Abandoned on a family road trip without warning. Who knew? -- [int. car] EARLIER... (mom) Who's a good widdle girl? You are! You're our good widdle girl! (dad) You're gonna wuv this place SO MUCH! -- Well, I thought they were talking to the *dog*. ===== Well, I guess I can't just sit here and brood all day. -- (sits there, brooding) -- (sits there, brooding. the sun is setting) ===== (walking panel right) I guess I'm getting kinda hungry. Plus, I'm talking to myself, so I guess I should find some shelter. ----- (in front of a large door with huge signs like AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY, NO ENTRANCE, etc.) ----- (pulls on the handle; it opens. big green glow from inside) ===== (tiptoeing through the hallway, gloomy shadows cast on the ground) ----- (whooshing black shadow goes past; protagonist is frozen in fear) H-hello? ----- (Cherry pounces Jen) ACK! Hi! ===== (oof) Get offa me! (overflowing the panel) Hi it is so very nice to meet you I am glad that someone has finally come because I was getting so lonely down here and so I was starting to think that nobody would ever come and --- so it's so great and we're going to stay up all night and talk about all sorts of things and have such an awesome time and a BIG party and it'll be so cool! --- (blushing) Hi! Hi. ===== Oh, sorry! I got a bit carried away... I'm Cherry. It's nice to meet you. Er... I'm Jen. ----- That's a boring name. Can I call you Gwendolin? Uh-- because Gwendolin is such a pretty name! Sure, whatever. ----- But it's kinda long so can I just call you Gwen for short? (glares) ===== (walking panel-left) So anyway, let me show you around this place! It's pretty cool but also kinda creepy sometimes but there's a lot of places to go --- *poof* (Cherry and Gwen appear as a pink bunny and a purple skunk, respectively) (continues on as if nothing happened) and I don't think I've seen even one tenth of it even though I've been here for as long as I can remember! (looking down at herself) Huh? --- *poof* (Back to normal) Wait, what just happened? Oh, that's just the high-energy quantum flux field distorting reality while it slowly consumes our universe as we know it. You'll get used to it. ===== So wait, you're telling me that just by being here, we occasionally turn into bunnies? No, silly. --- I turned into a bunny, not you. Oh, phew. --- You turned into a skunk. (agape) ===== (rolling eyes) Look, it's very simple. This is just a nexus point where a couple of other universes come together, due to a discontinuous manifold created by the excess zero-point energy. What? --- LATER (Gwen looks puzzled while Cherry lectures in front of a blackboard full of incomprehensible stuff) So because of the quantum field they generate, occasionally there is a perceptual swap between the two sides of the rift. Simple, isn't it? If I say yes, will you shut up? --- MEANWHILE, IN THE OTHER UNIVERSE Wait, so we turn into hairless pink things? Yeah, isn't it cool? No!