Young Writers Society

Taber blinked. "Is that going to be a problem?" He gestured to the alley around him. "It's pretty dark, so Aegeas and me can always stick in the shadows and stuff."

"We don't know if we're the only ones here," Aegeas grumbled. "There's a good chance we could walk out of here and there'd be nobody to point us out."

"And maybe this place isn't full of humans?" said Taber. "It could be full of, uh, otters, and foxes, and lions! That'd be cool!"

Hero didn't look convinced.

"This place reminds me of Earth," he said, crossing his arms. He peered out into the street. "The architecture looks like something that the playe-humans might have made. I don't think people like us would be safe revealing who we really are."

Taber waved dismissively. "Nah," he said, walking to the end of the alley. "I've been in lots of weird places, and nobody's given me a lot of trouble. It should be fine!" Ignoring Aegeas, who'd grabbed the fur on his legs and was trying to pull him back, Taber walked out onto the street and looked in either direction.

"See?" he said. "There's nobody here anyways!"

Lorcan reached a hand out to grab onto Taber's shoulder and pull him back into the alleyway, but, just as his hand was about to touch his shoulder, someone appeared in front of the alleyway. Hero shut his eyes as quickly as possible and fumbled for his glasses. Lorcan tried not to show his fangs. Both instinctively attempted to block the two remaining people in the alleyway from the person's line of sight. Hero took a step in front of Aegeas, and Lorcan took a step in front of Paq.

But even if their efforts to hide the two worked, there was still the fact that Taber was standing at the very front of the alleyway.

Hero didn't like the look of the man. His blue eyes swept over the people present with a cold and tired look, and he fiddled with a small stylus that he had absentmindedly taken from behind one ear. He was dressed in a nearly impeccable suit, but the suit had tears in places and dark red stains that were almost certainly blood. Height wise, he was nearly on par with Lorcan, and few were ever as tall as him.

The man stared at Taber, and then over at Paq and Aegeas - though it was Aegeas that he stared at the longest. He seemed to be trying to remember something, though Hero couldn't guess what that something possibly was.

"You're Aegeas," he said. "I remember my brother telling me about you. But that would have been centuries ago - you shouldn't be alive right now."

"Who are you?" Hero demanded, taking what he hoped was an intimating step forward.

The man turned and stared at him.

"You're Herobrine," he said. "He said that your soul was different, and that you hid your glowing eyes behind a pair of sunglasses. But you should be gone now, too. And why would you be here..." The man looked concerned by this, as evident from his increased fiddling with his stylus. He looked around at the others present, and the fiddling suddenly stopped.

"They said people would be coming."

"They?" Lorcan asked.

The man hesitated. He was clearly trying to think of an answer to give them, one that wasn't the truth from the way he stumbled over his own words. "Sam," he said. "Their name is Sam Turner. And, uh, they said that people would be coming from other places..."

"Yep!" Taber said. "That's basically what happened? Everyone else says it wasn't a dream and we got dumped here in this weird place - wait, it's probably pretty nice if people like you know who we are and then probably want to help us because why wouldn't they? - but I'm fairly sure it's a dream but also Sam Turner is a pretty strange name and I'm not sure if I could've come up with that on my own so-" he bent down and took a few deep breaths.

Aegeas, stepping around Hero, glared up at the newcomer. "I don't remember you and I don't remember your brother. But, you know who I am, and you knew that I would come here. How?"

The man turned and looked at Aegeas, growing noticeably uncomfortable when he realized he was been glared at by a very angry and dangerous looking otter. The fiddling with the stylus increased. "I think he went by Dean, then." He thought for a moment, took a deep breath and added, "It's been a long time since he went by that name..."

Hero recognized the name. How could he not? Dean had been...Dean had been different. He had been similar to the gods of his world, but he hadn't been exactly like them. Thinking back, Hero could vaguely remember Dean bringing up his brother - Kartiel had made a joking comment about the nickname, and Dean had made it very clear that he didn't want anyone to make fun of said brother.

Was this man the person that Dean had mentioned? Hero still had a very loose grasp on what Earth's religious system was like, but a name was beginning to stick out to him. This man's nickname had been Luci, and Charlotte and Kartiel had both mentioned someone named Lucifer before. Could he be looking at him right now?

"Because..." Lucifer awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His gaze darted away from Aegeas and to the other people present, worry in his blue eyes as he thought over the other questions asked of him. "Sam told me. They're..." A deep breath. "They knew of the experiment."

"Experiment!?" Lorcan repeated, alarm clearly written across his face. "What-what kind of experiment?"

Lucifer shook his head. "I can't tell you."

"Why?" Hero demanded.

"Sam asked me not to tell," Lucifer whispered. "We pinky-swore and everything. They said they'd explain to you once they figured out how."

Ah, Dean. Now Aegeas was getting somewhere in this conversation. "So that must make you," he began, before pausing. He knew that name. It was on the tip of his tongue - L something. But he just couldn't piece it together, so he waved dismissively. "It's not important. The experiment is, though. What do you know about it?"

Taber bent down to whisper into Aegeas's ear, "But they made a pinky-swear!"

"So?" Aegeas hissed back.

"Those are serious!" Taber replied.

"But it's not honest," Aegeas replied. "And I'm getting the feeling I know exactly what that experiment is."

"Yeah," said Taber. "I do too, but let's just wait. We won't have to wait long."

Aegeas hesitated. "Fine," he said a few seconds later, crossing his arms.

Lucifer, who - like Lorcan and Herobrine - had overheard the entirety of the supposedly private conversation between Aegeas and Taber due to how close they were standing to the rest of the people present, shook his head. "I-I don't think it's what you're thinking of," he said. "It was-is a special experiment. I don't think you'd be able to figure out what it is without knowing Sam."

Hero angrily folded his arms. "Why us?"

Lucifer shook his head again, and bit his lip to avoid having to give an answer.

"It can't hurt to tell us," Lorcan added, his tone gentle. "There must have been a reason for us to be selected over other people."

He bit his lip harder. It seemed like Lorcan's comment was beginning to do its job; he was considering telling them. Hero remained silent and just stared at him from behind his sunglasses. "I guess I could tell you that much," Lucifer hesitantly admitted. "Sam said it was entirely random. They couldn't help it. Not when..." Lucifer fell silent, and abruptly turned around. "We should probably be heading back. If I don't come back soon, they'll start getting worried. People are dangerous here."

"Not all of us look human," Hero pointed out.

Lucifer mulled this over for a second, then the air grew warm and heavy as he uttered the words to a spell. The warmth washed over the small group assembled in the alleyway. Only Lucifer was untouched by it. Hero looked wildly around for Lorcan. Even though they had just been standing right near each other, he couldn't see him-

He caught a glimpse of his own body.

Or, rather, the lack of one.

He gave a startled cry and went stumbling back into someone who returned the startled cry with one of their own. But when he looked over his shoulder - or what should have been his shoulder - there wasn't anyone there. "H-Hero?" Lorcan's voice called out. It sounded like he was behind him, but no one was standing there. "Hero, where are you?"

"I'm right here," Hero replied. "Lorcan, where did you go? Aegeas? Taber? Paq? Where are you?"

"But you can't be right here," Lorcan replied, frustrated. "I'm right here and I don't see you!"

Lucifer watched the chaos unfold and immediately ducked his head down. "I-I should have warned you," he quietly said. "I'm sorry. I-I cast an invisibility spell. It doubles as a spell that makes it harder for people to notice you, so I thought it was a good idea..."

"Wow!" Taber said, holding up his arm in front of his face. When he'd started to disappear, he hadn't been worried - that happened a lot in his dreams. However, this was better than waking up or dreaming about being set on fire. He knew he was still there - he could smell his fur, feel it ruffle against the light wind. But he could only rely on those senses, since he couldn't actually see it. It was like being blindfolded, but the only thing he couldn't see was people.

"What cool magic!" he said to the stranger, before leaning down to space where he was fairly sure he could smell Aegeas. "Told you this was a dream," Taber whispered.

Aegeas, who happened to be a couple inches away from Taber's ear, grunted. "He's good enough to make us all disappear," the otter hissed back, "But he's too gutless to tell us what's going on. We don't have any other choice but to follow him, but we need to keep an eye on him. Got it?"

"Nah," Taber whispered, speaking a little too hesitantly as he pulled back from Aegeas. "It'll be fine."

Lucifer silently led him them through the somewhat empty streets. The few people that they saw during their travels looked to be in various states of disarray. Some of their clothing was barely intact, and others had clothes covered in dirt and grime. Seeing it made Hero instinctively take a step closer to where he assumed Lorcan to be.

They finally came to a stop in front of an enormous warehouse.

"We're here," Lucifer quietly said. There were loud voices coming from inside, but it was nearly impossible to make out what was being said.

That'd been a sad walk. All the people on the way had been coated in grime, almost blending right into the city. Taber couldn't even distinguish their smells from the roads and all the metal and glass. He'd wanted to run out and give them hugs, but he knew that that probably wasn't a great idea. They were all human, and the person guiding them said he wouldn't get along well with the humans. And, well, humans were a suspicious bunch. Being invisible really didn't help, since humans also liked their eyesight.

However, when he arrived at the strange and massive building, the conversation inside filled him with hope again. "Oh boy!" he said, reaching for the door. "Who's in here?"

"There's-" Lucifer started to say, but was cut off by the voices from within the warehouse. Now they were loud enough - and close enough - for Hero to make out what was being said.

An accusation ran out in a familiar voice.

"You cheated!" Dean - God - said, his voice teetering on the edge of annoyance.

"I did not!" a second voice indignantly replied. From the lack of other voices, Hero guessed that this voice belonged to the mysterious Sam that Lucifer had referred to. "You can't cheat at rock-paper-scissors-shoe!"

"Yes, you can! All you have to do is wait a split second after the first person goes, and then you do whatever beats their choice. And you've won the past twenty games!"

Sam blew what sounded suspiciously like a raspberry in response. "You just suck at the game, God!"

Lucifer let out a sigh and opened the door. The warehouse was flooded with light as the group entered and the two, who were now standing only a short distance away, turned to stare at the perceived single newcomer.

Hero froze when he saw Dean.

His clothing was different now. It still was in all the same shades, but the style had changed with time. He knew it had to be him because of his voice and face, but, if he hadn't had those two clues, he might not have been able to recognize him.

Sam was a complete stranger. Their long black hair was thrown up in a ponytail, with their bangs hanging in front of one eye. They had three little moles underneath their visible eye, and their clothing was in much lighter shades than Dean's.

And then there was the warehouse itself.

It was filled with beds and supplies, and what looked to be a strategizing table to the very back.

Lucifer muttered a spell from in front of him, and suddenly the entire group was visible. Now it was Sam who froze up, and even Dean looked a bit sheepish when he saw the group assembled before him.

"Oh, shoot," Sam said, "you're here."

Taber hadn't been sure if he was supposed to talk to ponytail dude or his friend, but ponytail dude had spoken first. "Hi!" Taber said, waving. "How're you?"

"And what did you bring us here for?" Aegeas said, crossing his arms.

Of course Aegeas would go for the direct approach. Still, probably better to clear up the air as soon as possible.

"I'm good, Taber," Sam absentmindedly said, and the alarm bells immediately rung in Lorcan's head. They knew the names of the people present. He had come to the same conclusion that Aegeas had - Sam was the one who had brought them here - but he had tried to convince himself that it wasn't because Sam had some sort of evil intentions.

But the knowledge of their names lessened that possibility.

Sam sheepishly rubbed the back of their neck and looked between God and Lucifer. Hero waited, his expression emotionless and arms crossed, for some sort of answer. If Aegeas hadn't spoken first, Hero would have certainly asked the same question.

"It, uh, really wasn't my conscious choice?" Sam hesitantly answered. "They tried to make it so the system would pick warriors from other worlds, but, it's not like they specifically picked you out."

"But you know Taber's name," Hero pointed out.

Sam looked away. "Well, uh, you see, Taber and I might have met before? I'm not sure if this is the same version of him - the multiverse is a weird thing, and he might not even be on the same timeline as the Taber I met..."

"Oh!" Taber said, nodding his head in agreement with Sam. Then he stopped, frowning. "When? This thing's happened a bunch of times, so could you jog my memory?"

"Just a second," Aegeas said, stepping in front of Taber and raising a finger. "Who's 'they,' and why did they want warriors, and why did they think that included retired ones?"