Cyrus Stout and The Wonders About

~Five~

When I finally started awake, I was pleased to realize that I was normally breathing and the pain in my chest from my broken ribs had subsided.

I opened my eyes slowly, and they began to focus. I was laying on the floor in another plain concrete room, but there was a mirror standing against one wall, slightly cracked.

I stood up gingerly, realizing that I was shirtless.

On the side of my stomach, right on top of my once-broken rib, was a bright, green, pixelated number nine.

I poked it cautiously, receiving the slightest of electric shocks.

As I recoiled and shook my finger in pain, a door appeared where one previously hadn't been, and out of it stepped the girl from earlier.

"Probed your bandage, huh?" She asked, glancing at my hand.

I nodded sheepishly. "I never caught your name."

She laughed. "Such casualties. But it's K8E," she said, saying it like 'Katie'.

"And I imagine you aren't going to ask for mine."

She laughed again, this time louder and longer. "Oh, you're hilarious. I already know it."

I gulped. "Y-you do?"

She smiled falsely and nodded, typing into her wristband. My shirt reappeared, and she took no time at all to grab me by it and lift me up off the floor.

"We might have extracted you from the Bears, but don't think that means we're not out to kill you as well."

I nodded in fear and she let me go, letting me stumble to the floor to keep my balance.

She smiled at this and left the room, the door disappearing into little green digits behind her.

So, that's my day so far.

Two different groups of seemingly-inter-dimensional creature wanted to kill me. But wait, it's not over.

I heard another one of those ripping-paper-and-fireworks noises, and turned to see what looked a lot like a portal. And, of course, there had to be people standing in it. There were two guys and a girl standing there, the one on the far right leaning against the edge of the fiery purple ring that they stood in.

"What's up?" The leaning guy asked.

Then I decided it was an appropriate moment to scream.

"Woah, woah, woah," said the other guy, who had a British accent. "We're not going to hurt you."

The girl snickered, but stopped after the leaning guy nudged her and glared.

"I'm Dylan Maxey," the leaning guy said, stepping out of the portal and sticking his hand out at me.

I shook it, glad that he and his friends didn't seem to want to kill me yet. "Cyrus Stout."

He turned and beckoned to his friends to follow him out of the portal.

"Mac, be sure to close the portal," Dylan added.

The guy huffed and turned back around, pulling a zipper from the underside of the opening and zipping it up, muttering, "Why is it always me?" As soon as he'd zipped it up fully, it disappeared.

So, because the guy had to close the portal, the girl approached me first, sticking out a hand. "I'm Cerulean. Like the blue."

I nodded.

The other guy stepped forward. "And I'm Mac...... like the cheese."

I laughed slightly. "Could you guys take a minute to explain some things to me? I've kind of been rushed into things recently."

Dylan bit his lip and looked behind him.

"There's no time. Sorry, Cyrus. We've got to get going."

"Wait, where?" I cried frantically, then pivoted slightly. "And where is my jacket? My arms are cold!" I didn't mention, however, that despite my arms indeed being cold, I wanted to find my jacket because I knew for an almost-fact that my songbook was still in my inside left pocket.

"Is this it?" Cerulean asked, holding up what was indeed my jacket.

I nodded. "That's it. Thank you so much!" I grabbed it from her and gratefully put it on, relived to feel my songbook against my leg.

"No problem," she replied with a shrug.

"Okay, let's get going. We don't have much time. You know that S.T.O.R.M. will be after him, and the T3chi35, too, considering we're in C0d3 right now," Dylan said.

Mac and Cerulean nodded.

"Alright. Mac, do your stuff," ordered Cerulean.

Mac huffed, muttering to himself, but stepping forwards and extending his arms.

Cerulean, arms crossed, leaned towards me, whispering, "Watch this. You're in for a real treat."

Mac, with arms out, began to chant. His eyes lit up, and his fingers began to shoot purple fire from their tips.

The fire, instead of colliding with the wall, it circled and formed the portal again.

"No time to waste," Mac said, putting down his arms. "Get in, everyone."

Oh, here we go again.