Chapter Text
"I have come for my wineeeeee!!!" Venti suddenly bellowed, materializing right in the dead center of the tavern via sudden teleportation, with Oliver tumbling out right alongside him.
Behind the counter, Diluc let out an uncharacteristic, high-pitched screech. "AiIEI!?" He launched into the air, nearly tripping over his own boots, before clearing his throat with a booming, "aHEM!" He instantly smoothed down his coat, acting as if he hadn't just screamed at the top of his lungs. "I mean, how are you doing this fine evening?"
Meanwhile, poor Oliver crashed face-first straight into the wooden counter—Venti, as usual, having given absolutely zero warning that they were about to teleport again.
Seeing Diluc's sheer panic, Venti collapsed into a fit of hysterical, genuine laughter. He leaned heavily against the bar, slamming his fist against the wood. "BAHAHAHAHA! DILUC, WHAT WAS THAT?! Why did you turn into Oliver right there?!" he howled, practically shrieking with delight.
Diluc merely adjusted his clothes, clearing his throat once more. "You should know better than to materialize inside my tavern. You are fortunate no one else is here at this hour, Barbatos."
"How dare you use my old name~," Venti chirped, playfully sticking out his tongue as he recovered his breath. He glanced over at Oliver, who was still slumped miserably over the counter. "You okay there, dork~?"
Oliver slowly pushed himself up, a mischievous glint in his eye, before launching himself directly at Venti, fingers flying into a ruthless tickle attack.
Venti let out a high-pitched shriek of giggles as they both crashed to the floor.
"OhahahOlHeheiver!!!! Nooooo!" He squirms frantically beneath Oliver's hold. "BAHAHAHAA STOPPPP! THAT TICKLES!!!" He laughed hysterically as Oliver pinned him down, his fingers mercilessly digging into Venti's sides before diving deep, wiggling right beneath the brown leather strap around Venti's abdomen to target his belly button.
"EEEHEHEEHEEEKKK~!!!!" Venti jolted, squealing in pure, ticklish delight.
Behind the counter, Diluc simply stood and blinked at the chaotic scene, folding his arms tightly over his chest.
Finally, Oliver relents, pulling his hands away and standing up off the Archon. Venti remained sprawled on the floor, panting breathlessly with a euphoric smile. "O-Oh my wohhahaord..." he gasps, letting out a few lingering chuckles as he lay there in pure bliss.
Diluc sighed, keeping his arms crossed. "He must trust you if he's letting you teleport with him around," he noted. "And if he trusts you, I suppose I trust you too."
From his spot on the floor, Venti pointed a dramatic finger upward. "He's my boyfriend."
Diluc froze. He looked at Oliver, then back down at Venti. "Oh? Really?" He blinked, processing the news. "Huh. So... when did that happen? I knew something was brewing between you two."
"Brewing line fine liquor!" Venti chuckled as he sat up and pushed himself off the ground. "Yeah, it kinda just happened, hehe!" He flings an arm around Oliver, pulling him close before looking back at Diluc. "So? My wine?"
Diluc let out a heavy grunt, rolling his eyes. "Fine, I'm coming, I'm coming." He turned around, retrieved a bottle from the back shelf, and set it firmly on the wooden counter.
Venti beamed, hopping onto a barstool. He popped the cork and took a massive, continuous gulp straight from the bottle. Slamming it back down on the wood, he sighed happily, "Hmm~! So good!" He glanced over at Oliver. "Want some?" He passed the bottle over.
Oliver nodded, taking a few quick sips before handing it back to the bard.
"Any progress on regaining his memories?" Diluc asked, leaning against the bar.
Venti shook his head, taking another gulp of his wine. "Not really," he admitted. "Though we did get something at least. He's from another world actually,"
"Hmm." Diluc crossed his arms again. "Like Traveler."
"Yeah, but I don't think he's a Traveler type," Venti explained, meeting Diluc's eyes. "His memories only sparked back for a brief moment. He told me a little bit about where he came from, but then his mind just went blank again." Venti sighed softly.
Sitting on the stool next to him, Oliver rubbed his own shoulder awkwardly. "I wish I could actually remember saying that..."
Diluc narrowed his eyes, raising a sharp eyebrow. "Huh? What exactly did he say? Where is he from?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Venti shook his head. "He mentioned being hooked up to some kind of machine... and a Doctor named Barclay who went missing. That was everything before he blanked out again."
Diluc stood in quiet contemplation. "A machine? Like... advanced technology? Sounds advanced. I mean, a device that can make you visit another world?"
Venti nodded. "Seems like it." He turned to Oliver, leaning affectionately against his shoulder. "Hey, don't look so down. We'll figure out a way to help you. It might take a long time—I won't sugarcoat it, yes. But we'll get through it." He pressed a soft kiss to Oliver's cheek.
Oliver blushed a deep pink, nodding quietly.
~~~~~
Begin send back.
System reboot commencing.
Body transfer in 3... 2... 1...
~~~~~~
Oliver's eyes snapped open. Gasping for air, he looked around the dimly lit, familiar laboratory room. His mind instantly raced back to the moments he had just shared with Venti.
"Shit..." he whispered, closing his eyes tightly. "What is happening to me? Why did those memories suddenly flood back while I was in the shower back in Fontaine? It makes no sense."
He looked up at the ceiling, his cheeks burning a bright pink. "And... oh my god, I had sex with Venti again..." He let out a tiny, embarrassed squeak. "Wow, that was... incredibly enjoyable."
Despite the happiness, his deep-seated insecurities crept back in. The persistent thought—Venti would absolutely hate my real-world form—lingered heavily in his mind every time he woke up here. He sighed, desperately holding onto the remnants of the memory. The passion, the way Venti completely accepted him, and how incredibly open the Archon was with his belly button fetish.
"I'd say it doesn't even feel real, but..." Oliver tilted his neck back, staring at the glowing monitor above his chair. "But the Fictional Universe is a real place." He nodded to himself, recalling the secret notes he had peeked at on Doctor Barclay's desk. Every thought spawns a distinct universe within an accessible realm, provided you have the right tools. Oliver smiles softly. "It's... it's beautiful. Who would have thought humans would actually achieve travel into fictional worlds?"
Suddenly, muffled voices echoed from the outside of the room. Oliver stiffened, recognizing the tone instantly. His eyes widened—it was Doctor Barclay. He opened his mouth to call out the doctor's name, but then a second, a completely unfamiliar voice cut in.
An instinct deep inside Oliver screamed at him to remain completely silent. He quickly shut his eyes, going limp and pretending to be fast asleep. The voices grew louder as the heavy door swung open.
"Doctor Barclay, you cannot seriously be planning to get another patient," a woman's sharp voice snapped. "Don't you already have enough people hooked up to these machines?!"
Oliver cracked his eyelids open just a fraction, catching sight of Doctor Barclay walking alongside a woman he's never seen before.
"Claire," Doctor Barclay sighed, his voice heavy. "I cannot simply abandon this breakthrough. This will reshape human history. Humanity has always dreamed of venturing into the unknown. In this specific world I've mapped, a natural phenomenon occurred—two distinct dimensions merged completely unprovoked! And I intend to—"
"No!" Claire cuts him off fiercely. "Are you even obtaining proper consent from these subjects?"
"How many times must I tell you? Yes, I am," Doctor Barclay insists.
Peeking through his lashes, Oliver sees the woman looking absolutely furious.
"Because I still find it incredibly hard to believe that this kid's..." She pointed aggressively toward the pod directly across from Oliver. "...that his parents just willingly handed their son over for your dangerous experiments!"
Doctor Barclay stepped into her space, his tone hardening. "I pay you to maintain the client logs, Claire. I do not pay you to cross-examine my methods. This is the most advanced position you will ever secure in your field, remember? Every other institution rejected you. I didn't."
Claire inhaled sharply, shaking her head in defeat. "If it's so safe, why don't you enter these worlds yourself?"
"As I have stated repeatedly: who would monitor the systems? I cannot send you either, because I cannot manage the console and run diagnostics simultaneously. Now, let me do my work and cease the interrogation." Doctor Barclay gestured toward the opposite side of the laboratory. "The new interface chair is set up over there. I will find a new subject to insert into the world shortly so I can observe how the dimensional matrix handles it. It promises to be fascinating." He began walking toward the exit. "Meet me in the break room once you've finished filing the logs."
Oliver kept his eyes locked shut as the woman began pacing around the room. The bright overhead fluorescent lights had been humming since they walked in, and everything Oliver just overheard sends a cold chill down his spine. Doctor Barclay sounded completely different from the man Oliver remembered working with. Is he actually kidnapping people? And who is this woman? If Barclay had an assistant that entire time, why hadn't he ever mentioned her?
The woman finished her rounds and finally exits, clicking the door shut behind her. The room plunged back into heavy, suffocating darkness.
Oliver slowly opened his eyes, staring toward the exit. The tiny window in the door cast a faint, weak beam of light across the floor.
"Okay," he whispered under his breath. "That was... I mean, I knew something felt off. So Doctor Barclay isn't missing after all." He let out a shaky sigh. "But he asked for my consent. Why isn't he asking anyone else?" He shook his head in frustration. "If only I could explain all of this to Venti... but I can't."
Oliver glances back toward the door, and his breath hitches. His eyes widen in pure terror. "What the...?"
A shifting, pitch-black entity was materializing right by the doorway. Before Oliver could even let out a gasp, the creature instantly zoomed right into his face, its form blurring with speed.
"AHH!?" Oliver thrashes wildly against the heavy restraint straps of his chair. "GET AWAY! WHAT ARE YOU!?"
"Shut the hell up, and stop squirming," the creature commanded, its voice still and deep.
Oliver froze shattered, completely caught off guard by the fact that it can talk—though a memory sparked, reminding him it spoke once before. "Is... is it you? Are you the reason I can't remember anything? My memories vanished completely after I ran into you last time in the world!"
The dark entity hovers backward slowly, standardizing its distance. "Remember my warning. Stay out of my way. Stay out of my way, and I will stay out of yours. And no—your memory loss is not my doing."
Oliver swallowed hard, his throat dry. "W-What even are you? What do you want—?"
"That is none of your concern," the entity snaps, cutting him off. Its gaze shifts toward the newly installed chair Doctor Barclay had pointed out earlier. It drifted silently over to the machine. The looming shadow inspected the interface with a piercing, intense stare. "He discovered it too," the creature murmurs. "And the chair's already hardwired into the realm." Its head snaps back toward Oliver, its glowing white eyes locking onto him. "All it requires now is a host."
Oliver watched in stunned silence, paralyzed by fear.
"How do I deactivate it?" the creature demands.
Oliver blinked. "What?"
"How do I turn it off," the entity repeats, its voice dropping into a menacing, dark growl.
"I-I don't know!" Oliver squeaked out.
In a flash of darkness, the creature zapped right back into his face. "You must," it hisses. "You must possess operational knowledge of this facility to be here at all!" Turning its attention back to the machinery, the dark entity drifted over the empty console. "No matter... I shall sever the link to the world myself."
It hovers closer to the secondary chair. "This world is far too critical for my plans. I cannot allow that 'doctor' to disrupt my what I need to. Introducing a whatever he's got going into the realm will destabilize the current energetic balance. The energy is already good enough. It does not need more."
Raising a shadowy, mist-like hand, a dark stream of corrupted energy begins to snake out from its fingers, seeping directly into the empty chair's control panel. Oliver is completely powerless, strapped tightly into his seat, watching the bizarre, terrifying display unfold. He wants to scream or ask questions, but the sheer aura of power radiating from the creature keeps him dead silent.
Suddenly, the chair in front if Oliver made a beep sound. Startled, the dark creature instinctively unleashes a concentrated bolt of pure void energy directly into the chair.
"Ah!?" Oliver gasps, closing his eyes as the blast detonates against the hardware.
The creature growls in frustration. "Curse this room," it mutters, quickly turning back to the chair it was messing with.
Oliver swallows hard, silently praying that his own pod will malfunction in a helpful way and send him straight back to Genshin Impact, anywhere away from this nightmare. Instead, the chair across from him begins to severely glitch out, its automated voice warping into a distorted, digital stutter:
Error - Malfun-Chara-Too many- Error code: 2399- Malfunction within Dimension-
The voice coming from the chair was getting all warped and messed up.
Begin - Sudden Memory change initiated, dimension overwritten
System shut down
The other chair completely dies, its lights flickering out into total darkness.
Rebuilding database.... Rebuilding database... adding... new story...
Kid Powers - Rebuilding story...
Adding... Danger Kid
A sudden wave of dark, corrupted mist pulses out from the ruined console.
Restarting dimensional threshold - Wreck It Ralph universe code 34, Online, subject vitals: Good
The dark creature hovers in place, its luminous white eyes wide as it stares at the other chair. It turns back to the original interface it had targeted. "Not my concern," it mutters coldly, placing its misty hands firmly over the primary overrides.
System offline.
"There we are," the entity spoke, satisfied. "Doctor Barclay shouldn't mess with Sub 7 now."
Oliver opens his mouth to say something, but before a word can escape:
~~~~~
Begin send back.
System reboot commencing.
Body transfer in 3... 2... 1...
~~~~~~