Tails liked Aegis so he nodded at what Aegis had said and went over to him as they walked to the Kitchen and he began talking with him.

@WinterLemur

"Where do you come from?"

Tails asked looking up at Aegis, with curiosity and wonder he wanted to know where Aegis was from because Tails wanted to learn of the names of the different places he knew he could probably make a device that could transport people to different planes but it would take a while and Tails began to think he would probably be stuck here for a while and also Tails wondered if this gem could possibly be a Chaos Emerald or something like it he might be able to use the Gem for something and he expected Aegis would as well.

Tails pulled at Aegis's pant leg and stopped him for a second quick enough so Shivani would not hear and Tails flew up to ear level with Aegis so he could whisper.

"I think you probably are interested in this Gem as I am so if we could ever get our hands on it I could help you with whatever situation you are in Aegis!"

And Tails landed quietly hurrying along with Aegis, Tails looked up at him and smiled and talked normally again.

"We could be a good team even though I am short and not very strong I am very skilled in mechanics and repairs I could improve that Keyblade of yours if you wanted maybe tweak with it a little"

Tails voice trailed off as he inspected the Keyblade and he looked at its prongs that usually fit into each lock but then looked at the part where you could hold the Keyblade, Tails thought he could probably add a small device that he could probably attach to the hilt or whatever Aegis called the part that he could hold the weapons and make it so it could conduct electricity so the weapon would have an electrical hit when an enemy was hit with it or he could manufacture a smaller Keyblade for himself if he could have a closer look at the weapon if Aegis let him and Tails could probably make many more things if he had more tools in his tool belt.

He sighed and looked around they were nearing the Kitchen and he began wondering if they had a workshop in this Castle.

Saber gave a nod in respect to the agreements with her rulings. She had hoped she properly judged the combat roles of her allies correctly, and as neither of them had said anything to contradict what she had assigned to them she felt that she had indeed made the appropriate judgements based on their capabilities. For herself, the answer was obvious. While it was unlikely she would use the full powered function of her Noble Phantasm, for fear of harming allies or causing extensive damage to the castle, she could fight without fear of damaging the building outdoors, in addition to utilizing the lower-powered capabilities of Excalibur.

... It was obvious even to her that Gintoki seemed displeased, but he did not protest, either. Perhaps he didn't like the position but agreed that he would be useful there? Or...

Saber hesitated for a moment. "... I will be taking a position outside of the castle... Gintoki, if you believe you may be more useful in another location..."



The vampiric Queen paused for a moment, only a moment, when she ran across some of the newcomers to her castle. It was... some guy with an enormous key, a cat-like woman, and... a... kitsune? No, kitsune normally used their human-like forms. Queen Tepes had been to their lands before and met several of the youkai(it was around the time she had hired her yuki-onna maid, Rei). So... it was some kind of fox creature. It didn't take a genius to guess that these were probably foreigners to her reality. Quite a few of the maids, of various kinds, were peering at them with no small amount of confusion.

"... You seem to be lost, if you're in my castle without my consent," the child vampire began, slowly approaching, "I can hardly imagine what put you here without my awareness."



Marisa grumbled under her breath as she was reeled in and put into handcuffs. Jeez, she just wanted to dress the tiny girl up, what was the harm in that? It wasn't even a lie, this time she actually wasn't intending to steal anything... Immediately! ... Not that she lied anyway nope Kirisame Marisa was the straight edge of truth who never once lied to anyone and anyone who said otherwise was the liar, not Marisa! And now her broom was gone, too... how was she supposed to go looking like a witch if she couldn't even have a broom? Jeez...

If she could fold her arms, she definitely could! But instead she went for pouting as she walked along.

"... Why does he wanna see me, anyway?" Marisa asked, inclining her head to the side. "Am I so awesome he knows about me too?"



The otherself straightened, shaking her head slightly. The sensation of travelling between the two worlds was disorienting, she felt off-balance for a few moments, and her vision swam. It was, in fact, more offputting then the first time she had traveled through a wormhole from her home to the desert. Soon the strange feelings abated, and she could clearly see her surroundings. It was a western medieval town, one not unlike something that could be seen in some form of light fantasy. There were native beings to this world surrounding them, humans who looked completely stunned and confused by their presence as Black Rock Shooter tested her legs on the cobblestone street. She glanced behind her, and was surprised to see that the portal appeared to have followed. Indeed, there was a similar structure to the one that had been in the desert, now standing in the square.

The little blonde girl based through the portal with Mikoto, looking around in awe at her surroundings. She did not seem so adversely effected by the rapid transit, somehow. Instead, she quickly shot to her feet, tugging on Mikoto's hand.

"This is so much better than that desert!" she declared, "There's no... weird idiots... Pensee seems great! I think I might actually be glad you woke me up now!"

She turned to Mikoto, giving her a wide smile.

It was about then that the image of the desert inside the portal faded away entirely. The lights on this version's console died, as well, flickering out.



Dlanor paused outside of the museum, a safe distance away. The fires were being quelled by this point, the fire team doing their best to save as many artifacts as they could. Some of the disaster systems had come online and saved some of the works inside of it, but others had sadly perished in the blaze.

Thankfully, there were no causalities.

The UMMA base was dispatching its guards. There was an individual in some kind of small mecha, completely obscured from view, a robed girl with a glittering staff, a man with an enormous sword crackling with electriciy, and several soldiers of varying appearance armed with various weapons. A chamber is rolled along with them, the interior fitted with various clamps.

Clearly, it was intended for transport of a high-threat prisoner.



To be honest, this kind of thing wasn't exactly unexpected from an ork... still, the katana-wielding woman had hoped things would be a bit smoother then this. To be fair to him, he seemed to have thought this out more then she had initially expected. Still... it was a good opportunity, however, to open the plan up for further discussion. After all, the goal was no to minimal casualties and the capture of the Eye of the Serpent. Then they'd be well on their way to completing Nidhogg once they achieved it. The next step would be getting the control module and the control throne...

"The previous attempts to take the Eye ended, well... there was no bloodshed, but let's just say our soldiers were a little bit embarrassed after being throne out of the castle by a bunch of maids," she explained, "They're a lot stronger then they appear, which is why we're going with a much larger force now. As for large exoskeletoned fellow, he seems quite effective, but... well, if something goes wrong, we can't rely on him, as was stated previously. I feel it's best to have multiple alternative plans rather then simply relying on a single one."



The Leader inclined her head to the side quietly for a moment. There was little else to do in the end, and therefore all that could be said was...

"Take it. It's yours."

As if on cue, the soul flared slightly, burning brighter for a moment before dying down.

Tails-Castle Tepes

When the scary looking vampiric lady approached Tails was slightly afraid but he stopped and he let her approach all of them, and he suspected that she was the Queen of this castle so Tails formally made a slight bow to her.

Then looked up at her and replied to her.

@VitaVitaAR

"Well I am sorry you Highness we should have requested consent to enter you castle,"

He said innocently then continued explaining.

"I had no clue where I was and I met these two on my way here and I am just trying to figure out where I am your Highness and I can not explain my presence in your domain because I can't remember what happened before I appeared here!"

Tails finished explaining and he looked up at the Queen with question in his eyes, because for a Vampire she didn't seem very evil but the liked that.

Shivani - Castle Tepes

Her ears twitched as she heard the pair whispering. She sighed as she stopped and, just as she was about to turn, she heard footsteps. She looked in the direction of them to see a young girl, obviously a vampire. After Tails spoke, Shivani stepped forward to bow. "My apologies. We are new to this land. I had originally landed in the kitchens with a pair of men where we scared a few of the maids. One of them mentioned a stone that I intend to protect from men I know are going after it for their own evil wishes." She put her helmet back on as she looked at the girl. "It's the least I could do."

"Crawled out of the..." Blake trailed off and pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes for a moment in the face of the boy's cocky grin. Was he completely ignorant of the multiverse? Had he only just dimension-hopped? And he'd just... jumped into the burning museum anyway?

"Well, that's... commendable." She said after a moment, sighing slightly. "What's your name? And where are you from?"

As the group paused, Blake turned to look back at the museum, frowning sadly as her hair and bow flapped in the hot wind. The loss of all that information sent a flash of outrage through her chest, and she shot a small glare at Cinder. Another crime to lay at her feet, hers and the group she'd been fighting. As the UMMA squad headed their way, she pointedly gestured towards the holding chamber with her weapon.

"Inside. And don't even think about trying anything."

Nono, Castle Tepes

Nono nodded confidently as Saber finished up the instructions, no real disagreements to be heard. As far as she knew and was concerned, the strategy part of the session was over, and they could go on to other things. They were in a cool castle, and it would be a shame to not explore it after all. Who knew what sorts of things there might be?

With that said though, she did have one issue that she wanted to discuss, and she took a step closer to Saber as she voiced it. "Hey, Onee-sama. when you have the free time, do you think you could teach me how to sword fight? I mean, only if you want to, but I figured it would be good if I could be useful when fighting in close quarters too." She had her fists, but this would be better. She'd talked to Gintoki about it before, and now she was confident enough to ask already. Hopefully Saber would agree.

Question posed, she waited to see what the King of Knights would say to her request, prepared either way.

---

Misaka 10032, Academy City

Misaka watched with a neutral expression, and yet a careful watch, as Lucina scooped up the various items that had been spilled on the street, before the hat was handed back to Marisa. She remembered the last time that the Witch had escaped, and she would be ready for any further attempts. That much she was willing to claim, and the Network backed her up.

"Until next time," Misaka said as she walked off with Kakine and Marisa, whilst Touma was being assaulted by his companion. Again. You would think he would be able to do something about that given the previous physical feats he had displayed beyond Imagine Breaker, but that was not the case. It seemed that his weakness was either tiny holy persons, or sneak attacks from behind.

With that done though they could get back towards their intended destination, ironically closer now that they were near the Gardens. She took a moment to consider inquiring of her older sister, but decided against it. Business first. She doubted that Misaka would approve of what she was currently doing, even if it was in a good cause.

Walking along, the Network helped coordinate, to make sure nothing else ended up in their path. Marisa was not amused, that much was obvious to collective determination, but it didn't matter given her previous escape. "That information is classified," Misaka replied when asked why Aleister wanted to meet with Marisa. If the Witch couldn't remember herself, she did not deserve to know from them. For now, they simply needed to get there.

---

Ilyasviel von Einzbern, Foecrusher

Ilya watched the ongoing conversation with expressed disinterest, involved even though she didn't want to be. that aid, she was making some effort to ignore the armored knight, given that the weird sword she was using kept giving her headaches when she tried to copy it. It just wasn't worth the hassle, given the effort involved and the weapons she had. It probably couldn't match Kanshou and Bakuya anyway.

Ignoring the fight that might be looming, Ilya was more interested in the weapons that the Ork produced, which he claimed might be able to help them in their attempt. Those seemed interesting, though she wouldn't claim to know how they worked. But if they did the job they were made for, they would be good enough,

Her attention shifted once more to the lady with the katana as she explained what had happened, and their ignoble failures, earning a snort of derision from the girl. Obviously they had failed before, but she had a feeling that this castle would be so lucky this time. they had her after all, and if anything would turn the odds it would be that. But in the vein of multiple plans, she tried to think up something.

A shrug then on her part before she spoke up once more. "I might be able to punch a hole through to that gem," she noted aloud, considering her options. She'd never actually used Cadalbolg II as a drill before, but since that was what it did in legend (through a mountain, but still), it should be able to do that now. Of course, she wouldn't be opposed to any other plans that might crop up. Which she added to. "Otherwise, it'd be good if we could draw them out of the castle, or infiltrate in somehow, with some of the less evil looking people here." That'd be hard, but it might be worth it.

---

Cinder Fall, Museum World

Cinder walked as calmly as she had been thus far as they exited the burning museum, the villain not even bothering to look back at the inferno she had caused, which was currently being combated by emergency services. It had served it's purpose, and the lost treasures were of no concern to her. They would not matter in the end anyway, not once her plan had reached fruition.

More impressive, and noticeable, was the group that showed up, UMMA personnel if she didn't miss her guess. They seemed well armed, and even had a specially prepared cell for her to boot. That earned a look of appreciation, even as Blake ordered her inside. Which was in and of itself worthy of a sigh, but she refrained from that at the moment.

Instead, she went for the dig, smirking slightly as she took a step forward. "All this for me? I'm flattered," she said, leaving it unclear whether it was sarcasm or not, before she entered the chamber. She would have her chance soon, that much she new. She just had to be ready for it when the time came.

Gintoki stared at Saber for a moment before sighing. There was no point in getting confrontational, especially not with enemies on the horizon. Little miss 'King of Knights' here... No point in trying to argue with her here; if that day of binging through F█te stuff had taught him anything, it was that Saber didn't like having her ideas shot down in front of her.

"Nah, no problem here. If that's what you decide, then whatever. The enemy will be knocking at the front doors... Or the roof... Any minute now, so you might want to get yourself ready." he said, flicking his head in the direction of the doorway. "We'll be able to handle things in here, so go on ahead."


Suwako looked around the town square, first in curiosity, then simply excitement. A western-style Medieval town! She hadn't seen one of these in FOREVER! Everything looked authentic- the streets, the buildings- heck, even the people were milling about with clothing from that time and place! This world-hopping thing was really turning out to be interesting!

"Well, this is... Pretty interesting! But... Where the heck is this 'Pensee', anyways? Anyone have a clue when... Or... Where we are right now?" she asked, leaping onto Black Rock Shooter's shoulders to get a better view of the place... Including all of the shocked villagers standing in front of them in awe. Huh. Well, that kind of thing was normal with something akin to a miracle happens, after all...


The group's miniature journey was more or less at an end as Kakine walked up to the Windowless Building, Marisa in tow. The Teleporter who was there to meet the group was by no means a stranger; no, rather, she was one who he had had to deal with in the past.

"...Musujime Awaki. I don't believe you were still actively working for the city, last I checked." he said, a passing jab at the red-haired individual who was impatiently tapping her right foot whilst leaning against the building's wall.
"Contrary to your belief, beetle boy, this job actually pays quite well." Musujime responded in turn before pulling out her military flashlight and pointing it at him. "I'm under orders to drop you off and pick you up, but not stick around for the conversation, so... I'll be picking you up later."

Before Kakine could say another word, though, Musujime waved her flashlight at the group, simultaneously moving them all to Aleister's room. The sudden experience would be nauseating for most, but Kakine, being the way he was, wasn't fazed in the least. After all, in front of them now was the most important man in Academy City: Aleister Crowley.

"I see you've arrived." Aleister stated, his face as stone-cold as ever. "I trust your run-in with Imagine Breaker didn't cause much incident? There's only so much money we can put into repairs before the other scientists start becoming agitated, after all..."


"S-seriously?" Hazama asked, fully in shock at the Leader's statement. He could take the soul? But something of this quality...
Alright. No time to freak out. This is a big one if there ever WAS one. To handle something of this caliber... Oh boy, he'd have to get to work as soon as possible. But first...

Hazama's eyes immediately turned to a pair of gloves on the desk next to him, which he promptly put on before proceeding to crack open the letter. He'd have to resolve this issue before working on the to-be Murakumo Unit, after all. Taking the letter out of the envelope, Hazama attempted to read it...

But to absolutely no avail, if only due to the sheer sloppiness of the handwriting.

"What? The hell is this? Can't even understand what the heck this is saying!" he exclaimed before laying the letter out on a nearby table.

"Geez... What a pain..." he complained as he used his glove-covered hands to carefully take the soul from the Leader's own. With a closer look at it now, Hazama was certain that this'd turn out something nice...

With a wave of his hand, Hazama pulled out Ouroboros, which proceeded to take the soul into its jaws and slip back to wherever it came from. He'd pull it out again, for sure, but... In a bit. Deciphering this mess came first.

Lucina had been told to follow until further notice, and so she followed, all the way to the Teleporter. (Apparently that's an occupation.)

Lucina is quite used to abrupt transportation through space and time at this point, and was not fazed (too badly) by the sudden transition. She looked up at probably the most important man in Academy City... not knowing who he was. "Excuse me, sir," she said to Aleister Crowley. "My name is Lucina. I was brought upon this city not by my own volition, but apparently by some form of scientific accident. Would you kindly explain why my presence, along with that of this apparently-somewhat-troublesome mage, is needed in this building?"



King Dedede leaned on his hammer. "So, we gettin' to investigatin' or what? Crime ain't takin' a holiday, that's for sure."

Though the travel was disorienting, it wasn't quite the worst thing she'd ever had to experience, and unlike the bikini-wearing girl that went through before her she had a child providing a little bonus stability. The town they'd arrived to looked a lot more familiar than the desert ruins did, but only from similarity to the School Garden Tokiwadai was situated in. Even then, this place was a lot more authentically old, and had none of the technology.

Being here was making the girl happy, though. The girl who, the Railgun now realised, they hadn't asked for her name even after all the fighting was over. "Really? I'm glad. Also... can you tell us your name?"

---

The blackguard caught the carelessly tossed explosives, handing them with some care to a grunt that would probaby have a better success rate with the device than a technologically-backwards swordswoman would. That the Ork refused to listen to others was annoying, but the warning had been given. It was simply a matter of making sure that as few soldiers as possible were diverted to his foolish plan of attack.

"I, in these circumstances, advocate a frontal attack due to the nature of our enemy, with minimal splitting of our forces. I can subjugate or daze the dead, and defeating them from there would be a simple task. This also poses no risk to our target."

Jericus "Ing" Ignace- Pensee
The guardsman looked around at town "Throne damit we are on a medieval world I don't think there a space port on this planet." he said. The guardsman was relived that they made it through the portal safety without a gellar field. He was glade that daemon didn't do any horrible things to them as they crossed. Ignace walked up to one of the villagers "Excuse me citizen can you direct us to the nearest PDF outpost?" he asked to the nearest villager.

Argon Charr Shadow Eternity Vessel Foecrusher
Argon remained quite as his fellow agents augured among them selves over there plan of attack. "I agree with our swordwoman here that our best shot is a frontal attack on the castle." The mandalorian guested to the boxes of explosives behind were he was sitting. "I brought along a box of thermal detonators and it would be a shame if they were not used."

"My name is Kanji and I am from a small town in Japan called Inaba." Kaji glances back and watches the fire. "Man, that is not cool." He turns back to watch Cinder get in the cell and the other members of UMMA members that showed up. Cinders remark as she entered he cell rubbed Kanji the wrong way. "You better shut up before I go over there and deck you! I just met you and I'm already sick of your shit!"

Jack was in complete agreement with the various plans laid out in defense of the Eye from Shadow Eternity forces. Noticing many were preparing to take their respective places in guarding, Jack stepped over to stand directly in front of the doorway to the eye, facing down the hall. He sat down into a meditative position, with his sword placed within arms reach, and used the the time of waiting to rest, and reflect on recent events. Jack found he was still quite amazed at all there was in the multiverse, and that he still had much to learn about the common sights and interactions within. Jack also contemplated fully siding with the UMMA, seeing it could be of great benefit in both finding the way back to his own time, and having aide in the inevitable battle with Aku when he returns. Despite the importance of the thoughts, Jack eventually found himself drifting into a very light sleep, still ready to spring into action at a moments notice.

Aegis- Castle Tepes

@Belwicket @blackmist16 @VitaVitaAR

The fox - no, Tails - flew up to Aegis and began rambling a little bit about a gem that apparently he and Shivani were looking for. He listened politely, silently, until the boy brought up the suggestion of taking the gem for himself.

He reasoned that the two of them must only have been together very briefly, for Tails' words surprised Aegis with the lack of affinity and companionship the boy's tone had regarding Shivani. Aegis noticed Shivani move as if she was to turn around like she had heard. He sighed internally - she probably did not trust him or Tails anymore. As she seemed ready to speak, however, a vampiric child suddenly appeared in front of them.

The girl approached them, cautiously but with an air of authority that Aegis knew must have meant she was the ruler of this castle. Pausing for a moment to observe the three of them, the woman then proceeded to address them.

"You seem to be lost, if you're in my castle without my consent," the child vampire began, slowly approaching, "I can hardly imagine what put you here without my awareness."

Tails immediately began to apologize to the girl, and Aegis took the moment to carefully pick his words. He couldn't bring up the circumstances that brought him there. There are not many topics that make a conversation somewhat concerning like "Hey, I just got exiled," does.

Shivani moved forward and began to speak. She also apologized, but then Aegis became extremely interested in what she was saying. Shivani told the vampiric child that there was a gem in the castle, and that men were going after it. The nature and origin of these men, Shivani declined to mention. However, Aegis said nothing as Shivani finished her explanation and prepared himself to speak.

Bowing slightly in a gesture of respect, not rising fully from such position did Aegis begin to introduce himself to the ruler apparent of the castle.

"My sincere apologies, my Lady. What the others speak of is true, I can attest. Though I am most likely the last of us to have arrived in your domain, I can assure you none of us have any ill intentions." He waved his right hand, and his Keyblade instantly disappeared from his left and materialized in his right hand. He held the blade from the edge, for it could not cut its owner, and extended the handle towards the girl. "This is a Keyblade. It can detect the darkness in those around it. Please touch it and it will allow you to feel our natures. We mean you no harm."

The Keyblade had been feeling pleasantly warm since Aegis had encountered the other two. Fortunately for him, it could only detect and transmit from other's hearts and not his own. He walked a path between dawn and dusk, and preferred to only let his actions show his intents.

Whether the girl accepted this token gesture or not, Aegis hoped to be able to explore the castle with the others. Having been sent here, he was convinced that there was some higher purpose for him here. Plus, he remembered that because Shivani had a very refined looking pair of daggers he sensed she had on the ready at all times, and decided he would simply attempt to reassure her of his trustworthiness. The fox seemed extremely friendly, but he hardly wanted to have a friend become an enemy over miscommunication.

Still in his bowing postion, he held the blade out steadily to the girl, raising his head just enough to make eye contact and show a smile of friendliness.

Geo and Omega-Xis - Castle Tepes

Seeing as Gintoki seemed all clear with his orders, Geo walked over to him and gestured to outside the chamber. "Let's, uh, get going then? Scope out some more of the castle?" he asked the older man, "Or we can just wait around until something happens if you want." Geo caught how resigned his tone was to going along with him in the end. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly he personally did to catch his disdain. Maybe it's because he was a kid? Did he make an off comment prior to leaving for the castle? Perhaps he would rather just have his own solitude...

Well, whatever it was, Geo was determined to make as good an impression as he could. If just laying off him in general was the way to go, well, he guessed that's what he was gonna do then.

Omega-Xis didn't seem as keen to lighten up his attitude as Geo and approached Gintoki with his usual amount of gusto. "Looks like you're stuck with us in the end!" he told the man. He wondered how much fun he could have just bugging this guy until some action showed itself.

Saber gave a quick nod to her allies. Now it was time to do whatever they could to prepare. The entire mansion was available to them for the moment. As Saber turned to ascend the stairs, she paused for a moment when Nono asked about instruction from her. After a few moments of silence, the King of Knights turned to face the robotic girl and gave her a small nod.

"If you desire my training, I will not reject you," she said, simply, before turning once more to make her way back up the stairs. For the moment, there was no real time for training, however. They could be arriving immediately, or in several days. It was hard to be certain. In any case, it would be best to set up as many defenses as possible as quickly as possible.

For now, they had a little more time to get in position and plan.



Queen Tepes raised an eyebrow, perplexed at the various explanations she received. Well, at the very least, none of them seemed hostile. In fact, they seemed more inclined to help protect the Eye then to steal it. However, the child vampire still gave the weapon a rather wary glare when it was held out to her. Exactly how would it let her feel their natures? Well, regardless, it wasn't as if they would be capable of taking her by surprise if the weapon turned out to be some kind of trap. Besides, they seemed relatively non-threatening. With a shrug, she reached out and took the handle as she introduced herself.

"I am Queen Isabella Danielle Valeria Katherine Tepes, and this is my castle."



Black Rock Shooter stumbled when Suwako hopped onto her shoulders, but managed to catch her footing without collapsing to the ground. Barely, at least. Straightening and adjusting herself(with some confusion about Suwako's decision) to support the smaller girl, she looked around as best she could. In any case... she had no real answer for the blonde girl's question. As a result, there was really only one response that she could make.

"I do not know."

The little girl looked thoughtful for a moment when Mikoto asked her name. There was several seconds of silence as she looked up at the sky, then idly towards the cobblestone ground, then to the side, then finally back to Mikoto once more. It was an awfully long time to answer a question about your name.

"I don't know!" she declared, frustration tinging her voice. "... And I know a lot of other things..."

There seemed to be someone approaching them, as well. Shuffling closer, hesitatingly, there was a brown-haired girl in a red and yellow outfit...



Regardless of Cinder's intent, the chamber was quickly sealed with a loud clanging sound, and the hiss of the vacuum-sealed door fastening completely shut. Thankfully, air cycled into the chamber quickly. Murdering a prisoner via suffocation was not the act of an organization that prided itself on justice and doing what was right. Dlanor calmly stepped between the chamber and the civilian combatant, turning to face him as the other UMMA agents slowly lifted it to begin moving away.

"She is already IMPRISONED," she began, "Further assault is not NECESSARY."



The woman with the katana sighed. It seemed things had settled with a compromise. A frontal assault would be prepared as well as attempted sabotage and subterfuge to penetrate the castle's defenses. It seemed logical, really, to devote forced to both sides. Really, though, she felt a small amount of frustration that she couldn't demolish the castle entirely. That risked harming the eye, after all.

Oh well.

They would arrive soon.



"... You cannot understand it?"

The Leader let out a sigh, and approached quietly. The letter's contents were important to the elimination of this threat, lethal or otherwise, and she rather desired to know exactly what someone would intend to attempt to use the UMMA's Murder Doll for.



Well that was an experience Marisa was in no hurry to repeat. Some girl with brown hair had down up, and then there'd been a flash of light, and now she felt sick and was in some completely different place. Staggering a little to try and get her balance, Marisa shook her head and attempted to take in her surroundings. Well then. Well. There was a... okay, the voice let her know it was definitely a guy, in the tube. And all kinds of weird technology stuff. Shaking her head and straightening, Marisa had two questions firmly on her mind.

"... Are you Crowley-san?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips and inclining her head to the side. "Why are you in a dress?"

Gintoki stared at the 'dynamic duo' as they went off doing... Well, whatever their schtick was. He didn't need a boy and his mecha-blob to back him up he-
Almost as if on cue, though, a rolled-up scroll of paper popped out from his bokuto, almost begging him to read it. Though most of the time he'd be wary of this kind of stuff (god DAMN it, why was it always his stuff that ended up getting the stupid upgrades?), the hack that it had come out...
Gintoki took a moment to go quickly skimming through the paper, only to find out it was the contract he had signed back when he had first joined...
And that it was still in effect. Right.
With a flick of his wrist and a few quick slashes from what would otherwise be a dull blade, the paper was shredded into tiny, meaningless scraps before being tossed to the floor.

"Yeah, seems so. Well, whatever." he sighed, tossing neither a glance as he walked down the hallway. "Maybe we can go set up some traps or something before they come."


"Dunno, huh?" Suwako sighed, cleanly backflipping off of Black Rock Shooter's shoulders and landing on a leaf that had conveniently sprung up from the ground just now. "Well, that's kind of an issue, but I think we can at LEAST say it's another world, right?"
Almost as if a switch had triggered as she said that, though, Suwako snapped her fingers as a curious idea popped into her head.
"I wonder if I can set up communications back home with a shrine here...?"

But that would have to wait, especially if they were making a giant spectacle of themselves. Though the extra publicity and fame was nice, people would probably write it off as magic or something of the sort... Assuming it existed here, of course. If she was going to make her theories go live, she'd have to save the biggest 'BANG!' for when it counted the most.

The appearance of the new brown-haired girl, though... The first things that caught her attention were a) her apparent age and b) her shopkeeper outfit. Though she wasn't concerned much about the age (no, not in the least, really), the fact that she was a shopkeeper meant that she probably knew things. If that amnesiac little girl didn't know about this place, then a native shopkeep might.
Well, she was still a little girl, but regardless of that fact...


Aleister simply closed his eyes as all the questions came flying at him, one after the other. Goodness, he would've hoped they would have had a bit more restraint... But, given their situation, their belligerent behavior at the moment was somewhat understandable.

"Let me answer your questions in order of importance. I am Aleister Crowley, general superintendent of Academy City, and this is where I... Reside. While under normal circumstances I would prefer to stay out of harm's way due to the impenetrable defenses of the Windowless Building, the success of the Kiharas with their latest experiment has increased my workload considerably. It seems that people from other worlds do not take kindly to requests from people they cannot see..." he trailed off before a pair of electronic contracts (with a variety of language options, including a few not ordinarily spoken on Earth, along with an option for audio) popped up in front of the two newcomers. "As a result, I've taken to directly greeting those who pique my interests but do not show the instant urge to... End me, so to speak. So long as you abide by the rules stated within, I promise that the city's personnel will not show you any harm. And no, this is not a dress; this is a hospital gown. Please take note that clothing in this day and age may differ from what you are used to."

The contracts themselves were fairly short, and could more likely be called agreements than anything else. Summarized, Aleister would, as long as they followed the rules within, would give the new 'guests' lodging, food, money, and freedom of movement, but in exchange they had to abide by the city's rules and (occasionally) come to its defense if so needed... At least until they decided to break it, of course. With the city's personnel, though, the wordiness with which everything was stated only meant that no loopholes could be easily found... well, not without experienced lawyers on the case.

Kakine sighed as he looked over a copy of this aforementioned 'contract', not sure if the crazy witch would be on board. After all, the first thing she had decided to do was break the first rule handed out by them... But hey, if anyone could get someone to listen to them and didn't have the ability to negate every imaginable ability in existence, it'd probably be the card-carrying Aleister.

Lucina rolled her eyes at Marisa's question.

As Aleister answered both their questions and explained his terms-of-agreement, Lucina fiddled with the electronic contract, her eyebrows arching in more and more consternation as she struggled to figure out how to use the !?$#@ thing. "I don't mean to be rude, sir," Lucina said politely, "but I'm not quite sure how to work this contraption. Where I come from, we haven't got anything like it. Do you mind briefly explaining how to operate it so I can read your terms?"

Nono, Castle Tepes

"Thank you Onee-sama!" Nono said happily, forcibly resisting the urge to hug the King of Knights again. It might not be appreciated by Saber, but the gynoid was more focused on the fact that they were in a situation where they had to be ready at a moments notice. Besides, it had more been a tentative acceptance, and they would have to see once this was over.

With that decided upon she headed up the stairs after the blond and Gintoki as well, ready to help set up defenses or traps. She would be very useful for that, and so she was as ready to devote her full effort to that project. "Well then, let's get to it," she said aloud, fists clenched in a show of determination and energy, just like her idols. Every bit they set up would help. If those villains thought they would get the Eye easy, they had another thing coming.

---

Misaka 10032, Academy City

Arriving at the Windowless Building, Misaka wasn't surprised to see a teleporter there waiting for them, since that was part of how one got in, and the identity of said teleporter. Working in Dark Side affairs got one that kind of knowledge fairly quickly, and they had records of her in the Network. Whether the original Misaka would appreciate that was anyone's guess, but with how she had reacted to the Project before it was better that she not know, if only to keep property damage to a minimum.

So she didn't complain as they were transported, quickly overcoming the effects of their teleportation and stepping forward with Kakine until they were in front of Aleister, the man looking the same as ever, hanging upside down in his tube, from which he oversaw the entirety of Academy City. She betrayed nothing though, even knowing how displeased he was with the two of them at the moment.

She listened quietly as Marisa and Lucina engaged with Crowley, the two of them conversing relatively rapidly. She let her guard down slightly, this being the safest building in the city after all, and that included Touma's apartment. Not enough to stop an attack if one happened, but less than she had been during transport. It wasn't as if Marisa could fly away here.

The contracts were soon presented, Misaka recording everything, and when Lucina asked about the technology she stepped forward to provide, showing her how to scroll down and then how to sign her name, it much like regular paper, just on a screen. That done she stepped back, to wait and see what else would happen here. It was sure to be interesting.

---

Ilyasviel Von Einzbern, Foecrusher

"Alright then," Ilya remarked with a shrug as they seemed to reach a compromise. Doubtlessly she would be involved in the infiltration team since she had proposed the idea and looked fairly not evil, but one could hope. If she was outside then she could cut loose, even if she lost the chance to drain some prana from the staff beforehand. It was something that she could live with.

With that done, she relaxed once more, the better to conserve her energy. Maybe she'd take a nap or something before they got there, since that tended to help. Eating did too, but no one here had good cuisine anyway so there was no point in trying. She wasn't that desperate.

For now, all she could do was wait. It was going to be fun.

---

Cinder Fall, Museum World

Cinder glanced over as she noted the outburst sent her way with some amusement. Well, then, that was unexpected but not something she would object to. After all, people caught in the throes of emotions tended to make mistakes, and those she could capitalize on. She doubted that she would see this boy again, but if she did then she would be ready for it.

"You should be careful there Kanji," she replied with a glance over her shoulder, pausing just before she entered the prison. "People who play with fire are liable to get burnt." With that, and a smirk, she stepped inside, listening and preparing as the vacuum seal was put into place before the air refilled the container.

With that done, she settled in to wait for her journey. It was too soon for an escape attempt, not now, and she needed time to heal and recover anyway. Her Aura didn't work instantly, and she had enough damage to make things difficult as it was. For now, she would bide her time and be patient. She had been thus far, so she could wait a bit longer.

"Ignore her, she loves trying to wind people up." Blake rested a hand on Kanji's arm and looking significantly more relaxed now that Cinder was locked up. She did turn to the Agents guarding the box, her expression serious. "I disarmed her after the fight, but she'll have healed herself soon. You should contact me if she tries anything, she's from an alternate of my world."

"I've never heard of Inaba or Japan." She said as she turned back to Kanji, frowning thoughtfully. "Have you traveled like this before?"


The small team of agents combed through the remains of the black-market operation, looking for any clue that the local unit might have missed. The breakthrough came when Mach Caliber hooked into an isolated computer database and started pulling up records and journal entries.

"Hmm, here's something." Subaru said, flicking through a holographic terminal in front of her. The young agent seemed to be a little less peppy than she had been earlier - not surprising, perhaps, considering how much blood they'd had to step through to get this far. "I think this might be their only base. I'm not seeing any mentions of other major operations. I'm gonna send all this data to HQ anyway." She turned to give Dedede a grin. "I think this just about wraps it up."

Kanji looked past Dlanor as Cinder was locked up. He attention was pulled away when Blake put her hand on him. "Thanks, You look like a load was taken off of your shoulders." He pauses as he mulls over that fact she doesn't know about Japan. " So...You've never heard of Japan? Then where are we?" He takes a quick look around. "I have never traveled out side of Japan before but I have a feeling I'm further away then I know."