On the Road Again...

In some grungy, back alley in the Capitol of Abaddon, a small tear appeared. This was not a tear in some fabric or structure. This was a tear in the reality itself. It was nearly invisible, only shivering slightly. Then it expanded, to a size where a normal sized human could fit through. Inside the rift, stars could be seen, painted against a black background, splashed with different vibrant colors of the universe. The tear once again shuddered. A nearby cat screeched and ran off, frightened by the reality bending event that transpired now. The tear seemed to hesitate, as if unsure whether or not it was done growing. Would it spread, tearing the entire dimension apart? But, finally, it decided that it had grown enough and it stayed it's size.

A figure appeared to step out of the tear, which had opened a gap in the dimensional walls. The figure's appearance turned out to a seemingly normal human male. He stood not exactly tall, but he wasn't short either. He had long, messy black hair and lively, emerald eyes. His expression was one of curiosity and confusion, being in a new place. He wore a white hoodie, left open to reveal a black plain t-shirt underneath. He also wore black jeans and white shoes. To anybody else, he appeared to be a human, but in fact, he was not. A fact that he had not known himself until very recently. While he functioned and bled like a normal human, he was in fact a being called a Meta-Dimensional. He had the unique ability to travel to alternate dimensions. This was his first trip. His name, in fact, was Shirou Velox.

Shirou blinked, quickly taking in the brand new scenario. Suddenly, though, he felt a draining sensation and gasped. He could feel his strength and magic, ebbing away. He held out his hand and tried to focus his magic together. Nothing happened. He was magic-less. However, he felt a new power growing within him. Not magic, but very similar. He would have to learn how to use it. Then, his weapon, Hybrid appeared and clattered to the floor, as well as his battle gloves. Interestingly enough, there was a sheath for the Hybrid. He put on the sheath and sheathed Hybrid, and shoved his gloves in his back pocket. Other than that, he felt...younger. Not in a sense of literal reversal of age, but the feeling. He felt weaker, slower, and so forth. He almost felt like what he was, so many years ago...nearly half a decade ago. Though, he didn't panic. Somehow, he felt like this was normal. Like, this was supposed to happen. Like he was...adapting.

The young Meta-Dimensional sighed, but smiled. He couldn't help but feel energized. He felt suddenly alive. He hadn't felt this way in years. On top of that, he also felt something new. A new ability. He wasn't sure what it was yet, but he could feel it, itching to be used and tried out. He turned around to the rip he had made, still awed at it. He the cupped his hands together and yelled, "Hey Etzolix, hurry up! I'm unsure how much longer it'll stay open."

The black-haired man once again turned around, to properly observe his surroundings. Before, he had been interrupted with him changing. But now, he could clearly focus on where he was. It appeared to be an alley. A dirty one at that. Flies buzzed around, and there was a disgusting odor floating around. There were puddles of filfth, dumpsters, and questionable stains on the walls. The alley was darkened, shadowed by the tall surrounding buildings. Above, Shirou could see the bright, blue sky. He wondered where he was, what this place was.

Shirou's white haired friend stepped out of the rift. Etzolix's clothes had changed. Shirou looked down, having not noticed his clothes. Not much had changed. His hoodie was thinner, allowing more flexibility and it was zipped open. His shoes had changed from his old sneakers to a pair of new, slip on shoes, that while they lacked laces, they fitted tight and comfortably. He then rolled up eyes upwards. He could see his hair was the same, and he could only assume his eyes were. Hopefully nothing physically changed about him, as he had grown fond of his current appearance.

"You noticed it, too," Shirou responded, excitedly. This meant that Etzolix was affected as well, and most possibly, at the same base level as Shirou. Shirou couldn't help but grin. "I think this means that we're both as our base strength. Somehow, our bodies have adapted to this new place, which apparently means we have lost our abilities from the previous universe." Shirou realized that he was starting to ramble. "But, basically, for the first time, we're at the same power level," he finished, still as excited. Before, Etzolix had always been stronger than Shirou, and Shirou couldn't seem to even come close to catching up. Partly because Etzolix had much more experience, but also because Shirou chose not to gain experience at the same pace as Etzolix had, leaving him in the dust. But this meant that they were back to square one. They were equal. Shirou wanted to offer a fight right off, but he resisted. He wanted to explore the world more.

"Alright," Shirou said, rolling up his sleeves. To his surprise, his arm guards were absent, showing bare forearms. "Brand new land, people, and apparently powers. Shall we explore?" He then blinked, noticing the rift shivering behind Etzolix. He had forgotten about it.

The youth walked to the rift, inspecting it. Unsure, he reached his hand out and touched the opening within it. It shivered again and began to close. What was left was absolutely nothing, just the normal air. No sign of the rift's existence. "Huh," he said, turning back to Etzolix. "People who enter the rift through the one I left back home will still be able to get here, though where they'll end up is unknown." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small, leather bound book. The pages were yellowed and obviously aged. It had been the book that his father had given him before...before he found out he was a Meta-Dimensional. The book held all the information and mythos about his species that his father had gathered over the years. Some of it was history, while other parts of it were facts and instructions on how to use his powers. There was also a section about all the different dimensions that Jinsei had traveled to. He held it up for Etzolix to see.

"I read enough of this book to ensure that people could enter the rift at any moment, and safely. However, I'm not sure how to regulate the location and time of their arrival. So, if Yukina or Yima decide to enter it, we probably won't know until we run into them," he explained to Etzolix. "Though, I'm pretty sure that the time they arrive won't be terribly varied. Since there is an open link connecting the two dimensions, the time should be kept relative. At most, it will only be a year or two difference...in theory at least." He was mostly explaining this stuff to to reassure himself, rather than Etzolix. He pocketed the book. "But where were we?"

Etzolix's question reminding Shirou of the new power he felt. He started to feel giddy again. "Definitely try out our abilities. Do you feel that...energy? It's not magic, but it's similar," he asked. He then closed his eyes, focusing the new found ability. It was difficult. He couldn't grasp it like he could with magic. He more just...felt it. It almost feel like a vibration, a beat. Kind of like a heart beat. He focused on the easiest enchantment he had used before. Then, the energy expanded and surrounded him. He couldn't cover the particles around him in Darkness, to control them, because...he no longer has Darkness. Instead, he found that he could just manipulate the particles regularly. They relayed information to him about Etzolix. But, no information was received. It was like...it was unreadable. Weird. He opened his eyes. "Odd. I can't seem to identify you," he told his ivory-headed friend. He then waited to see what Etzolix would do. Shirou was unsure of his control over this new power, and he would see the extent to how much he could manipulate when he was alone.

Shirou nodded in response to Etzolix's request. As Etzolix silently activated his ability, Shirou started deeply into his friend's eyes, alert for any changes. Etzolix's sclerae turn black. So that changed. He blinked when Etzolix questioned why he couldn't detect himself. So it was just Shirou's ability that was faulty. There was something directly involving Etzolix. "Maybe you just aren't detectable," he suggested, with a shrug. If Etzolix could feel the power as well, then that meant that he still had it, and since Shirou didn't lose any particular thing, it wouldn't make sense that Etzolix would. He tried focusing on Etzolix once again, as if that would apparently help. Suddenly, he was somehow just instantly analyzing Etzolix, garnering information from him. He wasn't sure how, but it was like some innate ability. However, it proved to no avail and it came back like scribbles. "Whoa," he said. He shook his head. "Maybe it's a new ability."

Etzolix didn't feel anything? Then why did Shirou? He felt the ability when he had entered the universe, separate from the pseudo-magic energy. Then again, he had to activate it to properly use it. Though, it was still active, and relaying the undecipherable information to him about Etzolix. "I have this ability that lets me analyze people, I believe. I get stuff like age and elements, but with you, I just get...scribbles." He looked down at himself. Maybe he could observe himself? It worked. He obtained a list of features about himself. He had already detected himself with the field, though this was more specific. This defined his age, as well as his weaknesses and strengths. Interesting. "It works on me," he continued with a shrug, unsure about what else to say. It seemed like Etzolix had gotten some undetectable ability. Maybe him not being able to feel it was point of being undetectable?

Etzolix still maintained the ability to portal, though it lacked the darkness aspect and resembled more of something from Space Paranoids, or the Grid. Shirou couldn't portal in the previous universe. No matter how hard he trained or focused, he couldn't seem to open a portal. Maybe it had to do with Asher and Cain's block. But now, he should be able to. Or rather, he should be able to open a relative inter-dimensional rift. He internally groaned. He wished that he had read more of the journal, but he had been in too much of a hurry. But, regardless of lacking the information, he focused. A rift opened in front of him, and the second one opened up next to it. It took less focus than opening rift into another dimension. To make sure it worked right, he stuck his hand though it, and was satisfied when he saw it pop out the other portal. Pulling back his arm, he grinned at Etzolix. "Finally," he said, immensely content.

Shirou thought for a moment and then shook his head. "All of my abilities are either too powerful for me right now, or I can no longer use them due to lacking a needed element," he replied with a shrug. He then followed Etzolix through the portal and found himself on the roof of the building. They then moved on to the highest building visible, which was pretty high. Shirou couldn't help and look on in awe. The city was giant. Even bigger than the World That Never Was.

"I wonder how big this place is," Shirou wondered out loud. "And whether or not there are more planets where people live."

Shirou nodded, looking down on the street. There were indeed these strange metallic monsters racing down the streets. Were they controlled? They had to be. They were causing any destruction of havoc, and people seemed to not care they were there. Plus, they were going at deliberate speeds. Maybe they were just being herded. "This place is quite strange," Shirou commented. "We should see if we can get a map of the place." He was silent for a moment, staring down. He got a sudden idea that he'd have to test out later. "Alright, I suppose we should just ask random strangers on the street to start out," he said, turning to Etzolix. A faint "tearing" sound could be heard and rift opened. Shirou entered it, expecting Etzolix to follow him. The outgoing rift was directly below them, on the street level. He walked out and almost got ran into. He was given a dirty look and Shirou smiled apologetically.

"Fuck off." Etzolix said as the person far Shirou a dirty look. He was impatient and wanted to be hated already. He somewhat missed the feeling of intimidation but he also loved the ability to start anew even if this meant following his old footsteps. He silently contemplated of there was a new Empire. "So maybe we should get a guide or someone who is familiar with this world...hmm" he thought to himself wondering who would be nice and not intimidated enough to do so.

Shirou raised his eyebrows when Etzolix told the passerbyer to fuck off, though not saying anything. He must be feeling impatient. Shirou had similar feelings. "It seems as though portalling, or rather, the use of spells and such abilities are not an alien concept, as nobody seems to be put off by it," Shirou observed, as people just passed by them, just ignoring them. "Hmm." He looked around. A man wearing a suit and sporting a crew-cut walked by them. Shirou stepped in front of him and asked, "Hey, what is this place?"

The man looked at Shirou strangely, and in a somewhat annoyed tone, replied. "You're in the city of, uh, Diana?" He then gave Shirou another odd look and quickly walked away, before Shirou could ask another. He turned to Etzolix and shrugged. "I'm not the best at asking information, I suppose," he said, sighing. "You're turn."

Shirou watched in slight amusement as Etzolix grabbed a random pedestrian and interrogated him about the city, via hanging him off the roof. Although rather extreme for the basic information they wanted, it got the job done. Shirou wondered if he should be worried or concerned with the act. It certainly was something Etzolix would do, though rash. He shrugged it off. In the previous universe, Shirou always felt that Etzolix had limited himself. Here, he didn't have to. Maybe this was just him letting loose.

"Interesting method," Shirou commented dryly, though he smirked. This place was called Abaddon. That meant Destroyer. A rather morbid name for such a place.

Shirou shrugged in agreement and followed Etzolix. He picked up his own pamphlet and read the contents. Not much stuff in depth about other locations. Apparently, though, in the city, there was giant ball of string. He sighed. Not as much information as he had wanted. He wanted to learn more about the individual districts, or whatever. He picked the first on the list. Altostratus. "Let's find these, uh, pod things and see if we can get more information about this Altostratus place," Shirou told Etzolix, wanting to start gaining more information about where they were. There was a map on the pamphlet of Diana and where the pods were, which appeared to transport them to other areas. Memorizing the route, Shirou pocketed the pamphlet and started walking towards the direction. On the way, they could also experience the culture more. See what people were like.

He nodded and then they were off. They walked down streets in busy areas, full of busy people, walking to their busy lives. Then, they turned into a more suburban area. Less busy. Less tall buildings and more houses. Less people, but more peaceful. Then they started to get back to the big buildings and the busy city areas, though in a seemingly more grungy area. The places were more noticeably more run down. Buildings were boarded up. Homeless people roamed the streets and alleys. And then, there were the gangs. Whilst walking down the street, they were followed by a group of six or seven people. Shirou stopped and turned around. It was certainly a gang. They wore ragged clothing, looked like they hadn't showered in days, and they all wore a purple handkerchief. "Sup," Shirou said, wondering what these guys wanted.

One of them came forward, presumably the leader, and looked at them condescendingly. [i]You guys are in the wrong neighborhood, especially with those queer ass weapons of yours. And what are you two? A couple? Fuckin' queer-ass bitches.[i] The rest of the gang snickered. They then withdrew all of their weapons, which consisted off daggers and switchblades.

Shirou glanced at Etzolix, rolling his eyes while also indicating that Etzolix could make the first move.

Shirou watched in amusement as Etzolix struck first, though he didn't enjoy it long as he himself moved in to strike. Like Etzolix, he wouldn't worry about sporting any weapons. Why bother? This was cake. These people were as strong as Shadow heartless...maybe weaker. The youth didn't give the remaining members the time to realize what was happening. He rushed forward and gave a powerful uppercut to one of the surprised members. He then kicked the member in the chest, pushing him into another member. The member dropped his dagger, to which Shirou quickly caught and stabbed right into the fallen's foot, which led to a bloody scream. Using him as a stepping stool, Shirou jumped towards the member he had kicked the other into, and punched them in the stomach. Another one of the gang members went to slash at Shirou, but he ducked, leading them to instead slash the fellow member Shirou had punched. Shirou grabbed his leg and pulled, throwing him into the other member. So many members, so confusing to keep track of which was which. He expected Etzolix to have taken care of the rest.