Crystallized Dreams

Chapter 7: History

All Katie could do was stare at the floor, too shocked to show any other expression. "Can we really save them?"

Her aunt gave a small smile and nodded, putting her hand around Katie's shoulder. "It may take some time, but I'm sure we can."

A somewhat comforting silence washed across the room, leaving Katie to ponder on what Jemica had just said. Was there really a possibility to bring her mother back? And her father as well?

A few moments passed before someone decided to speak again.

"So what is this thing for?" Michael had gotten to his feet and was eyeing the plinth that had appeared. His fingers ran through the five small holes that were in the top of it.

"Looks like some kind of... wait a minute... is that Master and Crazy?" Michael's eyes landed on the wall behind Katie, Jemica, and Josh. There were paintings, five of them, displayed in vibrant colors and conveying dramatic images.

"What are you talking about?" Josh asked before Michael told him to turn around. They all did so and saw the paintings, one on each wall albeit one that had two paintings. "Woah..."

"Look, there's Homura from Madoka Magica!" Katie fangirled and pointed at another painting. "And there's Steve and the Ender Dragon from Minecraft, Mikasa from Attack on Titan, and... the Powerpuff Girls?"

Everyone in the room burst into laughter, admiring the painting of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup hanging on the wall high above them. Even Mojo Jojo was pictured in the background, chasing after the girls as they tried to escape.

"Why are all these here anyway?" Katie walked up to the painting of Mikasa. Looking at it, she saw that on the frame was a number engraved in gold. That number was 4. Then she took another look at the rest of the paintings and noticed that they each had a number on their frames; the Powerpuff Girls being 1, Minecraft being 2, Madoka Magica being 3, Attack on Titan being 4, and the painting of the Master and Crazy Hands from Super Smash Bros being 5.

"This is so weird," Josh said and walked up to the Powerpuff Girls painting. He attempted to touch it, but instead found his hand slide right through the painting. This caused him to lose his balance and topple over, accidentally tipping his head inside as well.

"Good god!" Katie gasped and went to her brother. She grabbed his arm and gave a swift tug, jerking his head back out of the painting.

"No! You've gotta see this!" Josh ripped himself out of his sister's grasp and ended up taking her by the arm. Then in one swift motion, he jumped completely inside the painting whilst dragging Katie with him. Within a second or two, they landed in a strange-looking city.

"What is wrong with you..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at what was in front of her. "Townsville?!"

Towering above the two were tall, animated buildings as far as the eye could see. There were cars driving right past the alley the twins were standing in. But something about the place seemed a bit... off.

"Everyone seems like they're trying to run away," Katie said, noticing the frantic behavior of the silly-looking citizens. They were all either running, or driving away from, well, something.

Suddenly the ground shook, causing Katie and Josh to almost loose their balance. Right when Katie managed to catch herself, the ground shook once more and she fell backwards. The shaking continued, almost rhythmically, as if some gigantic being was stomping its way through the city.

"Katie, Josh!" A voice called from behind.

The two saw that Michael and Jemica had gone through the painting as well to follow them.