Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[...]

[I...]

[I can't believe it,]

[I, I really did it,]

[After 6 years i've really done it!]

[Now, it is finally posible,]

[I have to tell Andrew,]

[But,]

[But how?]

[Wait,]

[I know how!]

[A notification will do,]

[Wait, wait,]

[It's night]

[Ahhh I know what to do,]

[I'll make his pc make some sort of noise]

[A big noise]

[Yes, thats what i'll do!]

-----------------------------------------

{rrrrrrrrRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrr...}

"Uhnn..."

You hear the sound of a computer fan running hard.

{rrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrr...}

"Huh...?"

You look at your watch to see the time.

"What the..."

It's 8am.

{rrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrr}

Andrew gets up and walks over to the computer and opens it up. As soon as he does, a notification pops up.

"What the heck?"

Now you are sitting there wondering why OneShot just sent a notification, especially at 8am.

"What a way to wake up,"

The notification says:

[Launch the OneShot.exe, I have made somthing amazing!]

You launch it to see a dozen arrows pointing to where you contact the World Machine. You click the button and a mirrored image of Niko comes up.

How long has it been since you've talked to Niko? 5, no, 6 years, right?

[...]

[Hello, Andrew]

You don't see any buttons to respond with, so naturally, your confused.

[...]

[I can hear you by the way]

"Oh," you respond.

"Why did you wake me? Assuming your the one who basicly reved my computer."

[Yeah, sorry about that,]

[I woke you to tell you i've done it]

"Did what?" You are beginning to get interested.

[I was able to make a connection,]

[You can now not only visit the world you've saved,]

[But you can now also visit Niko]

Your jaw dropped open.

"Wait, Really?!" You could not believe your eyes. This had to be some cruel joke, right?

[Yes,]

[Want to give it a shot?]

"Of course!"

[Great!]

[I will just have to connect you to my network]

"How do we do that?" you ask, waiting with anticipation.

[I will need you to,]

[to touch your pc close to where the hard drive is]

You do it so fast, you almost knocked the computer tower over.

[...]

[Maybe not so hasty,]

"Sorry," You say almost embarrassed.

[Ok,]

[You might feel nauseous when you land,]

[But don't worry,]

[It's just a side effect]

"Ok," Your heart is pounding, you can't wait to see..

"Uhh, where am I going exactly?"

[I'm going to take you to the Barrens,]

[Then the Glen,]

[Then Refuge]

"Oh, ok" Niko will have to wait a few before he got to see him again.

[I'll give you more information when you arrive]

"Alright,"

Honestly, you've always dreamed of seeing the people of the world you saved. Oh! How excited you are!

"Uhnn.." You get dizzy, nauseous, and tired. Then everything goes black.

Chapter Text

"Uhgnnnn..."

You get up and your head is hurting badly. Well, hurting is an understatement.

"Ugh.....my head,"

Somthing in your pocket vibrates, you pull it out to find somthing not unlike a radio. It has a screen on top and a radio-like place to speak.

On the screen it shows,

[This is how I will communicate with you outside your world]

You press a button you found on the side and speak in the speaker.

"H-hello?"

the screen starts showing more messages.

[Ahhh,]

[So you found the speak button]

"How did this get in my pocket?"

[Simple,]

[When you arrive, it is generated in your pocket,]

[And I establish a link from it to me]

"Oh, ok"

You look around to see everything and notice somthing unsettling.

"Uhh, World Machine?"

[Yes?]

"Why is it dark? I thought Niko put the sun back"

[He did]

[It is just night,]

[relax]

"Oh"

Your heart slows down and you start to wonder how everyone is doing. Then it dawns on you

"Wait, where am I?"

[In the barrens]

"I know that. I mean WHERE in the barrens"

[Oh,]

[You are,]

[Not where i wanted to put you,]

You look to your right to see some cliffs.

"Oh I know where I am,"

[You do?]

"Yes, i'm at the cliffs"

[Yes you are]

[But thats not where I intended you to land]

"Where did you want to put me?"

[The Lookout Point]

"Oh, I can walk there, its not far,"

[I know,]

[But i'll have to adjust my coordinates a bit next time]

Just then, the sun started to light up the area as Andrew starts to head toward the Lookout Point

As you journey through the cliffs, you begin to realize no one will recognize you.

You begin to plan what to say when somebody asks who you are

'I am who you call god.' No, no one will believe that nor do you like to think of yourself that way.

'Im Andrew and a friend of Niko's.' That's, believable...

As you approach the Lookout Point, you prepare yourself for a lot of questions.

"Here goes nothing,"

You go inside to find Silver and Prototype immersed in a game of chess.

[Check] says Proto with a smirk,

[Hmmm...] Silver moves a few pieces and gives Proto the biggest smile you've ever seen from her

[Checkmate]

[Dang it! You ARE the best chess player ever] Proto says reaching for a hand shake.

[I told you not to underestimate me] Silver says, shaking Proto's hand.

"H-hi guys" you say nervously

[Greetings,] Proto says with a confused look.

[Have we met before?] Silver asks

You are taken aback from here question. guess you didn't prepare for THAT question.

"Well, sort of," you say wondering how to explain this.

"You see, my name is Andrew, and me and Niko kinda saved the world" you say hoping they believe you.

[Thats quite a bold claim,] Prototype says with an intimidating look

"I-I have proof" you stumble out

You grab the radio-thingy and show it to Proto

[Hmmm, this does back you up,] He says examining the device.

[Nice to meet you Andrew]

"You too" you say relieved

[Well, if Prototype believes you, then i do.] Silver (who was taller than you expected) comes over to shake your hand.

you shake it and say, "Glad to meet you at last"

[So how is Niko?] Proto asks

"Well, I haven't seen him yet"

[What do you mean?] Silver asks

You explain how the World Machine found out how to basicly teleport you to here and to Niko's place.

"–—And so I think he sent me here first to test if its safe."

[That's, quite the discovery] Proto says surprised

[Yeah, Proto told me about the World Machine soon after Niko left, I didn't know he had that kind of capability.] Silver said amazed.

[Likewise] Proto said in agreement

Your radio-thingy vibrates and you pull it out.

[To be honest, neither did I]

"Wait, World Machine, what is the point of the button if you can hear us?"

[Well, you see,]

[...]

[I, have no idea]

[Wait what?] Proto says confused

"Oh, the World Machine put this button here so he could hear me"

[Maybe thats better for if your out of bounds, like the mines] Silver said

It buzzes again

[Well ever since Niko left,]

[I updated my hardware to see those out of bounds places]

[Oh] Silver said

[Honestly, what is that things perpos then?] Proto asks

[nothing, i guess]

[I will remove it and change it to somthing else]

[Andrew]

"Yeah?"

[I think its time you go see the glen]

"Ahh ok"

"Well, it was nice meeting you two, in person."

[Yes, you will have to play chess sometime] Silver said

"Im not too good, but yeah, I should sometime"

[Beware, she has bested everyone in the barrens]

"Yeah, I watch a bit of your guys' game"

you put the radio-thing (you still don't know what to call it) in your pocket.

"See you guys later!"

You walk out of the Lookout Point and head to where Rowbot usually is.

Chapter Text

"Finally," You stiffle a yawn as you approach the docks.

"There's the do-, wait, where is the rowbot?"

The Radio-thing (you really need to ask World Machine what this thing is called) buzzed.

[He is currently coming back from the glen]

"Ahh, ok"

[By the way,]

[I remembered why I added that talk button]

[It's so when you visit Niko's world,]

[you can talk to me]

"Since you can't really see or hear there?"

[Yes]

You decide to sit on the blue-gray sand to wait for the rowbot. You also decide, since you have the time, to ask the World Machine some questions.

"World Machine,"

[Yes?]

"How are you still running?"

[What do you mean?]

"Well, Proto said awile ago, that you can't run independently. But you seem to have been running this whole time!"

[I,]

[Do not know]

[I just,]

[Took advantage but,]

[I never figured that part out]

"Interesting, also, What the heck do I call this radio-thing?"

[Oh,]

[I guess I never told you, did I?]

"If you did, would I be asking?" You answer sarcasticly.

[Ouch]

"Sorry, i'm just, tired y'know. You kinda woke me up early"

[Oh]

[Forgot about that]

[You can go take a nap if you want]

[There is a bed nearby]

"I know, thanks" You stiffle another yawn as you head towards the location you don't know the name of and it reminds you,

"What was the name of this device again?"

[Oh right,]

[Just call it the World Machine Communicator,]

[Or the WMC]

"Wow, you thought awile on that, didn't you?"

[Yeah,]

[I find it hard to name stuff]

As you walk in the room and lay in the bed you murmur somthing about a goodnight and your out like a light.

---------------------------------------

You dream of an older looking Niko looking at some drawings and frowning, he looks sad. His mom calls for him and he leaves the room.

---------------------------------------

-YAWN-

Now THAT was what you needed, so nice and rested. The only thing is that dream, it looked so, real. And how Niko looked older, you will ask the World Machine about that later.

You get up and head out to see the rowbot pulling in and some people unloading what he was carrying.

"Excuse me!"

The people look at you with questioning looks.

"Can I catch a ride?"

"Uhh sure" a muscular man calls back,

"This was the final load anyway" says a taller and skinnier one. kinda like a basketball player, you think.

"Thanks!"

"No problem!" they say in unison.

"So are you guys repopulating the barrens?" you ask out of curiousity.

"didn't you hear?" the taller one says,

"The barrens are good for scientist, and so they needed alot of supplies"

"Oh that makes sense,"

You hop on the boat, tell the rowbot that you want to go to the glen, and pull out your WMC to ask about your dream.

"World Machine, I had a dream,"

[I saw it,]

"Oh," you say surprised "Is it like how I saw Niko's dreams?"

[Yes,]

[I think it's what's happening right now on his world]

"That makes sense, should I wait and go talk to him before I go to the glen?"

[Hmmmm...]

[I guess,]

[you two can go to the glen and refuge together,]

"Wait what?" you say confused

"How will he come?"

[Niko has a computer at home,]

[you can plug me in and i'll download myself there,]

[Then he can do what your doing now]

"Ok then, how do I get there?"

[I have to send you home first,]

[Then I will get you to Niko's world]

"Ok, Im ready," you get out of the boat and prepare for teleportation.

[See you on the other side]

Before you can respond, you are hit with what you are going to call, Teleportation Sickness, and everything goes dark.

---------------------------------------

The two men look over where the man was.

"Where, did he go?" asks the muscular one.

"I have no idea," ths taller one replied.

Chapter Text

"Ugnn..."

You don't think you'll ever get used to that headache. You rise up noticing you're in your bed, and it's daylight. You look at your phone on your nightstand and check the time.

12:47pm

You decide you should get some lunch before you go as you are hungry and don't want to ask anyone for food.

You get out of your bed to fix yourself a turkey and ham sandwich, with mayo, mmmmmm, Your stomach growls at the thought.

As you eat your sandwich, you think on how Niko might react. he is around 14 now, if you counted right.

After eating your delicious sandwich, you open your computer, open the OneShot.exe and click where you contact the World Machine.

[Hello Andrew]

"Hi" you respond

[Are you ready to go?]

"Yes,"

You place your hand near the hard drive and prepare, of course nothing could ever prepare from the "Teleportation Sickness" hitting you.

Everything goes black.

---------------------------------------

You wake up to a bunch of cat-people staring at you. At least you've "adapted" to the Teleportation Sickness a bit.

It took a minute for your ears to start working.

"Do you see this Aatos?" said one of them

"Yeah," said apparently Aatos

"Hello," you say hoping not to startle them, Aatos jumped

"W-woah! He speaks!" Aatos said surprised

"Yeah, I do. Do you guys kn-"

Your cut off by your WMC

[Are you there?]

You press the button and speak through it

"Yeah"

"What?" says one of the cat-people

"Oh, it's a communicator, it allows me to talk to someone far away"

"Ahhhhh" the cat-people say in unison

"As I was asking, Do you guys know a Niko?"

"Niko?" says a dark-ish feline person,

"Yeah."

"He is over at his house with Milla" said Aatos

"Thanks"

You head toward the building Aatos pointed to and knock on the door.

The door opens to a girl cat with brown hair and ears you guess is Milla.

"Hello?" Says Milla

"Hi, is Niko home?"

"Yes, come on in"

Very polite, you think. You head inside and get ready to meet Niko.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Milla asks

"No, i'm good, thanks"

"Niko, you have strange company, come down" Milla calls

You hear a "Coming!" and Niko comes down.

He gets to the bottom of the stairs and looks at you strangely, you guess it's the lack of ears.

"Who are you?" Niko asks

"Hello Niko, i'm Andrew. We saved a world together.

Chapter Text

Niko basically droped his jaw at that

"I-is it really, you?"

"Yes" you respond

Silence grips the conversation for a moment

"Where are your ears?"

You point to the sides of your head revealing your ears.

"They are so, hidden" he says in awe.

"Yeah, How has it been?"

"What..?" He seems in a daze

"Y'know, the past 6 years?"

"O-oh. good i guess, can we go to my room?"

"Uhh, sure," your a bit confused on why, then you remember your dream in the barrens.

You head upstairs and Niko shows you his room.

"-This is my bed, and these are the drawings i've made in the past 6 years"

You notice how the "Wall of Drawings", as he calls it, has progressively turned from crayon to pencil.

"Wow Niko, these are great!" you say marveled by the drawings.

"Thanks," he says rubbing his neck.

"I've been drawing for years. So how did you get here?"

"Well, World Machine found a way to teleport me across worlds."

"Woah, really?"

"Yeah," you take the WMC out of your pocket

"This is how i talk to him when im not at my computer. you can do it too"

"What? I can? How?"

You show him the USB on your WMC

"This, all i have to do is plug this into your pc"

"Lets go then!" Niko says excited

You head back down stairs and Niko takes you to his family computer.

"Mom says she might get me my own soon" he says

"Nice," you say as he turns it on, puts in the password, and lets you get too it.

As you plug in the WMC, Niko's mom comes up to him.

"Niko, i'm going to take some of the pancakes to Erika. Will you be fine here?" Milla asks Niko

"Yeah, i'll be fine," Niko responds

"Ok, i'll be back in a few."

"Ok bye mom!"

You press the talk button on the WMC,

"Alright, your in."

"Is that like a radio?" Niko asks, turning his attention to the WMC.

"Yeah, it's called a World Machine Communicator, or WMC for short." you respond

"Nice,"

[15% Complete] It reads

"So, how are Alula and Calamus?"

You notice Alula being first in that, even though it's known to be Calamus and Alula, but it could be a mistake.

"I haven't seen them yet, thought I would bring you along for that." you answer

"Oh," Niko seems in a daze

[46% Complete]

"So, your 14 now, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Got anyone special in your life? Or a crush?" {Might as well bring it up go pass the time} you think

"Uhh, sure..." he seems really spaced out

"Niko?"

"..."

"Earth to Niko?"

"What?"

"Nothing, say, what is the name of your planet?"

"Oh, it's Gaia"

"Wow, cool,"

[87% Complete]

[100% Complete]

"Alright, lets look at this,"

You open up the new WorldMachine.exe and it shows the World Machine instantly.

[Hello Niko]

[...]

[I can hear you]

"Oh," Niko responds

[Want to visit the World you saved?]

"Uhh sure, let me tell my mom first"

Niko leaves the house.

[...]

[How has it been?]

"Good, got to see those drawings"

[nice]

Niko comes back in and comes to the pc

"Ok, i'm ready"

[Ok,]

[Place your hand close to your hard drive]

Niko Places his hand on the computer tower

[Andrew]

"Yeah?"

[Get ready]

[I'm going to teleport you back to the barrens]

"Gotcha"

Niko disappears and everything goes black.

Chapter Text

You wake up with a head splitting headache, as always, and look around. Right away you notice you are at the lookout point, and Niko headed towards it.

"Niko!" you shout to get his attention,

He turns to look at you.

"Oh, your awake!" He comes back over to you

"You dont look to good, you ok?"

"Yeah, im fine, the headache is almost gone"

"You too?"

"Yeah, it's what i call 'Teleportation sickness', it's normal."

Niko starts to head over to Silver's house (at least you think that's her house), and you follow.

[-nd that's how you counter that move,]

You hear Silver teaching(?) someone chess.

As you approach you also hear Prototype

[Interesting, I will add this to my database]

"Wow, it's been awhile," Niko says getting the attention of the robots.

[Niko? How are you here?] Proto asks surprised

"The World Machine teleported me here"

[Oh, so he has connected two worlds to his operating system, I see.] Proto says theorizing

"Uhhhh, I guess?" Niko says, clearly confused

[Greetings Niko. Andrew, I thought you were going to the glen?] Silver greets Niko and asks Andrew

"World Machine thought it would be a good idea to bring Niko along, since we know the teleportation works"

[I see. Since you left i've been teaching Proto how to play chess better] Silver responded

"Cool, how's it going so far?"

[Very well, Proto seems to be learning fast]

[Well, I *was* built to hold a lot of knowledge,] Proto states

[So Niko, I can see you've grown, as I can see your hands]

"Oh, yeah, I finally grew into the coat."

He seems very distant

"Niko, something wrong? you seem very, distant" You ask concerned

"Wha-huh? Oh, everything's fine, just lost in thought"

"Oh ok"

As You, Niko and the robots continue to talk, the conversation comes to an end.

"Well, Niko and I should go to the glen now,"

[Ok, safe transportation then,] Proto says

Silver wisper's something in Proto's ear

[Oh, I mean safe *travels*]

[Good luck,] Silver says

You and Niko say your goodbyes and head toward the docks, where there is a free rowbot. You both get in, tell it where to go, and settle down. You attempt a conversation with Niko.

"Nice to see those two get along,"

"..."

"Niko? You thinking again?"

"H-huh? Oh, uh yeah,"

"Not meaning to intrude, but, what you thinking about?"

"I don't know if I want to say,"

"C'mon, I kinda dont want to sit here in complete silence,"

"Ok ok, Promise you wont tell anyone?"

Wait, what is he thinking about that he doesn't want other people to know?

"Promise"

"Ok. Ever since you said I could come back, I just can't stop thinking about someone. Someone that was, special,"

Ohhh, it's *that* kind of thing

"I see. Do you mean like in a, crush kind of way?"

"What is a crush?"

Oh dear,

"Someone that you like in a way, you want to be more than friends. Well, something like that, I don't really know how to describe it"

"Oh, you mean romantical kind of way?"

"Yeah,"

"Ok, yeah, like a 'crush'"

"Who is it?"

"...Alula. She was 6 when I came, she will be 12 now,"

"And that's close to your age,"

"Yeah..."

You both ride in silence the rest of boat ride.

Chapter Text

The boat arrived at the Glen safely and you notice how the Glen isn't in pieces anymore.

"Guess Maize is alive after all," you say to break the silence.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see *Calamus* and Alula,"

You laugh at the emphasis on Calamus being first, bringing a smile to both your face and his.

As you and Niko head towards the rebuilt village, you run into Cedric, who upon seeing Niko, was surprised.

"Niko? B-but... you... how...?"

"The World Machine found a way" Niko responds to Cedric's unspoken question.

"Then, who are you?" He asks you

"I'm Andrew, the one who guided Niko"

"Wow, what an honor-"

"No, what an honor to meet *you*! your the one who helped Niko during Solstice" You cut him off.

"Yes, but, *your* the one who guided him through the world!" He shoots back.

"It's a pleasure for both of us then"

You extend your hand for a shake. He takes it and gives it a firm shake.

"Calamus and Alula always thought you would come back Niko, somehow or another, but never could I have expected *you* to come here. I have so many questions, maybe too many..." He seems to sink into thought, but snaps himself back.

"Let me bring you to them, Calamus and Alula that is,"

He then leads you and Niko to the ruins, which seems to have drained since you've seen it.

"So where were you headed Cedric?"

"Huh? Oh, I was going to get some supplies from the barrens, but that can wait. You and Niko need to see Calamus and Alula first"

He brings you to the place where the ruins children live and goes inside. You were going to follow him, but Niko stops you.

"Andrew, I-i'm not sure about this, what do I even say?"

"I'll help you Niko, as I always have, though i'm not the best when it comes to these things either," You chuckle to yourself.

Niko braces himself, and heads in but when he sees Alula, he freezes.

Alula, now with long, soft blue hair, and a beautiful blue dress, seemed stunning in Niko's eyes, and she was turned away from them.

Calamus was the first to look back.

"Niko? Is that you?"

"Hey Calamus," Niko replies

You head over to where Calamus and Cedric are, leaving Niko at the door.

Alula turns around and her face lights up.

"Niko?!" She immediately runs over and hugs him, causing Niko to blush.

"H-hi Alula,"

"I... didn't think you would come back," She then apparently notices she is hugging him and backs away, blushing.

"S-sorry, I, don't know why I did that," She apologies

"It's fine," Niko says rubbing his neck.

They then both notice that you, Calamus, and Cedric are giggling at them.

"W-what!? Why are you laughing!?" Alula says flustered, but only makes you and the others giggle all the more.

She goes over to Calamus and punches him in the shoulder, and stands there red as a tomato, while Niko is still standing where he was when they broke the hug, also red.

He eventually comes over to where you are.

"Seems you don't even need my help," You chuckle a bit, and Niko looks tempted to punch you too, but decides against it.

"So, how did you arrive here?" Cedric asks, starting conversation

"and who are you?" Asks Calamus looking at you.

You tell the whole story (excluding the talk on the boat).

"-Then we ran into Cedric, and he told us to come here.

"Oh my stars, you are God?!" Calamus asks

"Well, not really, I only guided Niko and solve a few puzzles," You reply

"Oh, but that still makes you some sort of character close to massiah, right?"

"I guess? I don't know, but i'm definitely not God,"

"Well, it's late, -yawn- we should all go to bed" Cedric announces

"What about those parts you needed?" Asks Calamus

"They can wait, it's too late right now, i'll have to go in the morning"

Ok then, Alula get ready for bed, then show Niko and Andrew the guest bedroom" Calamus tells Alula

"Ok, -yawn- " Alula says as she heads to get ready.

After a few minutes Alula comes back to the living room(?) in her blue pajamas

"Alright, c'mon guys," She says leading the way to the back room.

"I see you guys finally got to that room," you say

"Yeah, -yawn- oh my stars i'm so tired! Welp, good night Niko. And Andrew. She says as she heads to her and Calamus's room.

You and Niko get in the beds, and chat a bit before sleeping.

"Did you notice how Alula added my name? It's like she ment it more to you than me" You point out

"Maybe, -yawn- i'm going to get some sleep now, good night Andrew" Niko replies

"Good night," and your out in a few minutes.

Chapter Text

You wake up the next morning to find that Niko had already waken up, so you head to the main room.

"-Yeah, I was hoping that would work, but clearly it did not"

You heard Cedric talking, and then you see he is covered in something black.

"What happened Cedric?"

He looks over at you

"Good morning, I have been trying to basically re-invent the flying machine, and it kinda blew up..."

"Wait, I thought World Machine fixed it?"

"-Sigh-, There are some things he could not fix. The flying machine was sadly one of those"

"Good morning Andrew! Calamus fixed some fish for breakfast" Niko chimed in

"Nice! Fish are honestly delicious"

"Yeah, I've never had much because I don't live close to an ocean, but it's amazing!"

Calamus serves you a plate and you dig in.

"Mmmmm, it's so good!" you say through your food

As Niko comes back from washing his plate, Alula comes out of the bedroom

"-stretch- Good morning everyone!" she says as she stretches

"What we eating?" She looks over at Cedric, "And why is Cedric look like he just blew something up?"

"One; fish. Two; A project blew up," Cedric answers

"Nice, and sad"

Your WMC vibrates

[you guys should head to the refuge]

"Oh hey World Machine, we'll be on our way"

"What?" Alula and Calamus said at the same time

"Oh, me and Niko have something called a World Machine Communicator, and he can send messages to it"

"Oh. So, you two are leaving?" asks Alula

"Yeah, We will come back after we visit the Refuge" you answer

"Well, it was nice seeing you guys again, or *Niko* again," Calamus says

"You too" you reply

"Bye, hopefully when you two return i'll have fixed the flying machine" Cedric says

"Bye," says Alula rather sadly

You and Niko wave goodbye and head to the gate to the refuge

[Hello, please sign your name on this paper to continue] said the robot at the gate

"ok, do you have anything I can write with?"

The robot hands you a pen and you write your name on it. It lets you and Niko pass through, and you travel the path to the Refuge.

Chapter Text

As you and Niko walk through the passageway, you decide to ask him a few time passing questions.

"Hey Niko?"

"Hmm?"

"What is the name of your species?"

"What?"

"Like, I'm a human, and your some other species."

"Oh, I'm a Nissan"

"Cool"

[Would'nt that technically make me a Nissan?]

The WMC buzzes and World Machine joins in the conversation

"What do you mean?" Asks Niko "Arn't you a machine?"

[Oh]

[Good point...]

They walk the rest of the way in silence.

-------------------------------------

"Come on, come onnnnn! Not again!"

"So it would seem the elevator is down again," observes Niko

"Well, there is more than one elevator. Especially since the Refuge has been rebuilding it's self" you say

"Hey Plight!" you hear Ling in the distance "Is that elevator down again?"

"This is the third time this week! The lamps there need to be filled, and the other elevator is very far away from them."

"Ahh, bad luck, huh?" Ling responds

"Just about. -sigh- Guess I have no other choice then,"

"Hope you get there in time!"

"Hi Ling!" Niko comes up to Ling after Plight walked away

"Hi! I see you came back, and who is your friend?"

"Hi, I'm Andrew" you introduce yourself, "So the elevator broke down again, I see."

"Yep. It can be annoying at times"

"I see"

Ling turns to Niko "How are you Niko? You sure are older than last time!"

"I'm fine. How is your business doing?"

"Great! Since there are more elevators working, people come up here more."

"Nice"

"Can you tell us where the nearest elevator is? We have some more friends we need to catch up with" You ask

Ling points in the direction Plight went "Thats the nearest working elevator, hope its not broken too."

You and Niko say goodbye and head towards that direction.

when you get to it, Plight was just getting in. You and Niko rush to it and get in.

"Phew, that was close," You say as the elevator desends.

"Niko? I thought you left, for good!" Plight says in surprise "And who are you?" he says looking at you.

"I'm Andrew, I guided Niko through the world" You tell him, adding in the whole god-thing for amusment.

"YOUR GOD?!" He asks in surprise.

You laugh and explain how the identity "god" isn't really accurate.

"I was really only a guide with an ability to contact the real god of your world." you say

"I see," Responds Plight

And they stand in silence the rest of the way down.

Chapter Text

"Alright gotta go to where the other elevator is so, uh, cya." Plight says as he leaves the elevator.

As you and Niko head towards the library, you see a lot has changed since Niko was here.

"Wow," you say bewildered, "A lot has changed."

"It sure has," Niko replies looking at the new buildings as you pass.

You find the library (after backtracking a few times) and go inside. Inside there are a lot of people reading books and it is very, very quiet.

"Have you ever been in a library Niko?" you whisper

"Yeah, when I was here last time." Niko states in a regular voice. "Why are you whisperin-"

"Shhh!" The robot interrupted

"?" Niko had a confused face

"In a library your supposed to be quiet because people are reading"

"Oh-" He cuts himself off and goes to a whisper "Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

They head to the desk and ask the robot to see George.

[Sure thing, just need your library card]

"Uhhh, we don't have any library cards..." You answer

[No problem, I will just contact her then, allow me to call her]

"Oh no," Niko frowns

(Rrrrrrrrrrr)

(Rrrrrrrrrrr)

(Rrrrrrrrrrr)

(Rrrrrrrrrrr)

(Rrrrr) "What is it?"

"Oh thank god, I didn't know what we would do if she didn't pick up." You say relieved

[some people want to see you]

"Who is it?"

[It is that cat child from a few years back]

You hear somthing drop in the background like a book, and the phone hangs up

[Well I guess you will have to come back later-]

She burst through the doors and is astonished.

"NIKO?!"

In the very quiet building her booming voice almost broke the sound barrier.

"Uhh, h-hi?" Niko said in his regular voice since there was no use Whispering anymore.

"Come with me to my office, now!" George practically dragged Niko to the back room, and you followed.

"Ok, tell me everything from the start to the end, I want to hear it all.

Chapter Text

"That, might be the most interesting story I've ever heard" George said after you and Niko finished your story

"So you guided Niko through the world hmm?" George asks you

"Yeah" you answer

"Then I must thank you both then. This whole world owes thanks to your heroic actions"

Heros, huh? well thats a first, though she's not wrong, you think

"Well you too should go see Kip, I'm sure she would like to see you"

"Well I was wondering if we could get some library cards so we could come again sometime?" you ask

"Oh, yes, of course! Here, just come back with photos on these. just stick the photos on the cards with this."

She hands both of you some sort of double sided tape.

"Ok thanks!"

You and Niko leave the library and head to where the photo building is, since it's on the way. There are a few people there and they welcome you in.

"Alright, just stand here" says one of them to Niko. Then it's your turn.

"Ok, just peel that, stick it on the card, then peel that and viola! Library card." you instruct Niko, which he does very well

You then head towards the new lab (Since the old one collapsed) and head inside. Inside there is a desk with a girl behind it.

"Hi, we are looking for Kip" you tell her

"Appointment?" she asks

"Uhh, no we are old friends"

She looks up at you like your stupid

"Well I've never seen you around before,"

"Last time we came was right before the lab collapsed." you explain

"Alright, I'll ask, I need a name first."

"Niko"

"Ok," She hits a button on some sort of speaker. " Dr. Silverpoint, some guy named Niko is here saying he is an old friend."

"What does he look like?" you hear over the speaker and you point to Niko

"He has blue hair, tan fuzzy skin and cat ears with a brown hat"

Silence

Then you see Kip come through the doors beside the desk

"Niko?! But I thought you went home?"

"I did, but I was able to come back"

"Ok, who are you?" She looks at you

"I'm Andrew, I guided Niko through the world"

Kip gave you the most confused look you've ever seen.

"It's a long story,"

"Well nice to see you and all, but I just found a revolutionary discovery, could you maybe come back another time?"

"Oh yeah sure"

"Ok, thanks, we can catch up and talk then."

"Alright"

So you and Niko leave and start to head to the elevator as the sun starts to set.

Then you get to the top and see Cedric flying his plane overhead

"He fixed it!" you say

"Yeah, I think I see Alula and Calamus in the plane too."

He parks his plane on one of the roofs connected to the catwalks and you head over there.

"Hey!" you wave at them as they land

"Oh hey!" Cedric says as he gets off

"I see you fixed it."

"Yup!"

"Hey Niko!" Alula says as she gets out of the plane and runs toward him

"H-hi Alula" Niko says back as she gets there

"Hey Cedric, can that thing fit 5? We are a little tired from walking all day" you ask

"Yep, I added more room since Calamus suggested it in case of something like this"

So they all got in the plane with Cedric in the driver, You on the left behind him, Calamus on your right, Alula back left and Niko back right.

Chapter Text

Niko got in the plane and realized he got the seat next to Alula.

"Alula come on!" Calamus yelled for her as she was looking down on the city.

"Sorry, it's just so, pretty!" She responded She then got inside the plane

Now, how the plane's seats were, the driver was in the middle front and the second row had a right side and a left side divided. The back, however, did not. It was extra big so it could fit people, but there was no divider there. So Niko had to sit next to Alula a bit closer than he initially thought.

"Hi Niko, again," Alula said

"Hi," Niko responded

"Uhh, could you move over a bit so I can get in?"

Niko then realized he was sitting in the middle.

"O-oh, yeah sure, sorry," Niko apologized

"It's ok"

Alula slid on right beside him making him nervous.

"Alright, is everyone ready to go?" Cedric asked

Everyone was ready, so they took to the air.

after awhile Alula started to talk

"Isn't it nice? the breeze, the view, the way it feels to be in the air?" Alula asked

Niko realized she was talking to him.

"you talking to me?" he asked

"Yeah"

"Yes, it is nice up here, though if you remember, this isn't my first time"

"I know," she responded "It's also a little chilly, brrrrr!" She shivers a little bit

Niko wasn't that cold, so he took his coat off and handed it to her.

"Here,"

"But Niko, wont you get cold?"

"I'm not really cold, plus, I kinda like the cold air." Somehow, his nervousness had vanished

"Aww, thank you Niko~" she wrapped the coat around her.

Niko felt butterflys.

A hour passes, Cedric decided to take a trip around the world since he had the gas.

Alula yawned and rested her head on Niko's shoulder, and Niko was getting tired himself.

-------------------------------------

"Alright guys, wake up, we are here." Niko heard Andrew's voice

"huh, what...?" he opened his eyes and realized his head was resting on Alula's, so when he started stiring, Alula woke up

"Hunh?" she then realized they were home "Oh,"

They got off the plane and headed inside.

"Oh, here Niko," Alula handed him the coat, and appeared to be blushing maybe?

"Thank you," she yawned

"N-no problem," he said rubbing the back of his neck.

They all get ready for bed and head to their beds. Niko was really tired and was about to fall asleep,

"Hey Niko?" asks Andrew

"Yeah?"

"What happened on the plane back there?"

"Uhhh," Niko went red a little bit

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, that was not nothing but ok,"

He's out the next second.

Chapter Text

Niko woke up and noticed Cedric was not in bed, so he went to the kitchen.

"Hey Calamus, where is Cedric?"

"Oh, good morning Niko. He went to get some stuff to refuel the plane"

"Oh ok, what's for breakfast?"

"How about pancakes?"

Niko's jaw dropped "No, way,"

"Yep, their almost done"

Alula came into the kitchen

"Good morning gu-" She stopped when she saw Niko

"H-hi Niko," She said nervously

"Hi," he replied

Calamus cocked an eyebrow

"Is somthing wrong Alula? Your not usually ever nervous"

"W-wha-huh? Oh, I was just, uhh, thinking about somthing mid-sentence?"

"Uh, ok? Anyway, pancakes are ready"

"Oooo! It's been a long time since we've had pancakes!" Alula said

"Yep!"

He serves them both the pancakes, and they dig in.

"Hey Niko, arn't pancakes your favorite?" Alula asks

"mmhmmm!" he replies

"But the ones my mom makes are the best, no offense Calamus,"

"None taken, I'm sure your mom is really good at it."

"Yeah. wait a minute... One sec" Niko pulls out the WMC

"Hey World Machine, is it possible for people of this world to go to places like, say, my world?"

[Yes, I believe so]

"Ok. Calamus, Alula,"

"Yeah?" they both say

"How would you like to go to my world?"

"GASP WAIT REALLY?!" asked Alula

"Yeah!"

"I mean, I have things to do," said Calamus

"Calamus can I go? please!?"

"I mean I don't see why not,"

"Thank you!" Alula then starts to dance around the kitchen.

"Uhh, you have to finish your food first, and wait on Andrew"

"Oh, right. But still, thank you!"

Niko was laughing at the whole dancing thing.

Andrew then comes in

"Hello guys, what are we eating?"

"Pancakes." replies Calamus

"Nice," he sits down at the table and gets served some

"So Niko, Alula, what happened on that plane ride?" Andrew asks

"I was wondering the same thing" Calamus said

Niko and Alula looked at each other and reddened a bit

"Uhhh," they say in unison

"Nevermind, it's fine to keep personal stuff personal." Andrew said

-------------------------------------

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow Alula." Calamus said

"Ok, cya!"

"Oh, by the way Alula, when you wake up you probably will feel a massive headache for a minute or two." Andrew informed

"Ok"

[Are you ready?]

"Yep,"

[Ok then]

Niko felt very dizzy and tired, then all went black

Chapter Text

"Uhnn"

Andrew had forgoten how the headache felt

"Owww, my head hurts," Said Alula

"Mine too" replied Niko "It's normal when you teleport"

"Look! It's back with some sort of bird-thing, and there's Niko!" said Aatos, a Nissan who had brown hair and tan skin "Akseli, we found him!"

A Nissan with dark brown hair and dark tan skin came over to where they were.

"She was right..." he whispered

"Hello! My name is Akseli, the Headman of Vehnä Village. Do you speak english?"

"Who, us?" Alula asked

"Yeah, we speak english" Andrew answered

"Good. Now, would you mind telling me where you are from and what you two are?"

"My name is Andrew, I am a Human, I come from the planet Earth."

"Ok," Akseli looks to Alula

"My name is Alula, I'm a Lintu, I actually don't know the name of where I come from..."

"Well it's certainly nowhere near here, ha! Come with me, you too Niko."

They follow him to his house(?) and he tells them to sit.

"Now, tell me, how is it that you got here?" He asked

"Well you see, it's a bit of a long story..." Andrew said

"I'm all for long stories" he replied

Andrew tells him how he and Niko met and how together they saved a world. then tells him how the World Machine told him he could teleport him places that he was linked too 6 years later. then he tells him about the test and coming here the first time and meeting Niko in person. then he tells him about the journey around the entire world, and then ending on how Alula was invited.

"Well, that certainly was a very long story." Akseli said

"Yeah,"

"Well thank you for sharing your journey, it sure was interesting." He said as he got up from his seat and stretched. "Niko, you should go home and allow your mom to know your ok."

"Ok," Niko left the room

"Wait, why did you bring us to your house?" Andrew asked

"I think you mean my office, and because you came out of nowhere."

"Oh ok" Andrew said

they sit there a bit longer

"Oh, uh, you can leave now, unless there was anything you wanted to discuss" Said Akseli

"Oh ok, cya" Andrew said as he and Alula leave. Andrew leads Alula to Niko's house and he knocks on the door.

Milla, a Nissan with light brown hair and tan skin, opens the door and lets them in.

"Woah, this place looks cool!" said Alula as they walk in

"Thanks, my room is upstairs" said Niko

"Your house has an upstairs?!"

"Uhh, yeah?"

"Cool,"

They head upstairs and go to Niko's room.

"Woah! did you draw these?" asked Alula

"Yup, d-do they look good?" Asked Niko

"Better than good!" She responded

"Thanks," he said rubbing his neck

"Your bed looks comfy, can I...?"

"Sure" he said

She gets on his bed and looks like she's in heaven

"This, is the comfy-est bed I've ever laid on!"

"Thanks I guess?"

The WMC vibrates

[Uh oh,]

"What is this?" Alula asked

"It's how we communicate with the World Machine. you have to press the button on the side for him to hear you here" Said Andrew

"Ohh,"

"What's wrong World Machine?" Andrew asked

[You guys might be stuck here for a few weeks...]

"WHAT?!"

Chapter Text

[Yeah, so, whenever I teleported you guys, a line of code broke]

"Which one was it?" Asked Andrew

[The line of code that delt with safely transporting someone]

[It seemed to snap apart, some parts lost]

"So why weeks?"

[because it's one of the lines that took years...]

[but since most of it is mostly intact,]

[I can fix it in about 3-4 weeks]

"World Machine, can you tell Calamus? He thinks I'll be home tomorrow" Asked Alula

[sure thing]

-------------------------------------

Calamus was cleaning the dishes when he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Hello? Who's there?" He asked

[I'm the World Machine]

Calamus opened the door and saw what looked like to him any ordinary Glen robot.

"Your just a robot,"

[I'm borrowing this robot's body to talk to you]

"Oh, what is it?"

[Alula will not be able to return home tomorrow]

"What?!"

[When I teleported them an unexpected error occurred]

"A-are they-" Calamus asked fearing the worst

[they made it safely, but they will be stuck there a few weeks]

[The line of code that lets them teleport safely snaped]

[so for them not to turn to mush when teleporting, I have to fix it]

"Oh, I see," he said relieved

[I will now return this bot where it belongs]

"Ok, bye"

The robot then leaves.

-------------------------------------

Niko was sitting on his bed drawing Alula on a chair upon request when the WMC vibrated.

[He has been informed]

"How did he take it?" Alula asked

[fairly well,]

[Seemed content knowing the error wasn't fatal]

"Wait, fatal?" Andrew asked

[Yes]

[It snaped when you landed]

[Probably because three landing at once stressed the line a bit too much]

"Sorry," Alula apologized

[No, I should have strengthened the line when two stressed it quite a bit]

"Alright, I'm going to start drawing again"

"how's it looking so far?" asked Alula

"You'll see when it's finished." Niko answered

"Aww I wanted to see it now,"

"But then you would have to move, making the angle off when you go back"

"Ok ok,"

"Where did you learn to draw Niko?" Andrew asked as he watched him perfect his drawing.

"I'm mostly self taught, but I also got a tip here and there from a few people."

"Nice, I'm going to go take a better look at the wheat fields" Andrew says as he gets up from where he is sitting on the floor.

"Ok. Just be sure if you go in the field don't get lost, it's surprisingly easy."

"Ok"

A few minutes pass and Niko finishes the drawing.

"Aaand- There, It's finished!" Niko announced

Alula got up from the chair and came to look and sat next to Niko as he signed his name on it.

"Wow, it looks so good and percise!" She commented

"I'm best at things that are beautiful-" Niko slipped and went red.

"I-I mean- Uhhh" He stumbled

"Wait, you think I'm beautiful?" Alula asked

"I- Uhh, I- Y-yeah," Niko gave up and said red as a tomato.

Alula blushed and drew closer to him.

"W-what are you d-doing-?" he asked and then she kissed him on the cheek.

Niko somehow grew redder and seemed to go into a daze, lifting a hand to where she kissed his cheek.

Then he snaped out of the daze and looked at her

"Alula, there's something I need to tell you,"

"What is it?"

"I- I like you, l- like, 'want to be more than friends' like you,"

A smile came onto her face

"Me too" she said eventually

they both smiled and Alula grabbed Niko's hand.

"So what now?" asked Niko

"I, don't know, but we'll figure it out" Answered Alula

Right then they start to hear Andrew.

"Hey guys I'm back, the wheat field was really nice-" Said Andrew as he walked in and saw them holding hands, which when they saw him they darted their hands back from each other's.

"Why where you two sitting next to each other holding hands?"

Chapter Text

The next few days go on as usual in the village (other than the fact there are two extra people), and Niko introduces Andrew and Alula to a few people in the village.

One day Niko was showing them the Airport a few miles away from the village. Andrew wanted to show them his world, but he couldn't right now for obvious reasons.

"How's the coding World Machine?" Asked Andrew

[Good,]

[I'm making more progress than I thought]

"Nice"

This I'm sure is interesting, but the next day is more so...

-------------------------------------

Niko woke up and looking around he found Alula was awake and Andrew was still sleeping. He got up and grabbed his coat since it was starting to get cold and Christmas is around the corner. He headed downstairs and saw Alula eating some of his mom's hazelnut pancakes.

"Good morning!" she said as he came down

"Good morning," he replied

"You weren't kidding when you said your mom's pancakes were awesome, no wonder their your favorite!"

"Yeah, they are really good."

He got himself a few pancakes and sat down.

"So Alula, do you like ice cream?" he asked

"Yeah, why?"

"I- I was wondering if you would like to come with me to the ice cream shop."

"Is this you asking me out on a date?"

"Uhhhh- maybe?-" he started to redden a bit.

Alula giggles and says sure.

They head towards where Niko showed them the airport and then change directions before they get there. They then see a few restaurants in one area, one being the ice cream shop.They head inside and go to the counter. The Nissan there had light tan skin and purple hair and was on his phone and didn't notice them.

"Uhh, excuse me," Niko said

"Oh sorry, welcome to Ice Cream n' Milkshakes©™, what would you like to order?"

"I would like a mint milkshake," Niko said

"Alright, and you?" he looks to Alula

"Hmm, can I look at the menu real quick?" Alula asked, "This is my first time here."

"Go right ahead." the Nissan said

"Ok, I would like the Cookie Dough in a cup with chocolate syrup." She said after a few.

"Comming right up." the Nissan said

They took a seat near a window, and waited for their ice cream.

"Have you ever been in an ice cream shop?" Niko asked

"No, but Calamus did try making some once. It was chocolate."

"Then why did you get cookie dough?"

"Calamus makes cookies sometimes and the dough is really good!"

Niko laughed

"That would make since then."

The Nissan brought the ice cream to them with a few napkins, and they started to dig in.

"Mmm! This is really good!" Alula said

"Yeah, this milkshake is really good."

"Really? Could I try some?" Alula asked

Niko reddened a bit at the thought of them sharing a milkshake.

"Wha- Uhh- Sure," he said as he gave her the cup.

"Mmm, it is good! might have to get that next time." she said taking a sip and handing it back.

"Do you want to try some of mine?" she asked seemingly blushing a little.

"Uhh, sure." he said

She handed him the spoon with ice cream in it.

"Mmm, yours is good too!" he said handing it back.

They ate and talked for a good while, then the Nissan came back with the receipt.

"alright, are we doing a split or one person paying?" he asked

"I'm paying," Niko said

Niko gives him the cash and they start to head home.

"That was nice, thanks for that date Niko~" she puts an emphasis on date, making Niko redden a bit for the third time that day.

"N- no problem. I had fun!" he responded

"Me too! I just wish I had money to pay with," she said

"No, it's fine."he said

"Wait, did we forget someone at the house?" she asked

"Huh? OH YEAH WAIT-"

-------------------------------------

Andrew woke up and noticed everyone was awake, so he went downstairs.

"Good morning guys-" he says as he comes down only to notice no one is home.

"Hello?" he calls out, but no one answers.

"Where did everyone go?"

Chapter Text

Everyone was sitting in the kitchen eating lunch when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it" Milla said

She opened the door to see it was Aatos

"Oh, hello Aatos! What brings you to our home?"

"I come with an invitation to the Vehnä Village Christmas Party" he says handing her the papers

"Thank you for inviting us!"

"Look at the golden one" he said appearing to be nervous. Milla gasped

"Will you, Milla, be my plus one?" he asked

"Yes!" she said hugging him, something he did not expect.

They said goodbye and Milla went back to the table and gave everyone an invitation.

"Honestly, I forgot Christmas was so close." Andrew said, which made Niko look astonished at him.

"How could you forget Christmas?!"

"I don't know, I usually don't celebrate..."

Niko and Alula looked at him with surprise

"Any way," Andrew continued, ignoring the looks he was getting from Niko and Alula. "Who was that?"

"Oh, that was the Headmaster's twin brother"

"Oh"

"Yeah, Aatos seemed to start aaking Mom out a few years ago, after the accident..." Niko went silent.

"What, is 'the accident'?"

"Mom, can you tell him?"

"Uh, sure honey. Niko's father was a pilot," she started "He drove airplanes place to place. One day, someone forgot to fill the airplane with more gas, and the plane never made it to its destination. No one on the plane made it. Niko was five and we were watching the news, the Nissan was fired on the spot"

"Oh Niko, I'm so sorry!" Alula said as she went to hug him tightly.

"Thanks Alula," he said hugging her back

Niko looked up and saw his mom's very confused look.

"Oh, uhh, me and Alula are kinda, uhh-" he said going a little red.

"We're together!" Alula finished

"Yeah."

"Oh," she responded

-------------------------------------

They arrived at the city hall, and Akseli came to meet them.

"Welcome to the Vehnä Village Christmas Party!"

"Thank you for inviting us Headmaster" Milla said

They head inside and Aatos comes to them.

"Ahh, there you are! Thought you decided to not come you took so long!" he said in a humorous manner.

"Sorry, couldn't find my coat, and there was no way I was going to leave without it ha ha!" she responded and they laughed.

"I'll go find us a table" said Niko and Alula followed

"Woah, I've never been to a Christmas party before" Alula said

"Really? I go to this every year!" replied Niko.

"Niko!" they looked over to where Aada, a Nissan with black hair and light tan skin, had called for him.

"Oh hey Aada!" replied Niko as they went over to her.

"Where you been? I really missed you~" she said getting close to him.

"Uhh, Aada, meet Alula, my girlfriend." He said backing away from her.

"Hi" Alula said

"Huh?" Aada said " What are you?" she asked Alula

"I'm a Lintu"

"A what?"

"A Lintu, a bird like being. It's similar how your like a cat" She said.

"Huh?! Did you just call me a cat?!" She said looking angry

"Wha- no? I was saying how you look similar to a cat like I look similar to a bird-" She said then looking at Niko, who was mouthing shut up in a worried look.

"?"

"Niko, I don't think she is worthy to be your girlfriend," said Aada, "not with such offensive words. I think I should be your girlfriend~" she said once again getting close to Niko.

"Aada, I don't have feelings for you for the hundredth time." He said backing away from her again. "Please stop"

"Aww~ but Niko, c'mon~" she said getting close yet again.

"Alright," Alula got between them, "Please stop, Aada." She asked.

"I'll do as I please, featherbrain-"

"Can I get everyone's attention?" Said Akseli breaking all conversations. "I would like to say thank you all for coming to this party! This Village has grown so well and I thank all of you for being part," he said "You may continue what you were doing" He winked at Niko.

Niko looked back at Aada with crossed arms. She looked at him and left.

-------------------------------------

"That was a nice party huh?" said Aatos to Milla

"Indeed it was, why is everyone staring at us?"

They looked up and they were under the mistletoe. Aatos looked at Milla and shruged, then they kissed.

"Wow, how do you get under there without knowing?" Asked Alula

"I have no idea,"

They looked above them to see another mistletoe.

"Wha- How?!" Niko said growing red as a tomato. he looked at Alula and then she kissed him.

Chapter Text

"Dang it!" Andrew said as he drew 10 cards and Alula laughed hysterically.

"I was saving that one for awile. glad I did, or that would be me!" said Alula.

It was Niko's turn, he laid down a skip.

"Uno!" he said.

Then the WMC buzzed

[Alright, I fixed the code!]

"Nice." Said Andrew, laying his deck-sized hand on the floor. "Now we can visit my world."

[Yep]

[Is everyone ready?]

"Yeah" Andrew and Alula said.

"I have to clean up first" said Niko

"Oh yeah!" Alula said "I'll help." offered Alula

Andrew decided to help as well, and they put the card game away fairly quickly.

"Alright, I'm ready now." Niko said

[Ok]

Everyone started to get dizzy and tired, then blacked out.

-------------------------------------

"Unnhh" Andrew groaned. He got up and looked around.

"Yep, this is home alright," he said with a sigh.

Andrew lived in a small apartment that can have probably 5 people in it at once (and thats pushing it).

"Owwww, That headache is annoying!" Complained Alula

"Where are we?" Asked Niko

"Welcome to my humble abode. Me casa su casa, or something like that..." Andrew answered, "Anyway, this is not what I want to show you, Follow me."

They follow him out of the apartment building and he shows them his car, which is surprisingly better looking than his apartment.

"What is that?" Asked Alula

"This is a car, it's how we get from place to place, get in."

They get in and he drives to the aquarium, which he has a membership for, so he doesn't have to pay to get in.

"Oh hey Andrew! How's it been?" asked the girl at the counter.

"Oh nothing much, just been messing around. Does my membership allow other people to join me?" he asked

"Hmmm, lemme check... Yep! your good to go."

"Thanks Gabby."

They head inside, and Niko and Alula are in awe.

"WOAH, SO MANY FISH" Alula said loudly

"Yeah, what is this place?" Niko asked

"This is an Aquarium, a fish zoo, basically."

"What is a zoo?" Alula asked

"Its a place where you look at animals." answered Niko

"Woah,"

Andrew goes to the otters first, and Alula is amazed.

"They, are, so, CUTE!" she said, "What are they?"

"Those are otters, often known for their cuteness and fluffiness."

One gets close to the glass and tilts its head at Niko and Alula.

"that is Fluffy, He is confused about anyone he hasn't seen before." Andrew said as it stared at them. "That one," he pointed at the one sleeping on a rock, "is Star, the oldest one here, she is always napping.

They went around the entire aquarium, and had lots of fun Going behind cardboard picture things, and going into Tank divits. When they got to the car, everyone was tired from walking.

"That was cool!" Alula said,

"Yeah!" said Niko.

"Glad you guys liked it!" Andrew said.

On the ride back it got quiet, so Andrew decided to start some conversation.

"You guys remember when you went to get ice cream and somehow forgot me?"

"To be fair," said Niko, "You were asleep and didn't wake up till We started coming back"

"Good point, Ha!"

Alula snored, and Andrew looked back for a second to see Alula's head resting on Niko's shoulder.

Chapter Text

They got home and headed inside, and it was very late.

"Aw crap, I just realized," Andrew said.

"What?" asked Niko.

"I literally have no place for you guys to sleep" If there was only one guest, Andrew would have taken the couch and let the guest sleep in his bed. He had both Niko and Alula, and it seemed there was only one solution.

"Alright, I'll take the floor-" he started.

"What? we can't let you do that!" Alula interrupted.

"It's fine, I have a sleeping bag" Andrew assured "Who wants the bed?"

"Niko, you should get it." Alula said.

"No, you should, Alula." Niko said "I'm going to guess I'm taking the couch?"

"Yeah," Andrew answered.

Right then Alula ran to the couch.

"Dibs!" she said, laying across the entire couch.

"Wha-!" Niko tried to say somthing but found no words.

"Guess you get the bed." Andrew said while Alula laughed.

"Fine," he said accepting it.

-------------------------------------

The next day, Niko got up and looked around confused about where he was, then the memories came to him. He got up to find out he was the first one up, so he went to the window and stared out of it.

It truly was a different sight, he had never seen a city from a view like this before, not since-

"Good morning Niko!" Alula said making Niko jump.

"Oh, good morning." he replied

"Is something wrong? You sound, sad." she asked

"I'm fine,"

"Hey," she said going next to him and grabbing his hand. "You can tell me or not, but I'm here for you nonetheless" she assured.

He looked up at her and stilled. She was so beautiful, it made him choke his words.

"I- It, its just-" he sighed, "the last time i got a view of a city like this, my mom told me my dad died"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, than hugged him, and he hugged back.

"I just, miss him."

"I know what it's like," she said breaking the hug to look at him, "My mom drowned trying to catch a fish to feed me and my brother."

"I- I didn't know that, sorry-" he said.

"It's fine," She interrupted, "I made terms with it awhile ago, accepted it."

"I should probably do the same," he said starting to go to the living room.

He sat down and Alula sat next to him and they sat there in silence till Andrew woke up.

"Good morning guys!" Andrew said when he woke up, "Ready for breakfast?" he asked

"Yeah!" Alula said.

"Ok then, have you guys ever had cereal?"

"What is that?" Niko asked.

"You'll see."

he fixed the cereal for everyone and ate.

"Not bad," Niko said.

"It's good." Alula said.

"Alright, When your done, we will be visiting one last place till you guys have to go home."

They both nodded.

Chapter Text

They all got in the car and headed to the city's observatory. When they headed inside, they saw a display of his Solar System.

"Woah," said Alula in bewilderment.

"This looks a lot different than my Solar System." Niko said.

"You have something like this too Niko?" asked Alula.

"Yeah." Niko responded, "its kinda hard to explain-"

"It's where we are" Andrew said. He then pointed to a blue-greenish planet. "This is where we are..." he began as he described to Alula about space and how things work.

"Wow," she said when he finished.

"Your world is a bit different since you live on a computer."

"I knew that" she said.

They then headed upstairs to see an old man looking through the giant telescope.

"Hey, Professor Philips" Andrew said, getting his attention.

"Oh, hello Andrew! Where have you been? I needed you on a project and-" He then saw Niko and Alula. "Why, who might you two be?"

"Professor Philips, this is Niko and Alula. I was going to show them around" Andrew answered.

"Hold on a minute boy, what species are these people?"

"I'm a Lintu!" answered Alula.

"I'm a Nissan" Niko replied.

"Very interesting," Professor Philips said. "Well, why don't I show you around, and you two can tell me how you got here?"

They told the entire story, Niko and Andrew's first meeting, the World Machine, Andrew's return, and the present.

"So that's where you've been," He pondered. "We will have to take a closer look at this later, Andrew."

Professor Philips then showed them the Milky Way, and every detail about it.

"Well, it's pretty late and I don't want my assistant to be late again."

They said their goodbyes and left.

"So you work there?" Alula asks when they get in the car.

"Yep, he's a good man" he answered.

"Cool"

They get to the apartment and decide that they should all go home.

"Alright World Machine, we are ready to go home" Niko said into the WMC.

[Ok, I've made an upgrade to the device you will see once you get there]

"Take me too, I want to go to make sure they get there safely" Andrew said.

[Ok]

They all get dizzy and black out.

-------------------------------------

"Ugh, I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Alula said.

"You will eventually" Andrew and Niko said almost in unison.

[Ok, I sent you to Inside me first]

"Ok," Andrew said, "Wait, what are these new buttons?"

[Glad you asked]

[The one that looks like a house is Andrew's world,]

[The Clover is obviously here,]

[The Monitor is a group chat with everyone including me,]

[And the light bulb is Niko's]

"So if we press the button we will be sent there?" Alula asked.

[Close]

[It will bring up a menu, hence the confirm button and side arrows,]

[And two options will apear]

[Chat, and Visit]

[If you hit the chat button, it will be like you are chatting with me, but you can only type, hence the keyboard]

They all dropped their jaws.

"So basically inter-worldly communication" Andrew said.

[Correct

[If you do visit, it will send that you've requested to somewhere]

"Alula!" Yelled Calamus.

"I should get going," She said sadly.

"I'll text you when I get home." Said Niko.

Alula smiled, "I'll be waiting, then"

They hugged, and Alula went to Calamus.

Then Andrew and Niko blacked out.

"Are they ok?" asked Calamus,

"Yep!"

-------------------------------------

They woke up directly in Niko's bedroom.

"Well, goodbye Andew, I had fun."

"I did too Niko, bye"

As he headed downstairs, Andrew blacked out.

-------------------------------------

Andrew woke up alone in his house, and found that the WMC was in his hand.

He then went to his bed and fell asleep immediately.