Voyage Through the Multiverse (Ended) [IC]

[Prusselanden]

Trebizond
Quetz noticed Shut Hell holding her sword to one of the priests and decided to intervene before things got out of hand.

"Er...Stand down Mortal! Thou shallt not harm the members of Jesus's flock." He stepped in between the tiger and the priest. He leaned into Shut Hell, close enough so he could whisper to her. From her weapon, he could tell she was hopefully Chinese.

"你不要着急，我们不能让他受大惊。我不想让任何人受到伤害，所以你先别攻击他们。这里好像是土耳其，是一个在中国很西边的国家。这里的人都是信基督教的。我也不知道为什么我在这里，但这不是他们的错。 ” He told her. “我会给你解释一切。”

He then jumped as he heard Scrappy crash down. When Scrappy said that this was Mexico, Quetz shook his head. “You're in Anatolia, Small one, in the Western Middle East."

[Aeternabilis]

War of Flesh and Metal; Cairo, Egypt

Marcus shrugged and wiped off his forehead. The sun really was starting to get unbearable. "Believe what you want, mein Fuhrer. I'll just say that we, as venerated immortal universe-creators with incredible powers, have been anointed as gods and are currently worshiped on at least two planets." He looked up into the sky for a brief second. He thought he heard a jet somewhere, but with the sun as bright as it was he really didn't want to look up for too long and was thus unable to find it. "Come on now, Marcus, don't hype us up that much," Alex said, wondering why exactly he was taking glances into the sky. "The universe thing was an incredible specific situation, and it's probably impossible for us to do again. As for your question, Violet," she continued, turning to look at the woman. "We don't really have 'customs' and we don't demand worship so, uh, no worries there. I don't know why we're here, though. My friends and I are here thanks to an exploding invention." "It's probably just an incredibly unlikely coincidence," Marcus said dismissively, looking back at the group. "It doesn't look like there's anything else unusual going on, after a-"

Suddenly, the sounds of the jet engine got much louder. A squad of planes designed in a style unrecognizable to anybody in the group screamed overhead, heading directly for the center of Cairo. As soon as they appeared, air raid sirens went off across the city, speakers began broadcasting instructions in Arabic, and anti-aircraft guns began to open fire. Then, once the jets had reached their targets, they dropped their payloads. Numerous explosions rocked the ground as the jets rained death from above, and once they were out of explosives, two of the planes slammed into what was apparently their last target. Only 1 AA gun was still functional, and it desperately fired at the remaining jets as they turned around to presumably return to base.

Marcus and Alex watched this, mouths slightly agape, before Marcus said, "Ok, um, that's not really unusual for the Middle East, but... Come on, let's go find out what the hell's going on." All worries about the sun forgotten, he and Alex started running into the city proper, now on fire in multiple places. The streets were wrought with panicked people, but if one took the time to notice they might think there were fewer than expected for a city Cairo's size. All around were more signs that, if noticed, would point to signs of older bombings than this one; collapsed or burnt-out buildings, closed shops, derelict cars, and frequent propaganda posters littered the city.

Soon, the heroes came to a spot that had been hit by the most recent attack. A building had partially collapsed in the bombing, trapping the people inside beneath the rubble. "Oh geez," Marcus said, running over to help. He lifted a rather large rock, one too large to pick up if as was as strong as he actually looked, and Alex appeared to simply close her eyes and focus. A second went by, and it became clear that she was actually teleporting pieces of rubble out of the collapsed building. "Hey, give us a hand with this!" Marcus called to the others.

Grand Adventure; Tavern

Ji-Yeong looked at Alena and shrugged. "We do not have a way back home, and this man is offering one. As long as we stay smart about this, which I trust you or Ivan to do, I think this will work out." "Yeah, see? Everything is gonna be fine," Jonah said, getting out of his seat. "Now, it looks like our ride is leaving, so it looks like it's time to go." With that, Ji-Yeong and Ivan also got up from their seats and followed the Wanderer. "So... vhat kind of transportation do you have, tovarishch?" Ivan asked, picking up the pace a little to come up alongside the Wanderer.

Tales of Trebizond; Church

"Ouch! Yeah, I think so," Ann said, currently sitting upside-down against the wall she had been thrown towards. "Just a sec..." With a strong and chaotic blast of wind, Ann was launched from the wall into the air, where she quickly righted herself and landed neatly on the floor. "Ok, now I'm okay! Where in the world are we?" She looked around and saw a strange sight; a Central American-looking man with wings and a halo, claiming to be an angel, an Asian woman threatening a priest with a sword, and a robot apparently falling from nowhere and deciding he was in Mexico. She took this in for a moment, then put a giant smile on her face, said "Nice, new friends!" and went over to introduce herself to them. "Hi, I'm Ann!" she said, enthusiastically waving.

[Emperial Germany]

Tales of Trebizond

Whiterun, Skyrim.

Rodrik was a religious man, but gods, did he hate the Aedra's sense of humor sometimes.

Rodrik had never shy'd away from conflict, or his destiny, or his duty as the Dragonborn, or whatever nonsensical bullshit the next wise old man in a bathrobe used to excuse to Rodrik as to why he had become the gods's errand boy. Be it the fate of Nirn hanging in the balance, or perhaps just a few psychopaths trying to turn Tamriel into a war-torn hellhole for the hundredth time.

Though to be quite frank, being the savior of the world got incredibly tiring, and right now? It was no except.

There he stood behind the tavern he'd just spent his day drowning his sorrows in, preforming an undisclosed act with an undisclosed woman, at the cost of an undisclosed amount of Septims when....Suddenly....A portal!

The sight of the rift was enough to cause his company to run, Rodrik couldn't blame her, to be quite honest a massive hole in the fabric of space and time creeping up behind you wasn't the most comfortable thing, especially since an unpleasant amount of them led to Oblivion, or some other Eldritch hellhole which probably didn't have enough loot and spoils to be worth the trouble of fighting through it. The Dragonborn stared down at the gaping rift, unable to see past the void, and weighing his options before....Slowly turning his face to the sky, and scowling.

"Are ye FUCKING KIDDING ME?!? Oi can't have a single FOCKIN' DAY WIT'OUT YE DUMPIN' ANOTHER SHITEFIRIN' ERRAND ON ME?"

The Gods of Nirn, unsurprisingly, did not respond to the Nord's profanity, and the portal continued to beckon the Nord forward, it's hardly like he could ignore the thing, lest some unlucky peasant fall into the damn thing, as with a hundred times before, without even an indication, he knew it'd be his responsibility to deal with it.

"Godly cunts, the lot of ye."

The Nord cracked his neck, and took a final swig of the bottle of mead on his pouch, before stepping through the rift.


Trapezuntine Church, Empire of Trebizond.

Clink, clink, clink. The sound of metal against metal, jingling, and clashing with the stone floor, as waltzing through the gaping maw of a rift came Rodrik, the beast of a man. Standing two heads taller than the average resident of anatolia, and clad in a miss-matched mantle of fur, leather, lammellar, and iron plating, one could be forgiven, or even expected to mistake him for a warrior from Garðaríki, where the Varangians hailed from, or perhaps, even further North, the land of the víkingr On his back, an iron shield, dented and worn, with nicks and notches along it's entirety, a sword of similar make, sheathed behind it. But at his belt, unmistakably, hung a war axe, it's make unknown, though...It would appear to be fashioned from bone, and a blackened metal. The scowling warrior looked on, from his scarred face, his one good eye scanned his surroundings, eventually...He spoke.

"Oh fer' fuck's sake, of course it's a church."

[Apto]

Tales of Trebizond, Shut Hell
Empire of Trebizond, Unknown Church

Quetz noticed Shut Hell holding her sword to one of the priests and decided to intervene before things got out of hand.

"Er...Stand down Mortal! Thou shallt not harm the members of Jesus's flock." He stepped in between the tiger and the priest. He leaned into Shut Hell, close enough so he could whisper to her. From her weapon, he could tell she was hopefully Chinese.

"你不要着急，我们不能让他受大惊。我不想让任何人受到伤害，所以你先别攻击他们。这里好像是土耳其，是一个在中国很西边的国家。这里的人都是信基督教的。我也不知道为什么我在这里，但这不是他们的错。 ” He told her. “我会给你解释一切。”

The winged-man had a strange accent, but he provided her with the information she needed so the bandit decided that she could sheathe her jian for now. Any further interrogation would have to wait whenever the man deigned to fulfill his promise. For now, she stepped back and contemplated his words.

West of China, and a land of Christians. Hadn't Veronica told her of a place like this? Of how the Khan promised her that he would turn West and burn it all into the ground? Was this why she found herself here, to once again nip at the heels of the Mongol Horde, to strike fear into their hearts the same way she did in Western Xia?

Shut Hell looked to the domed ceiling, expecting answers, but ultimately found none.

She took this in for a moment, then put a giant smile on her face, said [color=#800040]"Nice, new friends!" and went over to introduce herself to them. "Hi, I'm Ann!" she said, enthusiastically waving.

A man of metal, a monster of a man covered in thick furs and armor, and finally, a strangely dressed girl with the power to command the wind itself.

Truly, the Daqin was a land of oddities.

The girl approached, confident and open, and Shut Hell's defenses instantly crumbled as panic crossed her face for the briefest of moments. How did one deal with this again? She would have looked to Sudou for advice, but he was long gone by now. The bandit looked to her left, then to her right, but alas, no one seemed to be trying to save her from the cheery missile heading her way.

Internally cursing, the bandit offered the girl a smile that was hopefully friendly.

A War of Flesh and Metal, Violet Evergarden
Egypt, Cairo

Soon, the heroes came to a spot that had been hit by the most recent attack. A building had partially collapsed in the bombing, trapping the people inside beneath the rubble. "Oh geez," Marcus said, running over to help. He lifted a rather large rock, one too large to pick up if as was as strong as he actually looked, and Alex appeared to simply close her eyes and focus. A second went by, and it became clear that she was actually teleporting pieces of rubble out of the collapsed building. "Hey, give us a hand with this!" Marcus called to the others.

It was a weird, albeit, ultimately pleasant evening so far. One hardly got the chance to meet such a colorful cast of characters in one sitting after all. If she ignored the fact that she was hopelessly lost and late to work, Violet might have even fooled herself into thinking that she was in no trouble at all.

Then, the sky rumbled like an angry god. A sound that Violet was intimately familiar with. Without a second thought, she dropped her glass as she looked to the skies and saw the unmistakable shape of planes. Though, ones with designs she was not familiar with. Anti-Aircraft fire followed soon after and Violet had clipped her parasol to her luggage once again.

A gloved hand gripped into the bag's handle tightly as the ex-soldier's training kicked in. She looked those who held rank above her in the eyes, stance tight and expression begging for orders despite its calm facade. However, the first orders didn't come from the Fuhrer or the Grand Admiral, rather, they came from the gods. Shaky those orders might be, but Violet would follow them rather than stand around doing nothing.

Without a salute or even a 'Sir yes sir', Violet ran after Marcus and Alex, her breathing growing erratic with every step as scenes of destruction passed the group by.

She had put war behind her, but it seemed that it had come chasing her after all.

There was no grace to Violet's motions as she dropped to her knees besides the gods and began moving what rubble she could. Dust clung to her clothes and skin as her hands found rock after rock to displace with fanatic fervor. Her gloves, not made for such work, were torn, revealing hints of the steel they hid from the world.

[Korhal IVV]

War of Flesh and Metal, Cairo, Egypt

As they arrived upon the deathly scene, the Admiral turned back as he began speaking to the pilots of the starfighters that accompanied them to the ground. “Pilots, are you seeing this?”, the admiral said to the radio reciever on his helmet.

“Yes, Admiral. They appear to be completely different from any fighter our records show. We are in a different reality, though, so that is not a surprise. However, they do not seem to be particularly advanced. They may be piecemeal for the Andromeda’s fighter squadrons.”

“Well, watch out if any more return, and shoot them down immediately.”

“But, is that not a declaration of war, Admiral?”

“This Earth appears to be completely planet bound. They cannot touch the Andromeda or the Lunaven if we decide to retreat. We have all the advantages here.”

“If you say so, Admiral. Order confirmed.”

Meanwhile, Aurelia began lifting and throwing away rocks with ferocious speed with her telekinesis. “Damn rocks, get the ten thousand hells out!”, she said, freakishly annoyed.

Meanwhile, in the Andromeda, the admiral also makes a call.

“How are the repairs, Lieutenant?”, Yi asked over the intercomm.

“Barely, Admiral. We have to mine Titan’s resources in order to replace the damaged parts. Much of the propulsion system’s completely busted, so we have to replace it entirely. The Lunaven is able to progress much faster as it is made from regenerative Wraithbone, but our titanium ship has to replace damaged parts. Nine months at the very least, Grand Admiral.”

“Keep it up. We will figure out how to return to our reality once you’re done.”

[Prusselanden]

Tales of Trebizond
Quetz's face lit up when Ann came in and he waved back and smiled. He tried his best to avoid breaking out of his 'angel' act, but she seemed so friendly that it was infectious. He waved back.

"Hello my child, member of god's flock. How do you do?"

Then, another stranger seemed to come in. This one seemed a lot more hostile than Ann, and looked a lot more intimidating. When he swore and commented on how of course he was in a church, Quetz slightly flinched, hoping the priests would not regard him too hostilely or else a scuffle might break out.

It was only until then that Quetz noticed Kadoor. He turned to the tall troll. "I'm sorry. You see, you are in the Byzantine Empire. Where, exactly, I don't know."

[Skylus]

Madi
Rise of the Masked Man

Madi was not a fighter by any means.
She wanted to at least do something but decided to just hang back and provide healing support.
For now, she was near the tent, making sure that none of the creatures and their owners got near.
But she was suprised when Link exited the tent with his sword drawn.
"What are you doing? I told you to stay inside!"
The boy looked towards her and then back, as if sizing up the creatures a few yards away.
"I have to do something. Even if it's just providing minimal backup."
Madi looked towards the battle and sighed.
"If you really think you can do anything...Sure, go ahead."
She absentmindedly waved a hand and went inside the tent to see how everyone was doing.

Link

The Hero of Winds stayed by the tent for a few seconds before walking up to Gold.
"Hi. Do you need any help?"

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

Mt Silver - RotMM
Moira managed to dodge out of the way of the Wing Attack, but only barely, and Percy began coughing violently as the poison assaulted him. The Palico backed off, and then extracted one of his Mini-Barrel Bombs from his pouch, lighting it and then tossing it at the floating creature. With a loud bang the bomb exploded, whilst Moira was busy counter-attacking the bat creature with a series of upward slashes.

DttM
Kirby closely analyzed the man's face once he removed his helmet, and after a few moments of thought he determined that despite his convincingly-evil appearance, this guy wasn't a threat. It was soon after this that the man he had landed on spoke about the people of this town being choked out by clouds created by someone named Wilfre, and Kirby immediately began to suspect that this Wilfre character was to blame for the strange vortex appearing in Dreamland. If this was the case, then Kirby needed to stop him before he could complete whatever dastardly scheme he had in mind.

Then another person arrived, and the way she spoke of the group didn't set well with the little pink puffball. He'd be sure to keep an eye on this one.

Traverse Town - Tavern - AGA
Mynx was unsurprisingly stunned to silence at the answer she received from the Wanderer. She was in another universe? But how and why did that happen? And more importantly, how would she get home? This Wanderer guy answered her question indirectly by talking to one of the others who had apparently arrived here in a similar manner to herself, and this interested the goblin. She certainly wanted to explore the Foreverplane, but if this person could return her to it without any time passing there, then it could definitely wait. This adventure on the other hand was simply something far too juicy to pass up.

I have a chance to visit other planes people from the Foreverplane couldn't even dream of! How could I say no?! She thought to herself, a confident grin spreading across her face. She then jumped down from the table she was on, and walked forward to the group. "If what you're saying is true, then who am I to pass up an adventure like this? But if you're lying, I swear I'll break your kneecaps." The goblin said, giving the Wanderer a mirthful grin.

[The Palmetto]

Tavern

Theo listened to Ignis closely, resting his chin on his hand as he did so. She wasn’t describing the lands in too much detail, granted, but, the ideas intrigued him. For the hundreds of tiny German polities to unify under a single banner would create an immensely powerful nation in almost all ways. He wondered who could’ve brought it together, and how. More so, what was it like for the average person to live in such a large yet ethnically singular state? She didn’t speak much of China, yet, it sounded like an interesting place. It was on the other side of what he thought was the world, and was apparently quite the wonderful place.
“I vould like to hear more, but it seems we are surrounded by many people vho ve vill be travelling with. I suppose vee should get to know them, if we will all be travelling together,” Theo said, standing up and momentarily stretching. He started to follow the Wanderer, a mysterious land taking them through a journey across the many universes in this so called Multiverse. From his limited knowledge, he assumed that a universe was some sort of administrative division of this Multiverse, which he thought must’ve been some sort of vast Empire. But before he could look to the journey ahead, he needed to look to the people around him.
“You vere speaking in a dialect like me and Ignis here, right?” Theo asked Alena, looking at the Swiss woman. e so many odd beings around him, but he figured he would start out by getting to know ones he could perhaps relate to, starting with someone who spoke a similar language to him.
“Vhere are you from? I’ve never heard an accent quite like yours before,” he asked curiously.

[The Intergalactic Russian Empire]

Trebizond

Eric breathed a sigh of relief and smiled when Ann flew to her feet and went to greet the other people in the church. He put his hands in the pocket of his God Tier shirt and joined Ann, giving a nod to the new people "Hey. Name's Eric. What's up?" Pobeda then went up to Eric's side and said "Eric, you're the history buff around here. Could you possible give a guess as to where and when we are right now?" Eric nodded and began taking a closer look at the church around them. He analyzed the architecture, the art, even the items on the alter and the garb of the priests. After a minute, a smile crossed his face, but before he could say anything he heard Quetz tell Kadoor that they were in the Byzantine Empire. "Not quite right there, man. This is definitely Byzantine, but we're not in that Empire. It's been shattered by this time. Oh no sir, we're in one of the successor states. Specifically....." he picked up a coin on the alter and showed the others, the coin having a very peculiar image on it. "We're in the Empire of Trebizond under the rule of Manuel I Megas Komnenos, who reigned from the years 1238 to 1263!" His face was filled with excitement and joy as he said this. Today was already shaping up to be an amazing day for him.

DTTM

Eleutherius perked at this talk of gods and their cruelty, shaking his head. "Young ones, there is but one true God in the world; He is the Emperor of Mankind and His love is eternal." He then thought about what Tadz said was apparently happening to the town, glancing at the raposa before looking back at him. He seemed a bit conflicted, debating whether or not to help the civilization of xenos. After a second, he answered "I... guess I will join in on this endeavour."

Egypt, WoFaM

Hersel and Venera followed after the others into the city, rushing to assist Marcus and Alex in getting the civilians out. Venera moved pieces of rubble out of the way while Hersel helped the people out of the building. The people seemed quite shocked by the sudden arrival of two aliens, but unfortunately for them the Trolls would be unable to understand what they were trying to say. "What the hell was that? Are we in a war-zone or something?" Venera asked to Marcus and Alex.



Traverse Tavern, AGA

Alena sighed at Ji-Yeong's response. "I guess you're right about that. Doesn't make it any better." She then began getting up to follow this Wanderer figure when the Gothic warrior came and asked her a question about where she was from. She made a small sigh and said "I am from the nation of Schweiz, in region of the Alps. Why does it matter to you so much?"

[Legokiller]

The Secrets of the Raven

“Marisa!”

Alice cried out as she fell through a strange rift closed from the shocked witch as she went down into the pitch black and silent abyss itself. This abyss, a boundary between fantasy and reality, stared back at Alice with countless eyes. Alice sworn it was a cruel and terrifying trick pulled by the Gap Youkai. Who else could have done so? But as eyes never blinked, Alice realized this couldn’t be the reason why the rift appeared and pulled her in without warning.

With the sudden nature of the portal that pulled Alice away from her familiar world a moment ago, another rift opened to the outside down into an alleyway. A loud splash erupted as Alice crashed down into the ground. “O-ow.” Alice groaned as she rubbed her head. Just to add more misery, the rain poured down onto her. Alice slowly got up with the assistance of her helping shanghai dolls and found herself lost in wonderland.

The human world. Alice, confused by the outside world as she glances down into the street as a few humans passed by. Alice pressed her grimoire against her chest as she began alarm by the current situation. Any human who witness a magical incident by her would quickly alert them and call in specialized hunters to take Alice down. They aren’t the same ones in the human village who grown accustomed to Alice’s presents and enjoy her dolls. “Okay, I simply need to go out and ask a human the location I’m in. That won’t be much of an issue to get a straight answer. ” Alice thought. Alice took a few cautious steps forward to the exist of the alleyway to began her investigation on the outside world.

[Naval Monte]

Secrets of the Raven

As Alice walked out of the alleyway the few people outside gave the woman curious glances, wondering why the blond was seeing such a strange attire outside in the air? While some kept on walking away from the strange girl one woman walked up to Alice. "Are you alright miss? You look lost and confused?" The concerned woman asked.

Just before Alice can say anything she would hear another voice calling out. "So that's where you ran off too." Alice would see Elizabeth as she approach the two. "Thank you for finding my friend ma'am. She's a tourists from Switzerland and we somehow got lost while I was giving her a tour of the town." Elizabeth told the woman. Elizabeth grabbed Alice's hands. "Well we better leave now because my friend for It her umbrella back in our place." She told her as she began to walk away quickly from the woman with Alice behind her.

Eventually the two would be away from the woman and Elizabeth would say. "Just play along and I will tell you everything that is going on once we are in my place." Elizabeth looked up at the buildings again. "I can say anything right now because I think we are being watched." She warned Alice. Once they reached the Drinking Crow and went through the tavern sections and the hallways the two women would reach Elizabeth's room. Once inside Elizabeth out away her umbrella and walked go the window, opening the curtain and checking outside.

Once she found that nothing suspicious was outside she covered the windows with the curtains and turn around to face the group. "Okay so three of you are probably wondering why I dragged you into this room in a tavern-motel hybrid? Well besides this being where I'm staying this place is safe enough for us to talk without anyone eavesdropping on our conversation."

Elizabeth would sit down on the sofa. "So for starters let's begin with introductions and after that I will tell you all what is going on in here or maybe Blueberry or Mr.Subtle will tell you all about the case." She told everyone in the room.

[Menschenfleisch]

Secrets of the Raven | Jacquelyn and Kyle

The Trolley

The rain outside was pouring. Luckily, instead of being stuck in the cold and crystalline scene out there, they were instead in the cold and suspiciously sweat-odoured scene inside the tram. It pulled away, jostling the passengers inside. Kyle leaned away from Elizabeth after his question. No point in going any further. Besides. He didn't want Jackie to keep staring at him. He thought on the day's action. His exhaustion. It had only been a few hours since he'd fought Sterling in what he'd believed to be the greatest battle of his life, from his perspective. It occurred to him how long it felt. How that battle felt like a history, and not a memory. Was he going to start thinking he was fake? No. Of course not. Jackie'd been so sudden. Why, though? Was it that machine?

"So you've never met anyone who claimed to be in a story, huh? Well, that narrows down the issue a bit."

He closed his eyes. Too many mysteries. Too many questions. Too much to ask of a single mind, as fast as it was. He saw the world through closed eyelids. Listened to thousands of heartbeats. He opened them slightly, felt his eyelashes brushing against one another. He saw the reflection in the water. He saw the light that bounced into it from around the corner. He heard the sound of footfalls from blocks away. He composed a mental image of the surrounding city as he went. Without even opening his eyes or moving a finger, he saw everything. The beat of Elizabeth's heart. Jackie's mind, racing with sparks. What was she thinking?

'No point in thinking about it now. Have to focus, find out what the deal is. Why are we here? What's going on back home?'

He let himself drift away. His mind, probing the world around him. Like an invisible presence, he tapped at the places around him. He listened to the patter of soft rain on hard cobbles and concrete, listened to the squeal of metal pipes. He saw in perfect clarity the man on the street corner, the woman in the bar. The child on the park bench and the dog by his side. He glanced out the window, and gazed upon a building. Mapped it out, just from the light bouncing around its interior. Saw its people, living their lives. Someone cooking dinner. Someone playing chess. A couple of people... Oh. Oh. He didn't want to see that, oh dear god.

The trolley began to slow, and their appointed guide stood, and pulled the cord. Jacquelyn followed suit, standing up and preparing to disembark. Kyle was so focused on watching the world, he almost forgot to act in it. Still, he stood up.

"Solving mysteries? Well, that's a bit of a tall order. I have pretty good eyes, if that's what you're asking. Jacquelyn's good in a straight fight, if it comes to that."
"You'd better believe it too, rifleman. And hey, if you need something figured out, I'm more than happy to play along."

They stepped off, and bid Elizabeth farewell. He gave her a wave. Jacquelyn brushed her off. She wasn't acting like herself, but he still saw that basic core within her. Even though she apparently rejected her past, declared her unreality, she still seemed like the same awkward, cynic he'd known and loved.
'Just hope she comes to her senses soon.'

The Room

And immediately, upon stepping foot into Elizabeth's place, they were assaulted by the smell of cigarette smoke, the cries of two very loud and angry people(?) and the overwhelming sense that maybe they'd chosen the wrong time to enter. Jacquelyn flashed with light, the water evaporating from her skin. A puff of steam, and a blast of heat. Kyle could not be afforded such luxuries, apparently. They stepped into the cosy little place, with tiny shards of glass and bits of ash spread around the room. And were those hyacinths? No, those flowers were entirely new.

A lady stood by the window, looking out, with a heartbeat thrumming with nerves and anger. Her blood was hot. Kyle could feel it from across the room. And that man. His long hair, his smug smile. He seemed... Oddly dense. Still. That wasn't something to say in polite company. These two had been standing where they were for some time, he could tell.

"So then! Here you two are. Elizabeth said something about you wrecking the place, but frankly, I don't see how you could, Mrs. and Mr. Anime."
"Pardon her. She's a bit worked up."

Elizabeth returned startlingly quickly, and with yet another guest. Someone even more ridiculously dressed. Jacquelyn could tell Sayaka was some kind of cosplayer, and Greed was too cool-looking to have fallen into that pose naturally. Alice, though? She... Well... Her clothing was far from optimal for the current circumstances, that was for sure. She sized her up, listened to what Elizabeth had to say. She reluctantly gave her place on the couch up.

"So. You're on a case, huh? I can tell by the way you walk, the way you speak; the crime scene a few blocks away, that you're solving a murder. Care to elaborate?"
"Or maybe tell us why the hell you're roping us into some hoppy poppy police investigation. That'd be real nice, you know?. I know how these crime novellas start. A bunch of misfits get dragged in, and it all kicks off with a death. Mind telling us what your deal is?"

[Naval Monte]

Secrets of the Raven

Elizabeth only gave Kyle a smirk. "Well I can hide many things but it seems I suck at hiding the fact that I'm a detective." The witch took out a cigarette and lit it. "You're right that there had a murder out on Potter’s Field, but that one is just the latest of a whole series of murders, all done by the same culprits. Right now the public thinks there is a lone serial killer and the news will stick with that story but the truth is that there is strong evidences pointing to a cult being responsible for the killings. All of the bodies, all of whom belong to university students, have these strange symbols on their shoulders or chest." She told Jackie, Kyle, and Alice.

"I specialize in cases that deal with cults and other oddities that most normal detectives would have a hard time dealing with or most likely would refuse to take. The police in this town want me to find this cult before it is revealed to the public that their lone killer is actually a group butchering college age millennials for some dark rites." Elizabeth stop talking to take a long drag on her cigarette, blowing out the smoke once she was done. "As for why I'm roping you all I go this is because honestly I want to keep a better watch on you all to make sure none of you don't cause any trouble and to make sure that cult doesn't find you guys and make you all the centerpiece in their next ritual. Besides I can use some help on finding this cult because the symbol the cult use is new to me and to be honest I can use some folks who are much better fighters than me because I have this terrible feeling that I'm gonna need backup for this case."

She explained to both the pair asking her questions and the others in the room. "So what is the story between you two? Why do you think your a fictional character all of a sudden? I heard people saying that reality is a computer simulation, an illusion or dream, or even a hologram or some a shadow of true reality but your claim is a new one." She said to Jackie and Kyle. When Elizabeth looked at Alice she can see and feel the strong presence of magic in her aura. "So what is your name love and how did you end in this sorry place? Besides me dragging you into my humble abode." The witch return back to smoking her cigarette as she awaited the response of the others.

[Apto]

Secrets of the Raven, Sayaka Miki
The Drinking Crow, Elizabeth's Room

Elizabeth would sit down on the sofa. "So for starters let's begin with introductions and after that I will tell you all what is going on in here or maybe Blueberry or Mr.Subtle will tell you all about the case." She told everyone in the room.

Sayaka glanced at Elizabeth as she entered with a trio of newcomers, all three dressed in what she always thought Europeans would wear. The guy even had a tailcoat!

"So then! Here you two are. Elizabeth said something about you wrecking the place, but frankly, I don't see how you could, Mrs. and Mr. Anime."
"Pardon her. She's a bit worked up."

How about I demonstrate on your face? Was the Magical Girl's internal thought, turning her glare to the newcomer as a finger rubbed the trigger on her cutlass. Was this hamlet filled with nothing but assholes? Honestly, of all places she could have found herself in, it just had to be this damp, alcohol and cigarette ridden parody of a town with a gathering of rude weirdos. Oh the things she would do if she didn't have principles to adhere to. That, and at least one of them apologized, and the girl in bright clothing was definitely too cute to be anything like the rest of the group, so she guessed it wasn't all that bad.

In the end, Sayaka asked herself 'What would Mami do?' and concluded that her mentor would have kept a cool head and shrugged it off. Gracefully of course, and maybe throw some shade in-between the lines.

There was no way Sayaka could do the latter two, so, she settled for not stabbing people.

"So what is the story between you two? Why do you think your a fictional character all of a sudden? I heard people saying that reality is a computer simulation, an illusion or dream, or even a hologram or some a shadow of true reality but your claim is a new one."

Great, one of the assholes was a nutter too. Just her luck. What's next, was she gonna break out the tinfoil hats and declare that the New World Order was out to get them? Sayaka chortled a little at that, making no attempt to hide the contempt she was feeling at the moment.

It was good to hear that she was needed at least. Cultists, murderers, and serial killers weren't exactly what she usually hunted, but if it meant protecting innocent people then she was all for it.

Speaking of protection, Sayaka closed her eyes for a moment, focusing her magic into a small fly sized dot above her palm. With a tiny smile, she opened her eyes and flicked her finger, sending the pale, blue dot racing towards Elizabeth's cigarette in hopes of extinguishing it.

[Petrokovia]

Rise of the Masked Man
As Avarice turned herself into a black cloud of acid-like smoke, the Golem was caught off guard, and futilely used stone edge. Massive rocks came up from the ground, into the acid cloud, only to be dissolved.

However, the charizard Avarice was fighting had another idea; The dragon-like pokemon used flamethrower on Avarice's cloud-like form, in an attempt at igniting the gas.

When Link approached Gold, the young man stood back up, recovering from the horrid sight of Avarice eating a person.

"Huh? Oh, uh... Yeah. If you can knock out some of the Team Rocket grunts, or their pokemon."

His eyes caught a glimpse of the shiny metal of Link's sword.
"Uh, try not to kill them. We're already gonna have enough shit to answer for because of... that." he said, dreading the official police response to to situation, as he pointed to the half-eaten corpse of a grunt.

Moira would find it difficult to land hits on the golbat, considering its air superiority, but with enough well-timed blows, she would knock it out of the air. The bat pokemon struggled to its feet, making it almost to a full standing position before falling backwards, having passed out.

The bomb that Percy threw exploded next to the koffing, stunning and blinding it. The pokemon stopped spewing gas, slowly moving through the air in a blind daze.

---

Drawn Through the Multiverse
Tadayoshi looked at Altair, a concerned, slightly distrusting expression forming.
"Uh... Sure? We were about to help these guys, so if you want to help, that would be cool."

Tadayoshi was clearly skeptical of Eleutherius's claim about the God-Emperor, but decided it would be better not to press the matter; The group had much more important matters to attend to, and at least the man would help, a decision Tadayoshi didn't feel like accidentally overturning due to a religious debate.

There was a rather quiet sound of Mari clearing her throat, in order to get the group's attention.
"Hi!" she said, in a perky, yet slightly nervous tone. "So, you all said you wanted to help?"

She paused, as the group gave their reactions.
"I suppose it would help for me to explain what's going on... You see, Wilfre wants to take over our world, in an attempt to take power from the Creator, but each time he does, he chokes off the various parts of the villages around here. Our world is already dying... I figured it would at least be nice if our world could fade in peace, rather than us having to deal with Wilfre..."

She thought for a moment, a sadder expression forming.
"Oh... What would Wilfre do if he found out that other universes exist...?" she muttered. "I suppose we could ask the Creator for help transporting you all to Wilfre's Wasteland. It's where Wilfre resides."

"Yes, and then you could stop him before he makes things even worse. He's already accelerated the death of our world by a small margin by doing this." Isaac said, maddened. "Cutting off our village impacted trade, as well, so even without Wilfre messing with our existence, he's damaging our way of life. My shop relies on getting goods outside of the village; I don't even know how I'll afford to feed my family."

Kongou listened to the protests of the raposa, a strange feeling overcoming her. It was faint, but it felt as if her mental model was sinking.

Was this guilt?

...But I did not cause the suffering of these people... Kongou protested in her mind. However, in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but draw parallels between what Wilfre was doing with the village, and the global blockade run by the Fleet of Fog.

She tried thinking of various excuses, or thinking of differences between the two situations, but ultimately, the actions boiled down to the same basic causation.

Why should a weapon feel empathy? she lamented.

Kongou thought for some time, several thoughts running through her head. Did I-401 go through these same feelings when she defected? How many other Fog ships felt guilt? How could Kongou get rid of this feeling?

"...How do we get to Wilfre's Wasteland?" Kongou asked, with a mix of guilt and anger.

Mari simply looked up at the woman, then to the sky.
"Creator, we need your help. If you're listening, could you draw us a gate to Wilfre's Wasteland?"

The air seemed quiet; Birds that had been tweeting suddenly went silent, the slight breeze died down completely, and there was no longer the sound of rustling leaves from the trees. It was a complete, utter, dead silence.

---

Secrets of the Raven
...A monster? Agent A wondered to himself. Maybe he does think I'm the serial killer? That would be the only logical explanation.

As the man got up to leave, Agent A took his paper, and followed him out of the door.

I'll need to tail him, at least, in order to make sure he doesn't become a problem... Or this person he's trying to get to protect him.

Agent A took note of the truck that appeared near the bus station, as he boarded. He mostly kept his attention on the man, to avoid losing track of him.

Soon enough, the two left the bus, and Agent A again found himself walking down the street.

This is getting me nowhere, fast. He's not going to go anywhere while he knows I'm following him... If his phone were to ring, however, I could hone in on the electric signal and control it. I'd be able to link my phone in such a way that I could track him down later, when he doesn't realize that I'm following him...

Agent A made sure to keep pace, not particularly caring if the man knew he was being followed.
Right now, I can't differentiate between the signals running through his body and his phone; The signal's too weak. But, all I would need would be a phone call.

Agent A shifted thought for a moment.
Then again, he might be so scared, that he actually would lead me straight to where he wants to go through sheer panic. He seems... Oddly flustered, even for having met a serial killer...

[Mundeo]

---

The Grand Adventure

---

Traverse Town

The Wanderer casually made his way down the street, his cane tapping along the sidewalk. The night air was cool and refreshing, full of converation and the occasional passing car. Ignis, the first to arrive at the tavern, was also the first to follow after the man and ask him a question. Of course, he gladly answered.

"This is the first, yes" The Wanderer said to Ignis. "Before today, I never brought anyone with me to other universes"

Victor was the next to catch up with him, and had a question of his own. "That would be Mr. Wanderer, sir. Calling myself the traveler suggests that I have a set destination in mind, which I never do. I go wherever the Mutliverse takes me, with little care of just where I end up"

Ivan was the next to catch up, and the next to ask a question, to which the Wanderer simply replied, "You are about to find out"

The man turned a corner and walked down an alleyway; at the end of the alley was single wooden door that seemed to just lead to another building. "Here we are" The man said cheerfully.

---

The Multiverse’s Most Dangerous Game

---

TARGET: GODZILLA
LOCATION: INKOPOLIS

At least somebody here spoke English. By this point it was clear that this boy was both human, and not of this universe. As for the natives, things could have been going a bit better. If she had her visor, she may have been able to make some attempts at translating what the alien girl had said, but for now, Samus had no luck at understanding anything. By the girl's gesture, however, Samus was able to interpret that she wasn't being viewed as a threat anymore, and subsequently lowered her weapon.

Samus looked around and sighed, and turned to Jona. Maybe she can gother some information from the one person who can understand her. "Maybe you can tell me how you ended up here? Was there anyone with you?"

[Skylus]

Link
Some mountain on some other world
RotMM

Link looked up at Gold for a second and then nodded. "I know how to fight, trust me." He raised his sword. "Would I have this if I didn't?"
Without waiting for an answer, the 12 year old darted away from the man and towards a dragon like creature.
He looks like a miniature Valoo...But nowhere as friendly. Link reached to his side and somehow pulled out a Hookshot from his bag. Let's see how he likes this.
Link aimed the weapon at the dragon overhead and fired.

Madi
Inside Gold's Tent

Madi blinked from the bright light, then realized that no one was inside the tent at the moment.
Madi then heard some sort of commotion outside and risked opening the flap a bit.
"Oh my god. What the hell is he doing?!"
Link appeared to be on top of a dragon and seemed to be currently trying to knock it out.
"I want to do that. Might be too dangerous though."

[Prusselanden]

Tavern
Ignis cocked her head at the door.

"So is zhis, like, zhe portal to our multiversal adventure?" she asked the Traveller. "I've vatched some science fiction shows so I've seen some hidden portals like zhis vone."

Inkopolis
"I...I fell through a portal with my friends. We were shot down from the sky by that monster and...I noticed you so I came over to make sure you were ok, but my friends left me." Jona explained to Samus.

Just as he finished, Miranda sprinted in on him, stopping in front of him. "Jona! You're alright!"

"I am...thanks for coming back." he smiled.

"Well, I'm blaming you two if we get Cancer." Konny came in too. "I'm Konny." she said to Samus. "These two are Jona and Miranda."

[The Palmetto]

Trebizond

The priests in the church were shocked into stillness that their request had been fully fulfilled by the Lord. Their eyes shot open in surprise, their mouths wide open in the sheer shock of the sudden appearance of the rift, which they viewed as the doing of God. They had prayed to him with success many times before, but it was always in some indirect way, with no direct visibility of holy acts. But here it was, a portal that suddenly brought in a group of warriors that were as diverse as they were bizarre.

There was an angel from the Heavens themselves, yet one of a unique skin color they hadn’t seen before. There was an odd looking woman who might’ve been Asian, who was both silent and aggressive, at least at first. There were four beings in foreign, fancy attire, who seemed to already know each other, with one of them seeming to know where he was, the only one to act as such. There was a bizarre animate suit of armor, who was aysmetrical and mismatched. Finally, they saw a man of Nordic origin who looked like he had been through a lot, and certainly had an attitude to match.

After a few awkward moments where all they could do was watch, one of the priests, an older one who looked as if he had been through a lot, finally began to speak.
“Praise be upon the lord, for he has answered our calls for salvation! The Turkish devil of Armen has made his threats towards subjects of the Lord and the Lord has gathered his finest men to save the Romans and their Christian allies” He said joyously.

“It would seem some are confused as to where they are, but God works in mysterious ways, and we should accommodate them,” Another stated. Even though they said a few suspicous things, no one in the room seemed to really doubt the legitimacy of this situation, after all, it was seemingly their prayer that brought them here, so going against it would’ve been going against God’s will.

“Of course. A Turkish man by the name of Evren has grown a large empire in the lands of the Armenians with abilities granted to him and his soldiers by the devil himself so that they may manipulate the natural world. Since you are crusaders sent by God himself, our King would almost certainly grant you land and riches, but we know not of the full extent of these things. Allow us to take you to his palace, where he can discuss such things and you can prepare for the journey which God has sent you here for,” the first priest replied, “but first, who are the lot of you?”

Scrappy took a brief moment to think about it, his mechanical eyes looking around to observe everything as he thought on his situation. He was far from home in, according to what some other dude said, some ancient time period, instead of having ended up in Mexico. “How?” did not flow through his mind as quickly as “What now?” would. There was no technology, at least the common kind, that he was used to, and there was no way for him to start over and make a living, unless he took these people’s offers, at least.

“I’m Scrappy, from a land called America. It’s better than this place,” he told the priest, acting like the average American in a foreign country.

“But anyways, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m gonna take this offe- do what God has asked of me, of course. They’re offering us land and riches if we go take on some ancient army that probably uses sticks and rocks as weapons. Every time I’ve heard some small tribe or republic talk about creatures with magical powers, it was just a big bird, or some advanced robot. Either way, I ended up alive and the other thing didn’t,” Scrappy swung his weapon and smirked.
“Sure, I miss home, but I have no idea how we’re gonna get back now! I can’t say it would exactly be horrible to live out the rest of my mechanical life as a rich noble who gets to kick peasants and be called an enlightened despot for it. Besides, if this magic stuff isn’t just some farmers who had too much to drink, it’s probably some advanced stuff that might lead us home,” he added. He truthfully wanted to return home more than he showed, but he felt like the situation was hopeless. He never believed in magic, but this seemed to take his life and turn it upside down. He was determined to make the most out of this, and as he said, maybe they would find a way to return home on the way.

[Cybraxia]

Secrets of the Raven

"Look, this is nice and all, but I'm getting a little stir-crazy sitting in here." Greed said with a yawn, reclined in a chair and his arms behind his head. "Mind if I go out and explore some? If you want, I'll even stay close to this place. Besides, if you could sense something wrong with me, you can find me again."

---

WOFAM
Egypt

Bradley, surprised at the sound of planes, he followed the so-called "gods" without comment. Mmm... perhaps these flying machines these... aircraft... would be useful in future endeavors. He shook his thoughts away. He had an appearance to uphold.

As he neared the building, his eyes widened as he saw the carnage. Yes.. these machines would be valuable in the future. In the meantime, he would help out these people. "I'll carry out the wounded!" he shouted, somehow managing to squeeze his way into the
ruined building.

[Menschenfleisch]

Rise of the Masked Man | Avarice

Avarice tried to smile, as she was impaled by rocks. It was... A strange sensation. Like having bread shoved down your throat. Not exactly pleasant, but nourishing nonetheless. She swept toward the thing, thin lines reaching out. She extended her consciousness, shaped her body. An arm reached out to snuff the life from the Golem, to turn it to dust. It opened its hand and; boom. The sound of a starburst. The feeling of fire lapping at her periphery. In an instant, the shroud was pulled away. Like a pile of feathers, she was scattered in the air. She pulled herself back together, and turned toward the Charizard. She reached out in fury, and was repelled yet again by another blast of flame. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to expose herself so early.

The thing spewed more fire. It cut at her. She could usually consume just about anything, but this... This fire was not meant as a physical flame. No. It was infused with deadly intent, with the purpose to destroy. Conceptually, it could only ever burn her. These were the thoughts that coursed through her mind, as once again, pain and heat racketed her increasingly disparate swarm. The next burst tore at her, stripped away her essence. The intent to kill, eroding her will to live. She yelled in her mind, struggled to hold herself together.

No... No! Hold it together, you're the concept of hunger, damnit! You can't die!

When the flames died down, and the Charizard stopped to draw breath, she stood there, in the snow, bleeding and fully human once again. Chunks of her body were missing. They were cut off with static, shaking like glitches. Her regeneration refused to work, even for the missing half of her head; trying to fill in the missing parts of her body, but simply turning to dust. The nerves in her left arm had been severed. She couldn't use it anymore. In disgust, she tore the entire useless limb off, and consumed it there and then, cramming it into her mouth with the other arm. She spoke to the waiting lizard, picking at a knucklebone stuck in her cheek with a charred and twiglike finger. To be brought down by a fire breathing rodent. Her appetites would be enormous once she recovered from this.

"Alright, alright. I can see you aren't a fan. But you're going to dearly regret making such a mess of m-"

Her words were cut off by a dull gurgle. Something was in her chest. Something had cut up her lungs, smashed her heart to pieces. She tried to move away, but her spine wouldn't respond. The missing bits of her body trembled and fizzled. Something cold, and sharp slid out of her abdomen, and she collapsed like a stringless puppet. Well, A+ for efficiency, she guessed. There in the snow she lay, struggling to move (again). She was constricted by biology, in some regards. She needed nerves to move her body, much to her chagrin. She got up on her arms, unable to feel her legs; dragging herself along with numb fingers. Ravenous eyes looked down at the organs tumbling out of her waist. She watched, as her spine put itself back together, nerves fibres and bone stretching out across the cavity in her torso. Too slow. Too slow... But enough to reclaim her legs.

Audrey stood up, spewing blood and magnesium from her mouth. She looked up at the creature in front of her, and managed a wide, smug smile. She spoke in short gasps, from only one working lung. And in that moment, she was truly vulnerable. And yet, knowing she could die, she faced the object of her death with a laugh. A steady hand was raised, a finger pointed toward the lizard's face.

"Well, then. Come on! Surely, you can kill a defenceless little human, right? Give me your best shot! Come on and kill me! I've got all day..."

A Grand Adventure | Tone

Valerian was no secret to adventures, nor was he a particularly modest man. Truth be told, he preferred the outdoors. Who cared about hunting down Avarice? He was sure she was doing fine, probably gorging herself on meat and muscle as he thought! That battle could wait. He needed a break, from this past week. He approached The Wanderer, and was one of the first to see the door to which they were being directed. He stepped forward boldly, wanting to speak.

"So! This is the portal, huh? Adventure lies beyond that knob. Pretty hard to believe, but hey. I've seen crazier."

He stepped forward, apparently to inspect the opening. He tilted his head aside, as he looked all around the opening; whispering the while.

"So. I assume you're pretty knowledgeable about the Multiverse. Heard of any... Demons? Civilisation-eating monsters? Conceptual gods with infinite appetites? Because there's someone..."

Valerian paused. Something was off. He didn't trust this 'Wanderer' for much, beyond his apparently benign intentions. Maybe it was best not to reveal the existence of Avarice. Maybe it'd be even better to conceal the fact that there was a genocidal maniac out there, probably tearing up defenceless villages for fun. His gaze travelled around the doorframe, apparently inspecting it for safety's sake. He raised his voice beyond a whisper. No point in looking suspicious.

"Actually, forget about it. What I'm trying to ask is, are we going anywhere dangerous? Do we need to be on our guard, or are we going to some family-friendly city? I'd love to see the tourist attractions the Multiverse has to offer. Any guy could make a killing just based on how the laws of nature work in their universe."

Secrets of the Raven | Jacquelyn and Kyle

Jacquelyn cleared a lock of hair from her face. She fiddled with the hem of her scarf, thinking furiously. She didn't know what to do. Was she really Jacquelyn? Or just a phantasm in some terrible cosmic horror story? Did she take the past laid out before her, or reject it altogether? She glanced over at Kyle. Best not to 'break the heart' of someone who loved her so dearly (apparently). She heard Sayaka's chortle. She gave her a glare. Probably thinking she was a nutter! And you know what? She might be right. But that didn't stop her from curling a thread of Radiance between her fingers, fiddling with the uncomfortably hot light in the confined, very flammable little room. Just to let you know.

But still. Elizabeth's request and speech was nothing to be ignoring. She looked up, a bit surprised to see Kyle wanting her to go first. Was this a test? Maybe he wanted to see her answer, see whether she truly thought she was Jacquelyn or not. She played along with his mindgames.

"Cultists, serial killers, a conspiracy? God, are you sure you don't know an insane prick called Sterling? I mean, arriving here from a mysterious portal is pretty goddamn close to his M.O. Anyways, my name is Jacquelyn Vanth. Pleased to meet... The majority of you."

Kyle gave her a sidelong stare. The message was clear. Don't be a prick. Oh wait a moment. Sterling! Yes, they'd just only defeated him a few hours ago. Who was to say this entire dimension, and Jacquelyn's mental affliction weren't part of his ploy? He hoped she didn't mind him volunteering to go first, but frankly, she needed to put herself out there. Get it across she wasn't actually as rude as she was being.

"Yes, and I'm Kyle Hearse. We're, umm... Partners, in a roundabout way. Although maybe that's up for debate. Anyways, we were... Fighting, a man named Sterling. An insane genius, I remember a friend calling him. And then, I guess we ended up here? Anyways, glad to be here, and ready for action."

[Legokiller]

The Secrets of the Raven

Alice found herself in awe by the size of the human town. A western style cozy, old, and oddly prestige for a younger generation. Despite the chilling rain, there are plenty of people walking about, which one happened to approach her. Alice opened her mouth as she tried to reply before a strange witch appeared.

As Elizabeth interjected with a false story and called her a lost friend, Alice tried intervening on her behalf.
“Pardon me miss, but I believe you’re- H-Hey!” Alice cried out as Elizabeth took her away from the woman. Sure, an umbrella will be great, but Alice was already vexed by this whole situation. Why is Elizabeth doing this?

When Elizabeth asked that she should play along, Alice found herself baffled by this suggestion. But as the mention of someone might be watching them, Alice nature instincts kicked in. The possible stalker in the rain could be a local youkai and might take interest in this rift phenomena. “Fine, I’ll play along.” She answered.

As she was led into the warmth air of the tavern and into Elizabeth’s room, Alice stood back for a moment to look at the others inside. The man nicknamed “Mr Subtle” was human but not quite. Her keen eyes notice the artificial elements that lead to his creation, catching Alice’s interest. The cutie girl called “Blueberry” was a youkai alright, but what kind? Lastly the two humans were simple enough, if not a little odd.

“I’m somewhat following you maiden, but we’re in Potter’s Field yes? If not, where are we?” Alice asked. “But this cult… do you have any theories on why they’re doing this?”

Then Elizabeth asked for Alice’s introduction. “Eh, love?” Alice flustered for a second. “Ahem, my name is Alice Margatroid and it’s a pleasure to meet you all.” She calmly replied and pretend that never happened. “As for how I came here, a strange rift pulled me away from a dear friend of mine in Gensokyo. I’m honestly not sure if a youkai decided to pull off the worse…” Her cheeks blushed for a moment. “Trick on us with the rift, but I have my doubts. The rift is rather spasmodic in its nature and may have a small connection to a youkai I know in Gensokyo.”

[Naval Monte]

Secrets of the Raven

Elizabeth can tell that tension was brewing in the air with some folks, the auras coming from folks were flowing upward and hanging on the ceiling like smoke; it's color even changing to better match it with patches of glowing embers within the smoke burning deep inside the pitch black fumes. Once more seeing the fumes made her feel the emotions tied with them witch made her look down at the ground to avoid looking up, the cigarette saw more of it's white exterior slowly burn to ash as the witch kept on smoking, trying to get her thoughts away from the smokey aura and the emotions tied to it.

Thinking on what to do to ease the tension in the room when she felt a spike of arcane energy. Looking up she saw Sayaka gathering energy from her Soul Gem to the palm of her hand. Before the witch can ask what she was doing the bluenette launch the small, pale blue, dot of arcane energy at Elizabeth. The speed of the projectile and Elizabeth's surprise on Sayaka seemingly attacking her out of the blue meant that the witch only stared at the attack like a deer staring at oncoming car light as the dot hit the cigarette, not only extinguishing it but destroying it as ash and tobacco flew out of the destroyed cigarette.

Elizabeth was still stun by the spellcasting and was only broken out of her state when some of the ash and tobacco landed in her nostrils, making the witch sneeze. The now destroyed cigarette fell to the floor as pieces of itself and ashes lay beside and around it. Elizabeth glared at Sayaka but before she can say another word she sneezed again. Elizabeth got up and went to a nightstand that had a box of tissues were she grabbed some and blew her nose, trying to get rid of the offending materials in her nostrils. As she was blowing her heard Greed wanting to explore because he was getting stir crazy being trapped in the room. The vexed witch turn her glare to Greed as she threw the dirty tissues to the nearby garbage bin, two of the tissues landing on the floor instead of the bin.

"If you want to go out in the rain fine by me. But at least stay close to this place and get a map to this town so you won't get lost, this town is pretty large and the layout off the place has been known to confuse tourists to the point of getting lost in here. Go to the pub counter and asked for a pamphlet from the Branhwrn Chronicler, their pamphlets always have maps of the town. Of course we still get the one or two idiot tourist getting the dumb arses lost because they refuse to buy the bloody map. Which reminds me." Elizabeth reached into her coat pockets and pulled out her wallet, taking out a few pounds and placing them on the nightstand. "There is enough to buy you both the map and a few rounds of drink or a snack. Not sure if you can eat or drink but I figured you would want some cash on you that as some worth in here."

Once she stated those final words in her sentience a realization hit Elizabeth. "I don't have enough money to take care of all of these sods." the witch knew that with act of Sayaka being her niece she would be able to comfortably have enough money for both. But to have money to deal with six people is too much, especially since she can't keep all of them in her room. Elizabeth walked back to the mini fridge and took out a bottle of scotch and poured herself a glass.

Turning to face the grip she took a shot of the glass. "Okay so it took me a while to realize we have a problem. Not only can this room take all of you staying here for days but I don't have enough money to pay for everything you guys would want. So I would have to take a few side cases to get more money while dealing with the main case and some of you guys will have to work part time to help out with our money issue." She explained to the group, preparing to hear outcries of rejections over the idea. Which she won't blame them if they did since they are strangers in a strange land and being roped up into a murder case with killer cultists is one thing but doing manual labour for foreign currency they have no idea it even works.

But she also knows they don't have much of a choice on the matter since right now she is the only one who knows of their predicament and is at least willing to help them on not getting into trouble in this world, at least with this they can repay her for being generous on keeping them somewhat safe. At least as safe one can be when around her. Elizabeth let out a small chuckle from that thought, wondering just how they would react when they find out the sordid reputation she has in some circles.

Elizabeth put down the glass and walked back to the nightstand to put down some more money. "Also get a copy of the Advisor. It tends to have lists of businesses in the town looking for new employees." She told Greed. After speaking with Greed she heard Jackie and Kyle speak, introducing themselves and mention some bloke name Sterling. “Can you please not glow in here. I rather not explain to the owner how my room caught on fire.” The witch pleaded to Jackie, hoping to prevent the building from catching on fire. This town already as a terrible history with arson related disasters and she doesn’t want to be involved with a possible new disaster. “As for Sterling well I haven’t found another portal so I doubt he followed you two. Either he is stuck inside a rift, was sent to a different universe, or he is dead. Whatever happened to him I’m just glad he isn’t here because I don’t need to deal with both a mad scientist and cultists. So this Sterling is the reason why you two are here and mind telling me more about the wanker?” The mage questioned, curious on knowing more on this Sterling just encase he did follow them to her world.

When Alice spoke the witch gave her a smile. “Alice, what a lovely name for pretty lass like yourself.” The witch felt flirty right now as she found the other witch’s blushes amusing. “No we are in the Drinking Crow now in one of the suburban districts of the town, far away from Potter’s Field. Also Youkai? As in Japanese spirits, demons, and otherworldly beings? You don’t look Japanese Alice but I’m curious on who this rift making Youkai is, your dear friend and this Gensokyo because I never heard of a place called that before? You can call me Elizabeth Ashwood or just Elizabeth, I don’t care much for formalities.”

Being called a Maiden made the witch happy as she still looked deceptively younger than she is, she wonder how everyone would react if they found out she was in her late thirties? “Right now I don’t have much theories other than them doing this either for sick pleasure or in the worship of some dark god. I just got involved in the case.”

---

Walking down the wet and slick concrete sidewalk Agent A can see that in some sections of the sidewalk there were cracks of various sizes, some were so large that they exposed the old cobblestone that was paved over. He would see the man he was following was attempting to take something out of his coat but didn't once he tripped over an exposed piece of cobblestone, taking out his hands quickly to grab on to the ground. The man cursed the town council for their shoddy work on covering up the cobblestones and maintain the aging sidewalk as he got up. Throughout the street besides seeing and hearing a few people and vehicles outside along with the rain Agent A would notice white phone booths with stamps printed on them either depicting a crow or raven

The two men would walk pass an roundabout that had patch of clear ground at the center that contain four, curved, rows of floors with a brick walkway separating the floor patches. There were four small brick pillars with black raven statues, two white benches were at the sides of the statues. The wings of the raven statues were outstretched and their eyes on the center of the clear in the roundabout, a marble obelisk with a fountain at the base, in fact the obelisk had four open slots at each side that had water coming out of it. On the top of the obelisk that form a pyramid each side had a single eyes on them, representing the eye of providence. The raven statues were all staring at the eyes. As the two walked past the obelisk both can't help but to feel that the eyes of it were watching them. Once away from the Obelisk of Providence the two would make their way to the six storey apartment complex of Brutalist architecture,with many balconies and large windows with access to a separate tower on its left side having a cantilevered upper floor, even the main building had a row of three cantilevered roofs which made it appear even larger than what it is. The name of the building is Morfran Tower.

The building's rugged, blocky, and looming appearance fit well with it's worn condition, giving what was suppose to be an expressionless structure a sense of character. Once they stepped inside Agent A would find that the fluorescent lights in the building seem much dimmer when compare to the black iron street lamps outside, in fact he would note one flickering briefly. He would see close go the walls maroon plush couches with sofas and window chairs on the along with a table at front. On the right side wall he would find photos and fliers from various time periods from those harking back to the 19th and 20th century to today.

Of some of the fliers he would find one's for the Cerridywn University which sounded a massive gothic building, an amusement park called Nevermore, and finally an old fliers from the 70s that depicted the very building Agent A was in, showing it as a herald of modernization to the old town and a shiny beacon of the town’s future; unaware that it too would join with most of the buildings in the town as being perceived as old by most people who enter the town; even the locals who have seen it on it's heyday will admit that Morfran has lost much of its luster. On the other wall were metal slots for mail. Agent A would see on the concrete pillars with security cameras on them, there were more at the corners of the lobby. He would amusingly note that the hanging lamps on the pillars provided a much better source of illumination than their fluorescent counterparts if only slightly. There were four hallways leading out of the lobby.

Two lead to a hallway that were connected to rooms and a few facilities like a laundry room, gym, boiler room, garbage, and even an indoor pool. The two were at the side of the receptionist desk and they were shorter as they lead to the stairs and elevators. The desk had an old hang with wide rim glasses and had white hair, wearing the typical attire one expects see for those working in a building like Morfran. The man he was following was talking with the old receptionist and when the man fetched a metal key from one of the metal door slots from behind him he handed them to the secret agent's target. The man walked away from the desk and went for the elevator, waiting for it to come down.

[Zepplien]

Drawn Through the Multiverse
Altair smiled, this man in massive power armour would be her knight for this new world. Ignorance of the truth did not mean he couldn't be persuaded to help her cause, in fact a small mind filled with faith was perhaps the most easy one to manipulate. Alice February was proof enough of that, the lancer who had almost caused the world to be thrown off it's yoke with her actions. "As I have not felt the Emperor's love it is clear to me that the trickery of the Gods stand against him, as they stand against me. All misery can be traced to these so called Gods of Pleasure." she did not typically like to indulge the fantasies of other creations, but she was within the cage. When Meteora's minions appeared, it was best they faced the power armoured brute than turning their attacks on her.

Then came the call to adventure from the locals, Altair had not expected to be thrust into the hero role of another contained story. What were the Creators playing at? She would not be contained within a single story forever, they had to realize that. Her face twitched as the creature mentioned her world's Creator, did she mean... Altair felt that dull anger bubble within her, the disgust she felt for the World of the Gods who had denied her dearest friend a place among their ranks. The world that had everything in abundance, but could not spare even a place for her closest ally. This Wilfre character, trying to disrupt one Creator, when he learned the true wretched ways of all Creator-Gods there was no doubt he would join her mission.

The woman asked her Creator directly for help in dealing with the problem, a 'Deus Ex Machina' if Altair recalled proper terminology. The air went still, the world around them became quiet, but at first nothing happened. Such was the cruelty of the Creator, one who no doubt lived in luxury and joy compared to his creations, no mind paid to his fellow Creators nor the misery he brought upon his creations. This was nothing more than further proof of the Creator-Gods trickery and cruelty.