remix for xxxvengeancexxx
Title:: Remember When You Blew A Sun? (The RetconVision Remix)
Rating: G
Group: Arashi
Summary Aiba crawled his way back to the sofa. He didn’t particularly want to, but in those situations, you either call the Eito Rangers or Arashi. And Arashi wouldn’t mock him. That much.
None of them replied to his cryptic message (‘Can’t sleep. Vortex will eat me. Jun, I’m sorry.’), but he hoped they were on their way.
Notes: It's crossover with Doctor Who, but you don't need to know that canon!
Original Story: Here Comes the Storm
Original Writer: xxxvengeancexxx
Negative one. Or blue.
One, two, three, gorilla.
Some Universes go like one, two, three. Others go A, B, C. But the truly wondrous ones go table, blue, eldritch abomination.
Planets behind the reach of time. Lonely little rocks swinging in space.
Some say each universe even has its own smell.
One sun, two suns, as many as needed.
Infinity is not an expansion pack. Infinity is a burden on the mind.
One in a million. All the myriad ways.
Universes are not LEGO blocks. They are no universal adaptors that make them mesh.
Like perpendicular lines that don’t cross.
There is only movement. No constants. No parallels.
It swirls. Everything swirls. Even nothing swirls.
However, multi-versal troubles do exist.
It halts. A living planet wonders what happens.
It is sadly unavoidable, because all universes have troublemakers.
Then it bubbles. It overlaps. It twists. It mixes.
Thankfully, all universes have trouble-shooters as well.
One. Or friendship.
Aiba didn’t know what he had done. He had a faint idea of how it had happened (broken DVD, one simple screwdriver, an explosion of colours), but he had no idea what the open vortex above his head was.
Scientifically speaking, it was pretty and shiny. Inside it, there was a stew of planets, asteroids and supernovas in constant revolution. It irradiated a soft, embracing heat that was slowly turning his living room into a warm summer day. The lightening was slightly worrying, but even if he could hear Sho’s voice in his head (What have we told you about trying to fix things? ), he wanted to see what it could do.
He carefully approached the broken DVD sitting behind the vortex and slowly extended his hand but he stopped when the vortex swallowed half his bookcase. It wasn’t that full anyway, but Jun would get pissed when he found out his precious book had been eaten by a vortex.
He shook his head, confused. Things were starting were starting to go weird.
He threw a lamp into it and then the vortex did a strong clack sound. Things were starting to go weird. He let himself fall into the sofa. He let himself fall into the sofa and then jumped out of it. He could’ve sworn…
He shook his head, confused. He stared at the vortex that kept getting bigger and bigger and Aiba was sure it was moving. Towards him. At that rate, it was going to eat him, then the apartment and then Tokyo. He wondered why all disasters happened in Tokyo.
He frowned and bit his lip. Maybe … he could set right what once went wrong! All he needed was to trace back his steps. If fixing a DVD creates a weird vortex, then breaking the DVD should destroy the vortex. He carefully approached the broken DVD sitting behind the vortex and slowly extended his hand. The vortex growled.
Aiba crawled his way back to the sofa. He didn’t particularly want to, but in those situations, you either call the Eito Rangers or Arashi. And Arashi wouldn’t mock him. That much.
None of them replied to his cryptic message (‘Can’t sleep. Vortex will eat me. Jun, I’m sorry.’), but he hoped they were on their way. He hugged his knees and saw the vortex grow bigger. It was enjoying it, because that galaxy looked suspiciously like a grin.
He heard a strange, loud whirring noise coming from outside the apartment. Had he changed his doorbell? No, he hadn’t.
He heard a strange, loud whirring noise coming from outside the apartment. It was like nothing he had heard before. Or it was? He hid behind his sofa and peeked.
Someone opened the door. Aiba hid behind his sofa and peeked.
It was a foreigner. Tall, so lanky he could’ve been a Johnny and his hair would make Jun seethe with envy. Aiba quite liked the sneakers as well.
Their eyes met. Aiba attempted a smile, but he could feel it tremble and turn to rumble. He waved his hand and motioned to the vortex.
‘I see. So that’s why I can’t get out of here.’ The man strode across the room and stared at the vortex.
Aiba gaped and said nothing.
‘I haven’t got the slightest idea of how you managed to do this. Where’s the alien technology?’ the stranger asked.
Aiba gaped. He could understand everything the stranger said. He still couldn’t talk, though. He pointed at the DVD player.
‘That’s… just a cheap DVD player. I’m the Doctor. Don’t lie to me.’
Aiba gaped and stared at the stranger. At the Doctor.
‘You should know I’m not a force to be played with. Look me up. I’m even on Google.’
‘I’m on Google too,’ blurted Aiba and then covered his mouth with his hands.
‘Everybody is,‘ the Doctor said with a sad smile. ‘What did you do?’
Aiba shrugged. ‘I fixed it.’
The stranger - the Doctor - cocked an eyebrow. ‘It doesn’t look fixed to me. I mean, it is a surprising feat to be able to create an interdimensional time vortex with such primitive tools. I’m not even sure I’m supposed to be here.’
Aiba gaped and stared at the stranger.
‘You’re from a different dimension?’
‘Probably. I’m feeling a little less real here,’ the Doctor said, staring at his hand.
‘Less real?’ said Aiba. Then he realized. ‘I brought here, didn’t I?
‘Yes. Probably. Maybe. I don’t know. I mean, it is a surprising feat to be able to create an interdimensional time vortex with such primitive tools. I’m not even sure I’m supposed to be here.’ The Doctor frowned.
Aiba gasped. ‘It’s weird! Everything is weird. It’s like when you eat a new flavour of ice cream and it tastes like an old one,’ he said afterwards.
‘Exactly! Déjà vu! The vortex is doing time patchwork within the limits of this apartment.’
‘Why only within the apartment?’
The Doctor shrugged. Aiba decided the Doctor hadn’t the slightest idea.
‘Well, square. Square rooms form a resistant field against this particular type of interdimensional pocket time vortex.’
Aiba crossed his arms. ‘The apartment is rectangular. I checked.’
The Doctor shrugged. ‘Well, then it’s a different type of interdimensional pocket time vortex.’
‘Like a mauve one?’
The Doctor looked at the vortex.
‘I’d say more like an aquamarine one.’
‘Looks pretty mauve to me.’
The Doctor stared at him for a while and then sighed. 'It doesn't matter which colour it is.'
Aiba jumped. 'Oh, now I know! It's the colour of danger!'
The Doctor stared at Aiba for a while and then smiled.
'Yes, that's it! It's the colour of danger. And that's why we need to leave this place.'
'But... Doctor, there might be a problem.'
'A problem? Your apartment is going to be eaten by a time vortex. There are no problems worse than that.'
Aiba shifted uncomfortably. 'My friends. They're coming to help me.'
The Doctor sighed. 'So who are your friends?'
‘They’re… just my friends.’
‘What I mean is, will they be helpful?’
Aiba stared at his fuchsia shoelaces and tried to avoid eye... supernova contact with the very hungry time vortex. And with the very annoyed alien as well. He was equally scared of both of them. ’They mostly are… but it’s too dangerous for them.’
‘You are too dangerous for them,’ the Doctor said. ’Any person who can create such a mess with such a primitive artefact is. You shouldn’t have gotten them involved.’
Aiba stared at his fuchsia shoelaces. ‘But I can’t help it if they want to help. That’s what friends are for.’
The Doctor sighed. ‘Getting them involved with this stuff is definitely not what friends do.’
‘What else there’s to do? I can’t be alone all the time. That’s too sad.’
The Doctor stared at the vortex for a while and then smiled. ‘You could stop playing with such dangerous science.’
Aiba crossed his arms. ‘I wasn’t playing. And it’s not science. Besides, it’s rather fun, don’t you think?’
‘Fun? Your apartment is going to be eaten by a time vortex.’
Aiba shifted uncomfortably. ‘Well, but at least I’m not alone, am I?’
Two. Or reaction and action.
Sho didn’t notice the blue box at first. It stood alone in the middle of a hallway but Sho could’ve sworn it had always been there. He frowned and stared at the unobtrusive thing. It’s somebody’s else problem, he thought even if it was standing right before Aiba’s apartment and that meant that it was certainly his problem. It was the way things worked. Aiba made his life exciting and, in exchange, he spent it cleaning up messes and enjoying it.
Glancing at the offending weird object, he rang Aiba’s bell. He heard quick steps - Aiba’s, no doubt about it, because they were light but decisive. 'Leave! It's dangerous!' screamed Aiba from the other side.
Sho snorted and opened the door. 'Aiba, it can't be worse than the noodle incident. Unless you've managed to create life. Again.'
He entered the room and gaped. In the middle of the room, an abomination was attracting all objects in the room. His brain scrambled together some words to try to describe it and could only come up with ‘giant starry evil mouth of doom’.
'I told you it was dangerous,' Aiba said looking at the sofa and trying to avoid eye contact with Sho.
He strode across the room and then noticed a shaggy man with a haunted look and completely out of place Converse shoes. Sho threw his hands up in the air and tried hard not to forgive Aiba in sixteen seconds flat. 'What's that? Who's this guy? And why there's a blue box outside your house?'
'That's a danger-coloured time vortex. He's the Doctor. The blue box is his spaceship,’ Aiba answered and Sho forgave him. In fifteen seconds flat.
'It travels through time as well,' chirped the man. The Doctor.
Aiba winced when Sho sighed. 'Aiba... what have we told you about experiments?!'
'Only when producers are around?'
Sho made a sound closely rendered as ‘ggghhhnn’ and then tried to make sense of the situation.
'Yeah, exactly. What were you doing?'
'I was... fixing my DVD.'
'And you fucked up the space time continuum?'
'Probably,' said the Doctor before Aiba could excuse himself. 'But it's not
unfixable. I'm here after all.'
It was at that moment that Sho realized that it did, actually, make perfect sense. A DVD. Aiba. Time paradoxes. Strange British men. That was what his life was about. It was suspiciously unsparkly for a normal day, though. Sho’s hands were trembling and he faced the man. ‘Why should I believe you?’
While Aiba’s antics had a deteriorating effect on his health, they were Aiba’s. He was not about to adopt another madman.
‘Because I’m a very trustable man and I have a shiny smile.’
‘Aren’t you an alien?’ Aiba asked and then giggled.
‘I can still call myself a man if I want to.’
‘So you just happened to be around, Doctor?’ said Sho. While his smile was shiny and his eyebrows had stolen Jun’s eyebrows’ Oscar, he was still not charmed. He put up with cute Juniors and power-tripping senpais all the time. Ego and charisma were not enough.
‘Not exactly. I was … solving some unfinished business when I was pulled in here. You know, like when your granny calls you and you must absolutely go. Only it’s not my granny, but a black hole that got out of the band and wanted to make it as a solo artist. And became Phil Collins. Do you like Phil Collins?’
That metaphor, thought Sho, didn’t just go out of hand. It got out of hand, hit a rebellious face, left with a biker, married him and became a stripper. And then a nun. ‘No, I don’t like Phil Collins.’
‘Your friend has managed to create a very powerful reality warper. With a normal screwdriver. I’m awed, in fact, even if the reality warper in question leans a little bit to the reality destroyer side of his family.’
Sho hoped the man’s mannerism were just a cultural misunderstanding, because talking like that when you could talk normally was not wise. ‘Then you want to fix this as well, I suppose. Do it. I don’t want to be transported to a parallel universe. Or to my past. Or be killed.’
‘Oh, it’s not another universe. I’m quite sure that’s your universe, because it most certainly isn’t mine. It’s purpler, for starters.’
‘That doesn’t matter - Aiba, stop feeding the thing!. All I want is that thing solved and if you can do it, I’ll be grateful in behalf of all of us.’ He added a bow for good measure. Good old’ bows, never out of place.
‘All of us? You mean all of your universe inhabitants? Don’t worry, I’m sure they appreciate me already. Or will.’
Maybe the reality warper wasn’t the time vortex. Maybe it was the guy’s ego. It had a black hole-like quality and was slowly sucking the air of the room. ‘No, I meant us. Aiba and me.’
‘That’s barely an all.’
‘Doctor…’ Aiba said with a trembling voice. ’I think that’s a comet.’
‘So what? It’s an universe. Comets are bound to be there.’
‘It’s coming towards us and I don’t think it wants to have tea.’
The Doctor muttered something under his breath and then yelled at Aiba to go fetch him something - phase polaron disruptor or something equally convoluted - at his TARDIS. Sho tried to stop Aiba from bolting out the door, but failed. He always did. ‘He won’t recognize it,’ he muttered.
‘Oh, I’m sure he will. He has an instinct for this stuff. Plus I told him about it before.’
‘Before? How long have you been here?’
‘With or without time acid reflux?’
Time acid reflux? Mixing up terms like that didn’t explain stuff, it just made people stop asking. Oh. That was an epiphany and he suddenly understood Nino’s interview answers. ‘Without what?’
‘As I said, the vortex’s a reality warper but it doesn’t affect space that much. Your friend’s incorrect term - time vortex - is a simple way of describing it. It’s messing up time but time is resilient. You see, people assume that time is a strict… never mind. The point is, you can’t break it as easily as you’d think, because it tries to repair itself like a nanomachine. A humongous nanomachine we’re all living in. But because it’s not sentient and lacks opposable thumbs, sometimes it gets thing wrong. Like a bad seamstress.’
‘Did you just compare time itself to a seamstress?’ He hoped Time didn’t enjoy sequins as much as the seamstresses he knew did.
‘Well, in a manner of speaking. As I was saying, basically it puts together shattered pieces of time but not so well. So we notice and think we’ve gone over it once. And yes, we have but not really.’
The Doctor could’ve just said ‘déjà vu’ like normal people - or aliens -, but Sho suspected he was getting a kick out of Sho’s wildered face. He didn’t blame him; after all, his reaction shots were quite good. ‘I… see. Then why hasn’t it happened to me?’
‘It stopped. We fixed it. Or rather, when the TV was eaten, it stopped.’
So time abnormalities liked to eat TVs. He hoped Aiba was insured, but no insurance company in their right minds would insure a crazy boyband member who ran on starch, hung from wires and dressed up as a mirror. ‘It still doesn’t make sense. Do you mean every déjà vu is caused by…?’
‘Oh, no. Most of them are caused by bad brain wiring. This is a particular case.’
Sho nodded but he felt his doubts increase more and more. Besides, Aiba was not coming back and he was starting to actually think the Doctor’s ego had some suffocating effect. ‘Will Aiba take much longer?’
‘Maybe he’s lost in the TARDIS,’ said the Doctor.
‘It’s just a blue box. You can’t get lost in that.’
‘It’s bigger on the inside.’
‘How much bigger?’
‘I never took the time to check that. And yes, he’s taking too long. At this rate, Tokyo will be eaten in a week.’
Sho sat in the sofa and buried his face into his hands. ‘Then do something!’
‘I wish I could. I don’t enjoy being trapped here with two young men who know nothing. Don’t you realize I have more important things I want to be doing?’
‘As I said, do something. The faster you do it, the faster you leave.’
‘Trust me, I want to leave fast. I don’t have that much time left.’
The sense of urgency is the Doctor’s voice was clear. ‘What? Are you going to invade Earth?’ said Sho.
The Doctor fixed his eyes on Sho. Sho squirmed in his seat. ‘No, I’m usually saving it,’ the Doctor hissed. ‘Not that I get that many thanks, though.’
‘Then how come I know nothing about you?’
‘I meant my universe’s Earth, not this one.’
Sho was never curious, not by nature at least. But Aiba had been in his life for a long time and the situation was too unwieldy not to ask. ‘But why Earth? Aren’t you an alien? Do all aliens travel in time?’
‘I’m not any alien. I’m a Time Lord and yes, Time was our dominion. A long time ago. And Earth just gets in trouble more often. And stop asking.’
‘A long time ago?’ said Sho and bit his lip.
‘Yes. I’m old. Very old.’
Sho frowned. The Doctor didn’t look one day past 35 but he was used to scarily young-looking men. ‘How old? One thousand years?’
The Doctor winced. ‘No, not that old. I’m 904 years-old.’
Some strange theories regarding Nino’s real origin raced through Sho’s mind but he ignored them. ‘Oh. You don’t look like it. Are you… immortal?’
The Doctor squeezed his hands. ‘No. Not exactly.’
Sho decided it was wiser not to ask further questions. ‘So… did Aiba ask too many questions too?’
The Doctor waved his hand. ‘Yes, but they were more interesting than yours. We talked about many things. He’s an interesting person.’
Sho smiled. ‘Yes, we all know he is.’
The Doctor sat beside him in the sofa, never looking away from the vortex. ‘Can I ask who are you talking about? Aiba kept talking about ‘all of us’ earlier.’
‘Oh. I guess he meant… us. Arashi.’
‘Storm? What are you, an assault team? It’s a funny name.’
Sho laughed. ‘An assault team? Oh, no. We’re a group. An idol group.’
‘You’re part of a boyband?’
Sho nodded. ‘Yes. All five of us.’
‘Don’t tell me the rest of you are coming.’
Sho extended his arms and massaged his neck. He tried not to look at the vortex. ‘I wish I could.’
Three. Or reverse or progress.
Everybody has hobbies, even the busiest men around. After all, even if your job is your life - my life is my message, Nino recited in his head and snorted out loud -, you need to step out of yourself and slid into somebody else at some point.
Nino had many hobbies and most of them involved sitting around and letting time pass by. So he knew the feeling of wasted time - he loved the feeling of minutes running past him and not having to catch them or else. Therefore, when he felt the sudden, jarring feeling of getting minutes back, he decided Matsujun had finally snapped and turned Aiba into a Mad Scientist meddling with time. If Jun was going to be the figure-head, he wanted to be the shadowy figure behind the throne, carefully pulling strings and torturing people for fun.
He stopped gleefully listing torture methods when he arrived at Aiba’s home. Aiba’s home was sacred and no sarcastic thoughts were allowed within 20 yards of it. Aiba had built a Evil Thoughts detector that went doink when it detected something. Nino suspected it was just a shishi-odoshi that Aiba liked to use to shut him up.
He rang the bell and waited.
Nobody came for a long five minutes.
A flustered Aiba opened the door. Eyes like a deer, mouth like a fish. His eyes were wide open, as was his shirt. Sho followed suit and showed up with the kind of hair only two activities in the world produce.
‘You could’ve told me beforehand. I could’ve brought toys!’
The first one is obvious.
‘There’s no time for that,’ Aiba said and dragged him into the apartment.
‘Oh, you’re really burning with desire today, Aiba-chan.’
‘Shut up, Nino. The vortex is growing out of control.’
The second one is ‘saving the world’ and Nino should’ve known by then that when it came to Arashi, anything was possible.
‘The what? What did Aiba do this time?’
‘He tries to fix his DVD,’ Sho said. Aiba just shrugged.
‘So what does this vortex do? Eat people? Time travel? Parallel universes?’
Instead of speaking, Sho just threw a book in the air. Nino heard a swoosh sound and followed it with his eyes. When he saw the terrible demise of the book, he gulped. The vortex covered the whole ceiling and most objects in the room were hovering a few centimeters over the ground, obviously attracted to the gaping vortex. It was pitch black and then aquamarine and then purple and then fuchsia and if videogames had taught Nino anything, it was that colour-changing windows to different universes are just a prelude to the final boss. Only one word was appropriate for the situation. ‘Fuck.’
‘Exactly,’ said Aiba. ’Look, I have to get a polyadriac number from the TARDIS and Sho needs to stop Jun and Ohno and Ni… well, just the two of them from coming. So stay here and help the Doctor.’ Then he bolted out the door and Sho followed suit.
‘But … but who’s the Doctor?’
‘I am,’ someone said as a head with messy hair emerged from behind the sofa, followed by a thin body in a pinstripe suit. ’Pass me the cookies.’
Nino crossed his arms and glared at the guy. ’I won’t. I have no reason to.’ He sat down on the sofa.
‘That’s not very nice of you.’
‘I’m not a nice guy.’
The Doctor smirked. ’Then why are you here, then? Curiosity?’
Nino grabbed the cookies and opened the package with care. ‘How many chances do you get to see the Apocalypses unfold just in front of your eyes?’
‘That explains why you’re not doing anything, but it doesn’t explain why you came here. You didn’t know, did you?‘
‘Aiba was talking about vortexes. It was obvious.‘ Nino took one cookie and started to eat it slowly.
The Doctor turned around and went back to work. Nino couldn‘t quite see what he was doing, but the noises and the smoke weren‘t exactly soothing. ‘And you won’t try to stop it? Really?’ the Doctor asked.
‘The world’s fucked up. It’s a waste of time and energy.’
‘But it’s always worth the trouble. The unwavering dream is always right here, don’t you think? We can make it, we can fix this and go home.’
The vortex kept getting bigger. Nino passed a cookie to the Doctor. ‘Are you actually fixing that? Why are you wasting time doing this? Talking to me. Eating cookies.’
The Doctor stared at the cookie and then smelled it. ‘Cookies and science aren’t mutually exclusive, Nino. And it’s fun talking to people. Specially if you’re interesting. You learn stuff.’ He took a bit out of the cookie and then fed it to the vortex.
‘Why are you doing that? It’ll keep getting bigger!’
The Doctor smiled. ‘Cookies have some chemicals that stall the growth for a while. Probably the chocolate. And, well, it likes cookies.’
‘It’s not a pet. It’s a reality eating vortex.’ Nino was seething with rage. It wouldn’t show, but this guy was annoying him. He didn’t like annoyance because he was always the instigator. Being on the receiving end sucked. A lot.
The Doctor took a screwdriver and attached Aiba‘s remote to the broken DVD. ‘I know it’s not, but I rather keep it happy. I assure you, I’ll save your world. That’s what I do.’
Nino looked at the ceiling. He started forming constellations with the unknown, unnamed stars he saw. That one could be The Mole and that other one could be the Five Samurai constellation. They could name that galaxy the Sky Road and that star could be the Storm.
‘So, Doctor, anything else you need?’
The Doctor stared at his device. ‘Go look for Aiba. I might need him.’
Four. Or fear.
Jun knocked on the door one time. Then twice. Then five. Then fifteen.
Fuck you, Aiba.
Why did these things happened to him? He didn’t need to come. Aiba could save himself. He sighed and then took out his phone. No signal. His day kept getting worse. He had spent one hour looking for a parking spot and now no Aiba to be seen.
Instead of Aiba, a weird Western man - that had awesome hair - opened the door and smiled at him.
‘Let me guess. You’re Jun. They’re not here. Aiba and Nino should be arriving soon, but I have no idea about Sho.’
Jun grabbed the man by his collar and stamped him against the door. ‘Who the fuck are you and where are my friends?’
‘I’m just the Doctor. I’m… helping you out with the vortex.’
Jun let go of him. ‘The vortex was real? It was not Aiba’s nightmare?’
‘You can see for yourself.’ The Doctor pointed inside.
Jun shouldered himself against the wall. ‘Are those teeth?’
‘No, just asteroids. Very white, very pointy asteroids,’ the Doctor said and pushed Jun into the apartment.
Jun tried to reach out to the vortex, but the Doctor quickly slapped his hand. Jun contented himself with just watching the asteroids and the stars. They were shiny and he had always liked shiny stuff, but he knew it could be dangerous. ‘What does it do? Can it kill us?’
The Doctor nodded. ‘Probably. It’s very powerful, but we have it under control. It ate the sofa, though.’
Jun had just found out about the sofa’s disappearance, because he had tried to sit down on it and was now sitting on the floor with a frown. His brain was adjusting with way too much ease. ‘I see. I still want to know who you are.’
‘I’m a friend. Part of the Arashi family, I guess.’
Jun gritted his teeth. ‘No, you’re not. If you were, you’d tell me who you are.’
The Doctor had a weird, wired thing in his hands - was that Aiba’s remote? - and was pointing it at the vortex. It made a weird sound and the vortex extended and then retracted, ‘Yes! Yes! And for your information, I’m a highly skilled, time-travelling alien who has just saved your life.’
Jun should have been surprised. He wasn’t. ‘The vortex is still there.’
‘But I have made a breakthrough!’ said the Doctor as he made a victory pose. ‘Once Aiba and Nino have got out of the TARDIS, I’m off and you have a world to save.’
‘What? You just said that you did that.’
‘I saved your life. The vortex wanted to eat you first.’ The Doctor put the device into Jun’s hand and a hand on his shoulder. ‘Can I take Aiba?’
Jun took the Doctor‘s hand off his shoulder. ‘What? What do you need Aiba for?’
‘Companionship, mostly. And maybe some mentoring. And to see all the wonders the Universe holds! We can travel in time, in space!’ The Doctor pointed at the vortex and to the infinite stars inside it. Jun could see the beauty, but he didn’t want Aiba near it.
‘He’s not a pet. And this is his home.’ Jun got closer to the Doctor. ‘And do you know how insane you sound? You don’t get to step into people lives’ and put them in danger just because you want!’
‘It’s not danger, it’s adventure,’ the Doctor said laconically. ‘Many people would kill for that chance.’
‘And I’m sure people die for that chance as well,’ Jun made a pause and leaned towards the Doctor. ‘so if you invite Aiba to any kind of trip, I’ll kill you.’
The Doctor pushed him away and said nothing.
‘I see you get my point. That’s great. You can go now.’
‘For the sake of your world, I just hope you don’t have any kind of pocket watch,’ the Doctor said as he picked the device from the floor. Jun bit his lip. The guy seemed miserable, but Aiba was theirs. ’All you have to do is point it at the vortex and then press that big, red button. Couldn’t be simpler.’
The Doctor put the device in Jun’s hands. ‘Thanks,’ he muttered.
‘You’re welcome. Just let Aiba name the thing.’
Jun laughed. ‘As we could stop him.’
Five. Or cast the dice.
Ohno was running out of breath and Aiba‘s apartment was still one block away. He had received so many messages that his usual calm had completely failed him. Come now!. Stay away!. On and on and on.
He wasn’t stupid, but he was reckless. If the guys were in danger, he wanted to be as well. Just the stairs and he’d known what had happened.
A big blue box had happened and Ohno stopped cold. A man was opening the door and letting Nino and Aiba out. His first instinct was to attack the guy, but Aiba was giving him a great hug and Nino was smirking, so that meant they liked him. He strolled towards them so that when he arrived, the guy was already inside the box.
He waved. Aiba jumped onto him and hugged him tight. ‘Leader, you missed the Doctor!’ he screamed as the box vanished with a weird sound.
‘Doctor who?’ he asked.
Nino laughed softly. ‘Just a guy we know. Now get in, Leader, because we’re about to save the world.’
When he entered Aiba’s apartment, all he could think was that that thing over their heads would make an awesome mural. Then he noticed Sho and Jun hastily setting up some kind of device. Jun seemed antsy and Sho was so calm Ohno knew he was dying out of concern.
‘Hello. We’re saving the world with a remote?’ he said.’
Aiba nodded. ‘We should all press the button at the same time!’
Nino and Jun flat out refused, Sho just shrugged and Ohno out his finger on the button. ‘Come on,’ he said.
Jun and Sho quickly did it too. Nino eyed him and Ohno smiled.
‘I hate you when you’re cheesy, Leader.’
Aiba squealed and then put his finger as well. ‘One, two, three, PUSH!’
They did.
Zero. Or merry-go-round.
Three, two, one, say cheese.
Some Universes go pop, clash, rock. Others go rock, paper, scissors. But the truly wondrous ones don’t even go.
Planets covered with storms. Lonely little boxes swinging in space.
Some say all universes have the same rhythm.
One star, two stars, five comets. Just what we need.
Infinity is not a burden. It’s a gift that nobody can appreciate.
One in a million. All the myriad ways.
Universes don’t mesh well. People do.
Like parallel lines doomed to cross.
This is the movement. Change is the constant.
It swirls. Everything swirls. Even nothing swirls.
For that reason, multi-versal parties do happen.
It halts. A living planet wonders what happens.
It is never advisable to avoid them, because all universes have party crashers.
Then it bubbles. It breaks. It separates. It gets mixed again.
Thankfully, all universes have trouble-shooters as well.
Rating: G
Group: Arashi
Summary Aiba crawled his way back to the sofa. He didn’t particularly want to, but in those situations, you either call the Eito Rangers or Arashi. And Arashi wouldn’t mock him. That much.
None of them replied to his cryptic message (‘Can’t sleep. Vortex will eat me. Jun, I’m sorry.’), but he hoped they were on their way.
Notes: It's crossover with Doctor Who, but you don't need to know that canon!
Original Story: Here Comes the Storm
Original Writer: xxxvengeancexxx
Negative one. Or blue.
One, two, three, gorilla.
Some Universes go like one, two, three. Others go A, B, C. But the truly wondrous ones go table, blue, eldritch abomination.
Planets behind the reach of time. Lonely little rocks swinging in space.
Some say each universe even has its own smell.
One sun, two suns, as many as needed.
Infinity is not an expansion pack. Infinity is a burden on the mind.
One in a million. All the myriad ways.
Universes are not LEGO blocks. They are no universal adaptors that make them mesh.
Like perpendicular lines that don’t cross.
There is only movement. No constants. No parallels.
It swirls. Everything swirls. Even nothing swirls.
However, multi-versal troubles do exist.
It halts. A living planet wonders what happens.
It is sadly unavoidable, because all universes have troublemakers.
Then it bubbles. It overlaps. It twists. It mixes.
Thankfully, all universes have trouble-shooters as well.
One. Or friendship.
Aiba didn’t know what he had done. He had a faint idea of how it had happened (broken DVD, one simple screwdriver, an explosion of colours), but he had no idea what the open vortex above his head was.
Scientifically speaking, it was pretty and shiny. Inside it, there was a stew of planets, asteroids and supernovas in constant revolution. It irradiated a soft, embracing heat that was slowly turning his living room into a warm summer day. The lightening was slightly worrying, but even if he could hear Sho’s voice in his head (What have we told you about trying to fix things? ), he wanted to see what it could do.
He carefully approached the broken DVD sitting behind the vortex and slowly extended his hand but he stopped when the vortex swallowed half his bookcase. It wasn’t that full anyway, but Jun would get pissed when he found out his precious book had been eaten by a vortex.
He shook his head, confused. Things were starting were starting to go weird.
He threw a lamp into it and then the vortex did a strong clack sound. Things were starting to go weird. He let himself fall into the sofa. He let himself fall into the sofa and then jumped out of it. He could’ve sworn…
He shook his head, confused. He stared at the vortex that kept getting bigger and bigger and Aiba was sure it was moving. Towards him. At that rate, it was going to eat him, then the apartment and then Tokyo. He wondered why all disasters happened in Tokyo.
He frowned and bit his lip. Maybe … he could set right what once went wrong! All he needed was to trace back his steps. If fixing a DVD creates a weird vortex, then breaking the DVD should destroy the vortex. He carefully approached the broken DVD sitting behind the vortex and slowly extended his hand. The vortex growled.
Aiba crawled his way back to the sofa. He didn’t particularly want to, but in those situations, you either call the Eito Rangers or Arashi. And Arashi wouldn’t mock him. That much.
None of them replied to his cryptic message (‘Can’t sleep. Vortex will eat me. Jun, I’m sorry.’), but he hoped they were on their way. He hugged his knees and saw the vortex grow bigger. It was enjoying it, because that galaxy looked suspiciously like a grin.
He heard a strange, loud whirring noise coming from outside the apartment. Had he changed his doorbell? No, he hadn’t.
He heard a strange, loud whirring noise coming from outside the apartment. It was like nothing he had heard before. Or it was? He hid behind his sofa and peeked.
Someone opened the door. Aiba hid behind his sofa and peeked.
It was a foreigner. Tall, so lanky he could’ve been a Johnny and his hair would make Jun seethe with envy. Aiba quite liked the sneakers as well.
Their eyes met. Aiba attempted a smile, but he could feel it tremble and turn to rumble. He waved his hand and motioned to the vortex.
‘I see. So that’s why I can’t get out of here.’ The man strode across the room and stared at the vortex.
Aiba gaped and said nothing.
‘I haven’t got the slightest idea of how you managed to do this. Where’s the alien technology?’ the stranger asked.
Aiba gaped. He could understand everything the stranger said. He still couldn’t talk, though. He pointed at the DVD player.
‘That’s… just a cheap DVD player. I’m the Doctor. Don’t lie to me.’
Aiba gaped and stared at the stranger. At the Doctor.
‘You should know I’m not a force to be played with. Look me up. I’m even on Google.’
‘I’m on Google too,’ blurted Aiba and then covered his mouth with his hands.
‘Everybody is,‘ the Doctor said with a sad smile. ‘What did you do?’
Aiba shrugged. ‘I fixed it.’
The stranger - the Doctor - cocked an eyebrow. ‘It doesn’t look fixed to me. I mean, it is a surprising feat to be able to create an interdimensional time vortex with such primitive tools. I’m not even sure I’m supposed to be here.’
Aiba gaped and stared at the stranger.
‘You’re from a different dimension?’
‘Probably. I’m feeling a little less real here,’ the Doctor said, staring at his hand.
‘Less real?’ said Aiba. Then he realized. ‘I brought here, didn’t I?
‘Yes. Probably. Maybe. I don’t know. I mean, it is a surprising feat to be able to create an interdimensional time vortex with such primitive tools. I’m not even sure I’m supposed to be here.’ The Doctor frowned.
Aiba gasped. ‘It’s weird! Everything is weird. It’s like when you eat a new flavour of ice cream and it tastes like an old one,’ he said afterwards.
‘Exactly! Déjà vu! The vortex is doing time patchwork within the limits of this apartment.’
‘Why only within the apartment?’
The Doctor shrugged. Aiba decided the Doctor hadn’t the slightest idea.
‘Well, square. Square rooms form a resistant field against this particular type of interdimensional pocket time vortex.’
Aiba crossed his arms. ‘The apartment is rectangular. I checked.’
The Doctor shrugged. ‘Well, then it’s a different type of interdimensional pocket time vortex.’
‘Like a mauve one?’
The Doctor looked at the vortex.
‘I’d say more like an aquamarine one.’
‘Looks pretty mauve to me.’
The Doctor stared at him for a while and then sighed. 'It doesn't matter which colour it is.'
Aiba jumped. 'Oh, now I know! It's the colour of danger!'
The Doctor stared at Aiba for a while and then smiled.
'Yes, that's it! It's the colour of danger. And that's why we need to leave this place.'
'But... Doctor, there might be a problem.'
'A problem? Your apartment is going to be eaten by a time vortex. There are no problems worse than that.'
Aiba shifted uncomfortably. 'My friends. They're coming to help me.'
The Doctor sighed. 'So who are your friends?'
‘They’re… just my friends.’
‘What I mean is, will they be helpful?’
Aiba stared at his fuchsia shoelaces and tried to avoid eye... supernova contact with the very hungry time vortex. And with the very annoyed alien as well. He was equally scared of both of them. ’They mostly are… but it’s too dangerous for them.’
‘You are too dangerous for them,’ the Doctor said. ’Any person who can create such a mess with such a primitive artefact is. You shouldn’t have gotten them involved.’
Aiba stared at his fuchsia shoelaces. ‘But I can’t help it if they want to help. That’s what friends are for.’
The Doctor sighed. ‘Getting them involved with this stuff is definitely not what friends do.’
‘What else there’s to do? I can’t be alone all the time. That’s too sad.’
The Doctor stared at the vortex for a while and then smiled. ‘You could stop playing with such dangerous science.’
Aiba crossed his arms. ‘I wasn’t playing. And it’s not science. Besides, it’s rather fun, don’t you think?’
‘Fun? Your apartment is going to be eaten by a time vortex.’
Aiba shifted uncomfortably. ‘Well, but at least I’m not alone, am I?’
Two. Or reaction and action.
Sho didn’t notice the blue box at first. It stood alone in the middle of a hallway but Sho could’ve sworn it had always been there. He frowned and stared at the unobtrusive thing. It’s somebody’s else problem, he thought even if it was standing right before Aiba’s apartment and that meant that it was certainly his problem. It was the way things worked. Aiba made his life exciting and, in exchange, he spent it cleaning up messes and enjoying it.
Glancing at the offending weird object, he rang Aiba’s bell. He heard quick steps - Aiba’s, no doubt about it, because they were light but decisive. 'Leave! It's dangerous!' screamed Aiba from the other side.
Sho snorted and opened the door. 'Aiba, it can't be worse than the noodle incident. Unless you've managed to create life. Again.'
He entered the room and gaped. In the middle of the room, an abomination was attracting all objects in the room. His brain scrambled together some words to try to describe it and could only come up with ‘giant starry evil mouth of doom’.
'I told you it was dangerous,' Aiba said looking at the sofa and trying to avoid eye contact with Sho.
He strode across the room and then noticed a shaggy man with a haunted look and completely out of place Converse shoes. Sho threw his hands up in the air and tried hard not to forgive Aiba in sixteen seconds flat. 'What's that? Who's this guy? And why there's a blue box outside your house?'
'That's a danger-coloured time vortex. He's the Doctor. The blue box is his spaceship,’ Aiba answered and Sho forgave him. In fifteen seconds flat.
'It travels through time as well,' chirped the man. The Doctor.
Aiba winced when Sho sighed. 'Aiba... what have we told you about experiments?!'
'Only when producers are around?'
Sho made a sound closely rendered as ‘ggghhhnn’ and then tried to make sense of the situation.
'Yeah, exactly. What were you doing?'
'I was... fixing my DVD.'
'And you fucked up the space time continuum?'
'Probably,' said the Doctor before Aiba could excuse himself. 'But it's not
unfixable. I'm here after all.'
It was at that moment that Sho realized that it did, actually, make perfect sense. A DVD. Aiba. Time paradoxes. Strange British men. That was what his life was about. It was suspiciously unsparkly for a normal day, though. Sho’s hands were trembling and he faced the man. ‘Why should I believe you?’
While Aiba’s antics had a deteriorating effect on his health, they were Aiba’s. He was not about to adopt another madman.
‘Because I’m a very trustable man and I have a shiny smile.’
‘Aren’t you an alien?’ Aiba asked and then giggled.
‘I can still call myself a man if I want to.’
‘So you just happened to be around, Doctor?’ said Sho. While his smile was shiny and his eyebrows had stolen Jun’s eyebrows’ Oscar, he was still not charmed. He put up with cute Juniors and power-tripping senpais all the time. Ego and charisma were not enough.
‘Not exactly. I was … solving some unfinished business when I was pulled in here. You know, like when your granny calls you and you must absolutely go. Only it’s not my granny, but a black hole that got out of the band and wanted to make it as a solo artist. And became Phil Collins. Do you like Phil Collins?’
That metaphor, thought Sho, didn’t just go out of hand. It got out of hand, hit a rebellious face, left with a biker, married him and became a stripper. And then a nun. ‘No, I don’t like Phil Collins.’
‘Your friend has managed to create a very powerful reality warper. With a normal screwdriver. I’m awed, in fact, even if the reality warper in question leans a little bit to the reality destroyer side of his family.’
Sho hoped the man’s mannerism were just a cultural misunderstanding, because talking like that when you could talk normally was not wise. ‘Then you want to fix this as well, I suppose. Do it. I don’t want to be transported to a parallel universe. Or to my past. Or be killed.’
‘Oh, it’s not another universe. I’m quite sure that’s your universe, because it most certainly isn’t mine. It’s purpler, for starters.’
‘That doesn’t matter - Aiba, stop feeding the thing!. All I want is that thing solved and if you can do it, I’ll be grateful in behalf of all of us.’ He added a bow for good measure. Good old’ bows, never out of place.
‘All of us? You mean all of your universe inhabitants? Don’t worry, I’m sure they appreciate me already. Or will.’
Maybe the reality warper wasn’t the time vortex. Maybe it was the guy’s ego. It had a black hole-like quality and was slowly sucking the air of the room. ‘No, I meant us. Aiba and me.’
‘That’s barely an all.’
‘Doctor…’ Aiba said with a trembling voice. ’I think that’s a comet.’
‘So what? It’s an universe. Comets are bound to be there.’
‘It’s coming towards us and I don’t think it wants to have tea.’
The Doctor muttered something under his breath and then yelled at Aiba to go fetch him something - phase polaron disruptor or something equally convoluted - at his TARDIS. Sho tried to stop Aiba from bolting out the door, but failed. He always did. ‘He won’t recognize it,’ he muttered.
‘Oh, I’m sure he will. He has an instinct for this stuff. Plus I told him about it before.’
‘Before? How long have you been here?’
‘With or without time acid reflux?’
Time acid reflux? Mixing up terms like that didn’t explain stuff, it just made people stop asking. Oh. That was an epiphany and he suddenly understood Nino’s interview answers. ‘Without what?’
‘As I said, the vortex’s a reality warper but it doesn’t affect space that much. Your friend’s incorrect term - time vortex - is a simple way of describing it. It’s messing up time but time is resilient. You see, people assume that time is a strict… never mind. The point is, you can’t break it as easily as you’d think, because it tries to repair itself like a nanomachine. A humongous nanomachine we’re all living in. But because it’s not sentient and lacks opposable thumbs, sometimes it gets thing wrong. Like a bad seamstress.’
‘Did you just compare time itself to a seamstress?’ He hoped Time didn’t enjoy sequins as much as the seamstresses he knew did.
‘Well, in a manner of speaking. As I was saying, basically it puts together shattered pieces of time but not so well. So we notice and think we’ve gone over it once. And yes, we have but not really.’
The Doctor could’ve just said ‘déjà vu’ like normal people - or aliens -, but Sho suspected he was getting a kick out of Sho’s wildered face. He didn’t blame him; after all, his reaction shots were quite good. ‘I… see. Then why hasn’t it happened to me?’
‘It stopped. We fixed it. Or rather, when the TV was eaten, it stopped.’
So time abnormalities liked to eat TVs. He hoped Aiba was insured, but no insurance company in their right minds would insure a crazy boyband member who ran on starch, hung from wires and dressed up as a mirror. ‘It still doesn’t make sense. Do you mean every déjà vu is caused by…?’
‘Oh, no. Most of them are caused by bad brain wiring. This is a particular case.’
Sho nodded but he felt his doubts increase more and more. Besides, Aiba was not coming back and he was starting to actually think the Doctor’s ego had some suffocating effect. ‘Will Aiba take much longer?’
‘Maybe he’s lost in the TARDIS,’ said the Doctor.
‘It’s just a blue box. You can’t get lost in that.’
‘It’s bigger on the inside.’
‘How much bigger?’
‘I never took the time to check that. And yes, he’s taking too long. At this rate, Tokyo will be eaten in a week.’
Sho sat in the sofa and buried his face into his hands. ‘Then do something!’
‘I wish I could. I don’t enjoy being trapped here with two young men who know nothing. Don’t you realize I have more important things I want to be doing?’
‘As I said, do something. The faster you do it, the faster you leave.’
‘Trust me, I want to leave fast. I don’t have that much time left.’
The sense of urgency is the Doctor’s voice was clear. ‘What? Are you going to invade Earth?’ said Sho.
The Doctor fixed his eyes on Sho. Sho squirmed in his seat. ‘No, I’m usually saving it,’ the Doctor hissed. ‘Not that I get that many thanks, though.’
‘Then how come I know nothing about you?’
‘I meant my universe’s Earth, not this one.’
Sho was never curious, not by nature at least. But Aiba had been in his life for a long time and the situation was too unwieldy not to ask. ‘But why Earth? Aren’t you an alien? Do all aliens travel in time?’
‘I’m not any alien. I’m a Time Lord and yes, Time was our dominion. A long time ago. And Earth just gets in trouble more often. And stop asking.’
‘A long time ago?’ said Sho and bit his lip.
‘Yes. I’m old. Very old.’
Sho frowned. The Doctor didn’t look one day past 35 but he was used to scarily young-looking men. ‘How old? One thousand years?’
The Doctor winced. ‘No, not that old. I’m 904 years-old.’
Some strange theories regarding Nino’s real origin raced through Sho’s mind but he ignored them. ‘Oh. You don’t look like it. Are you… immortal?’
The Doctor squeezed his hands. ‘No. Not exactly.’
Sho decided it was wiser not to ask further questions. ‘So… did Aiba ask too many questions too?’
The Doctor waved his hand. ‘Yes, but they were more interesting than yours. We talked about many things. He’s an interesting person.’
Sho smiled. ‘Yes, we all know he is.’
The Doctor sat beside him in the sofa, never looking away from the vortex. ‘Can I ask who are you talking about? Aiba kept talking about ‘all of us’ earlier.’
‘Oh. I guess he meant… us. Arashi.’
‘Storm? What are you, an assault team? It’s a funny name.’
Sho laughed. ‘An assault team? Oh, no. We’re a group. An idol group.’
‘You’re part of a boyband?’
Sho nodded. ‘Yes. All five of us.’
‘Don’t tell me the rest of you are coming.’
Sho extended his arms and massaged his neck. He tried not to look at the vortex. ‘I wish I could.’
Three. Or reverse or progress.
Everybody has hobbies, even the busiest men around. After all, even if your job is your life - my life is my message, Nino recited in his head and snorted out loud -, you need to step out of yourself and slid into somebody else at some point.
Nino had many hobbies and most of them involved sitting around and letting time pass by. So he knew the feeling of wasted time - he loved the feeling of minutes running past him and not having to catch them or else. Therefore, when he felt the sudden, jarring feeling of getting minutes back, he decided Matsujun had finally snapped and turned Aiba into a Mad Scientist meddling with time. If Jun was going to be the figure-head, he wanted to be the shadowy figure behind the throne, carefully pulling strings and torturing people for fun.
He stopped gleefully listing torture methods when he arrived at Aiba’s home. Aiba’s home was sacred and no sarcastic thoughts were allowed within 20 yards of it. Aiba had built a Evil Thoughts detector that went doink when it detected something. Nino suspected it was just a shishi-odoshi that Aiba liked to use to shut him up.
He rang the bell and waited.
Nobody came for a long five minutes.
A flustered Aiba opened the door. Eyes like a deer, mouth like a fish. His eyes were wide open, as was his shirt. Sho followed suit and showed up with the kind of hair only two activities in the world produce.
‘You could’ve told me beforehand. I could’ve brought toys!’
The first one is obvious.
‘There’s no time for that,’ Aiba said and dragged him into the apartment.
‘Oh, you’re really burning with desire today, Aiba-chan.’
‘Shut up, Nino. The vortex is growing out of control.’
The second one is ‘saving the world’ and Nino should’ve known by then that when it came to Arashi, anything was possible.
‘The what? What did Aiba do this time?’
‘He tries to fix his DVD,’ Sho said. Aiba just shrugged.
‘So what does this vortex do? Eat people? Time travel? Parallel universes?’
Instead of speaking, Sho just threw a book in the air. Nino heard a swoosh sound and followed it with his eyes. When he saw the terrible demise of the book, he gulped. The vortex covered the whole ceiling and most objects in the room were hovering a few centimeters over the ground, obviously attracted to the gaping vortex. It was pitch black and then aquamarine and then purple and then fuchsia and if videogames had taught Nino anything, it was that colour-changing windows to different universes are just a prelude to the final boss. Only one word was appropriate for the situation. ‘Fuck.’
‘Exactly,’ said Aiba. ’Look, I have to get a polyadriac number from the TARDIS and Sho needs to stop Jun and Ohno and Ni… well, just the two of them from coming. So stay here and help the Doctor.’ Then he bolted out the door and Sho followed suit.
‘But … but who’s the Doctor?’
‘I am,’ someone said as a head with messy hair emerged from behind the sofa, followed by a thin body in a pinstripe suit. ’Pass me the cookies.’
Nino crossed his arms and glared at the guy. ’I won’t. I have no reason to.’ He sat down on the sofa.
‘That’s not very nice of you.’
‘I’m not a nice guy.’
The Doctor smirked. ’Then why are you here, then? Curiosity?’
Nino grabbed the cookies and opened the package with care. ‘How many chances do you get to see the Apocalypses unfold just in front of your eyes?’
‘That explains why you’re not doing anything, but it doesn’t explain why you came here. You didn’t know, did you?‘
‘Aiba was talking about vortexes. It was obvious.‘ Nino took one cookie and started to eat it slowly.
The Doctor turned around and went back to work. Nino couldn‘t quite see what he was doing, but the noises and the smoke weren‘t exactly soothing. ‘And you won’t try to stop it? Really?’ the Doctor asked.
‘The world’s fucked up. It’s a waste of time and energy.’
‘But it’s always worth the trouble. The unwavering dream is always right here, don’t you think? We can make it, we can fix this and go home.’
The vortex kept getting bigger. Nino passed a cookie to the Doctor. ‘Are you actually fixing that? Why are you wasting time doing this? Talking to me. Eating cookies.’
The Doctor stared at the cookie and then smelled it. ‘Cookies and science aren’t mutually exclusive, Nino. And it’s fun talking to people. Specially if you’re interesting. You learn stuff.’ He took a bit out of the cookie and then fed it to the vortex.
‘Why are you doing that? It’ll keep getting bigger!’
The Doctor smiled. ‘Cookies have some chemicals that stall the growth for a while. Probably the chocolate. And, well, it likes cookies.’
‘It’s not a pet. It’s a reality eating vortex.’ Nino was seething with rage. It wouldn’t show, but this guy was annoying him. He didn’t like annoyance because he was always the instigator. Being on the receiving end sucked. A lot.
The Doctor took a screwdriver and attached Aiba‘s remote to the broken DVD. ‘I know it’s not, but I rather keep it happy. I assure you, I’ll save your world. That’s what I do.’
Nino looked at the ceiling. He started forming constellations with the unknown, unnamed stars he saw. That one could be The Mole and that other one could be the Five Samurai constellation. They could name that galaxy the Sky Road and that star could be the Storm.
‘So, Doctor, anything else you need?’
The Doctor stared at his device. ‘Go look for Aiba. I might need him.’
Four. Or fear.
Jun knocked on the door one time. Then twice. Then five. Then fifteen.
Fuck you, Aiba.
Why did these things happened to him? He didn’t need to come. Aiba could save himself. He sighed and then took out his phone. No signal. His day kept getting worse. He had spent one hour looking for a parking spot and now no Aiba to be seen.
Instead of Aiba, a weird Western man - that had awesome hair - opened the door and smiled at him.
‘Let me guess. You’re Jun. They’re not here. Aiba and Nino should be arriving soon, but I have no idea about Sho.’
Jun grabbed the man by his collar and stamped him against the door. ‘Who the fuck are you and where are my friends?’
‘I’m just the Doctor. I’m… helping you out with the vortex.’
Jun let go of him. ‘The vortex was real? It was not Aiba’s nightmare?’
‘You can see for yourself.’ The Doctor pointed inside.
Jun shouldered himself against the wall. ‘Are those teeth?’
‘No, just asteroids. Very white, very pointy asteroids,’ the Doctor said and pushed Jun into the apartment.
Jun tried to reach out to the vortex, but the Doctor quickly slapped his hand. Jun contented himself with just watching the asteroids and the stars. They were shiny and he had always liked shiny stuff, but he knew it could be dangerous. ‘What does it do? Can it kill us?’
The Doctor nodded. ‘Probably. It’s very powerful, but we have it under control. It ate the sofa, though.’
Jun had just found out about the sofa’s disappearance, because he had tried to sit down on it and was now sitting on the floor with a frown. His brain was adjusting with way too much ease. ‘I see. I still want to know who you are.’
‘I’m a friend. Part of the Arashi family, I guess.’
Jun gritted his teeth. ‘No, you’re not. If you were, you’d tell me who you are.’
The Doctor had a weird, wired thing in his hands - was that Aiba’s remote? - and was pointing it at the vortex. It made a weird sound and the vortex extended and then retracted, ‘Yes! Yes! And for your information, I’m a highly skilled, time-travelling alien who has just saved your life.’
Jun should have been surprised. He wasn’t. ‘The vortex is still there.’
‘But I have made a breakthrough!’ said the Doctor as he made a victory pose. ‘Once Aiba and Nino have got out of the TARDIS, I’m off and you have a world to save.’
‘What? You just said that you did that.’
‘I saved your life. The vortex wanted to eat you first.’ The Doctor put the device into Jun’s hand and a hand on his shoulder. ‘Can I take Aiba?’
Jun took the Doctor‘s hand off his shoulder. ‘What? What do you need Aiba for?’
‘Companionship, mostly. And maybe some mentoring. And to see all the wonders the Universe holds! We can travel in time, in space!’ The Doctor pointed at the vortex and to the infinite stars inside it. Jun could see the beauty, but he didn’t want Aiba near it.
‘He’s not a pet. And this is his home.’ Jun got closer to the Doctor. ‘And do you know how insane you sound? You don’t get to step into people lives’ and put them in danger just because you want!’
‘It’s not danger, it’s adventure,’ the Doctor said laconically. ‘Many people would kill for that chance.’
‘And I’m sure people die for that chance as well,’ Jun made a pause and leaned towards the Doctor. ‘so if you invite Aiba to any kind of trip, I’ll kill you.’
The Doctor pushed him away and said nothing.
‘I see you get my point. That’s great. You can go now.’
‘For the sake of your world, I just hope you don’t have any kind of pocket watch,’ the Doctor said as he picked the device from the floor. Jun bit his lip. The guy seemed miserable, but Aiba was theirs. ’All you have to do is point it at the vortex and then press that big, red button. Couldn’t be simpler.’
The Doctor put the device in Jun’s hands. ‘Thanks,’ he muttered.
‘You’re welcome. Just let Aiba name the thing.’
Jun laughed. ‘As we could stop him.’
Five. Or cast the dice.
Ohno was running out of breath and Aiba‘s apartment was still one block away. He had received so many messages that his usual calm had completely failed him. Come now!. Stay away!. On and on and on.
He wasn’t stupid, but he was reckless. If the guys were in danger, he wanted to be as well. Just the stairs and he’d known what had happened.
A big blue box had happened and Ohno stopped cold. A man was opening the door and letting Nino and Aiba out. His first instinct was to attack the guy, but Aiba was giving him a great hug and Nino was smirking, so that meant they liked him. He strolled towards them so that when he arrived, the guy was already inside the box.
He waved. Aiba jumped onto him and hugged him tight. ‘Leader, you missed the Doctor!’ he screamed as the box vanished with a weird sound.
‘Doctor who?’ he asked.
Nino laughed softly. ‘Just a guy we know. Now get in, Leader, because we’re about to save the world.’
When he entered Aiba’s apartment, all he could think was that that thing over their heads would make an awesome mural. Then he noticed Sho and Jun hastily setting up some kind of device. Jun seemed antsy and Sho was so calm Ohno knew he was dying out of concern.
‘Hello. We’re saving the world with a remote?’ he said.’
Aiba nodded. ‘We should all press the button at the same time!’
Nino and Jun flat out refused, Sho just shrugged and Ohno out his finger on the button. ‘Come on,’ he said.
Jun and Sho quickly did it too. Nino eyed him and Ohno smiled.
‘I hate you when you’re cheesy, Leader.’
Aiba squealed and then put his finger as well. ‘One, two, three, PUSH!’
They did.
Zero. Or merry-go-round.
Three, two, one, say cheese.
Some Universes go pop, clash, rock. Others go rock, paper, scissors. But the truly wondrous ones don’t even go.
Planets covered with storms. Lonely little boxes swinging in space.
Some say all universes have the same rhythm.
One star, two stars, five comets. Just what we need.
Infinity is not a burden. It’s a gift that nobody can appreciate.
One in a million. All the myriad ways.
Universes don’t mesh well. People do.
Like parallel lines doomed to cross.
This is the movement. Change is the constant.
It swirls. Everything swirls. Even nothing swirls.
For that reason, multi-versal parties do happen.
It halts. A living planet wonders what happens.
It is never advisable to avoid them, because all universes have party crashers.
Then it bubbles. It breaks. It separates. It gets mixed again.
Thankfully, all universes have trouble-shooters as well.