Alen still couldn't believe it. This was his chance—his long-awaited opportunity to prove himself. He had always been one of the best students at Quantum Academy, and deep down, all he ever wanted was to become the finest officer in the Time Keeping Agency, the kind who could track down and arrest the most dangerous anomalies and villains in the multiverse.
"Well then, Earth-1232, just wait for me," he whispered to the wind. "As long as I'm alive, nothing will destroy you."
With care, he folded the mission papers and tucked them neatly into his well-worn diary—the same one he took on every mission. The pages were filled with notes, maps, sketches, and memories. It had been his quiet companion through training and failure, and now, it would follow him into the field.
He slung a small bag over his shoulder, stuffing it with essentials: his field journal, a few basic artifacts, a first-aid capsule, and the bare necessities. His eyes landed on the stopwatch—cheap, scratched, and decades behind in tech. It could only stop time by 10 seconds and had a tendency to glitch, but it was all the Bureau ever issued to the lowest-ranking officers.
"Well... let's recharge you," he muttered, placing the watch in his inner coat pocket.
Alen opened a tiny golden box tucked under his bed. Inside were only two glowing purple balls left—The portal Balls. He sighed heavily.
"If I recharge the watch, I won't have enough points to buy Portal Ball..." he groaned, collapsing cross-legged on the floor, the golden box and bag resting on his lap.
"Momo!" came the familiar chirp.
The creature stood in front of him, dragging an entire bedsheet with its tiny teeth, the long cloth trailing behind like a cape.
"What now? You want me to pack blankets?" Alen chuckled, "We're not staying long, you fluffy hurricane."
He reached out and ruffled Momo's head, pushing its fur in every possible direction until the creature looked like a mop that had been dunked in chaos.
"Pfft… haha!" Alen burst into laughter. "Don't worry. They'll give us currency for that world when we get there. And if you behave, I'll even buy you a blanket."
After double-checking the bag, Alen scribbled a leave note for the dorm warden and slid it under her office door.
He stepped outside into the brisk night air and took a deep breath. He was ready.
The bag straps were snug across his shoulders. He wore the official Bureau of Time uniform—military-style, dark blue with silver trim. A rounded helmet sat securely on his head. And, perched on top like a fluffy crown, was Momo, who wore the spare helmet provided by the Bureau, which was slightly too big and kept sliding sideways.
A few fellow dorm residents glanced at him with puzzled expressions. Alen, in all his excited glory, did look like a child on his first field trip—albeit one wearing a military uniform and carrying a heavily armed stopwatch.
"Are you ready, buddy?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips in dramatic flair.
"Momo!" the creature cried out, tail flicking like a victorious flag.
The scene was majestic… until it wasn't.....
"Please... please, Doc, just give it to me this once! I swear I'll pay you next time!" Alen pleaded dramatically, clinging to a boy's leg while lying flat on the dusty floor.
The boy in question—Doc—stood unimpressed, wearing his usual oil-stained jumpsuit and a pair of oversized, soot-streaked goggles pushed up onto his forehead.
This was just how they greeted each other. Alen begging. Doc refusing. And Alen begging harder.
But this time, Doc wasn't budging.
"You're not getting anything this time," Doc said flatly, his voice devoid of emotion. "So it's better if you stop embarrassing both of us and get up."
Alen's tears stopped mid-stream. He stood up swiftly, brushing imaginary dirt from his pants with theatrical disdain. "What a cruel friend you are."
"Yeah, because I'm not your friend," Doc replied without looking up, already walking toward his cluttered workstation.
The table in front of him was a chaotic marvel—filled with half-assembled gadgets, sparking circuits, ancient artifacts, and scraps of broken machines. Doc was one of the best black-market equipment makers in the city. The kind of genius who could build a time anchor from a toaster and dismantle a paradox with a wrench.
Alen pouted, eyes glistening like a river in moonlight. "Why would you say it like that…?"
"Bruh."
The workshop was dimly lit, with grimy walls that bore the wear of a hundred explosions and a flickering ceiling lamp that threatened to die at any moment. Despite that, high-tech devices floated mid-air on magnetic platforms, whirring softly.
"I promise this time I'll bring you something valuable," Alen pleaded again, stepping around floating gears. "Seriously. This mission is on Earth-1232. An unstable one. Lots of unknowns. I might even find treasure."
"Oh yeah, just like the last 'treasure'?" Doc sneered, eyeing the dull rock sitting uselessly on the table—a souvenir from Alen's last mission.
Alen looked away, awkward. "Okay, but that was because I got sent to Stone Age Earth. The timeline had just started. What do you expect me to bring from there?"
"You brought a chair before that."
Alen flinched. "I wasn't allowed to leave the hut that time …"
"Stop giving excuses and get out of here," Doc snapped, until his eyes fell on Momo.
The creature was busy chatting in clicks and hums with one of Doc's early inventions—a third-rate robot named Ramp, the name carved into its shoulder. The two seemed to be bonding over nonsense.
Doc squinted at Momo. "You got an Emo now? Or did you steal it?"
Alen froze mid-step, fingers fidgeting. "Well… yeah. Accidentally."
"Accidentally stole an Emo?" Doc echoed, eyebrows rising slightly. He didn't press further. "Whatever. Take your stupid fur ball and get lost."
But Alen's eyes were now fixed on a sleek object floating nearby—a pen-shaped device glowing faintly golden.
He leapt toward it like a monkey spotting a banana. "Whoa, what is this?" he gasped, reaching for it.
"Ahem?" Doc's voice cut like a blade.
Alen froze with his fingers inches from the artifact. "Hehe... I was just... appreciating the craftsmanship," he said, laughing awkwardly.
"That's way out of your reach."
Alen turned to him with puppy eyes, the way someone might gaze at their best friend's new designer jacket. "Really? What is it?"
Doc couldn't help himself. He lifted his chin a little, pride slipping into his tone. "That's my latest and most advanced invention—a sword disguised as a pen. It absorbs the energy from enemy attacks and releases it back with ten times the force. One strike can send your opponent flying into the clouds. I made it using ultra-rare metal from a client… had to sacrifice my best robot for it."
He sighed dramatically, basking in his own genius.
When he turned around to show off the energy core he'd attached to it—
The pen was gone.
In its place, floating in mid-air, was a single piece of paper.
"I WILL RETURN IT WHEN I COME BACK."
Doc's scream shook the walls. "ALENNNNN YOU BASTARDDDD—!!"
A cold shiver ran down Alen's spine as he raced down the alley. "Looks like I really need to bring him something good this time."
He smiled to himself, pulling the golden pen from his inner coat. "At least I got something fantastic from him."
Alen stepped down onto a small, quiet platform near a secluded garden. A few people strolled by, their eyes more interested in the fluttering sky-birds than a Bureau of Time officer in uniform.
He opened the golden box in his hand. Only two purple portal ball remained.
"Let's make it count," Alen muttered.
He tapped the ball with his thumb. It floated into the air, humming softly before bursting open in a flash of violet light. A swirling portal formed in front of him—unstable around the edges, but solid enough.
He turned to Momo.
"Let's go."
"Momo!" the furball shouted back with excitement, hopping forward.
Together, they jumped through the portal—and everything changed.
Time blurred. Space twisted. They spun wildly, their bodies stretched across dimensions like paint in water.
And then—thud.
They landed.
Alen groaned.
He sat up slowly, his soaked uniform clinging to his body. Water trickled down his cheeks. Momo was sprawled across the edge of a stone fountain, blinking in confusion.
Alen blinked again, trying to process it all.
They were sitting in the middle of an empty garden—surrounded by dry trees and cracked benches, but somehow in a working fountain.
He turned slowly toward Momo, whose fur was dripping like a drenched mop.
"You saw the future, didn't you?" Alen asked, narrowing his eyes. "That's why you wanted the blanket."
"Momo," the creature chirped smugly, wringing out his round rabbit tail.
Alen groaned, standing up with a squelch of wet boots. "Next time, I'll listen to you. At least my bag's waterproof…"
"So this is Earth-1232…"
Alen inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the air of a new world. "Let's begin the mission, and meet the bastard who is creating multiple timelines."
Momo grunted in agreement, adjusting his hat proudly.
And with that, they stepped off the fountain platform, leaving behind the dripping silence and walking toward whatever chaos Earth-1232 had in store.