Chapter One
[16:04] TannimFodder: You there?
[16:52] Enigmatic Magus: Just got home. What's up?
[16:55] TannimFodder: You should see what I wrote in my latest story.
[16:55] TannimFodder: Man, I'm funny.
[16:56] Enigmatic Magus: Keep stroking your ego like that and I'm not going to stick around when it bubbles over and leaks on the floor.
[16:57] TannimFodder: It's the only way I know how to achieve my second form.
[16:57] Enigmatic Magus: And what does that look like; a panda bear?
[16:57] TannimFodder: No! It's more like a lizard with wings.
[16:58] Enigmatic Magus: Ugh. Why would you want to be a lizard? And wouldn't that be a dragon?
[16:59] TannimFodder: We don't chose our forms, they're given to us.
[17:04] TannimFodder: Hey, you still there?
[17:11] Enigmatic Magus: Yeah. Playing WoW.
[17:12] TannimFodder: Something weird just happened. I heard a loud "thump" outside my window. When I checked, there wasn't anything there. Maybe a bird hit or something.
[17:17] Enigmatic Magus: In California? Do you have birds over there?
[17:18] TannimFodder: Northern California even has squirrels. Someone's knocking on the door. Be right back.
[17:24] Enigmatic Magus: Hello?
[17:29] Enigmatic Magus: If it's that important, you should, you know.. say something. And now Liz's friend is here. Quick! Say something engaging before they bug me for my 360! ... back in a sec.
[17:34] <TannimFodder has gone idle>
[17:44] <Enigmatic Magus has gone idle>
Xxxxx
There was a dull pain in the back of his head. With a groan, Kyle pulled himself into a sitting position, reaching up to touch the tender spot and wincing in pain as his fingers felt the sticky sensation of caked blood.
"What the hell?" he mumbled, frowning in the dark and confused at the rather unfamiliar surroundings.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and a twisting, falling sensation that turned his stomach upside-down, moments before it protested violently when the sensation changed to one of steady falling. At least there was light, though what was visible was beyond understandable. Various surfaces, objects, places flashed by at high speed, each one fading away upon impact, like some sort of hallucination, only faint stirrings of air currents at his fingertips to signify their passing.
And then, with a rather painful <thud> he landed; somewhere brighter than before by far, and much less comfortable, with its 100+ degree heat, and glaring sun bright overhead. Dressed for comfort, he felt sweat start to bead immediately on his exposed skin, and trying to ignore the still painful spot on the back of his head.
Before he could try to stand, however, the twisting sensation was back, and suddenly he was falling through things again, the solid becoming ephemeral once more, and reality subtly shifting from one vague local to the next, in a roller-coaster of visual stimuli that proved to be anything but pleasant.
The next lurch was even harder, in some ways. Instead of a hard ground under a hot sun, Kyle splashed down in waters that felt all too arctic for his tastes, and suddenly, he was wishing for the heat again, fighting the urge to scream and lock up as numbness quickly spread inward from his extremities. Just as his shivering body started to slip below the waves, there was a familiar, though now-hated twisting sensation, and the cold was replaced by tumbling, this time accompanied by trembling, and he wondered if he was dying. Or maybe he had died, and this was Hell. 'Not a bad start,' he mused darkly, closing his eyes and seeing the light from the other side of his eyelids vary in intensity at random.
Another flash, another slam, this one eliciting a yelp of pained surprise as something hard poked him in the back before falling, the hard object surrounded by something far softer, but too thin to effectively cushion his landing as the hard floor below it managed to induce another yell of pain. Rolling over with a Groan, Kyle blearily peeled one eye open, wincing at the harsh lights above as he grabbed the cloth beneath him and tried to sit up. Unfortunately, before he could get halfway there, the world around him began to flash again, and the floor went back to being insubstantial once more. Adding to the surreal experience, however, was the cloth, which looked more like a single-piece body suit; it had somehow come along for the ride with his fist clenched tightly around a part of it.
Before, there'd been only light, and phantom touches, but now, a slowly-growing roar could be heard, like an oncoming train, and Kyle shuddered slightly as he imagined landing in front of one. At least it'd probably be quick. As the roar grew to epic proportions, the rapidly altering scenery around him faded to darkness, the sound dimming with it, until there was nothing, no more feelings, no light, no sound. And then a blinding light far away winked into existence, before rushing towards him with a muffled bass hum.
The world around Kyle snapped into focus with unusual clarity, the outfit in his hand flapping wildly as he flailed his arms after appearing in midair. Unfortunately, fully-substantial this time, he was only there for a moment before gravity took hold of him, dragging him towards the surface below.
"Oh, Shiiiii-" was all he got out before he and the ground were introduced.
Xxxxx
A bed of rainbows. That's what Matt imagined this sensation must look like. A bed of rainbows stretched across the sky, leaping from cloud to cloud. With bunnies.
That's how Matt felt; like he was being separated into his component pieces, and half-haphazardously being thrown incredibly long distances to land in places he wasn't even sure were real. Vibrating the whole time.
He didn't know when it had started, only that it been going on far too long. With each successive jump, the shaking in his body got worse, and it was all he could to to concentrate on the fact that his world around him kept shifting every three to seven seconds.
Finally, in the middle of one of his jumps, Matt fell and gripped the slightly rubbery ground of this latest world beneath his fingers as hard as he could, willing himself to meld with the material and hopefully become immobile. It worked only partially, as he continued to jump, but at least he had something to hang onto to stop the shaking; namely, the deck of an Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine. Incidentally the rest of the ship stayed attached to its deck, and came along for the ride.
On his next few leaps through the dimensions lugging around the giant submarine, he quelled an uprising on Artemus Tau, surprised a World War Two British prime minister, and interrupted the Yankees verses Red Socks world series. All of this was ignored in favor of keeping his eyes shut and hoping everything would just. Stop. Moving.
It did.
Xxxxx
Despite not knowing that her wish had been heartfelt and true, and maybe, just maybe, a small part of her had hoped it would come true, Queen Serenity would have been just as surprised if she had been aware of her wish when a giant metal thing slammed into the ground out of nowhere, moments before the sound of someone yelling above her tore her attention away from the... whatever-it-was and towards a frightened-looking man who appeared to be falling.
Stepping back in shock, she watched as he hit the ground a few feet away and bounced slightly on the lunar surface.
By that time, the sudden and unexpected disturbance had drawn the attention of her guards, and as shouts of alarm and the clanking of armor grew louder, she took a hesitant step forward, only to gasp in surprise when a second figure, another male, slid down from the top of the metal object. He landed with a spectacular splash in the large fountain that dominated the garden.
The first figure groaned in pain once, but lay still, apparently unconscious. The second, having somewhat less of a drop and softer landing, twitched slightly in the shade of his giant companion. Finally, Serenity's awe was broken by concern.
"What is it, Majesty?" Luna asked from beside her.
"I've no idea, Luna. But these two are wounded. In my palace, no less! We must heal them, first. We can worry about it later," the Queen stated, before moving forward towards the fallen figure on the ground.
"Majesty, it could be a weapon," Artemis warned, a frown marring his feline features. Serenity's forward momentum froze. She'd not considered that. Her Kingdom had been restless recently, to be sure, but would those causing such problems actually have the audacity to strike at her? At the Royal Palace?
"By Serenity and all that is good! What in the Queen's name is that?" Marcus, Captain of the Royal Guard, asked as he approached. Shaking his head dismissively, he turned to the nearest subordinate and pointed at the bodies in the courtyard. "Seize them." Turning towards the Queen, he moved to stand between her and the object in the courtyard, before stating, as respectfully as he could, "Your Highness, it is not safe here. You must go inside. My men and I will see to it that this terrorists are dealt with."
"Yes, majesty. Lets go where we can be sure of our safety!" Luna prompted.
Artemis glanced over at the bodies, and the fallen object with a more jaundiced eye. If the device had yet to do anything so far, it was unlikely to do anything at all, he figured. However, he decided to keep his mouth shut, knowing the Queen was more than capable of making the right decision in an instance as simple as this. Which is why her response to the captain of the Guard surprised him.
"Absolutely not! These two men are wounded, maybe on the verge of death. Bring the Court Healer! And fish that other man out of the pool before he drowns," She ordered. The Captain of the Guard looked as if he wanted to disobey, before turning and nodding to the nearest subordinate, who ran towards the pool, weapon discarded.
"Queen Serenity, even if they pose no threat, that thing is unknown. For the time being, you should move to a safer location, if for no other reason than to settle my nerves. This has been the most bizarre interruption to a routine day in ages, and I'm already dismayed at our failure to stop these two before they got this far." The captain was obviously upset, but having been hand chosen for this position years ago, Serenity understood his concern. Even if secretly she didn't share it.
"We could wait for them to heal," Artemis offered, as the two bodies were set beside the walkway awaiting the arrival of the Court Healer. Luna glared at Artemis, but held her tongue as Serenity looked on in obvious concern. The dark-haired cat's glare dissolved upon seeing that look. This was Serenity, who loved her people more than life itself. Even those who might be in league with the terrorists causing trouble on the various planets.
As the Healer summoned a quartet of orderlies bearing a pair of stretches, Serenity nodded. "Then we shall," she stated, turning towards the palace, and the infirmary within.
Watching as the Queen and her primary advisers departed, Marcus turned towards the newest addition to the Palace Courtyard and let loose a sigh he'd been holding since the queen first displayed her trust in them.
"Someone call the Senshi of Mercury. I have the feeling this is something beyond even my paygrade." Turning to look at one of the Privates staring at the object with obvious curiosity, he slapped the kid softly on the shoulder to get his attention, before nodding towards the two stretchers being carried inside. "Go with them, son. Be sure the Queen is safe if and when those two are revived."
The boy, who couldn't have been over seventeen, snapped to attention and saluted with energy the Captain himself hadn't felt in many years. "Sir! By your command!" The private trotted off after the medics.
"They only seem to get younger," Marcus muttered to himself as he unclasped his helmet. Taking it off, he took his first unfiltered breath of the day. He turned a jaundiced eye to the giant black, metallic object currently crushing half of the roses in the palace gardens.
"You'd better not give me any trouble, you monstrosity," he told the object firmly.
The only response from the imposing machine was silence.
Marcus grinned humorlessly. "That's what I thought."
Xxxxx
"Your majesty, you shouldn't be here." An orderly, dressed in the white of her craft, whispered urgently to the Queen. She had spied her majesty walking past the troops stationed outside the doorway and into the guarded ward where the two persons of unidentifiable nature were being kept.
Serenity responded with a single raised eyebrow.
The orderly blushed crimson. "You're right, I had no business telling her majesty where she can or cannot be in her own castle, shutting up and sitting over here now." With effort she closed her mouth and held it shut as she moved to a chair in the corner of the room. She plopped herself down forcefully and attempted to will the blood to leave her face.
Serenity glided over to where the two patients were currently sleeping. Neither looked like the type committed to the downfall of the Moon Kingdom, nor did either feel like there was any significant amount of evil in their hearts.
"Are these interlopers, or unfortunates?" the Queen whispered to herself. She asked in a louder tone, directed at the orderly, "When are they expected to awake?"
"Any moment, your highness. Captain Marcus wanted them up as soon as possible for questioning."
It took only a moment for the Queen to decide. "I'll take over for Marcus. I'm sure he won't mind."
"I-! Er, uh, yes, my Queen," the orderly finished uncertainly. "If it pleases your highness, I'll take my leave then."
Serenity nodded, and the uncomfortable orderly left the room post-haste. In her absence, the Queen walked over to the seat previously occupied and sat down in it, waiting for her two "guests" to awake.
She did not realize how tired she was. In no time at all Serenity drifted off to sleep.
Xxxxx
Kyle awoke with a start, eyes wide in the well-lit room for a moment as the last remnants of memory came painfully to the forefront of his consciousness.
With a groan, he rolled onto his side, frowning at the bright light, before reaching up to check his body, from face to thighs. When everything seemed okay, he tried to sit up and figure out where he was, not recognizing the featureless white ceiling but assuming he was in a hospital.
"This... is not my room," he muttered, partially telling himself the last thing he remembered hadn't been a dream, but mainly to hear something familiar, because what he was remembering... didn't make much sense.
Particularly considering the lack of injuries; that clashed rather abruptly with his memories of falling towards the ground and a fairly painful impact. So, if it hadn't been a dream, but couldn't have been real...
... He wasn't alone. Blinking in shock at having missed the rather frilly white dress and silver hair (but no wrinkles?) Kyle tried to collect his thoughts, and wondering who she was, and why she seemed to be in his hospital room.
Looking around again, his attention was drawn back to the snoozing figure, and a frown slowly emerged as her features did ring a bell. It had been years, but the now-familiar twin-ponytail hairstyle with jeweled buns on the top of the head was obviously an attempt at Sailor Moon.
'No' he mused internally, 'not Sailor Moon. Queen Serenity.' And it was probably the best damn cosplay attempt he'd ever seen, whether in real life or online. The jewelry looked real without looking gaudy, the dress shone like actual silk, and the woman's makeup was well-applied, not layered on like so many women seemed to do at conventions.
Actually, now that he was looking, it was almost unsettling how... accurate this person had gotten the costume. There was something almost regal about her, even just sleeping in a chair. She was, from head to toe, a spitting image of the Queen Serenity he recalled from years ago. Even down to a pair of uncomfortable-looking shoes.
Tearing his eyes away from the best-dressed award winner of the century (or millennium) he quickly examined the rest of the room, noting a table covered in things like clothes and what appeared to be his MP3 player, and another person lying in a bed similar to his.
It was, in fact, another guy, so whatever had happened to him might not have just been a one-time thing.
Eyes slowly creeping back to the sleeping figure in the chair, Kyle coughed once, gently, to get her attention, then a little louder when the first failed to work.
The Serenity came to as he would have expected someone playing a queen to, a change from sleep to wakefulness in in instant, and a rapid assessment of the environment. Or maybe that was what he expected from a soldier? Either way, after a second to place the room, her eyes turned to his, and Kyle had to restrain a wince when he realized that, just as accurate as the rest of her, her eyes were the deepest, liveliest blue he could recall ever seeing. And there was no shift of contacts when she blinked, those were the natural color.
"That," he said, finally, "is the best costume I think... no, I know... I've ever seen."
The woman dressed as queen raised a stately eyebrow. "Oh? What kind of costume do you believe this to be?" she asked with some amusement.
"And such a regal voice! I am impressed. And confused. Probably not in that order, either," Kyle said, looking around again before shrugging and kicking his legs out to rest on the floor. "So.. umm... Where am I?" He paused to look her over again, before shaking his head. "And with that getup on, do you want me to call you Your Highness? Because I'm suitably impressed enough to actually do it... once or twice."
Making a great show of putting a finger on her chin in thought, the woman in front of Kyle appeared to mull the question over. "Hmmmm. While in public that would be preferable; in private, I shall allow you to address me simply as 'Serenity.'" She smiled mischievously at this pronouncement.
Kyle couldn't help an amused snort from slipping. "And witty... Well then, your worshipfulness. Please excuse the genre-cross, but... well.. I'm still a little confused." Standing slowly before making his way over to the table, Kyle began scooping up the things he recognized as his. Wallet and cell phone, MP3-Player, work badge and keys, each one went into a pocket or clipped to belt loops with relative ease, as he'd long grown used to gearing up for a day of work.
It took several seconds of awkward silence, but finally Serenity spoke. "I've heard it said that, when one is lost, ones best bet is to retrace their steps. So tell me: how is it that you believe you came to this place?"
Kyle idly flipped the magnetic leather flap of his cell-phone case a couple times before sitting back down on the bed. "Honestly? I think that's what's confusing me. I remember answering the door for... I think it was Dani... and before that, I'd just gotten home from work and was talking to a friend while I tossed my bag in the closet." He paused, fishing out his keys and staring at them for a second, before activating his Blizzard Account Authenticator, shrugging, and stuffing the handful of metal and plastic back in his pocket.
"After that, I can't really remember. There was a moment I thought I'd gotten hit in the head, and... falling?" He looked worried now, suddenly remembering, vividly, the plunge into freezing water, and the pain of landing on something hard. "Did I fall? Someone push me over the railing?" His voice was quiet now, talking more to himself than to her. Finally, he shook his head. "I think I'd have a better chance of figuring this out if I knew where I was."
"DON'T LET THE MONKEY GO!"
Both Kyle and Serenity were taken aback by the sudden shout from the second bed. When it became apparent the person speaking was still asleep and did not appear to be waking soon, both relaxed slightly.
"Your friend seems to be something of a deep sleeper," Serenity remarked. "My healer assures me he should wake soon."
"Indeed," Kyle replied, still unsure what to make of the random exclamation. "I have to point out, however, that I don't know them... And 'healer?' Not a doctor?"
Serenity nodded, thinking furiously. This person seemed to have no idea who she truly was. She wasn't vain enough to think that everybody in her kingdom knew her, but this wasn't one of those rare few; he seemed to have recognized her as someone pretending to be herself. The absurdity of that thought, coupled with his obvious recognition, bordered on the unreal. Had she not been so accustomed to the unexpected and odd where magic was concerned, she might have been tempted to summon one of the guards outside.
As it was however, she was beginning to suspect that this young man, if not both of them, had come from the far future... perhaps even sent back by the Gates of Time she was currently having built out on the edge of the solar system. If that was the case, then the situation must have been dire; she'd already decreed that interfering with the past was an action not to be employed lightly.
"While I fully intend to show you around, I think I'd have a better grasp of where to begin if you first told me where- and possible when- you come from," Serenity stated.
Kyle blinked. "Riiight... This is a nice... set? Something. Whatever. But I don't have time to play around."
Serenity frowned. "Oh? Am I interrupting something?" she asked.
"..." Kyle paused, mouth ajar, before snapping it shut and fixing the woman with a glare. "Not exactly interrupting. But I'm not really in a good mood, waking up from something that could have been an attack and being forced to deal with actors." He paused for a second to look her over, before shrugging and adding: "no matter how authentic or cute they may be."
Understanding dawned on Serenity. "You really have no idea where you are, do you?"
Kyle's frown deepened. "Didn't I just say that?"
The queen chanced a smile. "Not exactly, but I understood most of it. You have my apologies; I had assumed you were from the future, come back with a warning or message for me. I see now that this isn't the case... and now, more than ever, I'd like... need, even, to know where you came from. Your appearance in my Garden... your attitude... Everything is fairly alien, to be honest." She paused to look him over as he had, and he shifted uncomfortable as he realized she was being serious.
"I'm from Jacksonville, Florida. United States, North America, Northern Hemisphere, Earth, Third planet in the Solar System... and 2008 Anno Domini," Kyle stated, his frown deepening into a scowl. "Where am I? Be serious, please."
"Like I said, you're in the healing quarters of my Palace, which is on the moon." She paused, before straightening up. "You're from Earth?"
"Yes," he muttered, glancing around again. "Do you really expect me to believe that we're on the moon?"
She smiled at him and stood up. "Of course not. I intend to show you that you're on the moon."
She turned towards the door, before turning to glace at him over her shoulder. "Coming?"
"Do I have any choice?" Kyle asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets and following behind her. The two of them traveled in silence, Kyle partially lost in thought, and occasionally surprised at the level of detail surrounding him.
Finally, they reached a doorway, the arching marble architecture both extravagant in its workmanship, and obviously not part of any recognizable airlock system he could think off that didn't involve force fields. Outside was a well-manicured garden, a roman-style pool surrounded by fountain-topped ivy-covered columns, a row of hedges that looked suspiciously like roses, and...
"Holy Shit, is that a Boomer?" Kyle asked, upon spying the USS Nebraska lying on a field and partially crushing some of the roses as well as a line of hedge.
"I'm unsure... it arrived the same time you and that other man did. Is that what it's called? A 'boomer?'"
Kyle opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly caught sight of something beyond the submarine that commanded his whole attention.
"Oh damn," he muttered as he gazed upon the serene blue-green planet above. The whirls of clouds and star-studded backdrop far too realistic to be a projection or screen.
"I'm on the moon?" he asked, softly.
"Yes," Serenity supplied, watching him closely.
"And... I'm not dreaming?" He asked, frowning. Glancing over at the Boomer again, he turned around to glance at the palace before turning to Serenity.
"If you are, I'm remarkably well imagined. I have a long history of memories, and seem to think for myself... you must be quite the lucid dreamer," she said, smiling slightly to herself.
"Cute," he mumbled sarcastically, before looking at the plate-armored guards circling the submarine warily.
"Well, I guess... I'll just have to see how long this lasts. I don't remember there being a submarine in the Silver Millennium, so I'll reserve judgment... for now... But I suppose I should at least be a bit more courteous to you, since you apparently aren't just some fan in a costume," Kyle offered, finally.
Serenity positively beamed at Kyle. "Excellent. However, I do not wish to explain myself more than once, so, if you don't mind, we'll wait for your friend to regain consciousness." She motioned towards the inside of the palace. Kyle followed her back, too absorbed in his thoughts to rebuke the comment about 'his friend,' or note how large a building the Moon Palace really was.
