The Ancient Ones: Age of Nothingness (IC)

[Arkeyana]

Pokeverse

"Thank you", Reinhardt said, "There are many like this where I'm from". He noticed movement from the corner of his eye and went into a defensive stance, the rockets on his hammer flaring to life "Who's there?" he said.

[The Palmetto]

Gallifrey

It instantly shattered like glass, and the intangible pieces soon dissappeared into thin air. He found her sudden gaze actions odd, but figured it wasn't worth looking into. After all, it's not like she had feelings for him or anything.
"I ain't got no limits for how long this contraption works, it's a fancy dohicky of mine I discovered. But, as time as goes on, it's technically more likely to be destroyed, but so long as it isn't, I reckon it should work just fine," he replied to her. He was slightly jittering, as he yearned for adventure and action, and wasn't too much a fan of remaining still. It annoyed the hell out of his father when he was younger, but he soon learned to be disciplined around the monster he had as a father.

Abakelia's Base

"Why, I reckon that Yank boy just busted that Asian chick up like Stonewall with the Yankees at Bull Run!" Secesh exclaimed wildly. He was intrigued by this boy's power, it was almost like nothing he had seen before. Yet, the technique felt familiar, like he had seen it in action long ago, but forgotten. He didn't invest much thought into it because he was in the middle of a battle, of course, and spent the next few moments trying to survive the chaos.

[Prusselanden]

Saturn
Ignis sighed.
"Zhe Aztec Panzheon is Shifu's home...it's vhere zhe Aztec gods reside. And no, he isn't thinking about vhat he did vhile indoctrinated, he's zhinking about somezhing zhat happened way before zhat."

She cracked a smile at Star. "Anyvays, you don't have to force yourself to be nice. It's ok."

Terry then whined as she woke up and stated to softly cry. Ignis immediately flicked her tongue at the diaper. "Fick, she needs a change! AAA....."

[Wheatley Laboratories]

Saturn
Ignis sighed.
"Zhe Aztec Panzheon is Shifu's home...it's vhere zhe Aztec gods reside. And no, he isn't thinking about vhat he did vhile indoctrinated, he's zhinking about somezhing zhat happened way before zhat."

She cracked a smile at Star. "Anyvays, you don't have to force yourself to be nice. It's ok."

Terry then whined as she woke up and stated to softly cry. Ignis immediately flicked her tongue at the diaper. "Fick, she needs a change! AAA....."

Zeta took a few steps back and held up his hands. "Heh... I'll leave you to, er, work on that."
He faced Star and thrust his hands into his jacket pockets.
"Hey, Star? Um, is there anywhere I can take a shower and... Possibly get my clothes repaired?"

[Kaidou]

Don Roith
Imperial Palace

- Junichirō Koizumi
- Fritze Ackerman
- Stephen Vincent Strange
- Hex
- Yasuo Fukuda
- Sun Zi-xiang
- Anastasia Mikhailovna Rostova
- Wong Tjin-fei
- Uska Jarvinen
- Itona Namikawa
- Ceiji Namikawa
- Ariel
- Lester

- Chieko Namikawa
- Seishirō Akita
- Caliban

"How do you know we can trust these guys?" asked Koizumi incredulously, flicking blood off his sword onto the door.

"We can't", replied Mr Wong. "But it's the only way."

The sound of a heavy thump upon the bolted door thundered, as a battering ram was brought in by the Nizangar Empire soldiers. Even from behind the walls of the palace, the thirteen inside could still hear the sound of screaming coming from below, the sound of soldiers massacring their own people for no other reason other than that they were living in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Picking up Chieko (whom Fukuda had somehow gotten to sleep), Ceiji affectionately rested her forehead against her baby daughter's, a genuine, loving smile forming on the corners of her mouth as she carried the little girl.

"I'm sorry..."

"Prepare your rectums, fothermuckers", Zi-xiang said, picking up a standing lamp and pulling the lampshade off, wielding it upside down with the base as a club. "Those bastards are coming in."

The doors were promptly thrown open by a forceful strike from a battering ram, and before anybody knew it, a large horde of Nizangar Empire soldiers had entered the main hall of the palace, where all thirteen (plus the unconscious Seishirō and the less-strongly-protesting Caliban) had holed themselves up in.

First blood was drawn by Mr Wong and Fukuda, who were promptly joined by many of the others.

Even as the sun went down, and the bodies of the soldiers began to pile up just as the carpet began to get soaked, the fighting went on and on. The moonlight illuminated the red that washed the furniture, even as the portraits of the old Emperors looked upon the carnage with faces of cold indifference.

Then came the dart with the paper. And then the explosion.

It wasn't a particularly large explosion, but it was forceful enough to clear open a pathway. Bits of gore, as well as the bodies of soldiers killed by the blast, were thrown aside with horrible screams from those (un)lucky enough to have been still alive.

Koizumi covered his eyes.

"That cannot be... a Talisman?"

Almost as if they had seen a ghost, the Nizangar soldiers turned and retreated in terror, and in came the men in the black uniforms, swords drawn. Ceiji's jaw nearly dropped.

"It's you!"

Pushing past the thirty-odd men, all of whom were taller than he was, was the figure of LCP Yūma Hirano, his green eyes glinting in the moonlight, his katana drawn, another paper talisman in his hand.

"Surrender yourself", he said to Ceiji coldly, "and I'll let most of the others live."

"Like hell we're gonna do that, you little squirt!" Zi-xiang leapt over Mr Wong's head and skidded across the blood-soaked carpet, straight up to Hirano, who attempted to slash him, but to no avail. Crouching, Zi-xiang curled his hands into two mantis claws, swinging his arms ferociously and making attempts to attack the 16-year-old soldier's side.

Hirano, in response, blocked each of Zi-xiang's mantis strikes with his arm, before finally finding an opening and pushing the young man back with his jackbooted foot. Then, before Zi-xiang could retaliate, he snapped his fingers.

"Rexil. Now."

Another young man stepped forward, dropped his weapons on the floor, and impaled himself straight through the heart with a talisman needle, much to the horror of the others, as they looked on. His body writhed, tore through its uniform, and transformed into a grotesque, reptilian monstrosity, its rock hard muscles throbbing cruelly and violently.

Zi-xiang made another attempt at Hirano, but the lizard thing simply struck him with its powerful tail, throwing him back into the blood-soaked, corpse-piled room.

"What is this abomination?" Fukuda could not help but blurt out.

Hirano smirked.

"The Niril Republic will not be shamed a second time", he said, flicking his katana. "At any cost."

The lizard human snarled. And then it was felled by an arrow from the sky that penetrated its jugular.

The sudden shock of the lizard's death was quickly replaced by a feeling of hope for the thirteen who had holed themselves up in the castle and irritation for Yūma Hirano. As they looked up, the giant moon illuminating the sky was punctuated with the silhouettes of seven dragons circling the castle's grounds; on the back of one of the dragons was a lone rider, wielding a bow and arrow.

As Hirano's men scrambled to respond, the archer who had fired reloaded his bow and released yet another arrow, hitting another of Hirano's men in the forehead.

"They're here!" exclaimed Fukuda jubilantly. "They're-"

And then the archer was knocked off his dragon by a crossbow arrow with a talisman attached to it. It hit him in the chest squarely, and though that didn't kill him, the sudden burst of acid that exploded from the talisman ate away his entire torso and a huge chunk of the dragon he was riding on, sending the remains of both crashing back down to the courtyard.

Almost instinctively, the remaining six dragons began to circle the roof of the palace. Almost as if they were waiting to pick up the ones they had come for, in fact.

"We need to get to the roof", said Koizumi, attempting to draw a portal in the air. The sparks that flew lifelessly off his fingers reminded everybody of the talisman circle that had been placed around the entire city. "Now!"

"Don't let them escape!" Hirano screamed. The rest of his soldiers charged after the group, as they hurried towards the staircase of the hall, only for two Rexil lizards to leap off the upper floor and onto the staircase, blocking their exit.

With his nandao drawn, Mr Wong exhaled deeply, and turned to face Hirano, even as Koizumi, Fukuda, and Zi-xiang took up the front, facing the lizards directly.

"Face me!" he challenged the boy in the uniform, his sword ringing.

...

[Prusselanden]

Don Roith
"Don't be stupid, Zi-Xiang!" Ackerman had lifted Ceiji up in a princess carry and made a break for the roof only to be stopped by the lizards. "Just focus on getting out of here, don't try to save your pride at this moment!"

Uska decided to help fight against the lizards. He charged at one lizard and slid down, jamming its legs between his own to hold it in place. "Someone do something, quick!"

[The States of Balloon]

Pokeverse

"Thank you", Reinhardt said, "There are many like this where I'm from". He noticed movement from the corner of his eye and went into a defensive stance, the rockets on his hammer flaring to life "Who's there?" he said.

You retract your hand immediately and take a defensive stance, holding both of your open palm in front of you like some kind of coward. "Please, don't hurt me! I mean no harm! I'm Blare Grawnyk!" You're shaking quite a bit.

[Kaidou]

Don Roith
"Don't be stupid, Zi-Xiang!" Ackerman had lifted Ceiji up in a princess carry and made a break for the roof only to be stopped by the lizards. "Just focus on getting out of here, don't try to save your pride at this moment!"

Uska decided to help fight against the lizards. He charged at one lizard and slid down, jamming its legs between his own to hold it in place. "Someone do something, quick!"

At the sight of Uska's holding the lizard down, Koizumi turned his sights entirely to the one lizard, his sword drawn; he leapt up cleanly, swinging the sword in an arc at the lizard man's head, nearly cutting it clean off if it weren't for the fact that the humanoid beast deflected the sword with its arm and, with its free hand, grabbed Koizumi by the collars.

Undaunted, Koizumi kicked forcefully against the lizard's chest, simultaneously driving his sword into the beast's collarbone. The Rexil screeched in pain, toppling backwards and landing on its back. As Koizumi yanked his katana out of its body and finally sliced its head off, though, the second lizard roared.

"Oh, they're gonna have to glue you back together in hell", said Itona with a wild grin. He swung his katana at the second lizard and struck its leg, only for the blade to get stuck in the reptilian monster's scaly flesh. The Rexil lurched at Itona, only for Fukuda to lop the rest of the leg off in one clean sweep, sending the monster crashing down the stairs, skidding across the bloodstained carpet, right up to where Wong and Hirano faced off.

"You're officially an enemy of the Niril Republic", said Hirano. "You are guilty of the crime of shielding a traitor, namely Ceiji."

"Hell if I care."

Mr Wong took one heavy step forward on his good leg and hacked downwards heavily with the nandao, a brute strike which Hirano easily blocked with his own katana. His mobility severely restricted by his wooden leg, Mr Wong could do nothing to avoid the more agile Hirano's counterattack, as he unlocked their blades and slashed sideways, leaving a deep gash across his cheek and causing him to stumble backwards a few steps.

"Leave the one-legged man to me", commanded Hirano to his men. "Execute the rest."

The fifteen-odd soldiers who had followed Hirano in marched forward and, pointing their rifles at the group at the top of the staircase, opened fire. Most of their single bullets flew wild, but one managed to find its mark in Fukuda's arm, much to his shock.

Taking the opportunity, Mr Wong, once again, hacked at Hirano, but the boy soldier was too quick; dodging the blade, he drove his katana straight through the older man's abdomen, missing his stomach by an inch, and then tearing it out again and kicking Mr Wong back.

"No!"

Spitting out blood, Mr Wong tottered about, but still held his ground.

Then, all of a sudden, he sheathed the nandao, pulled the entire sword out of his belt, and flung it at a shocked Itona.

"Itona!" he cried. "The Wulongyue is yours now!"

Itona caught the sword, but nearly dropped it.

"You're not going to die here", he roared back, charging back down the stairs, only to be forced to duck behind the banister once again, as the soldiers on the ground released another volley of bullets at them. "What about your dream of starting a family?"

Mr Wong smiled back at Itona.

"I already have a family", he replied, calmly.

As LCP Hirano made for him, sword drawn, Mr Wong reached into his coat, coughed out more blood, and withdrew a penknife. Before the young soldier could reach him, his significantly older opponent had deftly stepped to the side on his good leg, plunging the blade of the knife deep into his latissimus dorsi, to a bloodcurdling scream.

"Go", he commanded the rest, simultaneously wrestling Hirano to the ground with his own body weight. "It's up to you now!"

"No", protested Itona, as both Fukuda and Zi-xiang reluctantly tried to drag him up the stairs, to the roof. "We're not going to leave!"

"Go", repeated Koizumi, flicking the reptilian blood off his katana and slowly backing away as the soldiers on the ground turned their sights to Mr Wong.

...

The dragons, as expected, were waiting on the rooftop for the group, even with nobody around to coordinate them. As they went up one by one, some with more difficulty than others (like Ariel, who now had to carry the unconscious Seishirō instead of the surprisingly sobered Caliban), the surprisingly tame beasts simply sat and waited.

"You sure we can trust them?" asked Ceiji skeptically, over the sound of the carnage that raged all over. "We might be flying into a trap..."

"We don't want to die now, do we?" Fukuda replied rhetorically, pressing his handkerchief against the bullet wound. "What choice do we have!?"

...

[Naval Monte]

Don Roith
Imperial Palace

Hex kept firing more shots through the windows but in her vantage point she knew that this was a pointless battle as she can see more pouring in to replace the next soldier that falls. Strange too can see clearly the vast numbers that are behind the gates of the palace garden and knew that they would have to leave eventually because the more they delay their escape and stay here the higher their chances of dying increases.

Eventually Strange decided to try and make a portal but when he tried to use the sling ring's power he found that the portal will not form, no matter how many times he tries. As Strange tried to create a portal his cape manage to deflect a few arrows but one manage to get past the cape's defenses and hit Strange on his right shoulder, making him gasp in pain as he held onto the arrow.

When everyone was moving back Strange followed back as landed down and ran inside, rushing to a wall and pressing his back against the wall as he held onto the arrow to prevent it moving around to much while the arrow head was inside his shoulder. "I can use some help with this." Strange asked.

When Fukuda began to call for everyone while waving around a paper he moved over to read what was written on the parchment. "Great, juvenile god killers. Because our day was going just swimmingly well." the doctor said with an obvious sarcastic tone. When the lizard arrived Strange tried to join but the pain from his shoulder along with the arrow that was the cause for said pain prevented him from joining in. When more soldiers arrived Strange created a shield for himself as he ran for cover so he can remove the arrow.

Hex would meet up with the group when she enter the stairs from one of the upper levels and when they reach the location of the dragon Strange pulled on the arrow and removed it from his shoulder, letting out a loud hiss. "We don't have much options right now unless you all want to stay here and fight those soldiers to the death." he told the group, the cape wrapping itself around the wound to prevent the blood from coming out as much.

[Mundeo]

The Woods

James always apreciates a good hug, and accepted the one that Damian and Marie gave him with open arms. There was a particular warmth to this one, though, a particular feeling of ease. Maybe it was because two people were hugging him instead of just one...

But there should have been three people here.

"We finally did it... he's gone. For good, I hope" James then came to the realization himself. "Wait... where's Vicky?"

Taking a step back, he saw her, out of the corner of his eye.

And she was collapsed onto the ground.

"Victoria!" He cried out, running over to his daughter and kneeling beside her.

"Dad?" The Halfblood responde to her father's voice, coughing after she was barely able to make that single word. Her guantlets had been completely destroyed, and the rest of her body was not in much better condition. Burns, bruises, and open wounds covered her. "We did it, right? Zalgo's gone... for good?"

[Prusselanden]

Don Roith
Uska got up after the lizard was slain and started to fight off the soldiers chasing them. Both he and Ackerman ducked behind a structure.Then, Wong faced down with Hirano and was mortally wounded.

"NO!" Ackerman screamed, unsheathing xer saber and charging towards the boy when Uska pulled xer back.

"Uska, get out of the way!" Ackerman attempted to push him aside in a last-ditch effort to save Wong. Xe managed to force Uska down and raced towards Wong again, only to get shot in both the torso and xer left arm.

"Get back with the rest!" Uska grabbed Ackerman back again, throwing xer up the stairs. He then turned to look at Wong. Could they....?

No, it was too late. Not only were there too many troops to counter, their escape time was also running out. Uska swallowed hard and grabbed Ackerman's wrist, running up the stairs. When they reached the dragons, he used some of Ackerman's coat to staunch xer wounds. "We either escape alive to an uncertain fate or let them kill us all including the kid. Your guys's choice."

Ackerman was completely silent.

[Turmenista]

New York City, New York

Jotaro Kujo

The radio, seemingly turning itself on spontaneously, caused the driver of the car to jump up slightly, almost as if he were frightened by the occurrence. Trying to play it off, the taxi driver laughed awkwardly, adjusting his sunglasses as he resumed driving. "Ah, yeah. There's the radio, man, screwin' with me again. It's been messing up ever since I got this car fixed.." One hand was kept on the steering wheel as he adjusted the radio's tuning knob, eventually settling back on the song that had been playing a few minutes ago. "There we go. Good 'ol Yes. Some Prog Rock here and there ain't that bad, you know? I hear they made this song that's playing for one of those fancy-schmancy computer games. My kid bought it. Ever heard of it? 'Homeworld', they're callin' it." He shook his head as he chuckled. "Can you believe how fast time is, man? I mean, last video game I played was Pac Man on the big 'ol arcade machine, and now look at all these vidya-games and gaming systems we got coming out from Japan!" He scoffed, before the color drained from his face as he paused. "Oh.. uh... not to be rude to you, sir, with you bein' from Japan and all."

The man in the backseat of the car was deathly silent, a shadow partially cast over his face from his canvas white hat. The taxi driver chuckled awkwardly as he continued driving, passing by an extravagant-looking hotel as he did so.

"You passed the hotel." The man in the back simply stated.

"Eh.. I don't think I did. All the hotels here in Manhatten are all the same. They look all the same, all the same rooms; me? I've been here for about a year, and I know the city inside and out." The Driver chuckled. "See? That over there's the Statue of Liberty, those are the Twin Towers, and that's the Empire State building. Now, you're talking about a Hilton? Well, we can't miss that. We're getting close." He explained. "I can tell this ain't your first time in New York City, is it, Mr...."

"Kujo. Jotaro Kujo," The man in the back finished what he was going to say. "What kind of place would you describe New York City as being, exactly?"

"Right. Well, Mr. Kujo, it's big. Real big. Think of it as a giant melting pot, if you will. All sorts of people all in the same place basically tryna do the same thing. You know what I mean? If you've got the stomach, then you're gonna want to get some of the pizza. It's to die for out here. Maybe go see the Statue of Liberty, ride a bike, go shopping - New York is like a beehive for people like you- er, I mean, for tourists. They all say that it's a City that Never Sleeps, which basically any city is, but I don't really know why people call it an apple."

"Alright then.. Anything strange happen here recently?" Mr. Kujo asked.

"Eh.... well, back in '93, the North Tower of the World Trade center got bombed but, aside from that, it's pretty normal here. Folks I've driven around have always said they've seen some guy with a weird-looking umbrella, even when it's sunny as can be out here, but I don't blame 'em.

"Umbrella, you say?" Jotaro asked.

"Yeah. An umbrella. Don't know what color, don't know what it looks like, but they all say it looks 'weird'," The Taxi Driver explained. "I dunno much about it either, but what I do know is that you look like you'll be wanting to go over there," His finger was extended towards the nearby Gucci store as they passed by it. "You said you were here for a business trip, right?"

"More or less meeting a friend of mine, but, If you wanna put it that way, be my guest." Mr. Kujo answered.


The Taxi Driver snickered. "Lemme guess: You're a fashion guy."


"Marine Biologist."


"Oh."


From that moment on, the ride was mostly full of an utter lack of communication whatsoever - aside from the song still playing over the radio and the occasional swearing at traffic by the driver. After about a minute of silence, "Mr Kujo" folded his legs as he pulled out two photographs, sighing as he took a glance at them before putting them away. "Good Grief. Let's just hope that this doesn't end up as big of a mess as Morioh did."

"What was that, sir?" The taxi driver asked. "You were speaking Japanese there for a moment."

"I was saying that you could just drop me off over here." Mr. Kujo replied, reaching for his wallet. "How much is the fare?"

_____________________________________
Some time later

The man stepped out of the hotel, photographs in hand, as he watched a taxi by the side of the road disappear into the ocean of yellow and other cars on the street. He soon began to stroll down the same sidewalk that he'd been dropped off at no more than an hour ago, head low as he assumed a mundane posture and soon disappeared into the crowd. In actuality, "blend in" should've been a better word to use, as this man - and what he wore - was anything but mundane in this situation. His white trench coat, visored hat, and wide-legged pants stuck out in the crowd like a sore thumb, causing heads to turn and women to murmur as the swole man waded through pedestrians, shoppers, and children alike. His coat's collar was folded back, with the cuffs sporting the same tesselated pattern as his belts. Underneath the coat was a jumper of sorts over a stiff high-collared shirt; a buckled strap also ran diagonally across his chest. His hat, probably the most notable of all, had a metallic "J" emblem added to it, enclosed by a golden heart.

Overall, he looked like some modern art exhibition, but at the same time it had a sort of chic that seemed to blend right in to the demographic of New Yorkers. Reaching the end of the crosswalk, he paused, not before adjusting his hat, as he placed his hands in his pockets, crossing the street as he soon began to head towards a nearby alley situated in the less than savory end of town.

[Kaidou]

Skies

"No... Mr Wong..."

Itona, of all people, could not stop crying, even as his dragon soared through the dark sky stoically. Hugging the nandao tightly, he looked down at the ground below, back at the city; by then, it was completely engulfed in flames, flames that sent pillars of smoke climbing up to the heavens and blotting out the light of the moon.

It had been two hours already. Two hours since they had left the damned Imperial Palace behind, two hours since Mr Wong's sacrifice. Yet, the inferno of the city was still visible, so great was the carnage that was being wreaked.

The moon slowly descended below the horizon.

"What great beauty", said Koizumi dreamily, looking out at the rolling hills illuminated by the white light of the sleepy moon. "Such a shame it's tainted by war."

...

[Prusselanden]

Skies
Ackerman leaned into Itona and softly wrapped xer arms around him. Xe was still silent, but the limpness with which xe hung against him indicated a state of mental cave-in.

Uska was sitting a few feet away from them. He was as calm as a frozen lake on the surface, but inside part of him was hollow. He could have jumped down...he could have grabbed Wong. Wong was so close...if only he had taken a few more steps then, he might have saved him. Uska sighed deeply. He remembered when Wong told Gohnza to wait for him when he was injured. Wong had cared.

Uska didn't. He didn't even give him a chance to be saved.

"Are you heartless!?"

Uska looked over to Ackerman.

"Maybe I am."

[Legokiller]

Saturn

“You mean what the fox jabbered about Quetz being some blood god? My observations of Quetz tells me that he is far to compassionate, good, and helpful to humanity and probably not require them to perform rituals blood sacrifices. Of course, organics love to believe in superstition without evidence might do this sacrifices to somehow please their gods.” Star stated as she grinned a little in nefarious delight. She stopped for a second when baby Terry start to cry.

“Could you please head towards the nearest restaurant for me Ignis. My bridge does NOT need organic waste being disposed here. I clean this bridge up after everyone left the ship.” Star replied. Star eyes popped wide open as she cloaked her head towards the ceiling. “Extradimsional rift detected! This better not be another fiend! I have to blast this one.”

A rift opened up from the ceiling, echoing a cry as a blue haired girl falls down into the ground. “What?” Star blinked for a second. “S-sailor Mercury?” Sailor Mercury found herself lying on the ground, her attire was torn up, and was injured from a previous battle. Yet, as s he looked up, she recognize a familiar face. “I-ignis?” She remember the snake demon from the day that she was reborn and lost in the new world she was in before Flowey came.

“Ahem, welcome aboard to the Saturn Sailor Mercury.” Star quickly added in.

“The Saturn?” Sailor Mercury quickly connected the dots together. “Oh, then you must be Star, the AI of this ancient war vessel who helped out Princess Serenity. I’m quite surprised on how Serena could obtain such a ship, but given she used a wish maker, it’s no surprise.” She then added. “What happened to Jirachi?”

Star shrugged. “Serena wanted Jirachi to go out in the world and live out its life. Serena could have wish for more splendid luxuries, objects, and other powers, but she didn’t. All Serena wished for is to do the right thing and revive everyone who died in London come back to life, and the city as well. If Elizabeth used Jirachi during the whole London disaster, she will make the wrong choices.”

Then Star turned her attention to Zeta. “Go nearest living quarters should have an available shower and bedroom as well.”

[Wheatley Laboratories]

Saturn

“You mean what the fox jabbered about Quetz being some blood god? Mt observations of Quetz tells me that he is far to compassionate, good, and helpful to humanity and probably not require them to perform rituals blood sacrifices. Of course, organics love to believe in superstition without evidence might do this sacrifices to somehow please their gods.” Star stated as she grinned a little in nefarious delight. She stopped for a second when baby Terry start to cry.

“Could you please head towards the nearest restaurant for me Ignis. My bridge does NOT need organic waste being disposed here. I clean this bridge up after everyone left the ship.” Star replied. Star eyes popped wide open as she cloaked her head towards the ceiling. “Extradimsional rift detected! This better not be another fiend! I have to blast this one.”

A rift opened up from the ceiling, echoing a cry as a blue haired girl falls down into the ground. “What?” Star blinked for a second. “S-sailor Mercury?” Sailor Mercury found herself lying on the ground, her attire was torn up, and was injured from a previous battle. Yet, as s he looked up, she recognize a familiar face. “I-ignis?” She remember the snake demon from the day that she was reborn and lost in the new world she was in before Flowey came.

“Ahem, welcome aboard to the Saturn Sailor Mercury.” Star quickly added in.

“The Saturn?” Sailor Mercury quickly connected the dots together. “Oh, then you must be Star, the AI of this ancient war vessel who helped out Princess Serenity. I’m quite surprised on how Serena could obtain such a ship, but given she used a wish maker, it’s no surprise.” She then added. “What happened to Jirachi?”

Star shrugged. “Serena wanted Jirachi to go out in the world and live out its life. Serena could have wish for more splendid luxuries, objects, and other powers, but she didn’t. All Serena wished for is to do the right thing and revive everyone who died in London come back to life, and the city as well. If Elizabeth used Jirachi during the whole London disaster, she will make the wrong choices.”

Then Star turned her attention to Zeta. “Go nearest living quarters should have an available shower and bedroom as well.”

"Urm... Thanks." Said a startled Zeta.
He waved awkwardly at the Sailor, said "Hey..." Then walked off to find a room to claim.
When he was out of earshot, he smiled. "Finally, a shower. What was with her though? She didn't look like a typical sailor... Eh, it's the multiverse I guess."

He soon found a room in a location he liked, entering and locking the door.
He stripped, throwing his clothes onto the bed. Turning the shower on, he got in and immediately sighed in satisfaction at the sensation. Grinning, he went to turn the temperature dial up higher... Than found out it was already on maximum. Zeta shrugged then began to wash himself.

[Kaidou]

Kubronos
Seimei Shrine | 聖明神宮
At the foot of the Kohinata Mountain | 小日向山の本

- Junichirō Koizumi
- Fritze Ackerman
- Stephen Vincent Strange
- Hex
- Yasuo Fukuda
- Sun Zi-xiang
- Anastasia Mikhailovna Rostova
- Uska Jarvinen
- Itona Namikawa
- Ceiji Namikawa
- Ariel
- Lester
- Chieko Namikawa
- Seishirō Akita
- Caliban

It was when the first rays of the sun began to penetrate the dark skies of the night that the six dragons bearing the members of Koizumi's party landed at their destination; a little shrine at the foot of a majestic, snowy mountain that penetrated the clouds and rose high into the sky, surrounded by evergreen trees and sitting beside a large, serene lake.

Still too tired and shellshocked to make any note of their surroundings, the group dismounted their dragons without so much as a single word to each other, allowing the beasts to fly off to wherever it was they had come from. Ariel, it seemed, was the only one who was still in any mood to do anything, for the moment he dismounted, he lifted the unconscious and bound Seishirō Akita off the dragon and gingerly placed him on the floor, in such a way that the young man's flail chest would not be reopened. Miraculously, Chieko had slept through the flight, though she began to wail upon Ceiji's dismounting, prompting her to bring her baby aside and quietly unbutton her tunic so she could breastfeed the poor girl.

"I never thought I'd get to see anything outside the Imperial Palace in my life", said Lester dryly, straightening out his butler's uniform. "Seventy years of servitude. To think it has finally ended..."

Koizumi looked upon the shrine.

聖明神宮

Just next to the shrine and the lake was a long staircase that went up the side of the mountain, past the clouds, all the way to the top. Upon closer inspection of the horizon, it wasn't so much a mountain as much as it was a single peak connected to many others; a sort of mountain range, where the top ended in a sort of jagged plateau, at least as far as it was visible from beneath the clouds that shrouded the mysterious peaks.

Why exactly the dragons had brought them here was a mystery. Who exactly had called them here was also shrouded in a mystical cloud.

Sitting atop a granite boulder by the lakeside was a boy in a white shirt and white trousers, quietly reading a book.

"Perhaps we should ask him?" inquired Fukuda, having taken off his jacket and rolled up the bloodied sleeve of his office shirt so he could tie a bandage.

"I'll ask him."

Sun Zi-xiang, cocking his head to clear his ears, slowly and tiredly walked towards the boy on the lake, as he silently read his book atop the boulder.

Noticing Zi-xiang approaching him from a couple of yards away, the boy looked up, putting a bookmark back in his book, and then gently setting the book down on the pebbly ground, just out of reach of the lake's gentle waves.

"You must be one of those thirteen warriors from a different dimension", he said, with a half smile. His voice, melodious but ever so slightly nasal, sounded no older than fifteen.

Zi-xiang snorted.

"I didn't come here to get vague messages from fifteen-year-olds", he retorted, perhaps a little bit agitatedly, given his drained mental state. "Why don't you tell me why we were brought here?"

The boy scowled incredulously.

"I'm twenty", he replied.

"You look fifteen", Zi-xiang shot back.

Ignoring the last comment, the boy stood up to his full height of 169cm on the boulder, before hopping off and nonchalantly thrusting his bare feet into his slippers, which he had arranged neatly beside the boulder. As he turned around to face Zi-xiang, the two twin yoroidōshi daggers thrust through the white sash round his waist by his side became clearly visible.

"Let's go", he said. "Sensei wants to see you."

"Why don't you tell us a little bit about where the hell we are, so we know we're not walking into a trap, you little squirt!?"

"Zi-xiang! Stop!" Koizumi snapped. "We're not here to pick a fight."

Ignoring Koizumi, Zi-xiang, who by then was at the end of his tether, lunged forward at the boy, his one amethyst iris glinting irritatedly in the sunlight. The boy drew both his yoroidōshi, ducking and blocking Zi-xiang's first strike, only to be thrown backwards a few yards as the taller and more well-built one-eyed man pushed him backwards.

The boy skidded across the pebbles, sheathing his twin daggers swiftly and bending forward, using his hand to slow down his skidding.

"You're good", he complimented, perhaps a little sarcastically.

"Yoichi!"

The voice from the tree came out of nowhere, but it was as Koizumi and a few others hurried over to the lake to break apart the fight that they noticed the one in the tree; a fair skinned, silver-haired man of about thirty years, dressed in a dark green yukata that camouflaged him with the leaves of the tree.

At the sound of the man calling his name, the boy stopped, standing up and brushing his shirt off.

"Thenthei wantth to thee them", the man in the trees continued, a heavy lisp in his voice apparent. "Jutht bring them to him."

"Sure", said the boy nonchalantly, picking up his book and sticking it under his armpit, before walking towards the rest and brushing past Zi-xiang, who stood there listlessly, staring out at the lake.

Koizumi smiled at the boy sideways.

"The name's Yoichi Mineta", the boy introduced himself. "We're gonna go up that long-ass staircase."

Yoichi Mineta
峯田与一

...

Elsewhere on the Greater Kubronos Continent

General Claudius' delivery had arrived, through a portal in the sky, landing at the bank of a river.

It came in a large metal coffin, one whose lid was chained tightly on the outside. At the head of the coffin was a single paper talisman, its letters glowing, but increasingly less so, as the light faded.

Running his hand along the edge of the coffin, Claudius straightened out his glasses, his long, sharp fingernails scratching the metal. Saliva dribbled from his mouth, which was curled upwards into a horrifyingly wide grin that revealed a set of bleached white teeth attached incongruously to rotting gums.

"Thank you for your present, Dr Lam", he chuckled.

As the sun rose, Claudius pulled the chain keeping the coffin shut, slinging it over his enormous, cruelly muscular shoulder, before dragging it along with him and walking down the path, away from the river, towards the city of Don Thozoigeth, the military capital of the rapidly declining Nizangar Empire.

While he dragged, the talisman attached to the head of the coffin slowly began to lose its adhesive, till at last, the paper fell off. A beastly growl rose from within the coffin, though it did not seem to bother the IGSE general in the slightest; in face, he seemed to enjoy the sound of it.

"Quiet now, my dear", he cooed to the thing in the coffin. "Just a little while more, and you'll get to drink as much blood as you want...

"Lam Jan-ci."

...

[Petrokovia]

Bloodfyre watched as the heroes around him fell one by one; His plan to cave in the hallway didn't go as he had expected, and more of those damned machines were making their way towards the group. He had to figure out something that could stall for time, but there wasn't much he could do... Despite the battle going on around him... He was... losing... energy...

Bloodfyre collapsed to the ground, faint; His attempts to heal the wound the Korean girl had given him hadn't worked as planned; It took a great deal of his energy to keep the wound from bleeding, and in addition to having used several high-energy attacks on his journey thus far, he had simply run out of energy. As the base did not have much Life Energy (he could draw some from the heroes, but that would possibly injure them; only a sociopath would do such a thing), he had no viable source to draw from.

Bloodfyre was still conscious, but only just; Everything seemed fuzzy and blurry.
Is this how I will perish? In a strange world, without glory? Dear Gods, let it not be...

The knight tried to clear his head, focusing instead on keeping his wits about him. Bloodfyre then looked up at Joshua, squinting to focus on him.
"Joshua. It's about time I taught you your first spell."

[Prusselanden]

Random Place
Uska rushed towards Zi-xiang with Ackerman trailing behind. "You idiot, why do you always have to get into trouble." he growled. Luckily, it seemed that no one got too injured. When the boy introduced himself and said he was going to take them to his teacher, Ackerman cocked xer head. "Sensei? Who's your sensei? Why do they want us?"

Saturn
"Yes ma'am." Ignis turned to find a restaurant before Mercury arrived. She looked back as he jaw dropped. "Vhaaaaat. Mercury!?" Ignis ran up to her to help her up. "Vhy are you here? Let's talk later, I need to change Terry."

She ran off to find a restaurant, finally seeing one a few feet away. Ignis entered the bathroom, swiftly changing the baby.

[Kaidou]

Mt Kohinata Dojo | 小日向山道場

"Believe it or not", Yoichi replied, as the group began their slow ascent up the stairs which, thankfully, were not particularly steep, "he wants to rescue y'all."

"How does he know who we are?" Koizumi asked, gripping the sheath of his katana in as non-threateningly a way as possible, simply to assert himself.

"Sensei knows a lot of things", explained Yoichi cryptically. "He's got people who bring information to him."

That was the end of the uncomfortably cryptic conversation. The group climbed on, evidently easier for some (like the old but physically tip-top Koizumi) than for others (Lester, who was simply too old). Zi-xiang cast an uncomfortable glance at Yoichi, who looked back at the one-eyed Chinese warrior. The brief eye contact became too awkward, and both looked away.

Much closer than the group expected, though, was the end of the staircase. They had come out to a small plateau at the part of the mountain range that was just below the cloud canopy; the rest of the mountains stretched on far beyond the horizon, many of its peaks piercing the clouds. A small mountain stream coming from higher up ended at a gentle waterfall that trickled down to somewhere at the bottom.

The dojo itself was situated just next to a gigantic gorge that dropped to nowhere.

"Good night, y'all", said Anastasia irreverently, before Yoichi could show them anywhere else. She skipped off, climbed onto a ledge in a rock wall, and then kicked off her shoes and lay down. "I'm going to sleep. Have fun, y'all."

They stared awkwardly for a moment.

"Anywhere I can put this guy?" asked Ariel, gently putting the still-unconscious Seishirō down on the ground. "He's not exactly one of us, so..."

"I need to piss", said Zi-xiang.

"One at a time, please", Yoichi insisted, tossing his book onto a stone table near the waterfall. "Toilets are in the dojo, but they're squatting toilets. We don't have a jail, but we do have a storage room with nothing important inside, so you could lock him there."

Ariel grinned and looked at Caliban, who appeared to be trying his very best not to lose his temper once again.

"Your choice", Yoichi continued. "Meet with Sensei first, or go to your rooms-"

"Rooms", Lester interjected. "I'm an old man. I don't have enough energy to go running place to place all the time."

...

Kubronos
Thollorrat Village

When I was just a kid, my mother used to make tegubu soup for the entire family every Saturday.

Tegubu soup is a big feast. You make it by boiling broccoli, chicken drumsticks, onions, and radishes together till everything melts into one creamy stew. Then you sprinkle bits of crispy bacon and add a dollop of sour cream. Maybe some caviar to taste; there was a sturgeon farm just nearby, so caviar was always easy and cheap for us to get.

Then Emperor Terneikholveg Rhu Theleng III (bless his name) died, and his son took over as Emperor Road Theleng Roatu VII (bless his name). And from the moment on, things became worse.

First the caviar, sour cream, and the bacon disappeared. Then the chicken drumsticks and the radishes were gone, so the soup was just boiled broccoli and onions. Then even the onions disappeared; we still had broccoli, but they became smaller and more pale.

And finally, in Emperor Road Theleng Roatu VII's (bless his name) 67th year as Emperor, everything disappeared, and at every meal, all we could do was shred nettles and bushes into the water.

Now, he's dead too. They're all dead. And we're all dead.

And with those final thoughts, 89-year-old Timei Hoanoxo, who had lived in the village for his entire life, was cut down brutally by General Claudius of the IGSE, a powerful man dragging a coffin and carrying a long, serrated scimitar, his glasses scattering rainbows in the light of the morning sun.

"What a shithole."

Dropping the coffin heavily on the floor, Claudius brandished his scimitar and marched further into the village, slicing a lamppost in half in a brutal slash.

"But for some reason", he gurgled partly to himself and partly to the four standing before him, "it seems that some people still want to defend this crap. A panda, of all things..."

Before Claudius could complete his sentence, the chain holding the coffin shut snapped, and the lid flew off, tearing the hinges straight off the box. The thing inside leapt straight out of the coffin and landed beside Claudius, only for the general to twist about and impale it through the abdomen, causing it to spurt out blood from its mouth, obscured by a bizarre, metallic mask.

"I don't need you here", he ordered the thing. "I command you to track down Junichirō Koizumi. Kill him, and anybody he is travelling with."

With that, he tore the blade out, and the thing turned around and, at a horrifyingly high speed, charged off into the distance.

Lam Jan-ci
林恩池
SS-rated artificial ghoul (kakuja)

...

[Skylus]

Ammy/Issun
Kubronos
Thollorrat Village

"He just...."
Issun looked up at the sword wielding man before drawing his sword.
"How dare you cut down innocents!" he yelled. "I'll give you a piece of my mind!"
But then this creature appeared, then ran off into the distance.
"...What was that...It looked like a demon...Never seen anything like it before...."
Ammy growled quietly at the man.
"You who dare to harm the weak and feeble, I condemn you for your actions. You have caused the wrath of a Goddess this night, you will receive no mercy from me."

Po

All the Dragon Warrior could do was stand there and watch the thing move off into the distance.
"...You guys saw that freaky thing, right?"
Then Ammy talked about "causing wrath of the gods" or something and Po grinned.
"Never seen you this worked up before. Mind if I help you teach this guy a lesson?"

[Prusselanden]

Village
Kalo clenched his teeth. Sure, the thing looked extremely unsettling and certainly had a demonic air, but for the man to hurt it when it could not fight back angered him. He didn't reply along with the others to Claudius's arrival. Kahlo merely shifted back into his original form and pulled his sunglasses over his face.

"Look how far you've fallen. Defending this worthless place to your last breath."

Kalo morphed his hand into a sword and charged at Claudius with terrifying speed, lifting his blade to slash down on the man.

Dojo
Ackerman yawned. But xe didn't feel like relaxing. No, in fact, xe felt fear. Something was coming for them...xe thought.
Ackerman agreed with the others.
"Yeah, maybe we should rest first..."

While Uska had retreated to find somewhere to stay in the mountains. He didn't want to be confined to a room.

[Kaidou]

Thollorrat Village

Claudius, despite his gigantic muscular build, was able to dodge Kalo's attack with relative ease, stepping backwards and adopting empty stance, while simultaneously slashing violent circles in the air with his serrated scimitar, sending cut grass flying upwards in numerous directions with each blurred stroke of his cruel blade.

"Why, aren't you all the idealistic bunch", he taunted, as he slowly rose to his full height and flicked his sword, so hard that it cut the air and sent a sharp, metallic boom echoing in the near vicinity. "Trying to defend these lowlife villagers. Chòu zhū men."

He slashed the air again.

"I sometimes wonder what value you see in defending dirt like them", he continued, before slashing in several arcs and charging straight for Kalo with his jagged blade ready to draw blood, rainbows refracting from his round, frameless spectacles.

...

Mt Kohinata Dojo | 小日向山道場

Sensei
Itsuki Hitachi
常陸樹

"Greetings to you all. It's my honour to host you here on Mt Kohinata."

By the time Yoichi Mineta had brought the party to their rooms, most were too tired and emotionally drained from the earlier events to even leave, ergo the only ones who had gone down to see Sensei Hitachi were Koizumi, Fukuda, Zi-xiang, and a few others. It seemed a little discourteous, but the fact was that they were simply far too tired.

"Thank you for saving us. Hitachi-sensei."

Both Koizumi and Fukuda bowed (which was reciprocated with a similar bow, albeit one executed while sitting in seiza), while Zi-xiang simply nodded and took a seat in his usual unrefined, brash fashion. Yoichi, on the other hand, simply stood by the side, his gaze shifting to nothing in particular as his mind wandered.

Sensei Hitachi silently gazed at the ones seated before him for a few moments, before finally speaking.

"Would you all like to eat?"

"That would be nice", Zi-xiang blurted.

Immediately, a man standing at the corner snapped his fingers, and before long, a large table was gingerly carried into the room (so as not to damage the tatami floors) and placed between Sensei Hitachi's and his guests' seats. Then, as they carefully shifted to the table's sides, another man brought in a large pot of rice, as well as a large tub of natto, several bowls of assorted pickled vegetables, and a copious amount of miso soup.

"Pardon the lack of meat", said Sensei Hitachi half-jokingly. "It's hard to find up here."

He raised his hand openly, inviting his guests to start eating.

Which they did.

For a few moments, they ate in a casual yet awkward silence; it was far from a formal meal, especially considering how Yoichi would make frequent interjections to the table to take more rice and vegetables, and always from the side where Zi-xiang sat.

"Do you mind, kid?" Zi-xiang snapped, at last, after 10 minutes of eating. "I'm trying to eat here."

Yoichi winked back cheekily and continued eating his third bowl of rice, to which Zi-xiang rolled his one eye as forcefully as possible.

"Yoichi-kun has always been a big eater", the old Sensei remarked dryly. "One wonders how he's still thin as a twig."

Fukuda chuckled nervously.

"So", Sensei Hitachi asked, "what exactly were you doing in Don Roith?"

...

[Prusselanden]

Village
"Ní zhè zhóng rén shì bú huì dóng de." Kalo changed his blade into a whirring chainsaw, deciding on whether to counter Claudius or dodge his attack.
"Everyone, look out. This guy's not like anyone we've faced before."

Kalo leapt to the side of Claudius, dodging the charge. He then slashed downwards towards the man with his weaponized hand.

Dojo
"Thank you, sensei, for saving us..and for the food." Ackerman bowed politely before proceeding to wolf down enormous quantities of rice and vegetables from the plates on the table. Uska sighed and bowed again to the old Sensei.

"I must apologize for my companion. Xe has a rather...large appetite."

By now Ackerman had already devoured twelve bowls of rice while Uska prissily ate his food. "What are we doing? Well we're here to find one of our friends. But we were chased down by others who wished to find him as well."

Saturn
Ignis came back to Mercury and the others, feeding Terry from a bottle.
"By zhe vay, Star, you seem crankier today. Vhat's on your mind?"

[Skylus]

Thollorrat Village

"Alright. That's it. You've gone too far! Ammy, let's show this guy what you can do."
Ammy nodded, let out a feral snarl at the man, then took out the Celestial Brush as a barrier went up around the entire village.
The Sun Goddess took a moment to orient herself, then used the Brush to call upon the Firestorm technique, which summoned fire from nowhere.
"Can you survive fire?"
Normally, Ammy would be against hurting humans, but not this time.