The Ancient Ones: Age of Nothingness (IC)

[Cybraxia]

Manhattan

Reese was barely able to keep the Ruiner from slamming into the cars in front of him, but even after he was brought to safety, he was left wondering just where the hell he was. It had to be some kind of major city - the streets were absolutely packed - but there was something strange about the place he was in. There were so many buildings around him, but not a single window showed any signs of light to pierce the darkness of the night. Was it a power outage? On such a large scale? What could have caused something like this?

Reese was annoyed and confused by this turn of events. What could have brought him to this city? It was clear that it was at least on the North American continent. The license plates on the other cars in the street suggested New York, and from what he knew of its architecture, it fit. When he got the chance, he pulled the car into a parking garage, and got out. He checked his cell phone, and found no service.

Curiouser and curiouser. He walked to the other side of the Ruiner, and shoved the case under the passenger's seat. Out of sight, away from greedy eyes. Reese pulled off the helmet, and clipped it to his belt. Best to not look like a thug. After a minute of further preparations, he strolled out of the parking garage, and onto the streets.

[Kaidou]

Gnosis-Earth
Japan-Tokyo
AEGIS Facility

"Um, yes. About that..."

Dr Kobayashi suddenly became a little more nervous, as he took out the data pad he had carried by his side and frantically tapped a few buttons, opening up several data files at once and scrolling through reams and reams of information. As he did so, the doctor took several calculative, cautious glances at Jan-ci, until he finally came across the file he had been looking for.

"We removed the exoskeleton in fifty three minutes", he explained. "It was still alive, and it attacked us..."

Jan-ci looked away from the doctor and gulped.

"It's currently in the biological containment unit's storage house", Dr Kobayashi continued. "If you need it, I can make arrangements for it to be transported to the Aquila before you leave."

...

Koizumi had received a barrage of text messages from various other members of the crew during his time in Jan-ci's room, informing him of the Left Arm's presence in the immediate vicinity of the Aegis facility and, in fact, within the facility itself. He promptly excused himself and left the room, placing his phone back into his pocket as he came face to face with Ilya Ilyich Timoshenko outside, the young man standing almost a head taller than him.

"Lyet's go", said Ilya Ilyich, winking. "I beeleeve yoo would be interested in meetink my father. He ees de Chief of de Left Arm."

Koizumi nodded, headed back into the room, and, tiptoeing to reach high enough, tapped Ackerman on the shoulder.

"Come along", he said. "We're going to negotiate with the Left Arm."

...

Headquarters of the Left Arm

"This portrait... why is it here?" As they entered the Left Arm's headquarters, the entrance disguised as an ordinary pub, Koizumi could not help but take notice of the Mona Lisa-sized portrait of the old man hanging on the wall.

Ilya Ilyich looked at the portrait.

"Dat man ees de second leader of de Left Arm", he explained. "After de entire general staff was deestroyed een de IGSE assault on Moscow, he assumed command of de Left Arm and organised de evacuation of Terra. Shortly afterwards, his sheep was attacked and deestroyed by de IGSE flagship, as he stalled dem to help us escape.

"Afterwards, when my father assumed control of de organisation, he commeessioned dis portrait to commemorate him. Dat's all my father ever told me."

Koizumi looked reflectively at the painting.

"He was a great man", he said, at last. "A close friend of mine, in fact.

"Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev. First President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Fourth Guardian of the Gate."

Koizumi's solemn admiring of the painting was interrupted the the sound of heavy, uneven footsteps punctuated by the rhythmic tapping of a walking stick upon the parquet floor.

"Junichirō Koizumi", came the voice of Ilya Kirillovich Timoshenko. "We meet at last."

...

[Petrokovia]

Bloodfyre thought for a long moment.
"Yes, I know... In my years I've seen many reactions to loss of life and limb... It could simply be that he is in denial, or the full ramifications have not made themselves realized to him. I suppose if we were to get the proper materials, I may be able to create an arm for him through alchemy..."

The knight paused.
"No, that may not be a wise decision... Too much may be on the line if even a slight mishap occurred, and I do not believe myself skilled enough to perform transmutation on another being... There may be someone skilled enough in Eprelia, though convincing them to perform such an act may not even be possible."

Bloodfyre seemed to mull over the situation, trying to think of ways to help Ivan. After a few minutes, an idea popped into his head.
"In my world, prosthetic limbs are rather simple. Seeing the level the technology of this world has gotten to, I am sure they, too, must be far more advanced here, correct? Would it be feasible for Ivan to get a prosthetic arm?"

---

Miyu watched as Yoko created a rift, and left. The lynx stood for a moment, still trying to comprehend the odd interaction she was just a part of.
Weird...

She shrugged, grabbed the last of her things, and exited the ship. She pulled out her phone, and texted Tadayoshi to tell him that she had gathered everything she needed, and was off of the ship.

---

After reading a text from Miyu, Tadayoshi stood up.
"Well, Miyu's off the ship, so we're ready to go."

Kongou turned to the superhuman, nodding. Without so much as another word, Kongou's ship made a jump to Antarctica, in Kongou's original world.

It has been some time... No, I haven't been gone for long. A lot has happened, and it just feels like a long time... It is odd... We have mental models to perceive time as humans do, so why is it so imperfect? Does this phenomenon really happen with humans, as well?

Kongou rose from her chair. Her eyes widened, and she began briskly walking out to her main deck.

All heads turned to watch her leave.
"Kongou? Where are you going?"
"Did she find something?"
"I dunno. We should follow her." Terrell responded.
"Right."

Tadayoshi led the group out onto the deck, where they saw Kongou waving to a blue submarine and a small number of glowing ships in the water in front of them. Kongou turned to face the others as they walked out onto the deck.
"That is Blue Steel-I suppose you could say they are my friends."

She turned around to look out towards the submarine.
I wonder why they are here...

---

On board Blue Steel, there was a small crew. The mental model, a short girl in a sailor's outfit named Iona, turned towards the captain of Blue Steel.

"Gunzou..." she started. "We have found the Unidentified Object in the report."
"Oh..."

A picture of the wreckage of the Ockham's Razor flickered onto the main screen at the front of the bridge.
"Woah, that thing is huge! No wonder this thing got everyone's attention!" The weapons operator, Kyouhei said in surprise.

"It's difficult to tell what it is..." Gunzou said, squinting at the half-buried wreckage. "It might be-"
"Gunzou, I have just picked up Kongou's signature."
"Oh, how far away is she?"
"Fifty meters."
"What?" Gunzou asked, not believing his ears.
"Fifty meters."
"Oh... How did she get so close? Is it some kind of new stealth system...?"
"Whatever it is, I'm just glad she didn't use it during the war..." moaned Shizuka, the sonar operator. She took off her headphones and rubbed her ears. "Whatever she used, it came out of nowhere, and was really loud when she appeared..."

[Prusselanden]

AEGIS
Ackerman nodded and followed Koizumi. Xe looked back at Jan-Ci and waved, mustering a smile.

The Left Arm
Ackerman cocked her head at the painting.
"A close friend of yours, huh? You must really look up to him then. It looks like he's a hero."

When Ilya Sr. entered the room, Ackerman tensed up until xe saw him. "Oh, hello Herr Timoshenko. So you've heard of Koizumi-san? Did you know him through Gorbachev?"

[Naval Monte]

Gnosis-Earth
Japan-Tokyo
AEGIS Facility


“How in the world could it attack you?” Strange asked, Finding what the doctor said to be unbelievable. “I don’t see a reason for us to take that with us but I want to see the exoskeleton myself to see if it indeed can still be animate without being attached to Jan-chi.

Strange saw Koizumi leave the room but he didn’t ask the man where he was going nor tired to stop him. Hex saw Koizumi arrived and when Ilya wanted to take the man to headquarters of the Left Arms the woman decided to follow along.

When they enter what appeared as a pub she saw the massive portrait of Gorbachev Hex was surprised by both it and what Ilya said about his world. “Wait the USSR survived in your world? What happened to the United States, the European Union, and NATO?”

[Kaidou]

HQ of the Left Arm

- Junichirō Koizumi
- Fritze Ackerman
- Hex

- Ilya Ilyich Timoshenko
- Ilya Kirillovich Timoshenko

"Allow me to explain", said Ilya Kirillovich, heading over to his desk and pulling out a bottle of Jack Daniels and several small glasses, before shuffling over to the meeting table and beckoning to the others to sit down with him.

"Following the death of General Secretary Andrei Gromyko in 1979, there was a power struggle within the Communist Party, as there was a large dispute over who should fill his position. It was decided after much argument that there would be troika rule: Vasily Kuznetsov, Konstantin Chernenko, and Mikhail Gorbachev.

"But Chernenko died in 1980, and Kuznetsov died in 1984, which left Gorbachev as the only remaining leader. He implemented widespread political reforms in the USSR, which culminated in the complete reorganisation of the USSR into a parliamentary democracy in 1989, with Nikolai Ryzhkov as the first Prime Minister of the USSR and Mikhail Gorbachev as the first President of the USSR."

Here, Ilya Kirillovich stopped to take a sip of whisky.

"It was in 1996 that things began to get messy. Mikhail Gorbachev was serving a second term as President following a landslide reelection, when Panama was suddenly vaporised. Straight off the map!

"At this particular point in time, the Eastern Bloc was still in dispute with the West over the issue of the reunified Germany, because negotiations over the government were still ongoing. As a result of the destruction of Panama, however, NATO was forced to enter a temporary alliance with the Warsaw Pact to investigate the cause of the destruction.

"The Americans spearheaded the investigation. That is, until the White House (and the whole of Washington D. C.) was eradicated in a firestorm on January 4, 2001, by a warship that appeared in the sky. President Bill Clinton fled to St Petersburg, and President-elect George W. Bush committed suicide on live telecast. Just shortly afterwards, on February 6, 2001, the USA was formally dissolved and NATO disbanded. The only two world powers remaining were the USSR and the People's Republic of China.

"In 2002, President Dmitri Fyodorovich Nikiforov, who succeeded President Gorbachev, ordered the creation of the Left Arm, a counter-IGSE force comprising the KGB, the orbital weapons programme, and several branches of the Red Army, with himself as Supreme Commander. That was also the same year that the Chinese surrendered to the IGSE without even fighting, after negotiations and an agreement that the People's Liberation Army would serve IGSE interests in other worlds, following the destruction of Terra.

"That left the USSR the sole power in the world, fighting against the IGSE alone.

"In 2004, President Nikiforov lost his reelection bid... to me. I became the third President of the USSR, and the first thing I did was reappoint Nikiforov the head of the Left Arm, so I could concentrate on the organisation of an emergency evacuation effort, should the USSR's orbital weapons prove ineffective in fighting off the IGSE's warships.

"I was right. On 19 January 2005, the IGSE began a ground invasion of the USSR, assisted by the PLA and several mercenary nuclear groups from the former USA. And on 22 March, our last orbital cannon was destroyed by IGSE space forces. The Left Arm managed to score a victory against the IGSE, as we assassinated General Korb Ren, the commander of the Karelian Front, a direct subordinate of none other than General Thero Ionian Yiira himself, the supreme commander of the invasion.

"But that wasn't enough to stop them. They appointed a new General, Aulfbua Soeheg, to continue fighting on the Karelian Front, and things only got worse as General Thero Ionian Yiira unleashed the full IGSE arsenal on the world and on the Union.

"On 4 April 2005, Dmitri Nikiforov hanged himself, leaving the Left Arm leaderless. Just two days later, Moscow was destroyed, and the central government was officially disbanded. Sensing the end was near, I personally searched for Mikhail Gorbachev, who had gone into quiet retirement in Crimea. I begged him to come back, and he agreed. He took command of the Left Arm, and together, the two of us made every last effort to evacuate not just the Union, but the entire world's peoples.

"Our efforts were in vain. The remnants of the USSR's government were so disorganised that no coordinated plan could be achieved.

"On 9 April 2005, the USSR was dissolved. And with the Left Arm's 400 personnel the sole banners of humanity, we took whatever ships we had and evacuated 4,000 people in a single day. On 10 April, 2005, the IGSE's super weapon had arrived.

"The Mass Shadow Generator."

"Mass Shadow Generator?" Koizumi asked, declining to have any alcohol.

Ilya Kirillovich had a second shot of whisky.

"It's hard to describe what exactly the Mass Shadow Generator does", he explained. "But we knew from the moment it was unleashed on us that the end had come. We had lost. The entire world went dark, and all over, these strange eyes and mouths began to appear all over. Nothing, no bodies or monsters whatsoever. Just eyes and mouths, floating in the air.

"The Left Arm finally decided to leave Terra, bringing along a final 900 people, not including its 400 personnel. As our last ship was about to take off, however, that was when we saw... him.

"Thero Ionian Yiira himself, armed with an assault rifle and accompanied by a squad of shock troops.

"He opened fire on our ship, and he would have destroyed it all, had it not been for Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev. This part... this is where I no longer understand..."

Ilya Kirillovich Timoshenko filled a third glass of whisky and downed it in a single gulp, as if to drown out his horrifying memories of what had transpired during the invasion.

"Mikhail Sergeyevich took out a pistol hidden inside his coat, and he walked towards Thero. It looked so ridiculous. An old man of 74 years old, armed with only a revolver and a walking stick, challenging a young man in his early 20s, armed with an assault rifle and the most powerful arsenal in the Multiverse.

"But he did it. He sacrificed himself to stall the monster Thero, so we could escape. And he shot Thero once, in the shoulder, before himself being riddled with assault rifle bullets. But he never touched the floor.

"Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was engulfed in a pure white light that blinded Thero and his goons, and even I, as the door of our ship closed. And when we finally took off, I looked out of the window, and Mikhail Sergeyevich was not there. He had... vanished."

Koizumi, at last, took a shot of whisky.

...

[Prusselanden]

Left Arm
Ackerman listened to the story with a lead weight on xer heart. The story of the destruction of Terra, a whole planet, was indeed hard to swallow. When Timoschenko got to the part of the evacuation, xe swore was about to break out in cold sweat.

As the old man finished with Gorbachev's strange death, Ackerman nearly dropped xer cup of whisky, but caught it just in time.
"....What!? He just... glowed and disappeared!?"

Xe turned to Koizumi. Xer darting irises scanning his face, confusedly searching for answers.
"Do you know what happened, Koizumi-san? You're a Time Guardian, so maybe you know if this is what happens to them when they die?"

[Naval Monte]

HQ of the Left Arm

Hex stayed quiet as the story of the Left Arm’s departure from their home world and the destruction of Terra from the IGSE was told. Hex decided to save her questions and comments about the story after it was done. Once Ilya was done telling her and everyone how the Left Arm form and arrive in Gnosis the woman finally ask.

“That still leaves out how you all found this universe. While I rather let Koizumi full in the details of Gorbachev’s death I do have to ask how you and your organization manage to adapt to this world. Not only is it obvious that the USSR lost the Cold War and is no longer around but you surely know that in this world there are two halves... well we’re.”

Hex became silent for a while. “For a long time the other half of the world, known as either The Secert World or the Occult Underground, remained as the dark half of the world that only a few knew about and took active participation in, the rest of humanity never quite knowing the full picture. But that was before Detroit was wiped off the face of the world and a wave of... “something”. created so much paranormal happenings that it shattered the fragile boundary that kept the two worlds divided.”

---

Traveler

Elizabeth was ready to leave with her kids but a part of her wanted to check up on Jacob before leaving. “You two don’t mind waiting for a few more minutes? I need to check up on something.” The twins agreed to wait for her and with that Elizabeth went down to the medical bay.

When she entered she found Clarius inside waiting for Jacob to wake up. “So Jacob is still drifting off somewhere in the Dreamlands?” The woman said as she lean against the doorframe, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

[The Palmetto]

Village Jika

If Aestus had eyes, he would've been glaring at Daniel and F5. Instead, he just stared at them for a few moments before facing the rest of the group again. But they were right, and Aetherus was always the unpredictable sort. Perhaps it was worth being wary of this Neptune. He would keep an eye on her, for sure, but wouldn't be blatant or rude like F5.

"You and Aestus are as ignorant as you are over-trusting," F5 remarked to Jules and Aestus.
"We should be the ones scared. We're on a failed colony far away from home without a figure like Old Bed to guide us, we're trying to fight a god that could easily kill of us right now if he wanted to. Meanwhile, this incompetent childish cump falls from nowhere and you treat them without the least bit of suspicion!" He yelled angrily at the group. His eyes were 6 lights behind a cracked visor, and all of them looked at Aestus, Jules, and Neptune with disgust.

Aestus let out a distressed sigh. This amalgamation of a group was created as a mixture of some random folk meeting together and deciding to defeat Aetherus for personal reasons or their own gain, and as a result was extremely dysfunctional. Aestus would simply have to try his hardest to rally them together, and then they could depart as soon as this was finished.

"I'm sorry again, Neptune. We will gladly accept your help, but I can't deny what some of us are saying. We'll be keeping a close eye on you for a while, but for now, I think we should get moving so we can get this all over with. Don't you all agree?" Aestus said, trying to appeal to their feelings of tiredness. Hopefully he could defuse this situation as soon as possible by getting them to forget it, but this was a strategy that would always bite him in the future.

The Bloody Battlefield

Snow let out a beastly chuckle.
"I wouldn't be so confident about him just because he's a god," she remarked to her companions. Snow would never overestimate an enemy just because they had some fancy title. She had met beings more powerful than gods in her life, after all.
"If we can pull this surprise attack right, we'll be able to win. All we need to do is lure them here, and luckily they're nearby. Any suggestions from the lady named after a week day? Or how about her pet dog?" Snow asked the two with a humorous tone.

[Wheatley Laboratories]

Village Jika

If Aestus had eyes, he would've been glaring at Daniel and F5. Instead, he just stared at them for a few moments before facing the rest of the group again. But they were right, and Aetherus was always the unpredictable sort. Perhaps it was worth being wary of this Neptune. He would keep an eye on her, for sure, but wouldn't be blatant or rude like F5.

"You and Aestus are as ignorant as you are over-trusting," F5 remarked to Jules and Aestus.
"We should be the ones scared. We're on a failed colony far away from home without a figure like Old Bed to guide us, we're trying to fight a god that could easily kill of us right now if he wanted to. Meanwhile, this incompetent childish cump falls from nowhere and you treat them without the least bit of suspicion!" He yelled angrily at the group. His eyes were 6 lights behind a cracked visor, and all of them looked at Aestus, Jules, and Neptune with disgust.

Aestus let out a distressed sigh. This amalgamation of a group was created as a mixture of some random folk meeting together and deciding to defeat Aetherus for personal reasons or their own gain, and as a result was extremely dysfunctional. Aestus would simply have to try his hardest to rally them together, and then they could depart as soon as this was finished.

"I'm sorry again, Neptune. We will gladly accept your help, but I can't deny what some of us are saying. We'll be keeping a close eye on you for a while, but for now, I think we should get moving so we can get this all over with. Don't you all agree?" Aestus said, trying to appeal to their feelings of tiredness. Hopefully he could defuse this situation as soon as possible by getting them to forget it, but this was a strategy that would always bite him in the future.

The Bloody Battlefield

Snow let out a beastly chuckle.
"I wouldn't be so confident about him just because he's a god," she remarked to her companions. Snow would never overestimate an enemy just because they had some fancy title. She had met beings more powerful than gods in her life, after all.
"If we can pull this surprise attack right, we'll be able to win. All we need to do is lure them here, and luckily they're nearby. Any suggestions from the lady named after a week day? Or how about her pet dog?" Snow asked the two with a humorous tone.

"Well." said Friday, crossing her arms after she brushed her hair out of her eyes. "First off, he's not a dog. He's my brother. Second. To draw them here? We need to make them follow something. Not one of us, no, that'd be too obvious and they'd hit us with some kind of long-range spell. Perhaps..."
She lapsed into silence for a few moments.
"A spirit animal. Something that appears to be good and helpful, but in reality..."
Her brother would change into a leopard with glowing blue and white fur.
"It's a trick."

[Prusselanden]

Village Jika
Julian flinched as F-5 yelled at her, instinctively covering her head.
"S-sorry..."

Sure, part of her was scared, but Julian also felt empathy for F-5. It seemed that he too went through some rough times that made him defensive and distrustful of other people. Getting hurt by someone else could leave wounds hidden from the eye. By now she had calmed down a bit and put a hand on his large robotic arm, smiling at him.

"I guess you do have a point there. We're not in the best place, and Aetherus is trying to kill us. I can see where you're coming from, and I'm sorry if some of my actions were pretty stupid in this situation. I can be a bit too trusting at times. You're right in that respect; I should try to listen to you more from now on. But still, we should not do or say anything that threatens the unity of our group."

She glanced at Neptune, who had stopped following her. Julian realized she was scared of F-5.

"But Neppy shouldn't be able to do anything even if she's a spy, since she seems to be scared of your right now and probably wouldn't try anything funny because of it. Alena either. Just look at that bludgeon of hers-if she was a spy, don't you think she'd try to hide that weapon?"

Frederick snuck behind Neppy and pinched her cheeks playfully. "Peter look, isn't she adorable? Hey, Aestus, can we keep her?"

"She is indeed small as a dwarf." Peter laughed and picked Neppy up. Abe rushed over and put her back down. "Stop y'all! You're scaring the poor girl. Newton, some help here?"

"I'm busy keeping Konrad captive, sorry." Newton yelled from afar.

[Kaidou]

HQ of the Left Arm

“Mr Gorbachev is the only other Gate Guardian I know, besides myself”, said Koizumi, quietly looking up at the painting of the former President hanging on the wall. “I met him only once. That was before I had been appointed the Fifth Gate Guardian myself.

“He must have been taken home by the Master.”

Ilya Kirillovich Timoshenko looked at Koizumi, reaching hesitantly for the whisky bottle, before finally changing his mind and staying his hand.

“Truth be told”, he said, answering Hex’s question, “I had no idea where to go. Mikhail Sergeyevich provided us with coordinates, but we couldn’t follow them because of the IGSE orbital blockade. So we had to make a wild jump to hyperspace using a stolen IGSE drive, the same way the previous ship had escaped. That’s how we ended up here. Somehow... we did.”

Standing up, Ilya Kirillovich brought the bottle and the cups back to the stash behind his desk, stowing them away.

“It so happens”, said Koizumi, “that the Master... the same one on whose behalf Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev returned from retirement to fight the IGSE... has given me the indomitable task of destroying both the IGSE as well as its arch rival, the terrorist empire known as the Chimaera.

“I am the fifth Gate Guardian. I believe the Master wants to end things once and for all... and he chose me for this task. So if I may be so bold as to ask... will the Left Arm be willing to join me?”

“No”, Ilya Kirillovich replied with shocking bluntness and firmness.

Koizumi raised an eyebrow.

“Dat‘s vyery blunt of yoo, Father”, said Ilya Ilyich.

“I suspect there is a traitor in the Left Arm”, Ilya Kirillovich continued. “I cannot jeopardise another anti-IGSE force by recklessly charging into a coalition.”

...

[Prusselanden]

Left Arm
Ackerman nodded at Timoschenko, not surprised by his answer at all.
"I understand. This is a huge task to undertake, and the Left Arm's inability to stop the invasion of Terra as well as your suspicions of a traitor in the ranks, it's only reasonable for you to hesitate to join us."

Xe turned to Hex and Koizumi.

"We have three choices here. We could either persist in our efforts for them to join us, or we could search for another faction as an ally, or we could help them weed out this traitor."

Xe knew deep down, however, the Left Arm was perhaps their only source of hope for miles around.

"By the way, who exactly is this Master?"

[Kaidou]

HQ of the Left Arm

"I'll send my son to follow you", said Ilya Kirillovich, "but apart from that, I cannot compromise your safety. I will not join you."

Koizumi exhaled deeply.

"The Master is an angelic being residing in a different plane of existence", he explained. "He is a benevolent entity who commissions the Gate Guardians to do his bidding in cleaning the Multiverse of evil. In short, we're like his janitors." He chuckled.

"I'm the fifth in the line of Gate Guardians. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is my immediate predecessor. I do not know who the first three Gate Guardians are."

Crossing his legs, Koizumi brushed his mane of silver hair backwards with his fingers, looking at Ilya Kirillovich.

"Who might this traitor be?"

Ilya Kirillovich reached under the table and pulled out three photographs of three men, two of whom were dressed in Red Army generals' uniforms decorated with a wide array of medals, and one wearing a black suit and maroon tie with three gold star medals.

"Vasili Fyodorovich Nikiforov, elder brother of the late President Dmitri Fyodorovich Nikiforov, Marshal of the Soviet Union, two-times Hero of the Soviet Union.

"Vyacheslav Maximilianovich Azarov, Chairman of the KGB, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union.

"Ivan Lvovich Kamenev, illegitimate son of Lev Borisovich Kamenev, former member of the Politburo under the administration of Andrei Gromyko, Hero of the Soviet Union and five times Hero of Socialist Labour.

"One of these three men is a traitor."

Ilya Kirillovich handed the photographs to Koizumi, who kept them in his jacket. At that moment, he received a text message.

"Looks like we're going to have to go now", he said to Hex and Ackerman, standing up. Ilya Ilyich, too, stood up along with them and straightened out his shirt. "Thank you for your time, Ilya Kirillovich."

"My pleasure to host you", said Ilya Kirillovich. "Godspeed."

...

"Can I let yoo een on somethink?" said Ilya Ilyich to the rest, as they left the base. He motioned for the three pictures which Koizumi had been given, before tearing all three of them up and scattering the shreds on the ground.

[Prusselanden]

Left Arm
"So, he's like God, right? So...that makes you like some sort of angel?" Ackerman's eyes lit up. "Oh my gott, Koizumi-san, you're an angel, that's so cool!"

After Ilya Sr. agreed to let his son join the group, and informed them about the three possible traitors, Ackerman got up to leave and bowed in thanks to the old man.
"Danke schon for your hospitality. I hope we can find who are the real traitors and weed them out before they do any harm. Also, I promise to keep Ilya safe for you."

As Ilya asked to tell them something, Ackerman leaned in immediately.
"Yes?"

[Osnil Returns]

Hyrule Castle
Kylo Ren glared at this newcomer. Apparently he thought that he was referring to the Sith Race, not the Way of the Sith. "Allow me to rectify that, fool!" shouted Kylo, releasing a blast of lightning that made his opponent's look like child's play. He then ignited his cross-guarded lightsaber. "Your pathetic Sith ways have failed."

Lana and Cia both looked at one another. Lana sighted Doug from across the ruins. "THAT TRI-FORCE IS MINE!" shouted Cia, standing up. She summoned an army of Dark Links around her, and motioned for them to attack.

Lana sighed. She created several magical barriers around the two Darksiders. A moment later they exploded, throwing the Darksiders into one another, just in time for the Dark Links to attack the stunned foes.
Hyrule Field
Despite their superior weaponry, the Stormtroopers bolted and ran as Link began a one-man war on them. Several scattered Hylian soldiers rallied to him as he began to push back the enemy.

Impa and Lana knelt in front of the Great Fairy Fountain and offered prayers. So much depended on the Great Fairy's intervention that it couldn't fail.
Hyrule Village
Linkle was still engaging Ventress, who was darting here and there, getting closer and closer. Ventress deflected every single shot Linkle fired. Finally Ventress leaped on top of Linkle, throwing her to the ground. "How painful shall I make this?" she asked, placing the lightsaber at Linkle's neck. Linkle struggled to speak. "WHat's that? Very painful. I agree fully." Linkle's face turned from fear to courage as a shining light came from the compass she swung around her neck.

Across the village, Grievous placed his metal foot on Taylor's neck. "I wouldn't move if I were you," he wheezed. "Your energy swords will make a fine addition to my collection."
Meeting House
The newcomer was not Link, but he reminded one of Link. For one, his clothes were not the green cloak everyone knew of as belonging to Link. Second, some kind of ancient technology was at his waist.

"My personal designation is Fi," Fi replied. "And this is Midna, Princess of Twilight, and Darunia, Chief of the Goron Tribe."

"A little confused about this village?" asked Midna. "It was the subject of an attack of some kind."

"When I get my hands on them, I will crush them with my hammer!" bellowed Darunia.

[Wheatley Laboratories]

Hyrule Castle
Kylo Ren glared at this newcomer. Apparently he thought that he was referring to the Sith Race, not the Way of the Sith. "Allow me to rectify that, fool!" shouted Kylo, releasing a blast of lightning that made his opponent's look like child's play. He then ignited his cross-guarded lightsaber. "Your pathetic Sith ways have failed."

Lana and Cia both looked at one another. Lana sighted Doug from across the ruins. "THAT TRI-FORCE IS MINE!" shouted Cia, standing up. She summoned an army of Dark Links around her, and motioned for them to attack.

Lana sighed. She created several magical barriers around the two Darksiders. A moment later they exploded, throwing the Darksiders into one another, just in time for the Dark Links to attack the stunned foes.
Hyrule Field
Despite their superior weaponry, the Stormtroopers bolted and ran as Link began a one-man war on them. Several scattered Hylian soldiers rallied to him as he began to push back the enemy.

Impa and Lana knelt in front of the Great Fairy Fountain and offered prayers. So much depended on the Great Fairy's intervention that it couldn't fail.
Hyrule Village
Linkle was still engaging Ventress, who was darting here and there, getting closer and closer. Ventress deflected every single shot Linkle fired. Finally Ventress leaped on top of Linkle, throwing her to the ground. "How painful shall I make this?" she asked, placing the lightsaber at Linkle's neck. Linkle struggled to speak. "WHat's that? Very painful. I agree fully." Linkle's face turned from fear to courage as a shining light came from the compass she swung around her neck.

Across the village, Grievous placed his metal foot on Taylor's neck. "I wouldn't move if I were you," he wheezed. "Your energy swords will make a fine addition to my collection."
Meeting House
The newcomer was not Link, but he reminded one of Link. For one, his clothes were not the green cloak everyone knew of as belonging to Link. Second, some kind of ancient technology was at his waist.

"My personal designation is Fi," Fi replied. "And this is Midna, Princess of Twilight, and Darunia, Chief of the Goron Tribe."

"A little confused about this village?" asked Midna. "It was the subject of an attack of some kind."

"When I get my hands on them, I will crush them with my hammer!" bellowed Darunia.

Taylor trembled, looking at the blade far too close to his neck and almost unconcious from the pain.
Also, Konrad was heavy. What the hell does he eat?

Reiyo, meanwhile, decided he probably needed to do something. It wouldn't look good if the savior was killed on his watch.
He ran over, jumped and... vanished. Along with Grevious.

Paused Time
Reiyo faced Grevious and motioned with his hand to follow him. In case of attack he also said, "You don't want to attack me in here. I can easily move us into the past and strand you there. If you die here, you'll get wiped from existence too... You will never had existed. Your choice."

[Skylus]

Meeting House
The newcomer was not Link, but he reminded one of Link. For one, his clothes were not the green cloak everyone knew of as belonging to Link. Second, some kind of ancient technology was at his waist.

"My personal designation is Fi," Fi replied. "And this is Midna, Princess of Twilight, and Darunia, Chief of the Goron Tribe."

"A little confused about this village?" asked Midna. "It was the subject of an attack of some kind."

"When I get my hands on them, I will crush them with my hammer!" bellowed Darunia.

Link; Meeting House

"Since we are doing introductions, I shall tell you my name as well."
The Hylian drew the blade at his side and the sword cut the air as Link swung it once.
"My name is Link. I'm the great great grandson of the last hero. His title was Hero of the Wild. What era is this?"

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

Traveler
Clairus was currently alone in the medical bay, still watching Jacob. Her mind was filled with memories of him, and how she eventually came to fall in love with him. She had been sitting next to him lost in thought for hours now, and she was beginning to tire. I'm not leaving him. Not yet. She thought. Suddenly she heard a voice, and the sudden sound made her jump and let out a soft squeak of surprise. She turned around and saw Elizabeth, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Y-yeah. Yeah he is..." She said, looking back at the unconscious man. She looked at Elizabeth again. "Do you... uh... do you want to sit with him with me?" She asked shyly.

[Osnil Returns]

Traveler
Professor Oobleck, Penny, Coco, and Velvet landed in a pile aboard the Traveler. "Where are we?" asked Coco, looking around. Nothing was familiar.

"This is beyond the technology that even Atlas possesses," Oobleck commented as he scanned the ship. He noticed that the portal that had spit them out had merely vanished. "Girls, do not panic, but I have a thought. It is my belief that we just entered into another dimension. Fascinating!"

"Aren't we supposed to be helping at Beacon?" asked Penny.

"It appears that we stumbled into an interdimensional wormhole. Fascinating!" Oobleck exclaimed. He began to write down more notes in his notebook as he scanned the ship. It appeared as if they were in some kind of medical bay.
Remnant-Weiss' Ship
The Nevermore attacked the ship, rocking it back and forth. The glass in the cockpit cracked, then shattered as a spray of dart-like feathers from the Nevermore hit it. The Nevermore peeked it's head in through the cockpit and downed the pilot in one gulp. The airship was now on a dangerous course: straight into one of the famous Atlas mountains. Weiss had no training for this, but she did see an opportunity.

She fired Fire Dust Charge out of her rapier onto the Nevermore. The Nevermore screeched as Weiss drove a blade into the Nevermore's neck. The Nevermore dissolved into dust. Plan B was to find a solution out. "It's okay, Weiss," she murmured to herself. "If you can fight a ridiculously crazy amount of Grimm, you can figure your way out of this." She looked around the ship to see a leftover parachute. Strapping it on, she jumped out. When she pulled the string, the parachute flew open.

Then she noticed that a second Nevermore was circling around her. She fired an ice charge to dispatch it, but not before it fired it's feathery darts into the parachute, causing the parachute to be torn and tattered. Weiss fell towards the ground like a rock.

[Naval Monte]

Left Arms HQ

“So you all either came here by dumb luck or something pulled your ships to this world? Sometimes things from other realms get attracted to this world. There are many reasons why this happen and to be honest I don’t feel like listening down all of them but I will say that this works is a nexus for the strange and macabre.”

When Ilya made it clear that the Left Arm won’t joined due to a traitor in their ranks Hex gave the man a glare. “What you think this tea tour is doing, sending the IGSE coordinates to this universe’s location?” She guessed, hoping that wasn’t the case.

When they learned more about the guardian and who the possible tratoir can be they left but not before getting someone from the Left Arm to work with them. When Ilya destroyer thevpuctures Hex trued to stop him from doing that. “If you have additional copies of those photos I want to take them back. I know if a meryhid that may help us find who the tratoir is. Of course having more like their finger nails, hair, and maybe even saliva, blood, or semen can help but the names and photos would work for now”

---

Traveler

Elizabeth shook her head. “Sorry love I can’t do that. I got to leave soon since I can’t leave my Kingdom alone for too long. Ignoring the fact that I bailed on them without announcing my departure I can’t leave them alone because my nation is in a six way Cold War with other great powers with one nation in particular having a massive hate boner for the one I rule.” She explained, feeling rather terrible that she coukdn’t stay to make sure Conundrum recovers.

“I came here to check up on you two to see if maybe he made some recovery. Seeing that he is still unconscious how are you feeling?” The dark mage asked. Suddenly npfoyr more people appeared in the ship, making Elizabeth roll her eyes. “Nice to see that is still a thing in this ship.” She muttered. Elizabeth gave them a wave. “Welcome to the Traveler, a place for both misfits abd the lost and where catastrophe is always around the corner. Normally the captain of the ship would explain on what is going on he is sick so I will be answering all of your questions.”

[Osnil Returns]

Traveler
Oobleck stood up and dusted himself off. "My name is Doctor Oobleck. I am a teacher at Beacon Academy, or what's left of it. We were engaging the Grimm occupying the school after the disaster after the Vytal Festival, and managed to stumble into what I assume is some sort of Portal. First off, where are we?"

Velvet looked nervously around, noticing Clairus. She was some sort of Faunas, though far more fox-like than most Faunas are. She slid up next to her and whispered, "Are you okay? You look a bit tired."

Penny began to observe the technology around her. "Do you know how any of this works?" she asked. "I would love to understand how it works."

Coco stayed still. She really didn't know what to do. She took one look at Elizabeth. Black trenchcoat, black gloves, maroon boots - all were stunning. She said, "I love that outfit. Especially the gloves and boots. Where'd you get them?"

Around that time, Weiss came crashing in through another portal. Oobleck turned to her and said, "Nice of you to join us, Miss Schnee."

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

Traveler
Clairus nodded. "Oh... I see. That's understandable." She said softly. After Elizabeth asked how Clairus was doing, the kitsune thought it over. "I think I'm okay... I'm definitely relieved that Jacob's alright, but..." She paused. "I... I'm worried... I'm worried about how he's going to react to my... uh... confession that I made to him earlier... U-unless he wasn't conscious for it, in which case he didn't hear it so... Uh... Yeah..." She said.

Suddenly, several more people appeared, surprising Clairus. One of them approached her, asking if she was alright. The woman had long, rabbit-like ears on her head, which definitely surprised the kitsune. "I... Uh... y-yeah? W-who are-" "Oh for the love of - why does this keep happening?!" Aicy suddenly interjected, appearing before the group as a shimmering hologram. She looked annoyed and flustered, and looked at each of the new arrivals with an intense gaze "You're aboard the TUS Traveler; an interuniversal vessel currently in the space of a foreign universe. Identify yourselves please." She said to them.

[Aeternabilis]

Havana Hospital

Joshua sighed. "Yeah, prosthetic arms have come a long way here since medieval times, but the ones that aren't next to useless are extremely expensive- millions of dollars worth. Or, uh, millions of gold coins, which isn't exactly within Ivan's price range. Or any of ours, in fact. My family's pretty wealthy, but not quite to that level."

A few moments later, Ivan and Jack walked into the waiting room. Jack took one of the empty seats nearby while Ivan stayed standing to address the team. "Privyet, tovarishchi. How is everyvone doing?" "All good here," Joshua reported, looking up at Ivan in one of the rare moments the latter was above eye level. "How about you? You, uh, doing okay with the arm thing?" "It is fine," Ivan replied curtly, shutting down a potential conversation about it to Joshua's surprise. "Fine? But-" "Da. Fine." He shot a look at Joshua telling him to shut up about it, who complied. "More importantly, I have come up vith strategy for defeating Abakelia vonce and for all." Joshua frowned. "I'm sure your plan is great, man, but we're not exactly in a position to fight at the moment." "Zhat is vhy ve von't," Ivan said, glancing away slightly and keeping his face as neutral as possible. "I... have made a deal vith Ji-Yeong, our former enemy, to fight on our side in exchange for our help."

A few hours later...

"Explain that to me again," Marcus said, struggling to make sense of Ivan's words. He was still in his hospital bed, but was now surrounded by most of the rest of his team, with Pobeda, Eric, and Ann absent. The former had been excluded on the grounds that he was too unstable to leave his room, and the latter two hadn't shown as Ann had still not woken up and Eric refused to leave her side. Ivan had just finished outlining the basics of his deal with Ji-Yeong to the team at large, to about the same reception that he expected. That is to say, not a very warm one. He sighed and began again from the top. "It is simple. Ve take Ji-Yeong to Abakelia and she vaporizes his smug douche face. In exchange for her getting rid of our mortal enemy vonce and for all, ve take her under our oversight and protection. Keep her out of prison and help her along zhe path to redemption, vhile she learns vhat a hero really is." "So, what, she gets off without punishment?" Alex asked, scowling. She didn't particularly appreciate being woken up in the first place, and Ivan's plan wasn't lightening her mood. "That doesn't seem fair to all the people she's killed to me." "Not at all," Ivan said. "It might not be a very traditional punishment, but I can sense zhat she is tormented by vhat she has done, and vill do anything to make amends for zhat. Vouldn't it be better if ve vere there to guide her? Besides, how vould you even go about punishing her zhe traditional vay? No prison on earth could hold her, and if she disappeared now zhere is nobody who could find her. No; zhe best method to deal vith her is rehabilitation by our hand." "I agree," Sylph said. Under doctor's orders, she still had a cast on her leg, but with the bullet removed her leg had long since healed and she now stood with the rest of the team around Marcus's bed. "She's too strong and from what Ivan says too emotionally messed up to be left on her own. We gotta help her be a good hero! Ooh, maybe she could even join the team!" "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Marcus said. He looked back at Ivan and sighed. "I mean, I guess what you're saying makes sense. And she would be a really good ally to have. If she's genuinely remorseful, then... I guess I'm okay with it."
"I vote yes!"
"I'm convinced."
"Sigh. I'm with you. If she slips up, though, it's your ass, got it?"
"Da. I promise, you vill not regret zhis. Now zhat ve're in agreement, zhen, here's my plan for the final defeat of Zviadi Abakelia."

Havana Hospital- Ann's Room

The land of Ann's dreams was as wonderful as it had even been. Currently, the Maid of Breath was reliving an experience from way back on her old home planet, where her ecto-mom slash adoptive sister had taken her out surfing. It was a fantastic memory, and one that Ann had cherished since it happened; the sun was bright and warm, but not too hot. The ocean was nice and cool, but not cold. The sand miraculously managed to stay where it was meant to. Her sister, Melanie, was sitting beneath their parasol with two cups of ice cream, waving at Ann to come ashore and share it with her. Ann gladly began paddling back in, when a large wave suddenly crashed on top of her...

Ann woke up with a slight jump. She glanced around, unfamiliar with her surroundings, until she spotted Eric beside her. "Hi honey," she said weakly.

[Kaidou]

Gnosis Earth

“De traitor ees Ilya Kirillovich Timoshenko.”

Koizumi’s eyes widened.

“You’re kidding.”

“I wood not keed about theengs like dis”, said Ilya Ilyich, sticking one hand into his pocket and turning to face Koizumi, Hex, and Ackerman. “But de trooth ees dat de collapse of de USSR and de deestruction of Terra was caused by de man dat yoo met just now. Eet was just dat I could not say so een his presence.”

“Why not?”

Ilya Ilyich Timoshenko chuckled darkly and scratched his nose, his grey eyes taking on a darker quality.

“He ees slowly leekink eenformation to de IGSE”, said Ilya Ilyich. “Een exchange for his safety and a position een de IGSE as a booreaucrat, Ilya Kirillovich ees leekink de identities of de Left Arm’s other leeders. Already, we haf lost twelve of our spies een other parts of de Multiverse, and eet won’t be long before de IGSE ees able to decipher his codes about dis world’s coordinates.

“At de moment, he theenks I am in on his plot because I am his son. What I am doink ees tryink to meeteegate de damage beink done to de Left Arm.”

They soon arrived at the Aegis HQ.

“Eef eet ees possible”, Ilya Ilyich added, “I would like to have my father taken out of the peecture as queeckly as possible, weethout causink de Left Arm to fall apart. Time ees runnink short, but I am confeedent dat eef my father’s treachery ees exposed, de Left Arm weel be more dan glad to work weeth your group.”

In the HQ, as they went into the hospital block, the four were greeted to the sight of Jan-ci undergoing physiotherapy, shakily walking up and down with two physiotherapists by her side, her hands trembling as they grasped the parallel bars that guided her path while her gaunt, sickly legs plodded on manually, one after the other, still connected to her dialysis machine by the veins on her arm.

Yoichi and Zi-xiang were sitting quietly and listlessly nearby (the latter dozing), with Anthony in the middle, still hooked up to the IV bags hanging from the rack he had dragged along with him. The entrance of the four caught Yoichi’s eye, as he quietly gazed at Ilya Ilyich.

Easily a 9/10, this guy...

“Do y’all haf any plans?” asked Ilya Ilyich.

...