"Whoa, wait, what?!" Weisz looked over his shoulder at them.
"Where have you been, Professor? I've been trying to reach you forever. What's up with that?"
"You gotta learn to watch the news, kid. Weren't you just in Norma?"
"Yeah, that's right. We were there to see you."
"Then you should know that all entry has just been banned on that planet." He told her. (Y/N) and Shiki stood at her side watching their conversation unfold. "Well, in any case, I'm glad to see you're safe and sound."
Rebecca paused, not understanding what's happening. "Hold on. This isn't making sense to me. How am I able to talk to you when you're over in the future right now?"
"It's not the future. You've returned to your original timeline, so I'm in the present, just like you."
"What? When did that happen?"
"You were only ever in the past when you were back on planet Norma."
"So we didn't time travel?" (Y/N) asked him.
"No, in actuality, you never left the present at all." He raised a hand in explaining and (Y/N) noted his right arm was metal.
"The heck?! How does that even make a little sense?!" Happy screamed as sweat ran down his body.
"You never traveled through time. What happened was, you went to a planet whose time was stolen. You see, a monster has eaten Norma's time. Fifty years worth, to be exact. They're called Chronophages."
(Y/N)'s eyes widened at the name. Shiki noticed, "have you heard of them, (Y/N)?"
"Only a little. My mother told me–I mean, wrote about them. They're monsters that exist in space that are capable of feeding on a planet's time. Planets consumed by Chronophages have their time rewound. After that, it's done, no way to reverse it."
"Precisely! And I see you've made some human friends Rebecca, finally!" Older Weisz laughed and Rebecca growled at him. "But anyway, Norma 50 years in the past has become its new present.
"In other words, if we ever go back to Norma, it'll all be stuck in the past?"
"That's right, but entry is now barred."
"So the modern Norma just doesn't exist anymore?"
"Yup."
"If that's the case, then where are you right now?" Older Weisz laughed and then the screen enhanced a little more. Taking in the larger screen, you could see he was seen sitting on a red couch, arm slung over the same bunny waitress they met before. "A lot of Normans, including myself, left. So, I figured now is the best time to go on that adventure I dreamed of as a kid."
Present Weisz turned around fully to see him.
"Master?" Pino walked up to the screen, calling out to the man. "Hey, you're that broken down android from years back." He said, recognizing the tiny bot.
"I've recognized your facial structure. You are my master."
"Oh, your memory must be damaged. All I did was fix you up a little bit." "Huh?" Pino didn't understand him. "You referred to him as Master Demon King or something like that." "The Demon King?"
Shiki picked up on the familiar title. "My Grandpa?"
"By the way, something's been bugging me since I called you. That stud over there is me, isn't it?"
"Uh..." Weisz froze, not knowing how to address himself.
"So there are two Professor Weiszes!" Happy glitched pointing back and forth between them. Shiki shook his head anxiously, "Which one is the real one then?!"
"Won't this mess up our current timeline?" Rebecca asked, ignoring their antics.
"It's like I said before. A planet consumed by a Chronophage becomes the new reality. In other words, having two of me exist won't cause a time paradox."
"So the past doesn't affect the future. That makes sense." (Y/N) nodded.
"Exactly! Pretty cool, isn't it? Norma's reality is not in the past. It's time was stolen. You can do whatever you want on that planet. It's not gonna affect me." The bunny waitress cuddled closer to him, "Weisz is like a fine wine that only gets more charming with age." She giggled.
"I'm the year X492 Weisz, who escaped the Chronophage to go on the adventure of a lifetime. You're the year X442 Weisz, whose time was eaten by a Chronophage. And now, we both exist in the present. This universe of calamity created two branching histories that now coexist. Talk about a headache, huh? Meaning there's no guarantee that you're gonna get to live to be my age, young Weisz." He finished and the connection started to mess up. "You're on your own, so go down the path you believe in."
"Professor!" Rebecca called out before the call ended. Happy started frantically tweaking, limbs going haywire, "Give me a break!" "It is a signal interference!" Pino deduced.
The blaring of the ship's alarm screamed throughout the room. Shiki stepped to the front after he caught sight of something big. "What is that?" A huge shadow consumed them, everyone stared ahead at the giant ship.
"Oh no! That flag! Those are space pirates!" Happy screamed, holding his face with fear. Rebecca joined him, mimicking his actions.
"There's pirates in space?! Just when I thought space couldn't get any cooler!" Shiki beamed in excitement.
"There's nothing cool about getting killed!" Weisz screamed at him. "Well stop yelling and get us outta here, Weisz!" (Y/N) shook his shoulder. But before he could make a move to leave, their ship was locked. They were entrapped in an orb, stuck in place.
"We've been captured by the battleship!" Pino squealed. "And we can't go anywhere, we've lost control." (Y/N) pointed out.
The Aqua Wing was now being pulled into the other ship. Weisz panicked in a frenzy, trying to find a way out but coming up short. "This kind of technology is way, way ahead of my time! Can't you do something?!" He turned to look at (Y/N). "My powers don't work on stuff like this. I can't phase out of ether attacks and this barrier is made of it!"
Rebecca looked closer at the flag, "Oh no, I recognize that flag! It belongs to Elsie Crimson, the Space Pirate! Conqueror of the Seven Cosmos!" She said with a look of dread.
"She conquered them all? I thought she couldn't get any cooler!" Shiki beamed up again.
(Y/N) eye's widened, "Woah, it's hers?! That's kind of cool. What do you think she wants?"
"To destroy us, that's what!! You have to do something, professor. Get us outta here!" Rebecca urged with great fear. "I'm not a professor! I never should've boarded this stupid ship." He grunted.
With no chance of escaping, the reality of what could happen right now started to weigh down on Rebecca. She fell to her knees, holding her face with terror. "Oh, Mother, what are they gonna do to us?"
"Why are they even targeting this flying piece of junk?!" Happy cried, his eyes looking just as fearful as Rebecca's.
"It's okay, guys. As soon as they try something, we'll take them out. Don't worry." (Y/N) tried to assure the group, but they were all lost in their own thoughts.
"Damn it! It's no use! I can't get away!" Weisz said as they were officially trapped inside the ship. The Aqua Wing crashed onto the ground, and everyone held onto whatever was close to resist falling, everyone except Shiki who used his gravity to sit on the wall.
As soon as they stopped, a screen appeared in front of them. It showed Elsie, sitting at her throne. "Welcome to the warship, the Skull Fairy. Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Elsie Crimson. And I'm the one who captured both you and your ship."
"Hmm." Shiki frowned at her.
"Oh man, she's hot!" Weisz blushed at the woman. Rebecca and Happy held onto each other with tears in their eyes. Pino looked up at her in curiosity. (Y/N) silently stared at her in anticipation, wanting to know what she wanted from them.
"You've earned my praise for escaping Norma. The cloud you passed though was the space-time wall. A trace left behind the consumed planet by the Chronophage. You must be a skilled pilot to have broken through the wall on a ship like that...That being said, only an idiot would get caught by our ship's tractor beam so easily."
Weisz awkwardly grunted and (Y/N) held back a laugh behind her hand. Shiki, after stepping back onto the floor, spoke first, "What do you guys want?" He demanded.
"Hmm..." Elsie placed a finger to her chin in thought, "What do we want? Oh, just the usual. Plundering cities. And selling people like you!" She said with a menacing smile. (Y/N)'s eyes widened at her words, she started to get worried.
Elsie dropped her previous look and replaced it with a calmer, yet sinister one, as she crossed her legs and leaned back. "Here's the situation. All of you belong to me now. We'll be on our way to the planet Guilst in order to sell you for profit. I'm sure they'll find good use for you."
"Hey, I'm not complaining. Guilst isn't half bad at all." Weisz smirked. (Y/N) shook her head at him, "Not anymore. Guilst has changed in the last 50 years. It's now known as the epitome of all evil. Any and all crime is normal, it's a lawless place. Even I know my limits. I may be tough, but I'm not stepping one foot on that planet."
Elsie's subordinates smiled at them in delight, eager to tear them apart. "Don't worry, I know an old man there who would love to get his hands on you." "And I'm sure you'll fetch a nice price." "I get a feeling the old man's gonna love you two pretty ladies." (Y/N) only glared at them, while Rebecca whimpered while holding her shaking body.
"This is a misunderstanding. I've got nothing to do with these guys." Weisz tried to bargain. 'Why am I not surprised?' (Y/N) mentally rolled her eyes at him. "So, how 'bout I join your crew?"
"You scum!" Shiki called him.
"I think I've got a pretty good knack for machines. What do you say? I can make your ship faster for you if you want."
"What the hell is wrong with you, betraying your friends like that?!" Shiki growled at his side. "I don't remember saying I was your friend." Weisz growled back at him. "You're not my friend, but what about Rebecca and Happy?" "That's 50 years from now!" He yelled as their faces drew closer.
"Like hell, that'll happen. Let's just get out of here. We should be able to fly now, right?" (Y/N) asked, looking at Pino. "We cannot. Our ship is still immobilized."
"Yeah. No thanks to Professor Scum sitting there." Shiki side eyed the man.
"Not a professor!"
"Then let's just fight our way out." (Y/N) suggested. "What are you saying?" Rebecca asked her. "You–I mean, we need a ship, right?" and Rebecca nodded.
"So then," (Y/N) looked at Elsie as she confidently spoke, "If we take out you and your henchmen, then we'll just take your ship!"
Everyone stared at her in shock, all except Shiki who grew excited at her words. "I like that idea! Since you took our ship, we'll just steal yours!" He pointed at her.
"You're going to steal from me?"
"Hey, you're the one who started this whole thing. We're just returning the favor." Shiki smirked and shot a quick glance towards (Y/N) who held a look of approval.
Elsie wickedly grinned this time, "How interesting." She slightly chuckled. "Two floors above you and head straight to your left. That's where I'll be waiting. I wonder if you can make it here in one piece."
"That a challenge?!" (Y/N) boasted.
"I'm coming!" Shiki yelled and ran out the room. (Y/N) moved to run after him but then she remembered. There's a group of men on Elsie's team and she didn't want to leave Rebecca alone to defeat them. It's not that she didn't believe in her strength, it's that Weisz would most likely be no help.
"Okay, B-Team!" She called them. "Let's go clear the two floors."
"You don't wanna help, Shiki?" Happy asked her.
"I think he can handle it. Plus there's probably a bunch of cool stuff just lying around here. This is a pirate ship after all."
"Alright then." Weisz stood up and pulled out his gun, "It's not my nature to sit around and do nothing. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it."
"You're helping, Professor?!" Rebecca asked him. "I doubt it." (Y/N) crossed her arms at him.
"Especially if I'm gonna try winning that hottie Chelsie Crimson or whatever her name is!"
"Lousy scum!" Rebecca fumed.
🧚♀️
(Y/N)'s POV
We walked down another hallway and still, not an enemy in sight. Then, a group of footsteps came from down the hall and some of Elsie's subordinates approached us.
"They're here! Get ready, Rebecca!" I said to her and she nodded.
"Um, excuse me? What about me?" I roll my eyes at Weisz's existence. "And you too, Weisz." I deeply sighed, annoyed.
The men had deep dark eyes, looking anything but normal. And suddenly, their arms turned into tentacles. "Gross!" I cringed. A slimy limb started to trail at my right leg. I stomped on it, crushing the purple tentacle.
"Let go of me! Just what the hell is this?!" Rebecca screamed. I turned to see that she, Happy, and Pino were caught in them. "Now analyzing the unknown creature secretions. Identified mimicry parasite Kawpicatt S4." Pino stated.
"I gotcha!" I went to help them but a group of men surrounded me. I dodge their incoming attacks and kick one. Sending him flying down the hall. The others try to catch me off guard and hit me with their slimy arms but I easily take the rest out.
When I'm done with them, I turn to see Rebecca sit trapped. "Happy!"
"Ether charge now finalized!" Happy said and then transformed into...a gun?!!!
"WHAT!" Weisz looks at them shocked, also confided in the tentacles.
Two guns land in Rebecca's hand and she goes on a rampage, shooting everything in sight. I had to duck when she started spinning around while firing. But it all worked out in the end when she took the remaining ones out.
"You saved us." Pino said with a smile as she was amazed at Rebecca's firing power. I am too, I had no idea she and Happy could do that. "That was badass!" I high five her. "Thanks!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's very impressive and all, but I'm still sorta tied up at the moment." Weisz squirmed in his position.
A smirk lands on my face as I cross my arms, wanting to drag this out."Oh, look who needs help."
"Yeah, funny isn't it?" Rebecca's eyes light up with mischief, "I don't know, (Y/N), what do you think? Should we help him? Or leave him here for the squid-men."
"Hmm..." I hold my chin in thought, pretending to actually consider this. "It does sound like a good idea..."
"Oh come on! I'm sorry, okay! Help me!"