[img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjcyLjcwMDkwOS5SbUZpYkdVLjI/beyond-wonderland.regular.webp[/img]
 [i][b][color=7F2A3C]"This intermission was brought to you part by Ponn."[/color][/b][/i]
 [color=gray][i]Current Location: Home[/i][/color]
 Without any further leads at the moment, Fable decided to head back home before it got too late. He went back to his room, threw on some bed clothes, and passed out soon as he hit the bed.

 ...Atleast, that's what he hoped to do. For some reason, he couldn't sleep. It wasn't that he didn't feel tired. Maybe he was still feeling stressed? Shouldn't be. Toss here, turn there, yell profanities into your pillow, but that did nothing. After a bit of struggle, the boy finally went to sleep.

 After an indeterminate amount of time, Fable would be awoken from his slumber by the sound of a rising hum, which was soon accompanied by a warbling squeal, as if someone were attempting to change the frequency on an old radio. This was followed a few seconds later by a loud *VOP!*, after which, all was once again silent. Silent, but [i]not[/i] still… There, a short distance from his bed, Fable could perceive a shimmering, spinning contraption, which somewhat resembled a gyroscope. It was about the size of his desk, and upon a cushioned chair at its center sat a [url=https://imgur.com/XDvYvUP] small dog[/url], attired in a steampunk style outfit. As if this wasn’t strange enough, things became stranger still, when the dog began to [i]speak…[/i]

[color=Goldenrod]“Goodness me!”[/color] the canine exclaimed, his voice possessing a somewhat amusing British accent. [color=Goldenrod]“I appear to have arrived! Although I must confess, I am not at all sure where, or when, I have arrived to!”[/color] Giving voice to a small chuckle, he looked around the room, before his eyes came to rest on the understandably bewildered Fable. [color=Goldenrod]“Why, hello there, my good fellow! Might you be so kind as to assist me in ascertaining my chronometric and plenumic location?”[/color]

 What.

 The.

 Hell.

 For a second, the boy could only stare at the sudden visitor as he processed what just happened. Okay, talking dog. Wouldn't be surprising if he was a monster. A familiar, he guessed? What even [i]is[/i] that contraption??? Fable blinked out of his thoughts to answer the dog's question. [color=7F2A3C]"U-Uhm. If you mean time and place, you're in Pax Septimus, somehow appeared in my room..."[/color] He reached over to a nearby nightstand and grabbed his alarm clock. [color=7F2A3C]"And it's almost 6 AM."[/color] He added with a tired look. This all felt too alive to be shrugged off as a dream, and since he could still move and speak, he wasn't having a weird sleep paralysis episode either.

 [color=Goldenrod]“Pax Septimus?”[/color] the dog echoed. [color=Goldenrod]“Hmmm… I can’t say I’m familiar. Oh, but I do apologize!”[/color] he added as he was struck by a sudden realization. [color=Goldenrod]“I’ve completely neglected to introduce myself! Parrthineas E. Doxxon the First, at your service!”[/color] he declared, while removing his hat and giving a small bow. [color=Goldenrod]“But you may call me Parr for short! Now then, if you would do me the kindness of revealing whom [i]I[/i] have the great pleasure to be conversing with, I would be [i]most[/i] appreciative!”[/color]

 The boy hesitated, unsure if he should introduce himself as his moniker, or his real name. His eyes narrowed, looking between Parr and the machine. Though that could just be him not entirely awake yet.

 [color=7F2A3C]"...Finnegan. I either go by Finn or Fable most of the time."[/color] He decided to introduce himself properly.

 [color=Goldenrod]“Ah! What a splendid name! And what splendid nicknames as well! But they do present something of a conundrum. By which would you prefer to be addressed?”[/color]

  [color=7F2A3C]"Uh...Finn, I guess?"[/color] Finn sightly tilted his head.

  [color=Goldenrod]“In that case, it is my most sincere pleasure to make your acquaintance, young Finn!”[/color] Parr replied, holding out his paw for a shake. [color=Goldenrod]“Do tell, would this be [i]your[/i] residence in which I currently find myself?”[/color]

  [color=7F2A3C]"Yeah? Guess I wasn't specific when I said this was my room."[/color] Finn rose a brow, then shook the dog's paw. [color=7F2A3C]"But yes, this [i]is[/i] my house."[/color] He clarified.

  [color=Goldenrod]“And what an aesthetically pleasing home as well!”[/color] Parr declared with an approving nod. [color=Goldenrod]“Ah! But I am so terribly sorry for my unannounced arrival! Your rather disheveled appearance would suggest that you had been slumbering most fitfully, and so I do apologize for awakening you my dear boy! It is truly a most regrettable state of affairs that I have so very little control over where and when I might appear after each jump, but thankfully I have been met with the face of a friendly and helpful soul far more often than the visage of a fearsome beast! That is, if I am met with anything at all!”[/color] Giving voice to another chuckle, he continued. [color=Goldenrod]“Now then, if you would be so kind, I should like to run a small number of scans so as to better determine my exact omniversal location. Would this be acceptable?”[/color]

At the mention of his appearance, the boy ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to fix it. [color=7F2A3C]"I-It's fine. Just make sure you don't wake anyone else up, it'd be hard to explain."[/color] 

 [color=Goldenrod]“Most excellent! And you needn’t worry, my dear boy,”[/color] he reassured the drowsy youth,  [color=Goldenrod]“Unlike my conveyance, my various pieces of instrumentation are decidedly less cacophonous!”[/color]

With that, he produced an odd wand-like device, featuring four spinning protrusions with a small glowing sphere at the end of each. Three additional, slightly glowing, prongs sat atop it, and as he moved the device across the room, a faint wedge of golden energy extended from them. After the beam had swept the entirety of the room, Parr examined a small readout on the lower portion of the device.  [color=Goldenrod]“Hmm… Ah yes… Yes, I see… Most fascinating… Most fascinating indeed!”[/color] Turning to look at Finn, he added.  [color=Goldenrod]“You reside in a most extraordinary reality plenum, my dear boy! Truly, I have yet to encounter its like in all my myriad travels thus far! The structure, the framework, it’s all been so meticulously fashioned! I must say, being lost in the infinite omniverse sometimes seems like a small price to pay, when met with discoveries like this!”[/color]

Finn's brows rose as he watched the strange dog scan the room. [color=7F2A3C]"Reality...plenum?[/color] He asked in confusion. [color=7F2A3C]"What do you mean by that? And I wouldn't really call a city like [i]this[/i] fascinating..."[/color]

[color=Goldenrod]“Oh, no, not the city,”[/color] Parr corrected. [color=Goldenrod]“The [i]universe[/i], which, incidentally, is another name for a reality plenum. As it happens, I hail from a universe many trillions of reality plenums distant, where I had just concluded my first year of tenured professorship at my beloved alma mater, Fae Creek Academy! I was hard at work recreating my esteemed father’s greatest invention, the Far Prior Machine, a rite of passage you might say, when, alas, I found myself in something of a creative quagmire, utterly unknowing of how to extricate myself! It was then that a wonderfully helpful visiting scientist named Doctor Nikon [sub]or was it Doctor Canon?[/sub], suggested that instead of replicating my father’s work, I craft a construct entirely of my own invention! And so, after discussing our mutual appreciation for Edmund Clarke’s thrilling adventure series [i]Professor Panopticon of the TriPlenum Patrol[/i], they informed me that it was actually possible to reach the universe in which said stories really took place! That such tales were not mere fantasy at all, but actual realms that could be visited and interacted with! At the thought of actually conversing with one of my childhood heroes, I knew what needed to be done, and so I turned all my considerable mental prowess to the goal of creating the conveyance you see before you, one which would project me into whatever reality plenum I so desired, the Syllogismobile! Unfortunately, it would appear I had yet to fully master multidimensional polyplenumic engineering, as when I took my creation on its first test jump, I found myself hopelessly lost, adrift on the tempestuous tides of the omniversal ocean! Since then, I have been traveling the various reality plenums, in the hopes that I shall one day return to my beloved home, or at the very least, encounter a being capable of returning me via their own power, or via that of some mechanism they may possess. So it is that I appear before you now, and while this plenum, too, has proven bereft of the aid I seek, I am most grateful to have made your acquaintance, my dear boy. Pray tell, are you a devotee of the sciences as well?”[/color]

Even if he didn't fully understand what Parr was talking about, Finn tried his best to keep up with his story. Either this possibly fatigue-driven delusion had layers, or this had confirmed there was a multiverse outside of fiction. Hell, even said fiction might be real if this was anything to go by, and the universe [i]he[/i] resides in would be fiction instead!

 ...Yeah, that's alot to take in. Unfortunate that Parr hasn't been able to perfect the science yet. But the fact that he made it here now ment [i]something[/i]. Then the boy was asked if he was a scientist himself. [color=7F2A3C]"Well, not sure if you could compare it to something as grand as multidimensional travels,"[/color] he began to explain, moving out of his bed and towards his desk. A rather cluttered desk, notes and observations about monsters, espers, and magi spread out and hung like an investigaton board. Of course there was also less peculiar stuff like his music player and a laptop. [color=7F2A3C]"I'd like to think I'm more of an investigator type, I strive to be one as great as an old friend of mine. But I've been researching stuff like mana, what makes espers tick, and monsters like this fella I had the pleasure of running into."[/color] Finn held up one of the pages of notes, a rough sketch of the Crab Rave behemoth drawn on it. [color=7F2A3C]"But if what you said about there being a multiverse is true, then I guess have my work cut out for me, huh?"[/color] He looked back to Parr with a grin.

 [color=Goldenrod]“An investigator?”[/color] Parr echoed. [color=Goldenrod]“Oh how terribly exciting! I, too, greatly enjoy a good mystery! One of my other childhood heroes was the great detective Dirk Dhorlocke! And indeed, science is nothing more than solving the mysteries of the universe, or omniverse, in this case, so you could say I am something of an investigator myself! And that is certainly quite the impressive beast!”[/color] Parr exclaimed upon being shown the picture of Crab Rave. [color=Goldenrod]“I applaud your courage my dear boy! Ah, but you say you already know a detective of some renown? Was this perhaps a relative of yours?”[/color]

 [color=7F2A3C]"Knew. But yes."[/color] The boy clarified. [color=7F2A3C]"We aren't related, but I still cared and looked up to him as if he was. Even if we sometimes butted heads."[/color] He chuckled. [color=7F2A3C]"I hope to one day see him again as someone he could be proud of."[/color]
 
 [color=Goldenrod]“A most commendable goal to aspire to!”[/color] Parr agreed. [color=Goldenrod]“And one that it would appear you are well on your way to attaining. If it’s not too much trouble, I would very much like to hear of some of your various investigative exploits,”[/color] he added.
 
 Finn scratched the back of his neck. [color=7F2A3C]"Well, I haven't exactly done much. Hm..."[/color] As he organized his desk, he told Parr about every job he's done so far. He went into detail about Crab Rave, told him about the Date Night job and the subsequent fight against Jan, and caught him up to speed with the situation about Justin. 
 
 [color=Goldenrod]“My word!”[/color] Parr gasped upon being told about Finn’s recent (mis)adventures. [color=Goldenrod]“You have [i]certainly[/i] experienced quite a great deal of perilous situations, especially for someone of [i]your[/i] tender age! I must say, I am [i]most[/i] impressed, my dear boy! Most impressed indeed! This Justin fellow, in particular, sounds like quite the unpleasant scoundrel, if I do say so myself, and I wish you the best of luck in apprehending that vampiric villain!”[/color]

 [color=7F2A3C]"Thanks Parr. Really."[/color] The boy tiredly smiled.
 
 [color=Goldenrod]“You are most welcome, dear boy!”[/color] Parr told him. [color=Goldenrod]“And I would be only too delighted to assist you in your endeavors to locate your fiendish adversary,”[/color] he added. [color=Goldenrod]“But, alas, my time in this plenum rapidly draws to a close! Indeed, the possibility particles by which my cross-plenum conveyance is powered are almost fully replenished!”[/color] Gesturing to a gold-plated gage, he would show Finn that its glowing readout had but one segment left unfilled. [color=Goldenrod]“If there are any inquiries you might have concerning my own extradimensional exploits, now would be the time to voice them!”[/color]

  He couldn't stay? Finn slightly frowned. He would've appreciated the help, but all the same, he understood why Parr had to leave. This wasn't his home.

 [color=7F2A3C]"Oh! Uhm, I'm not sure what to ask but,"[/color] He glanced around, then back to Parr. [color=7F2A3C]"Think I'll ever achieve, y'know, stuff like this?"[/color] He motioned to the Syllogismobile.
 
 [color=Goldenrod]“Why, I have no doubt, my dear boy!”[/color] Parr replied. [color=Goldenrod]“If you fully apply yourself, your goals shall always be attainable, although they may take longer to achieve than you might desire,”[/color] he added with a chuckle. [color=Goldenrod]“But fear not, young Finn! You are still a mere youth! In the fullness of time, I imagine you shall surpass even [i]my[/i] accomplishments!”[/color]

  [color=7F2A3C]"Even surpass you, huh...?"[/color] The boy chuckled at the thought. [color=7F2A3C]"Yeah. Yeah, I'll strive to meet your hopes too then! Who knows, perhaps we could see each other again when the day comes!"[/color] His grin returned with a newfound resolve.
  
  [color=Goldenrod]“A most delightful possibility, indeed!”[/color] Parr agreed. [color=Goldenrod]“Now then, I must be off!”[/color] he added as he once again took his seat at his bizarre machine’s controls. [color=Goldenrod]“I had a truly splendid time making your acquaintance, my dear boy, and I eagerly await when next our paths might cross! Tally ho!”[/color]

With that, the cross-plenum conveyance began to rapidly spin and whir once more. There was a bright flash, coupled with a loud *VOP!*, and when it faded, Finn would see that both conveyance and canine had vanished, as if they had never existed in the first place.

 [color=7F2A3C]"Well, that was something."[/color] With a yawn, the boy stumbled back to his bed and faceplanted into his pillow.

 ...Then again, as he looked back at his alarm clock, it was probably too late to go back to sleep. Eh, whatever. A few more hours couldn't hurt.