Chapter Text
Somewhere in an unknown space, where the walls and floor were gleaming white, and the ceiling looked like the starry reaches of space (black tinged with shimmers of blue, with tiny pinpricks of starlight like diamonds), the beginnings of chaos were about to be created.
A 15-year-old girl, dressed in merely a yellow t-shirt and white shorts, slightly chubby and with shoulder-length black hair, looked down at the words she’d typed out on her tablet, the quick sketches on the pad of paper that was her makeshift sketchbook, and the empty space before her.
She was practically vibrating with excitement, tapping the keyboard on her tablet to add a new sentence. It was the perfect idea – create a space where all her favorite characters could meet and hang out, and also include her own original characters in the mix too. Already her imagination was going wild with possibilities of interactions.
Unburdened and full of hope, her anticipation grew. With each word she typed out, she could feel the veils between worlds shifting, just for one second, just enough to open a doorway into the space she would soon change to her own liking.
In her mind’s eye, she could clearly see the worlds she was peeking into, catching a glimpse of the characters she was looking forward to pulling in:
a group of teenagers in orange shirts,
practicing swordfighting in a grassy meadow a few meters away from some cabins
a desert planet,
where a girl in beige linens
and three buns on the back of her head
looked up at the sky
a child trudging through a snowdrift
with short brown hair
and a violet-and-blue striped sweater
(there were plenty of other worlds
but for now, these were the ones that stood out the most)
Suddenly, she jolted upwards, and her heartbeat loudly thrummed in her ears. Her chest felt light, feeling like a thousand burdens had been lifted off it.
And then suddenly, the room she was in began to vibrate, and a humming sound began to fill the room.
She grinned excitedly, dropping her tablet as she got to her feet. She looked up through the transparent ceiling, watching the starry sky above her change colors, going through quite the iridescent light show. Auroras of color filled the sky – bright lavender, piercing mint-green, startling bright pink, and many other colors which painted the sky above her in a stunning chromatic display, like a moving painting of neon hues, as the shaking intensified and the humming grew louder.
All of a sudden, just as everything reached their climax, it ceased in an instant – the room went still and silent, and the sky image on the ceiling went back to its usual appearance of onyx black with a hint of blue, the stars still glimmering.
But she felt it. The huge wave of energy which passed through her instantaneously. She felt exhilaration rush through her vines, energizing her, lifting her spirits
The smile that graced her face lit up even more, and she whispered what she knew was true.
“They’re here.”
Then that was when she heard the sounds of many combined screams and yelps of surprise, and the loud THUD! of several bodies materializing out of nowhere and into the room.
For a second, she froze. The realization struck her. Oh dear… that’s a loooot of people.
But she proceeded to shake it off with an excited grin as she swayed on her heels, and spun around, her heart beating wildly as she mentally prepared her introduction speech in her head, even when her thoughts were running a mile a minute.
“This is going to be so good–”
(7 years later)
As that same girl, now grown, slowly regained consciousness, the first thing she heard was the sound of distant crashing, followed by yelling and the faintest sound of cackling laughter.
She mumbled as she rolled over, blinking the sleep out of her eyes, barely jolting even as the cacophony continued above and around her.
It took roughly a minute before she finally got up, yawning as she threw the blankets off, ignoring the distant sound of someone screaming followed by a thud.
Time to get ready, then.
Soon, she was changed into her current favorite outfit – black skirt, blue blouse with long sleeves, and black vest (which was actually a sleeveless cardigan thing tucked under her skirt but shhhh that’s a secret.)
She completed the rest of her routine in quick succession – even as she was brushing her teeth and heard a certain fish-knight lady yelling, even as she combed her hair while overhearing a certain Cancer-zodiac alien yelling “gET A FUCKING ROOM!”, and putting on her shoes even when the sound of screamo karaoke (from one of her ocs, for sure) pierced through the ceiling from a distant floor.
Just a regular day.
Soon, she’d walked out of her room, her phone and tablet tucked under her left arm while her other one carried her trusty water bottle. The grumbling sound in her stomach reminded her: ah right, breakfast. Can’t miss that.
Walking through the massive complex around her was easy, especially when she’d grown adapted to the way corridors and hallways would sometimes shift within days and weeks, and how even new floors and stairwells and rooms would form out of nowhere. After all, she did kinda play a part in the creation of this place.
This time, it took her a 30-second walk down the corridor outside her door, then walking down a new staircase then turning right (and walking past a balcony area that overlooked the main living room (the one area that never changed or shifted)), to enter the kitchen/dining room -- familiar with its wooden flooring and cabinets, the white ceiling with the fluorescent lights that glowed just perfectly (neither too dim or bright), the stoves and cooking counter to her right and the fridge in a corner in the left, and the door beside it that she knew led to the pantry.
To her surprise, a familiar face was already in the room, eating a simple bowl of cereal with milk at the table, looking up at the sound of footsteps and then beaming from beneath her round glasses.
“Heya!” Jade Harley greeted, as Ceri placed some bread on a plate and grabbed some cheese slices from the fridge, before emptying a packet of powdered hot chocolate into a mug full of hot water and milk.
“‘Morning, Jade.” Ceri mumbled in return, ripping open an instant coffee packet and pouring it into her hot chocolate mix. Good lawd knows I’m going to need it. “What’d I miss?”
“Oh, nothing much,” Jade piped up, before her upbeat tone shifted into one of concern, while Ceri assembled her cheese sandwich and mixed her chocolatey-coffee creation in her mug. “But I think Vriska might be messing around with the newcomers again.”
“Huh,” Ceri hummed in return as she took a bite out of her cheese sandwich, before sipping from her ungodly sugary caffeinated concoction. “I could see that.”
Above them, the shouting returned, more distinct than ever. “DID YOU SHITS JUST DYE MY HAIR SPARKLY BLUE AGAIN?!”
Two distinct cackles followed – one sounding like there were multiple ‘8’s incorporated within it, and the other one sounding like a certain someone with braided blue hair, also associated with multi-colored graffiti and explosions.
Ceri looked up at the ceiling, furrowing her brow. “That sounded like Mondo, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, I think it did.” Jade responded, sounding a bit amused.
Ceri hummed, before going back to sipping. “Well, sure hope the ‘braincells’ in here can handle that situation.”
“What about you?”
Ceri looked up in response to Jade’s quizzical question. “I’ll handle it, just give me a while.”
With that, she took a big sip of her hot caffeinated concoction.
I’m gonna need this.
Turns out, Ceri didn’t need to step in at all – especially when a certain Ultimate Hall Monitor had to team up with a young original demon slayer wearing violet, and another certain green fish guy, in order to calm Mondo down and admonish the two blue troublemakers (until the next time they would inevitable cause chaos, most likely).
But it wasn’t long before that period of relative peace was shattered late that afternoon, just as Ceri was about to lounge around in her room to draw on her tablet, along with a nice bowl of marshmallow treats.
She’d laid down, picked up her stylus, and just barely placed its tip against the tablet’s surface… before a loud cRASH! echoed from four floors below, and the sound of haughty yelling made her freeze, look up, and sigh.
Oh, what is it now?? She thought as she closed her tablet and placed the snack bowl in the room's minifridge (for later), before dashing out of her room towards the nearest elevator. As it closed and began to descend, her thoughts were still racing a mile a minute as she nervously tapped her foot on the floor. I swear, if it’s one of the stuck-up ones yelling at some poor soul like Tadnat or Koichi--
But when it began to near the third floor, what she didn’t expect were two unlikely voices yelling at each other.
“You dare throw a goblet at me?”
“Well, it wasn’t my fault you were standing in the way just pompously prattling on and on and you had the nerve to call me an insolent little weakling when I asked you to move–”
Is that… oh no, don’t tell me–
Oh, shit, oh fuck– why did it have to be them arguing right now?? I changed my mind, I’m not qualified enough to deal with this, is it too late to turn back–
And of course, timing just decided to not be on Ceri’s side.
The elevator hit the floor. It dinged so loudly she was sure the two arguers on the other side could hear it.
Then the doors just had to slide open just in time for her to see an unlikely scene – a self-assured glass-wearing Ultimate Progeny and a certain blonde and red-clad Councilor, standing in the hallway glaring at a slutty blonde Stand-wielding vampire while a broken goblet laid on the floor between them.
It didn't take long for the three of them to turn to face her, no doubt catching the sound of the elevator opening.
For a few seconds, they stared at her. Ceri stared back. Awkward silence hung in the air. Ceri was very aware that her messed-up hair (from lying down mere minutes earlier) and the long t-shirt and shorts she had changed into for the comfiness of it were definitely not the most presentable attire for this situation.
Yep. Definitely not qualified enough to deal with this shit. Nope, nope, not today.
Slowly, awkwardly, in seconds that felt like hours, Ceri pushed the button for the floor she knew contained her room, trying to maintain confident eye contact even with the nervous, unbecoming grin on her face.
“Sorry… wrong floor.” She barely managed to pipe up, hoping it was enough to hide her internal screaming as the doors slowly closed.
For a second, she stood still in the elevator. The seconds felt like they were being stretched out so torturously.
It was only when it started moving upward once more, and the number for floor number 4 finally lit up, that she spun around and hid her head in her hands as she made a loud scream-groan.
Oh, dear gooooog, that was mortifying, she thought to herself. please don’t let me bump into them again later, I swear...
And yet, as she slowly slid down to sit on the floor, aware of the floor numbers gradually lighting up as she passed by them, she couldn’t help the way her groan turned into slightly-delirious giggles. Was it from relief? Fear? Hope (that she wouldn’t have to bump into them later when she would have to inevitable have the usual group gatherings in the living area later)?
Either way, she couldn’t deny the truth -- man, I love this place.
After all, where else could she get the most unlikely (and amusing) interactions like that? In a place that sometimes bent to her will when she could wish it?
Now to wait for what tomorrow may bring...