The Ascended Hybrid

1.

Bean sat playing with a doll and a hairbrush. The brush warped, growing ears and a mane, becoming a vaguely horse-shaped creature made of plastic. Instead of a horsey-brown, the color melted to a gray. Instead of a colorful butler outfit, the doll's clothes were jumbled, like one couldn't quite tell what they were looking at when staring directly.

The doll's mimicked, high-pitched voice said, "Since I got away from the dummies, I can finally get work done for you, Your Highness,"

The horse's deeper- but overall still high- voice cut out sharply. "Finally, I thought I was gonna haveta fire you! Haha! Anyway, braid my mane."

The doll glided to the horse, her plastic hands tapping against the bristles.

"He's not here yet," Alias' grumbles echoed down the hall from the living room. As he quickly stepped through, it was evident his foul tone was due to his tangled hair. The waves of clustered strands were fighting for who would knot first. His face was featureless, but that didn't alarm Bean or the equally featureless boyfriend following him.

Vill bounced along behind him, holding the pocket mirror Alias usually kept. He held it up towards Alias. "It's not that bad." The gold frame popped open. An intricate design coated in silver snaked through the cover, displaying several small diamonds affixed to the frame. The mirror itself was cracked.

"I'm sick of looking at my hair like this, I can't stand it. Help me find my brush." Alias scoffed, slapping the mirror out of Vill's hands. It hit the ground, rolling across the floor until it came to a stop in front of Bean.

It didn't make a sound. In fact, neither did their feet against the marble. Or the tv of a cartoon off to the side of the room.

Vill gestured as if he were rolling his eyes, having been through this many times. "I'll do it."

"No," Alias' anger started strong, but immediately softened, "I mean, I love you. But no."

The unique sound of the coding of the universe opening tears through the room. Sparkles of the Void crackled around it briefly, only to Bean's notice.

Rat stepped through, panting slightly. His hair is ruffled, and his tail twitched with agitation. He gritted his teeth. "Sorry I'm late. Crow tried making a bloody mary."

Alias raised an eyebrow. "It's 9 in the morning."

Rat shrugged. "There was a lot of blood. Do you know how hard that is to get out of the - "

Alias raised his hand. He arched his eyebrows and raised his nose up in disgust. "No. Don't care. Fix my hair." He held up his tumbleweed of blue hair.

"Yes, o divine one." It was hard to tell if Rat was being sarcastic or serious.

Bean frowned, looking up at their parents and Rat. Something seemed... wrong. But everything was normal. It didn't make sense. They stood up, stumbling slightly.

Vill was next to them immediately, asking something. But it sounded distant. Far away. Muffled. Their vision clouded until it consumed them in white light. They squeezed their eyes shut. All sound disappeared. Then, a low buzzing sound reverberated in their ears. Like their first time on a train, they felt sick as it rumbled their stomach.

"Bean." A deep feminine voice rang out, bouncing around them in a light show of sound.

They were in the Void. An empty field of numbers that held every God's universe, along with their creations. A shimmer of light moved among the colorful field of emptiness. A being in the Void, or perhaps the Void itself. It repeated. "Bean. The Void."

Bean shook their head, not wanting to look. It had been a while since this had happened. They knew what would happen next.

Their body would feel like jello, the Void would swirl around them, then they'd hear Coro's nauseating laugh.

----

Bean woke with a start, the loud speakerphone announcing the destination. They could barely hear the mumbling spokesperson. "...'s universe. Next.. lane's universe." Beings were jumping in and out of the train doors.

They yawned as they stretched out. The stiffness of the trains would never get easier. They instinctively reached up to their hair for comfort. They grabbed at their hoodie, forgetting their hair was pixie cut short this time. They frowned.

"We're almost there, almost there. Why can't we just jump, like the good old days." Temptation mumbled from the seat next to them. He was slightly too large for his seat, and he handled train rides just as well as Bean did. His wings buzzed in short bursts, threatening to fly away from his discomforts.

Bean couldn't stop the smile that jumped on their face. "Because jumping requires a God and a Voidwalker." Bean shuffled uncomfortably in their own seat, their voice shifting monotoned as they recited, "Any being can take the trains. It doesn't require energy, and it unites Gods, Voidwalkers, and Demis alike."

Tempt's face went sour, but his tone became jokingly old. "Back in my day, uniting Gods meant destroying a universe or two."

Bean snorted, shoving his arm off the arm rest. "Shut up, that's not funny."

Temptation chuckled as he surveyed the train around them. It was crowded -as it usually was going to Provlane's universe - and the beings of all shapes and sizes were lively. Humanoid figures were the most common, with monstrous being the next. Some jumped in and out, going to the various little universes in between the big ones.

The inside of the train was bumpy, to say the least. Every third bump caused a stabbing pain to shoot up his back as his wings folded against the seat. His antennae clicked together, holding back the annoyed sounds threatening to escape his throat. He refrained from complaining, as he didn't want to offend the inventor of the trains. Structurally, they were impressively sound, able to withstand the Void, transporting hundreds of beings to and from universes. It was fairly new technology, quickly outdating the old system of a God and a Voidwalker jumping universes together.

Temptation looked up at the screens uniformly patterned on the top of the train. They were at their usual idle, green background. The center contained a darker green logo of a sundew. It made his heart ache, and he couldn't help but stare.

The screens shook, then changed to a pink background with a yellow logo of an orchid mantis. Coro's voice rang out like bells in a melody. "May your life be as vast as the Void."

Many of the train passengers repeated the mantra.

Temptation's lips parted slightly as he stared intently at the screen. The words were so calming, as if he were transported to a beach, listening to the waves crash against the sand.

The speaker continued, "And may the Council help you ascend."

"The Council," Temptation whispered, seeing nothing but the mantis symbol.

Bean perked up, noticing him staring at the screen. They cursed under their breath, taking a quick look around. The other passengers were either looking at the screen or getting ready to jump out the doors. They took a deep breath, lifting their hands up. With a flick of their hand, the one screen changed to a cartoon show.

Temptation blinked, the train coming back into view. The screeching of the engine pierced his ears. He felt as if a bandaid had just been ripped from his soul.

The other passengers who were looking at the screen looked around, suddenly aware as well.

Bean grabbed their backpack and Temptation's arm and pulled him to a door as the screen changed back. They muttered, "Why were you looking?!"

He looked away, unable to bring himself to be totally honest. "It was an accident. Thank you for saving me."

Bean smiled as they fixed their posture straighter. "Of course. I'm just cool like that."

As the broadcast ended, the screens displayed a picture of a being with long blue hair. Their chubby face was young, the picture old. It flipped through several more pictures of the various appearances they'd been seen in. The bottom read, "Wanted, Special Reward: Bean."

When the speaker announced they were passing Provlane's universe, the moth God and the Hybrid jumped through.