It Started When An Alien Device Did What It Did

Chapter 2

I wake from my slumber, groaning. Note to self; don’t sleep on beds with rusty springs and no pillows. I sit up and count to three, and throw my legs over the bed. The wood floor creaks under the miniscule amount of pressure I put on it.

Maybe I shouldn’t have slept here.

I get up, trying not to break the floor, but it breaks anyways. How it didn’t break last night, I’ll never know.

I mutter a string of curses as I pick myself up, glancing upwards at the hole my fall made in the floor above, when I hear a small, metallic ping on the Omnitrix. Clearing the debris from my body, I look around on the messy ground to spot a metallic sheen in the debris.

Picking it up, I look it over. It looks like it was once part of a necklace, but was removed from the string. It’s made in the shape of Spider-Man’s chest logo, but with the letters “DS” emblazoned in the middle. I’m about to put it down before I hear a voice in my head.

“My name is Dark. I'm a web-swinger with a blade and a lot of heart. If you need a companion to talk to, or an ally to help fight your enemies, just toss this medallion in the air and I'll be there. I'm always willing to meet new people. But know this, I will not allow anyone to harm innocents.”

“Okay, either I’m going crazy, which I probably already have, or this thing just talked to me.” I take a deep breath before responding.

“Whoever you are, can you explain to me what’s happening and where I am?” I toss it in the air, hoping for anything to happen. Half way through the fall, it starts floating and glows with a bright light before 3 figures fly out, one on its feet, another on its back, and the third landing in the first one’s arms.

“Seriously?” cries the figure on its back, its voice female and wearing a long red cloak covering her face. “What is it this time?”

The first figure, wearing a blue and black cloak, shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine,” it says, its voice male. He then turns to me, his face hidden by his hood and a scarf. “Hey. You the Displaced that summoned me?”

“...what the FUCK just happened?!” I slowly bring out my Omnitrix arm, ready to choose an alien at a moment's notice.

“An Omnitrix? That's new.” He puts something on his back that looks like a bipedal blue and black pup, which wraps its arms around his neck. “Seriously though, who are you and why are we here?”

“I could ask you the same thing! I fall down through a hole in this Azmuth-forsaken house, find this-” I hold up the emblem, “-get some words spouted into my head, then you’re here!”

“Hey, you summoned me dude, I was just going out for breakfast with my daughter and sister when you toss my medallion and pull us here.”

“....Okay, let’s start off simple. Who are you? Because if we continue like this, it’s going to get us nowhere. I’ll start off. My name is Flare.”

“Flare? That's new. Any reason for that name?” the male voice inquires.

“What? My parents wanted something unique,” I respond.

“Hmm. Well, my name is Tito, though for the last couple of months, I've been known as Dark. Call me whichever you want. This,” he gestures to the red figure, who is standing next to him, and I notice she is rather short, “is my sister Cece. And this,” he pointed to the pup on his back, “is my daughter, Brianna.”

        “...I’m sorry, but…” he snickers, before pointing at Cece and laughing. “YOU’RE SO DAMN SHORT!”

“Oh boy…” he says before Cece disappears. The next thing I know, I’m slammed into a wall as if I was ran over by a bulldozer. I get up and groan. Groggily, I pop the Omnitrix dial up and slam it down. I’m enveloped in a green light, blinding the room. My skin becomes much, much harder, and I feel two protrusions sprout from my back, one below each shoulder.

        “Okay, you wanna fight? Let’s fight.” My right hand slowly morphs into a crystalline hammer.

Cece appears in front of me, wielding a large red and yellow hammer, and jumps at me before a rope-like object grabs her by the back and pulls her to Dark, who catches her. “No fighting. As if we need anymore problems.” He then looks to me. “Pro tip, don't joke about her height unless you wanna see how durable you are without that watch.”

“Okay, yeah yeah, don’t upset the new Edward Elric, got it. Anyways, how did you get here?”

“I told you. You summoned me,” he replies.

“What the hell does that even MEAN?!” I yell a bit.

“Does nobody pay attention to the message? You tossed the medallion, and I was summoned from my Equestria.”

“What the FUCK IS AN EQUESTRIA?!”

“...you seriously don't know what Equestria is?”

“Of course not. If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking, would I?”

“...what's happened since you got that watch?”

“Well, I blacked out, woke up in an alley, changed into a Tetramand, saved a bacon-haired girl from some presumed muggers, got into this shit house, woke up, and now you’re here,” I reply, my face and tone of voice confused.

“Bacon hair? Wait...did she have green eyes and a leather jacket?”

“Um…. yeah, why?”

“Wait, so you ran into Sunset Shimmer?” Cece asked me, Brianna’s ears perking up at the end of the sentence.

“...the fuck is with that name? I mean, maybe? I’ve no clue.”

“You think that's weird, we know ponies called Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie. And those names are normal in Equestria.”

“....this is a dream. Yeah, it’s a dream. No one could come up with names that stupid, I apparently summoned like three people, that girl is way too short to sound her age and be human, and the Omnitrix doesn’t exist…” I start pacing and breathing faster. The debris has mysteriously disappeared as well….

Cece sighs. “Not a human anymore…”

“Trust me dude, this isn't a dream,” Dark says. “And it only gets weirder.”

“No, you’re lying. You’re just a figment of my imagination. Any second, I’ll wake up, and get back home…”

“Tell me, why would you imagine all of this? Seems completely random and crazy imagining this,” Tito tries to prove a point.

“If this is all real, prove it. Take me to this ‘Equestria’ or something, I don’t know. And I don’t think I care anymore…” I mumble the last part.

“Hmm… okay then. Say ‘Dark, our contract’s complete.’”

“Dark, our contract is complete.” I pick up the token and wait. A few seconds later, a swirling portal appeared behind them.

“Well, come on.” Dark then grabs me and tosses me through the portal.

After I come out, I land on my stomach, on a hard, smooth surface. It also seems the Omnitrix has timed out.

“Fucking ow... “

I get up, and look around. 6 thrones surrounded a circular map, with a holographic projection emanating from it. The room is entirely made out of crystal, and I stare in shock and awe at my current surroundings.

“The hell….? The fuck is this place?”

“Welcome to Princess Twilight's castle, Flare,” Dark says as he and the others come through the portal, the portal closing behind them. “This is where we live.”

“...so this is all real…” I breathe.

“Yes. You get used to it.”

I look to Dark. “But what about my friends and my family? When can I see them again?”

Dark sighs. “Unless they get Displaced, I'd say never.”

“...You’re saying I get my dream come true…. But I never get to see my close ones ever again?”

“At least you got something you wanted and stayed human,” Cece says. “I got turned into a three foot tall hedgehog.”

            “...no, there’s got to be some way… Alien X is in this watch somewhere, it has to be….” I start turning it all the ways I can think of, tears leaking from my eyes.

Dark shrugged. “You get used to it.”

“Like hell I do! I’m not accepting it!” I continue to fiddle, a small beep sounding out from the DNA alterer. “They’re not gone! I’m not letting go!” Tears have started flowing freely now.

“Dude, calm down. Crying about it won't do you any good.” He then pauses before looking up. “About time…”

“Calm down? CALM DOWN?! I WAS JUST TORN FROM EVERYTHING I KNOW, AND YOU’RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN?!” My expression changes to one of fury. A flash brightens the room and Tito is slammed into the wall at high speeds.

“I WILL GET THEM BACK! AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME!” My voice is now quite raspy due to the Kineceleran DNA, and my visor hides the tears streaming from my face.

“Screwy.” The next thing I knew, I’m floating in the air and can't get down. I think which alien to take the form of, and I transform into a ghost-like being.

            “I WILL GET THEM BACK NO MATTER THE COST!”

“Sheesh, what's your problem?” I hear a female voice say behind me.

Not bothering to turn around, I answer. “MY PROBLEM IS THAT I’M IN A WORLD WITH ONLY ONE THING FROM THE OLD ONE WITH NO WAY TO GET BACK! AND NOW… now….” The Omnitrix times out, and I slump to the floor, crying.

I feel someone pat my back. “Don't worry. Look on the bright side. It could be worse.”

“How…. how can it be worse….” I’m sobbing… my brain is overwhelmed with emotions.

“You could be a monster, or something else. But you at least stayed human. Quite a few don't have that. Not to mention, you can have some problems like Tito and Cece did.”

“It’s just… I don’t know what to do…. My friends and family just… gone in an instant…”

“They're still alive. Just in a completely different and inaccessible dimension…”

“Thanks… that sure helped me, knowing I can’t see them again…” I lie down and roll onto my back, spotting the figure. A pony. Floating in the air.

            “...nope, thought my life couldn’t get any crazier. But it did.” I burst into hysterical laughter, my brain dealing with the grief the only way it could at the time.

“You okay?”

            “OF COURSE I AM! IT’S NOT LIKE I JUST WOUND UP WITH A FICTIONAL DEVICE ON MY WRIST AND MET PEOPLE WHO TOOK ME TO ANOTHER DIMENSION WHERE I’M TALKING TO PONIES! AND IT’S NOT LIKE I’M NEVER GONNA SAY MY FAMILY AGAIN! SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I’M PERFECTLY FINE!” I continue to laugh, sobs mixed in with it now.

“...sheesh. Are all Displaced like this at first?” she asks Dark.

He shrugs. “Depends. Besides missing my mom a bit, I barely cared when I came here.”

I stop crying, rational thoughts coming to me for a moment. “It’s just…. I always depended on my dad and family…. Anxiety and Aspergers don’t help either, and neither does being 14 with a lower maturity level than the norm… I had… what… three, four friends back home..? I can’t process this all right now… I… I need to think….” A green flash brightens the room, and I run out as fast as I can, tears hidden from the world by my visor. I eventually come to a river, and curl myself up to it, night enveloping me once more.