User blog:Addfire/Taking the Plunge

A preface: Because my Ampersands & Alliterations series died, here's a new one!

World: 2226

FirePyre carved through the world. He was always precise about his work, carefully tracing his hands through the air, swirling patterns through the fog. He stepped back, admiring his words solemnly. Nodding once, he thrust his palm through the area of mist he had been working at, and suddenly he was in another world. He didn't have tons of chakra, just enough for one sidestep to an adjacent reality, and the Bards were still chasing him.

He couldn't keep running, they were certainly on his trail. So he stood his ground, grey flames wreathing his head like a crown. A rat skittered across the pavement of the parking complex he had ended up in. Sweat dripped down his forehead, a river of nervousness.

Seemingly out of nowhere, three figures popped into existence. Each one had on a brown cape, and they all carried some musical instrument. A tall brunette on the right wielded a lyre, a portly man with a retreating salt-and-pepper hairline stood in the middle with a piccolo, and a willowy man with a clean-shaven face on the left brandished a pair of cymbals.

"I swear to you, once the Coalition find my body, you Minstrels will be in so many pieces that Humpty-Dumpty will be envious." The Australian threatened, shifting weight from one foot to the other.

The brunette snorted. "I actually have a good comeback, but I'd prefer to just kill you. No hard feelings!" She placed a hand over her lyre.

The music sounded like angels crying.

World: 982

Desert reclined on a bench. He was waiting for a bus to come. It was a cool day, so he adjusted his signature overcoat while he waited. Desert took a deep breath, letting the scent of nature settle in his lungs. It's so green in 982, he observed. So this is what it looks like if Hitler was never born but Mussolini was.

A bus screeched to a halt in front of him, rust practically showering him. The doors opened, and a stream of people walked out. One of them sat down next to him.

"FirePyre's dead." The line was delivered with no inflection or emotion.

"Well, that's a heck of a conversation killer..." Desert replied. "How'd he go?"

"Three Minstrels cornered him in a parking lot in 2225. What's your name?"

Desert turned to look at his new companion. Sporting a blue hoodie with colors muted by age, this person had a knapsack slung over his back.

"The name's Desert."

His companion snorted. "Desert? That's your Chosen? Seriously? Pfft..." He started to laugh, a rumbling chortle that rose from the belly. "I'm Ghosty."

"Not like that's any better! Jeez..."

"Nah, nah, I'm just messing with you. I'm actually a new recruit just this year, found my Grant and everything."

"That's cool. Mine is invincibility while holding weapons."

"I can respect that. Better than mine. Whatever joker decided to make me summon fucking Kirbies is..."

"Hey, profanity!"

"Why, what are you, a Mormon?"

"... Yes."

"Really? Why? I've traveled the multiverse, it's not like there's anything up there."

"Then what gave you your Grant?"

"..." Ghosty was silent. "Besides the point. Anyway, I'm supposed to bring you to Prime. Can you help me out? Going to Prime from here... What is this dump, 987?"

"982, actually."

"Well, that's gonna be the longest Plunge I've ever taken." As they talked, Desert eyed the mists swirling around him. Bards weren't able to go to Prime, but anywhere else in the multiverse was fair game. They'd been getting more active, FirePyre's most recent death only proving that.

"Well," Desert inquired, breaking his reviere, "I'll draw the circle, and Force through it. All you have to do is follow."

Desert's nimble fingers skittered through the air, making marks that only a select few knew. The light mist that had been gathering around them burst away from the duo as Desert brought back his hand.

"Desert?"

"Yes, Ghosty?"

"I'm kinda nervous to meet Yami."

"Ghosty, I've talked with Yami many times. As long as you side with the Coalition, you have nothing to fear. Also, could you boost me? I wasted a lot of energy getting to 982, so..."

Ghosty placed a hand on Desert's shoulder. Pink energy flowed from Ghosty to surround Desert, until Desert was surrounded by the strange aura. Desert pushed his palm forwards, and the two disappeared.

World: Prime

Ghosty's eyes darted around. He had been transported to a pratical utopia! A world of the future surrounded him, hovercars and smooth steel skyscrapers everywhere. The two seemed to be in some sort of hub, people of all shapes and sizes appearing out of nowhere.

Desert was bent over with his hands on his knees, his overcoat open to let air in. Ghosty rummaged through his knapsack to find a mercury thermometer, the air was 78° Faranheit. Whoever has created this world had pulled out all the stops.

A girl ran over to them, purple hair barely covered by a witch's hat. "Desert!" She cried out in joy. Then her voice immediately switched to anger. "Hey, what kept you so long, anyways? I've been waiting..." (Here she looked up to something that only she could see) "... 32 minutes for you! And after FirePyre's death — you heard about that, right? — I've gotten worried sick. What would I do if Eclipsa, or heaven forbid Playful, got killed?"

Desert offered a tired grin. "Glad to see you too, Chengsha."

"And who's that? A greenie? Geez, why do you always keep me in the dark? You bully..."

Desert put up his hands. "Cheng, I just Stepped from 3571 to 982 to here in a matter of hours. Couldja give a guy a break?"

Chengsha rolled her eyes. "Always the melodramatic, huh Mr. Don't-Curse-Around-Me? You probably made the greenie boost you, that's the kinda guy you are."

"Well Ghosty here needs to meet Yami. This is his first time coming to Prime!"

"Well then, allow me to lead the way."

Ghosty walked a distance behind the two, watching them banter back and forth as Chengsha brought him to meet the leader of the Coalition. He took in the sights of Prime, it was absolutely beautiful. Somehow the humans living here had managed to balance technology with nature, having huge forests and gleaming citadels side by side. It was breathtaking.

So breathtaking, in fact, that he walked right into Chengsha.

"Hey, greenie, watch where you're going! Didn't you hear me say that we're here?"

Ghosty blushed, backing away and mumbling apologies. She waved it off. "It's fine, don't worry yourself. We're all friends... Anyways, open this door! That'll lead you right to Yami."

They were in front of an imposing wooden door, marked with thousands of symbols. It was at least three times the height of Desert, the tallest member of the group. Ghosty looked at Desert, who gave him an encouraging nod. Ghosty swallowed once, then pushed open the door.

World: Prime

After walking up an oak staircase for what seemed like eons, Ghosty reached the end. Another door awaited him, nondescript, looking for all the world like the door to the janitor's closet of the school. He knocked out the pattern 'Shave and a Haircut', for no reason other than nerves. The door swung open.

Following the school theme, Yami's office looked like that of a school principal. Diplomas were scattered across the walls, and a normal desk separated Yami from Ghosty.

Yami was a woman of average height, with a shirt emblazoned with a ghost and purple nails. She offered Ghosty a brisk smile before looking down at a paper in her hands.

"Ghosty, from 8792. Granted with the power to... Summon multiple versions of a video game character? Your first mission for the Coalition was delivering a message from Vertroyer to Desert? Okay... I'm going to ask you a couple questions."

Ghosty nodded, not wanting to displease one of the most powerful people in the multiverse.

"First: have you ever talked to someone wearing a brown cape?"

"No... I put one on once before I was able to Plunge, for a D&D-based LARP..."

"Second: can you tap dance, or perform ballet?"

"Um... No, although Gene Kelley inspires me daily,"

"Third: Why did you do it?"

"Why did- how do you- I didn't have another choice, okay?"

Yami nodded, scribbling down the answers. Then she looked up from her papers.

"Well? I don't need anything else. Go off, now. Shoo!"

Ghosty scampered away to the waiting Chengsha and Desert.

"How did it go?" Cheng demanded.

"Um... She asked me about... Tap dancing?"

"Yeah, standard fare," Desert dismissed. "C'mon, kid, I'm sure you did great! Um, I haven't been here in forever, and I wanted to drop by the Frozen Yogurt place by Mandarin Street?"

"OH MY GOD FRANCOISE'S FROYO" Gushed Chengsha, and the three went off.

End of Chapter One