THE SHADOWVERSE

The Vision

A tough, dirty ground met their faces on the other side of the wormhole. It closed behind them, and they stood up, brushing themselves off and exhaling all the fear that had built up.

"We made it!" exclaimed Ryan, arms wild in the air. Their destination was a new society, filled with colors, sounds, and smells unfamiliar to them. They observed their surroundings, amazed.

"An alien civilization. Scientists would kill for this opportunity," Sam marveled.

Johnny looked around, as if missing something. "Where is Rose?"

"She isn't here," Jane notified. Dustin and Sam each looked around. She had vanished.

Ryan gulped deeply. All the excitement vaporized. "Rose? Rose!" he shouted. As the group ran to the side of a building, other species walked by them. Some conversed, others sprinted, still others fiddled with holograms. "What the hell is that?!" whispered Ryan, looking the figure up and down in horror.

"It's an alien, at least to us," Johnny responded.

"Yeah, what did you think you would see?" Dustin retorted. "Humans?"

"Rose!" Ryan screamed. Johnny and the others joined him in yelling her name, listening for any response among the sounds of this new world.

After searching for five more minutes, it became obvious that she was not anywhere nearby. The wormhole would've dropped them all off at the same place.

"She isn't here," Ryan mumbled.

"What are we going to do?" Jane asked.

Ryan dropped to the ground, defeated. "A new world, endless opportunities, but the one thing I wanted didn't make it."

Johnny placed his arm around his shoulder. "I've been thinking for the past fifteen seconds—extended into nearly two minutes for me. She made it through. For sure."

"What?" Ryan retorted.

"Johnny, what are you talkin' about?" Dustin replied.

"This was never her destination," Johnny explained. "It was ours."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying Titan tricked us," Johnny stated flatly.

"I'll kill him!" Ryan shouted.

"Oh no," fretted Jane. "This is what he always wanted, wasn't it?"

"Then we need to go! We need to find him!" exclaimed Ryan, now standing and reinvigorated by his rage.

"How?" replied Sam.

"We can ask Chronos," Jane asserted. "You know, my A.I. helper." Jane tapped her chest and spoke the keyword, "Chronos."

"Yes, Miss Cooper?" it answered in its wonderfully unemotional voice.

"We need your help," Jane said.

"What may I assist you with?" Chronos asked.

"Where is Titan?" Jane inquired.

A few minutes passed, with a "searching" notification sounding every thirty seconds. "It appears Lord Titan's main vessel is located upwards," Chronos stated.

"Well that doesn't help us at all," Sam complained.

"Yes, it does! He means in space!" Johnny replied.

"We can't go into space!" fussed Dustin. "Gosh, man! Listen to yourself!"

"Well, man the hell up, because that's exactly where we're going," Johnny said. "I always dreamed of this."