*Kiros, Vitylis; January 22, 2020; 2:00 PM*

The village of Kiros, housed in a valley nestled in the crevice of two mountains, was one of the few pockets of civilization in the Expectans mountain range capable of Dimensional Transport.

In the year Alex had trained there, it was also a hub for any job, whether under-the-table or official government-funded missions. In this particular case, Alex had been tasked to meet with a former associate of his.

Figuring Ignis would be somewhere nearby, Alex decided to settle down for the moment and have a drink...

...Barring the fact that Alex's reappearance had caused quite a bit of talk in the pub.

"Hey..! Long time no *hic* see, old buddy..!" Iota, one of the regulars at the particular bar Alex frequented, drunkenly greeted.

"Oh, for fuck sake. Five o' clock isn't for another few hours. Don't you have anywhere else to dance?" Alex scowled.

Iota was one of the local... entertainers... in town, and had taken a liking to Alex after indulging in one of his war stories.

"Aw, c'mon..! *hic* You not happy to see me?" Iota grinned, sitting next to him.

"Well, given that I actually have shit to do, no." Alex grumbled.

It wasn't the only reason Alex wanted her to leave him be, but it worked as an excuse.

"You sure..? After all, I heard you're *hic* on the market so to speak after that mess in Lithia.." She nudged his shoulder knowingly.

Alex winced in agony, both physical and emotional.

"How did you know about that..?" He demanded in a low voice.

"It's *hic* a-a-all over the news!" Iota grinned, holding up an article on her data-pad.

"About time, too. Now we get to throw our hat in the ring." Photis, another bar patron and mercenary for hire like Alex, shrugged.

"Didn't know they let your kind still do merc work." Alex glared.

"Oh, please. You're still upset over the Banik incident?" Photis scoffed.

"We both know you just ditched the Dealer during pickup. Hope your jail cell was cozy enough." Alex smirked.

"You watch your tongue, Thunder Blood, or I'll just have to take it for safekeeping!" Photis shouted.

Iota instantly grasped Alex in a close embrace, even stroking his arm.

"Aw, now don't listen to him, Sparky.. I'll take good care of y-"

Alex simply nudged her off.

"Can you both piss off? I have a meeting in a few minutes, and I'm not having either one of you barflies screw my chances like with Countess Oni." Alex scowled.

"Countess Oni, what a prude. I'm not that judgemental, hon." Iota tisked as she rolled her eyes.

"Iota, I don't have time for this." Alex shook his head in disapproval.

"Truthfully, I have to agree. Step away from him, please." Ignis declared, stepping inside the bar.

"Fiine. See you later, hon?" Iota winked.

Alex merely let out an exasperated sigh.

Ignis allowed Iota to move over and sit across from Alex.

"Long time no see. What's the occasion?" Alex began.

"A few associates of mine are meeting up to discuss the current state of things. If you help us complete a series of missions for us, your reward will be far greater than your imagination." Ignis explained.

"I've gotten that line a lot. What are we talkin' here?" Alex demanded.

"You are familiar with the Dragon Balls, yes?" Ignis asked.

"Let me guess. 'Immortality', 'restored youth', 'making a new planet', that kind of bullshit?" Alex facepalmed.

"We're still discussing the terms, but..." Ignis explained.

"But what?" Alex glared, wanting him to just get to the point.

"I recall you once told me that you wish to see everything that transpired undone. My associates and I intend to undo the damage done by the Inquisitor Wars." Ignis grinned.

"The Dragon Balls are powerful, but not enough to alter time. Believe me, I tried asking about Time Travel, but the technology isn't there yet." Alex elaborated, recalling a discussion with Bulma over the subject.

"Well... It won't alter time, but I can assure you, it will undo The Inquisitor War." Ignis promised.

Alex took a moment to think over Ignis' offer.

'Undo the Inquisitor Wars? I could go back to my old life.. I could finish school, start a famil... Ok.. Ok.. It won't be time-

related, but.. What would all this entail..? Who the hell cares?! I have a way to end This war and every last bit of bullshit I started! And if all goes well, I won't ever have to deal with those ungrateful bastards again!'

"Where do I sign up?" Alex calmly asked.

Ignis grabbed Alex's shoulder.

"I knew you'd say yes. Follow me." Ignis grinned.

Ignis stood up from his chair and stepped out the door, with Alex not far behind.

The Silver Ocelot outpost in the city had been cheaply set-up in a destroyed shop. Windows had been lined with MG emplacements and sniper posts, with only an armored vehicle.

Easy prey for Vanoss's New Squadron.

"So, any ideas on how to handle this?" Vanoss asked.

"Well, it's kind of a basic bitch base. We got this." Basically shrugged.

"Yeeeah. Let's take 'em out." Nogla added.

"Hehehehe.. Let's show these punks what Delirious is all about.." Delirious giggled, twirling a hatchet in his hands.

"Hey Tyler, who the fuck are these new people?" Lui wondered, gesturing towards a relatively small team of 4.

"My god.. they look so much younger.." A familiar, yet gravelly voice gasped.

The first one of the group to reveal themselves was a pony. Specifically a dark orange unicorn mare with a grey and black mane.

None other than Burning Ember. One of Skirmish's teammates who died during the Blood Red Night.

"No kidding.. If we weren't on a mission now, I'd almost think they'd never seen combat.." The second figure, a woman with red hair, green eyes, and modified armor and weaponry, added.

They recognized her instantly: Pyrrha Nikos. Team JNPR's former Fall Maiden.

"Thanks, Einstein! Shut the fuck up, I know these bitches!" The third sarcastically quipped.

This... was a new person..

He wore literally nothing but a pair of tightie whities, a panda hat, and a bandolier.

Ladies and gents, Bigjigglypanda.

"Fuck you, Anthony." Wildcat rolled his eyes.

"EAT A DICK TYLER, I HAVE TO GET A NEW TV SOMEHOW!" Panda retorted.

"Bitch, it's been 3 years. That new TV better be, i dunno, fucking 64K." Wildcat shot back.

"Will all of you shut the fuck up for 5 seconds?! Jesus!!" The fourth groaned internally.

The fourth figure was somewhat familiar to all of them. It was someone they had only known for at most a few weeks during the Inquisitor Wars, one that had given his life to destroy an orbital bombardment satellite above Vytal.

The fourth figure was the long-dead Russell Leone.

"How the fuck did you find them? Aren't all of you guys dead?!" Terroriser demanded.

"These guys are gonna help us with the mission. We met them when Twilight fucked up her thing back in Magnolia." Wildcat explained.

"Oh, so they're from another universe." Moo quickly concluded.

"Just the three. We had to call Panda for help a bit later." Ohm explained.

"And some help this bitchass was." Basically rolled his eyes.

"I brought in a fucking missile launcher, how is that not help?!" Panda retorted.

"Shut up!" Russell shouted.

Instantly, the whole crowd went silent...

Mostly because a Silver Ocelot battalion found their hiding spot in the midst of their arguing.

"Celestia Dammit, EVERY TIME!" Ember shouted in exasperation.

Alex and Ignis stepped side-by-side towards an ornate pyramid.

"Ignis, what the hell is this place?" Alex wondered.

Looking up at the bright pink-orange sky and blue sun, Alex stared around him, as nothing but the pyramid stood in the desolate gray flatland.

"This... is Nihilos 0-01 Gamma. Kalos Ultra."

Alex sighed, thinking back to the grim tale of the failed assault in this dimension around 15 years before.

"All that remained here when we discovered it was this desolate wasteland, and this pyramid here. Our associates should be just inside." Ignis explained.

Ignis grabbed the door's intricate metal handle and pushed the door open, strained by the effort, he quickly fell to the ground, exhausted.

Not bothering to help his associate, Alex walked through the door, gripped with suspicion.

The interior was composed of a dark grey rock, along with dimly glowing red light illuminating the halls.

"Welcome to the Centrum, Alexander." A cloaked member bowed.

"Your meeting is down this hallway, third door to your right." Another instructed.

Alex nodded, following the second member down the hallway alongside Ignis.

"Your meeting is here. May the Divine watch over you." The member bowed.

Alex glared in the member's direction as she walked away, shaking his head.

"Suspicious?" Ignis wondered.

"It comes with the job. Now let's see what the hell these people want from me." Alex grumbled, opening the door.

Alex merely glanced inside, then jolted, freezing in shock.

"Alexander. I remember you from ze incident in Magnolia."

"Alex?! S-Stay back..!" Twilight instantly flew on the carved obsidian table, horn alight with immensely powerful magic.

Alex raised Agartha's Thunder in it's SCAR-H form, glaring at Twilight hatefully.

"Stop!"

A member lowered her hood, and raised a familiar Colt 1911 at Alex.

"Mako?!" Alex gasped.

The raven-haired CIA Agent eventually lowered her pistol and sat down next to Ignis and another female member.

"Now that we've all been reintroduced, let's get to the point here." Mako decided.

Alex sat down, converting his weapon to it's bladed form and sheathing it.

"Fine."

"Agent Mako. Director Anderson holds you in high regard.. It is an honor to finally meet you." Richtofen raised his hand, shaking Mako's.

"Doctor Edward Richtofen. You've interested me ever since I've seen your DG-2 Prototype. Kat says your researching energy sources from other dimensions might lead to a technological revolution the likes of which Earth has never seen." Mako nodded.

"Sister Cerise, may we start the meeting?" The other member near pleaded.

"Fine. Sister Minerva, I'll let you explain to our associates just who we are." Mako decided.

"Very well. Like Agent Cerise here, I am a member of the most influential groups in the known universe. Where the Inheritors and Inquisitors were a group of inter-dimensional warriors, we are a group of inter-dimensional diplomats, world leaders, and guardians. We've been known by many names through the eons since our founding, but the one most known and associated with us is a name given by Earth's first ambassador to our order. The Illuminati." Minerva explained.

Alex scoffed.

"The fuckin' Illuminati. Let me guess, George Bush is actually a lizard person, airplanes spray chemical trails to reduce the populace into slaves, and while we're at it, the Earth is flat." Alex joked.

"Do... Do people actually believe zat?" Richtofen asked in disbelief.

"Just wait, I haven't shown you Tumblr yet." Alex laughed slightly as he cried on the inside.

"May we get back to the subject?" Mako asked.

"Now, since the Inheritors were wiped out by Corvus Branwen, We need a new group of warriors to help us advance our agenda." Minerva explained.

"Which is what?" Alex slowly demanded.

"Freedom, equality, and safety for all sentient life. Have you studied any Enlightenment Era authors?" Minerva asked.

"Probably." Alex replied evenly.

"Everything our order has built is in stake because of these unforeseen events. Desperate times call for desperate measures. What we ask of you may seem herculean, but the rewards are well worth the effort."

"I recall Ignis discussing the terms of my payment. What exactly are you using to return the favor?" Alex wondered..

"Alex! These people want to free people and keep them safe, and you demanded payment?!" Twilight demanded.

"Excuse me, Princess, but I don't have any other option! The main reason I agreed to work with Ignis was because I needed money. Turns out these people have something money can't buy. Besides, I wasn't even aware of the Order's existence before today." Alex coldly replied.

"You are familiar with the Dragonballs, right?" Minerva asked.

"The what..?" Twilight wondered.

"Do I... want to know?" Richtofen shook his head.

"Yeah, what's your point?" Alex asked.

"Dragon Balls are magical artifacts from Universe Toriyama 0-84 Phi. Gather all 7 of them, and depending on the dragon, they grant you a set amount of wishes." Mako explained.

"You may not know, but there are different types of Dragonballs, each with limitations with what they're able to accomplish. Namek's Dragonballs are stronger than their Earth's version. And theirs are simply descended from their universe's Super Dragon Balls, which are the size of planets and have no limit to their wishes. We have engineered our own version of them." Minerva continued.

"WHAT?!" Alex gasped.

"So, you're telling me these 'Dragon Balls' can grant wishes? What kind of wishes?" Twilight asked.

"Stuff like immortality and restoring youth is a common wish. Wishing back dead people is used a lot in that world." Alex explained.

"Zat kind of power... could change the world forever.." Richtofen gasped.

"Our Dragon Balls, while only capable of granting a single wish, are able to restore multiple galaxies and even wish across Dimensions, something no Dragon Ball from that universe ever could." Minerva added.

"That's insane! You don't know what could happen if someone evil collected all of them!" Twilight gasped.

"Which is why we need you three specifically. Richtofen and Twilight; your combined intellect and talent in battle will benefit our Order greatly." Minerva explained.

"I accept, though I will be cautious. Ze Illuminati have plagued an alternate version of myself before." Richtofen nodded.

"Equestria desperately needs allies. I'll accept too." Twilight added.

"Alex, you will be receiving temporary membership into our order. Under normal circumstances, you're far too unpredictable to work with. The only reason we need you is because you've proven yourself capable of facing Corvus." Minerva added.

"We would've asked Yang, but we couldn't find her. Minerva had nearly found Ultimus, and would've used her had Our Leader and I not recommended you." Mako added.

"You don't know where Yang is?" Alex asked, voicing a surprising amount of concern.

"Remnant is mostly keeping her location secret. After all, she is the new All-Maiden. Not only that, but she was seen weilding Remnant's Relic of Destruction." Minerva replied.

Alex sweatdropped, but remained silent.

"What's our first mission?" Alex scowled."

"I'm glad you asked. We're going to Equestria." Minerva answered.

Author's Notes:

I HAVE MADE SOMEWHAT OF A DECISION FOR SCARLET ENTRIES NUMBER ONE!

This new group, except Panda, is from another timeline. Exactly what happened? I'll get onto that later.

The Illuminati's mission has been revealed, and along with Twilight and Richtofen, Alex is roped into working with the Order. One question remains..

Why is the Illuminati letting Alex make the wish on their own Dragon Balls?

Leave your answers in the comments below!

-The Destoyer