Dreams Come True

Creaking, Rusted Metal

Beyond the now opened door was a massive room. There was a massive glass chandelier hunting from the centre of the room. It kind of reminded me of the mall at the Capital. I carefully leaned over the railing as I took in the sights, noticing how we were on a platform that circled the whole room, with two identical ones above and below. Along the wall were a series of abandoned stores, cafes and information kiosks, dusting and cobwebs fogging up the windows.

I suddenly realised the inside was much larger than the outside, much like the TARDIS. It was honestly crazy how much was here just from what I could see from this one spot. Many of the others had similar thoughts, with quiet whispers of shock and wonder, or low whistles.

"So this is the Hub..." Iris said in awe, her one eye sparkling. "This is awesome!" Her shout echoed throughout the empty plaza, which really exemplified how isolated we were. Made a chill run up my spine.

"So how do we get down?" Bubbles asked. "Do we carry you guys, or..."

"There's some stairs over here!" We all looked over to see Marco waving over at us, standing next to a large, intricate spiral staircase.

"More stairs, of course, what else?" Majima muttered. "It's not like we've been walking for hours!"

"Relax, Goro", Galacta chided, the knight's eyes glowing in annoyance. "We're almost finally done, so just stay calm for a while longer."

The yakuza rolled his eyes and headed over to the stairs in frustration, arms crossed and grumbling. Marco and Star shared a look and quickly followed after him, with Barranco and Dave heading down shortly after. Me and Izzy shared a look and shrugged, unsure as to why Majima seemed to be against staircases all of the sudden. But I didn't linger on the thought, as the Psycho Hose Beast quickly dashed over and slid down the staircase railing. She was quickly followed by Vanellope, Hilda, Iris and McGee, all four of them giggling and cheering as they descended.

Scrap Baby, because of her roller skates, chose to ride on Dry Bowser's back as he walked down, with Flowey sparking up a quiet conversation between the three of them. I stuck close to Maria and Manolo as we walked right behind Zomboss and Merida. Behind us, Amy and Rory were talking with The Doctor, who was holding a sleepy Twig and had Alfur on his shoulder.

Maple slid down the railing and jumped onto my shoulder, nuzzling my cheek as he got comfortable. Ruby was sitting on Ralph's shoulder, looking absolutely exhausted, while Gretchen, Corey and Laney took up the back of our pack.

The Powerpuffs and Gladius hovered down the open centre of the staircase, keeping a watchful eye out for any potential danger. But it seemed to be fine, with only the sounds of our footsteps echoing throughout the Hub as we walked filling the void of silence.

"So, Gladdy", I began, looking at the sword as we headed down. "What was this place supposed to be? It kind of reminds me of the mall at the Capital. Or an airport."

"Well, it's just that", the sword explained. "The Hub. A place for people from other worlds to interact, shop, read, all of that. This place, based on the blueprints I saw, was meant to be a mini version of the Capital all on its own. Everything outside was more for set dressing and fresh air."

"So they built a city and didn't expect anyone to live in it?" Jenny asked, as she and Steve came sliding down on the railing and stopped in front of me and the Sanchezs.

"Well, no", Gladius admitted. "I'm not too sure on this, but I think they were hoping to have the cities be populated akin to the Capital, where people from other universes could move in and make permanent residence."

"So, what, villagers from my world could've been neighbours with thugs from Kamurocho or zombies?" Steve asked in befuddlement.

"Yes, exactly that. They could've also started families, like how Katania came to be."