Micheal returned to Shogun Noryki in a puff of white smoke. He was near the entrance to the town, underneath a red gate.

“Micheal! You’re back! I thought that you wouldn’t make it against two wardens!” Mikayla ran down the hill from The Shogun’s house and hugged him tightly. Her eyes barely reached his shoulder.

Mikayla’s actions caught him by surprise, so his arms hung awkwardly in the air for a moment before Mikayla pulled away.

“I’m surprised I survived too. What have you been up to?” Micheal asked.

“I gathered some others. The Shogun suggested it,” Mikayla said.

“What? How many? Who could you possibly have gotten?” Micheal bombarded Mikayla with questions.

“It’s better if I show you!” Mikayla said enthusiastically.

She grabbed his arm and started pulling him up the hill. ‘Something seems off about her. It’s probably nothing,’ Micheal thought. Together they walked up the hill, with Mikayla half-pulling him along. After a few minutes of being dragged about, they reached the top. It seemed that Mikayla was faster than she looked.

A young Japanese woman opened the paper door of the Shogun’s house. She wore a black t-shirt with Japanese characters, tucked into a pair of dark jeans. She wore a leather belt, with a sheathed katana attached to it. Her dark hair had a pink streak, and she wore it in a bun that bobbed as she waved at him. She had a big smile on her face. It was the kind of smile that made one close their eyes. She waved at him.

‘Who is..’ Micheal began wondering, but was cut off by Mikayla’s voice.

“Oh, Micheal, this is Mai. She has a sword, like you!” Mikayla exclaimed.

“Hai,” she said meekly.

“Nice to meet you,” Micheal said. He extended his hand towards her.

Mai gently shook Micheal’s hand before stepping aside and unblocking the doorway.

“She doesn’t talk much,” Mikayla told him.

They walked through the doorway and into the living room, which had more furniture than it had before. A man who looked of average build, wearing a tattered black cloak sat with his hands clasped together on a new sofa. His limbs looked mechanical, and Micheal couldn’t see his face. The man sighed. It was like he had come right out of the apocalypse. Another, much bigger man, ran on a treadmill. He wore a T-shirt, cargo shorts, and running shoes. His head was shaved and he was more than six feet tall.

“Who are these people?” Micheal asked.

“We’re all variants of you,” the man in the tattered cloak said. His voice was deep, like a superhero with a dark backstory.

The treadmill stopped and Mai entered the room. The big man cracked his knuckles as he stepped off the treadmill.

“My name is Micheal, but you can call me Mike,” he said.

“Well, it's good you have a nickname because my name is Micheal too,” Micheal said.

“We all knew that already,” Mike told him as they shook hands. Mike’s grip was firm, and something cold pressed into his hands. He sounded how he imagined himself to sound if he was older.

Mai waved at him again with a smile.

“And who are you?” Micheal asked the mysterious man.

The man looked up, and one of his eyes glowed red. Half of his face was mechanical, while the other half was flesh. “You can call me X,” he said.

“C’mon X, tell him your real name first,” Mikayla whined.

“I don’t have a name anymore. My prime designation is M-I-C-H-A-E-L. M.I.C.H.A.E.L. But should call me X,” the man said.

“What does that stand for?” Micheal asked.

“He is a Mechanical Invertebrate Constructed and Hardwired for Assassination and Efficient Learning. He’s a M.I.C.H.A.E.L.” Mike said.

“Call me X,” he said.

“Why X?” Micheal asked.

“Because if we all had M names then it’d be incredibly confusing. So I call myself X,” X said.

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“Where did you find all of these people Mikayla?” Micheal asked.

“Um, we all found each other over time. It’s how the multiverse works,” Mai said timidly.

X’s mechanical eye glowed blue as he projected a holographic image of a human torso directly in front of him. “Dr. Lysandr’s log #43: The Law of Variant Attraction.”

The holographic person slowly backed away from X’s face until he was about five feet away, and they could clearly see their full form. Jazz from the 80s began playing.

“Log 43: The Multiversal Law of Variant Attraction. This law of the multiverse states that all variants other than the prime will be guided toward other variants once they have unlocked their realmwalking. I have decided to name the force that causes this the Similarity Force. This force can also cause variants to change their natural disposition when talking to the prime. There are few cases of outliers. This force influences the subconscious, so variants will be unknowing in their travels towards others of their kind. Variants tend to form connections with other variants of the same prime, and communication networks between large quantities are discovered frequently. The most obvious case of this phenomenon is…” the hologram shut off.

“There’s your explanation,” X stated, his eye returning to its previous red coloration.

“Wait, then why didn’t I find any of you before now?” Micheal asked.

X’s eye glowed blue again. “Dr. Lysandr’s log #48: The Prime Exclusion Law.”

The holographic person reappeared in front of X and walked back to the center of the room.

“Log 48: The Multiversal Law of Prime Exclusion and Defintion of Prime Variants. This law states that all laws regarding variants disregard the Prime Variant. Now, I believe an explanation of Prime Variants is in order. A Prime Variant, simply put, is the original version of a group of variants. There can only be one Prime per group of variants. Now, as an example, of this law’s application, a Prime Variant would not be affected by the Law of Variant Attraction. In other words…” the hologram shut off again, and X’s eye returned to its normal state.

“So I’m the Prime Variant?” Micheal asked.

“That’s what The Shogun thinks!” Mike said with a laugh. He patted Micheal on the back with his large hands.

“Ow,” Micheal exclaimed.

“Oh man, that’s my bad. I have brass knuckles on. Although I’m not sure if they’re made of brass..” he trailed off.

“Mike! I thought I told you not to wear them when you’re in Shogun Noryki!” Mikayla exclaimed.

“I told you already that I can’t take them off!” Mike retorted.

Mai had already left the room as Micheal stepped through the door to the backyard, leaving Mike and Mikayla to their bickering. It was peaceful outside, and a man sat cross-legged in the center of The Shogun’s sand garden. He wore blue robes over an off-white tunic and off-white pants. His hair was blond and his ears were pointed. He had a sheathed sword sitting in his lap. He appeared to be meditating, as he was seated in a lotus position with his eyes closed.

Off to the side, there were two other figures, both with green skin. One was kneeling on a bench, looking over the back at the other. He was incredibly short, likely around 4 feet at the most, and had pointed ears, and a very round head. He was bald except for some scraggly strings of black hair. The other was much bigger, likely seven feet tall, and wielded a massive axe. He was completely bald, and tusks protruded from his face. His ears were pointed as well. Their clothes looked like they had been cobbled together from scraps of others’ clothing and animal hides. The bigger one was cutting down bamboo with his axe while conversing with the other.

The bigger, green, man grunted at the smaller one and set his axe down. The other turned around to see what was going on. The smaller one got off the bench as quickly as he could (which wasn’t very fast) and ran over to Micheal.

“Oh! Oh! Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii,” he said. “I am Me-Kil! You must be the Prime! Mikayla said a lot about you!”

“Whoa! You’re very excited,” Micheal remarked. Under his breath, he said, “Little bundle of energy. Heh.”

“You! You’re the Prime! Most variants never get to meet their prime!” Me-Kil shook his hand vigorously with both hands before rolling around on the ground in excitement while squealing like the child he appeared to be.

The bigger green man approached him, battleaxe resting on his shoulder.

“My name is Murgul. I’m an orc, Me-Kil is a goblin, and over there’s the elf,” He pointed at himself, Me-Kil, and the other man as he spoke.

“Wow! So fantasy races really exist?” Micheal asked.

“The multiverse is vast, my little friend,” Murgul replied.

“Me-Kil! Can you please quiet down?!” The elf shouted, his eyes still closed.

“But Myriil! The Prime is here! You should be just as excited!” Me-Kil shouted.

Myriil didn’t respond, simply returning to his meditation. Micheal could feel cold radiating from him. He returned inside to see Mikayla chatting with Mai, X sitting silently and staring at the ground, and Mike was back on the treadmill.

“Will you all be staying here for the time being?” Micheal asked them.

Mikayla responded first, “I have my own place, and Mai is staying with me.”

Mai waved at him with a smile.

“I’m staying here,” Mike said.

“I as well,” replied X.

“Good to know. Mikayla, do you know if Me-Kil, Murgul, and Myriil are staying here?” Micheal asked.

“Me-Kil and Murgul are sleeping in the garden, I don’t know about Myriil,” she replied.

“Why aren’t they staying inside?” Micheal asked.

X looked up. “One’s a goblin, one’s an orc. They prefer sleeping outside,” he said.

“Okay. I’m going to go home for the day, it’s been a long one,” Micheal said.

Mai waved goodbye, Mikayla and Mike said goodbye, and X didn’t reply.

Micheal left The Shogun’s house and began walking to his own.