. We used our skills for the good of everyone. Ever since we arrived here, we’ve been ignoring problems and searching for our own way out.”
AndrAIa was smiling wide, by now. Matrix’s words were music to her ears.
Matrix continued, fiercely inspired, now. “We’re stuck here, just like everyone else. The difference is we have the ability to make this place better, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Starting now, we’re working to better this system, just like all the others.”
AndrAIa leaned across the counter and gave Matrix another quick kiss on the lips. He looked at her in surprise as she pulled back, still smiling.
“Welcome back. I was hoping you’d say something like that,” she said.
“Oh?” Matrix asked in response. There was clearly something on her mind that had given her a similar train of thought. “What’s wrong?”
“Coal’s missing,” AndrAIa responded, her grin disappearing as she said it.
Matrix remembered Coal, the overeager Charmander with a hero complex they’d rescued from Isla Nublar. Alongside his friends Zlick, the Jawa, and Kero, the Tonberry, he’d wanted to be some kind of superhero. Matrix had to admit, he saw a lot of his younger self in the young Pokemon, as hard as it was to swallow that fact. The boy just needed a bit of direction.
“What happened?” Matrix asked, sounding genuinely worried.
“No one knows, not even his friends,” AndrAIa said. “He wouldn’t go on another journey without Zlick and Kero, so Syril thinks there’s some sort of foul play involved.”
Matrix stood up, his determination never wavering. Time to put his money where his mouth was.
“Let’s go talk with them, then,” Matrix didn’t miss a beat. “Maybe they’ll know something that can lead us to him.”
AndrAIa nodded. “Syril and a few others are speaking with them in town, probably right now. It wouldn’t hurt to see how we can help, though.”
“Agreed,” Matrix said, then looked around. “Where’s Frisket, by the way?”
“No telling,” AndrAIa shrugged. “He wandered off after we got back from the Databanks.”
Matrix nodded. Frisket was prone to go out and get into his own adventures back in Mainframe. After all, he was technically feral. He had no worries, and knew they’d see the dog again later.
“Good enough,” Matrix said. “Come on, let’s head to town.”
AndrAIa paused and smiled for a moment as Matrix walked off. She watched him move with a confidence she hadn’t seen in some time, and it was great to see. She snapped out of it, and hurried along after him.
He was pleased to see that such a contraption had actually worked. He stood on one of several pads, right next to the Dataverse uplink pod he’d left this place in. What a journey it had been. He stepped down from the recovery point of his recall station, and walked through the basement. He wasted no time ascending the stairs to the main level his home, and opened the door that led to the hallway. Just as soon as he exited the staircase, he hit the button on the wall that caused the hidden door behind him to close and blend right back in.
He walked to the doorway of the kitchen, where he saw AndrAIa standing with her back to him. She was gazing out at their view of the wooded descent that led to the river. Matrix smiled and crossed his arms as he looked at her. It only took a second for AndrAIa to spin around, having sensed the arrival of someone else. A look of joy and relief washed over her face when she saw her long lost boyfriend.
“Enzo!” AndrAIa screamed in bliss, rushing to him and embracing him in a tight hug, that he was happy to return. She brought her mouth to his, and they shared a quick, but powerful kiss as well. Afterwards, she resumed the hug, resting her head on his shoulder. “I was so worried.”
“Sorry about that,” Matrix tried to be calm, but his heart was racing, too. It was good to be back.
They separated, and decided to move to a place a bit more comfortable than the stuffy doorway. Matrix took a seat at a barstool by their kitchen’s island. AndrAIa took a standing position across from him, leaning onto the island as she did.
“What happened?” AndrAIa was quick to ask, as the last she’d seen him, he’d vanished from the Databanks right before her. “I got your email, but something else came up, I couldn’t even get off the island to come meet you.”
“Probably just as well,” Matrix said. “Some monster emerged in the Nexus, so it wasn’t a good idea to travel through it.”
“You got taken back to the Nexus?” AndrAIa asked, tilting her head.
“Not exactly,” Matrix tried to explain what had happened. “I guess what happened was the Omniverse’s version of a game. I got taken from the Databanks to some ‘verse that’s normally inaccessible, and alongside other primes from all over I had to help free some spirit. Afterwards, they sent me to the Nexus. I went to the Dunes to get away from the aftermath, then recalled here once I got a moment’s breath.”
“You left a potential fight?” AndrAIa found the amusement in that, especially now that she knew he was safe.
“This is a strange place,” Matrix reflected on his choice. “I couldn’t tell the good guys from the bad. I already didn’t want to take the wrong side, then this creature emerged from several primes fusing. Sort of like Gigabyte, when we were younger.”
AndrAIa nodded, understanding thanks to that analogy. “What a ride. I’m proud of you for not thinking with your weapon first. But what about that ‘verse? No one, not even in the Databanks, knew what happened.”
“I’m not sure I do, either,” Matrix shrugged. “I’ll have to ask Mewtwo next time I see him. He’s been here much longer, so he might know something about why that happened.”
AndrAIa continued to nod in agreement. For now, the events would just have to be part of the mystery of this world. They might have to be content with never finding out why such an odd thing had occurred.
“I know one thing, though, we’ve been going about this all wrong,” Matrix suddenly spoke up, and AndrAIa’s look shifted to one of confusion.
“What do you mean?” she asked, almost hesitantly.
“I met a man in the Endless Dunes. He was from a land sort of like that ‘verse, and he was fighting the bandits there, just like he did before arriving in the Omniverse,” Matrix explained. A warm smile began to creep onto AndrAIa’s face as she listened to him. “When we traveled through the games, we left every system we came to in better shape than when we arrived. We used our skills for the good of everyone. Ever since we arrived here, we’ve been ignoring problems and searching for our own way out.”
AndrAIa was smiling wide, by now. Matrix’s words were music to her ears.
Matrix continued, fiercely inspired, now. “We’re stuck here, just like everyone else. The difference is we have the ability to make this place better, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Starting now, we’re working to better this system, just like all the others.”
AndrAIa leaned across the counter and gave Matrix another quick kiss on the lips. He looked at her in surprise as she pulled back, still smiling.
“Welcome back. I was hoping you’d say something like that,” she said.
“Oh?” Matrix asked in response. There was clearly something on her mind that had given her a similar train of thought. “What’s wrong?”
“Coal’s missing,” AndrAIa responded, her grin disappearing as she said it.
Matrix remembered Coal, the overeager Charmander with a hero complex they’d rescued from Isla Nublar. Alongside his friends Zlick, the Jawa, and Kero, the Tonberry, he’d wanted to be some kind of superhero. Matrix had to admit, he saw a lot of his younger self in the young Pokemon, as hard as it was to swallow that fact. The boy just needed a bit of direction.
“What happened?” Matrix asked, sounding genuinely worried.
“No one knows, not even his friends,” AndrAIa said. “He wouldn’t go on another journey without Zlick and Kero, so Syril thinks there’s some sort of foul play involved.”
Matrix stood up, his determination never wavering. Time to put his money where his mouth was.
“Let’s go talk with them, then,” Matrix didn’t miss a beat. “Maybe they’ll know something that can lead us to him.”
AndrAIa nodded. “Syril and a few others are speaking with them in town, probably right now. It wouldn’t hurt to see how we can help, though.”
“Agreed,” Matrix said, then looked around. “Where’s Frisket, by the way?”
“No telling,” AndrAIa shrugged. “He wandered off after we got back from the Databanks.”
Matrix nodded. Frisket was prone to go out and get into his own adventures back in Mainframe. After all, he was technically feral. He had no worries, and knew they’d see the dog again later.
“Good enough,” Matrix said. “Come on, let’s head to town.”
AndrAIa paused and smiled for a moment as Matrix walked off. She watched him move with a confidence she hadn’t seen in some time, and it was great to see. She snapped out of it, and hurried along after him.