Alternative Stories

{///Name: Carmen...

///Titles: None...

///Race: Xenomorphs Queen...

///Current Status: Healthy...

///Current Emotional State: Relaxed...

///Rank: Social...

///Occupation: Newly Manifested Alternative...

///Growth Type Gifts:

Hive Dominance...

Hive Possession...

Verbal Communication...

Empress's Redemption...

New, Sanctuary Gate...

New, Enhanced Understanding...

New, Enhanced learning...

New, Hive Mapping...

New, Weak Projectile Protection...

///Inheritance Type Gifts:

Warp Conversion...

Minimize...

System Access...

Universal Clock...

Fate's Bane...

Sanctuary Management...

///Trait: 

Superior Acidic blood...

Acidic Vial...

Xenomorph Weaponry...

Xenomorph Exoskeleton...

Telepathic Manipulation...

Electrical Impulse Detection...

Pheromonal Detection...

Breathless...

Wall Walking...

Extreme Environmental Resistance...

Pressure And Vacuum Resistance...

Greater Regeneration...

Hive Production...

Rapid Parthenogenesis...

///Skills: 

Zoology...

Botany...

Ecology...

Sociology...

Cryptozoology...

Wilderness Survival...

Vehicle Maintenance...

Multilingual...

Business Minded...

Diplomatic...

Creative Adaptability...

Strategic Battle Awareness...

Combat Proficiency...

Savage Combatant...}

[//Name: Sanctuary Gate

//Type: Growth

//Rank: 1

//Grade: D

//Effects:

Effect 1: Allows the user to create a two-way gate between their current location and their Sanctuary, the size of the gate depends on the Gift's current rank. Current largest possible gate size: 5m.

Effect 2: LOCKED

//Notes: The user can use the gate to enter their Sanctuary as they see fit, however they cannot return to their origin point through the use of the Sanctuary if they are currently on a mission in another universe.]

[//Name: Enhanced Understanding

//Type: Growth 

//Rank: 1

//Grade: E

//Effects:

Effect 1: Increases the user's ability to understand and break down new ideas and problems at a faster rate.

//Notes: none.]

[//Name: Enhanced Understanding

//Type: Growth 

//Rank: 1

//Grade: E

//Effects:

Effect 1: Increases the user's ability to learn and process new information and techniques at a faster rate.

//Notes: none.]

[//Name: Hive Mapping

//Type: Growth 

//Rank: 1

//Grade: D

//Effects:

Effect 1: Multiple mental maps can be generated over time with the visual information of all those connected to the hive mind. Anyone connected to the hive mind can see and understand these maps, however the user is the one who decides when and where they are created.

Effect 2: LOCKED 

//Notes: The user is capable of deciding which pieces of visual information from which individual members of the hive should be added to each map.]

[//Name: Weak Projectile Protection

//Type: Growth 

//Rank: 1

//Grade: E

//Effects:

Effect 1: Creates a field around the user that slightly slows and weakens incoming projectiles lessening the damage taken from long range attacks to some degree.

//Notes: The higher the rank of the Gift the more damage will be reduced, additionally the field around the user will grow slightly larger as well, this means that the projectiles in question will spend longer within the field before hitting the user and as such will have their momentum slowed further.]

(All my RP...Sanctuary Gate and Hive Mapping cost me around thirty thousand points by themselves...) I sighed internally, after buying my new gifts I was officially broke with only around five thousand or so points left. (If a D rank Gift costs anywhere between ten thousand fragments or just below one hundred thousand fragments then I don't even what to know what an SSS rank Gift would cost.)

"You've done moping already?" Decker asked, causing me to shake my head and look at him blankly.

"Yeah yeah..." I sighed before turning my attention back to what exactly it was we had come here for.

Glancing upwards I took in the sight of the truly gargantuan tower before me, it wasn't as massive as the Colosseum but it was definitely huge to put it mildly. In fact the tower in question was so tall that I actually couldn't see the top of it as it reached beyond to the clouds above. It was mostly white in colour with mechanical blue lines running across its surface, lines that occasionally pulsed with chaotic energy. 

As for its appearance, well, it was similar to two needles that had been twisted and warped so that they spiraled around one another as they extended up into the sky. Additionally there were several mechanical halos that slowly rotated around various points along the main structure as well as glowing blue bridges that connected everything together.

"So this is one of the Hubs, right?" I asked with a somewhat flat tone.

"Yep..."

(At this point I am used to the law defying structures that are the various Landmarks.) I sighed as I followed Decker inside.

"Say "assistants required"." My Mentor hummed as we entered.

Glancing at him confused, I could only shrug and do as instructed. "Assistants required?"

"Hello there, I am Helper 6731097380 of the Caretaker Division 421980627, how may I help you this evening." A orb made of multicolored light suddenly popped into existence right in front of my face

"Aaaaah!" 

(Mother fucking jump scaring bastards!) I growled internally as Decker chuckled at me in the background.

After taking a second to curse under my breath I turn my attention back to my mentor. "Why the heck didn't you tell me I could do this before?" I asked with an annoyed expression causing him to shrug.

"I forgot." He smirked, causing me to glare at him.

"Anyway..." Decker said, returning to his usual serious and grumpy self as he turned to the helper. "Take us to one of the vacant transport gates."

"Very well sir, ma'am, please follow me this way." The Helper hummed as it guided us deeper into the Hub.

As we began to move I finally got a better look at the interior, a massive open space that led me to believe the two spiralling segments of this structure were almost completely hollow. Looking straight up I realized that there were thousands of floors, each one somewhat visible from where I was because of the rather open multi-floor layout this place had.

A few of the floors were set up as waiting areas with various shops close by, however most of the floors were empty except for dozens of futuristic archways. These archways were all seemingly meant for multiversal travel, if the Alternatives using them to create portals was anything to go by.

"Am I right in guessing that those archways are how we travel to different worlds?" I asked.

"You'll understand soon." Decker mused without looking down at me.

(I'll take that as a maybe then...) I thought as we made our way to a floating mechanical hexagon that seemed to serve the purpose of an elevator. 

Once we reached one of the upper floors the Helper led us to one of the previous mentioned archways. "Place your hand on the panel please." The helper said flowing over a pedestal with a hexagonal panel on top.

Shrugging I did as instructed, as I approached and placed my hand on it the panel shifted and shrank to fit my hand perfectly. "Aaaaand done." The Helper hummed as the panel glowed blue for a second before dimming. "You're all set up."

"That's it? What about world selection or whatever?"

"Go through there and you'll find out." Decker said as a portal opened up in the centre of the archway.

"Fine fine..."

"Oh right, you can go now." I heard Decker say to the Helper just as I entered the portal.

"Yay, the sweet release of death!"

Crossing over to the other side I found myself somewhere new, I was up in the sky, at least I think I was in the sky anyway. I was standing on an endless sea of fluffy clouds that were a dull purple in color. It was surprisingly easy to stand on them despite the fact that they were, you know, clouds.

(Now where the heck am I this time.) I asked, glancing around.

"Hello? Anyone here?"

"Oh...another one..." Someone off to my side yawned with the slightest amount of irritation in their voice.

"Who..." I was going to say something but quickly stopped myself when I finally spotted who exactly it was that had spoken. 

In front of me was what I could only describe as a mixture between a well built man and a biblically accurate angel made of shifting flames, flames that matched the colour of the clouds he had apparently been sleeping on. Despite being a literal inferno he was clearly quite muscular and well toned, the goldish white rings hovering lazily around his body only seem to add to his rather stunning appearance. 

Additionally he had six large wings coming out of his back, he also had four smaller wings covering his face in a somewhat x shape. Despite his face being covered he could still see, mostly because of the dozens of glowing white eyes covering his six back wings as well as the previously mentioned rings floating around his body.

"Are you done staring?"

"Sorry." I coughed awkwardly. "A-anyway, are you one of the Administrators?"

"No, I'm just one of Administrator Peri's clones." He clarified while stretching out one of his wings.

(Peri? As in periwinkle?) I had started to catch on to the fact that each of the ten administrators were named after different shades of colors.

"Can we please just get right to the point...?" He sighed, apparently not wanting to drag this out any longer then he had to.

"Sure, how do we start?"

"Firstly, what type of expedition are you going on, please select one of the six options in front of you." He muttered as several dully coloured purple screens appeared before me.

{Expedition Type: Mission Completion.

Description: You are given a random main objective depending on the difficulty they select, you may also select several optional secondary objectives to complete as well. Objectives completed will give extra Reward Points depending on their difficulty, also you may not leave the world in question until the main objective is completed or failed.

Select: Y/N}

{Expedition Type: Free Roam.

Description: There are no main objectives or secondary objectives, instead you can explore the world they visit however they see fit. Additionally you can stay within the world for as long as you see fit and can leave whenever you so wish.

Select: Y/N.}

{Expedition Type: Sanctuary Link

Description: Once within the world selected you can place a gateway that permanently links the world in question to your own Sanctuary, a fact that allows for a steady stream of Reward Points as the world in question changes over time. Please remember however, hostile forces can also enter through the gateway if they discover its location.

Select: Y/N}

{Expedition Type: Group Adventure

Description: You may team up with friends or other random Alternatives to tackle a world of their choice.

Select: Y/N}

{Expedition Type: A.V.A

Description: You may challenge other alternatives to a duel of thoughts, the participants must decide on a prize for the winner beforehand and the challenge in question can be anything so long as it is recognized and accepted by all parties.

Select: Y/N}

{Expedition Type: Hybrid 

Description: You can select multiple of the previous options above to be activated all at once. For example, the Sanctuary Link option and the Group Advance option.

Select: Y/N}

Without much hesitation I selected the first option, the moment I do several difficulty openings appear for me to pick from. Starting at the bottom the difficulties go from Low, Medium, High, Extreme, Nightmarish and Godly. I decided to pick the Low difficulty after some thought, mainly because I wanted a frame of reference to compare the higher difficulties to down the road as I moved forward.

"Done."

"I see that you have picked the Mission Completion option..." He mused letting out a tired breath. "Now you need to pick the multiverse you wish to visit...you can pick a world you know or look through all the near infinite options we have available." He said as a new panel appeared before me, although this one displayed a truly massive list of multiverses as well as various optional search filters to help me narrow it all down.

"Before we sort all of that out, I have something to ask if you don't mind."

"What is it?" He mused with a bored expression.

"How exactly does the time dilation work between the worlds that I am visiting and the Nexus?" It was a question that I really needed an answer for.

"Do you know how it works inside of your Sanctuary?" He asked, causing me to shrug slightly as my bladed tail swished behind me.

"Yeah?"

How it worked in the Sanctuary was rather simple all things considered, there was a slider in the option panel that let me mess with it at will. I could even select specific areas and make the time flow of said areas different compared to the rest of the Sanctuary. I was really surprised at just how easy it was when I first discovered that option while messing around with the Sanctuary Management Gift.

"Well it works basically the same way, however with two main differences. For one you can't alter the time of select areas, so no messing with the time flow of entire planets just for the shits and giggles."

(Yeah, that makes sense.) I thought as he continued.

"As for the other difference I mentioned, well..." He paused for a second to yawn once again before continuing. "You can alter the time dilation, however it's somewhat limited by your rank. You put it simply, as your current rank is Social you can make it so one year outside the Nexus is one month inside."

"So every time I rank up I'll be able to mess with the time dilation even more?"

"Exactly." He hummed. "And before you ask, if you go to a world with other Alternatives then the one with the highest rank in the group gets to decide on the time dilation."

(I didn't even think to ask that but it's still good to know either way I guess.) I thought to myself.

"Now please select the multiverse you wish to enter."

Without any hesitation I type the name of the multiverse I'm looking for into a search bar, almost immediately it appears and I select it. "Done, now what?"

"Now you select a specific universe within that multiverse."

"Can I select the one from my memories, or at least one as similar to it as possible?" I ask, not really wanting to deal with all the unknowns that entering a random universe would bring, even if it followed what I knew for the most part all the tiny changes may end up being a pain in the ass.

 He nodded before snapping his fingers, suddenly the panel shifted displaying the specific universe in question. "Thanks." I said, trying to ignore the fact that he probably looked through my memories to find the right one.

"Anything to speed this along." He sighed as he shifted his position on the bed of clouds.

Rolling my head at him I turned my attention to the three new screens that have appeared before me. "What's this?

"The first screen is where you decide what secondary objectives you want to accept. The second screen allows you to pick where exactly in that world's timeline you will appear. And finally, the third option lets you pick the exact location you will arrive at."

It took me a while to make up my mind but I eventually decided after a few long minutes of contemplation. "All done."

"Good, now just go through there." He gestured towards a portal that opened up a couple of feet away from me.

"Thanks for your help." I said as I walked towards it.

"Whatever kid..." He yawned as he lay back down, probably planning on going back to sleep.

(Welp, let's just get going then.) I thought, walking into the portal only for my body twisted and contorted before my vision was filled with a blinding blue light. 

"Well damn...this doesn't feel uncomfortable at all..." With that finally sarcastic remark my vision darkened as I lost consciousness.

The first thing I saw when I came back to my senses was a night sky, sprawled out like a black sea above me and twinkling with hundreds of stars. The second thing I saw was my surroundings, an elevated wooded area overlooking a large number of buildings in the distance illuminated by dozens of streetlights. And finally, I saw a multi-coloured, holographic screen that abruptly appeared in front of me.

{World Select: Rampage.

Time Of Arrival: Seven months before the main story begins.

Main mission: The Fall Of Chicago.}