nexus_crossings | A Dinaurian in the Nexus

A Dinaurian in the Nexus

King Dynal wasn’t sure what to think when he found himself in this strange new dimension. Upon arrival, he had taken his time to read all the pamphlets that gave out a brief summary of his current situation. Don't get him wrong, he's still quite shocked when he suddenly ended up in another dimension altogether. But at least he's adapting to this predicament much faster than most would've expected.

He took some time to wander a bit around the central Plaza. From there, he met quite a large range of people originating from various different times and places. Most of them seem to be human in appearance, but there are also those who are visually distinct from them. He wondered how they've adapted to their arrival in a place completely unfamiliar to them.

At one point, he can be seen observing one of the statues within the Plaza. If anyone happens to be passing by, he might pose a question to them.

"What was it like to find yourself a new home in another place?"

[

bigpoofymammoth's player here, bringing in another muse to the Nexus. Thought that today’s a good time to do so since it’s the anniversary of Fossil Fighter's release in Japan.]

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The answer came, not from someone passing by, but rather someone sitting up in the tree behind Dynal.

"You know, it was actually easier to find a good apartment here than it was back home." Minoru laughed. There were several nice yet affordable complexes within walking distance of the plaza and its various amenities. "New things just kind of magically spring up all the time."

He hopped down gracefully.

"I made my brother drive the moving van through the interdimensional portal, though. I hate those things."

He bowed slightly as he held out a hand. Both greetings kind of just came naturally to him and blurred together. "I'm Minoru. Pleased to meet you!"

As soon as he heard the voice, Dynal turned around. For a brief moment, he wondered why the man was sitting up in the tree. But when he hopped down and gave him his answer, the dinaurian king shifted his curiosity to something else. "I take it those are regular occurrences around here?"

He knows about the particular oddities of the Nexus the moment he arrived. In a span of a few hours, he had seen some buildings, plant-life and creatures that were completely unlike anything he'd encountered before. The statement about driving a van into an interdimensional portal also caught his interest, although he gets a feeling that'd be a long story.

"King Dynal XVI. A pleasure to meet you as well, Minoru."

If there was something he could climb, Minoru was probably on it. Just like the landscape changing to suit the needs of its population, that was just one of the many constants of the Nexus.

"You kind of get used to it after a while." He shrugged. "Not everybody who comes here lives here, of course. But some do. Some have a house here and one in their home world, so, kind of like a vacation home."

His girlfriend was one of them, but he knew a few others. Minoru was honestly thinking about doing just that, especially now that he had both the means to do it and more responsibilities in his home world than he used to. The reason he moved to the Nexus in the first place was because his brother Isamu received a research grant at the Institute for Research and Interdimensional Studies. Minoru just followed along and got a job at the local hospital.

"So, what brings you to the Nexus?"

Dynal nodded in understanding about Minoru's words. Even back in his home dimension, he'd seen some things in the cosmos that he'd considered out of the ordinary. So it’s better that he get used to it the longer he stays in the nexus.

"Ah pardon me, this is my first time being here. I'm not sure exactly how I've ended up in the Nexus, but I can't help but wonder exact how it came to be in the first place."

"Ohhh, this wasn't planned." Minoru scratched his head, chuckling softly. "Sorry, from your question, I thought it was."

The first time visitors rarely planned their visit in advance. But some did. (He did, after all.)

"For a second, I thought we might be getting a new neighbor!"

"It’s fine. I can understand why you'd come to that conclusion given your familiarity with this place." Dynal says. "Speaking of which, how long have you been here in the Nexus, Minoru?"

He had to think for a second. Time really did fly. "Wow, you know, it's been almost four years now!"

Fortunately, time in their own world was practically synchronous, so that made it relatively easy to keep track of things. Not all worlds were like that.

"Four years? I suppose that is enough time to be familiar with this place." Dynal said. Admittedly, that was a little shorter than he'd expected. But then again, he'd only spent a couple of months on his new home in Earth.

"Do you know how people travel in and out of the Nexus?"

"It's almost as long as when we lived in Massachusetts." He reasoned, which honestly didn't feel all that long anymore. That was when Isamu was in undergrad. They only spent two years in D.C. while Isamu went for his Masters degree. And it was from there they first arrived in the Nexus, via one of the normal "doors" as many would call them.

"We travel in and out with our PINpoints." Minoru pulled out what looked like a normal cell phone - indistinguishable from one on his world. "Here in the Nexus, I think you can leave from just about anywhere with one of these. But you appear only in specific places."

It was like getting off at an intergalactic train station.

The twins had found several on their version of Earth. There was that spot in D.C., one not too far from where they grew up in Seattle, and one near Mount Haguro in Japan. All the repeat visits he'd made to other worlds followed the same rules, as he typically appeared in the same spots.

Dynal listened carefully to Minoru's words. When the man pullout his PINpoint, the dinaurian king observed it carefully. It looks like an ordinary cell phone, but it also acted as some kind of interdimensional teleporter.

It definitely sounds like the kind of technology his people would’ve made. "I see. Does everyone in the Nexus gets a PINpoint of their own or are they only given out for certain people?"

One would think such technology would be as carefully guarded as the laptop Isamu got from IRIS. But no.

Minoru laughed, "They're a dime a dozen. I got mine out of a vending machine."

Which was good, seeing as he'd broken several of them in the years they've been here. Often by landing on it or dropping it from some one high place or another.

Dynal blinked his eyes. "I wasn’t aware there are vending machines that gives out such devices so freely."

His eyes then wander over to nearby vending machine. Perhaps he should get one himself.

"Oh yeah. Right over there." Minoru pointed over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was a PINpoint vending machine nearby.

There were a lot of things nearby, something Minoru appreciated about living in the Nexus. That, and he'd never once been arrested for freerunning here.

"I guess they figure if you got here, you should have an easy way to get back and forth. I mean, the Nexus is a lot of things, but it's not a prison."

"Thank you." Dynal says as he walks over to the vending machine.

"No problem!" Minoru smiled. "And if you do end up wanting to actually live and work here, the currency exchange isn't that hard either."

As insane as his job in an interdimensional hospital might be, he could only imagine the job of an interdimensional banker. After all, Minoru technically pulled in paychecks from three different worlds - his job in the Nexus, his American Ninja Warrior prize winnings in his own world, and Ziggy insisted on paying him whenever he worked with the crew and rigged lights for their shows.

After King Dynal lifted the flap on the PINpoint vending machine and received a PINpoint from it, he then turns towards Minoru once again.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I might have to decline for now. As much as I am intrigued by the mysterious nature of this realm, I still have my people to take care of back in my own world." He says before he inspects the PINpoint that he received.

It is a different model than the one that Minoru had, but it seems to retain the same functions. Not to mention, it looks much closer to how Dynal envisioned a portable teleportation device that can travel between dimensions.

Minoru nodded, and understood. "A lot of people do."

He waved to the king, knowing he'd probably see him around again. A lot of people tended to come back and visit.

"Wasn't hard," Rocket says dismissively, pausing briefly in his passing by, a backpack slung over one shoulder. It looks heavier than should be comfortable for a creature his size, but he's hefting it easily, with no sign of strain.

He tilts his head up, looking at the stranger. "Home's just wherever your stuff is. And where your favorite people are, if you've got 'em. You got those, you can be home anywhere."

"I suppose that’s one way of looking at things." Dynal replied as he looks towards Rocket. He didn’t seem to mind the mammal's appearance, especially after all the things he'd seen in his home world. "By that definition, would you say you consider this place as home, whether it is temporary or not?"

Rocket shrugs. "If I was plannin' to stay, it could be. There are worse safehouses to make than a frickin' interdimensional hideyhole. If you wanna know if I live here, the answer's no."

"Hm, I guess that an interdimensional safehouse would be an appropriate description for the Nexus itself." Dynal says as he ponders about the kinds of dimensions that mingles with the Nexus. "By the way, what is your home dimension like?"

"The whole thing? Nah, too big. You want a stash of goodies you can find again, and make sure nobody knows where you're at. Plenty of places to disappear here if you want, but you better put in work, or might not turn out so good."

The question is so broad that Rocket huffs out a laugh, flashing sharp teeth. "Same as most, probably. Too many planets to count, grab bag of whether the folks there know they ain't alone or not. Gravity works by things fallin' down when you drop 'em, momentum's a thing, energy can't be created or destroyed without a shit ton of bullshit happening, yadda yadda. You?"

"I see. In that case, my home dimension should be mostly the same as yours. I ventured across space and met those who are determined to stand against any odds, even the ones that may bring annihilation to an entire planet. Though admittedly, I find myself looking for a worthy opponent to battle from time to time." Dynal answered as he reminisces back on the his experiences back in his home world.

"Ah, hero type," Rocket says with a nod, not quite as scornfully as he might've a few years ago. He's got enough friends like that who're worth putting up with; then again he got to know them before he decided that. "Well if it's all the same to you, you can have all those 'worthy opponents' to yourself."

It felt like ages since Katiri had last been in the Nexus. With things escalating back home, she hadn't had the chance to return as often as she'd like. But she was glad to find that her apartment and belongings that she had kept there was still here. Even her supplies and weapons cache was still tucked away and untouched.

Though it had been a while, it still felt familiar and as much like a home as it did the previous times she had been present. It was good to be back.

Hearing the question, the Guardian turned towards the voice and spotted the strange being by one of the statues in the plaza. The awoken woman wore her distinctive warlock armor, though without her helm equipped; exposing her short cropped blue hair, violet shimmering skin with facial tattoos and glowing pale blue eyes. She was also visibly armed with what appeared to be a side-arm on her hip and a larger rifle slung on her back.

Her mouth shifted into a small smile as she regarded the stranger. "It was very strange at first. There was a lot I had to get used to here." She admitted. "Though as time passed, the Nexus became very much like a second home. A place I could come to ease the stresses from my world temporarily."

Dynal then turns towards the person who answered his question. Given her general appearance and the arsenal she carries around, he can tell that the woman was a warrior of some kind and that she has some relation to humans.

After he finishes listening, the dinaurian kind nodded. "I see. So the Nexus serves as a place to relieve yourself from the stresses of your world. But I suppose it isn't easy to get familiar with a place you never seen before." He mused.

A shimmer over the Guardian's shoulder revealed a small mechanical-like orb with a single glowing optic. It appeared to be wearing some kind of metallic...hat?

"You got that right!" It spoke with a hint of amusement. "You should have seen her when she first arrived here. She was so on edge, she wasn't sure what was friend or foe! I swear she reached for her side-arm a-"

"Luce..." Katiri looked at her chatty companion with both affection and chagrin before looking back at the newcomer. "As you can see, I am not as 'on edge'. This place served to help me unwind a bit." She huffed a soft laugh. "But yes, I must admit, seeing non-humans did make me very uneasy at first. Where I'm from, most beings not of Earth are trying to kill what is left of humanity."

Gesturing at herself, she inclined her head. "I'm Katiri, and I'm a Guardian. This is my Ghost, Luce."

Dynal blinks his eyes as he looks at the orb-like companion on the woman's shoulder. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of it at first, but it seems like a good friend for the warrior herself.

"That must have been tough for you and your world's humanity. But if there's one thing I learned about humanity, it would be their determination to stand against the odds." Dynal says as he thinks back to his memories of one such human who did. The dinaurian king was thankful for him as he ended up saving both humanity and the last remaining dinaurians from the monster that destroyed his home planet.

"King Dynal XVI. It's nice to meet you two."

Edited 2024-04-22 00:26 (UTC)

One figure stops. Armored figure, seven feet tall and with a cape, that turns his visor to the question, and to the regal being resembling a dinosaur.

His sight wavers for a moment between King Dynal and the floor, before he finally answered.

"Took me a while to accept it," John says. "Even when I felt safe."

For a moment, Dynal seems to be intrigued by the armor itself. It certainly gave an impression of a spacefaring soldier, although it's hard to tell if the wearer happens to be a human or not.

After the figure gave his answer, the dinaurian king could only nod. "I understand that it may take a while to accept a new home, even in places where it is considered safe to do so."

"You want to go back when you have a mission," the Spartan replied. "When you have tasks you have pending. Promises you made."

There was a pause before he continued, as he looked at the hub. This was another one, quite similar to those he had visited in the past, when he just started his journeys. Places he considered alien, unknown, as he wandered while seeking for a way back home. Ironically, being more familiar to him than the very world he returned to, many years later.

"But when you go back... it won't be the same home."

"Ah, I see what you mean by that."

This... was certainly a new concept for him and he wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that. For one, he'd only been to the Nexus quite recently. And second of all, it's only been a few months ever since he and his people had settled on Earth as their new home in coexistence with humanity.

Eventually, this is what he'd settled with. "I suppose that a lot of things can change when you've been away for a long period of time."

"Even yourself."

His visor took a look at one of his own shoulder-pieces, painted with a sigil for a good luck charm. After being exposed to worlds of magic, even one can realize not all fates are up to choice. He turned back to Dynal.

"It's always for how long you've lived in places. How safe you feel. Where do you rest once all missions are complete." He paused. "And that can change from one moment to another."

The Spartan then walked beside him, intent to listen to him, visor and body language focused on King Dynal.

"You're new?"

"Indeed. I had only arrived in this Nexus quite recently compared to most whom I talked with." Dynal replied. "What about you?"

The question makes the Spartan pause.

"Ten years."

Too long a time.

"I was five years away from my world," John differentiated the terms carefully. "Then, stayed five years in my new home."

“Ten years.” Dynal muttered. He couldn’t even imagine living in the Nexus for that long. Especially considering the fact that he had to take care of his people back in his home world.

The instant he thought about it, the dinaurian king turned to the Spartan and asked. “How did the people you know back in your home world handle your absence?”

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A Dinaurian in the Nexus

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