[Chapter #1.1 - Lost in Space]

The shaking of the ship was unbearable. Some of the people on board may have been acquainted with the feeling of the ground shaking beneath their feet if they ever lived on a planet. Well, the sensation felt similar to that. The feeling of the surface beneath you giving way and the world around you crumbling... Yes, the shaking felt strong enough to tear the ship apart, especially with how beaten up the ship already was. You could only hold on for dear life to the railings and pray it would end.

The several minutes it would take for the ship to stop shaking felt like hours... But everyone seemed to have made it out safe.

This was 8 hours ago. Since then, the situation had already stabilized and the Captain had informed you that the Waddle-Dees have managed to keep most of the crew safe, with the rest suffering minor injuries and concussions, all easily treatable. The communications with the Engine Room had been re-established after SS Philemon's re-emergence in real space and the people who saved the engine and the ship itself have been dug out and congratulated warmly by the crew and the Captain. You were taken to empty rooms and left to rest, until the Captain called for you and assembled you at the bridge. Oh, and Drop Bear was allowed to stay with Tykal after it tried to gnaw off one of the crewman guard's face off.

Tequila and the Waddle-Dees had been tasked with bringing everyone here.

Additionally, James, the stowaway, had been rescued and brought here as well.


As the gates to the bridge opened to you, the Captain and the people you met from the crew all met you with smiling and content faces. The Captain's signature smirk hadn't faded at all since the events transpired.

"Ah yes, I've had my body checked up. Despite the overlay, there doesn't seem to be any worrisome damage."

"Thank goodness, Captain! You've really put yourself out there! How did you know these guys would make it? Oh, s-sorry for asking, just, that was a pretty big bet."

"Oh, instinct, of course."

"Duuuuh, Eli, you wouldn't understand, but the Cap's totally got a bit of a lady's instinct, totally."

"Uhm, all right?"

"Please, settle down, look, our guests have arrived."

All four of the people in the room turned towards you at once. Eli took off his hat, Axis perked up with considerable excitement and the Captain gestured towards you.


The Captain thanked the "two" of them, who weren't newcomers but still helped out. "Grimm, helloooo~!" Axis waved at the ASSW as Eli nervously waved at Alex and the rest. "I see your checkup went well, Alex. I'm so glad." Eli smiled awkwardly as Alex was reminded of his bandaged right arm. He had to be taken straight to the med bay the moment the Engine Room crew could be reached and he'd spent the last 8 hours at the med bay being taken care of. Apparently, some nerves in his arm were damaged and he'd feel a constant dull throbbing in the thumb on his right arm. For some reason, it wouldn't move...

Alex Floating Weaknesses:

Everyone's Modules have been removed and their Plugs have been given to them. Except, of course, Grimm's, Tequila's and the Dees', since they had them from before.

"There are some things I have to discuss with you. You cannot go back home right now. From what I've heard, we have no methods of bringing you back to the past." The Captain explained. "Yes, some of you are from the past. Alex, Tykal, Johnny, Cain. You must understand that, by definition, your world no longer exists. It's disappeared hundreds or even thousands of years ago. If you cannot accept that, I'm afraid I cannot help you with that. However, there is always a possibility that we might find a way to bring you back. We do, after all, have the entire universe of wonders to explore. For that, I ask you to stay with us, so we can find a way to help you."

"On the other hand, mister Grimmy Grimm seems to be from this world. That means we should be able to bring him back home, like a delivery package. Easy. The same with the stowaway, we should just get rid of him quickly as well!" Axis pitched in, referring to the people who were actually from the Post-World, but not from this ship.

"If only we actually knew where their homes were, though. Or where we are, honestly." Eli's nervous voice reverberated through the bridge, but failed to sway the Captain, who kept speaking calmly. Eli looked down at the hat in his hands, wrinkled up from the way he was holding it.

The Captain soon continued. "Yes, that is a problem. Even if we knew where to take Grimm and this mysterious shadow-man, we do not even know where we are at this moment. Additionally, our engines are still largely inoperable. We seem to be stuck in deep space for this moment."

"At least we're all safe." Eli added, giving a weak smile.

"Yes. This must be a lot to take in, but there is more. The Modules you had equipped haven't been fully prepared for use by you. If you still wish to fight, we will have to implant them into your bodies. What do you say? The problem of your unstable existences still remains. This will have to be done at some point anyways, unless you wish to risk disappearing."

Huh oh ummm yeah it went well eli thanks for asking Alex would smile, but it was very clear that he wasn't happy at all. He was worried and on some level depressed about his thumb, even though he could have lost alot more it was still shocking to lose apart of yourself. Oh i guess i should say hey to everyone huh? Am alex. Alex love its nice to meet you all. As the cap spoke about the old world being gone, alex would start to lose his cool more, and more. By the end of it alex was starting to shake. From sadness? Shock? He didn't really know himself. Oh i.... I see ummmm, how did it go? Do you know? Alex knew that he probably didn't have a answer, but it was better to ask then to keep it to himself Huh? A module? Ummmmmm ok i guess. If i really need it sure, i'll take it.

QaS (Alex, Cain, Tykal, Johnny): Agree to having the Modules surgically implanted?

The Waddle-dee's worked tirelessly throughout the ship, tending to the wounded and helping them get to medical bays, or otherwise making sure they got food or whatever supplies they needed, making sure no one was over exerting themselves, and staying with those that where still shaken by the previous experience.

Meanwhile the Squad itself had helped gather and lead the new people to the bridge with Tequila's help, once they arrived there was also more Waddle-dee's on the bridge working to get systems working again, and replacing damaged panels on the walls floor and ceiling from the rather rough re-entry into real space. The same could be said for engineering and other area's of the ship, Waddle-dee's working with little to no rest since the situation had started, cleaning up the debris and taking stock of supplies and the like to return reports to the Captain and Eli of the ships situation.

One such note runners was writing out a note for the captain and one for Eli before running up to them and handing them each a note about the situations with the ship in general and their list of supplies before heading off to continue it's work.

As for the Squad itself, one of the Waddle-dee's noticed Alex' rather depressed attitude and scooted up to him and gave his leg a hug in an attempt to cheer him up, or at least comfort him a little due to his situation.

The ship shook and everyone held onto something for dear life. Lokita had stayed against the wall to keep from flopping about while Tequila pretty much used his body as an anchor to keep the wolf in place and as protection for the two kids caught in the corridors. They were scared and clung to him for as things threatened to literally tear apart. From their age, they probably never experienced a earthquake in their life; however, Tequila was familiar with them. Granted those all happened in a place where he didn’t have to be too concerned about the consequences of something ripping apart and tossing everything into space. For the most part, he was pretty sure he would survive if that were to happen, but everything else? No…He didn’t want to think about it as he just kept the ones with him safe.

When the nightmare finally ended, there was some debris upon him that probably would’ve bruised or harmed a human, but outside of one small blemish on his arm suggesting a minor tear, he was completely fine. Not that he was concerned with himself though as he checked on the kids and Lokita. Finding them fine, he took a moment to get the kids to their parents before getting a message from the Captain to herd some people to the Bridge. Okay. Okay. He was going alright? So even though he much rather shutdown after all that happened, he slapped himself into his usually friendly mode and helped the Waddle Dees with collecting those that were requested.

At the bridge, he would let their guests in first hearing the commotion of chatter right when the door opened. It was kind of nice knowing everyone in general was okay outside o some minor things here and there. And the ship was in one piece so yay!

“No prob,” he would say to the thank you before falling silent and listening to what was being said. And whoo boy. This was something alright.

So from what he was gathering they had some freaking time warping shenanigans going on here. People from a past that no longer existed? That was just a bit much to be frank. Trying to remain calm and friendly despite half his brain circuits being fried right about now, he would speak up as eyed the kid that was shaking by now and being comforted by one of Waddle Dees. “I am Tequila. Nice to meet ya, Mr. Love. As for your question...Well, everything kind of got sucked up into anti-space and reborn,” he would say. Though that was the tip of the iceberg to be frank and very general. Maybe the Captian or someone else could help with explaining that one. Anyway, that aside, he would turn his eyes towards the others and mainly the Captain. A frown would cross his face as he spoke.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind helping you guys with the ship or figuring out how to get people home or where we are for that matter, but tell me something. Time hopping. How did a collision cause that to occur? And for that matter how do you even replicate that?” Yeah, space exploration and other worlds? That was normal. Hell even aliens were normal? But time travel? Okay that was getting to a point of both curiosities and headaches there and right now his tired mind wasn’t quite wrapping around even if it was something he should know already.

James was locked away in the holding bay for quite some time, his curiosity had gotten the better of him and he wanted to take a look at the ship. It was a long time since he traveled anywhere, and since his curiosity had gotten the better of him, he only snuck aboard to see how it function. Now, this wasn't espionage in any way, but whatever ship that managed to land on his home planet that didn't have any sort of stake in the conflict that it had,  came there for a good reason.  But before he knew it, the wispy sleuth started to take off, he definitely wasn't in Kansas anymore.  They weren't apart of the empire of humanity, James knew that those people had a set rotation of showing up and the species he came from had a sort of rarity to them.

If there was one detailed fact left out, it was also how James was seemingly tied up by one of the many security systems that the ship had, and he couldn't phase through it at will. That completely sucked, and the rumbling hours later was no help as well. But James was freed by one of the many waddle-dees and brought here, probably to face judgment from the captain. Or better yet, it was up to James to try to use his expertise to train his ear to understand what was being said and going on. It didn't come as naturally as you would think, it was a skill that James had trained for a few years because translator machines are overrated and it seemed too expensive on a low tech planet like his.

"The.... past? Time travel?"

That was the first thing that piques James's interest. What was going on with this crew? They made time travel seem like children's play of bringing people over.  Maybe it was a good thing that he didn't say anything initially. There were some talks about helping them somehow.

"The stowaway?  Are they talking about me?"

That might be the case, if it truly was, James might have to find himself useful to them so he isn't met with an airlock. He never wanted to test the theory of being able to breathe in space. At the same time, he never wanted to find out. They didn't seem like savages, but he wouldn't put anything beside them.  There was also the case of the unstable existence of the other people here. Being in dark space and drifting aimlessly seemed like a terrible fate. Perhaps he should help them?

"I propose a trade."

Strength:

Spoiler:

James, finally speaking up and saying that in their native tongue after hearing them talk for a bit.


"My name translates as James in your native tongue, James Graesen. I am what you people would call a Star Reader. I have spent quite some time studying the maps of the solar system. It would be children's play for me to find out exactly where you are and what options, or opportunities, you have available to you. It seems to be that the concept of being a stowaway makes me a low priority and optioned to be punished, but I can help you and we can avoid using the airlock. Sounds fair? My help might not be needed but it's good to have, especially at a time like this. "

Tykal stood there listening to everyone. He said nothing for the most part. He was exhausted and his clothing only reflected his earned fatigue. Rips tears and black and grey soot speckled his attire and face. His green eyes darted to the new faces and seemed to linger on the black swirling mass of fog. That one was most interesting. Tykal still seemed lost in deep thought. Processing the fact that there was no way home was something he already figured for the most part. The captain talked about the whole universe to explore like it was grandiose thing. He was right it would be if it weren't for the fact that every single person Tykal knew, seen, or even heard of before this mess was likely dead. Tykal looked more irritated than depressed about it. He crossed his arms subconsciously shutting himself off from everyone. Demons and Shadows, Robots and Aliens, Spaceships and Time Travel, even the power of Personas were all just a massive barrage of unfamiliarity. Tykal was more angry at the fact that everyone around him just accepted things as they were. THIS ISN'T NORMAL!!! he wanted to cry in a tantrum. He was literally just taking a nap on the side of hill. Planet Earth, sunny sky, warm spring day, now he's in a rusty metal ship floating through infinite darkness with a cast of characters from some sci-fi writers wet dream. How did this happen? Why him? Tykal wasn't going to accept this.

It was a long while before Tykal finally spoke. His tone reflected his disdain for this fiasco preceded only be a defeated sigh, "Fine. Since it seems I have no other choice. Since we're effectively stranded with a psychotic killer robot and a-" Tykal looked over at James, "Star Reader Shadow-Thing. What's your plan?" Tykal had no desire to get an implant but this anti-existence thing seemed to be real enough that he had to get it if he wanted to make it out of this mess. He'd endure. He always endured hardships in his past life. Why should now be any different. He'd use Personas and gather as much information as he could about this world until he could go back to his time his reality and if he couldn't and it truly was impossible. Out of spite and pure defiance he'd thrive long enough to spit in the face of what ever gods thought it wise to force him into this reality.

QaS (Alex, Cain, Tykal, Johnny): Agree to having the Modules surgically implanted?
-reluctantly yes

Johnny walked into the room while looking at both of Namtar's and Incubus plugs in his hands. The shade of blue and red was somewhat memorizing, however, the Capitan's voice snapped Johnny back into reality and what he said wasn't good at all "So my parents and Daniel are dead and the universe had went through a reset of sorts. I think I need a minute to process all of this. Its fucking bonkers to me that you can pull people from the past. How the hell is that even possible?" Johnny noted Tequila's confusion as well this is clearly not something that happens on a daily basis. "Sorry it might take me a bit to wrap my head around everything that just happened in the past 8 hours. So a few other people and I have been flung into the future where there are actual Demons and if Matty's off-handed comment is to be believed there is a robot hivemind out there that seems to really love killing. And we have special devices that protect our existence and these same devices can summon ghosts with magic powers. Can someone pinch me please I need to know if I am dreaming or not."

Well since Johnny has the chance he is going to start asking questions about this strange new world... or more accurately Universe, Johnny started with the first question on his mind how do these modules work? Johnny said to people he assumes was from this post world place "I hope you guys don't mind me asking a few questions about the current era since this is quite the departure from the world I knew." Johnny cleared his throat before asking a few questions "So how are these modules made? and how do they maintain one's existence?"

Johnny heard what Tykal had to say and boy did Tykal sound annoyed "Speaking of killer robots. What's going to happen to the robots we fought earlier what's going to happen to them? Are we going to use them for spare parts, what's the story there?" Johnny was curious what was going to happen to these droids after all the robots that he encounters so far seem to be human-like it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume something different happens to them after all unlike say a toaster these ASSWs actually have a conscious it wouldn't be right to kill them after all the party didn't kill Drop Bear because it could speak.

Johnny still had a small sliver of hope when the strange-looking alien James said something about knew a thing or two about star maps so Johnny took interest and asked him a question "Hello Mr. Graesan its a pleasure to meet you, my name is Jonathan Dyson but you can you call me Johnny. You wouldn't happen to know anything about the Milky Way Galaxy would you?"

Johnny also noticed the Waddle Dees that we're running around and that were hugging Alex, Johnny found these little guys adorable "So who are these little dudes running around? They seem to be a helpful bunch." Johnny can't help but smile at the little ones they look so cheerful well at least the one hugging Alex, its reassuring to see happy faces despite the tragedy 8 hours before.

Then there was the matter of the modules Johnny was planning on saying yes but he wanted to know more about them first, before Johnny could say yes to getting more surgery the speakers on his cheeks blared to life once again "System Digonistcs complete. Johnny Guitar you are 3000 years late for you're scheduled maintenance, its advise you undergo maintenance overseen by Professor Daniel Kirkmore." Johnny's eyes widen at what the speakers said out loud for everyone to hear. "3000 years?!? its been 3000 years?!? I didn't realize we were that far into the future holy shit." Johnny looked horrified at this new-found knowledge "Even if the earth survived this Universe rebirth event my Friends and Family sure aren't kicking anymore." after freaking out for a few minutes Johnny took a deep breath and tried to calm down "I guess there is nothing that could be done about it now." With that brief moment out of the way Johnny responded to the Capitan

"I'd like to second the fact that this whole time travel business doesn't seem normal. I've not heard of that happening before, and I think such incidents would cause rumors to spread at the very least, were they to have happened before. It certainly does not sound like we're dealing with just a normal spaceship collision here." Grimm wouldn't say that the idea of time travel sounded unbelievable entirely, given that this whole world and how it became what it was could be equally as unusual. It was, however, a phenomenon he was pretty sure wasn't a known happenstance until it happened now. On top of that, completely random teleportation of people from this time was also rather strange. At the very least, he certainly hadn't gotten any say in this, and if he assumed this ship was far from where he originally came from...how did all this energy needed for a warp even get to where he had been...? This mess was sure breaking a lot of basic laws of nature. Well, it was undeniably something unnatural and not just caused by a little simple crash. Something more must have happened at the same time.

When it came to where they were...did this bump blast them off that randomly? Well, he couldn't speak much on that, and it would appear that the alien newcomer was confident he could figure that out. That could be useful if it was the truth, though he was not entirely optimistic about getting people back, because that would mean also locating the places they came from. Which, at least in his case, would mean being able to find another spaceship and that was not the same as a set physical location which didn't move. Honestly though, he was for the most part not in a desperate rush to go back. There...were a few things to worry about maybe, but with how those guys were, he was at least mostly assured that they'd make it without him in the end.

"We do have them restrained or at least unable to suddenly strike back, right? I think it would be more useful to try to get information from them, not just disassemble them for scraps. That's how you'd treat the situation if they were humans, no? If they're capable of rational thought, they're of more use than to be metal scraps. Not even a robot would want to die." He was assuming these killer robots the guitar-shaped guy was asking about were ones similar to himself..in which case, it would be quite rude to just destroy them like that. And if they knew something, it would be of much more importance to try to get them to talk and be helpful instead.

At any rate, he'd keep an eye on the situation for the time being, wondering whether this chaos could even be resolved anytime soon at this rate...

Cain did not get any sleep last night. Compulsively washing his forearm, then pacing down the hallways, before washing it again. Messing around with things in his room. Thinking about the Captain, Earth, Lee, Personas, demons, the future, the past, everyone he'd met. He'd nearly bust a vein trying to summon Furie without a module or plug. He spent two hours exercising, when they were all called to the bridge. He was deadly tired, yet lacking any desire to sleep. Perhaps he would have continue to not have had his presence not been requested at that moment.

Some time before his arrival, he had wrapped himself in a grey cloth cloak he found in a drawer. He was planning on keeping it without asking. It was good to see Alex was mostly fine, hopefully the damaged nerves would regenerate in the future. It had already been undeniably evident that the everything was gone. Hearing it spelled out didn't seem to affect Cain. There was just one question posed to some of them that required a response. He faced the Captain, seeming to vibrate somewhat. Knowing long ago he would have to answer to this eventually, he had already made up his mind on this well before even being called upon.


"No. I don't need it to fight. I won't disappear. I will not have it."

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

Stats:

The Captain looked at Johnny with a satisfied glint in his eye when the guitar robot's systems announced him being 3000 years late for his checkup. Eli and Axis looked at each other with surprise. "3000?"

Captain shook his head. "My my, we really do have a rare find here. Could it be that Johnny has just revealed to us all that our past reaches way past what anyone assumed?" He smiled. "Actually, time travel is impossible. You have simply been dormant within Anti-Space since your world disappeared. As time doesn't exist there, the 3000 years would simply go by in a blink for you."

Eli looked ahead in surprised stupor. "B-but our calendars only go up to 650... Has there really been at least over 2000 more years since this world's creation?"

"Not necessarily. Johnny could have been dormant for 3000 years in his own world as well, though it is highly unlikely that the Pre-World held on for such a long time with the Anti-Space enroaching upon it." The Captain explained before turning to the rest, Cain specifically. "I see. That is unfortunate, Cain. But do you truly still choose to fight even without a Module? Interesting. I can't stop you, do as you will. The rest, we'll prepare you for surgery after this meeting." He turned to Johnny again. "Your concerns are valid, Johnny. To explain the workings of Modules, I would rather Eli explained it."

Eli seemed surprised and looked at Captain, who nodded. "M-me? Alright. To get to how Modules work I should probably explain how existence is even maintained. You see, for a person or object or anything to keep existing, it needs to be monitored and perceived. So long as it is perceived, it should keep existing. So Modules basically keep recording you to sustain your existence, while also allowing you to manifest Personas based on the data from your Plugs. Personas are the glowy things that let you fight." He smiled. "On how they're made, well, they're made with these crystals as their cores, but I don't know the specifics. Making a functional Module is incredibly difficult... Sorry..."

The Captain nodded in thanks. He turned to Johnny and Grimm. "The robots will be interrogated. At least the one that remained functional. Unfortunately, you seemed to have damaged the male ASSW too considerably. We cannot reassemble him." He shook his head. "Our assistants and valuable crew members here are Waddle-Dees. Don't worry, they don't bite and they're quite helpful." He said, opening the note they handed him before nodding to them in thanks.

"Yeah we wouldn't be able to operate this whole ship without their help! They're warriors, IT support, dispatchers, mechanics, cooks, everything!" Axis grinned, pulling one Waddle-Dee up into her arms. "Look at the cutie!"

"As for the specifics of the incident that occured. Obviously, it is abnormal, as it pulled people both from Anti-Space and all corners of the galaxy to this one impact point. Our current speculations lead back to the ASSW that crashed into the engine. They must've been the trigger for this event to occur, but we don't know what exactly they did or why it caused such a powerful abnormality. We are going to interrogate them, however, and I'd like some of you to join."

"Is that it, Captain?" Axis asked. "I'd wanna go check up on the ships at the hangar. Some of them got damaged, but it's not like we have enough fliers to operate them anyways. HEYYYY actually, would you guys wanna try flying spaceships? Can I show them the ropes, Captain?" Axis grew more excited with each new word, practically jumping in place. The Captain nodded in response. "If they want. We do have unused spaceships." Axis jumped with joy at this approval before running towards the exit of the bridge, waving her hand at the others. "Come meet me at the hangar if you wanna!"

There was one final thing for the Captain to address and it was the shadowy man and his offer. He turned to the others. "I know it's a lot to take in, but, technically, Space Ship Philemon is still in a state of disarray. I can only help you more after we're out of this problem. For now, I ask those among you who've agreed to the surgery to follow the Waddle-Dees to the medical area. Mr James, please stay with me so we can look at the maps. Meeting is dismissed."

[Chapter #1.1 - End]