Multi-Dimensional Merchant System

Book 2 - Chapter 120 – Color Me Curious... and Concerned


"So, guns and most technology don't work in there..." Oliver nodded once the explanation and planning was mostly done- unfortunately, until they explored enough to know what they were fighting, the best plan available was basically just 'stick close and watch each other's backs'. "Makes sense why you aren't going in strapped, I suppose, but... I hope you two-" He gestured between Jane and Eve. "-have something a bit more substantial than just a single knife between you. Do you have any other weapons?"

"My claws." The women said simultaneously, causing Jane to glare at her -temporary- cohort, who smirked in return.

"I also have my ax, but I left it inside rather than lugging it all over the place for no reason." Jane huffed after a second of glaring at the vampire.

"Why would I need anything more?" Eve arrogantly added after a moment, studying her brightly colored fingernails- which Oliver assumed would grow into claws when needed.

"Oh, I don't know..." Oliver sighed; He was sure Eve probably could use a gun- not that that would be of help here- but he wasn't so sure about anything else... Even if he did have an idea or two, just in case. "What if whatever is over there is something you don't want to get in too close to? Maybe the creatures are diseased-"

"We're immune to most diseases." Eve interrupted with another smirk, indicating herself and Jane. "There are only a few specific diseases that affect vampires and werewolves."

Shaking his head in annoyance, it was Oliver's turn to glare at the bratty vampire. "And if they just happen to carry one such disease? Or maybe a poison or toxin that can affect you? Or maybe something corrosive, like a potent acid?"

"And even if you are immune to something they carry, bringing it back can have major ramifications for Earth!"

Eve blinked, a hint of embarrassment slipping into her expression as she nervously shifted from one foot to the other. "I... hadn't thought of that..."

"We have a few backup weapons available." Jane sighed, reluctantly offering a way for Eve to dig herself out of the hole she made for herself. "What sort of weapon can you use?"

Pouting to herself, Eve shrugged one shoulder without looking at anyone. "I dunno. Never really used any, except the occasional gun or bomb..."

"Try a spear." Oliver added, voice sounding almost smug.

"Why a spear?"

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever even touched a spear!"

Letting out a small chuckle at the women's responses, Oliver shrugged slightly. "A rifle with a bayonet is basically a spear, and I'm betting you've at least seen one of those in use."

While Jane simply looked confused, Eve looked thoughtful. "I mean, I guess that makes sense. And yeah, I've actually used a bayonet before- you have no idea how funny it was to stab a Nazi with the weapon you took straight out of his hands! They always looked so confused and lost..."

"Kinda satisfying, too." Eve nodded enthusiastically, looking pleased at the memory of doing so.

"Yeah, we have a spear she can use... I guess..." Jane grumbled, already stomping towards the run down church. "Come on; Hopefully we can get this done tonight..."

Gesturing Eve to go ahead of him, Oliver fell in at the back of the group as they entered the building- and his eyebrows rose in surprise at the scene before him. While he had expected the warped wooden floor, the forgotten altar at the end of the room, and the remains of pews pushed against the walls... The FBI had clearly taken steps even he hadn't considered.

Suspended in the air near the center of the open hall was a glowing blue portal that reminded him a bit of the one his Scarper Charm had created, if slightly larger... But around the portal was what amounted to a large, clear plastic tent- even the floor beneath the portal had a layer of plastic over it! In one corner of the plastic tent were what looked like a row of showers...

Before he could look closer, Agent Smith spoke up. "In the event there is some sort of hazard that we don't want brought back, we have decontamination procedures. Technically, this is considered overkill; Until the pocket dimension destabilizes, nothing from inside is able to come out... And, of course, once you finish clearing it, everything biological from the pocket dies- at least, that's what our experts tell us."

"We prefer to take an extra layer of precautions, just to be safe." Jane added as she tossed plain, but well made, spear to Eve- the simple leaf shaped blade on a six-foot shaft looked almost comically large next to the tiny vampire. "Just because something hasn't happened, and isn't supposed to happen, doesn't mean it won't."

"A wise approach." Oakheart nodded, his eyes already locked onto the glowing aperture.

"Just out of curiosity..." Oliver said slowly as he also eyes the portal. "But why aren't any of the other agents going in as well? Is it just that they aren't trained for it?"

"Pretty much." Agent Smith shrugged. "Incursion training is strictly voluntary, and there's no way I would volunteer for this, even if it is just a Blue-" A small grimace flashed across his face, gone almost as quickly as it formed...

But, considering no one there was human except Oliver- and he was anything but normal- he may as well have just shouted that they weren't supposed to hear what he said.

"Just a 'Blue'? My, isn't that interesting..." Oliver murmured, eyes locked on the agent. "It almost sounds like there are other types of incursions... More dangerous types, perhaps?"

"That's... well, it isn't really classified, more just that it isn't talked about-"

"For good reason, John." Jane growled, glaring at the man.

"Yeah, I know." He shrugged, waving off the scolding in her tone. "But it's not like any of us are crazy enough to go looking for a Red- well, maybe the vamp..." Seeing the 'vamp' in question thoughtfully fingering the blade of the spear while staring at him, John swallowed and averted his gaze. "Anyway... Yeah, there are two 'types', I guess. Blues are like this one- though what they contain can vary wildly."

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"While Reds... Well, the only thing I can say about a Red is to avoid it- unless you have a death wish."

"So, what is it about these 'Reds' that are so bad?" Eve asked innocently- or as innocently as she could, considering everyone present knew at least some of her reputation.

"I find myself curious as well." Oakheart added, turning his attention to the man.

"That makes three of us." Oliver laughed- though he did offer an apologetic shrug to Jane as she began to look annoyed.

Seeing the intensity of their focus, John just sighed. "I mean, it's not like I have personal experience or anything... We've just been told to never get close to a Red; Just secure the area and kill the... things... that come out."

A chill went down Oliver's spine at the rather vague description... But, even with so few details, he was already sure what the FBI considered a 'Red' incursion. "These 'things'..." He said slowly, adding air quotes around the word. "...pale white, no eyes, needle like teeth, sharp claws? Just looking at them messes with your head and feels... wrong?"

Suddenly, Jane was in front of him, nearly nose to nose, and staring into his eyes with such an intensity it was like she was trying to search his very soul for answers. A low growl rumbled in her throat as she spoke. "You've seen those things before? What do you know of them!?"

Oliver's heart was pounding in his chest as he stared into her eyes, seeing something deep and primal barely contained there. Holding up a hand to stop her questioning, he took a slow step back from her. "First off, let's try to respect each other's personal space, Ok? If you have a question, just ask it- I won't promise answers, but I'll at least consider it."

Jane started to follow as he backed away but, hearing his words, she stopped herself. "I'm not sure you understand how dangerous those things are; if you've seen them, then we need to know so they can be dealt with!"

"Don't worry, they were dealt with-"

"That's not good enough! Those things eat people!" She snarled, hands tightly clenched into fists as she shook with barely restrained fury.

"I know that as well. I've seen it." Oliver said as gently as he could, though fury and disgust still tinged his voice. "But do you know why they eat people?"

"Does it matter?" Jane scoffed, though confusion was clear in her eyes.

Putting a restraining hand on her shoulder, John jumped back into the conversation. "Our experts... don't know much about these creatures. The psychic effect of their presence, and the fact that they turn into some sort of black tar after killed, makes studying them difficult..."

"Hell, we can't even study the portal they come out of; Everyone that has tried went crazy!" He said, voice bitter as he threw his hands up in defeat.

"That makes sense." Oliver nodded understandingly- he had experienced it himself, and doubted most people could handle even being close to the creatures, let alone their portal. "I was actually kinda confused why you called them 'Reds' when the portals are actually more of a purple-"

"Wait! Back up for a second!" John exclaimed in disbelief. "You've seen a 'Red'!? And it didn't drive you crazy!?"

"It was a close thing..." Oliver shrugged uncomfortably- even the memory of looking at it seemed to claw at the edges of his mind. "You're right to keep people away from those portals... But that's not actually the important point here..."

"What could possibly be more important than that?" Eve suddenly chimed in, unable to contain herself. "A freaky portal full of freaky monsters that drive you crazy sounds like a pretty big deal!"

"You... do none of you know?" Oliver asked in shock, his eyes flitting from one to the other- but the answer was clear: They had no clue. "How do none of you know? Hell, how is it the FBI has no clue!?"

"Know what!?" Jane growled, more from concern than anger...

Even Oakheart was starting to look worried.

Sighing softly, Oliver was actually glad the conversation had gone this way. If nothing else, the FBI probably did need to know...

"Those creatures, they don't just eat people; they eat anything living. Then they convert the consumed biomass into more of themselves..."

"Those 'Red' incursions aren't just dangerous. They are literally a world ending threat, an apocalypse just waiting to snowball out of control."

John swallowed, his throat suddenly dry at the pronouncement. "How... How do you know that?"

"He could be lying to us..." Jane said softly, though without any confidence- she had seen enough strange and terrible things that this was believable... and it had that uncomfortable ring of truth to it.

"The Devil lies, a common Biblical reference to him being a liar and deceiver..." Oliver nodded sympathetically. "But we both know that I'm not actually the Devil... As for how I know... Well, I've heard first hand accounts from people that lived through it on another world."

"Yeah... I think we're gonna need more details than that." Eve quipped.

"Fine. The short version is, those creatures got a foothold. By the time anyone realized it, there were thousands... And they started overrunning cities left and right." Oliver sighed, thinking back to the story his Rach friends had told him. "They deployed their army, and it wasn't enough to stop them."

"Eventually, they resorted to nuking their own planet and fleeing into space on massive arks that held the last of their people. A world of billions reduced to less than a hundred million stellar refuges, searching for a new home..."

"Your source for this... story..." John began nervously. "Just how reliable are they?"

"Someone I trust. A friend." Oliver replied almost defensively- he could understand them being skeptical, but something about them doubting Omi's word just bothered him.

"Fuck me..." John whispered in horror and awe. "And if they were able to get millions of people into space and go looking for a new world, they have to be more technologically advanced than us..."

"They are." Oliver nodded simply, before realizing the agent may need a bit of reassurance. "But don't forget that they were caught off guard by the creatures."

"And we won't be." Jane nodded, feeling more confident about their ability to handle it- especially after they passed this information up the chain. "We already know we can handle them, as long as we do it right. Knowing how dangerous they really are should also light a fire under the asses of the people dragging their feet..."

"Assuming we can verify it." John sighed, looking apologetically at 'The Devil'. "No offense, but we can't just take your word on it."

"None taken." Oliver just shrugged, not surprised that they wouldn't just instantly trust him.

"But... Why tell us all of this?" Oakheart asked slowly, skepticism clear in his tone. "You must know that it sounds rather unbelievable..."

"Yeah, I do..." Oliver sighed, sounding tired- he knew how crazy it sounded. Even if all of them knew of crazy and magical things already, this was much more extreme. World ending, apocalyptic threats? Even he had a hard time believing it, and he had seen them. Up close.

"I figure that, worst case, you're all skeptical... But hearing it now will probably make things easier if you ever have to deal with it..."

"That, as we were already on the subject of these 'incursions', so..." He shrugged again, not sure what else to say- truthfully, he wasn't even sure why he had told them so much... other than the vague hope that maybe it would help prevent those things from destroying Earth.

Assuming they, or their superiors, believed him at all...

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