The Chronal Cavalry

I stepped of the bus to my destination. With my head held high and a grin to rival the clown prince of crime himself, I walked into the convention center.

My name’s Jack, just an average teenage nerd with an affinity for video games. I had heard about a local video game convention, and there happened to be an entire wing dedicated to Overwatch. As I learned this, I knew exactly what I had to do. After weeks of research and design, I had finally made my Tracer cosplay.

As I looked at all of the interesting stalls and wares, I knew what it was I wanted. I sprinted past cosplayers and fans, racing to the Overwatch exhibit. Looking around, I was filled with awe as I saw everything around me. Not wanting to waste any time, I ran about the arena, looking for a stall where they actually sold the game. After a few minutes of searching, I was successful.

"Hey, nice cosplay man!" the employee said.

"Thanks! You would not believe the time spent into making this outfit. Could I please get the Overwatch Gamer's Edition?"

"Sure. You know, this is the last one we have in stock. Don't be surprised if you get some angry looks."

"If they wanted it so bad, then they should have run faster."

After slapping three 50s onto the table, I picked up my spoils and perused the rest of the convention. After wandering around for half an hour, I noticed a small shop with some fanmade props. I saw everything from Zer0's digi-struct sword to Wolverine's claws. What really caught my attention were Tracer's duel pulse pistols. While I had tried my best to make my own pistols, there wasn't enough material or time. These seemed to be good quality, and they even came with side holsters.

"Excuse me," I said to the merchant running the shop, "how much for those pistols?"

"Just $40. Want 'em?"

"$40?! Sure!"

I handed him two twenties and grabbed those beautiful pistols. Attaching the holsters to my side, I spun the pistols around and aimed randomly. I was surprised by how cheap they were, given their quality, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. After holstering my new props, I grabbed my bag. As I started to head home, everything suddenly went white, and I blacked out.

I winced as I felt a sharp headache surface.

“Ugh, what happened?”

As my eyes adjusted to my surrounding, something was off. I was in a dark forest, but I don’t know how I got here. The last thing I remember is buying some props for my cosplay, then the world went white. I don’t seem to remember anything after that, and it doesn’t explain how I got here, wherever here is.

When I stood up, something felt different. I couldn’t tell what it was at first, but then I noticed something. When I spoke earlier, my voice sounded different, feminine even. I knew that couldn’t be right, but I know what I heard. I also noticed a subtle difference in my whole body, like everything was the same yet slightly different. Dismissing it as disorientation from when I woke up, I was proven wrong by an orange tint in my vision that I failed to notice until now.

“What the hell?!”

I gasped. As I frantically looked around myself, I confirmed that I was the only person here. If it was my voice that I was hearing, then something was definitely wrong. As I started to panic, a detail made itself known to me. My voice wasn’t just different, it was familiar. I knew if my voice was different then something else must have changed. I looked myself over, and what I saw nearly made me faint.

“WHY AM I TRACER?!?!”

I started hyperventilating. This couldn't be real, but there isn't anything to say it isn't.

"This can't be real, I'm just a nerd. Why is this happening?"

Before I knew what was happening, tears formed from my eyes. I never cried before, but all I wanted to do was bawl until the end of days. I don't know how far I ran, but when I stopped I just gave up cried until there were no more tears to shed. After several minutes of hugging my legs and sobbing, I heard what I could only identify as hoof steps.

"Excuse me madam or miss, could something be amiss?"

Hearing someone else confirm my new body only helped to further my sadness. I turned around to see who had the nerve to call me madam. Out of rustling bushes came what appeared to be a zebra, but it had almost a human-like face, as well as ring on it's neck and leg. I was so surprised by the appearance of this creature that I sprinted away without hesitation. Before I could get far, I tripped over a large box with the words OVERWATCH on the side. It was the same box I had purchased at the convention, but I wondered why it was here.

"Are you alright my friend? That nasty fall could have been your end."

"W-Who are y-you?" I asked while drying my tears.

"Zecora is my name, and fortunately for you medicine is one of my trades."

"N-no, it's okay. I'll b-be alright. Don't worry abo-"

Before I could finish, a huge lion with leathery wing and a stinger jumped out of nowhere and startled both myself and the zebra. It lashed out with its claws, narrowly nicking my cheek. With my heart pumping audibly in my ear, it launched its tail at me with surprising speed. I froze up, wishing I could be anywhere but where I am. Suddenly my chest piece started glowing brighter, and I seemed to rewind time. The beast was still coming at me, but it was like I was moving in reverse. I ended up where I was just a few moments ago, confusing both myself and my attacker. I instinctively drew my pistols at an extreme speed, and before I knew what I was doing I clamped down on the trigger. Light flashed from the guns and the beast let loose a scream of pain. I remembered about Zecora, and I feared that she was in danger. While I didn't understand what I did, I felt as if I jumped through space like it wasn't there. I was instantly in front of Zecora, and I grabbed her and ran. I willed myself to go faster, and time seemed to slow around me.

I landed at what seemed to be a sort of tree hut, and set Zecora down there. Before she could say anything, I zipped out back into the forest to retrieve my box, as it held the only clue as to what the hell was happening.