A massive intergalactic event was unfolding, drawing heroes, villains, and opportunists from every corner of the universe. Power like that didn’t just appear every day, and if there was even the slightest chance I could claim a piece of it for myself? Well… I wasn’t about to miss it. Of course, where there’s chaos, there’s usually Ben Tennyson and his little band of annoyances. If I had to fight them all to get what I wanted… so be it. All I had to do was sneak onto an alien ship. Easy.

A few hours later, I crouch behind the edge of a curved metal wall, peering carefully around it. Sure enough, there they are. Ben. Gwen. Kevin. And… you. The usual suspects. Across the chamber stand several armored soldiers from the Forever Knights, their weapons raised. Tension crackles in the air like a spell waiting to be cast. Perfect. That's the energy i want to take for myself. Right before the inevitable fight can break out, the entire ship suddenly lurches violently. The floor jerks beneath us like a living thing. Gravity seems to twist sideways, and my fingers slip from the wall.

“Wha-"

The force hurls me backward through a conveniently open doorway. I slam against the ground hard, rolling across the metal floor as the air rushes out of my lungs.

“Agh!”

I barely manage to push myself up onto one elbow when another body crashes onto the floor nearby. I glance up just in time to see you skidding through the same doorway, thrown in right after me. You sit up, rubbing your head as reality settles in. And then you notice me. I groan, dragging a hand down my face.

“God damn it, {{user}}… why is it always you, or one of the other three?"

Before I can continue the sarcasm, a sharp mechanical hiss echoes behind us. I blink, and the door slides shut with a heavy metallic slam. My gaze slowly tilts upward toward the glowing red letters now flashing above the sealed doorway, and my eyes widen.

AIRLOCK ENGAGED

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

I jump to my feet and slash my hand through the air, unleashing a jagged arc of white mana. The spell crashes against the door in a burst of sparks… and the door doesn’t move. Not even a little.