“Okay,” Jeff says, taking out his phone, “first, both of us scan the comic”.
“Okay… done,” Dennis says.
Jeff nods, “me too”.
“So, what now,” Dennis asks.
“Open the tab that says “Extraction”, then select the comic we just scanned,” Jeff says, “then you should see a list of all the characters from the comic, and simply select the one you want to extract, then press confirm. But we’ll do it at the same time!”
“Okay,” Dennis says, both scroll through the list, “okay, got mine,” Dennis then says.
“Okay, I selected mine too,” Jeff replies, turning to look at Dennis, smiling, “ready to do this?”
Dennis says, the 15-year-old can’t help but feel nervous, “no… but yeah,” he mumbles.
“It’ll be fine,” Jeff says, “as long as neither of us has chosen a predator, we shouldn’t have to worry!”
“Who did you choose,” Dennis asks.
“I chose a robot that looks like an anthropomorphic lizard-boy,” Jeff says, “he looks to be about 14, but not older than 16. You?”
“Oh, Azrael,” Dennis says, “yeah, he’s kind of mysterious, because he is a robot and has no magic abilities, but is able to create stuff with his nanobots, it’s not easy to tell if he’s a “prey” or “predator”. I personally believe he could classify as a “neutral”!”
Jeff nods, “that’s why I chose him, not only because I love lizards and reptiles in general,” he says.
“I chose “Quinn”, who is a black wolf-boy who looks to be around 15 years old,” Dennis says.
“A wolf? Are you sure,” Jeff asks, sounding concerned.
Dennis smiles and nods, “yep, he is to friendly to be a “predator”, at least that’s what I feel,” he says.
“Very well, I trust your judgment,” Jeff says, “okay, let’s do this. I’ll countdown to zero, then we’ll both confirm at the same time! 3… 2… 1… 0,” both then confirm the extraction.
At first nothing seems to happen, but then the air in front of Jeff and Dennis flimmers, like hot air on a tar road in summer, and slowly the outlines of two figures begin to appear, faintly at first, before starting to become more and more solid, until a 15-year-old looking wolf-boy with black fur, wearing a blue t-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers, and a lizard-robot, that looks like a 14-year-old teen, not wearing any clothing, stand in front of the two human teens, blinking, before looking around in confusion.
The two then turn to look at Jeff and Dennis, their eyes narrowing, “okay… who are you? How did we end up here,” the wolf-boy asks.
“And most importantly… WHY are we here,” the lizard-bot adds.
“Because the last thing I can remember is that I was on the school grounds chatting with a friend,” the wolf-boy, says.
“And I was in the school’s tech department, working on an important task,” the lizard bot adds.
“So, you two should better start explaining,” the wolf-boy says, “I don’t sense anything magical about you! So… how is it possible we end up here?!”
Both Dennis and Jeff stare wide eyed, “it actually worked,” both mumble at the same time.
“WHAT worked,” both the wolf-boy and lizard-bot ask, starting to become impatient.
“Right, sorry… we… we are just as surprised as you are, Quinn,” Dennis begins, “we…”.
“Okay, stop right there,” Quinn, the wolf-boy, interrupts Dennis, “how the hell do you know my name?”
“Please, we’ll explain everything,” Dennis says, he then turns to Jeff, “you are better at explaining than I am, Jeff,” he says, “besides, it was YOUR idea to extract Quinn and Azrael from the comic!”
“Extract us from… what,” Azrael asks.
Jeff picks up the comic, holding it out to the two, “this,” he says.
Azrael takes the comic from Jeff, Quinn leans over to look at it, “what is this,” Quinn asks.
“It’s called a comic,” Jeff says, “comics are like stories, but with drawings instead of just words,” he continues as Azrael open up the comic.
“This… this has to be bullshit,” he says, “how can we be some fantasy creation… something unreal… created by some… human, if we have are able to think for ourselves?”
“Honestly, you got us there,” Dennis says.
“Maybe by creating the comic, the artist created a dimension where his characters actually are real, living their lives, unaware that they aren’t actually real,” Jeff says.
“That makes no sense,” Quinn growls, “the thought of not being real… being something made up… makes me furious!”
“Calm down, Quinn,” Dennis says, “we really have no idea”.
“We used a program called “the Chronivac”,” Jeff says, and begins explaining everything to Quinn and Azrael.
“Crazy… just fucking crazy,” Azrael says, “but it would make sense as to why we are suddenly in a different dimension!”
“I just can’t believe that we are some human’s creation,” Quinn growls.
“Sorry about that,” both Jeff and Dennis say.
“But look at it like this,” Jeff then says, smiling, “by extracting you from the comic, we actually freed you from a made up life”.
“True, but what about our friends and families,” both ask.
Jeff and Dennis look at each other, before turning back to the two, “well… you… you could start a new life… a real life with us in this dimension,” Jeff says, “or… we’ll just send you back into the comic”.
Both Azrael and Quinn look at each other, then back at Jeff and Dennis, “would you give us a few minutes in private to discuss this,” Quinn asks, still sounding unhappy and irritated.
Jeff and Dennis nod, “we’ll wait outside the door,” they says and exit the room, closing the door behind themselves.
“You know,” Jeff says, turning to Dennis, “I’m starting to have second thoughts about this”.
“Well… to late now,” Dennis replies.
Back in Dennis’s room, Quinn turns to Azrael, “to be honest with you,” the wolf-boy says, “I do like the idea of staying in this realm”.
Azrael tilts his head, “why would you want to stay here?”
“Because, as Jeff said: no one will be able to tell me what I can and can’t do,” Quinn says, a grin on his face, “think about it, we could do whatever we want! Back in our realm… that fake life… we always got told what to do, and what we can’t do. I’m tired of people forcing me to transform all those people back after showing them their true purpose! Don’t tell me you don’t feel the same!”
“Honestly, I never used my nanobots on someone living,” Azrael says, “I only used them to create machines”.
“Then I think it’s time for you to change that,” Quinn says, “think about it, with your ability, you could do so much good, help so many people become what they should truly be!”
Azrael thinks for a while, his metallic muzzle stretches into a grin, “you know, you are right,” he says, “I can also download that Chronviac program into my system, I secretly read through the manual, and it sounds like an amazing program!”
Quinn smiles, wagging his tail, “we’ll make so many people happy,” he says.
“What about Jeff and Dennis,” Azrael asks.
“We’ll keep them as they are,” Quinn says, “we’ll simply corrupt them, make them use their apps on their fellow humans, making them think they are helping them become what they truly are!”
Azrael smirks, “I like that,” he says.
“Then it’s settled,” Quinn says, he then calls out, “Jeff, Dennis, you may enter!”
The door opens and Jeff and Dennis walk in, “so, how have you two decided,” they ask.
“We have decided to stay for good,” Quinn says, Azreal nodding and smiling.
Dennis and Jeff smile, “really? Cool,” they say.
“But we’d need to alter the reality, so that everyone thinks you have always existed,” Jeff says, “and that we are friends!”
“Okay,” the two reply.
Dennis and Jeff take out their phones and alter the reality, Azrael and Quinn shiver as they feel the atmosphere tingle, “what was that?”
“That tingling was a sign that the reality is now altert,” Jeff says.
“Quinn, you and I know each other from school,” Dennis says, “but you don’t have a family of your own, instead you are my adopted brother!”.
“The same goes for you, Azrael,” Jeff says, “however, since you are a robot, your history is that I built you as a school’s project”.
“So, I’m your property,” Azrael asks.
Jeff quickly shakes his head, “no, of course not,” he says, “you are free to decide and think for your own”.
Azrael smiles, “okay, I can live with that,” he says.
“Wow, these new memories feel weird, but I feel so free and happy,” Quinn says, his tail wagging.
“Me too,” Azrael says.
Dennis and Jeff smile, both unaware of what their new friends have planned, Azrael has even begun downloading and installing the Chronivac into his system, the young robot barely able to contain his excitement as he feels himself becoming more and more powerful, ‘I feel so powerful! With this program, I’ll be able to do so much good and help so many people,’ he thinks to himself, ‘and best part, I never have to recharge my batteries! I have limitless energy levels! This feels awesome!’.
“So, what would you guys like to do,” Dennis asks.