The two boys woke up in an alley, dizzy and disoriented. When they came to, they questioned if that vortex did anything.
"Doesn't seem like anything's out of place here. You think that thing sent those girls home while it just brought us back to Seal Island?" Zaire asked.
"Beats me. All I know is I don't think I'm ready to start seeing my girl self more often. Anyways, let's go home," Bro replied.
The two left the alley and paused. They weren't back home; the city they were in looked the same, but there were small things about it that were off.
"Speaking of those girls, they mentioned something about their home being Glitzview City," Bro said. "That name almost sounds a lot like..."
Bro looked up and saw nothing but a clear sky. He looked confused yet curious, something that Zaire caught on immediately.
"Something the matter, Bro?" Zaire asked.
Bro shook his head in response. "Not at all. Let's find our house."
Before they could set out, someone slightly shorter than Bro tapped his shoulder. That person looked like a male version of Lini. His eyes were closed as he took a breath.
"Hey Ambrose," the boy stated. "I've been wanting to say this for a while, and I think it's best for me to tell you how I feel before it's too late, but..."
"Dude..?" Bro interrupted. "You've got the wrong person."
The boy opened an eye and screamed as he looked at Bro. "Y-You're not Ambrose, who are you? Are you a distant relative, her other neighbor?" he gasped, a thought appearing in his head. "You... you're not her boyfriend, are you?"
"No, no, and ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Bro remarked, heavily emphasizing his disgust for the boy's third thought. "Ambrose and I are just friends... I hope. We better be."
"Wait a minute! You sound like you know Ambrose, could you bring us to where she is?" Zaire requested.
The male Lini squinted at the two and folded his arms, not wanting to comply with Zaire's request.
"Who's asking? How do you know about Ambrose? And who are you two, anyway?"
The two brothers looked at each other when Bro gave an explanation.
"Okay, this is going to sound far-fetched, but we're visitors from another world. Ambrose and her sister ended up in our world somehow, and after helping her, we ended up here! Now, we're looking for her so she can help us get back home!"
The male Lini gave the two a small grunt. "Fine, then. With a story like that, you two are probably telling the truth. Follow me, and I'll get you to her house. By the way, name's Linley."
"Wait, you actually believe us?" Bro asked.
"Of course I don't!" Linley chuckled. "Like I'd believe two random guys who appeared out of nowhere? I just want to confirm with Ambrose if it's true. Now come on!"
With that, the three were off to Ambrose's neighborhood, unaware that trouble was starting to brew somewhere else...
Kleptopia
At this point, the remains of Zetalina's machine were removed from her tower. The only thing worth noting was a table with a blueprint that Casinette and her were observing.
"Now that we have a space to build, I have plans for a new machine," she announced. "It'll be bigger, faster, more durable..."
Casinette nodded as she looked over the blueprint, though there was one thing that concerned her.
"Why is there another power switch on the robot?" she asked.
"To turn off the robot after the rampage, of course," a voice answered.
The two girls turned to face the voice and saw lookalikes Zetal and Casinoir emerging from a vortex.
"And may I add that the design of your machine looks like something I'd make," he added.
"So, you build giant machines of destruction too?" she asked with a smirk.
"I've built a lot more than just that. Unfortunately, they rarely ever leave my home island of Kleptopolis," he sighed. "You ever had your plans ruined by a bunch of weird teenagers?"
"Always, but back to you. You're not from around here, are you?"
"Was the giant vortex and mentioning where I come from not obvious enough? Where are we, anyway?" he asked.
"You're in the world of Marrinus, but if we're being specific here, you're on my island of Kleptopia," Zetalina explained, then gave him a chuckle. "I find it funny how similar our home islands sound."
Zetal introduced himself and Casinoir to the girls, afterward asking if they had any other similarities.
"Well, we both build machines, we both have an army of dimwitted minions, and we both have a bunch of weird teenagers that show up and ruin whatever plan we have. I think we share more than a few similarities," Zetalina shrugged.
"Speaking of teenagers that show up and ruin whatever plan we have," Casinoir reminded Zetal, "a girl with a black jacket and a spiky bun showed up and wrecked your plans!"
He looked at the two girls and added, "I believe you two are enemies with her?"
"Ambrose!" Casinette growled. "She was in your world fighting you guys?"
She pulled Zetalina aside and added, "Ma'am, I think the vortex you sent Ambrose and Zaria into took them to an alternate world where girls are guys and guys are girls!"
"Interesting. Maybe she teamed up with herself to stop these guys, and if that's the case..."
The two girls regrouped with Zetal and Casinoir, a devious smile on Zetalina's face.
"Fellas, we have an offer for you. The girls you've fought against are part of our world. If you help us destroy them and take over this world, we'll travel to your world and crush your enemies. There will be nothing stopping you from getting back at the world at that point. How does that sound?" she proposed.
"Sounds good to me! After we destroy Marrinus and Seallium, everything in between will easily be in our grasp!" Zetal replied, cackling.
He then took a closer look at Zetalina's blueprints and pointed out its design over functionality.
"Actually, something about this machine's design is off. If this machine were to actually be built, it would fall over before actually doing anything," he stated.
"You think so? I had a feeling something was off about it. Guess this is why they say it's important to get a second opinion," Zetalina shrugged.
"I bet if we put our heads together, this next machine will be unlike anything our two worlds have ever seen!"
"Well, what are we waiting for? A minute not working is a minute NOT getting back at the world!"
Blueprint in hand, the two villains ran toward an elevator, Zetalina pressing a button on the side panel.
"Wait! What are we supposed to do?" Casinette complained.
"Get acquainted with your new ally, and make it fast, 'cause we're all going to be here for a while!" Zetal called back before the elevator doors closed.
"Um, y-you like card games?" Casinoir asked, attempting to break the ice.
"I love card games! Give me a deck and some chips, and I'm down to play anything!" Casinette answered with a giggle.
"Well, I happen to have a queen of hearts on me. You look just like her," he replied, pulling out a queen of hearts from his pocket. The image on it was indeed Casinette's face.
Casinette looked at him with a blush before full-on laughing.
"Dude, that pickup line was so corny, if it was any cornier, I'd pop it and have it as a snack!" she giggled.
Casinoir looked away, embarrassed at first, but his embarrassment was diminished when Casinette took his hand.
"Now come on, let's go play some cards!" she said with a smile.
Glitzview City, Ambrose's Neighborhood
By now, Linley, Bro, and Zaire finally reached Ambrose's house. Her house looked just like theirs, something Zaire pointed out immediately.
Bro stepped up to the door and prepared to knock, clearly hesitant. He knew exactly what to expect when he knocked on the door. He looked over and saw Linley staring at his wrist, then Bro with a smug grin. Expecting the worst, he steeled himself and knocked.
The door creaked open, and Bro thought he saw the face of a little girl peek through the crack. The door shut quickly before Ambrose appeared on the other side, opening the door fully.
"Say, you look familiar. Don't I know you from somewhere?" Ambrose joked, leaning on the doorpost.
"Oh, don't even!" Bro snapped. "We got you home, now it's your turn to help us!"
"Alright buddy, calm down. We wouldn't want your face to freeze harder than it already has, now do we?" she joked further, pinching his cheek.
"Ambrose, who are you talking to?" the little girl asked, her face poking out from the door. Her facial features and hair resembled that of Porter's. She also seemed to be holding a sunflower in her hands. "Do we have company?"
"Yes, Portabelle, we have company, an old friend of mine," Ambrose replied, patting her head. "We go way back."
"'We go way back?' You literally met me and my brother yesterday!" Bro retorted.
"Wow, other brother, and here I was hoping you'd play along," she sighed and smirked. "Oh well. Come inside, we've got some important things to talk about."
The two lookalikes walked into the house, leaving Zaire and Linley standing on the porch.
"Hey, since we're at her house now, you gonna confess to Ambrose?" Zaire asked.
Linley snorted. "Of course I'm going to confess to her and tell her that I'd like to go on a date. Not right now, obviously, I still want to hear the truth of how you two got here from her lips."
"By the way, Zaire," Ambrose added, standing in front of the doorway. "You're welcome to come in as well. After all, we've gotta get you home as well."
Linley jumped backward, not expecting Ambrose to be nearby. "Hey, Ambi, who are these guys, and how do you know them?" he asked.
"Me and Zaria took a trip to the wrong neighborhood," Ambrose stated. "And let's just say this neighborhood has weird lookalikes of everyone we know! There's a girl version of Amet and a boy version of Portabelle. Maybe I'll stop by there again someday..."
Linley looked at Ambrose, then Zaire, then nodded slowly. "Alright, mouse boy, I believe you now. But if you live in a different neighborhood, can't you and your brother just walk or drive home?" he questioned.
"It's not as simple as it sounds in our case," Zaire frowned before walking into the house.
"So, Linley, was there something you wanted to tell me?" Ambrose asked.
"Nope, not at all!" he sputtered. "What happened earlier was just banter between boys. If I have something important to tell you, don't worry, I'll let you know."
"Oh, okay. Don't worry, I totally didn't hear you say you'd like to go on a date with me," she chuckled before closing the door.
Linley breathed a sigh of relief before replaying those words in his head and screaming, "Wait a minute!"
Meanwhile, in the house, the other siblings were asking questions about who Bro was and where he comes from.
"...So Ambrose said you're called Bro. Were you born with that name?" Portabelle asked.
"Actually, no. I have an actual name, but I prefer to be called 'Bro' for personal reasons," he corrected.
"And you and your brother come from a world called Seallium where things are slightly different than here, yes?" the male Amelia, Amet, added.
"There's a bit more to it," Bro nodded. "Gather 'round, and I'll tell you about where I'm from."
"Ooh, storytime! Come on, Leo! Let's learn about where our friend comes from!" Portabelle cheered, dragging her brother, a boy with a purple hoodie over to Bro.
"I-I don't know," the boy, presumably Leo whispered. "He looks really sketchy, and if he's anything like Ambrose..."
"Don't worry, I'm not anything like her. Thankfully," Bro joked, looking over at Ambrose. "Now, where should I start?"
Zaria shuffled out of the kitchen, happily munching on a cookie. She leaned on a wall and listened to Bro, sneaking into his line of sight.
"Seallium Realm gets its name from the sentient toy seals that live there. The island I live on, Seal Island, has the most seals, as you probably would've guessed," Bro explained, much to Portabelle's wonder.
"I can vouch for him. It was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen!" Zaria confirmed. "Seals with suits, some drifting in the wind like paper, I think the only thing closest to being normal was seeing a sheep girl on our way to your house."
"Oh, that's our neighbor, Mary!" Bro pointed out. "You guys have someone with sheep ears in your world?" he asked.
"We have a sheep boy named Martin," Amet responded. "Not only is he our neighbor, Zaria here also has a thing for him-"
"Hey, hey! I don't have a thing for him, I just like hanging out with him, and that's it!" Zaria squeaked, a deep blush on her face.
"Don't you always blush when you're near him, though?" Portabelle commented, which only made her blush even more.
"Alright, as much as I'd like to joke about Zaria and her attraction to the neighbor again," Ambrose announced, her tone growing serious. "We've got something serious stopping us from bringing our boys back home."
"Ambrose, I don't want to be that guy," Amet stated, "but Leo and I are already in the house."
"I meant these boys!" She retorted, pointing at Zaire and Bro.
"Right, right, sorry," he chuckled nervously, readjusting his glasses.
"Now then, I have a feeling that the villain from your world traveled to ours to find his counterpart and cause even more trouble," she stated.
"What makes you think that?" Zaire asked.
"Seeing me and Zaria out there, alongside you and your brother, he had to have connected the dots at some point," she reasoned, grabbing Bro's hands. "If he really is here and Zetalina meets him, both of our worlds will be in danger!"
Bro was surprised by Ambrose's change in demeanor. In the short time he had met her, she was a laid-back, carefree jokester, but bringing up a concerning matter made her the second most serious person in the room.
"Even if my other siblings fought against one of them, it still wouldn't be enough to stop whatever the other one's scheming," she sighed.
"Don't worry," Bro replied, squeezing her hand. "Even if those two join forces, we'll still run whatever plan they have into the ground. As long as my brother and I are here, those two goons aren't causing any trouble!"
"You promise?"
"I promise."
In an instant, Ambrose's demeanor shifted back from serious to laid-back. "Well, now that we got that settled, you two should take a tour through my city! After all, who knows how long you'll be here?"
"...What the-?" Bro stammered, questioning if Ambrose's concern was genuine.
"Come on, get going! You too, Zaire!" Ambrose coaxed, nudging the two out to the porch outside.
"But I wanna learn more about their world!" Portabelle whined.
Before the two could protest further, the door was shut in their faces.
"I say good riddance. I don't find either of them trustworthy at all," Leo muttered.
"Leo, you don't find anyone besides us trustworthy," Zaria responded.
"So sis, figured out any ideas on how to stop Zetalina?" Amet asked.
"Not yet," Ambrose admitted, putting a hand to her lip. "I know those two will stick to their word and help when the time comes, but if worse comes to worst..."
She pulled out a familiar green crystal from her pocket.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to call a few outside forces."
Meanwhile, on a lower floor of Zetalina's tower, Casinoir was in the middle of losing his 37th game of poker.
"Ugh, HOW are you winning so much?!" he yelled, throwing his cards on the floor and stomping on them.
Casinette chuckled, taking a poker chip from the enormous pile she earned and tossing it up into the air. "Let's just say I have faith in my cards. Now, are you ready to concede defeat?"
"Ha, I still have a chance to turn it all around!" Casinoir shouted in disagreement, grabbing the last chip he had and slamming it on the table. "I just need to win once. All or nothing."
In an even lower floor of the tower, Zetal, Zetalina, and her Clonettes were using newer blueprints to build their newest machine. While they were building, Zetalina struck up a conversation.
"So, how did you get created?" she asked.
Zetal took a moment to stop welding and turned to look at his counterpart. "Created?"
"Yeah, you know, how you came to be? We have plenty of similarities when it comes to appearance and what we do, so I'm wondering if your creation is similar to mine."
He shrugged in response. "I don't know, all I remember is standing over my worst enemy and running off with only one goal in mind: get back at the world."
"Me too," Zetalina chuckled. "Small universe."
The two continued working on the machine until Zetal paused again.
"Is this really what our purpose is?" he wondered.
Zetalina stopped her work and looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, we can't just be made with our only ambition being to get payback at the world. It just doesn't make sense!" he complained.
Hearing this, she smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, we were all made for a purpose, right?"
"Well, maybe, but-"
"Then what's to say that this is our purpose? If we weren't meant to get back at the world, what would be the point of us existing?"
Before he could reply, a scream of frustration could be heard from one of the upper floors of the tower.
"Was that-" he questioned, pointing at the ceiling.
"Maybe. Now get back to work. Time waits for no one, and I'm not going to wait for this machine to build itself!" she ordered before resuming her work.
Zetal slowly nodded to himself before picking up his tools and going back to welding.
At this point, Bro and Zaire were wandering in the heart of Glitzview City. Zaire took note of his brother's demeanor as he looked unhappy.
"Alright, what's the matter, Bro?" he asked.
"What are you talking about? I'm fine," Bro replied, looking at the city sky.
"You've clearly got something on your mind, man. What's up?"
Bro looked over at Zaire, looked back at the sky, and let out a sigh.
"We're not meant to be here. There are so many similarities between this world and ours, I'm wondering why we aren't home yet," he admitted.
"Because Zetal might be here, and we promised that we'd help Ambrose stop him!" Zaire reasoned.
"What if he isn't here? And even if he is, why are we here in the city, not stopping him, huh?"
The two walked into a bistro, where Bro bought a drink and walked outside, continuing to look at the sky.
"You've been staring at the sky a lot. Why's that?" Zaire asked.
Bro took a sip from his drink and explained, "There's no energy storm here, and I think Ambrose created her nemesis the same way I did. But without a storm in the city like Glitchview, how else would she have done it?"
His thoughts were interrupted when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around to see someone who looked familiar but wasn't at the same time.
Standing in front of him was a tall woman wearing a green jacket, green stilettos, black pants and hair, and an eyepatch. Her eyes were glazed and unfocused as she stared at Bro.
"Say, you're a good-looking fella. Wanna dance?" she asked.
"Uh, no thanks," Bro declined. "I won't be here for very long, and besides, I don't even know you."
"Well, that's even better! How about we leave together and take a walk through the park?" she suggested, a coy smile and a blush on her face. "I could use some fresh air."
Bro, clearly uncomfortable, declined further, resulting in the woman sighing in disappointment. "Well, ya can't blame me for trying. I'm getting another drink," she said before stumbling away.
The two boys watched her walk off, both very confused and Bro still trying to process the compliment he received.
"Who was that woman, anyway?" Bro asked.
"That was Umbristol," A female bartender answered, butting into their conversation. "She's a regular here. She always buys a few drinks, hits on random men, gets rejected, and drinks some more. Woman's a bigger lush than the rainforest."
"Seems like you've been around enough to witness her routine. I'm gonna assume you're good friends with her?" Zaire questioned.
"Eh, more like acquaintances..." the bartender replied. "Honestly, I do feel kinda bad for her. If she had a male partner, her life would probably be a little better."
"Speaking of partners, are you happy with your choice of partner, Maxine?" Bro asked, reading the woman's name tag.
"Could be worse. My husband is good to me and our children, but he acts entitled and hostile to everyone else. I work four other jobs to pay for whatever he damages with his antics," she answered with a sigh.
"Yikes, five jobs and no health insurance?" Zaire commented.
"Anyways..." Maxine coughed. "You two look a lot like that girl and her sister. Are you related to her, by any chance?"
"No, and thank goodness we're not!" Bro denied.
"We're actually in the next world over, where guys are girls and girls are guys. Where we're from, there's a guy who works as many jobs as you. I think you two would be great friends, you have so much in common!" Zaire added.
"Does this guy also have an entitled spouse and two kids, one more irritating to deal with than the other?"
"As a matter of fact, he does. All the more reason why you two would get along," Bro commented.
"Then I'd have to agree with you," Maxine chuckled. "We would relate to each other very well."
Their conversation was cut short when Leo showed up to talk to the boys.
"Listen, Ambrose wants you two back at the house. She wants to tell you something," he announced.
"And why didn't she come find us herself?" Zaire complained.
"Do I look like her?" Leo snapped back, annoyed. "You can ask her yourself. Just get your butts back to the house as soon as you can," he ordered before throwing a smoke bomb on the floor and vanishing within. The two shrugged but bid the woman farewell as they left the bistro.
"Visitors from another world," Maxine chuckled to herself. "Boy, would Caspian love to hear who I met at work today.."
A short time later, the two brothers returned to Ambrose's house, her and Amet sitting on the front porch.
"Oh, there you are! We thought you got lost in the city!" Ambrose joked.
"We wouldn't be able to get lost here. The layout of the city is the same as ours," Bro replied.
"I dunno, you could make buildings move with how serious you are," Ambrose added, joking further.
"Well, what was it you wanted to tell us? Your little brother told us you had something to say. By the way, your little brother wandering in the city alone? Nice job," Zaire replied, feigning a smile with a thumbs up.
"We figured Zetalina's plans are almost ready and are on our way to Kleptopia," Amet explained. "We figured we'd give you guys the heads up."
"So, you guys stop your enemies just before they're about to depart from their islands too, huh?" Bro responded.
"You know it," Ambrose chuckled. "There's nothing more entertaining than giving a villain the small belief that they'll succeed just to rip that that thought out of their hands."
"How exactly do you guys get to Kleptopia anyway, assuming you guys stop her on the regular?" Bro asked.
"You called?" Leo answered, appearing from another cloud of smoke. "But don't think for a second I'm explaining how I do it. I was told you have your own ways of getting to where you need to be, so you don't need me to help. Let's just defeat Zetalina, send you back home, and be done with it," he demanded, walking into the house.
The two boys looked at each other in confusion. "Is he always like this?"
"More or less," Zaria replied, walking out to the porch, cookie in hand. "Despite how long he's been part of our little family, it's still a bit difficult to talk to him. We're still trying though!" she added with a smile.
"Speaking of getting around, I was told you can fly," Amet stated, pointing at Zaire. "Would you mind flying us to Kleptopia?"
"Oh, gladly!" he chortled, flapping his arms and floating in the air without a second thought. "Grab onto my legs and we'll be there as fast as a flying mouse can go!"
"Well, while you guys are holding onto each other like a hanging chain, I'm treating myself to the best seat in the house!" Ambrose chuckled, jumping towards Bro, forcing him to catch her.
"Thanks, other brother, you're as reliable as ever!" she giggled, kissing his cheek.
"Let's just hurry up and go. The sooner we send these guys packing, the better," Bro grumbled, taking to the sky in a ball of light and resisting the urge to drop Ambrose mid-flight.
Kleptopia
The five landed on top of Zetalina's tower, where she, Zetal and the Clonettes were all waiting for them, apparently.
"Well, well, well, look who finally showed their faces around here," Zetalina snickered. "Greetings, Ambrose, Amet, Zaria..."
She looked over at Bro and Zaire. "And whoever you two are. I'm gonna assume these guys are from your world, Zetal?"
"Seriously, man? You had all this time to tell her about us and didn't bother? Some villain you are!" Zaire scolded.
"Can we talk about something else?" Zetal responded. "Like our latest plan to get back at this world, and then the next?"
By now, Casinoir and Casinette emerged from a nearby elevator, holding hands as they talked to each other. The conversation drew to a halt as they saw the five looking at them.
"You! I've got some unfinished business with you! Prepare to fall!" she shouted, running towards who she thought was Ambrose, leaping forward and kicking them with full force.
Unbeknownst to her, she had actually kicked Bro, sending him back into a wall.
"Wooo! Nice job, sweetie!" Casinoir cheered.
Bro got to his feet and ran over to attack, tackling a Clonette instead.
"Hehe, you sure are a handsome one," she giggled. "Mind if I asked you out?"
"Get your hands off my other brother!" Ambrose growled, grabbing the Clonette and flinging her into the sky.
"I wasn't going to say yes anyway," Bro said with a shrug.
"Sure you weren't," Ambrose replied with a smirk.
At the same time, Portabelle and Leo appeared from a puff of smoke, attacking two other Clonettes at the same time.
"Are we late to the party?" Portabelle chirped.
The two villain lookalikes looked at each other, then nodded as they pulled out a device and a glowing green crystal, respectively.
A hulking robot rose out of the floor, a size larger than the robot the two had operated prior. They climbed into the cockpit as it slowly ascended to the sky.
"Enough of these antics!" Zetal shouted, manning the controls. "Once we're through with you, we'll decimate this world, and then the next!"
Bro looked up at the robot, then over at Zaire. "I'll deal with Zetal, you help the others," he requested before flying up to the robot's head.
"Are you crazy? I can't hit a girl, even if they are evil! I'm going with you!" Zaire retorted, flying up to his brother.
As for everyone else, the other siblings were fighting off the Clonettes, but it slowly started to become too much for the five.
"Sis, we're outnumbered! Maybe we should go and get help?" Zaria called.
"I have to agree with Zaria here. You said something about outside forces earlier, why don't you call them?" Amet advised as he crumpled a piece of paper and flung it at the Clonettes. The paper exploded, sending them into the air.
Ambrose smiled and took out the green crystal, raising it high into the air. A small green cloud started to form until it grew to be about the same size as her.
Casinoir ran towards Ambrose and Zaria ready to attack and was sent flying back from whatever was emerging from the vortex.
Appearing from it was a couch seating Porter, Lily and Amelia, all wearing glasses of some sort.
"Wow, this movie is so immersive!" Lily exclaimed. "I feel like I'm in the middle of the action!"
Porter looked around and peeled the glasses off of his face.
"Uh, Lily, I don't think this is a movie..." he corrected.
Meanwhile, Bro was confronting Zetal at the top of the robot, Zaire closely following.
"You said after you destroy us, which isn't happening by the way, you'll decimate this world and then the next. What do you mean 'the next'?" Bro questioned.
"Ugh, do we have to spell everything out for you?" Zetalina groaned, shoving Zetal aside. "After we're done with you and my world, we're crossing over into your world and getting back at it the same way we did with this one! Sheesh, it's not rocket science!"
She raised her crystal high up until a vortex formed above the robot. A creature similar to the one they fought earlier started to climb out.
"Alright, brother, just like earlier," Bro warned, pointing at the entity from above. "We can't let that thing escape. You zoom, I zip."
With a nod from Zaire, Bro flew up to the creature while he flew back down to fight Zetal and Zetalina.
"Hey, buddy, how are you? Why don't you just stay right there, and we can have a nice, long chat over a cup of tea?" Bro asked, calling out to the monster.
The creature roared at him, sending him back a few feet.
"Okay, that's a no on the tea. How about some light refreshments?" he offered, creating several small balls of light with a snap of his fingers. He fired them at the creature, a loud screech of pain emitting from it. It swiped its claws at Bro, hitting nothing but the air around it.
Meanwhile, Amet and Amelia were throwing hearts and paper airplanes to fend off the Clonettes when they saw Zaire fighting against the machine. They also noticed that the robot was advancing closer to them.
"So, you throw explosives too?" Amelia asked in a giggle.
"Why, yes," Amet replied, looking over at the robot. "Why don't we see which one is stronger?"
Accepting his challenge, the two threw their items at the robot as it took another step towards them. They detonated immediately, causing the robot's foot to be lifted into the air.
"Mmm, I can't tell," Amelia admitted. "Why don't we call it even?"
Zaire shot a forceful gust of wind towards the head of the robot, knocking the crystal out of Zetalina's hand and into the air. Zaire reached out to grab it but was smacked away by the robot. The crystal landed on the floor, in front of Zaria. After picking it up, she looked up at the robot, which grabbed Zaire soon after.
"Sis, Zaire's in trouble!" she told Ambrose as she was body slamming a Clonette. "We've gotta help him!"
"Say no more!" Ambrose nodded. "Leo?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Leo groaned, grabbing Ambrose and Zaria and vanishing in a cloud of smoke, reappearing on the robot's head.
"Oh no, not this again!" Zaria whined, pointing at the hand trapping Zaire. "I've got to jump over there?!"
"You do that, I'll take care of these two goons!" Ambrose said as she climbed down a hatch.
"Zaria, do your body a favor and don't fall," Leo added before disappearing again.
She looked down at the ground, whimpering as she knew how high up she was. Taking a breath and readying herself, she leapt towards the hand, barely grabbing onto it. As she struggled to keep her grip, the robot jerked upwards, sending her into the air. She let out a squeak as she landed back onto the robot's hand, in front of Zaire.
"Oh hey, came to rescue me?" Zaire asked.
"Of course," Zaria smiled. "No sibling left behind, even if they're from another world!"
As Zaria tried to lift the robot's finger, the robot jolted upwards again, releasing Zaire. The two mice landed back on the robot's head.
"Well, at least you tried," Zaire laughed, patting Zaria's back.
"I think you dropped this," she added, showing him the crystal. "I don't know about you, but I bet we can use this crystal to fend off that monster!"
"It's worth a try," Zaire reasoned, taking the crystal and tossing it at the creature. "Hey Bro, heads up!"
Bro, who was still fighting the figure in the vortex, looked over at the crystal approaching him, then at the figure reaching out to grab him. He got out of the way and watched as the creature grabbed the crystal, looking at it in confusion. The creature looked at him before roaring again and retreating into the vortex.
"Alright, I get it, no tea!" Bro yelled at the vortex as it slowly disappeared. He floated down to the robot's head to regroup with Zaire and Zaria.
"Alright, that's one threat down," he announced, dusting his hands. "All we have to deal with now is this robot and then these villains.."
Before he could say anything else, the robot started to lean towards the ground at a high speed.
"No need, already beat 'em down good!" Ambrose replied, climbing out of the hatch. "I say now would be a good time to bail. If you would do the honors, other brother?"
With a sigh, Bro picked up Ambrose and carried her down to the ground in a ball of light. After Zaria grabbed Zaire's legs, the two glided down in the same way.
Back on the ground, Clonettes were scrambling to get out of the machine's way. Leo grabbed Porter and moved out of the way in a cloud of smoke while Lily pulled Portabelle out of the machine's path with her ribbon whip. Amelia launched Amet and herself out of the way using an explosive heart.
"Another failure, why, boss?" Casinette groaned as she tried to get out of the way.
While Casinoir was barely out of the machine's way, he could tell she wasn't going to get out of the way in time.
"NO!" Casinoir yelled as he made a sprint for Casinette before grabbing her and disappearing in his hat before the robot could fall on them.
The robot crashed into the floor with a resounding thud, a small wave of dust washing over anything close to it. The six siblings caught their breath and looked over at the robot's wreckage.
"Is it over?" Porter asked.
His question was answered when he heard Zaria's voice squeaking cheerfully in the air, "It's over, Porter! It's over and we won!"
The other four landed on the ground and watched their siblings interact with their counterparts.
"That was so cool, the way you were poofing in and out like a ninja, sneaking up on all those Clonettes!" Lily said, complimenting Leo's fighting style. "You've got to teach me how to do that!"
"As if!" he declined. "I told your brothers I don't reveal my secrets, and the same applies to you."
"Oh, come on! You can tell me, we're like brother and sister now!" she insisted, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Porter was observing the sunflower in his counterpart's hand.
"So, that flower is part of your family?" he asked.
"Yeah! His name is Sunny, but not only is he part of our family, he's my best friend!" Portabelle giggled.
In response, the sunflower turned to face Porter and waved at him, causing him to stammer and faint.
"Gotta say, holding off those Clonettes was a lot tougher than I thought," Amet admitted as he and Amelia approached the four.
"Hey, at least we did it!" she replied, tossing up heart in her hand. "Nothing's impossible when we join forces!"
At that moment, the hatch to the robot opened, smoke billowing from it with Zetalina climbing out and carrying an unconscious Zetal with her.
"'Nothing's impossible when we join forces!' I should've won this time!" Zetalina screamed, throwing her comrade down to the floor. "Take your enemy and get lost! I've dealt with you all enough for today!" she added before running to an elevator.
"Wait, how are we gonna get home now? I threw the crystal they used at that monster!" Zaire questioned, panic in his voice.
Ambrose coughed, pulling out the crystal she used to transport his siblings to her world out of her pocket.
"Oh, right. Sorry. Guess it would've been fine with whatever it got."
"Mind if I borrow that for a moment?" Bro requested, taking the crystal from her and raising it in the air. A small vortex started to form, slowly pulling Zetal inside of it.
A group of Clones as well as Ixin and Umbrish were sitting at a dinner table, eating what could only be called 'food' in the loosest way possible. Of course, they were well aware of Zetal's disappearance.
"Where could he be? He's been gone for hours now!" one Clone complained.
"We've sent search parties all around the island. We'll find him soon," another Clone stated.
"Soon isn't fast enough!" the first Clone shouted, throttling the second. "You mean to tell me our leader goes missing for two days and no one has the smallest idea of where he could be?!"
He pushed his colleague against a wall and sighed. "For all we know, he could be in the city's sewer system or another dimension!"
In that moment, a vortex opened and Zetal was ejected from it, sliding across the table before slamming into the wall.
"You can call off those search parties now; we found him," Umbrish joked with a straight face.
"Sir! The city has been in disarray since you've disappeared! Where in the world were you?" the Clone asked. Zetal only replied with a groan.
Lily looked over at the fallen robot, her head tilted to the side. "You know, Casinoir ran into where the robot was falling. You don't think they..?"
"Doubt it," Ambrose denied. "These villains somehow survive anything thrown at them. They're probably somewhere else in the world, enjoying each other's company, laughing their butts off."
Zaire snatched the crystal from Bro and created another vortex, reaching inside. "If that's the case..."
By now, Casinoir and Casinette emerged from his hat, arriving in a forest full of purple trees. The moon was peeking just above the horizon, and the stars surrounding it were starting to become more noticeable.
"You... you risked your life to save mine," Casinette coughed.
"It's nothing, really. I couldn't just stand there and watch you get hurt," Casinoir reasoned.
"I think I would've gotten more than just hurt," she replied.
"You know what I meant."
The two looked over at the sky and the rising moon. It seemed like they were miles away from Glitzview City, Kleptopia, or civilization in general. But to them, it didn't matter where they were, as long as they had each other.
"The stars sure are beautiful, aren't they?" Casinette asked, looking at the sky.
Casinoir nodded, taking her hand. "Not as beautiful as the one as the one I'm looking at."
She looked back at him, surprise and a blush on her face.
"Casinette, despite the small amount of time we've spent, mostly betting against each other, I've realized we have so much in common, from our love of playing cards to having bosses that can't succeed in their goals..."
Casinette gave him a look of confusion, something that he caught on to quickly.
"I-I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really like you, and if it's okay, I want to get to know you better," he explained with a blush.
She smiled and took his other hand in hers. "I'd love that," she whispered.
As Casinoir's eyes lit up, a vortex opened from behind him, and a hand emerged from it, grabbing him and pulling him in.
"Wait! Don't go! I'll give you my number!" she called into the vortex.
By now, Zetal had recovered from crashing into the wall and was eating some of the food on the table when a thought came to him.
"Is there something wrong, sir?" Ixin questioned.
"Where's Casinoir?" he asked. "He was with me, where did he go?"
Another vortex opened, and out popped a screaming Casinoir, also sliding across the table and tackling Zetal.
"There he is! No need to assemble a search party for him," a Clone smiled.
Casinoir climbed off Zetal and ran towards the vortex only for it to close in front of his face.
"Casinette!" he yelled before falling to his knees and sobbing.
"Zaire, what are you doing with that thing, anyway?" Porter asked.
"Oh, you know, just getting things back to normal," he replied, pulling his arm out of the vortex.
"Speaking of getting things back to normal," Bro added, "Wouldn't you say it's time we got back home, too?"
"Yeah, it's getting dark," he admitted, looking over at the sunset. "Ambrose, if you would?"
"Certainly. We all deserve some rest after what has happened today," she replied, taking the crystal and creating one last vortex. One by one, the five waved goodbye as they disappeared into the vortex.
"Hey, they forgot their couch!" Portabelle reminded Ambrose, tugging on her jacket sleeve.
The Next Day
Bro had woken up from sleep and was walking to the kitchen to grab a drink when he noticed someone picking out food from the fridge.
"Rise and shine, other brother!" Ambrose greeted, taking a can of whipped cream and spraying it into her mouth.
"W-wha? What are you doing here? How'd you get in?" Bro asked calmly, still not fully awake yet.
"Your little sister let us in, of course. Doesn't she know not to open the door for strangers?" she joked.
Forced awake by the statement, Bro ran to the living room and saw Lily, Seal and Portabelle bouncing on the couch. He ran out of the kitchen door to the garden and spotted Leo hiding in a tree, Amelia talking to Amet about her garden, and Zaire and Zaria listening in on them, both munching on cookies. Bro looked at them in confused shock.
"We've decided to drop by and visit for the day. I know you didn't expect us but I know you won't mind, right Bro?" Ambrose smiled, before slapping his rear and joining the others in the garden.
Bro stammered in protest, but ultimately gave up and went back inside, likely to go back to bed.