Earth 101 — City Park (19:00)
Green lies on the ground clutching his stomach, bruised and beaten, the world spinning around him. He tries to rise, but an unseen force sweeps him into the air. His limbs dangle helplessly as the city drops away beneath him. At a certain height, a bubble snaps into existence around him, sealing him in. Without warning, it launches straight into space, streaking across the sky like a flare.
He can only stare as the sun grows larger, the bubble locked on its blazing heart. Blood pools in his throat, metallic and warm, and he spits it out. The moment it touches the bubble, the translucent surface turns red and begins to glow from within.
"What is going on," he whispers, voice trembling.
The bubble reaches the sun and splits cleanly in two. One half remains translucent, carrying Green, while the other morphs into a blood-red, egg-shaped sphere. In an instant, Green arrives at Earth 1, the bubble popping like a soap film as he hits the ground.
Earth 312 — Delani Park (19:00)
Swiss lies curled on the grass, sobbing quietly, when he too is hurled skyward. Wind roars past his ears. A bubble forms around him at the peak of his ascent, then launches him into the stars with dizzying speed.
"This is so cool," he says, grinning wildly through his tears.
The sun swells in front of him, engulfing his vision. The bubble touches its surface, and in a flash, Swiss arrives on Earth 1. The bubble bursts, and he tumbles onto the ground, breathless but smiling.
Earth 102 — Bulkany Desert (19:00)
As Pink lunges toward Lutz, the world yanks her upward—sand swirling beneath her feet as she rockets into the sky. A bubble seals her inside, then fires her into space, its trajectory unwavering as it targets the sun.
She draws her sword and strikes again and again, sparks of energy flaring with each impact, but the bubble refuses to break. Her jaw tightens.
The instant it reaches the sun, she arrives at Earth 1. The bubble pops, and she hits the earth in a hard roll before rising to her feet, blade still in hand.
Earth 232 — Amarian Rainforest (19:00)
It is believed that when a person dies, the brain continues firing for seven minutes, replaying their greatest memories. These two men, united by a friendship stronger than death itself, experience those final moments together as though they share one mind.
Nova's lifeless body suddenly rises, lifted by an unseen force. At a certain height, a bubble forms around him and launches him into the heavens, straight toward the sun's burning horizon.
When the bubble makes contact, Nova arrives on Earth 1 in the blink of an eye. The bubble vanishes, and his body collapses onto the ground with a dull thud.
Earth 1 — At the Foot of Mount Golgotha (19:00)
Cody leaps from branch to branch, gliding through the forest with practiced ease. The night is quiet—until a blinding beam of light erupts from the mountain peak and slices through the darkness.
He stops mid-movement, eyes wide.
"Liza, what was that"
"My sensors are detecting trace amounts of soul resonance and massive levels of ultraviolet radiation."
"Soul resonance? Could it be the oni"
"It is highly unlikely."
"How unlikely"
"Zero point zero one percent chance."
"I still have to check it out."
Cody surges up the mountain, the trees whipping past him. When he reaches the summit, he freezes. Below him stretches an army he knows all too well, their torches flickering against the wind. And in the midst of the chaos, three unknown combatants battle the soldiers—two of them already on the verge of being overwhelmed.
Earth 1 — Southern Nevada, near Groom Lake (21:00) {present time}
In the dimly lit lab, rows of towering cylinders stand like silent giants, each filled with a shimmering blue liquid that pulses faintly. Suspended inside, Pink, Cody, Swiss, Nova, and Green hang weightless and unconscious, their bodies drifting in the glow.
The cylinders are sealed tight, the liquid shifting around them like a strange, protective cocoon.
Tubes and wires twist from the tops of the cylinders and converge into a massive console, its machinery humming with a steady, unsettling rhythm. Monitors flicker with streams of data, casting ghostly reflections across the walls. The air reeks of disinfectant and something sharper, something clinical and experimental.
Damian adjusts his glasses and steps closer, flipping through pages on a clipboard with the kind of focus only someone who hasn't slept in a while can manage. "Grandpa Saidai, this isn't looking good,"
Grandpa Saidai narrows his eyes. "What is it"
Damian clears his throat. "Well, the one with green hair has advanced radioactive poisoning." He glances at Green's floating body with a mix of confusion and fascination. "There is literal radiation flowing through his veins right now, but somehow his condition is stable."
Grandpa raises a brow, unimpressed and a little alarmed. "How is that possible"
"I have a theory," Damian says, tapping the clipboard like it might back him up. "The metal core in his chest is stabilizing the ionizing waves, but it is only a theory."
Grandpa stares at him for a long second, trying to process that. "You scientists always say that when you have no idea what's going on."
"What about the others, especially the one from the egg" he asks, leaning closer to the cylinder containing the boy.
Damian brightens a little, happy to talk about the weird stuff. "The shell gives off ultraviolet rays identical to the sun. Any cell sample we take from him does the same. And his DNA is identical to Green's."
Grandpa blinks. "So he is like Green's clone or something. Then why doesn't he look like Green"
Damian shrugs helplessly. "I don't know."
Grandpa huffs, annoyed. "What about the others. Anything unusual coming from them"
Damian flips a page. "From the brain scans we took, Swiss has prosopagnosia."
Grandpa squints. "Okay so why did they all just suddenly pass out."
Damian hesitates, choosing his words carefully. "They seem to be experiencing the effects of time dilation, seeing as humans have never experienced movement at relativistic speeds."
Grandpa stares at him blankly. "Speak English, you nerd."
Damian sighs the sigh of a man who repeats himself too often. "They're experiencing an advanced form of jet lag."
Grandpa Saidai rolls his eyes but continues. "What about Nova, why was he freaking out, and is that also from the advanced jet lag."
Damian shrugs "Firstly, I don't know. And secondly, I don't know."
Grandpa rubs his temples. "What of Cody, why did he pass out"
Damian glances at Cody's cylinder, then at his clipboard again, almost guilty. "It turns out Cody is extremely exhausted. It looks like he hasn't slept for two weeks. His partner seems to have been helping him stay awake and move."
Grandpa lets out a long, dragging exhale and places a hand on his forehead. "Okay, at least tell me you know when they will wake up."
Damian throws his arms out dramatically. "How do you expect me to know when they will wake up"
"Science and stuff."
"Science, not magic." Damian says, genuinely offended.
Grandpa waves him off. "Science at this level is basically indistinguishable from magic."
Damian glares but can't help the slight smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. "Touché."
(21:50)
Beeping echoed through the lab, growing quicker and quicker until it became one continuous tone. All five pods suddenly opened, spilling fluid onto the floor as the five of them fell out, coughing and gasping.