Fan Fiction ❯ Chronoceptor ❯ Hurricane Serge ( Chapter 1 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Ultimanium 
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.14.2002 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 268 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.14.2002 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 268 | Status: Completed
Thunder crackled outside. I shoved a crate over to my desk and climbed up on it. Reaching up, I removed the swallow off of the wall rack and hopped down to the floor. I checked through my drawers and grabbed a couple of Cure elements I had bought the other day, just in case.
Marge stopped me on my way out. "Serge? Where are you going at this time of night?"
"Mom, I'll be back in a while. A meteorite fell a while ago out in the sea and I'm heading to check it out."
"Are you sure you should head out in this weather?" She sighed. "The only thing worse than Mother Ocean is Mother Ocean in a bad mood."
I slid on a jacket. "I'll be alright. Fast in, fast out. I just want to see it."
"Well.. alright. Just don't go too far from shore."
I slid down the board that lead to the ground from our suspended hut and took off toward the docks. There was always a raft parked there, no matter when I checked. I only hoped someone wasn't smart enough as to leave one out there.
Leena stepped in front of me. "Where do you think YOU'RE going?"
I froze. "Well.. you know... meteorites beckon.." I quickly shoved Leena out of my way and ran down to the wharf. The raft was still there. And that guy was still sitting there, fishing. I leaped off the dock and onto the small ship, throwing up the sail as fast as I could. The tropical storm gave the ship a rocket boost as the 50 MPH winds shot the raft out to sea. I had to hang onto the ground boards of the ship to avoid being drug off by the typhoon.
I could see the light from the impact zone glistening off in the distance. It was all a matter of getting there..
********
Leena sat on the dock and stared out to the churning waters and the hazard-prone Serge sailing off in the distance. "Urrgghh!!! Serge!!"
Radius jogged up. "Leena! You have to get inside! The storm's getting worse!"
Kid followed. "Hey, guys! Do you have any other rafts?"
Radius turned to Kid. "Sorry, miss, for your own safety, I can't let you go after Serge in this weather."
Kid stamped a foot down. "Damn it! For bloody hell, this is more than Serge we're talking about here!"
Leena shook her head. "I'm not going in as long as Serge is out there!"
"Give us a raft," Kid shouted. "And me and that bitch will go out there and get Serge back to shore."
Leena glared at Kid. "How DARE you..! I have a name, you know!"
Kid grimaced. "Shut the hell up, Leena."
Leena stood awestruck on the tattered wood platform. "How... do you know my..."
Kid shook her head. "You wouldn't understand if I told you. Now, Radius, can we get a raft or not?"
"I believe I have one in storage," Radius said. "I'll go get someone to escort it out here."
Kid punched an open hand. "Hop to it! We don't have any time!"
********
Keyvan : Hmm... strange objects... dimensional rifts... could this be what we think it is?... Ultimanium time!!
"Ultimanium," Lord Raul announced. "The probe is locked in and ready to go."
Ultimanium looked down on the planet below. "Conker."
Conker walked onto the starship's bridge carrying a case of beer. "Yeah?"
"I have your first mission, Conker. Alright - as you might recall, I sent the J3 to the fifth dimension to claim the remaining three Chosen."
"Uh-huh. So?"
"The probe arrived several minutes ago. When the storm outside of Arni village subsides and it is safe to mobilize the J3, I will be sending you down there. I need you to find three people for me....
Ultimanium snapped with his fingers. The 6 monitors in the wall blanked out and the bottom three shut off. A rotating figure appeared in the first display. He was wearing a red bandana and heavy jean shorts.
"This is the first Chosen from this dimension - Serge. Serge is a champion battlestaff fighter, and has mastered some lower magicks. As well, his past experience in cross-dimension affairs will prove prudent for our advances on Ultramagnus' dimension.
The second display lit up.
"The second is a young woman, Kid. She is of a long line of Zeal, a niece of the Queen of Zeal. She is a clone-daughter to the Zeal princess Schala. The Zeal no longer exist due to a disaster involving the alien lifeform Lavos, but their advances in the field of time and interdimensional travel are present in the design of the J2 and J3. She may have an idea of how to best utilize the dimensionsplitters. She is also an exceptional fighter with the dagger.
The third display turned on. In it was a built man with spiky purple hair. In one hand he held an axe.
"The final Chosen is a man from this dimension named Karsh. I have not acquired much information on this individual - the results for this Chosen only came through recently and I have not had time to analyze them. Karsh has extremely well-rounded combat skills, like the other two candidates. No one in the land wields a handaxe like him.
"Conker, I expect you to be able to find these people within the next 48 hours. Do so to ensure your place as my assistant."
Conker shrugged. "..I'll see what I can do, I guess... I can't promise anything."
Ultimanium folded his arms. "Be ready, Conker. You won't have much longer to contemplate failure."
********
I placed my hand on my head to avoid losing my bandana. Can't lose that.. that's like an artifact to me. More so than my jacket, which just ripped off my back and blew away in the hurricane winds.
I look up. The light is couple hundred feet from my position. If I can stay on my trajectory for a couple more minutes... Damn! I have to figure out what that is!
What's wrong, Serge... why do I want to get to this thing so fast? There has to be a reason, but it keeps escaping me.
********
The second raft plunged into the waves below the dock. "Radius! I can't guarantee the raft'll hold together for the entire trip! Are you sure you're going to let these people out to sea at a time like this? Maybe we should wait for things to clear up!" the attendant wailed, trying to talk over the storm.
"Shut up, already!" Leena yelled. "We have to get out there and find Serge! There's no telling how he's doing!"
"Leena is right. We can't possibly let the child go out there and get himself killed." Radius said.
Kid hopped down off of the wharf and hit the raft. "C'mon! We have to get going if we're going to catch that bugger!"
********
The raft cleared another wave. I'm so close.. too close... I can do this.. I just gotta live a minute longer... I cower as another wave crashes down aside me, threatening to tear me and my transportation apart.
Then I saw it.
It was just there, floating, tumbling in the ocean ahead of me. It wasn't a meteor, no. It was a probe of some sort. A lump of metal... with a red paint job and chrome stripes. I have to get it. Why? I don't know. It's an impulse.
I quickly dig through my pockets. I have to have that Element... ah.. yeah, there it is. I begin to focus my thoughts and I put one hand forward. I toss it down into the churning water beneath me.
"Aquabeam!"
A small geyser of liquid shoots out of the water and pushes the object into the air. I realize this is my chance and I steer the raft underneath the geyser and cancel out the Element. The probe hits the surface of the raft and makes it buckle under the new weight, nearly flinging me off. I have my prize. I'm done here.
"Serge!" A faint voice yells. I turn to see a raft with two figures on it in the chaos behind me.
I realize instantly. "LEENA!! Get back to shore! I don't want you to get hurt!!"
"Shut the bloody hell up, Serge! You're coming with us!"
I... I know that voice.. could it be....
A hand shoots out next to me and tosses me into the new raft. I attempt to reach back for the probe, but Leena bats me back. No. I have to have it. But... they won't let me...
They won't let me...
But then I snap back to my senses. "Leena! What am I doing out here?!"
"What the hell is wrong with you, Serge? You could've gotten killed out here!!" Leena yells. What have I done?
It's all too much... I can't bear it.... I'm... just... tired..............
********
The dimensional gate tore open. Conker stepped out on to the sand ahead of him.
He looked around a bit. "...Ulty? Where is this?"
"This is the fifth dimension," Ultimanium explained. "You are currently in the El Nido archipalego, a group of islands off the shore of the continent of Porre. It's alien terrain, sure, but the Chosen are nearby. You must hurry."
Conker started off down the beach. He looked out to the sea, where a typhoon was taking place. Conker shielded his eyes from the piercing wind that roared ahead of him. Struggling, he continued on.
The J3 laid in the sand behind him.
********
Karsh paced out the gate of Viper Manor. Something was up. Something he didn't know of.
Zoah stepped out of the building. "KARSH? WHAT IS HAPPENING?"
"...I can feel it... the same feeling I had when I first went through the dimensional rift with Serge's group. Something's going on around here I'm not aware of. You know, just a really nasty feeling."
Karsh slid his hand across the steel bars of the custom gate of the manor. "Zoah, keep an eye on the place for a while. I'm going to run down to Opassa Beach and see what's happening in the area."
"WELL, I SUPPOSE," Zoah said. "COME BACK ALIVE, THOUGH."
Karsh stepped out and shoved the massive gate closed behind him. "I'll see to it."
********
Ultramagnus watched from an enviroment not unlike Ultimanium's. Monitors in the wall. Mahogeny desk. The full monty. Except Ultramagnus' enviroment was set in an executive office at the top of an office building.
Keyvan : The full monty, As in everything. Sick bastards.
A dark figure walked up to him. "...more iced tea?"
Ultramagnus waved him off. "No, that will be all for now."
He looked through the monitor. J2 had just finished surveying the area above Arni village and brought him back results. Not particularly the ones he was looking for, however.
"These Chosen aren't here right now. And I have no way of telling who they are..."
A message appeared in the lower left corner of the screen.
Ultramagnus grinned. "ANOTHER dimensional rift... Ultimanium must have his little friends here.. J2. Center on the nearest dimensional rift."
The probe took flight from its position high above Arni, and recentered its vision on a beach a short distance from the village. The lens on the base of the probe whirred for a second and zoomed in.
"It's that squirrel that Ultimanium was with... funny... could he... how did he get here? Regardless... he has to be a Chosen. I'd better keep an eye on him. J2. Keep a lock on your current target."
"Affirmative. Biomass confirmed. Sentry?" The J2 bleeped out.
"Sentry."
The J2's boosters hummed to life. The probe recentered itself every couple of seconds on Conker's position below.
********
I awoke the next morning. No one seemed to understand what I had went through that night - it was like I was being controlled by some force. I had no respect for my own life,
everybody said I just ran out to the beach and sailed out into the heart of a hurricane for no given reason.
But there was a reason.
The probe was dragging me out to sea for some purpose. I had to find it, find what it wanted. I flopped down on my bed and gazed out the window onto the now calm seas. The probe, the J3 was out there, and it wanted me, Serge. For what? Maybe I'll never know. I'll never know if I don't look.
I hopped off my bed and ran downstairs and outside, down to Opassa Beach. It was drawing me there, like it had drawn me near to my death.
********
Conker walked into the town square. Fish remains lied throughout the paths of Arni, the greatest of which was the massive 12-foot fish skeleton that hung above the archway leading off to the village elder's hut.
"Ecch. Someone's got a fetish," Conker sighed. "Could it be something OTHER than dead stuff?" He had trouble adapting to the smell that radiated from the gutters, but he began ambling off towards the elder's hut. Radius sat on the porch, as usual.
Conker looked up. "Eh, excuse me. Is this Arni Village?"
"As far as I believe," Radius replied. "Can I help you with something?"
Conker tapped his sides. "I imagine this is a relatively small village, right?"
"Yes."
"Do you know someone here named 'Serge'?"
Radius stood up. "Why, yes I do, as a matter of fact. Back out in the square, second hut on the left."
Conker turned and waved. "Thanks." He stepped out back into the bustling square, only to get hit by the stench of dried fish again.
"Damn it! Clean the fricking place up, people!" Conker held his nose as he checked the side of the path and found Serge's house. He climbed up the wooden ramp that led into the adobe and stepped in. "Whoa, the place is pretty big for a thatched roof..." Conker waded through the bootroom, dodging the junk that sat on tables on both sides of him.
Conker cupped his hands. "Someone here named Serge?" He yelled.
No response.
Conker sulked. "Oh well. I'll just head back to the J3 and try some other time."
********
I could sense it, feel its presence. It warmed my heart as I cleared another hill and sprinted down the hill onto Opassa Beach. I turned and darted off into the distance where the probe lied. It had probably washed up onto the beach during the storm, which wasn't to say it hadn't taken some beating. Small dents lined the surface of the probe.
I was here. What was I doing? I just stood there. I tried to move, yet a force stopped me. It wanted me to wait for something.
"Hey! Heey!! Don't touch that!"
Who is this now? The probe seems to take him toward tranquility.. and it doesn't want me to take action toward him.
********
Conker fell over, wheezing from the long run. "Hands off, buddy! This is delicate equipment here!"
********
Who the hell... who would've figured. A talking squirrel. In a trenchcoat. Waving around an automatic machine gun. Alright, I have to REALLY get away from this probe.
********
Conker pointed the uzi at Serge. "What the hell, never seen a talking squirrel before, eh? Now, move away before I'm forced to..."
He dropped the uzi to his side. "Wait... are you... Serge?"
********
And the freak knows me, too. This isn't good.
"Yes, I'm Serge," I sighed. "How do you know me?"
"I'm Conker. Nice to meetcha." Conker stretched out an open hand. I nervously shaked it.
Conker glanced at the damaged probe. "I see you've ran into the J3."
"Do you know about it?" I asked. "It's like I've been having this impulse to find it.. figure it out..."
"The J3 is with me," Conker explained. "The impulses you've been having to retrieve the J3 were programmed in to radiate when activated. It was a way to get you closer to the J3, so we could beam you aboard the Argetlahm."
"Argetlahm?"
Conker slapped his forehead. "I'm getting ahead of myself here... okay, Serge, you had an adventure not too long ago. You crossed dimensions, correct?"
"Er.. yes. Why do you ask?"
"Alright, let me get this straight. The dimensions are in trouble again. A whole lot of them. Some freak by the name of Ultramagnus has the technology under his possession necessary to traverse dimensions. Right now we believe he's massing an army to take over the remaining five dimensions inhabitable by man. I was taken under the wing of a man named Ultimanium, who currently watches over this dimension from the starship Argetlahm. He is gathering heroes from across the dimensions for a task force to strike at Ultramagnus. He believes you might have what it takes."
I grinned. Finally, an adventure. Another crack at fate is what I live for.
"I'm up for that."
Conker smiled. "Great. There are two more people from this dimension that Ultimanium wishes to see..."
The display lit up on the J3 and it choked out a small slip of paper. Conker swiped it off the printer slot and showed it Serge. "This woman."
No! Could it be... yes...
It was Kid.
"Kid?! Do you know where Kid is in this dimension?!" I shouted.
Conker sat down on the sand. "Not really. The Argetlahm's geoscanners showed that she was in Arni area recently... that woman who saved you off of the raft... there was Leena... and then there was Kid," Conker turned to me. "Does Kid live anywhere near here?"
I shrugged. "She doesn't live on this continent. I know that for sure."
"Well," Conker asked. "If she doesn't live here, where would she go to get off the continent?"
"There's a small port city north of here, Termina. She would have to go there to catch a boat."
Conker pushed himself to his feet. "Well, what are we waiting for, then? We have to catch her!"
Him and Serge broke into a run, then a sprint. They had to get to Termina.... but not if an infamous Super Saiyan had anything to say about it.
********
Ultramagnus smirked. "Well, well... our friends are running off to Termina..."
He turned to a buttoned panel on his desk, and tapped the bottommost button. "24! Get in here!"
After a couple minutes pause, the double doors at the other end of the room swung open. A blond man with a mustache stepped in, dressed in a karate suit.
"24. We have a problem. Our friends Conker and Serge are headed towards the port city of Termina on Arni continent. I want you to make sure they don't get there. If you can't do that much, make sure they don't get to Kid at all costs."
24 bowed his head. "Affirmative, sir. I will stop Serge and Conker at all costs. For you, master." He turned and left the room.
Ultramagnus turned his swivel chair toward the window. Nice try, Conker. You're not getting out of this one alive...
Marge stopped me on my way out. "Serge? Where are you going at this time of night?"
"Mom, I'll be back in a while. A meteorite fell a while ago out in the sea and I'm heading to check it out."
"Are you sure you should head out in this weather?" She sighed. "The only thing worse than Mother Ocean is Mother Ocean in a bad mood."
I slid on a jacket. "I'll be alright. Fast in, fast out. I just want to see it."
"Well.. alright. Just don't go too far from shore."
I slid down the board that lead to the ground from our suspended hut and took off toward the docks. There was always a raft parked there, no matter when I checked. I only hoped someone wasn't smart enough as to leave one out there.
Leena stepped in front of me. "Where do you think YOU'RE going?"
I froze. "Well.. you know... meteorites beckon.." I quickly shoved Leena out of my way and ran down to the wharf. The raft was still there. And that guy was still sitting there, fishing. I leaped off the dock and onto the small ship, throwing up the sail as fast as I could. The tropical storm gave the ship a rocket boost as the 50 MPH winds shot the raft out to sea. I had to hang onto the ground boards of the ship to avoid being drug off by the typhoon.
I could see the light from the impact zone glistening off in the distance. It was all a matter of getting there..
********
Leena sat on the dock and stared out to the churning waters and the hazard-prone Serge sailing off in the distance. "Urrgghh!!! Serge!!"
Radius jogged up. "Leena! You have to get inside! The storm's getting worse!"
Kid followed. "Hey, guys! Do you have any other rafts?"
Radius turned to Kid. "Sorry, miss, for your own safety, I can't let you go after Serge in this weather."
Kid stamped a foot down. "Damn it! For bloody hell, this is more than Serge we're talking about here!"
Leena shook her head. "I'm not going in as long as Serge is out there!"
"Give us a raft," Kid shouted. "And me and that bitch will go out there and get Serge back to shore."
Leena glared at Kid. "How DARE you..! I have a name, you know!"
Kid grimaced. "Shut the hell up, Leena."
Leena stood awestruck on the tattered wood platform. "How... do you know my..."
Kid shook her head. "You wouldn't understand if I told you. Now, Radius, can we get a raft or not?"
"I believe I have one in storage," Radius said. "I'll go get someone to escort it out here."
Kid punched an open hand. "Hop to it! We don't have any time!"
********
Keyvan : Hmm... strange objects... dimensional rifts... could this be what we think it is?... Ultimanium time!!
"Ultimanium," Lord Raul announced. "The probe is locked in and ready to go."
Ultimanium looked down on the planet below. "Conker."
Conker walked onto the starship's bridge carrying a case of beer. "Yeah?"
"I have your first mission, Conker. Alright - as you might recall, I sent the J3 to the fifth dimension to claim the remaining three Chosen."
"Uh-huh. So?"
"The probe arrived several minutes ago. When the storm outside of Arni village subsides and it is safe to mobilize the J3, I will be sending you down there. I need you to find three people for me....
Ultimanium snapped with his fingers. The 6 monitors in the wall blanked out and the bottom three shut off. A rotating figure appeared in the first display. He was wearing a red bandana and heavy jean shorts.
"This is the first Chosen from this dimension - Serge. Serge is a champion battlestaff fighter, and has mastered some lower magicks. As well, his past experience in cross-dimension affairs will prove prudent for our advances on Ultramagnus' dimension.
The second display lit up.
"The second is a young woman, Kid. She is of a long line of Zeal, a niece of the Queen of Zeal. She is a clone-daughter to the Zeal princess Schala. The Zeal no longer exist due to a disaster involving the alien lifeform Lavos, but their advances in the field of time and interdimensional travel are present in the design of the J2 and J3. She may have an idea of how to best utilize the dimensionsplitters. She is also an exceptional fighter with the dagger.
The third display turned on. In it was a built man with spiky purple hair. In one hand he held an axe.
"The final Chosen is a man from this dimension named Karsh. I have not acquired much information on this individual - the results for this Chosen only came through recently and I have not had time to analyze them. Karsh has extremely well-rounded combat skills, like the other two candidates. No one in the land wields a handaxe like him.
"Conker, I expect you to be able to find these people within the next 48 hours. Do so to ensure your place as my assistant."
Conker shrugged. "..I'll see what I can do, I guess... I can't promise anything."
Ultimanium folded his arms. "Be ready, Conker. You won't have much longer to contemplate failure."
********
I placed my hand on my head to avoid losing my bandana. Can't lose that.. that's like an artifact to me. More so than my jacket, which just ripped off my back and blew away in the hurricane winds.
I look up. The light is couple hundred feet from my position. If I can stay on my trajectory for a couple more minutes... Damn! I have to figure out what that is!
What's wrong, Serge... why do I want to get to this thing so fast? There has to be a reason, but it keeps escaping me.
********
The second raft plunged into the waves below the dock. "Radius! I can't guarantee the raft'll hold together for the entire trip! Are you sure you're going to let these people out to sea at a time like this? Maybe we should wait for things to clear up!" the attendant wailed, trying to talk over the storm.
"Shut up, already!" Leena yelled. "We have to get out there and find Serge! There's no telling how he's doing!"
"Leena is right. We can't possibly let the child go out there and get himself killed." Radius said.
Kid hopped down off of the wharf and hit the raft. "C'mon! We have to get going if we're going to catch that bugger!"
********
The raft cleared another wave. I'm so close.. too close... I can do this.. I just gotta live a minute longer... I cower as another wave crashes down aside me, threatening to tear me and my transportation apart.
Then I saw it.
It was just there, floating, tumbling in the ocean ahead of me. It wasn't a meteor, no. It was a probe of some sort. A lump of metal... with a red paint job and chrome stripes. I have to get it. Why? I don't know. It's an impulse.
I quickly dig through my pockets. I have to have that Element... ah.. yeah, there it is. I begin to focus my thoughts and I put one hand forward. I toss it down into the churning water beneath me.
"Aquabeam!"
A small geyser of liquid shoots out of the water and pushes the object into the air. I realize this is my chance and I steer the raft underneath the geyser and cancel out the Element. The probe hits the surface of the raft and makes it buckle under the new weight, nearly flinging me off. I have my prize. I'm done here.
"Serge!" A faint voice yells. I turn to see a raft with two figures on it in the chaos behind me.
I realize instantly. "LEENA!! Get back to shore! I don't want you to get hurt!!"
"Shut the bloody hell up, Serge! You're coming with us!"
I... I know that voice.. could it be....
A hand shoots out next to me and tosses me into the new raft. I attempt to reach back for the probe, but Leena bats me back. No. I have to have it. But... they won't let me...
They won't let me...
But then I snap back to my senses. "Leena! What am I doing out here?!"
"What the hell is wrong with you, Serge? You could've gotten killed out here!!" Leena yells. What have I done?
It's all too much... I can't bear it.... I'm... just... tired..............
********
The dimensional gate tore open. Conker stepped out on to the sand ahead of him.
He looked around a bit. "...Ulty? Where is this?"
"This is the fifth dimension," Ultimanium explained. "You are currently in the El Nido archipalego, a group of islands off the shore of the continent of Porre. It's alien terrain, sure, but the Chosen are nearby. You must hurry."
Conker started off down the beach. He looked out to the sea, where a typhoon was taking place. Conker shielded his eyes from the piercing wind that roared ahead of him. Struggling, he continued on.
The J3 laid in the sand behind him.
********
Karsh paced out the gate of Viper Manor. Something was up. Something he didn't know of.
Zoah stepped out of the building. "KARSH? WHAT IS HAPPENING?"
"...I can feel it... the same feeling I had when I first went through the dimensional rift with Serge's group. Something's going on around here I'm not aware of. You know, just a really nasty feeling."
Karsh slid his hand across the steel bars of the custom gate of the manor. "Zoah, keep an eye on the place for a while. I'm going to run down to Opassa Beach and see what's happening in the area."
"WELL, I SUPPOSE," Zoah said. "COME BACK ALIVE, THOUGH."
Karsh stepped out and shoved the massive gate closed behind him. "I'll see to it."
********
Ultramagnus watched from an enviroment not unlike Ultimanium's. Monitors in the wall. Mahogeny desk. The full monty. Except Ultramagnus' enviroment was set in an executive office at the top of an office building.
Keyvan : The full monty, As in everything. Sick bastards.
A dark figure walked up to him. "...more iced tea?"
Ultramagnus waved him off. "No, that will be all for now."
He looked through the monitor. J2 had just finished surveying the area above Arni village and brought him back results. Not particularly the ones he was looking for, however.
"These Chosen aren't here right now. And I have no way of telling who they are..."
A message appeared in the lower left corner of the screen.
Ultramagnus grinned. "ANOTHER dimensional rift... Ultimanium must have his little friends here.. J2. Center on the nearest dimensional rift."
The probe took flight from its position high above Arni, and recentered its vision on a beach a short distance from the village. The lens on the base of the probe whirred for a second and zoomed in.
"It's that squirrel that Ultimanium was with... funny... could he... how did he get here? Regardless... he has to be a Chosen. I'd better keep an eye on him. J2. Keep a lock on your current target."
"Affirmative. Biomass confirmed. Sentry?" The J2 bleeped out.
"Sentry."
The J2's boosters hummed to life. The probe recentered itself every couple of seconds on Conker's position below.
********
I awoke the next morning. No one seemed to understand what I had went through that night - it was like I was being controlled by some force. I had no respect for my own life,
everybody said I just ran out to the beach and sailed out into the heart of a hurricane for no given reason.
But there was a reason.
The probe was dragging me out to sea for some purpose. I had to find it, find what it wanted. I flopped down on my bed and gazed out the window onto the now calm seas. The probe, the J3 was out there, and it wanted me, Serge. For what? Maybe I'll never know. I'll never know if I don't look.
I hopped off my bed and ran downstairs and outside, down to Opassa Beach. It was drawing me there, like it had drawn me near to my death.
********
Conker walked into the town square. Fish remains lied throughout the paths of Arni, the greatest of which was the massive 12-foot fish skeleton that hung above the archway leading off to the village elder's hut.
"Ecch. Someone's got a fetish," Conker sighed. "Could it be something OTHER than dead stuff?" He had trouble adapting to the smell that radiated from the gutters, but he began ambling off towards the elder's hut. Radius sat on the porch, as usual.
Conker looked up. "Eh, excuse me. Is this Arni Village?"
"As far as I believe," Radius replied. "Can I help you with something?"
Conker tapped his sides. "I imagine this is a relatively small village, right?"
"Yes."
"Do you know someone here named 'Serge'?"
Radius stood up. "Why, yes I do, as a matter of fact. Back out in the square, second hut on the left."
Conker turned and waved. "Thanks." He stepped out back into the bustling square, only to get hit by the stench of dried fish again.
"Damn it! Clean the fricking place up, people!" Conker held his nose as he checked the side of the path and found Serge's house. He climbed up the wooden ramp that led into the adobe and stepped in. "Whoa, the place is pretty big for a thatched roof..." Conker waded through the bootroom, dodging the junk that sat on tables on both sides of him.
Conker cupped his hands. "Someone here named Serge?" He yelled.
No response.
Conker sulked. "Oh well. I'll just head back to the J3 and try some other time."
********
I could sense it, feel its presence. It warmed my heart as I cleared another hill and sprinted down the hill onto Opassa Beach. I turned and darted off into the distance where the probe lied. It had probably washed up onto the beach during the storm, which wasn't to say it hadn't taken some beating. Small dents lined the surface of the probe.
I was here. What was I doing? I just stood there. I tried to move, yet a force stopped me. It wanted me to wait for something.
"Hey! Heey!! Don't touch that!"
Who is this now? The probe seems to take him toward tranquility.. and it doesn't want me to take action toward him.
********
Conker fell over, wheezing from the long run. "Hands off, buddy! This is delicate equipment here!"
********
Who the hell... who would've figured. A talking squirrel. In a trenchcoat. Waving around an automatic machine gun. Alright, I have to REALLY get away from this probe.
********
Conker pointed the uzi at Serge. "What the hell, never seen a talking squirrel before, eh? Now, move away before I'm forced to..."
He dropped the uzi to his side. "Wait... are you... Serge?"
********
And the freak knows me, too. This isn't good.
"Yes, I'm Serge," I sighed. "How do you know me?"
"I'm Conker. Nice to meetcha." Conker stretched out an open hand. I nervously shaked it.
Conker glanced at the damaged probe. "I see you've ran into the J3."
"Do you know about it?" I asked. "It's like I've been having this impulse to find it.. figure it out..."
"The J3 is with me," Conker explained. "The impulses you've been having to retrieve the J3 were programmed in to radiate when activated. It was a way to get you closer to the J3, so we could beam you aboard the Argetlahm."
"Argetlahm?"
Conker slapped his forehead. "I'm getting ahead of myself here... okay, Serge, you had an adventure not too long ago. You crossed dimensions, correct?"
"Er.. yes. Why do you ask?"
"Alright, let me get this straight. The dimensions are in trouble again. A whole lot of them. Some freak by the name of Ultramagnus has the technology under his possession necessary to traverse dimensions. Right now we believe he's massing an army to take over the remaining five dimensions inhabitable by man. I was taken under the wing of a man named Ultimanium, who currently watches over this dimension from the starship Argetlahm. He is gathering heroes from across the dimensions for a task force to strike at Ultramagnus. He believes you might have what it takes."
I grinned. Finally, an adventure. Another crack at fate is what I live for.
"I'm up for that."
Conker smiled. "Great. There are two more people from this dimension that Ultimanium wishes to see..."
The display lit up on the J3 and it choked out a small slip of paper. Conker swiped it off the printer slot and showed it Serge. "This woman."
No! Could it be... yes...
It was Kid.
"Kid?! Do you know where Kid is in this dimension?!" I shouted.
Conker sat down on the sand. "Not really. The Argetlahm's geoscanners showed that she was in Arni area recently... that woman who saved you off of the raft... there was Leena... and then there was Kid," Conker turned to me. "Does Kid live anywhere near here?"
I shrugged. "She doesn't live on this continent. I know that for sure."
"Well," Conker asked. "If she doesn't live here, where would she go to get off the continent?"
"There's a small port city north of here, Termina. She would have to go there to catch a boat."
Conker pushed himself to his feet. "Well, what are we waiting for, then? We have to catch her!"
Him and Serge broke into a run, then a sprint. They had to get to Termina.... but not if an infamous Super Saiyan had anything to say about it.
********
Ultramagnus smirked. "Well, well... our friends are running off to Termina..."
He turned to a buttoned panel on his desk, and tapped the bottommost button. "24! Get in here!"
After a couple minutes pause, the double doors at the other end of the room swung open. A blond man with a mustache stepped in, dressed in a karate suit.
"24. We have a problem. Our friends Conker and Serge are headed towards the port city of Termina on Arni continent. I want you to make sure they don't get there. If you can't do that much, make sure they don't get to Kid at all costs."
24 bowed his head. "Affirmative, sir. I will stop Serge and Conker at all costs. For you, master." He turned and left the room.
Ultramagnus turned his swivel chair toward the window. Nice try, Conker. You're not getting out of this one alive...