I cough black dust as I push a beam of burnt wood off me. The smell of smoke permeates the area as I cough. As luck would have it, I'm mostly unscathed. My clothes are a bit singed at the extremities, but I'm fine otherwise. The rest of the area wasn't so lucky. My entire house is a crater. It looks so unnatural; like someone just used a massive ice-cream scoop and removed everything.

Looking around reveals that the two magical idiots are also unscathed. Too bad. A thick glass-like magical barrier surrounds them. The shield vanishes, and the sisters take a deep breath as they survey the surroundings.

"I might have overdone it," Mary says with an apologetic tone as she shakes ash from her hair.

"That's a fucking understatement." I snap back. "You're not getting any Credits back. I swear to Christ I will burn your shitty Agency to the ground if I'm not getting anything for this- for this entire bullshit."

I'm angry, no doubts about it. Who wouldn't be when your home gets blasted into oblivion because of the gross incompetence of self-important wizards? I am also overdoing it on purpose to swindle them out of Credits since I still have no clues on how to earn that mysterious currency. It's my only way of buying Mana Crystals to convert into MertiPoints, so I'm not letting that go.

"We shouldn't let anger take control," Nicole says. The threat of being accountable for her actions changed her attitude.

"Look who's talking," I snap. "I'm not the one who made such a mess, you did."

"Okay, I know we fucked up. I acknowledge that. But we are both in the wrong here, so calm your tits." Nicole replies.

"Do you have a spell to heal a broken nose?" I ask while approaching her with a fake smile.

"STOP!" Mary shouts, "We should leave. Some Mana must have leaked out, even with my Veil."

"And why should I care?" I ask.

"The Agency must have already noticed, and I bet there are agents headed our way as we speak." The brown-haired woman says.

We will both be fucked if the Agency gets to us, so I have to agree with them.

"Then where are we going? My car is a pile of scrap now, so I expect you to give me a ride." I say. I also secretly hope that they have teleportation spells, so maybe I can push them to reveal them to me? I think it would help. I could then use the Object Editor-

"Why would we need a car?" Nicole asks with a raised eyebrow. "There's a Ley Line Station nearby."

I nod, why didn't I think of that earlier? I know what they are talking about. Yes, I do.

...What the fuck is a Ley Line station?

My confused expression must have betrayed my thoughts since Nicole looks at me with narrowed eyes while tilting her head to the side, "You do know what a Ley Line Station is, right?"

I scratch the back of my head and awkwardly laugh, "Of course I do! Who do you take me for, someone who has no idea about what it is?"

The sisters narrow their eyes to the point where they are no more than thin slits, "You know how to cast a spell, right?" Mary asks.

Fuck. It looks like my bullshit has caught up with me.

"Come on. You know ALL about the magical world. You're just messing with us, aren't you? You COULDN'T possibly be a newcomer to all of this," Nicole says with a slightly unhinged smile as she glares at me. "I am not going to have to explain everything to you and fill out a ton of paperwork because you stumbled into the supernatural side of reality, RIGHT?"

The way she insists on certain words makes me gulp. She was angry before, but the mention of the apparent mountain of paperwork she would have to fill changed her demeanor. This person might be dangerous. The aura she emits reminds me of a predator cornering its prey and licking its lips.

I shake my head, "Of course not." I reply calmly. I don't want to make a mess of the situation more than it already is. Nicole is also my ticket into the magical world, so making her even more pissed doesn't sound like a good idea. I cast the upgraded MageLight to prove that I'm not clueless.

"See? I'm a fully-fledged mage who knows a ton of spells, no need to worry about me," I force a smile, "But I may have had a concussion during this battle. I could have forgotten about a few things. It would be nice to remind me of them."

Nicole's expression changes in an instant, "Of course! I will gladly help this perfectly normal and upstanding member of the magical community." She says with what might be the worst acting ever. Her monotone voice and murderous glare stop me from saying anything superfluous.

I don't want to be blasted by a magical nuke for a second time today.

Mary has a weird expression. She looks like she wants to say something, but she takes a deep breath instead. Everybody in our little group knows that I'm lying through my teeth, but Nicole can't be bothered to do everything she has to do for a newcomer in the magical world. And not being in the records of their Agency sounds like a good deal to me.

"I may have forgotten what a Ley Line Station is," I say. I know I shouldn't ask too many questions, but I still need some answers.

"It's like a highway, but for Mana. People use it to travel large distances almost instantly. Building them is cheaper compared to putting teleportation arrays everywhere." Nicole's brief explanation stops me in my tracks.

She mentioned teleportation. She just confirmed that teleportation is possible, it's a real thing that people do.

My dream might come true. Something tells me that it isn't going to be easy, but I'll see it through!

"As luck would have it, my card to use the Ley Lines allows for passengers, so you won't have to buy one for yourself for the time being," Nicole says as she turns around. "Now follow me, it shouldn't be too far from here. We should be safe if we leave now."

I nod before glancing at my attire. I might freak out a few people since I have a rifle, and a shotgun slung around my back. The slight burns on my clothes also could raise a few eyebrows.

"Don't worry. I'm using my Veil to hide us," Mary, who must have noticed my predicament, says with a dry voice before following her sister.

I shrug, maybe I should learn this Veil myself. Being effectively invisible to regular people sounds like it could come in handy. I spare one last glance at the hole that was once my home. I hope I'm not going to get in trouble because my house disappeared.

We then journey through the town in complete silence; the streets are almost empty at this time of day, so I don't have to worry about bumping into anyone since I'm invisible to them.

It doesn't take long for us to reach our destination. I assume it's our destination; what else could we possibly need to do in a laundromat?

That's right. It's the return of the laundromat! I'm starting to believe that mages have a strange obsession with buildings full of washing machines. Considering how weird the mages I know are, I might not be far off the mark. Or maybe I'm looking at it from the wrong angle? There might be a darker secret behind this apparent obsession. There might be an ancient prophecy somewhere that says that the world will one day suffer an invasion of demonic dirty laundry, and our only way to defeat them would be to wash them clean?

Who knows, the mysteries of the occult world are numerous and impenetrable.

Nicole walks into the empty laundromat, and we follow closely. My shoes squeak on the craked yet immaculate tiled floor as I take in the scent of cheap detergent. She grabs an orange plastic card from her pocket and waves it in front of a wall covered in medium-sized washing machines. Nothing happens for a few seconds. Maybe she lost her mind or-

The wall rumble and the washing machines disappear into nothingness, revealing a rather large staircase leading down.

"Follow me," the redhead says as she walks down the stairs.

I look around. This place looks way too normal. I was expecting to at least walk through a wall or something, but nothing. Who would have thought that movies and novels did not prepare me for the actual magical world? The drab stairwell is made of gray concrete, and it's lit up with cheap, flickering neon lights.

Man, this looks so plain. There's no magical creatures, no aloof wizards floating around. Instead, I get an almost perfect replica of a rundown subway system from the eighties. We finally arrive at the Station, and something feels right for once. There's a massive steel ring, large enough for two trucks to pass through, with hints of rust on its surface standing in the middle of a large oval-shaped room. There's an old, dusty terminal in a yellowed plastic shell near the ring; the terminal reminds me of those old PCs from the early nineties. There's also a distinct smell of stale air and rust permeating the area.

But what catches my attention the most is the ring itself, or rather the glyphs engraved on its surface. It doesn't resemble any language I know or anything I've ever seen. White energy seems to pulse through an intricate series of small channels to fill all the characters before cycling again.

Nicole scans her card on a device near the terminal and glances at the old CRT screen.

"Piece of shit," she mumbles as she navigates through the menus with a worn-out keypad. "When will they replace these? They can afford it with how much the cards cost and how many people use those shitty Stations."

"There's barely anyone here," Mary says. "Makes sense that they focus on the areas with the most traffic first."

"I know, I know- Fuck!" Nicole kicks the machine before scanning her card again. "How is this garbage still working?"

She repeats the tedious process of navigating through an alarming number of menus while I look around. There's nothing else in the room aside from a few plastic benches. I fire up the Object Editor, with any luck-

***Warning! Unknown parameters detected! Cannot Edit Object! Universal Interface Level ??? recommended! ***

Of fucking course. Why would I be able to do anything? I focus on the terminal. Maybe I can still do something.

***Warning! Unknown parameters detected! Cannot Edit Object! Universal Interface Level 5 recommended! ***

It looks like I could hack into the terminals that control the Station once I level up my Universal Interface. But it sounds like these are getting phased out for being too old, so I bet the new ones will be out of my reach.

I refrain from sighing and wait for Nicole to do her thing. She grumbles a few times as she navigates through a seemingly endless number of menus before taking a deep breath.

"Done, finally!" she exhales loudly. "No wonder that this model is not in service anymore. Such a pain in the ass."

The metal ring vibrates, and the pulses increase in frequency until there's a continuous amount of energy flowing into the characters.

"Even the Gate is old," Mary mutters as she leans against a wall.

The ring spins slowly until a rune becomes red.

C-Could it be?

"Don't." Nicole, who must have noticed my eyes full of wonder, snarls. "Yes, I know what you want to say. And yes, it was because of that movie."

"But-" she glares at me, so I stop speaking.

"Don't say a fucking word. I'm already beyond tired of your shitty references." The mage spits out and focuses on the Gate, which has picked up speed. It doesn't take long for a dozen of runes to light up, and I instinctively take a step back. A small point at the center of the ring siphons all the energy coursing through the Gate. The ball of condensed energy hums for a moment before filling the internals of the Gate and erupting backward. My jaw drops, I'm staring at a tunnel dug into the very fabric of reality. Weird hexagonal shapes swirl at the back of the 'tunnel.'

"Come on! We have to go." Nicole orders as she steps into the ring. It looks like her body flies through the tunnel at impossible speeds.

Holy shit. Am I going to turn into a spaghetti?

"You better follow us," Mary warns and steps into the ring while glaring at me.

I take a deep breath and sigh, "SG1, ready for departure." I say as I step into the ring. A nauseating feeling invades my body as I feel like I'm falling at a very high speed. My surroundings are a swirl of black and white energy that seems to stretch out to infinity.

The world swirls around me until my feet touch the ground again. I feel like I slammed my head multiple times into a brick wall, my heart is pounding, and my head is ready to explode.

"You'll get used to it," Nicole says with an icy voice as she gestures me to move away. I massage my thumping eyes and realize that there are a lot of people around me. This Station looks bigger than the last one. There are multiple Gates around the area, and they look sleeker and more modern. I can't spot any of those old-fashioned terminals. Instead, there are floating slabs of granite, similar to the pseudo-phone I borrowed from Nicole.

"Get moving!" a male voice shout behind me. I turn around, a burly man wearing a purple overcoat glares at me as he pushes through the crowd. I quickly shuffle towards the two sisters who wade through the packed Station like there's nobody around them.

We arrive at a massive stairwell that must be wide enough for several airplanes to land. I gawk at the mystical sight, how on Earth are they hiding that? And how can they explain the number of people?

To be honest, I hope it isn't another laundromat.

We finally head out, and-

I have no words.

It is not a laundromat. I think this isn't Earth anymore.