Chapter Text
It all began on an ordinary day; in the privacy of every home, a chest appeared. Made of dark wood with intricate gold carvings, it stood in the center of every room, destined to be opened the moment anyone saw it.
Inside, one ticket awaited them, made of shiny dark paper with gold details, just like the chest. Each ticket was unique, with the owner’s name engraved on it and the seat number in the lower corner.
The inhabitants considered ignoring it; they were under no obligation to follow the Federation’s orders, especially during those tense times when the North was still recovering from the kidnapping of two of its most important members.
None of the factions was willing to obey the orders of that organization that had caused them so much harm, until an immortal summoned them all. And though hesitant, all the members answered his call in the main area, for curiosity proved stronger than they had imagined; even the unknown Polish scientist was there.
“Why do we have to go to those coordinates? Just because the Federation ordered it?” Ashswag, the regime’s leader, was the first to oppose the idea; given his hatred for the Federation, it came as no surprise.
“I don’t think this is coming from the Federation,” Mike said. “When they want us to do something, they don’t ask us; they just take us there directly or send someone to force us to do what they want.”
“Yeah, if it were the Federation, they’d take us,” said the immortal, holding up his ticket. “Sending tickets isn’t their style.”
“At least not on this island. It was something they did on Quesadilla Island when they were planning something big.” All eyes turned to Philza, known for remembering more details about the first island.
Fit, who had been replaced until recently, nodded from his seat next to his partner. “The tickets were their pass to important things: from a night at the movies to trips to other islands. They might want to try that tactic again.”
The mention of other islands caught everyone’s attention, since arriving on the cruise ship, they had been completely unaware of the history of the place they now called home.
“If it’s something really important, it would be worth investigating, whether to find out if it’s a Federation outpost or to check if there really are more islands out there.” Ishan was the first to agree with the idea.
The discussion went on for several minutes, until finally everyone agreed to investigate the coordinates. And although at first many wanted to stay behind, everyone was forced to go.
The coordinates corresponded to remote areas, places few had traveled to due to their isolation, so it was a couple of days of difficult travel. This was especially due to tensions between the different factions, although the calm demeanor of some, such as the Dutch, helped maintain peace for much of the journey.
Their journey began to draw to a close as soon as they reached the ocean; the inhabitants began traveling by boat as soon as they realized they were heading out into the open sea. Amid their conversations, their journey continued until they finally began to see, in the distance, a massive structure rising above an island isolated from everything else.
As soon as they set foot on land, they realized what kind of structure it was: a train station.
The islanders were about to investigate when they noticed something near the station doors or rather, someone. Ashswag was the first to figure out who it was: a Federation worker.
The inhabitants began asking the worker questions; some even tried to attack him, though they knew it was futile. Even as they managed to push him with their cardboard tubes, the worker remained as expressionless as the rest.
“Follow me,” the worker said. With that, he entered the station, and with no other choice, the rest followed.
Inside, it looked like a normal station, with seats and an abundance of plants, as if someone used it constantly. A single train waited on the dark, reddish tracks; the train was so large that everyone could fit inside and still have room to spare.
“Please come in and take a seat; if you don’t comply, you’ll be forced to get in anyway,” the worker warned them as he entered the vehicle’s cabin.
Accustomed to this treatment, though they didn’t like it, the passengers obeyed and entered the various compartments. At least they didn’t have to use the seats assigned on their tickets; instead, they sat with whoever they enjoyed being with most, Ewron even wandered from one place to another.
Their brief moment of calm was interrupted when the train began to move, forcing everyone to take their seats. Some, like Ashswag, tried to escape by using their teleporters, but something prevented them from doing so, in fact, no method of transportation worked.
The train moved forward without a hitch; the passengers inside couldn’t tell, but the tracks weren’t a normal road. They spanned a large bridge that ended in the middle of the ocean, where an open portal awaited.
No one could have known until the train finally passed through the portal, taking every single passenger with it.
»>»>———YOUNG MULTI———<«<«
If someone had asked Multi at that moment what his greatest regret was, he would undoubtedly have answered that it was leaving his lab that day.
He had planned to stay underground, within the safe walls of his reactor, to continue his research after freeing Shapoo, to find out what kind of damage the radiation had done to his mind. Instead, Graf burst in and ended up dragging him to a meeting regarding some tickets they’d been given; he’d intended to ignore them, as he had no intention of going to the coordinates.
Too bad the rest didn’t have the same plans; in their eagerness to learn more about the Federation, he was forced to travel for days with all the island’s inhabitants to the coordinates. Away from his research, he tried to stay out of all their arguments, away from the regime whose leader seemed to be trying to kill him with his gaze.
At least he was able to collect samples from different species during that ridiculous trip, having Quackity help him divert the others’ attention was also a huge help.
The duck hybrid had been a real surprise in Multi’s plans. Someone with great hidden potential beneath the jokes and meaningless flirting. When they arrived he thought the man was just another sheep but something told him to stick with him, his instincts were never wrong, and the plan during the wedding proved he was right to insist.
Now the man wasn't just someone he trusted a little; he was an accomplice in his plans. As his hybrid had told him long ago, no one would pay any attention to the naive Quackity.
The fact that he could divert the regime leader’s attention away from him was proof of that, a small remark against that weak organization and the other man would immediately shift his focus away from him.
Multi appreciated the gesture.
“Jestem zaskoczony, że jeszcze nie odszedłeś, Multi,” Nexe’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts; the hybrid was watching him as they moved along behind the rest.
“Jeśli wyjadę, będę musiał znosić narzekania wszystkich, kiedy wrócą. Wytrzymam tę podróż, jeśli tylko dadzą mi spokój na kilka dni. ” His gaze returned to the front, trying to make out something in the distance.
The river dog hybrid at his side moved on before continuing forward; Multi followed without much haste.
It was another couple of hours’ walk before they reached the sea; unfortunately, the coordinates were beyond it, so they had to continue by boat. Multi hoped there was nothing at those coordinates; he hoped his wasted time would be rewarded by everyone’s annoyance at making that trip without any results.
That small hope vanished as soon as they arrived at the train station, where a guard led them inside.
Multi noticed that the guard was different from the rest; he wore the same uniform as everyone else, yet he had no badge on his shirt indicating his role. He also wore what looked like a white mask, given away by the black band wrapped around his head.
“He’s different,” Quackity’s voice murmured beside him; the hybrid had stayed by his side ever since they left the ships.
Multi gave a response beyond a nod of his head, knowing the other had seen him.
Everyone followed the guard’s orders and boarded the train, though they ignored their assigned seats and formed their own groups. Ewroon and Katie were fighting at the back of the car; Multi thought he could hear Juan’s shouts from the second car even though he was at the front of the first.
Anyway, everything went to hell when the train began its journey. Everything was normal at first—just tracks crossing the ocean over a bridge—and then a wave of nausea washed over the scientist like a punch to the stomach.
His vision went dark for what seemed like hours, as the dizziness persisted and his urge to vomit grew stronger. It felt like hours to him, but it all ended as quickly as it had begun.
When the dizziness finally subsided, he glanced around, confirming that everyone else was indeed in a similar state. As they recovered, Multi noticed that the train had begun to slow down and that the landscape outside the windows was no longer the sea, but a desert.
Although the change of scenery was surprising, what really caught his attention was what was above. It was the sky, which was no longer a bright blue nor even covered by the clouds that signal a storm and the misfortunes that accompany them.
The sky was red.
Not the red with orange hues that sometimes appeared at sunset; it was as red as blood itself, with the sun rising proudly at its highest point.
“Shit, not this again,” Philza’s voice reached his ears; the man was sitting behind him and seemed much more stressed than ever.
Before he could ask, the train came to a complete stop, this time at a new station he hadn’t noticed when he’d boarded.
“All passengers, exit through the doors on your right. Failure to do so will result in forced removal from the vehicle,” the guard’s robotic voice boomed over the loudspeakers.
Everyone was so bewildered that no one questioned the order, not even the regime. With a new headache, Multi followed the rest of the group outside; the new station was twice as big as the first one, though it had no seats, as if it were merely a place to pass through but not to linger.
As he surveyed the place, Multi’s gaze met that of another figure approaching. At first, he didn’t think much of it, but the closer it got to them, the more his surprise grew. It could easily be mistaken for a Federation worker with its white body and bear-like appearance, if you ignored the single eye covering half its face.
Around him, many others cursed at the sight of him, as always, some were reckless enough to raise their swords against the stranger shouting questions. The “thing” didn’t even seem surprised by such actions, it just watched them without so much as blinking.
Multi watched everyone ask one question after another, creating the chaotic noise that ensued when they were all together. Although Multi did notice how some remained silent, especially those who had been part of the first island.
As always, his mind began to piece together the small clues: Philza’s comment and the reactions of the old inhabitants. It seemed they had already been there, and their silence suggested it hadn’t been a pleasant experience.
“Follow me,” the thing said in a weird, raspy voice, like it barely ever used it.
As always, everyone ended up obeying the order. The thing led them through a door on the side of the station, where a long hallway took them to what looked like a conference room, complete with a large stage and several rows of seats stacked one above the other.
“Take your seats and wait for further instructions,” the thing said, leaving them there while it walked over to a corner of the stage as if that were its place.
Everyone seemed tense; for the first time since that stupid trip began, everyone was still and silent as they took their seats. Maybe it was the desire to know where they were or the dizziness from a moment ago, either way, Multi appreciated that short moment of calm.
Although Multi couldn’t deny that the atmosphere affected him too, his body was stiff as he sat there, ignoring the restless murmurs of the other inhabitants. Quackity, who was beside him, seemed just as nervous, picking at the cuticles of his thumbs with his fingers, a gesture Multi had recognized long ago.
Footsteps echoed through the room; another worker had arrived. This time, he was dressed in a suit that Multi recognized as an NBC suit, which only made his curiosity grow.
A gasp beside him diverted his attention; Quackity looked as if he’d seen a ghost, his eyes wide with surprise and his mouth tightly pursed. He wasn't the only one beyond him, Multi could see others staring at the dark-haired man with surprise and something like fear, before shifting their gaze away from him and toward the front.
Curious, he turned his gaze to the stage, his mouth dropping open in surprise the moment he did. In front of them, standing center stage and acting as if the world belonged to him, was another Quackity.
“Please, everyone, give me your attention,” exclaimed the other Quackity, as if no one were watching him. His voice echoed throughout the room as if he were using a microphone, even though his hands were empty.
“Welcome, everyone. I hope you had a nice trip. I know the sensation of the portals can’t be very pleasant for everyone” despite his soft voice, there was something in it that seemed to mock everyone “it’s a pleasure to see you all. I see many new faces among you, but also some familiar ones.
A mocking laugh escaped the other man, one that Multi himself had heard from his Quackity when it was mocking someone. As always, it was the reckless Ash who spoke up from several rows back “Who are you? Another clone under the Federation’s control?”
The other Quackity froze for a second in shock before bursting into laughter; Multi noticed how the one-eyed beings on either side also shuddered, as if laughing along with him.
Finally, the man stopped laughing, wiping away a few tears that had escaped him. “You’ve made me laugh, i love your sense of humor. But I’m not under the Federation’s control. Oh, believe me, Cucurucho wishes he were, but if he can't even control a few rebellious villagers, he certainly can't control me.”
“The last time I saw you, you were working with them, ElQuackity” Maximus’s voice caught everyone’s attention. The tall man, known for knowing everything, walked up to the stage.
“And the last time I saw you, you ended up blowing everything up, killing some of you in the process,” the double chuckled. “I see you haven’t changed much, Maxo; always listening to only one side of the story. Although, judging by your size, I can tell puberty has finally caught up with you.”
“Don’t tell me your bad jokes, ElQuackity. Everyone on the first island knows you work for them, impersonating the real Quackity and damaging the eggs just for fun.” Maximus stood tall on the stage; his new height gave him an advantage over the other.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures; you know that better than anyone. Besides, breaking a couple of eggs wasn’t a big deal, not if it meant I could get what I’d always wanted.”
“What? Power?”
The double’s smile widened; from where he stood, he thought he saw his eyes flash red for a second. “My freedom.”
“Wh–
“Now sit down so we can continue with the welcome.” With a wave of his hand, the gigant man was transported to the upper seats, surprising everyone. “With this little drama out of the way, I’m going to start by setting the record straight. First, none of you can speak to me in a way that disrespects me. You’re all here because He’s doing an old friend a favor. You should know that I don’t care about your status on that new island because you’re no longer there; you’re on my island, and you will show respect.
With every word, the tension grew among the new inhabitants; Multi could see others drawing their weapons as well.
“And second, there’s no reason for you to fight me” the double raised his hand, and with a small gesture, all the weapons were withdrawn “not that I’d allow it anyway, but you're here as a gesture of peace, not to declare war on each other. For newcomers, this place must be completely unfamiliar, but for veterans, I’m sure you already know where you are now.”
He raised his arms in joy; his wings, much larger than usual, spread out proudly behind him. “Welcome to Purgatory!”