THE MOMENT
"THREE!!!"
"TWOO!!!"
Times Square was overflowing with cheering strangers as the countdown echoed all around a group of four. They were merely walking by, in their own conversation, while everyone else was distracted by the coming year.
"My mother prefers to sleep through this Era," Ruby continued the conversation with their answer as they kept walking. Ruby was a short woman in a crimson silk suit, she was flanked on either side by Aurelio and Jenny, as they discussed important matters, and a young girl named 23 was half-listening and half enjoying the atmosphere.
"ONE!!!"
"As long as there aren't any major deviations, my goal is to avoid waking her up if possible," she said. She cast a deliberate glance at Aurelio as the crowd cheered for zero.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!" Hugs and handshakes, kisses and smiles filled the air as suddenly numbers appeared above the heads of each and every human being on the planet, except for four of them.
"So far, it remains unnecessary," Ruby added as a black portal opened in front of her. She walked in through it, quickly followed by the other three.
"FIVE!!!"
On an alternate Earth, another new year was about to tick over, and the crowd was energetic as Ruby kept pace forward.
"So, you'll still help, right?" Jenny asked to be sure. Ruby nodded.
"FOUR!!!"
"The most I can do is tell you where and how to find Hazel Sage. You'll have to earn her trust without mentioning Chroma Corp."
"THREE!!"
"We can do that," Aurelio nodded at her.
"TWO!!"
A portal opened feet in front of Ruby and she continued walking toward it.
"ONE!!!"
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!" Numbers appeared above the heads of each and every human being on the planet, except for four of them. Ruby was already walking through the portal as she caught sight of the numbers appearing, and the others followed.
"THREE!!"
"What are we doing?" 23 asked with a laugh, and Ruby smiled down at her.
"Chroma Corp. acquired a lot of Earths in this Era, and we're syncing them to our time stream by activating the AlterNet on their Earth."
"TWO!!!"
"By the time they reach this point in the process, they already know it's coming, and it's essentially turning on the power for them. Tim is making time for me to be sure they all join without issue."
"Whooa neat!" 23 grinned.
"ONE!!" Ruby opened another portal.
"Do you have any clues about Pluto or Noon?" Aurelio asked about the others they were intending to track down eventually. For some reason, Jenny only asked about Hazel Sage.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"
"No," Ruby shook her head, then went through the portal. The family of three followed her.
"FOUR!!!"
"But, I suggest you recruit Neon Nova to your cause after enlisting Hazel Sage."
"THREE!!"
"You won't find them without her help, and you need to defeat her before you challenge either of them anyway. Marisol and Hazel will be enough to convince her to challenge you," she said.
"TWOO!!
"Oh," Aurelio nodded. He glanced at Jenny, and her smile told him she already knew all that.
"ONE!!!"
"Here," Ruby offered Jenny a sparkling, silvery glass node. "You can find Hazel Sage with this." Then, she opened a new portal.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!" The clock struck midnight, and numbers appeared above the head of each and every single human on the planet except for four of them.
"Good luck," she added. She gave them a wave and disappeared through the portal. It remained open for a few moments before closing again when no one followed her. Cheers sounded all around them, and it was easy to get carried away as they all smiled at each other.
"Well, thanks to your father, we're actually super ahead of schedule," she smiled at 23. "I usually don't have this node until like the middle of next week. I guess we have a little bit of time to kill... and this Earth just discovered the AlterNet," she gestured around at the flashing lights happening all around them. Fireworks gave way to magic spells and energy beams as more and more people created their characters and began engaging with the new systems.
"How about we get some gaming done?"
"YES!" 23 nodded.
"Okay," Aurelio nodded. Jenny smiled and put away the node Ruby gave her in order to discuss fun with her family.