The Company was busy, as usual. It was a mess, but an orderly mess. The Company building looked just like any other office building you might encounter. The only difference is that each office lead to a much larger office area as if the Company was some kind of gateway to other places, which was more or less true. 

Zak passed by the Muse Inc. office. A peek through the door showed a young man in jeans and tennis shoes sitting behind a desk with his feet up. A man in a business suit approached and slapped the young man's feet. "Ty," the Supervisor said, "we just got the Package." He handed Ty an envelope. "No pit-stops this time. Rick has been suffering from writer's block for two weeks now."

Ty carefully took the envelope containing the Inspiration for Agent Rick's new book. "The opening line," Ty whispered reverently. He then turned his attention back to the Muse Supervisor. "Is it true that the Dino Mysteries world is dying?"

The Supervisor sighed. "I'm afraid so; it'll soon fall into the Void. This could very well be Rick's last book. We lost many Messengers getting that out, take good care of it."

"I won't let you down, Sir." Ty checked his watch. "Rick should be watching the news right now. I'll open a tube over his TV and sprinkle the Inspiration over it right away." 

Ty grabbed a hat and dashed out of the office, giving Zak a friendly nod as he passed. Zak continued on to the ZAP Guild office. 

"Morning, Zak," said the secretary. She handed him a scroll. "Today's work orders."

Zak unrolled the scroll and holographic images of his mission location appeared and a voice spoke. "A Protagonist has been lost in the woods. You're job is to get them safely out and to their friend's birthday party before the cake is served. ZAP well."

Zak rolled the scroll back up then glanced at his watch. Only an hour before I Time-Out and have to return to the Real World. "No time like the present."

"Gate 18 is open and ready," said the secretary.

***

Zak headed to the locker room to gather his gear. He retrieved his steampunk googles and aviator jacket. He then snapped on his belt, complete with emergency blaster. He's not allowed to use the blaster except as a last resort. Being a Zapper was dangerous work, even more dangerous with Destroyers lurking about.

Zak also had his powers, but he tried not to use them while on mission. One, there was still the tension between him and the Supervisors. He figured if he played by the rules, they would ease up a bit. Two, the more he used his powers the weaker the ZAP link would be.

The link is kind of like a dream. The dream feels real until you realize it's a dream and then you start to wake up; you might be able to stay in the dream for a bit but over time it becomes harder. The more Zak could act like the Protagonist that he was "playing" the better. This was part of the reason Zak specialized in fantasy/science-fiction missions. In fantasy no one cares about superpowers.

Finally ready to go, Zak entered the number 18 Gate Room. It was pretty bare with just walls, the control panel, behind unbreakable glass (just in case), and the Gate itself. The Gate looked like a full-size mirror just sitting at the other end of the room. 

Zak turned to the Controller, Markus. Markus made some quick last minute checks and then gave Zak a thumbs up. "Happy endings," Markus said to Zak.

The mirror's surface began to ripple as sounds of electricity and machinery humming filled the room. "Happy endings," Zak half-whispered as he lowered the googles over his eyes. He took a deep breath and touched the mirror. 

In an instant, the liquid poured over him. Zak knew he wouldn't be able to breathe for a few minutes as the quantum liquid coated him in the frequency of the realm he'd be traveling too. Without the coating that universe would see him as an intruder, much like a virus in a human body, and try to eliminate him.

The coating wouldn't last forever; over time it would break down and Zak would Time-Out. He would either have to return or face the universe's "antibodies." He could eat something, but then he would be stuck there for at least 10 hours while his body digested it.

Zak began sliding through a tunnel. A bright light shined at the other end. Soft music could be heard, which grew the closer he got to the light. Finally, he was at the light. Suddenly, he was floating in the whiteness of the Everything. This was every moment in time, every location in space, every reality happening all at once. It was all the sounds and feelings ever. In the Real World it was called the Big Bang. 

Since the Everything was, well, everything, people could travel to anyplace or anytime here. Something that was thousands of light-years away in the world was just a few feet away here. But since it was everything that ever existed or would (or could) exist, it was easy to get lost. Hence the incoming tunnel that would transport Zak to his mission.

Once again, Zak found himself in a whirlwind-like tunnel with a light at the end of it. Music again played and some force drove him towards the light. Soon the light covered him.