Chapter 1.2
Jon stared at the hologram-like figure, blazing heart cooling down, as a storm of fear came to take its place.
“...”
The figure stayed quiet, as Jon’s impatience grew.
“Well, speak!”
“...you really don’t want to know, do you?”
“Heh?”
It happened in an instant; Jon felt his vision blur once more, as the sight of the increasingly tangible figure grew slimmer and slimmer.
-
“Huh?”
In an instant, Jon opened his eyes, like nothing had happened to them at all. The entire landscape was shining like a diamond, with chrome and white coloring bringing the atmosphere of a spaceship into the environment.
He looked around, only to spot two other people laying down on the ground. In shock, he attempted to rouse them verbally.
“Hey! You guys OK?”
“Mmphhh.”
Shaking the first one, he saw that he donned a white shirt. “Come on, you’ve gotta wake up!”
All of a sudden, a blast of cold water doused Jon and the two people in frigidity. They both shot up, shocked by the sudden change in temperature.
“What the hell?!”
“So cold...where did the water come from?”
As the two figures shivered, Jon looked more closely. One of the figures, the one he had tried to wake up, had a white complexion with brown hair. He also presumably had glasses, as he fumbled around to try and look for them.
The other figure tried to dry off, but in vain. As the figure tried to take off a tight, turquoise shirt, Jon realized that the figure was a girl, about the same age as him.
He shouted out, presumably to look for someone. “Hey! Can someone explain just what the trippy f**k is going on?!”
“I believe I can help.”
At once, all three turned around. When they did, they saw a hooded figure. He looked like the incarnation of Death himself; terrifying, yet mysterious beyond the pale.
“All shall be explained.”
The girl shuddered. “W-who in Allah’s name are you?”
The figure stopped to pause, then responded.
“I am who you might know as the Stranger. Indeed, I have passed through many worlds, many times, even many existences.”
A spark of thought suddenly exploded in Jon’s mind. “Whoa whoa whoa, here. You’re the Stranger?”
The girl was confused. “The Stranger? But I thought that you were-”
“Indeed, I am. In the universe that you all came from, I only exist as a mere character in numerous stories of yours.”
A voice that Jon could instantly recognize spoke up. “So you’re telling me that the Strangerverse is real? Then that means that Of Fire and Smoke is reality!”
Wait...I know who’s voice that is!
“Wait a minute, you’re UberAle?”
Jon got a quick response.
“You go on AH.com?”
The girl replied too, even though she was on the ground. “Well...this is pretty shocking, but I’m Beylik, if you’re wondering.”
A spontaneous “wait, what?!” was shouted by Jon and the boy.
“Can we please get with the topic?!”
All three of them turned, surprised, at the Stranger.
He had finally taken his hood off; no one expected the person behind the shadows.
Except for one.
“So George Carlin is an ASB!”
The Stranger had to restrain himself from slapping his forehead, as he continued talking.
“Anyways, why you are here is slightly different than what you are familiar with. Indeed, all of my advanced tools and such are either in irrepair or of minimal use.”
“While I’d love to return you to where you were, I simply can’t. My wormhole generator, my only advanced tool left, has simply ceased to work.”
He finished what he wanted to say, staring around.
Jon had a halfway expression of both horror and curiosity. The other boy had his fingers intertwined, shadows under his face. Both of them, after a matter of seconds, finally took a look at the girl.
At first glance, she was emotionless. Cold, hard resolve was at the tip of her complexion. However, beneath the shadows were flowing streams of tears, which the girl let out, not holding back.
“So...you’re telling me...that I can’t go back…”
The Stranger had a moment of surprise, which quickly straightened out.
“There may be a way out of this. However…”
Suddenly, in a blink of the eye, as the girl’s emotions abruptly stopped flowing, and Jon looked on with curiosity, a medium-sized backpack, filled to the brim, appeared in front of each of them.
“...there is a catch.”
