Stickman bolted down the nearest hallway with Cat and Commander O'Snap close behind. The room behind them shuddered and tore as a thick crystal encrusted hand peeled away the walls like tinfoil.  

"This way! We have to get Rion!" yelled Stickman, taking a sharp left.  

Before Cat could catch up, both Stickman and Rion blasted back into view and slammed into a wall. Screams, yelling, and other inhuman sounds came from every corridor. Chaos reigned aboard the commander's ship.  

"Commander, I can hardly see inside your ship. Does it operate on reality offset principles?" inquired Stickman, trying to settle Rion.  

The agitated octopousse glanced at the figure sharply and was about to withhold the answer when a bellow came from nearby and prompted a change of heart, "Yes! All our ships travel that way. Why? Clearly that intruder that came aboard has sabotaged my ship!"  

"What is it, Stick?" asked Cat, fur on end. He cast his eyes about for something to use as a weapon. The ship was strangely devoid of any armaments.  

"If I were to guess, and our friend back there makes it much less of a guess, I would say part of the ship has slipped through the nearby vortex and we are now straddling two worlds," Stickman answered.  

"That's ridiculous! In order for that to happen... it would... well... why yes, yes it could have! That's extremely exciting actually. I shall have to log it with our cartographers," Commander O'Snap noted, his mind drifting.  

A shadow crossed the wall and was gone. Cat launched after it, calling for them to follow. Running, Stickman passed a window showing an Andonian forest beside a placid lake and soon after another window showing a great crystal structure, a city or a fortress. Passing through another room, they saw the wall ripped completely open, out of which looked like a factory or warehouse of some sort. Rounding a corner, Stickman and Rion collided into Cat, who had stopped rather suddenly.  

In front of them they saw the bony creature that had come out of the vortex initially. Its tiny thin arms stabbed into some control panels, either trying to operate them or destroy them. Commander O'Snap wiggled forward, looking indignant.  

"Stop that! This is property of the Octopousse Fleet!" barked Commander O'Snap. Slipping near enough to touch the creature, the Commander whipped its split leg with a tentacle. A shimmer of sparkling light crossed the impact and flipped the Commander backwards into the wall. The thing turned its head to look at the octopus, its mouth opening angrily. Then it looked back further, seeing Cat, Stickman, and Rion, at which it closed its mouth and returned to assaulting the consoles.  

"Hmm... Commander, the purpose of this crew and ship is to prevent dimensional incursions into Andonia, correct?" inquired Cat steadily.  

A loud groan of metal clattered through the halls and the ship leaned upwards slightly. "Yes, that is our primary mission," replied the Commander.  

"From what I can see this ship is stuck. Did you notice the hole in your ship back there? I'd say creatures from that other world are getting into your ship and then back out into Andonia," said Cat.  

The short creature fretted and blinked, considering that. "Well then... only one thing for it. Blow it all up!" said the Commander, tossing up his tentacles in unison.  

"My thoughts exactly," smirked Cat. "Tell me, Commander, what does that console there do?" Cat lifted a paw, pointing at the console being shredded by the creature.  

"The Self-Destruct Assist System," said the Commander.  

"A very curious coincidence, that," said Cat, stepping forward. The feline moved to stand beside the creature. Looking closely, he could see the flesh of the thing and gaze within its empty eye sockets. Over all its skin was a sort of luminescent sheen. The console below was shorn of coverings and revealed a variety of wires and gels.  

"Remember that hole in the wall we passed?" asked Cat.  

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it opens onto Andonia," said Stickman.  

Slapping a hand down on the console, and spark flew, the panel screamed, and the entire ship shifted into full alert status. "That's how we're getting out. RUN!" yelled Cat, bolting off.  

Through the cackles and screams of the crew and monsters sounded the ship's alarms and warning system.  

EVACUATE THE SHIP! AUTO-DESTRUCT ACTIVATED! YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS UNTIL THE THREE SECOND COUNT-DOWN!  

They slipped along the corridor, down to the torn open room. Reaching the gap, they looked out at the floor down below. The pod was wedged into the wall and split wide open. Behind them came the creature, its spindly legs tapping on the metal.  

TWO SECONDS UNTIL COMPLETE SHIP UNCREATION! IF YOU HAVE NOT DISEMBARKED BY NOW, THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS! THANK YOU FOR FLYING WITH OCTOPOUSSE DELTA CLASS SHIPS.  

Cat grabbed Commander O'Snap and flung him out of the room, leaping after him. Stickman prodded Rion, who easily floated off into the air.  

Then the ship rumbled and shone with a dark light. Piece by piece the Octopousse ship segmented and fell out of suspended reality. The portion lodged in the warehouse wall split and fused with the particles it was overlapping. Every pod in every world exploded, cutting off the channels between worlds.

They ran. Through the bright forest their legs long and small crashed through plant and stone to flee the monstrosity that lay behind them. The woman had taken up the shelled companion, though its inert form was not light. Racing ahead, the blue creature bounded over obstacles without legs, simply bouncing on with his lighter mass. The guardian of the realm was left behind, though somehow they knew it had its own method of escape.  

Along the way they saw others running with them, more of the escaped slaves. With a jolt, they noted insect guards moving along with them. But they made no attempt to apprehend them. They too were fleeing what moved behind.  

Falling into a clearing, they slowed and looked back. There was no sight of it, though the forest seemed darker now. At the end of the clearing was the main insect camp. Numerous guards flitted about with supplies while others herded the little glassy eyed slaves. A hard paw gripped the blue traveller suddenly. There were too many of them now and nowhere to run. Giving in, he followed them.  

He was lead to a quickly constructed building, tapering at the top, constructed of broad leaves found elsewhere in the forest. The guards outside were far better armed than any of those he had seen earlier. Those escorting him pushed him inside, alone.  

Within there was only one being, the statuesque hymenopteran Empress. Her long black hair covered her translucent wings as she stood, her cruel gaze locked upon him. Gripping a great wooden staff, she moved closer.  

"You brought this creature into my domain to destroy me!" she snarled.  

Blinking nervously, the traveller leaned away from her, uncertain how to respond. "But... but I don't even know what it is! I don't even know how I got here myself!"  

"Where is your flying companion? And who are these that you brought with you?" questioned the Empress.  

Before he could answer, a guard entered the room, whispering to her. She looked beyond the guard and seemed to forget the little foreigner. Lifting her staff, she strode out of the building.  

Emerging after her, he could see why their meeting had come to an end. The forest bubbled with a dark mist and sharp spikes seemed to be moving through the canopy. He could make out small specs that were guards investigating, but any dot that got too close suddenly dropped out of the sky.  

The slender woman that had brought them out of the frozen insect world came over to the Empress, ignoring the guards trying to block her.  

"Free your slaves, Empress, if you hope to save any of your army," she said, a dead certainty in her eyes.  

At the edge of the clearing something broke through. A long tentacled tree trunk, black and flowing, stomping a cloud of pitch black dust as it hit the ground. The mist seemed to strike forward, curling about anything alive. It began to feel hard to breathe. Staring at the thing, the Empress motioned to the nearest guard.  

"Unchain the Pimi-Mele, all of them. Then take up arms. Destroy that thing," commanded the Empress.  

One by one, the little slaves, the Pimi-Mele, were released from their bonds. The blue companion stepped up to the woman and asked, "Why does freeing the slaves help the Empress?"  

"Watch what the hearts of a gentle and loving people are capable of," she replied, following the sudden swarm of hymenopteran guards launching into the air, staves held high.  

The great monster ripped fully out of the forest now. It was moving on a black cloud of choking death atop numerous split legs. Its arms bore ashen icicles and frosted shards. Along its head and back were deep dark orifices that continuously poured out more of the dark mist. It reached up tendrils to ensnare anything that dared fly too near. An ugly sound shuddered from its head.  

"DON'T LEAVE! SUCH WONDROUS WORLDS YOU HAVE! YOUNG! ALL SO YOUNG!"  

It was the snow creature, but twisted and infected. Somehow it survived the dark mist, and now it gave the lethal air physical form.  

Watching from atop her makeshift throne room, the Empress swung her staff, commanding the full force of her army to attack the thing. As one they darted forward, descending upon the black mass.  

"They're all going to die," said the little blue one.  

"Watch, my friend," said a wise voice behind him. Looking back, he saw the black hatted guardian, looking sombre.  

As the attack wave neared the creature, a bolt of light shot out from the ground and hit a guard. Then another. The traveller looked around for the source, and saw some of the Pimi-Mele raising their hands and firing out beams of energy at the hymenopterans. More and more joined, searing the airborne swarm in light.  

"They're attacking the guards!" he exclaimed.  

"No, we do not use our abilities in such ways," said the guardian. Then, raising its own hands, a bright beam of light lanced out and skywards, into the heart of the swarm.  

The hymenopterans did not fall as they came within striking distance of the beast. The choking mist did not knock them out of the air. Their staves were able to strike its flesh. The power of the Pimi-Mele gave them a chance.

They boarded a large shuttle, filled with unfamiliar equipment. Numerous cages, glass chambers, and other storage implements filled the latter portion of the cargo area. The short creature moved on into the cockpit and instructed her to sit down. This person knew her somehow. Upon the face of this cold being was a scar across one eye and an expression of malice. The other orbs circling its head were different expressions: happy, angry, thoughtful, and terrified. Each kept its temperament and distance steady.  

Firing up the engines, they launched, accelerating rapidly for somewhere she did not know. They sat in silence for the duration of the trip. She did not know if she was a prisoner or worse, and did not wish to find out if speech brought punishment. That terrible visage echoed in her memories from somewhere.  

She watched the view in front as they landed. They were surrounded by mountains, setting down in a hilly area. Not far away was what appeared to be an archway, metallic, with numerous pipes and wires emerging from it. The structure was bizarre, since it seemed fantastically unbalanced. A tremendous amount of equipment was balanced on one side and absolutely nothing existed on the other side of the arch. It was clearly rooted into the ground by the protrusions. The purpose of it was lost to her.  

"Do you see that, Xecia?" asked the creature hoarsely.  

She dared not look at her companion, only forward. "You mean... that sculpture?" she asked nervously.  

Tapping the console, she felt the shuttle lift off the ground again, this time only hovering slightly above the ground, rotating them around the contraption. As they rounded behind it, she saw a very different aspect to it. The rear of it shimmered and twisted with light and energy. It was some sort of whirling vortex.  

"What is that?" Xecia asked.  

"You have been through one before, do you not remember?" said the voice grittingly. Xecia detected an uncomfortable touch of frustration in the being's voice.  

"W-who are you?" she asked, tilting her head sideways, holding the creature in her peripheral vision, fearful of its response.  

It paused, turning to stare at her. She felt its harsh gaze. The four little orbs bobbed around in their orbits, seemingly oblivious to this tense exchange.  

"I am Se," it said flatly.  

"Why am I here?" continued Xecia, her mind racing to remember where she may have known that name from. She had never heard it before.  

"Look at what is before you. Tell us that you know it," said Se.  

She stared intently at it. The energies did move in a... if she blocked out the physical structure supporting it, then it did indeed look like the portal she stepped through to escape that assailant so long ago. Yes, it was most definitely the same sort of... the assailant.  

Xecia's head turned slowly around to look at Se fully. The creature was staring directly at her, its one eye blazingly wide open in fear, the other slashed shut, tormented with hatred. Its mouth was slightly open in what seemed a frozen scream. Those long ears, large feet, and short stature. The orbs. The plasma torch...  

"It's you!" she yelped. "From that battle! You were going to kill me!"  

Something raced across the landscape outside, disappearing off to the side. Se broke his stare and checked some ship systems. The doors sealed.  

"That is a portal. We need to close it. You will tell them to close it. Do you understand?" said Se, leaning forward, the horrors of that night returning.  

"Tell who? How can I close that?" begged Xecia, recoiling from the man.  

A loud thud rocked the shuttle. Something had struck them. Se turned back to his console. Xecia stood suddenly, ready to run.  

"You will tell them to close it!" yelled Se, a shrill and desperate tone in his voice.  

Then the door bent.  

BANG!  

Another strike. Something was in the storage hold and trying to penetrate the cockpit. Se ignored it, working furiously at his console. Suddenly something activated above her and she felt distinctly ill at ease. The world dropped away from her.  

With a final tearing sound, the metal door peeled away. From the other side jabbed a cone of flesh which ripped apart into four mouth pieces. Within that maw lay numerous glowing sacs and a gullet that pulsed with heat and blood. Frantic limbs scrabbled over the edges of the door frame, struggling to get its oversized body inside.  

Xecia stumbled slightly, then looked back up, behind her out the window, and back at Se.  

"Doctor," acknowledged Se.  

Glaring at the beast pushing through, Xecia gritted her teeth. "It better have been worth it."

They plunged through the swirling gateway, held open by the crystals erected by the various insect guards. From frozen barrens to lush forest, their harrowing escape could not have had a happier turn. This was the home world of the black hatted one. Full of innocent lives, stolen by those insectile invaders, now returned, as their captors became refugees.  

Those that followed seemed happy, but nervous. The area was still under the control of the guards and very likely the Empress was now on this side. With a silent word, the natives of this place that had come through the vortex dispersed into the woods, to hide and wait out this nightmare.  

Left behind was the woman, distraught over her destructive act, the short robed leader of this land, an unconscious shelled creature, and a very exhausted blue monopod with tussled blonde hair in a now somewhat dirty sweater. They dragged their fallen companion under some bushes to keep him out of sight.  

"Remove yourselves from here," said the ruler of this land, the furry black hat seeming extremely unneeded in the warm air.  

"Aren't you coming with us?" asked the blue being, his small fin arms pushing his companion into hiding.  

"I can travel in ways you may not, do not wait for me." Then he strode back to the vortex, to look out beyond it, back into the frozen realm.  

Within that swirling twisted oval, it beheld a form approaching. Amorphous, but with tree branches protruding from its sides and a mockery of a face on its head. This was the snow creature that had assaulted the other world. It was time to see what powers it had to bear.  

Suddenly, above, another vortex tore open space. The short ruler stepped back while observing this unexpected arrival. A strong sharp wind cut across the forest path as the snow being erupted through the first vortex. It was formed of three spheres of snow, with coal for a mouth and malice for eyes. In one of its branched hands it held a very unusual violet cane, which the royal knew quite well. Its possession of that object explained quite a lot, and it erased most hope there remained of defeating the creature.  

Staring wildly about, the snow creature searched for those that had left it. The air grew cold, the thing's anger crystallised the nearby plants. Its large green eyes scoured the darkness of the forest, its heart set upon a very specific prize.  

"Don't leave, my little tourist! Let's play! Play! The wintry winds, blustery fun!" hollered the thing. "Take me with you! Take me!"  

From above, a gurgling sound came. The vortex suspended in the air began to drip with a black poison. Like claws, darkest midnight poured out of that portal and immediately found prey. Striking directly at its chest, the dark mist poured into the snowy creature. Its face stopped, then contorted in surprise. Its claw loosened and dropped the violet cane to the ground. The shape of its body parts began to ripple and twist, the white sheen of the snow began to darken.  

"Exhale!" said the snow creature.

The waters were colder today. Winter was approaching, and Teiru found himself hugging the mud bottom for warmth. Drifting idly among the roots of the sea grass, the little tadpole found himself lost in thought again. Dreams of swimming beyond that barrier of water and air with those great majestic manta. It was a bright clear day and though the surface waters were frigid, the light heated the dark earth.  

A strong current started up. Dust and debris blew about and Teiru steadied himself in the mud and against the plants. A large shadow crossed over him. Looking up, he saw a massive fish saw through the waters above. It was long and thick, more like a whale, though its body seemed deformed. Its fins seemed to have been bitten off on alternating sides. But it also had too many fins along each side, so perhaps that made up for the loss. Twin tusk blades protruded out of the front of its bulbous head.  

Digging himself deeper into the mud, Teiru hid from the shadowy figure above. There was something terrible about this creature. Never had these waters held such a creature, nor was its movements like anything local or foreign. It twitched like corpse, but moved with intent. Teiru's breathing increased.  

The creature swivelled around. Teiru considered swimming away from here. Then it moved.  

Aghast, the massive behemoth twisted its body around, returning to Teiru's area. The little tadpole hadn't moved, but with this change, it decided to. With a blast of murky mud, Teiru shot out of the sea grass and skimmed along the seabed like a bullet. Above, the creature issued a sound, a bizarre reverberating sound. It swam after Teiru.  

Moving fast through the plants and rocks near the bottom, Teiru swam as fast as his tiny body would allow. A rectangular wall with ancient writing came in front of him and he smashed his head into it, flipping over it in a daze. Blinking, twitching, then reorienting, he righted himself. He was floating down, down among four rectangular walls. Some kind of box, but within it opened up onto a massive cavern with its own luminescence.  

The light from above flickered as the sinuous creature moved by. Feeling safe for a moment, Teiru looked about him. It was a rounded cavern, the walls embedded with glowing coral growths. Looking down, he was startled again by a large jellyfish-like creature rising from the depths. It had many eyes on the top portion of its body and each of these seemed to penetrate the tadpole questioningly.  

It swayed and lifted some tentacles, seeming to dance, or threaten. Teiru backed off, already panicked. The eyes flickered, the skin flashed with colours.  

"Come with us and fly," came a voice from the bizarre creature. Then it drifted slowly downwards. Uncertainly, Teiru followed.

A crash came from down the warehouse following by the grinding halt of machinery. The assembly line had been stopped by someone and it sounded like a vehicle had crashed right into the building. Thread spun about on his treads, aiming to discover what the commotion was all about.  

Several employees came in the opposite direction, wide-eyed and fearful. There was definitely something very very wrong with the equipment. His motors accelerated.  

Rounding a corner, the blue-collar robot beheld what it could only reconcile as massive corruption in his visual processing systems. A small spherical pod or ship was lodged in the warehouse wall. The side of it was split wide open as if something had hatched out of it like an egg. Broken glass and torn metal littered the work floor. Some distance away, a mass of living flesh moved.  

Stopping, Thread examined the pod, then the thing it saw beyond. The pod appeared to be large enough for 2-3 pilots, yet he caught a glimpse of a hallway inside, which contradicted the dimensions of the exterior. Definitely some sort of corruption. Moving carefully forward, no longer trusting his own sensory systems, Thread neared the creature.  

It seemed to be eating, if what the robot saw was indeed a mouth. Nothing about the beast matched any anatomy he was familiar with. No eyes, mouth, legs, or arms. It had appendages of a sort, but each one was different. The whole creature was asymmetrical and quite unreal. Pulsing masses filled one "arm" and sucking tentacle roots held it to the floor. A glowing head could possibly be considered an eye, if it did in fact see out of it. Other shiny surfaces adorned spikes on its head.  

Turning suddenly, Thread realised with dismay that it had a combination of loading equipment and site workers in its mouth. The tongue appeared to be both slicing and dissolving the materials, which then oozed down through a sieve-like structure at the base of its jaw. It shifted itself, moving closer to the worker robot.  

Thread suddenly came to a decision. Despite its evident system problems recognising objects, there was no way for it to have new imagery such as this, and as such, some of it must be real. Following that, if some of it were real, then Thread himself must be in some amount of very real danger.  

His treads began to spin in reverse.

"What was it, mistress?" asked Cyrn.  

The tall woman shook her head. The vision had terrified her, it was real. A memory, but not her own. "My dear bird, I do not know. Someone who has been through great terrors has entered this world. Though strange and varied is this world, I have never felt this intrusion into my mind before. I wish to know if any beings have entered this world through the portal we came through."  

"I had heard they rescued many citizens that were lost on a distant world. They arrived a few days ago. Should we go see them?" asked Cyrn, stepping towards the window to look out over the city.  

"Yes, we will go now," said the ambassador.  

Securing transport, Cyrn and the ambassador flew to the nearby city of Perrata. They were informed some of those rescued were members of the military and couldn't be reached immediately. But a handful were available on short notice.  

Bringing them to a secure facility within the transport station, the ambassador and her avian companion were shown into the room containing their guests.  

"Yes, the one I wish to meet is here, thank you," said the woman, upon approaching the room from outside. Opening the door, they saw a small group of people waiting.  

There was a set of three extremely different Andonians, one tall and brutish, one short and resembling a thin plant-like octopus, and one half-buried in a pot of dirt. There was a finely dressed gentleman named Matteheus, who was courteous and pleased to meet them. Another was a darkly dressed man who avoided their gaze. Lastly there was a very small and familiar face. The woman lit up with excitement at the sight of it.  

"Princess Cocobutter, greetings. How may I serve you?" came the sound of the little one's voice. It had been named "Egg" by the others, for it never talked itself. The ambassador heard it speak within her mind.  

"I have great need of you, little one. You must help me return to my domain," said the woman, striding forward towards Egg.  

A sudden flash of darkness passed over her. An image of permanent night across the whole world. Of choking, people breathing out, but never back in. Lives failing over and over. She looked into Egg's shining eyes questioningly.  

"It is the Darkness, princess," replied Egg. "It has come here to this world. This world will end soon."  

Standing upright with great fear, Princess Cocobutter turned to Cyrn, her eyes wide. "It seems we have far greater problems now than the Empress and her snowstorm."  

A tiny hand tugged at her robes. Egg touched her hand, and an image came through to her. The Dark Mist, it was itself alive, in a way, but...  

"There is a way," thought Egg.  

The princess already had Egg's idea in her head. Turning to the nearby attendants, she said, "Take us out of this building immediately."  

Without delay, they were escorted outside. Looking up, they could see the danger. Two massive vessels hung in the sky. Though it was midday, the twin ships appeared dark, and a great black cloud was growing from beneath them.  

"Are you sure?" asked Princess Cocobutter, ambassador to her people.  

"One world must die," came Egg's reply.  

Lifting the small being in her thin arms, the princess revealed her broad wings and with a slight effort, she launched into the air. Cyrn came running after her, taking off behind her. The three of them soared higher and higher, racing towards the two bleeding ships. Columns of pitch black snaked down through the air, searching for the ground. The wind grew cold as they passed over the snow covered mountains.  

"It is enough," thought Egg.  

Slowing, Princess Cocobutter braced Egg tightly against her while the small being reached out its arms. As if opening and unfurling a bag filled with a whirlwind, a great vortex ripped through the space in front of them. Cyrn watched nervously, both up at the dark ships and down at the horizontal gateway to another world. Through the centre he could make out warm forests and many creatures identical to Egg. There were also much larger insect guards, the hymenopteran warriors Cyrn had met before.  

Up around the ships something changed. The bleeding ichor now tilted away from the straight vertical. It sensed the portal. Some base instinct, a familiarity perhaps, to this construct, attracted the black mist. With greater and greater speed and intensity, the dark mist began to flow towards the whirling vortex.  

Andonia would be saved. Only one world would die.