Five figures stood in front of what appeared to be a portal. There were mixed reactions among them, but they all shared the same puzzlement. What was this thing? And why were they getting such mixed feelings off of it?

"I feel weirdly connected to this thing." Uni said aloud, his eyes narrowing as he inspected the odd structure more closely.

"That's a bit sketchy." Ashlie said skeptically.

The pug turned back to the red-haired woman in confusion. "What do you mean that's sketchy?" He asked.

"I mean that it's sketchy you feel weirdly connected to this thing. I just want to get the heck away from this." Ashlie replied with a slightly shaky voice. Her face showed signs of worry.

"Yeah, I'm not getting a good feeling from this." Nick added, sounding just as worried.

Uni blinked and waved a paw nonchalantly. "Nah, it's fine. It's going to be fine." He said with reassurance, then turned to Dawn. The robot's attention was elsewhere, muttering to himself as his gaze darted from the runes in his hands to the holes in the structure. 

"Hey, look at these spots here." Uni said, pointing to the said spots. "I think you can fit them in there.

Dawn stood up and began to place each rune to a hole. "I thought we only had three," he commented, "but now we somehow have all four." After placing the fourth rune in its respective place, he took a step back.

They all waited, but nothing seemed to happen. Not until an odd whirring sound filled the air. "Do you guys hear that?" Uni asked. Before anyone could answer, the ground began to shake below them and commotion arose from the group. Then, everything went black.

- - - - - - - - - -

One by one everyone tumbled out the wall of water, drenched and coughing. Not quite everyone however. Jon still remained in the water and was clearly struggling to get out.

"Jon can't swim!" Nick exclaimed. Frantically, the bearded man went back in the water to retrieve Jon. The others quickly followed suit, helping the jester. Jon stumbled out, coughing up water. He managed to stand himself up but was still visibly shaken.

"I'm scared of the water." He spluttered, his voice pitching a bit in fear, as he hugged his arms around his body.

"What? How do you take showers?" Ashlie asked in bewilderment. 

"What do you drink?" Nick questioned.

"I almost died in the ocean." Jon said brashly, beginning to act defensive. A small noise of understanding came from Ashlie with a few awkward diverted looks from the others. Most of the focus within the group then was now of their new surroundings. Looking around, Uni spotted a door up ahead.

"What's this?" The pug asked aloud. He walked to the door and pulled the handle, the hinges creaking slightly. The door opened and revealed a small, darker-skinned jester standing in the middle of a room. His golden eyes flickered in the dim light provided by the torches in the room.

"Look who finally decided to show up." The man greeted, his deep tone laced with mockery. 

"Is that DonDon?" Ashlie commented, peering into the room.

"Well, come on in mutt." Don jeered. A small grin creeping up on his face.

"Excuse me?" Uni huffed indignantly. The pug pushed his way into the room. The others filed in behind him.

Jon was staring at Don with a quizzical look on his face. "Who's that guy?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Don merely laughed. "Wow, he really is an idiot." He said mockingly.

"Don't worry, he's just a nobody." Uni replied, casting a sideways glance at the smaller jester.

"But he looks just like me." Jon whispered beside Uni.

"He looks like you, but uglier." Nick whispering back, giving a small smirk.

"Anyways-" Don began, but was cut off by Ashlie.

"Oh yeah I've meant to ask you, did you find yourself yet?" She asked.

"You make fun of me, then ask me if I found myself yet?" Don said flatly. No one had any other comment, so he continued on.

"Exactly. As I was saying... The main purpose of me being here is to, well," he gave a cough. "Stall you, but that's besides the point." He waved a hand dismissively and began to explain. "Basically you'll be going through some trials. Easy stuff, things you've done before. Then you'll be going up against your doppelgangers. It'll be a lot of fun and you'll perish." There was a brief second of silence as Don's words settled in.

"Looks like you're up first Jon." Dawn piped in.

"Wait a second, what's the purpose of you distracting us?" Uni asked. "What's Duni up to?"

"Well it doesn't matter since you all won't get past me." Don added with an air of arrogance. A few snorts of laughter came from the group. The smaller jester blinked, then pointed at his doppelganger. "I mean just look at him! He's scared, he's not even talking!"

Ashlie then suddenly burst out laughing. Her laughter rang throughout the room and the others couldn't help but chuckle along.

"Really?" Don said, a slight edge of annoyance in his voice.

"You really don't know Jon, do you?" Nick commented, an amused look on his face.

"Look, let the man speak!" Uni burst in with a slightly commanding tone, trying to hush up his friends. They went quiet and Uni turned to Don. "You were saying?"

"Well, alright then. Duni's going to reset the world like he always has. Back to zero." Don declared simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"Rest the world?" Uni echoed.

"Like he always has?" Nick echoed as well.

"You mean to say he's done something like this before?" Ashlie asked.

"Apparently? Like five times already? I don't know even know," Don said, sounding almost as baffled as they did. "I don't even care what he does at this point."

"Then, why just not let us through? We'll go our separate ways." Ashlie suggested.

"What's the point?" Don asked, his voice wavering slightly. He gave a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I... I don't know. I'm so confused right now. I feel like my mind is splitting in two. I don't know what to do anymore..."

"Why don't you come with us then?" Uni suggested. His eyes lit up in delight at his sudden idea. "You can be a good guy!" A few comments of agreement arose from the others.

Don was clearly taken aback as he glanced up at the pug with a slight look of confusion and surprise.

Then Jon stepped forward. Don took a step back and gave a skeptical look. "Listen," Jon began. "the only thing you're lacking is a conscience and a heart. You'll get nowhere in life doing what you're doing, hurting people you actually seem to care about. Listen man, I used to be in your shoes. I had nobody. Heck, Dawn was the one who found me in the first place. You come with us, well, we can't promise you much, but we're the biggest bunch of misfits you'll ever find. But, we always have each others' backs in the end."

"Really?" Don asked with the slightest bit of hopefulness in his voice.

"Yeah." Jon said with a genuine smile. The others chimed in as well in agreement. "Come on Don, give me a hug." He said, spreading his arms out. Don's gaze went from the group to Jon again. He looked away for a moment, seeming hesitant, then held his arms out to approach his doppelganger. As they approached, time seemed to slow down as a weird glint sparked in both their eyes.

The two jesters suddenly drew out swords. Before anyone could react, one hit its mark.