Alternative Stories

At this very moment in time I was sitting cross legged on a couch with my full attention focused on the system panel in front of me. A fact that meant I was a little ill prepared for a sudden and abrupt conversation with two people that appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Hey little Carmen." Anna purred as she jumped up next to me.

"Have you decided yet?" Yennora asked as she peered over my shoulder at what I was doing. "I mean Decker said you were planning on heading to your first destination soon."

"I've been thinking it over and have finally narrowed it down to four options, all of which would each help me out in a different way." I answered without looking away from what I had been doing up until this point.

"And let me guess, you can't decide where to go first." Anna hummed as she stretched herself out before curling up next to me.

"Yeah...I was never one that was good at making these kinds of decisions."

"Want our help?" Yennora asked, causing me to nod appreciatively.

"Any help would be great, thank you."

"No need for thanks, it's kind of our job after all."

Currently I was in the Lounge, a few others were here as well but the vast majority were currently out doing their own thing. It had only been a few hours since my chat with my more alien followers, and honestly, I had been spending this time brainstorming ideas as to where I should be heading.

And like I said just a moment ago, I had narrowed it down to four universes, each of which would help me solve various problems I have to deal with so that my Sanctuary can become self-sufficient. Of course, I have more selfish reasons as well, however that doesn't take away from the fact that this will help those within my Sanctuary.

Basil, who was apparently getting ready to leave with Lucius, just so happened to overhear and spoke up as he passed by. "If you are beginning your journey little one, then keep this in mind, I advise you to avoid those chosen by fate, after all those bastards are nothing but a bunch of cheaters." 

"True..." Yennora sighed with a somewhat unpleasant look on her face.

"God, I hate those guys." Anna hissed in annoyance.

Hearing them I couldn't help but tilt my head to the side curiously. "Chosen by fate? What exactly do you mean?"

"Basically people with plot armour." Anna huffed, causing me to narrow my eyes.

"Explain..."

"Basically, do you remember when we briefly went over The Chains Of The World?" Yennora asked while letting out another sigh.

Seeing me nod in response to the question Anna picked up where her friend left off. "Well, you know those main characters who can run through gunfire untouched despite having no special powers or abilities? Or those people in stories that always seem to be saved from death at the very last second by some kind of random mcguffin, power of friendship, divine intervention bullshit?" I nodded once more already having a feeling as to where exactly this was going.

"Well, there's an actual reason why things like that happen in the universe, a reason that is incredibly annoying to deal with. It's because there are these special individuals, people who are so connected to the world's fate that destiny itself will constantly try and keep them alive and on their destined path no matter what." Yennora finished and I finally understood why they had such unpleasant expressions at the mention of these people.

(I can already tell that's going to give me one hell of a headache in the future.) I grumbled internally before asking.

"Is there any way around it?"

"Yeah actually, you just need to weaken their Chain Of The World enough that destiny can no longer help them." Anna shrugged, although I doubt it would be that simple to actually pull off.

"Indeed, you can even get a rather large reward if you end up achieving such a feat, however doing so at your current stage would be quite...difficult to say the least." Yennora muttered, confirming my suspicions.

"I'll keep that in mind then..."

Honestly the fact that plot armour was apparently a thing was really fucking irritating I'm not going to lie, I could already tell that it was going to give me problems when trying to recruit key individuals that I wanted. Thankfully there were ways to get around it, a fact that made things a little less annoying, however I wouldn't know fully how mind numbing it would all be until I encountered such a being in person.

"Anyway, what about these worlds have gotten your attention." The dryad asked curiously.

"The first two are easy enough to deal with, and they each have things that would help in boosting the strength of my followers as well as solving some of my current issues with my Sanctuary." I explained with a slight shrug.

After saying that however I quickly added. "The third and fourth though, well, they're a bit more complicated."

"How so?" Anna mused, causing me to lean back in my seat before answering.

"I'll need to actually prepare various things if I want to head over to them, unfortunately those preparations will take time to figure out." 

"Then why not just start with the first two while also preparing for the others in the meantime."

"That's what I was planning on doing but there's still a problem I have to deal with first..." I sighed before continuing. "I need a certain Gift before I can head out."

(On my own I wouldn't be able to get much done after all, in the end I'll need to find some way to bring my followers along as well.) I thought while pulling up the store menu, only to then stop and ask something that I've been curious about for a while.

"I understand what the General Tab is but what is the Personal Tab all about?" My question was about the two different tabs that split the Gift section of the store. 

"Well, while the General Tab is basically just every gift in one place, the Personal Tab relates solely to your traits, skills and species." Anna explained while flicking her tail back and forth.

"Which means?

"You're a Xenomorph right?" Yennora asked, causing me to nod. "So you'll get a discount on things that relate to acid or other such Gifts that match up with specific Traits you have, the same thing could be said about any skills you have as well." That definitely got my full attention.

"How much of a discount?" I hummed, honestly now very interested to hear more.

"It depends really, however it usually ranges from around ten to fifteen percent off give or take." The large feline shrugged.

(I should definitely remember that moving forward.) I hummed in thought.

After talking with them for a little bit longer I remembered a question I had yet to get an answer to, mostly because I had forgotten all about it. "By the way, what the heck is a Fallen Sanctuary?"

"Where did you hear about that?" Yennora asked.

"Cyan." I answered with a shrug.

"Ah." She hummed as if that explained everything. "Well, to put it into simple terms, when an Alternative dies their Sanctuary slowly starts to break apart, however sometimes said Sanctuary can become corrupted."

"Corrupted?"

"No one knows what causes it, the Sanctuary as well as those that inhabit it just become...different, twisted in a way." Anna explained while yawning somewhat. "Anyway, Alternatives usually see Fallen Sanctuaries as nothing more than loot boxes basically, places you can raid without any of the consequences that may come from invading a Sanctuary belonging to a still living Alternative."

(Great...looks like I'll have to increase my Sanctuary's defenses at some point...) I thought with an internal groan.

"Isn't that kind of like grave robbing?" I asked, causing the large feline to shrug slightly.

"It is better than leaving them to rot and decay, also Fallen Sanctuaries that are left alone for too long can become almost like a disease or virus, spreading and infecting anything within their reach." Yennora answered.

"You also don't necessarily have to destroy them, I mean it is possible to purifi-" Anna tried to add but she was suddenly interrupted as a certain grumpy bear entered the room with a scowl on his face.

"What exactly are you all going on about now?" 

"Hey DR." Anna giggled causing Decker to glare at her

"Call me that again and I'll turn you into a fur rug." He growled.

"Eep!"

Deciding to give the big house cat a hand I spoke up catching Decker's attention. "They are just helping me make a decision."

"Have you finally made up your mind then?" He asked, causing me to shrug.

"I have, however there's still a problem."

"What is it now?" He sighed outwardly.

"There is a Gift that I need before I'll feel even remotely confident going, however I currently do not have enough Reward Points to afford it." I tried to explain.

"I see..." he hummed in understanding before adding. "Guess we'll have to go to the Colosseum."

"Colosseum?"