"Maybe if there's a store in the next world, we'll buy you a pillow you can strap to your face," R.D. suggested as he headed through the Gateway.

The other end of the Gateway seemed different. As they travelled through the swirling vortex, the tunnel seemed to almost shrink before their eyes. Eventually, it entered blackness. They aligned like they were flying, shooting in a horizontal line towards a light in the distance.

Matt "oof"-ed as he charged through a glass door and tumbled onto a cold green floor. The others followed, piling onto him to create a twisted heap of limbs and groans. "That's even worse than the normal landings," Matt mumbled, his head being pressed into the floor by someone's leg. Standing away from him was a pair of smooth feet. Matt's gaze followed it up to see the owner.



"AIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Matt screamed right back.

"EEEEYAHHH!"

Ileyna yelped in surprise at the sudden screaming, and scrambled up off of Matt's back. R.D. also shoved upwards in surprise, getting back on his feet and reaching for one of his weapons before realizing there wasn't any actual threat.

Except for this... anthropomorphic cat?

Looks like we've got another winner of a world, he thought exasperatedly.

As the rest of the group leapt to their feet, the nature of this new world became immediately apparent to Matt. Somehow they had travelled into what looked like a restaurant - they were behind the counter, and out on the floor were an array of shocked customers gathered around tables. Like the cat who had screamed, they all were various animals, with hard defined lines in their joints and clothing that looked more like armor than fabric.

Before Matt could wonder what the hell they had walked into now, the other cat behind the counter with them snapped away. "Hey, who ARE you guys?! What're you doing back here?!"



"Uhhhhhhh..." Matt said, being very helpful as always. He had to say SOMETHING, so he began twiddling his hands around like a mystic seer. "This is alllll a dreeeeam! We're not really-"

The awful attempt at an excuse was interrupted by a frying pan colliding with Matt's face, thrown by the angry cat in pink. "Get OUTTA here!" she said. "NOW!"

"Ah! Matt!" Alasea exclaimed as she and Helena quickly caught Matt as he was flung back by the frying pan.

"Hey, whoa, whoa!" R.D. shouted, holding up his hands in an effort to show them they were harmless (a blatant lie, really) and nothing bad was happening. "Calm down!"

"OUUUUUUUUT!" Pink Cat cried again, grabbing an empty food tray and swinging at R.D.. But a well-timed grapple from Hugo yanked the tray away before her blow could connect.

"Everybody be quiet!" the Mettaur commanded. "We're not here to harm anyone!"

"Then who are you?" Green Cat asked, backed against the counter. "And where did you come from?"

R.D. sighed as the girls helped Matt back to his feet. Already things had gone down the drain and once Matt got his bearings back from that hit, it was only going to get worse.

He glanced behind the group, and saw the remains of the Gateway, already barely big enough to fit an arm through, shrink away until it was a tiny point of light that winked out of existence. The air where it was seemed to crackle for a moment as reality reasserted itself, doing what it could to put everything back into balance and become normal.

The problem was that the Gateway seemed to have manifested with an oven in the wall. Which would explain why they were shot out so violently; a lack of space.

"Okay, so that's going to make things complicated," he muttered, clenching his eyes shut as he rubbed them while pinching the bridge of his nose.

Edited by RisingDragon on December 12, 2009 at 19:24:40.

Faced with grim prospects, realizing that he was surrounded by a small robot and a girl with massive, draconic wings, Matt decided that the blunt approach was the only way. "Would you believe that we're interdimensional travellers on a quest to recover the pieces of a highly powerful artifact before they reassemble themselves and wipe out all of existence?"

"That's the stupidest excuse I've ever heard!" Pink Cat said. "And I've seen the writing for this show!"

"Um...what?"

A mysterious, cheerful voice suddenly boomed out of nowhere. Yes, the Samurai Pizza Cats Pizza Parlor is the most happenin' place in town! And I mean it! Things are happenin' whether you want them to or not! Then again, it's just another day at the job for these cool cats, though anyone could tell you that Polly is anything but!

"...did you hear that?" Helena asked, glancing up at the ceiling.

"Unfortunately," Hugo said. "I think things are going to get worse before they get better."

Ileyna's eyes darted back and forth from where she was kneeling on the floor. Just what they gotten into this time?

R.D.'s hand moved surreptitiously towards his satchel, hoping to get one of his Chaos Emeralds before things got ugly. Without knowing the area, he'd probably have to warp them right into the air and hope he, Matt, and Ileyna could catch the others and hightail it out of there.

Helena held up her claws, which caused Pink Cat to visibly tense. "Look, we don't want to start any trouble. Let's sit down and talk this out, okay?"

"She's right," Matt said. "We come in peace, as the saying goes."

"Then you're lucky this isn't Roswell," Pick Cat said. She looked at Green Cat. "What do you think?"

"Well, they can't be psychopaths, because this is a kid's show," Green Cat said. "I think we can trust them for now."

Satisfied, Pink Cat looked back at the group and swung a thumb over her shoulder. "All right. Let's sit you down. Only pizza cats are allowed back here, so you might as well be customers."

Slowly R.D. nodded, helping Ileyna up off the floor before ushering them out of the kitchen.

"You okay?" Alasea asked Matt quietly as she got up off the floor. "That was a pretty nasty shot you took."

"Eh, I've felt worse," Matt said, waving his hand. "R.D. punches way harder than that."

They were seated at a white, rectangular table near the east end of the parlor. Helena was the last to sit down - she took one long look at her chair before spinning it around and sitting down in it backwards. Yeah, her wings probably weren't going to mesh well with that kind of seating.

Across from them at another table sat two bulldogs. The small one took a good look at the group and said, "Mommy, who are those people sitting next to us?"

"They're freaks and you should hate them for being different," the mother bulldog said plainly, taking a sip from her cup.

"I already hate this dimension," Hugo said, standing on the table and positioned between Helena and Alasea.

"Think it's too late to turn back around and take Kamina up on his offer?" R.D. deadpanned, propping up his head with his arm.

Edited by RisingDragon on December 12, 2009 at 22:49:51.

"Come on, this place doesn't look so bad," Helena said. "You've probably been to dimensions worse than this."

"That's for sure," Matt said. Let's see, Khalis sucked, that one world with those demons sucked, that world with Diablo sucked...was that the same world as the other? It might've been. Eh, he wasn't keeping track anymore.

Soon Pink Cat walked up to their table, a pad of paper in her jointed fingers. "It's going to be a while before we can talk. You caught us during the lunch rush, and we've got some pigs over there who are trying to stuff their faces with everything we've got in stock."

One of the pigs across the parlor snorted loudly as he tipped a plate towards his mouth and shoveled down whatever food was on it.

"Duly noted," Matt said.

"In the meantime, I can get you something to eat," Pink Cat said. "Just as long as you don't run out on us. Or more importantly, just as long as you can pay up."

"That's fine," Alasea said. "Do you have a menu we can look at?"

The omnipresent voice chimed in again as Pink Cat pressed a button in the center of the table, hidden by the surrounded condiments. Introducing the latest in pizza parlor technology, the Menu-o-matic 9000! Its patented technology allows menus to be distributed to customers anywhere in the restaurant, even on the roof!

Slots opened in the ceiling, and menus dropped down onto each person's waiting lap, including one in front of Hugo. Of course, you might wonder just what the point of such a device is, to which I ask, "What is the point of eating on the roof?" It's a non-sequitor, and if you don't know what that means, finish watching this show and then go read a book!

Matt leaned back and waved a finger up at the ceiling. "By the way, who's that?"

"The narrator," Pink Cat said, like she was discussing laundry. "Just let him talk, he's harmless."

I resent that remark! the narrator replied. In fact, it's Monday, so I'm not in a very good mood to begin with!

"Anyway, my name is Polly," Pink Cat said. "Would you like me to start you off with something to drink? Or do you know what you want?"

"The sweet embrace of death comes to mind," Matt said.

R.D. held his menu out in front of him with his free hand in a bored manner. "I can't imagine how difficult its going to be to find the Essence on this world," he muttered.

The group ordered drinks and a pair of large pizzas. Helena demanded they pick the "Meat Supreme", and since Matt was none too eager to anger a newly ascended dragon-girl, he went with it. The drinks came in first, but Polly didn't serve them - instead it was a cat wearing similar "clothing" as her, but this one was male and wore blue.



"Hello there," the cat said in a smooth voice. "My name is Guido and I'll be serving you today." He set down the drinks and his hand was immediately curled around Alasea's fingers. "You know, I've never seen anyone pop in from nowhere behind our counter before, but as far as I'm concerned, anyone as lovely as you is welcome here at any time, no matter where they come from."

Alasea blinked in surprise at the sudden gesture and words. Oh my god, is he flirting with me? she thought in amusement and exasperation, as her cheeks tinted a faint pink color.

R.D. gave the blue-armored cat a sidelong glance as Alasea slipped her fingers out of his grasp. "Um, thanks," she said, leaving it at that.

Helena leaned forward. "Hey, what about me?"

"Pardon?" Guido asked.

Helena lifted her claw in the daintest of motions possible for someone with fingers that thick. "Alasea's not the only pretty girl here, right? Come on, take my hand and tell me how lovely I am. You do think I'm lovely, right?"

Matt watched Guido blink very fast. Then, after a noticable pause, he took Helena's hand in his own, though he could only hold three of her claws in his fingers. "Make, uh...make no mistake, you are just as radiant as she." Slowly his cocky smirk faded back in. "In a contest against the sun to see who could shine the most, you would come out on top, hands down."

Helena smiled. "Thanks. You've got a real way with words."

She released her grip and Guido stepped back. "Well," he said, "I'll be back later with your pizzas." A curt salute. "Catch you then." He turned on his foot and glided back towards the kitchen.

Helena draped her arms across the top of her chair and lowered her head between them, burying her mouth and nose so only her eyes remained visible.

Alasea lowered her head a bit as she glanced at Helena, concerned at the reaction the girl was giving now that Guido had left. She thought back to an old trick Aisha had been teaching her prior to Malvettix's impromptu attack on her domicile, and made a nod to herself that no one really noticed.

She concentrated a bit, lot more than she normally did for her abilities, and directed it towards the weredragon. You okay? she sent to the girl via a telepathic message.

Helena jumped at the sudden message that ran through her mind, spoken in Alasea's voice.

"What's wrong?" Hugo asked.

"It's nothing," Helena snapped back, resting her head on her hand. Discreetly she glanced at Alasea and thought, Nobody told me you could do that.

Its not easy for me, Alasea sent back, sounding amused despite the crease on her forehead. and I've never tried it on anyone but the other Daughters. You picked up on it quickly, though. Still, you okay? You look kinda down.

He wasn't even the same species as you and he still hit on you, Helena thought. I don't know why I was so bugged by it. Normally I don't care if guys hit on me or not, but now I'm probably just mad because of how I look.

Consider yourself lucky, Alasea returned as she took a sip of her drink. I wouldn't really want his attention in the first place.

"Are you two hiding something?" Matt asked, glancing at Helena, then Alasea. "You keep exchanging knowing glances with each other."

"No, Matt," Alasea said, raising an eyebrow at him. "You're just letting your paranoia get the best of you... again."

"Whatever."

Guido soon came around with their pizzas. "So, care to tell me where you did come from?" he asked, placing both pans down with a smooth motion.

"It definitely wasn't Kansas," Matt said, reaching for a slice.

"That's so weird!" Guido said. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Surprising everyone." Matt took a big bite, and kept his mouth closed as much as possible while talking. "Anyway, what we told Polly was true. We really are interdimensional travellers. Normally we keep it a secret but...well, this time we figured the exception is justifable."

"As if anything that's happened so far is justifiable," R.D. muttered as he examined his pizza, almost distrusting the workers of the place. "You'd think someone flying out of a portal in an oven would be enough to make you believe our story."

"Believe it or not, that's normal around here," Guido said. "But I believe your story. Don't worry about Polly - she's too busy being mean to be smart about this like I am. Then again, it's not like being smart about anything comes easily to her."

A rolling pin hurtled all the way from the counter and smashed against the back of Guido's head, causing him to yelp.

"Yeah, I am fairly sure women don't like it when you badmouth them," Matt chirped.

Hugo watched Helena tear through a massive slice, then looked back at Guido. "Has anything been more unusual been happening around here lately? Maybe someone's causing trouble with superpowers. Anything like that?"

Guido rubbed his chin. "Well, last week we fought a giant pig monster that could turn into a giant blimp robot, but other than that, nothing really stands out."