A bunch of doors in various colors and sizes floated as they dangled from a string, made for dancing around like puppets in a play. It all appeared new and surprising to Benjamin, yet deep down, he felt he had been here before, but when? Benjamin saw a glowing sign above the many doors that read A-B-C-D.

Chi-Chi and Harry questioned their master about the significance of the sign. Did he know what it meant? Benjamin stared at the letters for a while until he realized he was losing track of things.

“Where did that come from?” Benjamin said aloud. Chi-Chi and Harry did not understand what their Master was referring to.

“What was that, Master?” Benjamin could no longer hear them. He struggled to take his eyes off the glowing, colorful doors. What was behind them, and how could he use this incredible discovery to his advantage?

As they watched them with awe, Benjamin couldn’t help but wonder: Why was he brought here? What do these things do? Where do they take you? Benjamin wanted to step out of the coaster and get a better, closer look at them, but he nearly lost his footing. He looked down below and saw there were no visible paths below.

Great, He thought in disdain; now, what do I do?

Chi-Chi, on the other hand, wanted to check the place out. She quickly jumped out of the coaster without looking down at what was below her. Benjamin and Harry, noticing that there was nothing below that she could land on, tried to stop her and reached for her.

However, much to their surprise, it turned out that she landed on the floor beneath them.

Benjamin overcame the shock and followed the hamsters to where the new path led them. The trail eventually stopped at the center, where they could see all the doors up close, and reached it in no time at all.

“Well, we’re here,” Benjamin sighed, catching his breath from the long walk.

“Now what?” Chi-Chi questioned.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Benjamin looked up and pointed. “The sphere is probably in one of those doors. We’ll have to split up and try to find the right one!”

“Good idea.” Harry chimed in.

Not trusting his wand magic, Benjamin used a magic spell with his hands to allow him to float up in the air so he could find it no problem. He did the same thing to his sidekicks so they could help him with the search.

The first door Benjamin opened had a strange planet filled with aliens who were just about to chow down on some weird kind of cereal. No crystal sphere in sight. The second door he opened had a lot of trees and bushes. A dinosaur walked over and stared at him with ill intent. Benjamin quickly shut the door and leaned against it, hoping the creature could not figure out how to follow him.

He crept to the next door. Within it was a ship surrounded by water and lightning. He closed the door, but then water poured out from underneath. Still no sphere. He sighed in disbelief.

As he opened more and more doors with no progress, Benjamin slowly grew agitated. He felt that little time had passed and was already sick of this. Eventually, the hamster and guinea pig called out to him about a door they found. Thinking they found the one with the sphere, Benjamin quickly went over to look.

“Hey, Master, come here!” Chi-Chi exclaimed excitedly.

“We got something to show you!” Harry motioned with his small paws for him to hurry over.

However, much to his dismay and their delight, it turned out to be a land made of cheese.

“What the-!?” Benjamin grabbed both sides of his head in exasperation.

“So, what do you think of it, Master?” Chi-Chi and Harry questioned, happily grabbing cheese wedges from inside the door.

“Seriously!? Now is not the time to lollygag! Did you forget what we came here for in the first place already!?” Benjamin glared at the two critters with his arms snugly gripped at his hips.

“Oh, yeah, the crystal sphere, right?” Chi-Chi mumbled through a mouthful of cheese.

“Exactly, so hurry up and get moving already! My patience is already waning as it is!”

“Sir, yes, sir!” They both shouted as split up and dashed off to search once again.

As the two left in a hurry, Benjamin walked over to close the cheese door and sighed heavily. This day had not been going well at all since he had lost the sphere, now, he had to deal with crazy cheese furry partners. A little while later, Harry and Chi-Chi called for their Master, yet again, to inform them about a different door.

“Master, come quickly!” Chi-Chi shouted with enthusiasm.

“You’re not going to believe this!” Harry added.

“Oh, great, now I wonder what it could be this time! Maybe a land made of milk and cookies?” Benjamin replied in a mocking tone of voice. He was not in the mood for any more of this and just wanted to find his sphere and go home.

“No Master, we found it this time. Have a look for yourself.” Harry pointed through the door toward the floor.

“If you say so...” Benjamin muttered as he approached the open doorway.

He went to take a peek inside the door — blue skies and white clouds everywhere on the other side, but no sphere in sight. Chi-Chi told him to look down to see it. Benjamin looked to where she pointed and saw a weird alley with red cemented walls.

“I don’t believe it...” Benjamin muttered, nearly speechless.

“Neither can we, Master.” Harry and Chi-Chi stood alongside his legs as they looked down through the doorway at the strange world.

The floors were dirty, and filled with trash, flies, and other useless junk that got thrown in. It was right next to the dumpster where Benjamin finally saw it: His Crystal Sphere!

“Hey, wait; it looks like someone is trying to go after it.” Benjamin thought he saw someone or something out of his peripheral vision. “Hey, you, stay away from that; it’s mine!” He yelled.

Benjamin leaned in too much through the door to the other side while trying to get someone’s attention, slipped, and fell into the new world.

Benjamin fought to float back up using his magic, but for some reason, he was unable to do so.

Just what is going on? He thought, puzzled. Luckily, he landed safely on top of the dumpster with no significant injuries.

“Ow! That stings!” He exclaimed as he rubbed the pain on his backside and legs from the fall.

“Wait for us, Master!” Chi-Chi cried out, alarmed by the abrupt exit of her Master.

“We won’t leave you here in this place!” Harry added.

The two critters jumped from the open door frame and into the strange new world below.

.-.-.-.

Once Harry and Chi-Chi landed in the dump alongside their Master, the three rested in the garbage and sighed in defeat.

“This is the second-worst day of my life.” Benjamin groaned.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Harry said as he rolled onto his side to inspect his rumpled fur.

“Um... hello? Are you alright?” Someone’s voice broke through the darkness.

As Benjamin heard the voice, he turned to see a girl standing right beside the dumpster, looking very concerned for him. She adjusted her yellow glasses, which contrasted with her long pink hair.

“Huh? Y-yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” Benjamin quickly tried to appear as natural as possible, considering he just fell out of the air onto a dumpster.

“Well, I did see you fall from the sky not too long ago. What were you doing?” The girl pointed toward the top of the building. Benjamin looked up, and his eyes widened upon finding there was no longer a door there.

“Oh, that. Sorry, but I can’t say why that was the case.” Benjamin straightened his jacket and brushed off his pants, trying to stall for time. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to anyone, much less to this stranger.

“Oh, could it be that you are on a top-secret mission for something important?” The girl inquired, with a hint of intrigue and inquisitiveness in her voice. She seemed to be fishing for more information.

“Yeah, that’s it!” Benjamin exclaimed, then realized that it wasn’t a good idea to make it sound like a secret plan if he wanted to keep it like that. “I mean, no, of course not!” Benjamin turned and gazed at the girl. “What do you want from me?”

“Nothing, but who are you?” The girl smiled sheepishly. She knew there was more to this story than what he was telling and wasn’t about to let it go so quickly.

“You want to know, huh?” She nodded in agreement. “I am Benjamin, the all-mighty dark magician, as well as the prophesied overlord!” Benjamin stood up and spread his cape behind him for added dramatic effect. “And these are my deadly sidekicks: Chi-Chi and Harry!” He swung his arm toward his animal sidekicks for their introduction.

“Cheep!” Chi-Chi replied with her long lashes fluttering for added cuteness effect. Harry did the same thing.

“Aw, but they look cuter than deadly.” The girl stroked Chi-Chi's short soft fur along her neck, then moved over to do the same thing with Harry.

“Well, that’s just what they want you to think!” Benjamin replied, “And we have a goal of conquering all planets and galaxies that we can find and come across.” He announced. “Now, how’s that for a story?”

“I think that’s a cute story, kid.” The young girl commented, glancing up from petting the hamster and guinea pig.

“What do you mean ‘cute’ and ‘kid’? Are you saying you don’t believe me at all?” Benjamin’s blood boiled at the young girl’s disbelief. How dare she not believe his story?

“Hey, Master...” Harry pulled on his master’s pant legs, trying to get his attention without revealing their ability to speak in front of the stranger.

“Well, for starters, I can’t see anyone doing something like that in that weird get-up.” The girl chuckled as she pointed at Benjamin’s clothes and hat.

“What-? How dare you say that!”

Furious from the mockery of his outfit, Benjamin showed off some magic to prove to her he was not making the whole story up. He tried with all his might; the critters wondered why he wasted his time on this girl. That’s when they noticed something in her bag. They tried telling Benjamin about it, but he was so fixated on trying to show off his magic that he paid them no attention.

As the girl stood there, waiting for him to do or say something interesting, Benjamin continued to try and create magic, but nothing came out of his hands. Eventually, he gave up and didn’t know what to do next.

Why can’t I use my magic here? Do I rely on my stupid wand from now on, even though I still don’t know how to use it properly?

“Aw man, this stinks.” Benjamin sat down carefully on the ground in disgust. “How am I going to conquer Earth at this rate?”

“The planet you’re on right now is your first one?” The girl asked. Realizing by Benjamin’s expression that he was serious about conquering this world, she added: “How unoriginal.”

“No way, that explains so much!” Benjamin exclaimed, taking a step back.

“Master, look at the bag she’s carrying!” Harry, again, tried to get his Master’s attention quietly.

“My Crystal Sphere.” He whispered, finally seeing it with his own two eyes.

“Well, it’s been fun, but I gotta get going before it gets dark.” The young girl turned and started walking down the alleyway toward the street. “See you; I got some research to do when I get home!”

“No, wait, come back!” Benjamin yelled after her.

“Cheep Cheep!” screamed Chi-Chi and Harry, trying to add their sense of urgency for her to return without revealing themselves.