It was not difficult for the King of Knights to guess at the nature of the slightly transparent maid. If Queen Tepes was a vampire, and this world did as it appeared and held many creatures from 'horror', then it was only likely that Shirley was a ghost. She had seen such things when Shirou tried to show them some movies. But, somehow, the screen kept descending into static whenever Rin approached it. It was difficult to ascertain why, but regardless, she had learned about these versions of such entities from movies in the horror genre, though they had only seen snippets of them. With no real reason to question it, Saber calmly walked through the gates and towards the mansion. The others, she would certain, would soon follow inside.

Shirley did not respond when Nono questioned her. Instead, she proceeded to quickly look down on her feet. Her just-barely transparent cheeks were a shade of red, as if she was too flustered to speak. Her mouth opened slightly, and then shut again as she had numerous false starts attempting to answer the question, resulting only in incoherent mumbling.

And then someone fell right into her chest. For the briefest moment, Geo would feel something like the body of another human, but somehow... lighter, before Shirley suddenly grew much more noticeably transparent. As she did, she also became much less solid and Geo went straight through her. Rigid for a few moments, Shirley's body became more solid again and she abruptly turned to face him, bowing extremely low.

"I-I-I'M S-SORRY!" she cried, shuddering.

Saber paused and looked over her shoulder. As she did, so did Queen Tepes, who placed her slender hands on her hips as she turned to face the scene completely.

"Are you harassing Shirley?" asked the tiny vampire, frowning. "Leave her alone! We need to get inside, anyway!"



The otherself approached the gate.

It was enormous. A single, massive, silver ring, with several wires attaching it to a nearby cylinder and a console. What was seen on the other side was emptyness, absolutely nothing of value. It had stood the test of time remarkably well by appearances, being completely without rust or any visible wear and tear. Black Rock Shooter walked up to it and stood quietly in front of it. This was their escape, was it not? It was not functioning at the moment, though. It was very clear it was not receiving power, or something of that nature.

Mikoto, at least, would be able to sense that there was electricity in the cylinder. But an incredibly small amount of it. As if it would need to be replenished in order to operate once more.

The little blonde girl wandered towards the console, and found it dark. It, too, was without power. She frowned deeply. "It's not working...?"

Geo and Omega-Xis - Castle Tepes

Geo felt a tingle run right down his spine as he came into contact with Shirley's much lighter frame, followed by a much harder chill as he passed through her. He visibly shuddered as he regained his footing and slumped over a little. His face seemed to have lost a little color, and was twisted into a horrified, slack jawed frown at the revelation that, yes, "SHE IS A GHOST!!!" he thought to himself.

It took her loud apology for Geo to come out of his state of shock, and he promptly turned back around to bow as well, not quite as low as her however. "N-No! I'm sorry! My friend pushed me into you and- Mega! Say you're sorry!" He looked up with a cross face at the alien who was still floating in place, letting out a hearty laugh. "Bwahahaha! Yeah, yeah, sorry, sorry about that. Got a little curious, y'know?" He made his way over to Geo and stood him back up straight. "Wish I coulda seen the look on your face when that happened," he told him, "Must've been priceless!"

Geo's face was red with embarrassment at this point, but he didn't want to hold everyone up further. He manually set his Hunter-VG to "Wizard Off," protests from Omega-Xis aside, and turned back to the little queen. "No, ma'am. You're right..." he said, dejectedly, and continued making his way into the castle.

Hi-Hat warmly wished Sindibad good luck in contacting the rest of the men on his list, and headed deeper into the pizzeria.

Along the way, Hi-Hat tapped the shoulders of two men: one dressed in the dark green and black of a little-known drug cartel from Stilwater, the other bedecked in a business suit and domino mask.

The two had been good friends of Hi-Hat's ever since they joined Shadow Eternity, and had even gone on several missions together. Those who ever met the group would quickly come to fear Hi-Hat the decker, Shazay the son of Samedi, and Xiang the Swordsman of the Crazy 88. And they were right on their way to the teleporter room.

Soon enough, they would be in New Orleans, aiming to meet the enigmatic voodoo practitioner that could give them the success they deserved.



Sindibad carefully scanned through the list of names, making sure to circle and underline Doctor Facilier's entry. The next person on the list was... the Necbromancer. The Lord of all undead frat boys and sorority girls, the man who pierced the veil of darkness and learned that the true paddle is swung from within, the Beast With a Thousand Popped Collars: Chad Worthington-Gardner III. His usefulness was potentially worth the hassle of talking to him, but just as likely to be an active hindrance. The only way to find out was to tune in to his frequency...

The Necbromancer laid dormant in his realm, sinisterly awaiting the time The Creators would have need of him again. He felt he'd done something totes awesome with that "Haunted Sorority House" idea-- those adventurers wasted so much Meat just for the chance to get busted down by those undead bimboes of his! That was more than four years ago, and the Necbromancer hadn't had a single second of work ever since...

Suddenly, the skull-shaped-bong-shaped scrying orb in the corner began belting out a transmission!

"Testing, testing! This is Sindibad Darude, looking for The Necbromancer! We would like to talk!"

The Necbromancer, giddy from both panic and finally being noticed, scrambled over to the crystal skull-bong and breathlessly spoke into it.
"You-_{huff! huff!}-- I am He. Who is it that seeks an audience with the almighty Necbromancer?"

"I am no one but a man seeking power. There is a powerful artifact I seek, but it is locked behind a mighty castle garrison. Will you lend me a force, so that I may take what is rightfully mine?"

The Necbromancer was flabbergasted. NOBODY ever asked for his support!

"Yeah, sorry, brah. I don't have anything I can give away. All my combat minions're off on other projects. Realtalk: I'm the least-stocked necromancer in the whole of Loathing. Like, I don't have a single combat-ready minion!"

In fact, he didn't have any minions left! All the sorority zombies and werewolves and vampires and skeletons and ghosts were donated to the Dreadsylvanian Anti-Adventurer Restocking Effort, and not a single one was left for him! However, Chad did know one person who had donated generously to Dreadsylvania and still had forces left over...

"You know what, brah? I can help you out, 'cuz you're the first caller here in two years. I know a guy-- Rene C. Corman-- he's got skeletons. Loads of 'em. Yo, I'll talk to him, and I'll have him give you, like, 5% of his army for a shitload of Meat. Oh, and you gotta invite me to your next party. Best I can do for you, brah. Take it or make like a tree."

"I can accept that. Call Rene, and we'll talk later."

"Aight, lemme get on that. I'mma put you on hold for a second, brah."

...

"Aight, I talked to C-dawg, and he'll help you out. Just send me two million Meat, and I'll send most of it to the dude, and he'll send you some of his bonedawgs. Pleasure doing business with you brah. DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT OUR PROMISE!"

"You're a real pal, Chad. We'll have a pizza party as soon as we're done with your friend's skeletons."

Sindibad closed the transmission, and gave Jack Morgan a brisk thumbs-up. "We've got skeletons! All we have to do is give this Necbromancer guy two million Meat and he'll teleport them where we want!"

Jack Morgan stared at Sindibad incredulously. "Uh, did he name a unit? Two million whats of Meat?"

"Grams or ounces, probably." Sindibad scratched the back of his head sheepishly.! "I hope it's grams, anyway..."

"Whatever. I'll call Takahara and tell him we need 2,000,000 grams of raw meat. I'm sure that will go over well."
Jack Morgan casually pulled out his wristpad, and typed in Takahara's number. Across the multiverse, in the Space Bar, Takahara's communicator started ringing.

Shivani - Dr. Facilier's Shop

"I couldn't help but overhear," she said, one clawed finger pointing at her cat-like ears, "that you're looking for something and you need help doing so." She smiled as she patted her swords. "I think you're going to need someone who can fight to guard you. I mean, you look like you'd snap like a twig." Looking around the shop, she smiled bigger. "All I ask for payment is some of these." She pulled out a couple light purple gems to show him. "Soul gems. Do you have any? If not, I could always use a few more septims."

Dlanor A. Knox – The Museum World

Dlanor didn't miss a step. As the armored man adjusted his footing and attempted to cut her in half, she responded by swinging the Red Key to meet his blade, a flurry of rose petals erupting from the spot in which they clashed. Dlanor's plan was simple, really. She would hit him. Over and over again. Until he gave way and she cut him apart. It didn't matter how long it would take, not to Heaven's Executioner. No, all that mattered was his death. Among the disciples of Heaven, Dlanor herself was considered to be a Death Sentence. Though working with the UMMA had lead to her deployment in less assuredly-lethal missions, she still had that lingering feel.

The feel of someone whose duty was to kill those who had been judged irredeemable. The feel of someone who, when pushed, fought to kill without remorse.

Dlanor moved to force the blade aside, and strike again.

This fight isn't ending as fast as Kiba first wanted it to, but since there isn't anyone taking shots at him so far, he figures there's no need to worry about surprise attacks right now. He intends to give this fight his full focus. No use worrying about invisible men, being too paranoid isn't really beneficial.

His response to her attempting to shove his sword aside is simply to push against her efforts, clearly intending to power through.

Dlanor's grin shrank into a catlike smile as she raised on eyebrow. He was still trying to resist? He should have learned it was futile by now. It made it more difficult for her to cut him apart, but... she still had a free hand. Forcing his blade to a standstill, her golden-armored arm snapped out in an instant, her gauntleted hand wrapping around his through and squeezing like a vise. But she was not simply going to attempt to strangle him, what use would that be?

"You simply DELAY!"

Lights flurried behind her as she suddenly rocketed forward, clutching his neck. The wall rushed towards them as Dlanor made her sole aim to slam him into it.

The impact would invariably break into the wall, if successful, slamming him her enemy through it as if he had been hit by the full force of a freight train.

Dr. Facilier's smile faded. He had powers beyond what this woman could imagine. Though he might as well humor her, and perhaps...

"Well," Dr. Facilier said, placing a bony arm around Shivani's shoulder, "I may not have any of these 'soul gems,' but I'll bet that my friends have the means of helping you acquire as many as you want."

Facilier snapped his fingers, and the masks hanging on his walls glowed. "Here's the deal. You help me, as you offered. In return, I'll lend you whatever power you need to get as many of these little gems as you want. Now, you gotta act quickly, 'cause I'm only making one offer, and I'm running a little late." Facilier held out his hand. "I guarantee you'll see your payment after I get what I'm looking for. See, my friends don't appreciate people going back on a deal. I learned that the hard way. So won't you shake a poor sinner's hand?"

Dlanor A. Knox - The Museum World

Dlanor's grin shrank into a catlike smile as she raised on eyebrow. He was still trying to resist? He should have learned it was futile by now. It made it more difficult for her to cut him apart, but... she still had a free hand. Forcing his blade to a standstill, her golden-armored arm snapped out in an instant, her gauntleted hand wrapping around his through and squeezing like a vise. But she was not simply going to attempt to strangle him, what use would that be?

"You simply DELAY!"

Lights flurried behind her as she suddenly rocketed forward, clutching his neck. The wall rushed towards them as Dlanor made her sole aim to slam him into it.

The impact would invariably break into the wall, if successful, slamming him her enemy through it as if he had been hit by the full force of a freight train.

This was a bit of an unexpected turn. Still, nothing that can't be handled. After all, he still has his left fist. So he went for the logical option and unleashed the hardest possible punch, headed right for her face. Not the most sophisticated of strategies, but this battle was never all that complicated to begin with.

"So, how do we know who he is?" asked Shazay, idly adjusting the tilt of his immense black top hat. Skull makeup, an unbuttoned black trenchcoat, and dreadlocks were all par for the course for a Son of Samedi. Though it conferred absolutely no tactical advantages, it was excellent for selling drugs and spooking bystanders.

Hi-Hat waved his hand dismissively. "Be chill, choob! I watched Princess And The Frog, like, ten times! I know exactly what this guy'll look like. Dude's a total fringe-- looks like you, likes shagging collars... hell, he's pretty much you but cooler!"

"Don't be a dick, man. You and I both know this Facsimile guy doesn't know the first thing about the streets 'pared to me!"

Xiang rolled his eyes. "You keep thinking that, Shazay, and it might just come true. Now, c'mon-- it's been a while since I had a real meal, and we're in New Orleans. While we're waiting, we oughtta grab a bite to eat. Hi-Hat, how much do you have?"

Hi-Hat leafed through his wallet. "Got twentykay in nuyen, and thirty in dead-prezzies."

Xiang sucked his teeth nervously. "Not a lot, then. Lemme look, I got an eye for deals... yo!" Xiang pointed urgently at one promising shop on the shoreline. "I got a good feeling about this place!"

Hi-Hat looked at Xiang's subject with derision. "'Tiana's Palace'? You said you had a good eye for deals, chummer!"

"Just trust me, man! Any place in New Orleans is either a tourist trap or cheap as hell-- and this isn't a tourist trap!"

Shazay, already bored, pushed his way past Xiang and Hi-Hat. "Whatever, dude. Don't you start crying when we can't even afford appetizers. I don't want a repeat of last year."



Xiang bit tearfully into a fried shrimp po'boy, topped with sundried tomatoes and imported lettuce. "I fold hyoo I ab a eye for eels, ood! I fold hyoo!"

Hi-Hat, who himself had ordered a fried cod sandwich, stared daggers at the blubbering Xiang. "I told you not to cry, jammit! Now we look like a buncha monkeys tastin' their first bit of real meat!"

Shazay, trying to find a way to eat an italian beef without ruining his makeup and failing miserably, nodded enjoyably as beef broth dribbled down his cheeks. "Man, this shit's too damn cheap for its own good! Three full meals and we're still under twenty bucks!"

"Ow're ee unna ind Bassiwier?" said Xiang, apparently refusing to finish eating before talking.

"This place's got windows, yeah? We sit back and wait for him to look for us. We won't have to do anything, and I'm sure this guy'll be glad for the good sense we showed coming to the best damn restaurant in this fuckin' shantytown!"

Thankfully, two sabers let him focus on fighting wholeheartedly. The presentation was over as far as he was concerned. That flash bang... it had thrown off his corporate mojo. That was unforgivable. It was time to make his mark on the ork. But first, to shut up the Saiyan.

"Well, Saiyan, there's a number of reasons, but I'll just give you the one that'll shut you up. I'm Cooler's personal accountant and he had the LAST of Frieza's men who tried to crush me reassigned to the surface of Cooler Planet 4000. Cooler Planet 4000 is made of molten glass, barely-cooled lava, and averages 36 inches of acid rain weekly."

Takahara readied himself, blocking the slash by bringing up his swords in a cross pattern, trying to catch the Choppa in one of the spines on the backside of the Yomimaru.

"You know Arragoz... That flashbang was a dick move."

Of course, attempting to punch someone when they are carrying you by the neck and rocketing through the air at high speeds is rarely a good idea.

The strike missed, sailing past Dlanor's head. She didn't even notice. It would have been wiser to attempt to disable her limbs, perhaps, but even that would be difficult now. It was a fact that should have been considered earlier than this. It didn't matter anymore. There was a blast of dust and debris as Dlanor's enemy slammed into the brick wall. Masonry and brick gave way explosively, scattering across the ground as the armored man was forced through it. The Angel of Heaven did not stop then. Grinning wildly, she brought him back and slammed him into what remained of the wall. Over. And over. And over.

With a final push, his head went through the outer wall, and he got a brief glimpse of the outside before being dragged back through. Yes, yes, Dlanor would kill him. She was certain, she would cut him apart until there was nothing left! An evildoer who would have killed so many innocents would be destroyed!

Releasing his neck as she spun, there was a hiss as the Red Key met flesh...

Perhaps it was the gaping wound in her chest, that had indeed severed her spine. While against all logic Dlanor could continue to walk and operate without an intact spine(though damaging her limbs enough would still stop her), and it was not considered a life-threatening injury for an Angel of the Lord, it was impossible to deny that it may have had an effect on her aim. The Red Key bit into armor and rent a cut through flesh, but it was a shallow one, barely deep enough to draw blood as it sliced along his upper chest. It was hardly bisecting him, as the Executioner had originally intended.

Dlanor watched as the armored man skidded across the floor.

It was then that a familiar voice would contact him.

"There's no point in fighting any longer. Regroup, and we'll determine where the throne has been taken to."

"WHAT?!" Raditz spluttered. Lord Cooler was here?! In this hellhole! This was both unexpected and terrifying! Serving under Lord Frieza was scary enough, but everyone had heard the rumours of Cooler's strength in comparison to his little brother. He had to make amends. He had no choice. He did not want to return to HFIL!

He adopted the traditional pose of supplication to a member of the Cold Royal Family, down on one knee, head bowed and fist to the ground. "Forgive me, Lord Accountant! I do not wish to incite the wrath of our Illustrious Lord Cooler!"

"If they haven't run already, that's their problem." Guts said, giving his iron hand a wave. Gripping the thick hilt of his sword, he kicked open a door leading to a stairwell leading straight down. The stairs, of course, were crawling with undead, moaning and limping towards the sounds of their voices. An armored boot shot forward, cracking the monster's sternum as it tumbled down, crashing into several others into a pile. Several bombs followed, detonating and sending a splatter of gore back at the Swordsman. Grinning, he hopped over the rail and landed on the next floor, bringing his sword down into a downwards slsh, cleaving an undead in two. Dragging it along the ground, he brought it into and uppercut, dismembering another before bringing it to his shoulder. Down both ends of the hall were dozens of freshly turned undead.

Guts shifted his weight forwards, and began to carve his path out.

Gearhardt, Yggdrasil crime scene

At first he thought the large birdman that wandered up might be a beast, but that thought quickly fled Gerhardts mind. He'd never seen a blue one, nor one so sociable, and upon closer inspection he didn't appear to actually have any feathers. He had more in common with a children's doll than any animal Gerhart had ever seen. Despite the situation he felt a smile spread over his face. A place where this creature could exist was definitely a place worth protecting.

He pushed himself up using the wall, rising to his feet for the first time since the questioning had began. "That's exactly why I contacted the police. I investigated by myself before you arrived, fruitlessly. I found no written records, but just looking around it became clear that there are things in this world far beyond what I'm used to. Perhaps you would have better luck searching their machines. Perhaps it is even possible for you to find a cure where the greatest scholars of Yharnam failed. I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that here, for the first time in so long, I've felt the warmth of the sun on my face. Disarmed, bound, stranded in a place I do not know, and yet my heart beats calm. Hehehehehe."

He extended his bound hands to the two of them. "I wish to protect this peace more than anything. Please, if you don't find this old beast completely repugnant, indulge him. Allow me to hunt with you."

King Dedede beamed. "Well, now that's the spirit! We'll catch whatever crooks are distributing these blighted blood transfusions, no doubt about it! We'll surely crack down on this conundrum and put a stop to whatever disease is driving these denizens dotty, or my name's not Dedede!"

Dedede leaned on his hammer again. "Now, like I asked... We got any leads? Any directions? Anything's a start. Normally I'd send that chump Escargoon to do some dirty work, but there's an obvious lack of lavender snail in the general vicinity, so it looks like we'll have to get all the Scooby-Doo shenanigans done with our own, preferably-not-bare hands."

For once, Sir Frederick did not look out of place in his surroundings: A bit outdated, perhaps, but there were many others like him in this strange city. Not to mention the disturbed crossdressers, circus performers, pimps and prostitutes, lawmen and racists... A melting pot of all mankind. Frederick, for all intents and purposes, was as incognito as he was capable of getting: He was, after all, deep in the hunt: The legendary Trumpet-Playing Gator lived here, and soon, would die here. He had been tracking it through the swamps for weeks, and it was finally cornered here, in the French Quarter.

His elephant gun loaded and primed, Sir Selous looked down each through street and alleyway, following the sounds of sorrowful trumpet. His trek was almost done, and he would have a rare, taxidermy brass player to show for it. Finally, down a dark street behind a beignet stand... There stood the mournful 'dile, playing his swan song on the cornet. It was almost enough to make Frederick reconsider his course of action. Almost. And so, he pulled the trigger, letting the sound of an elephant gun being fired echo through the streets of New Orleans.

Shivani - Dr. Facilier's Shop

Shivani grabbed the man's hand. "Deal. Just remember, if you try to double-cross me..." She let the claws of her left hand drag across the handle of the sword on her left hip. "I won't be as friendly. You will fill one of my empty soul gems." She looked around at the masks. "I've seen weirder in Oblivion." She released his hand and took a step back. "So, where do we go?"

The samurai called Jack had become somewhat of a mercenary to the UMMA, working alongside them, but never directly joining. In the few months he has spent in the Multiverse, he has accumulated a bit of a reputation. This explains why he was in the Council Tower at Yggdrasil when Queen Tepes asked for guards to protect a relic from the Shadow Eternity's attacks. Jack was informed of this opportunity by a contact he had established on Yggdrasil, that informed him on chances to assist the UMMA. The man also gave Jack a way to reach Castle Tepes outside the Queen's formed portals. He had given Jack a device capable of Multiversal travel on its own, and told him what to do in order to reach the Queen's world. He hit the buttons, and felt himself being carefully ripped from Yggdrasil, and into a new plane...

He landed a short distance from both the Queen and the Castle, but they were well within walking speed. He took a look at his surroundings, and was quite stunned. This world looked like it belonged more on the side of Demons than with the UMMA, but if the council was willing to work to protect such a place, it must be very important indeed. Jack approached the group near the gates to the castle, walking slowly and with his hands away from his sword, so as to avoid appearing threatening. He cleared his throat once he was within verbal range of the group, then bowed as a greeting before saying "Pardon my interruption, but I was told by an ally of mine that the UMMA was sending their agents here to defend a relic of great importance. If the Queen Tepes would allow, I would like to offer my services as an independent blade seeking to further his reputation of assisting the UMMA in their duties." He again bowed before holding his hands clasped in front of him, letting them rest on his waist sash.

A loud shot, followed by a mournful, almost humanlike animal noise rang out across the shop. The host and apparent head chef, one proud-looking african-american woman, seemed concerned. Shazay felt the atmosphere of the room get a little colder.

"You feel that? Shit, man-- I think someone just got shot!"

Xiangshi, still streaming tears, folded his arms and glared at Shazay. "You were in a gang and you're worried about someone else's murder?"

Shazay blew air out his mouth derisively. "Pfft, no! I'm just thinking about how the people here'll react! Look at that chick, she's practically shaking in her boots! We gotta get outta here 'fore the cops start profiling, you know what I'm saying?"

Hi-Hat nodded. It was a shame to skip out of a meal early, but urgent matters required urgent attention. "We'll head out the back. Buncha metalheads like us'll stick out like a sore thumb in a lo-tek place like this." Hi-Hat placed his thirty dollars on the table, and he and the rest of the crew slipped through the kitchens and out the back door, into the alley.

In the alley was a man wearing almost period-appropriate attire, a still-smoking elephant gun, and the ventilated corpse of a bull american alligator. Still trapped in the alligator's hands was a well-kept trumpet. All in all, it was probably the second weirdest sight involving an apparently-intelligent wild animal and a gunman Hi-Hat had seen. It couldn't possibly beat one that time with the Rainmaker and the insect spirit that had possessed a mountain lion.

Xiangshi was the first to break the ice. "Nice shot," he said, with startling coolness, "why's he got a trumpet?"

Loading another round into his elephant gun, Sir Frederick approached the corpse of the melancholy lizard. There, directly in the poor croc's chest, was embedded a bullet the size of a large grape. Honestly, it was a relief that the despair-filled creature had died so quickly, as the beast's final moments were clearly filled with agonizing pain. Ah well. Reaching for his machete, Frederick cleanly, or at least, close to cleanly, severed the head of the blues beast. Shoving both the now dinged trumpet and the head into his sack, and was on his way.

Frederick then turned to face the strange modern man addressing him. "The trumpet is... His instrument. He plays it. Played it. The Alligator Mississippiensis Brassbandus." Sir Selous sighed, "I guess the worst part is when you realize how precious the life of a rare creature such as this is... Ah well, there are at least a dozen more scattered across this... Multiverse." he shouldered his rifle. "And you are?"