James and Cera tumbled through the exit of the portal. Cera landed on the ground with grace. The world spun for a moment. James didn't let go and kept his arms wrapped around her waist.
"Cera? Talk to me, are you okay?" James asked as he held her close.
Cera's breathing was shallow. Her heart raced not from the fall but from the sudden, intimate proximity. Her face was still flushed. "I am, I am fine, Master," she whispered.
"Good," James said. He sat up and looked toward the Humvee. "Rachnera. Is everyone okay?" he asked.
Rachnera dropped from the roof of the vehicle. She peered through the glass of the cabin. "They're all in one piece, James. Just a bit scrambled," she responded.
Inside the Humvee, the girls were a mess of tangled limbs and dazed expressions. Miia was laid back on her seat. "Ugh... everything is spinning. I think I left my stomach back in the tornado," she groaned.
"Papi feels like she's flying in circles even though she's sitting down," Papi chirped, her eyes wide and unfocused. Suu had turned into a puddle on the floorboards, slowly bubbling as she tried to solidify.
"That was fun," Illuna said as she just sat up.
Kusano shook her head and touched her head.
Yuriko was the first to stagger out of the driver's side door. She touched the truck and looked out at her new surroundings. Her jaw dropped. "James, where are we?" she asked.
They looked to see black and grey colored rock formations coming out of the ground like the teeth of a giant. The sky was a dramatic swirl of deep teals and indigos. There was a massive, hazy gas giant and green orb hung directly overhead.
The girls in the humvee looked out the windows. "This place looks different," Papi said.
Miia looked around. "It's beautiful, in a creepy way," she admitted as her eyes looked at the massive gas giant.
Kusano looked around. She saw rocks everywhere. "I don't feel many plants," Kusano remarked.
Illuna looked around. "This place is cool," she said. "Oni-chan, this is the best trip," she said.
Suu bubbled excitedly.
Yuriko walked up to James. Her boots crunched on the ground. She stood close. "This place is devoid of life," Yuriko remarked. " Where exactly are we?" she questioned.
James looked around. "We're definitely not home. This looks like a different dimension," he said.
He looked back at the spot where the portal had vanished. He thought that a tornado was an interdimensional portal. He thought there was a show which he watched that had a tornado like this. He thought of Battle Force 5. He then wondered why it appeared. He immediately thought of Monty or the Shadow Man, but he shook his head. He thought Monty would make sense for zombies related stuff. He thought this did not feel like Monty`s doing.
"Did you bring your weapons?" James asked.
Yuriko didn't hesitate. She reached into her holster and drew Jackal. "Always ready," she said with a sharp smirk.
Rachnera walked to the Humvee. She reached into the storage rack and pulled out Ulticurse. "I had a feeling I might need this," she said.
Cera stood beside James as she drew Custodire. The blade caught the eerie light, "Master, I am ready to defend you," Cera said.
James reached for his pocket and pulled out the Multiversal Remote. He looked to the remote and saw there was static. "The remote is dead as usual," he said. He thought it never does work when he wants.
Yuriko sighed. "Are we stuck here?" she asked.
"For now, yes," James responded. "But I think we need to find something called a Battle Key," James added.
"Battle Key?" Racherna questioned.
"Yes it is a hexagonal blue glowing object," James responded. "It works like the Multiversal Remote," James added.
"Oni-chan, I can smell people there," Illuna said as she was sniffing the air.
"I can hear vehicles in the distance," Cera added.
"Everyone, back in the vehicle," James said. "Cera there is some space on the Humvee so you will be there with Racherna," he added.
"But," Cera protested.
"I will be close by," James responded as he walked forward to the ledge. There he saw three vehicles and a woman being chased.
The woman had a luminescent blue appearance and crystalline skin with darker blue geometric patterns and glowing energy lines that pulse across her torso and limbs. She had a slender, humanoid figure with solid blue eyes with a small nose, and a narrow mouth. She had long, thin limbs.
"She is being chased," Yuriko remarked as Yuriko, Cera and Racherna approached.
They looked to see several vehicles. "Who are they?" Cera asked.
One vehicle was driven by a reptilian humanoid with a thick, muscular build and mottled green and yellow scales. He had a long, crocodilian snout filled with sharp teeth, a bright red tongue. He had glowing red eyes. He wore dark metallic armor plating on his shoulders and forearms, and he possessed a long, powerful tail tipped with sharp silver spikes. He was driving a rugged, off-road green vehicle It had two large, curved blades at the front hood and a series of sharp, circular saw blades mounted underneath the chassis. The vehicle sits on massive, high-traction black tires and has an exposed silver roll cage over the cockpit. "That is Krocomodo and Riptile his car," James remarked.
Next to him was a shark-like humanoid with a thick build and light blue skin marked by dark aquatic patterns. He had a large, wide head with rows of sharp white teeth inside his red mouth, and small red eyes. He had sharp fins coming from his back and forearms, along with webbed clawed hands. He wore a single white metallic shoulder plate and brown leather-like straps across his chest. He was driving a sleek, low-profile blue vehicle shaped like a predatory fish, which had a sharp pointed nose with black scratch-mark decals. The car had prominent fins on the roof and rear, silver multi-spoke wheels with red rims, and a dark concealed cockpit. "That is Sever and Water Slaughter his car," James remarked.
"A shark and crocodile?" Yuriko questioned as she looked at them. "So they are like monsters?" she questioned.
"I guess so, they are more like aliens," James responded. He looked to see Ultimatrix and thought it would be worth getting close to them to scan them.
"There is more," Cera said.
They saw an insect-like humanoid with a hunched, build and vibrant purple and pink skin. He had a segmented exoskeleton with multiple small, spindly limbs and a large pink mandibles near his mouth. His back was covered in sharp purple spines, and he had thick claws. He wore brown, spiked bands around his forearms and upper limbs. He was driving a dark, skeletal vehicle that looked like a giant mechanical beetle which had a rib-cage-like structure over the seating area. The car had three large, bone-colored claws extending from the front and sat on four heavy, metallic drum-like wheels with spiked treads. "That is Hatch and Scarib his car," James remarked.
"They do not look friendly," Yuriko said.
"They look like scum," Racherna added.
Then they had a horn. They turned to see a lion-like humanoid with a thick, powerful build and golden-tan fur. He had a fierce, feline face with a dark mane, a black nose, and sharp eyes. He wore heavy, dark metallic armor with large, spiked shoulder plates and a brown strap across his chest. He drove a rugged, animalistic brown vehicle which had a sharp, golden spear-like blade mounted on the front hood. The car had an open-top cockpit with a silver roll cage and was equipped with massive, high-traction black tires. "Kalus, the leader of the Vandals and Fangore his car," James remarked.
"He had conquered Sage the women there`s plant," James said.
"Are we going to save her?" Yuriko asked.
"Of course we are," Racherna responded as she looked at James. "She is going to be joining us," she added.
Yuriko smiled. "You are right there," she added.
"She is very smart and works well with technology," James said.
Cera sighed. "She needs our help," Cera said.
"Everyone get to the vehicle, I will go and save her," James added as he opened the faceplate of the Ultimatrix. He saw the silhouette of a towering, robotic humanoid with a sleek, paneled chassis and a finned helmet. He thought it was perfect. James slammed it down. His body was engulfed in a brilliant, pulsating light. The air crackled with energy. James' body distorted, his skin turning into burnished green metal and black carbon fiber. In a surge of radiant energy, James' features reshaped. Heavy armored plating latched onto his shoulders and his head encased itself in a sharp, aerodynamic helmet. "Turbo-Strike!" Turbo-Strike shouted.
Turbo-Strike stood there as a towering, robotic humanoid with a sleek, paneled chassis and a finned helmet. His eyes were slitted and glowed with a fierce red light. His shoulders were heavy with armored plating and his legs were thick. His Ultimatrix symbol was near his torso.
"This is a new one," Yuriko remarked.
Turbo-Strike's mechanical body began to shift. His limbs folded inward and flattened into a reinforced chassis. His shoulders and back expanded to form the wide roof and hood, while his legs and arms retracted to become the wheels. He was a slick hyper car. "I will go," Turbo-Strike said.
"We are right behind you," Yuriko stated.