54 Tea and... Tear?
Disclaimer: I own nothing. This history has no interest in offending any party. Having the sole objective of only entertaining the readers. Enjoy~
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"Assumptions are made and most assumptions are wrong"
-Albert Einstein
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Recap: In the last chapter, Illyana has awakened her power and is transported to another dimension under unknown circumstances. To prepare for the rescue mission, Eidolon decided to visit the most knowledgeable and trustworthy person that he can think... The Ancient One.
....
Assumption breeds arrogance, which breeds mistakes.
That's the main reason why I'm coming to talk with the Ancient One. The nature of my power allows me to grow strong and steadily without taking risks.
Obviously, is already been proved that actively seeking power and accomplishing great feats helps with the Gacha, but eventually, I would have power that people can only dream of without doing shit.
So this allows me to have a huge leeway to choose the risks that I want to take.
Yes, I am in a dangerous universe, where the power roof is one of the highest in all fiction. Yes, I have a sense of urgency in at least being strong enough to survive medium-level threats(Mediul-level=Planet burst shit), thankfully I am already in a somewhat comfortable position.
So, there's no need to take crazy risks like traveling the galaxy collecting power and artifacts, like invading the Collector's place or having contact with someone stronger than me, even if I could gain something from that.
Depending on my paranoia, I would never even exchange a word with someone I can't one-shot in this world. But alas, it can't be like that.
I know that not everyone is an enemy... Everyone is a potential enemy. And this is where my contingency plans enter.
But there are people out there, that is... a little out of my scope, even if I prepare. I would not go down easily, but... Certain defeat is the result.
Can you blame me for not wanting to put myself in a potential boss fight without grinding enough and without extra lives?
First of all, I know the "plot" of the actual situation. Illyana is on the Limbo, I know the name of the responsible too... Belasco. She would eventually make a cool sword, age up and then escape.
Nice... No problem. Happy ending. This is her origin story.
But...
Assumptions are dangerous.
Will she really escape? Is she really on Limbo? What if this is a dark universe where she dies?
There's no Amora or Frost Giants in the first Avengers movie either. No Warlock's Eye. No Loki empowering himself with the Casket of Ancient Winters. The Portal would be closed without me having to use Captain America Shield to save New York.
My rational brain always says to me that I'm not special. That I'm not some sort of Main Character or anything like that. If I die today, the universe will continue to expand and the world will continue to spin without me.
But... Why if I'm here to bring some sort of balance and prevent bad ends? Maybe this universe is like the dark multiverse of the DC where bad things happen and are fated to tilt to the evil side and I'm here to balance things.
Maybe without my interference, or at least some help things can go downhill.
It needs only one bad day after...
That would explain some things. Me, here with the Essence.
At the same time, people are not my side characters. They are their own being and plenty capable of surviving and growing without me having to babysit them.
When and where to intervene is a dilemma of mine that I ponder almost every day. The same dilemma that I pondered in the past about taking the nuke out of Iron man hands.
Too much doting can spoil them. And in the worst case, they will end up lacking when they are the most needed.
But I'm not letting Illyana's fate to chance. She is the sister of my subordinate and a kid. Sorry if you will not become a badass magic mutant Half-demon with a soul sword, Illyana.
You can grow in another way.
Now, before going to save her. Let's gain some information from the Ancient One. It seems that he is still alive. Makes sense, Strange accident is last year, not even 10 months have passed.
Not even the guy can become Sorcerer Supreme so fast.
Again, assumptions are dangerous. All my meta knowledge could be wrong and Illyana could be in another hell dimension, the enemy can be another. Better be safe than sorry.
And if was not for the, till now, 100% rate of people here having the "right/canon" personality, I would have risked delving into Limbo without coming to Kamar-Taj.
So the chances of the Ancient One being an evil Dumbledore are slim. Not zero, but slim...
I'm still on guard, but my Danger Sense is not alerting me even while I follow the mild-mannered Asian man that looks like a stereotypical monk through old halls. So this could go well and even open some doors for me to learn magic in the future.
Normally, this moment would be when I would strike up a conversation to gain information, but I have a feeling that would be for naught... Hmm, would be a breach of etiquette to use the All Seeing Eyes to look around?
There's even an etiquette about it? I don't know.
The monk guy opens a huge double door, without using magic, and then my senses alert me that this is a portal door of some kind. The temperature, sounds, and pressure is very different from the outside.
I can tell that we're high on a mountain now.
"Follow me." The monk says, Leading me through an open space. To my side, I can see some disciples doing exercises, sparks of different colors flying with their synchronized movements
So orange is not the universal color of these things, huh? The MCU is wrong again. Maybe is like the chakra in Naruto. Surprise surprise, everyone has chakra in Naruto with different colors, blue is simply the standard used in the anime.
Minato is called Yellow Flash, not only because of his hair. His rasengan is yellow in the colored pages of the manga.
I search around to see if I can find Strange, but to no avail.
The monk passes by other... acolytes? - Is this the word? – Bowing his head to them and them to him. They greet me with a bow too, and I nod to them.
Finally, we arrive at a very inconspicuous door.
"The Ancient One is inside." My guide says and goes away.
Oookay... Bye to you too.
My Danger sense is still not accusing anything.
The tabs of the Essence are open in the corner of my vision, ready for me to take off a bunch of Power Boost cards so that I can use them in a power or an item, in case of danger.
Yep, some things need to be done redundantly with the Essence. Like buying monthly the GP with money, taking the card out, and holding it to bring the item or character.
I hope there's a next patch that improves it. Mental Control Mechanic or something like that. Or maybe simply me and the Essence growing together. I literally have had this power for 4 months.
I open the door and find myself in a very normal living room in a style. There are two chairs and a small table. High, but thin Windows keep the place illuminated.
There's not much on it, decoration-wise, a small cabinet with some things that look very normal, some plants that also look normal, and some art and caligraphy on the walls.
Nothing mystical or fantastic.
Even the only man in the room looks normal.
If we ignore his purple and yellow robes, he just looks like a normal 60-year-old Asian man. His head is bald and he has a respectable goatee that reaches below his neck.
And I sigh mentally looking at him... Haah~ So not even he can't escape the curse of all men... Baldness.
I also wonder if having a goatee is necessary to be the Sorcerer Supreme. And...
He is a man. As expected, there's no reason for him to be a woman.
If I remember correctly, The Ancient One is only a woman in the MCU because Marvel was owned by Disney and is owned by China, so... A stereotypical Chinese dude would be offensive... Pffft. Pathetic.
How so being the wise, cool and most powerful human in the entire universe be pejorative? Weirdos...
I hate this gender-swapping shit, only for the sake of gender-swapping.
Well, at least Tilda Swinton delivered very well, can't complain. She was the face of the Ancient One in my other old but is not right, sorry.
"Oh, you're here. Come help me with the tea." He says with a calm smile while carrying a tray in his hands. Tea, huh? Classic "Do you know how to properly set a tea table?" he asks
"Yes." I answer and go to help him.
I really do. And my knowledge of the tea ceremony comes from the unexpected Hanma Yujiro, that brute guy is surprisingly elegant and knowledgeable about all kinds of etiquette.
"Do you like tea?" He asks me while he brings a sophisticated teapot in the shape of a bird- no, a Roc.
"Who doesn't like tea?" I say back while organizing the table.
I notice that he prefers to do everything step by step, very calmly. One would expect him to snap his fingers and make the tea appear magically, but I can understand him now that I have so many powers.
There's something enjoyable in doing things with your own hands.
"Wu Hao tea, one of the few luxuries that I allow myself to indulge in this old age." He says with a smile while giving me the teapot.
I put the tea to the two of us, him first obviously, as a sign of f respect.
He is older than me, he is more powerful than me and he protected the universe for a long time. Any of these things can earn my politeness, all together earns my respect, even if I don't know him too much.
And I'm, technically, in his home too.
"Take a seat" He gestures to me.
I nod at him and take a seat. After some minutes of silence and enjoying the tea, he finally says
"I'm sure that you have something to ask me..." He says
"Didn't you already know what I'm going to ask anyways?" I ask purposefully a little petulant
He only chuckles at my words "The process is equally important as the result sometimes, is not good to skip it." He says
"Very well, Illyana Rasputin has been kidnapped or fallen, in some sort of hell dimension. I would like to know everything that you can say to me about the dimension, the inhabitants, the power level, races, and the probable culprit." I say directly "I'm in a hurry..." I add after some time
He massages his goatee while thinking.
"Little Illyana will not have her life endangered, but she will face tribulations above her age..." He comments wistfully
At this moment I expected him to turn back to me and ask if I don't know already about Illyana's fate, maybe aware that I'm originally from another universe(maybe a multiverse).
But he comments nothing about it.
So I flipped the script
"Shouldn't you do something about it, if you look so sad because of her fate... Maybe you could snap your fingers and bring her back. She is a six-year-old, and her brothers are worried..." I say accusatorially.
He turns to me with a smile.
"Heh, you could stop this now. This probing through rudeness... You are not wrong in doing it, but is unnecessary. And now that I pointed it out, unreliable." He says with his eyes twinkling a little.
"..." I just look at him for some time before reclining on my chair "Alright, but I'm really in a hurry. Say what you think that I need to know before I go." I say acting normal.
He was not wrong.
I was probing him. Trying to gauge his personality. And consequently how much contact I will have with him in the future. From never coming back to see him again, to casually coming to borrow some magic books and watch the teachings of the masters of the mystical arts.
In my other life, I read a lot of fanfic where the MC receives wishes from a god or something like that. Dude... If someone that I don't know comes out from nowhere to give me powers I would be very, very on guard.
Seriously, the first thing that I would try to do is gauge the personality of the god in question. If the god is magnanimous and can take a joke or a somewhat rude behavior. Or if the guy looks petty and vindictive. Seriously, I wouldn't accept shit from someone that looks like wants amusement out of my suffering and will be watching and messing with my life.
I would probably ask for small things like a healthy body and mind.
Back to my talk with the Ancient One, I watch him stand up and approach a wall slowly.
"The situation is a little worrying... Little Illyana is right now in Limbo. Not the catholic Limbo, I tell you. There are many 'Limbos'. The catholic one, the purgatory... The two are not the same." He says finally arriving at the wall "With time 'Limbo' became synonymous of 'sealed place of stagnation'. A separated dimension that is not Hell, but can't be considered it's own dimension either. Because have not the fundamentals to be considered an independent dimension."
He swipes his hand and the wall changes. Like the entire wall is a big screen, and he just swiped right. In the place of the inconspicuous wall with some paints and poems, a bookcase appears. "I could explain this subject, but you're in hurry and would take too long." He says casually while he goes to take a book
"The 'Limbo' that interests you now can also be called the 'Otherplace'. Is part of the Nexus of Realities and the centerpiece of the Archipelago of Anguish and Redemption, but this also is not that important." He says while looking at the bookcase, searching casually for maybe another book.
"What you need to know is that fact made the Otherplace a dimension that is visited casually by many sorcerers, demons, and beings of other dimensions. A place easy to enter but hard to get out. So the dangers are unpredictable."
"Did you ever go there?" I ask
"Ah yes, is an excellent place for every aspirant sorcerer to learn demonology. Not so dangerous like the others, and the demons are not that hungry for your soul." He chuckles "There's even a somewhat society..." He comments
"So is like a Hub of activity of Mystical and Demon-related things..." I conclude
"Yes." He says, finally getting another book and turning to me, carrying two books in his hands "Is a magical based dimension, don't forget about it."
I nod "And about the inhabitants? Their power levels? The bigshots? There's a ruler there?" I ask him to fill the gaps in my menta-knowledge
"A normal demon would be stronger and tougher than a human, and smart as one too. There are demonic beasts too. Some demons use magic as well as any sorcerer. But I would say their power level normally can't go beyond that of an Asgardian. So they are no problem to you." He says while giving me the two books. One is thick and the other very slim.
None of the books has a title. One looks downright evil, the thicker one. With a cover that appears to be made of some black animahide and letters written with blood.
Opening it I see that is a book of demonology. Talking about demons, demonic beasts, and how to use them as reagents, make contracts. Also, explaining many hell dimensions.
Skirming fast I get to the part talking about the Otherplace. This book looks like a diary of some sort. A journal of many demonologists. Very useful.
The Ancient One voice cut my thoughts "You need to keep an eye open for people like you... Outsiders... Who knows? Maybe you will end up meeting a sorcerer as good as me collecting ingredients or slaving demons." He says with a playful smile.
"Don't jinx it..." I say sighing. Is he hinting me something?
"But the one that you need to worry about is the somewhat ruler of Otherplace. That one would be an obstacle on your path." He says looking at me more seriously now.
If I didn't know it already, this is would be where he hinted that is Belasco that kidnaped Illyana
"Belasco..." He pointed to the other book, The thin one. "Was a very powerful sorcerer from centuries ago. His talent for the Dark Arts allowed him to make contact with what he thought are the Elder Gods, but in truth are an Offspring of one. The N'garai, more precisely their elite, the Madbhara." He waves his hands and the thin books opens and some pages are flipped to show what he is talking about.
This thin book appears to be a wiki about Belasco.
"Elder Gods..." I say in a low voice reading the part about these demonic beings. My eyes focused on their Creator.
Chthon.
Isn't this the guy from where the Scarlet Witch magical powers come from? The writer of the Darkhold and a future problem. A problem that I want very far in the future...
"Like you should know already, 'Gods' are a broad subject. There are many types beyond your Asgardian friend. The Elder Gods, the Outer Gods..." He answers my no-question.
"Outer Gods? So Lovecraftian lore is not fiction?" I ask just to pry for more information
"Ah, Lovecraft... A great sorcerer that never was..." He exclaims and sighs "He had a natural talent and spirituality. But it was not his fate to cross paths with the Mystic Arts... To this day I don't know if that was a good or a bad thing." He comments
So Lovecraft had the potential to be a sorcerer... Well, knowing the guy I'm glad that this talent was never touched. He is a good example of separating the author from their work.
"Tell me more about this Belasco... Seven centuries and still alive and now a demon..." I say reading the pages of the thin book
"He tried to open a portal to allow the invasion of the N'garai in the past. He was eventually defeated and sealed on the Limbo through a ritual that connects his blessing to that dimension." He explains
He continues "This blessing is something that you need to know. He is virtually indestructible." He says to me with a smile
"..." I sigh "How much 'indestructible'?" I ask to make sure. This universe is full of people claiming invulnerability, but few can really say that are indestructible.
"Very much indestructible. Immortality and Nigh-invulnerability. Impossible to hurt him though conventional means." He says
So basically I will probably fight a low-budget version of the comic!Scarlet Witch with centuries of experience that is indestructible. Okay... I can do it.
"I see... If that's all. I'm going now." I say raising from my seat.
"Everything you need to know is on the books." He says with a smile "You can take them with you and return to me later."
I nod.
Well, so he is pretty sure that I will come back. Good to have his vote of confidence.
...
Leaving the Kamar-Taj, I speed-read the books while high in the air and flying away.
Also, I scan everything and save them with the help of Cortana and my technopathy. Having the mind like a computer is useful, I can even replay things from my memory in a TV or even play music in my mind.
Stopping high in the air, I decide to do something that I don't like very much but would help in this situation.
I touch my face and activate [Foresight], Nighteye's quirk to see the future.
I don't like to rely upon or even use it. This power is unreliable. Even inside the BNHA universe is possible to alter the outcome, so here? And living using this power every day after waking up sounds tremendously unhealthy in many ways.
But there are moments where it can be useful, like right now when I will do a dangerous thing. Could at least serve as a guideline.
I focus on the visions, wanting to see only some dozen of hours in the future.
"..."
Hmm~ I see.
It seems that my confrontation with Belasco is inevitable. Strangely, but not unexpected, the visions became a little blurry when I enter the Limbo(Otherplace) but I saw some interesting things. Three interesting things to be exact.
One, I will fight Belasco. And yes, he is annoying. I could tell even from the little that I saw.
Two, we will meet Illyana, not in a dungeon or a prison.
Yes... "We". I saw first that the X-men will want to follow me.
Sincerely I would prefer to do this mission alone. Is the rational thing to do, but... Rationality can't Always win when a loved one is in Danger.
Is not right to deny Colossus and Mikhail from following. And then I couldn't stop the rest either. It is not like I'm their father.
Okay, if is like that... I will set the mission on my own terms and says some necessary things first.
Using my technopathy, I give a call.
After being answered I say.
"Saeko, are you down to invade a hell dimension and cut some demons?" I can almost hear her grin widening.
......
Preparation is quicker than my talk with the Ancient One.
Get some weapons and visit another guy.
This time I will not Exchange a word with him.
Now I know that the demons of the Limbo speak another language, so I will visit Douglas Ramsey, a.k.a Cypher. The meta that some days ago awakened his power of Omnilingualism.
Unfortubaly, MCU Loki don't have Allspeak. Sucks, huh? Even magic is severely limited. Like he is a Character that the build is all invested in illusion magic.
Is on my list to go to him to copy his powers since two days ago, but this is one of the things that are so easy that you left it for later. And he is seldom alone.
But now he is. He is alone on his room, under the covers of his bed, all depressed.
Using [Somnambulist], Midnight's quirk, I make him go into a deep sleep.
I look around his room for a bit.
It's dirty and dark, with the curtains closed. This guy has an issue.
The problem is obvious, he is depressed because he is a meta with a weak power. He awakened his power, and notice that he is now part of the metacommunity but his power is not good
I even read about this in the BNHA/MHA world. "Depression pos-awakening". Very common, even so when always happens in a child and in a world that values quirks so much.
Everyone wants to have a cool and strong power. But not everyone is lucky in the genetic lottery. A child wants to be the next All Might but ended with the power to change his hair color. Or quirkless.
The dreams are shattered, your first and only chance of being a hero, the first and biggest disappointment in a child's life.
So they became withdrawn, sad, and unmotivated. There's even a booklet teaching parents how to deal with it. How to act even before the awakening. Lowering expectations a little, saying that is common to be normal subtly.
Well, I'm not here to help this guy now. His power is not even so bad. Okay, you're not a flying brick but it has its uses. And your appearance remains unchanged. You can live a normal life.
I extend my hand and copy his power. Take some minutes, but I succesfully acquire and start flying away.
I test the power with the data of the Chitauri and other things.
Okay, this power is low-key busted.
This guy can become the greatest hacker. And being omnilingual helps with magic too, right?
His path is not that straightforward but it is there. He only needs to open his eyes to the possibilities.
....
I appear again in the living room of the X-mansion.
The fact that all X-men are suited up doesn't surprise me.
Okay, let's manipulate the situation a little to my benefit. And cut some wings.
"I'm back." I say to them and start walking in the direction of the hallway where the Sword of Actuation it's still there, I'm thinking of using Power Boost cards in it, because of the talk with the Ancient One and what I've seen in the future.
Now I know that there will be a small upgrade if I use 8 more cards. The vision was fuzzy, but I know that could be useful in a place where magic is the norm. Let's wait for now...
I see Colossus and Mikhail on guard close to my sword, I walk to them while multitasking reading the two books in the files saved in my mind.
"What are you guys thinking of doing?" I ask turning around to look at the X-men following me while all ready to battle. Time for a little teaching.
*Sigh* How do I reach these keeds?? *Cartman Voice*
...
Kitty Pryde P.O.V.
Everyone is a little stressed right now.
Simply waiting for Eidolon can be nerve-wracking. All of the X-men are ready to jump into whatever dimension Illyana has fallen down, even Logan and Dr. McCoy returned and are ready.
Eidolon finally appears in the living room, after some words he start heading to the hallway where Illyana disappeared
"What are you guys thinking of doing?" He turns to us when he finally arrives close to his sword
There's something different about him today. He is more serious.
Scott steps forward and says "Obviously, we gonna accompany you." He is in his navy blue costume with a giant yellow X on the chest, and with his "battle glasses".
"I would prefer that you guys not do it, really." Eidolon answers immediately
"Why?" Scott asks
"The truth may hurt but... The chances of you guys getting in the way are not small. The rational option is obviously me going alone." Eidolon says and then turns to give a side glance to the Rasputin brothers "But I think sometimes rationality loses..." He comments
"I want to go help Illyana." Piotr says stepping forward.
"I completely understand. But you all must also understand that this must be done right, the truth is all of you are a liability. There's nothing you guys can do that I can't do myself..." He says frankly while crossing his arms over his chest, below his mantle
Damn, that is hurtful but... I sort of understand, somehow...
And Eidolon is fucking intense now, with no smiles or pleasantries. This is Eidolon in working mode.
"But taking into consideration the feelings of Mikhail and Piotr, would be better that there's a team with them. Capable enough to defend themselves and act independently from me." Eidolon says "But I choose who will come..." He says almost glaring at everyone, daring anyone to challenge him.
He touches his ear like he is talking with someone for a second and then focus on us again. "From here, the ones that will accompany me beyond the two brothers will be..."
"Marvel Girl, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Rogue and Shadowcat." He says
Whoa, I'm included! But...
I turn to look at Scott. He is gritting his teeth.
"Beyond them, Shadow and Murasaki will be accompanying us too." Eidolon says gesturing with his hand to an empty space at his side, where a portal opens and from it emerges Eidolon's sidekick and the purple female samurai.
She is called Purple Samurai here in the west, but I read that her name is Murasaki-something-something in Japan, meaning Purple Mist Blade or something like that. Is a long ass name.
I look at her more attentively, the first time seeing her personally after all, she is tall for a woman. Her purple cool hair is tied in a high ponytail. If let loose, I think her hair would go to that Yamato Nadeshiko style. Yes, I'm into anime and mangas.
Even with her Half-Hanya mask is obvious that she is pretty. Long legs, a modest chest... I think. That cloth looks tight, maybe she has huge badoonkas. She has two katanas on her left side.
"A pleasure to meet you all" She says in English, with only a small accent, while bowing to us.
Most of us return the greeting.
But it appears that Scott is not happy with Eidolon letting him out. Logan too.
"Listen here, bub... If I want to go save the girl, you can't stop me. And I'm used to going to fucked up places anyway." He says Half-growling
"And I would appreciate you here much more. There's a reason that I want to let Storm, you and the others are the most 'attack-oriented' metas here. To protect the mansion in our absence." Eidolon says without feeling the least threatened by Logan.
He continues his explanation "Jean and Robert can be the heavy hitters. Even if you don't need a heavy hitter with me going, Robert can help with crowd control, Jean beyond helping with that can help with interrogations of the inhabitants for information. Kitty and Kurt can infiltrate and escape easily, this is a rescue mission I remember you all. And Rogue can absorb information and physiologies of the natives, who know if we need to pass though a defense mechanism that only lets demons in or something like that. Colossus, Mikhail, Shadow and Murasaki can defend all of you against multiple opponents or even a stronger opponent alone." He explains patiently.
"..."
Okay, he got a point.
This lineup is good, even without Eidolon.
"This is also a good opportunity to teach you guys something too. I will not always be here, maybe a similar situation can happen and I will be on the other side of the galaxy. But I also can't bring a dozen of you with me."
Logan looks a little subsided, understanding Eidolon's point. He can look like that, but Logan has a soft spot for the children, so saying to him to stay to protect them is the right call.
Storm doesn't even argue, even though she is worried sick about Illyana.
Scott is on the other side...
"I still think I should go too." He says
Eidolon looks at him, completely done. But then he sighs and starts talking again.
"Cyclops, you're the leader of the X-men, right? When the adults don't make the calls I mean..." He says.
Scott nods
"So let me give you a little lesson about leadership..." Eidolon starts. Hmm... I hope Scott doesn't take this the wrong way, he can be prideful sometimes.
And Eidolon is acting very professionally, even if he is not sugarcoating his words, talking with us like adults and people who work saving lives. Is a little refreshing...
"There are certain steps that one needs to take to be a leader. A leader needs to prove his own competence and capabilities as an individual to all the people he has under his command. This will facilitate and speed the fulfillment of orders and turn the team into a well-oiled machine. That operates very well, minimizing failures. And I need to remember you, failures in the things we do... mean loss of lives." Eidolon says seriously
"The X-men was a young group, you're the older one, but I'm sure that you proved on some occasions that your decision making is good and should be followed by your teammates. But you coming together will be a liability, a loose end in the chain of command of this group..."
"I do not have illusions that my orders will be taken without questioning. You guys don't know me, I can't demand this of you all. Even not intentionally, you guys may turn to look at Cyclops or even Jean every time that I issue a command, turning the process of acting slow... And this can't do." Eidolon frowns.
His frown gives me goosebumps.
He focuses on Scott again"We don't know each other, you may think that your ideas are better than mine and act of your own volition. This will endanger everyone. Okay, maybe not endanger everyone... I'm powerful enough to cover most of your guy's mistakes, one of the reasons I'm even consenting and taking more people. But any confusion generated by your guys will make my life hard, do you understand?" Eidolon explains.
I can understand. Is not like he is condescending. He is speaking facts.
"I'm not dumb, I will not act out of line." Scott argues
"You're saying this now... When emotions cloud your head you may act differently... Let me prove it to you." He looks around and spots Jean. "The situation is pure chaos, destruction and fights everywhere... A battlefield. Jean is falling from high in the sky, high as a skyscraper, unconscious and to certain death, and I order you to ignore her falling and escape to safety with the rest. What would you do?" He points at Jean and ask "My order is a simple 'Cyclops, guide the others to safety'."
An awkward silence falls on us. Everyone knows what Scott would do.
"This means nothing! I can't abandon a friend!" He argues
"Yes, yes. You're not wrong, but is not the right answer either..." He turns to the Purple Samurai "Murasaki, cut your arm."
! The order catches everyone off guard and before anyone could react, she already has pulled one of her katanas and is swinging it at her outstretched left arm.
"!"
When I was ready to scream... Eidolon catches the katana between two fingers.
I and I think a good part of us released a breath. Okay, it was obviously that Eidolon wouldn't let her cut her arm. What I'm thinking?
"That's the ideal relationship between a leader and the ones that follow him. Very important especially if the situation is pure chaos and everyone is in a pinch. If Jean was falling, you would ignore everything and everyone to try to save her. This comes from your own worry and personal feelings taking precedence over my orders." Eidolon explains.
"Again, you don't know me at all, but are you forgetting how fast I am? If Jean is falling from a building I would like everyone to go to safety because is easy to me to save her, no need to waste the efforts of you all that are not even safe." He then scoffs and rolls his eyes "Heck, I could have time to put makeup on her and change her clothes to a wedding before casually catching her. She was never in danger under my watch."
He turns to Scott again, his eyes accusingly "But you don't know that. And even if you know, you don't trust me enough to put her safety in my hands."
"..."
Well, we can't argue about that
"...would be more of an instinct, really." I can't really but mutter.
This makes Eidolon turns to me and I straighten up unconsciously like he is some sort of drill sergeant.
"You're not wrong, familiarity breeds trust and cooperativeness. If I said so, Murasaki here would abandon all of you because she trusts that I have everything under control and trust my capabilities. Is because we know each other." He says gesturing to the female samurai "I ordered her to cut her own arm and she didn't even hesitate. This is the result of her having confidence in my decision-making and the fact that I maybe know something that she doesn't. I don't need to explain all my thoughts to her. Maybe her arm was cursed, she trusted that I would ask her to hurt herself for nothing. And she knows that I could cure her eventually, thanks to this she doesn't even feel bad about doing it."
"Well, she probably figured out that I was asking that just to prove my point, but she was ready to really cut her arm and suffer the pain for the sake of my argument... That's the level of trust she has in me and is not something I can cultivate in your guys today. I explained this so that maybe... Maybe during this mission, this conversation will come to your minds and will make you all make the right choice at a diffcult time." He explains and I turn to the female samurai.
Her expression. Didn't even change. This woman is hellbent on following Eidolon.
If he asked me to cut my arm, even after he explained everything, saying that he would heal me, even if I mentally prepare myself... I would at least flinch.
If Scott says to me to enter in a dangerous place and that he would cover me with his blast... Would do it without hesitation? Yes, I would do it. But nothing without hesitation. And I would still worry about getting hit, worried that he would fail, which might affect my performance.
This woman would jump from certain death if Eidolon say that he would catch her.
So this is the difference between our teams? We're still newbies...
"Now I'm going to ask you again, Cyclops. Even after I said all this... Do you still want to come? Sometimes doing nothing can be the best you can do..." Eidolon looks at him
Well, Eidolon made excellent points and shared his experience, buuuuuut...
"I'm going." Scott answers resolutely the expected.
"Alright then." Eidolon doesn't ever argue and turns around to take his sword.
Eh?! That's it? No more arguing? Is Eidolon tired of trying to convince him?
Like if reading my thoughts, probably notice everyone weird expressions, Eidolon says.
"You are not wrong in wanting to come. They're your team. Is okay for you to try to come to protect them." Eidolon comments without turning back "Your decision could eventually be right and I could be wrong, we will only know later. I'm not you father and I already said my piece..." Eidolon then takes the sword from the spot where is cutting space and then focusing he makes an "X" in the vacuum.
Opening a square-shaped portal, beyond there was only a mass of red clouds and chaos. Whoa, cool as heck.
"This is very common in this world, you know? Is normal to have different ideas and ideals from other people, and this can generate conflicts. The closest example is the Professor with Magneto. That doesn't mean that they hate each other or anything like that..." Eidolon gestures to the Professor and he nods lightly
"So don't be mad if we just disagree. Grow up. But I will warn one last thing to everyone. This time the difference of ideas between me and Cyclops was easily solved. I really don't care... But if the topic is something a little more important..." He turns serious, his sharp gaze on everyone "When two people has different ideas and none of them backs off, conflict is inevitable. So, if during this mission or in the future we get on odds terms... We will fight."
Gulp.
"Who is coming? Organize yourselves." Eidolon says before turning to Mikhail and giving him a short sword... Is that Adamantium??
From our side, we will mostly follow Eidolon arrangements. The only difference is that Scott took Bobby's place. Not a bad idea, Iceman is more suited to a defensive battle.
Turning to Eidolon is Me, Scott, Jean, Rogue, Kurt and Piotr. Adding the Purple Samurai, Shadow, Mikhail and Eidolon himself, this is a super strong line-up.
Damn, with this group we can do anything.
And we are going on a mission with Eidolon! Is wrong to be excited?
"That's it? Okay... Let's go." Eidolon says and I'm ready to step on the portal but then I feel something touch my face and see Eidolon's palm blocking my view.
A flash of azure light is the last thing I see.
...
Marvel Girl, Jean Grey P.O.V.
Whoa *Thunk* I felt myself falling on the ground.
Where I am? The last thing I remember is seeing Eidolon touching my arm and then...
I turn around, noticing that everyone is in similar states of confusion. And it takes me an embarrassingly long time to notice the place where we are.
The sky is filled with red clouds, the ground is a dry desert of black and purple earth. There are some dried trees here and there with different colors, some look like are made of rock and are spiked.
The only living beings I can see beyond us are some black dots flying high in the air that look like birds, but they're making some horrifying sounds.
"Is... Is this hell?" I hear Kurt asks at my side. He is not using the holo-watch that changes his appearance. His blue form exhibited to all to see, no that there's anyone beyond us to see.
"No, just one of the many 'Limbos'." Eidolon answers, only he, Mikhail, Shadow and Murasaki are standing straight from the beginning. Mikhail is helping his brother to stand up.
"Don't stand up just yet... Get used to this place first." Eidolon advice
What he is talking about...? Uhh Ugh... I feel... Dizzy... is hard to breathe.
It takes... One minute, I think, from the sensation go away.
I finally raise myself from the ground.
"What is that?" I ask, approaching Eidolon
He turns to me "This is another dimension... The laws of reality here are different. I can tell that this place is much more magical in nature. Humans, even if they have the potential, are not that mystical. Is even a... weakness, no... a blindspot that we need to overcome. Is natural that we take a little longer to get used. We feel weird from simply going a thousand meters high after all..." He explains
True, we are a little too fragile.
Everyone is already on their feet and getting closer to talking about the next steps.
"What did you do to us?" Scott asks a little accusingly, but even I'm curious
Eidolon doesn't look at him, preferring to focus his gaze on the horizon. "Just taking some precautions to avoid cliches..." He answers casually
"Cliches?" I ask
"Yeah..." he still focused on something else beyond us "I facilitate you guys' transportation so that we wouldn't be separated during the crossing of the portal." He says and he extends his hand and attracts a big rock to him.
When the rock touches his hand, a green light envelops it and then a marble appears on his hand. Looking closely is possible to see the big rock inside the marble.
"Carrying you guys like this prevents the eventual separation between us..." he answers before throwing the rock away
"Oh... These cliches... Very common indeed" Kitty says while nodding her head.
She is probably talking about some fantasy thing.
This aside, being separated would be disastrous, is good that he took precautions. Well, is Eidolon after all.
"Is this way that you carry a bunch of things? Compressing them in marbles?" Kitty asks curiously
"Maybe..." He and his one-word answers.
Eidolon then produces a cloud from his hands. A light blue cloud, very big. At least Twenty feet wide.
"Hop in." He says before jumping in the floating cloud and standing above it. Shadow and Murasaki don't hesitate in jumping on it too.
"What?! This is like that anime... Do you even have the flying cloud of Sun Wukong?" Kitty asks while testing the cloud with her hands "Fluffly..." And then she jumps on it. I follow her afterward. Yeah, really soft.
Everyone climbs in and then the clouds fly to the sky, very fast I could say.
"A jet is too conspicuous in a dimension like this..." Eidolon says and the cloud turns red, to match the sky.
From below must be hard to spot us.
"Hm... This is not like I imagined this place..." Kitty comments while peeking down
"Do you imagine rivers of lava? Damned souls being boiled and whipped?" Eidolon asks with a hint of amusement while keeping his eyes on the front. He is sitting in the forefront of the cloud. Shadow and Murasaki are a little behind him, I'm the closest one beyond the two.
"Ah... well, yeah..." Kitty answers a little bashful
Eidolon and some others chuckle "This is not hell. Is not even the Purgatory, only a dimension of demons." He says "But there are many other people here too, visitors like us..."
"People visit this place?" Rogue asks incredulously
"Is convenient..." Eidolon shrugs his shoulder "You can come here to acquire things or even train. Going to other dimensions to train or harvest resources is somewhat common to the ones that can. No consequences..." He says
"Damn..." Is all that Kitty says
Yeah, damn... Is that common to simply go to another dimension? What world we are living, huh?
"Did you do it before?" I ask him, he finally turns to look at me.
"Do you even heard of Eidolon before I show myself? How do you think I tested my limits?" He says with a hint of mischief in his eyes, and then his expression changes to... sadness? Melancholy?
If it were not for my Empathic power I wouldn't have noticed.
Interesting... Eidolon used other dimensions as training grounds. I ask myself how many stories he has to tell.
"Now this is a good opportunity to teach you some things, Shadow. You all pay attention too..." Eidolon says looking at his sidekick and Murasaki.
His words make everyone perk up. Is not like we are doing anything here either.
He starts "The multiverse is a complex construct of realities or dimensions, with infinities possibilities. There are universes similar to ours, even alternative universes that are almost a copy but with some alteration. There are even alternative versions of ourselves out there."
"Wait... So the thing about evil versions of us is true??" Kitty asks
"Evil, neutral, good... There are many versions of yours out there. Sometimes the circumstances dictate ourselves. What would happen if you guys are not found by the Professor, but instead found by some evil organization that would do all sorts of evil experiments with you guys? Would you all be the same? Maybe you would become bitter, angry, and evil..." He says, making everyone put a contemplative look "Try to remember something that could've go wrong in the past and imagine that in another universe, it really went wrong and this changed you... Maybe Mikhail here was an evil version before I help him. In another universe, he never suffered his accident and lived happily."
"..." The man himself looks a little sad hearing that.
"All sort of different versions of us is out there. Gender-bending versions, versions that never awakened their powers, old and young versions, different races."
"Beyond these parallel and alternative universes, there are completely different dimensions from our own. This place is an example..." Eidolon opens his arms to gesture to the Limbo "Places that is like hell, like fantasy worlds, sci-fi with totally different races, elements or laws of physics and concepts... Heck, this whole reality may be just a plane. Another reality must be as big as our solar system with only one planet."
"There are dimensions that don't carry living beings, only energy... Some people can channel these energies to use you know? It said that the Mjolnir is connected with a dimension of lightning and thunder..." Eidolon explains
"There are ridiculous universes too, where we are animals, made of pizza, where we are two-dimensional or we are made of blocks." He looks at us "So, where do I want to go with this? When you find yourself in a new reality, try to leave whatever common sense behind and be open to learning. Observe carefully first. Maybe in a reality, the green light is to stop and the red light to go. And this is only a small thing from many examples..."
I see Shadow nodding to his words.
"Now, bringing to our situation... First thing first, stay out of trouble and study the place. I already checked if we are not inhaling something toxic and slowing dying but be attentive in the future without me." He says to our surprise "Here we need to see how the inhabitants live. Are they barbaric? Where the strength rules above everything? There's a social hierarchy? Who are the elite and who are the oppressed? What is the language? The currency?"
"Sincerely, realities where strength rules above everything are very simple and straightforward. Just be strong and not attract the attention of something stronger and you can do anything. Take anything. No consequences..."
"Ah~ If you're lucky, sometimes 'the trash of one is the treasure of another' so maybe there are huge reserves of gold, Uru, vibranium or other precious metals here and the natives don't care. So you can take everything. The inverse is true too, maybe trash to us is precious to them..."
"If you're running out of money, just go to a post-apocalyptic world and loot everything..." Eidolon comments and I look at him strangely
"Did you ever do that?" I ask raising my eyebrow
He looks at me with amusement in his eyes "Yes" he answers with his favorite word "Don't worry, I will not destroy the economy..." He says afterward
Going to a desert Earth and taking gold or anything else, imagine how much he has of everything? Heck, and the other planets?
The guy must be a trillionaire.
"Is very common for stray people to end up rising to overlords on the dimensions where they are stranded, you know? Some people let the power go over their heads. Is not something easy to do in our world, but there are places where the natives would worship you easily simply because of the fact that you are stronger."
"Remember, not all people here are evil. They have different views. Maybe some will think of you as a food, as ingredient. Don't try to be a revolutionary and change how this place works based on your human sensibilities. Adapt. Temporarily, but adapt... With luck, not everyone are bloodthirsty monsters and we can have a conversation and even cultivate some friendship here... There are all types of humans, so the same should be true to any race." He councils
Well, a necessary heads up.
Eidolon lets everyone digest the information. Sincerely, I was thinking that we would be fighting from moment one here. Like cutting through hordes of demons to rescue Illyana.
Well, I think everyone did their own assumptions.
After some time in silence, it's cut by Scott asking Eidolon "Do you have any idea where we are going?" He asks
Yeah, we are flying without direction. But at least we are covering ground fast.
"We are going to where Illyana is." Eidolon answers without turning back
"But aren't we just flying aimlessly? Are we searching for a reference point? Did you know the geography here? Did your friend give you a map?" I ask
"No, we are flying to Illyana." Eidolon says withou care
Some frowns appear on everyone's face, except the ones of the SCP.
"Do ya know where she is?" Rogue asks
"Yes."
"How?" I ask
"I put a tracker on her."
!
"Whaaaat?" Kitty and everyone act chocked
"When did you do that?" Kitty asks
"The first time I meet her." He says calmly, ignoring our shocked faces.
This guy is really paran- Wait a minute...
"Did you put trackers on us too?" I ask him and everyone perks up and looks at him.
From the corner of my eyes, I can see Murasaki giggling slightly
"..." Is he avoiding eye contact? "No..." He finally answers, but I'm not convinced.
I even try to look at myself. How the heck did he put a tracker?
"You are all grown-ups. Illyana is a child in a place that is prone to be attacked. The sister of one of my people, obviously I will take precautions." Eidolon explains
Wait... Did he know that something would happen with Illyana?
Our first meeting is him coming to me to talk about the possible future disaster that I could cause.
Maybe he saw that something would happen, but instead of trying to control the outcome, he just take precautions to help.
Hum. I don't know how to feel about that...
"This is a little of an invasion of privacy..." Kitty comments
"There's no such thing as privacy in our world." Eidolon almost rolls his eyes "even you guys put cameras to monitor the children on their bed..." He says
Touche.
"This is to-" Scott starts to argue
"... To take care of them. Observe if there are any changes in their bodies in their sleep, etc etc. Yeah, yeah I know. Is a good thing. A child doesn't need privacy. It needs to be safe and a little of space. To let them do their things, commit their mistakes and even get hurt a little... But is our job to protect them from anything fatal." Eidolon says
Parenting 101.
"Oh... A city. Let's go investigate." He says suddenly looking at the horizon, we still can't see it "I learned some things about this place from my acquaintance but let's learn by ourselves and compare the information." He says turning the flying cloud to the supposed city.
....
We arrived at the place. Yep, is really a city. Awful similar to a human one.
Eidolon said that is natural, this place has received the influence of humans in the past. But there are also strange things, like that building that looks like a honeycomb, that hole in the ground where people are going in and out and that huge tower that touches the clouds.
This place is like a mix of crazy fantasy cultures.
And obviously the most apparent mix. The people.
Yes, there are demon-looking people with big horns and red(or another color) skin, yellow eyes, protruding teeth and evil looks. But not only them.
There are people here that have no distinct difference from humans. I'm sure I saw one or two humans, covered in strange clothes.
Some look like humans with some distinct features like pointy ears, a single horn on the forehead, hooved feet, tails, wings.
Kurt doesn't look much different from these to be truthful.
And then there are the really weird ones.
Like that mass of tentacles wiggling around calmly, and no one batting an eye. That giant wasp guy flying close to the ground. That minotaur guy and that dragon guy. Is very common for people with the bodies of a human and the head of some creature here.
The physique varies too, some are small as children and skinny as you can get. And some are mountains of muscles or fat that could compete with the Hulk and Blob.
"Just walk confidently. Try not to gawk too much." Eidolon says, leading us into the streets of this labyrinth-like city. "You can go anywhere if you act confident enough, like you own the place. You can enter anywhere with a ladder. " He advises.
We follow him. He is constantly teaching us things, to look at the people more attentively. To see if someone is a fighter, who looks like a bad person, where to find who is doing illegal things. He pointed these things are easy to spot "You just need to really open your eyes." he said
"Zis place geeves a... familiar feeling." Kut comments absentmindedly.
We look at him. The one more at home. Would be rude to point it out, even if is obvious.
But Eidolon sometimes is very considerate, and sometimes he is blunt as the punches that he could deliver "Maybe you have some demon heritage... Wants me to look in it later?" He offers
"..." Kurts looks... hesitant.
We always thought that his appearance is simply a coincidence. The way he looks like a demon...But now, with him talking about these feelings, the smell of sulfur that he emits when he teleports...
There is something deep going on there.
"If you don't want to forget about it. But let me say something..." Eidolon turns to our blue friend "Your parents and family only define you as much you allow it. So don't feel bad about the discovery. And who knows, maybe whatever ancestor of you was a good guy... Did all these people look like sadistic savages?" he gestures to some young demons playing some sort of board game and laughing.
To a weird couple of a small cyclops-like dwarf giving a gift to a huge minotaur girl. She is all shy, it is cute and wholesome in some way.
Kurt nods at Eidolon's words after some time. But Eidolon is already looking forward again. That's him being considerate, he can be nice when he wants.
"Wouldn't this be the moment where we separate to search for clues?" Kitty walks til she is shoulder to shoulder with Eidolon and asks
"Stop with the cliches... " He rolls his eyes "There's no need to separate. I can hear everything in the city. Is awful and not useful came up till now, but there's no need to go in different ways" Eidolon says
Yeah, continue rubbing that you don't need us here.
Jokes aside, he was not being arrogant when he said that the best way is simply for him to go alone.
"There's some sort of bazaar ahead. Let's go." He says pointing to the end of the street.
We walk from some time before the street opens to a large área, full of peop- I mean demons... Well, living beings.
The place looks like a marketplace, it's bursting with activity. Beyond the people, the most notable structure is the statue of a demon in the Middle. I think 30 feet tall.
Eidolon is looking around, his All Seeing Eyes at full force, there are even some circles in front of his face. He is analyzing everything and everyone it seems
"There's even some interesting things here... In the future, I will come back to check out." He comments lightly
"Brings me too! All this magic stuff sound cool." Kitty says latching onEidolon's arm "There are even some cute animals here... And... some not so cute." She says gesturing to a place that is filled with cages filled with... beasts.
Small humanoid reptilian things, a cute one that looks like a purple sheep, a snake with the head of a bird, some cute little monkeys, and then some... dangerous looking things.
Like a rhinoceros filled with spikes, a horse on fire, a giant... what is that thing?? A centipede spider with wings??? And that thing is enormous!! Eidolon burn that.
"My phone is acting weird..." Kitty comments while trying to take pictures of the animals "The battery failed already??"
"Even if magic is not the exact opposite of technology and the two can even work together, some technological things will have a hard time in a place like this. Difficult for radiowaves to propagate, electromagnetism is all going crazy here... The place should have 'sucked' the charge of your phone. There are ways to protect tech apparatus from external influences you know? But I think your phone is not 'magic-proof'." Eidolon comments
"So like Hogwarts?" She turns to look at him.
Eidolon gives her a look.
"After all my explanations... Yeah, like Hogwarts, Hufflepuff girl." He rolls his eyes and continues to walk.
"Hey, what is the problem with being a Puff?? We're loyal and hard workers!!" Kitty exclaims with her hands on her hips
"Nothing wrong..." Eidolon says but he gives a cough that sounds awfully similar to "side character".
"Typical Gryffindor..." Kitty shakes her head.
"Hey, I'm obviously a Ravenclaw. The underrated house. Don't lump me together with those reckless brutes." Eidolon looks outraged
I can only shake my head at their antics.
...
After walking a little more we stopped in front of a small shop, selling trinkets, stones... That may or not may be used for something useful. Some are beautiful.
Eidolon is... acquiring information from the owner of the shop. But...
"He is rizzing up that demon lady good..." Kitty whispers at my side, to me and to the other girls
And is true.
"■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■" Eidolon is talking with the shop owner in a language that we don't understand, sounds like Latin with onomatopeias of suffering.
His tone is a little flirtatious while he is holding the lady... hand?Tentacle? I mean... I'm not one to judge by appearances but... She is not on the beauty standards of the human race.
Her skin is purple, her hair is small blue tentacles that move around wildly, her face is full of eyes and her teeth are sharp... is possible to see because of her laughs at what Eidolon is saying.
She is even blushing and covering her face timidly at some of his words.
Okay, she is humanoid and she has a womanly hourglass figure, but her limbs are an agglomeration of tentacles that are joined till her makeshift hand.
Well, props to Eidolon for don't care about appearance. She has huge breasts by the way.
I steal a glance to my side and see Rogue looking too focused at the exchange. Jealous even from this?
Murasaki only appears amused and Shadow looks like don't care. Did she ever have emotions? Best deadpan face that I have ever seen.
With a last caress on the demon lady... limb. Eidolon says goodbye and approaches us. All the way that he is waking in our direction the demon lady doesn't take her many eyes off him. That multiple eyes blinking at different times are triggering the trypophobia that I didn't know that I have.
Did she just bite her lips?
So some things transcend dimensions, huh?
"I discovered some interesting things..." Eidolon starts
"Like her address to a late visit?" Kitty teases elbowing him on his side.
"This too..." He answers flatly "But is not important. Has'zy told me about the biggest city in this place. Is relatively close to here..." Has'zy huh?
"The ruler of this dimension is a sorcerer of our reality. My acquaintance told me about him. Involved with dark arts, turn himself into a demon, sealed here..."
"Do you think he kidnapped Illyana to escape?" Mikhail ask aggravated.
"That's where things get interesting... There are some rumors that Belasco, the name of the guy, has taken an apprentice. Human girl... Blonde hair..."
!
"He is teaching Illyana? Wait... Is he good or bad?" Kitty asks confused
Eidolon shakes his head "A guy that tried to open a portal to our world so that extradimensional demons can invade can't be good. But... This was seven centuries ago. He could be searching for a successor or he had a change of heart. Now, this is the good news, Illyana is alive." He says
And everyone breaths in relief, a certain invisible weight lifted from our shoulders, but I notice that Eidolon is not so happy.
My empathic powers show me that he is... contemplative? Guilt? Exasperated?
"And there's bad news?" I decide to ask
He looks at me intently
"Belasco has taken Illyana as an apprentice at least 6 years ago... In this dimension."
Everyone's eyes widen.
"Time is another concept that acts differently in other realities..." He says gravely.
....
A.N.: Hell There.
Hope you like this chapter.
Is not one of my best but this arc is the introduction of two important things...
Magic and the Multiverse.
The next chapter interesting will happen.
I put most of the chapters under Jean's p.o.v. so that we see how people see our MC when he is working. Jean is the most unbiased of everyone.
I thought long and hard about the aging of Illyana, I eventually decided that she will not be in the age of the first X-men group. Eidolon going there saved her some years of suffering.
By the way, I thought that Belasco would be an easy enemy. Till I research him.
Seriously, Marvel is full of, strong underrated people.
Little Spoiler. Beyond Belasco, another Sorcerer Supreme-level candidate is visiting Limbo, I ask myself what will happen, huh?
Till next time.
