Sam

The After

        She opens her eyes. She sees white. She wonders if she's dead. She wonders how she died, if she died well, or in agony. She can't remember. All she remembers are her ships.

       "Well, that was great," says a voice. She squints into the distance. A 16-year old comes out, followed by an 18-year old, and two more of them come out.

      "What do you remember, ma'am?" the 16-year old, who is a male.

      "Seriously?" says his accompanying 18-year old friend. "Jack, is that how you greet an after?"

      "Hey, Jade can vouch for that," says the other 16-year old, who seems to be a genderbend of the other 16-year old.

     "Word," is all the other 18-year old, who also seems to be a gender bend of the other 18-year old, says.

     The  unnamed 18-year old sighed. "I was being rhetoric."

     She looks at the four of them. She sees lines connecting Jack and Jade to each other. She sees lines connecting the other two.

     "The two of you," she says. "What are your names?"

     "Who? Jake and I?" says the 16-year old girl. "I'm Jill."

     "Er, if you'll accept, can I call the two of you... Jillake?"

     The 18-year olds stare at her.

    "Sweet!" laughs Jack, clapping his hands. "We've got a shipper! What's me and Jade's ship name?"

    Jade blushes and turns her head away.

    "Er... Jadack? Please, tell me who I am."

    "Uh, we can't tell you that, it will spoil the reader's surprise, I think. We hope not though," says Jack. "If it did, it means the writer sucks at his job."

    <Shut up, Jack>

    "Yeah, that was him," Jack says. "Or her. I shouldn't say. By the way, by the fact that you're here, seeing us, you have something to do with another story. But, of course, that's another story."

    "Huh?" she says.

    "Nevermind Jack," Jake says. "We hope that your adventure continues in this world. The four of us have something else to do in another world and its genderbend counterpart; a rise of eight Sixth Explorers."

    "Sixth Explorers?"

    "That's what we call them," Jade says. "A Sixth Explorer is someone who can traverse the multiverse in which they are born, as long as they are connected to a core world.

    "We are Seventh Explorers. Seventh Explorers are people who can travel to all worlds that are imagined in a specific world, or "Core Worlds". But that is a relative term. For example, our core world is not this world. There may be other versions of us, but they are all canon and are from the same core world. There are others like us, and they have a different core world from us.

    "We shall disappear as soon as our core world either runs out of connections to other worlds or is destroyed. And by the looks of things we got from the writer, who lives in our core world, the core world is being destroyed by its inhabitants."

   "Ooookay? A little TMI?" She says. "What happens to me now?"

   "Well," Jill says. "Probably a short sequel? Maybe an one-shot? A two-shot? Who knows?"

   "?"

   "Just be patient, it might take a little time."

   "Then again, considering your current status," Jack grins, "Time is not time."

   "Uh... what?" She says.

   "Seriously, Jack? A quote from another world?" Jake says, facepalming. "And one with vulgarity at that? Do you want the readers to falsely believe that swearing is all right?"

   "Hey, at least you gave them a warning, right?"

   "Yeah, but you know them, most are quite naïve."

   <All right, enough talk. Some of us are trying to help the world. Problem is that we are all only human. Feeble excuse, however. For most of the some of us, Philippians 4:13.>

   "Ya, just end this already!" Jade says. "GG, kid."

   <It's the end of the story. Have fun, guys.>

   "We will, don't worry about us," the Explorers say in unison. They disappear.

   "What now?" She says.

   <FIN, don't worry, I'll continue your story.>