When he woke up, Zel was no longer in the same place. He was still in a strange city, but this one was filthier ... and ... circular ... ? He could just make out the sound of footsteps hurrying towards him. Zel squinted down the street. There he saw a shorthaired girl dressed in ... what on earth was that thing on her arm!? She was apparently being chased by a young man.
"Get away from me!" the girl yelled behind her.
"But I just wanna draw you!" the young man hollered back.
A small sweatdrop appeared at the back of Zel's cute little head with pretty blue hair. His eyes bugged out at what he saw next - a pretty, impish-looking girl in red robes was flying down the street after the young man, yelling after him to slow down and that he was "no fun anymore".
"The hell?!" exclaimed a deep voice from behind. Zel glanced at the man; he was big and muscular with only one hand (the other arm ending in some sort of machine.
The girl in red screeched to a halt and spun around, her eyes smoldering.
"It's what the hell, you brainless behemoth!" she cried. Raising one arm, she shot a stream of fire at the big man. Zel ducked and rolled clear away. When all the noise died down, he poked his head up and looked carefully around. The big man who talked stupidly was gone; where he had stood was a pile of ashes and in the center of those ashes was ...
... that picnic basket.
Zel walked over and looked down at it.
"Hello," he said. The picnic basket responded by opening its lid, displaying the yummy crepes inside. Zel happily sat down to enjoy the feast.
When he finished, he asked the picnic basket what they should do. Just then, by an amazing coincidence, a neon sign came to life on a building directly in front of the chimera.
"Nearest inter-dimensional portal this way. (Peanuts free)," Zel read aloud. The arrow pointed to the left. "Do we follow it?" he asked the basket. Its lid flapped up and down. "I'll take that as a yes."
The two ... um ... heroes? ... moved off in the direction the sign had pointed.
Part 5 | Fanfiction