With the threat posed by the bugs now over, Hibiki once again landed on the floor. Oddly enough, when you took in her original demeanour upon approaching the tree, the short-haired girl's bearing was definitely one that knew how to fight, if not on the same level as the other martial artists. She also wasn't singing now, which was hardly a good thing for combat ability, but much better for communicating with other people.

Grinning, she looked up at Chun-Li, treating the comment as a compliment, "Symphogear are powered by our songs."

It wasn't much of an explanation, but it probably explained why the girl had been singing about connecting with people despite crushing insects. Plus why echoing came up so many times*. That also gave as good a reason for any for Hibiki's determined agreement with Ranma... and then get a headstart, racing off for the more medieval area. Angels fear to tread...

* Echo, in Japanese? Hibiki. Which shows up all the time in her songs. :P

---

Likewise, Chris ceased her singing when the available supply of targets dried up. Unlike Hibiki, she wasn't kick to engage with the others in the area, taking some note of the even-smaller girl flying in the sky's suggestion about helping out the civilians only to wonder what civilians she was even talking about. Though even if there had been, Chris's main way to 'help' would be to keep shooting monsters.

Her isolation, and regard for the cornucopia in the distance and its target-rich environment--with even more things to relieve her stress on--was brought to an abrupt halt when some crazy mask-wearing man rushed straight at her, nearly eating an unhealthy amount of hot lead before the white-haired magical girl recognised that, for all that he towered over her and looked absolutely insane, the man was actually asking a question.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a question that could be really answered. She had no idea who'd gone and made Ichaival in the first place, and admitting that the Symphogear system was made by the same person that had tried to blow up the moon wasn't a good way to answer; even Chris knew that was a bad idea. The better answer was that she did, since it was her wielding it that caused the bow to become such obviously modern implements of destruction.

Unfortunately for the world at large, the girl was not very forthcoming, collapsing the Gatling guns back into the crossbow form, "Are you an idiot? Nobody can make weapons like that."

Well, they probably could, but who the hell would make a man-portable dual Gatling gun with no ammo supply?

A pair of double tri-barrle gatlings... Absolutely stunning. That type of weaponry was something that any aspiring vault hunter would have acquire for their devastating arsenal. However, Krieg didn't own it. He didn't own that beautiful piece of murder weapon, something that could even churn the most badass enemy into tiny meat chunks, the Psycho needed that weapon. He didn't even flinch when the weapon was pointed at him, he continued to march on with a type of lust entering his mind. Even the Voice was also enticed by destructive power of the weapon, the entity merely imagined the type of punishment he would be able to give to the deserving. The thought of powerful guns, the power to kill people with those guns, that is one of the main attractions to Pandora. Though, even with the Voice drooling over such a nice piece of tech, the entity managed to shake off the excitement of getting his hands on that piece of weaponry. "Krieg... Krieg! Don't you dare try to take that weapon away forcefully... Try to like... Try to trade, maybe she will give it to us." The Voice couldn't help but fall in love.

"I want that shiny soul stabber!" Krieg responded, pointing at the weapon which had sadly transformed into a rather unimpressive display of sheer firepower. Soon enough, two weapons digistructed into Krieg's hands. On the left was his shotgun, the one that could shoot tiny exploding rockets instead of tiny shotgun pellets. On the other was his SMG, a burst-fire weapon that could coat any type of creature inside of a sickly coat of Slag. He thrust the two weapons in her face, his hands holding onto the sides instead of his fingers placed on the trigger. "Look at these pungent kill sticks!" Krieg continued to hold them near Chris's face, obviously wanting to negotite some type of trade between the two weapons, though it was unlikely that she would give up such a high level weapon.

"Oh my god, we actually agreed on something." The Voice excitingly said, "Guns. Vault Hunter's best friends."

Perhaps lost in thought over the remains of the Tacodile from earlier, Kyouko opted not to respond yet to either Filia's thanks or her polite offer. “Huh.” She sat still as Samson attached a tendril of hair to the ledge before she carefully climbed off, rappelling slowly down. A few drops of blood fell loose and onto the spinach grass below, but the schoolgirl hadn't planned to eat it anyway. Now that she thought of it, in fact, she felt fairly hungry. After a quick think, she guessed that her parasite's Trichobezoar must have emptied both of their stomachs. Fortune could not have dictated a better world to be in when hungry.

Prior to going to find something suitable to eat, however, Filia felt obliged to go and thank the others that had no doubt kept a great deal of trouble off her back by slaying bugs. Krieg and the large-chested newcomer -how could a girl that small be so well-endowed!?- seemed to be doing their own thing at the moment, so Filia meandered over to the twintailed girl who'd joined the fight after the pink-haired kid had fled. A phrase of gratitude was on the tip of Filia's tongue when Tailred mentioned civilians, causing the schoolgirl to freeze. “Civ...civilians?” Uh oh. She'd completely forgotten about any bystanders during the invasion, but that in itself made her deeply consider the situation. The question had been bothering her for some time now, and she hadn't thought to ask it. Searching in vain for a good way to formulate her thoughts, she finally said, “Um, not that I'm not into helping people in need, but...are these City people even real? I know I must sound like an awful person. The Viewer...he, uh...”

Samson took initiative and jumped in for her, metaphorically speaking. ”What she means is the Viewer made this whole place for kicks. All the people we see, 'cept for a few like that waitress girl maybe, are prolly jus' chaff. Some kinda illusion.” The thought made Filia uncomfortable. Even if these civilians, despite being devoid of any identifying features, were nothing but holograms conjured by the Viewer to act as backdrop, the idea of leaving them to whatever came their way troubled her. She crossed her arms and expressed her worry in a frown. “I really don't know. I mean, we can't really help people. You're like, a superhero, and I've got Samson but we're not heroes. Back in New Meridian, we were just trying to survive.”



For a little while the two walked along, weaving past twitching corpses. DIO made sure, as prissy as it might have seemed to onlookers, to avoid stepping in the puddled blood of any slain humans, for he did not wish to accidentally stain himself with soiled blood. After navigating around the grotesque cadaver of a bus-sized insect pockmarked with fleshy craters -no doubt from explosive ordinance dumped upon it by the City's charming residents- he listened to his companion's teasing and sniffed. “I am a vampire, but unless the situation is dire, I shall not share with you my gift. Higher wills are best enjoyed undiluted by my essence; there is no joy in commanding spawn minions. Servants with their own reasons for joining and staying loyal to me, ones with intellects fully intact and no weakness to sunlight, please me far more.” He cast a glance skyward, watching the faint orb of light hidden behind cotton candy clouds. ”If this cloud cover were to let up, I and any of my lesser minions would need to retreat inside. Most undignified, I know, but such is the price of transcending humanity.”

His hearing came under assault when a cacophony of shrieks and wails began not too far off. DIO exposed his fangs in an angry grimace. Did some stray bug happen upon a very crowded daycare or something? Nothing excused this caliber of noise. The vampire stilled himself and calmly waited out the din; when it ceased abruptly, he was on the move. ”I've a mind to permanently silence whatever mongrel is responsible for that unpleasant racket. Coming?”

Following the mental image he'd drawn in his head of the area after the reports of his underlings, DIO made his way to where the riotous screaming had come from. Past kool-aid fire hydrants, bread masonry, hamburger manhole covers, and pretzel bike racks he strolled with Juri doubtlessly close behind. Not a minute and a half into this new quest, he became aware of a steady and rhythmic metallic clanking. Soon after, though not so soon that DIO couldn't make an educated guess about whose feet it belonged to, the Overlord trundled into view and the vampire was proven right. ”Ah, I forgot to mention him,” he murmured to Juri, indicating the Overlord as he walked. ”Another ally of mine, I met him last night. He strikes me as the boring sort, terrible proud and ambitious and liable to mistake betraying me for a good idea. Compared to you, Juri Han, he is gutter trash. Gutter trash with strength, resilience, lightning, and most likely other powers, but garbage all the same. As you know by now, I treasure loyalty.” A few seconds passed after this before DIO and Juri grew close enough to the Overlord for the armored behemoth to be able to notice them. ”Good day to you, metal man. Off to find the source of that outrage, are we? We shall hunt together.”

The three continued on toward an upcoming intersection, and right away DIO spotted the odd man out. This new figure was lean, with utterly ridiculous clothing and hair. He did not seem either threatening or special in the vampire's eyes, but DIO would not take any chances. His charisma increased its flow, seeping from his body and his words like honey, drawing eyes and minds to him like moths to a beacon of beauty and power. ”Hello, hello. What have we here? A young man at the site of a terrific uproar, with occult imagery nearby. Am I honored to be in the presence of a great sorcerer...?”

"I didn't do it for you," replied Kyouko. It wasn't... entirely true, as much as she didn't want to admit it. Sure, she would have had to kill those bugs anyway, but could she really have let them kill the other girl? Even if she had weird hair. The answer was no, but she wasn't about to let that slip. Certainly, she sounded like she didn't care. She didn't want to seem like she cared at all. "I would've had to kill those bugs anyway."

The redheaded girl twisted her spear in the insect's body, rupturing its insides before drawing it out, leaving the corpse to twitch on the ground before lying still. Kyouko flicked the juices off and approached the others. The maniac was harassing some new girl who had huge guns. Pulling out a potato chip, she took a bite of it as she stood beside them.

"Eh, I don't care about all that crap," she commented, simply, "But I'm not gonna just hang around here. I've got to show this "Viewer' asshole what a moron he is."

---

Kino quietly reloaded the Huntsman, and holstered it on her lower back after flicking the safety on. There were now the scattered remains of quite a few dead insect creatures. Wordlessly, she listened to the others discuss attempting to help civilians at a nearby area. For a few moments, she simply thought the proposal over in silence.

"What are you going to do, Kino?" asked Hermes.

"... Well, I'd be fighting off those creatures anyway," she replied, patting the motorrad's seat. It was true, they'd probably have to fight those things off again... and it was going to a new area. "There's no harm in it."

Walking Hermes over, she approached the group.

"I'm coming, too."

Juri, Joppa Road

"Thanks," Juri said when DIO confirmed that he was not going to turn her into a vampire. Not that she really wanted it once he told her of the sunlight weakness. Even if it could increase her power immeasurably, Juri did not want to have that big and common a weakness to exploit. She should had figured such a weakness existed, but since DIO had been walking in what she thought was daylight even if under candy cloud cover, Juri had not picked up on that weakness. When DIO asked if she was going to follow him to the source of the noise, Juri nodded, "Yeah, sure."

Along the way, they picked up on the third ally that DIO had seemingly recruited, and Juri instantly recognized him from the night before at the bar. No one wearing that sort of outfit was forgettable. Apparently, DIO had encountered him while she was with Clementine. Being reminded of her, Juri was worried for the little kid, but she was serving DIO now. DIO clarified that he prefers loyalty which slightly annoyed her. She was perfectly willing to betray people for her own ends. It was just that at the moment, she had nothing to do but wait a month to kill the Viewer and get back to the real person she wanted revenge on... M. Bison. She waved at the Overlord, "Hey!"

Soon enough, the Overlord, DIO and Juri were at the source of the screams which appeared to be not much of a fighter at all. DIO seemed to believe he was a sorcerer though, which might make sense... at least as much sense as anything in a food-filled world does. Once more DIO used his charisma and once more Juri couldn't take her eyes off of DIO's beauty and power. Her heart beat faster with DIO's presence and she breathed quickly. The flirting he did with Juri didn't help her fight the desire for DIO off either.

---

Forneus heard the a man's voice echo in his ears, he looked up and saw in front of him a familiar face to those present in the abyss. Ah yes, he knew all about it the aura was ripe with Saruin's very essence, the power to absorb another! A vampire- and no less it was a very powerful and charismatic one. He looked to his right, a tormented, but lovely power the form of a young woman. Perhaps Arakes would've liked her greatly because her battle aura was off the scale! He then eyed the rather imposing looking metal figure in the back, obviously his overall body language told Forneus that he was bored as hell and probably wanted some action. Forneus liked vampires, they were born from Saruin's image. This one made no haste to try and put a powerful abyssal lord under his "spell!" Charming. Forneus smiled to himself as he slowly arose from the ground, his green hair flowing in the wind and his eyes being illuminated by the moonlight. A deep shade of red flashed as Forneus looked towards the rather orange eyes of the vampire himself, reciprocating an amused smile.

By now the cat leaped up upon his shoulder, water dripping below it as she stared ahead into the three, emerald eyes glowing. Forneus chuckled, "Mmm... A great sorcerer you say? Frankly I'm flattered, my magic is indeed a sight to behold- I should've realized that my little ritual would've attracted a number. Ah, but I'm guessing you own this town now assuming you've already used your power to enlist the help of some, ahem- servants?" Forneus sneered, onto the vampire. "As much as I do admire your spunk I'm afraid your attempt to charm me has fallen on deaf ears, child of Saruin." Forneus said, shaking his head in disapproval. "I see! However you have a very faithful lady behind you as well, her power matches that of an Asura which is beyond human standards. I'm intrigued! How did you find such powerful servants? Perhaps this world is more rich in power than I once thought." Forneus stared into DIO's eyes obviously seeing that the vampire's smile wouldn't fade, returning the gesture Forneus let down his aquatic friend and from his cape he withdrew his horn.

"Interesting. Well, since you are a creature of Saruin- all creatures of Saruin deserve to know my name! I am Forneus, the Abyssal Lord of Raging Storms and Dark Seas!" The lord stated proudly as he put the horn up to his mouth and began to blow. The horn unleashed a beautiful sound, it sounded like harp strings and woodwinds simultaneously banding together to create the perfect harmony. As the horn's beautiful played the pentagram beneath him started to glow once again. Water began to rise out of the ground where it had previously been used to engrave the symbol of the abyss. Slowly the water whirled around Forneus and began to caress him until it seeped into his skin, making it radiate with a pale shade of green. Forneus took a deep breath and without another word put a finger to his lips as he began to radiate once more, this time it turned from green to red as Forneus' smile once again slowly seeped to a closed glasgow grin. He held his arms out as a burst of abyssal power raged forth, causing the surrounding building's windows to break, the cars to dent themselves and the ground beneath him to simply crack under what appeared to be immense pressure. From the standpoint the three were at all at once they would be hit with a terrifying force, this man wasn't human. He wasn't even considered a demon, he was a lord of a place far worse than hell and he had the strength to prove it. Though his demeanor was calm and rather smart, he struck fear into those he met.

Once finished, Forneus opened closed his eyes, cracked his neck and smiled. "I love doing that. So refreshing to see your power boom after a good gathering". Forneus' eyes opened once again to reveal that the lord's pupils had turned form circular to a rather thin oval, a look of pure evil and a dim gleam of crimson plastered the lord's face. Forneus raised his hand and pointed a finger at Juri, "And as for the lady I have a question for you. Your demeanor tells me that you simply adore this creature of Saruin do you not? Sorry to say but you've been keeping a great eye on him while looking at me! But ah, fear not. Do not be so flustered, for if you do follow him you will be led down a path of love and nurturing. A most prudent creature of the night like this will not use someone as powerful as you as his plaything, I should know. I only keep those next to me whom I cherish. So little girl-" Forneus smiled, "Exactly what is your plan? Are you going to devote the rest of your life to him? Or are you perhaps desiring revenge? It must be because I sense a deep, unguarded hatred within you for someone. I do not know who, but whoever they are they must have wronged you in some way! So what is your true purpose?"

Forneus stared at the three now, smile less wide than it had been previously. "I must say vampire. You have done great work to hide yourself from the naked eye of people! I'll bet like most vampires you have a legion of halflings back at wherever your lair is! I say, you hiding yourself, posing as a human and how much charisma you have makes it seem like you are a lot more powerful than I had expected. Mmm? And what's this? There's another spirit in you! Wait a minute... Oh. Oh!" Forneus cackled, this was too easy for him. "I'll bet that isn't even your real body isn't it!?" Forneus declared, pointing directly at the vampire, "And just how do I know? It's because there's still a faint life force resonating within it that you continue to feast off of like a worthless parasite." Forneus once again smiled, he couldn't help it. He hated false flattery, and what's more is that he hated arrogance- No. He despised it. This impudent vampire trying to trick the Lord of Water? Pathetic. Forneus continued to stare at the three smiling ever still as the moon came out from the clouds, revealing his eyes to be once again scarlet.

@Lugubrious@GameGuruGG@invisible man

DIO's initial observation of Forneus did not paint the abyssal lord in a good light. Right away, it became obvious that this green-haired being was full of himself. Ego oozed from his every mannerism, from sneer to headshake to his mocking words. The chance of recruiting Forneus willingly, DIO hypothesized, seemed incredibly slim, but since less respectful methods lay at the vampire's fingertips, he did not see any reason at all for the demon's jabs to affect him. He elected to not let Forneus's nonsensical sobriquet slide. ”I am no creature's child. I transcended humanity of my own will and strength. You resist my offer of companionship? To reject power and love is not admirable. I have gained these allies, not because I held them at gunpoint or took control of their minds, but because I respect and support them if they do the same for me. That is how the greatest comrades are made.”

He stood still, flanked on either side by Juri and the Overlord, as Forneus endeavored to show off. When he was through, DIO remained motionless for a moment, then tilted his head back and to the side to release a snarky laugh. ”Hah hah hah hah hah hah!” He clapped his hands, once, twice, in a fashion as condescending as the abyssal lord's own. Though he knew exactly what to say in reply, he patiently waited for Forneus to turn his riddling tongue on his companion. DIO cared not what he said to her, for he had put all of his trust in Juri as his most treasured follower. He did not demand displays of affection or prostration from her, or even a fanatical devotion -as nice as it would be-, merely her unwavering allegiance. The phrase 'love and nurturing' was a uniquely poor way of terming DIO and Juri's relationship, however, and the vampire expected that his companion knew it. Though a connection existed between them, neither tenderness nor romance characterized it. Theirs was a violent passion.

His silence remained during Forneus's big moment of cleverness and drama, though it did not mitigate his overbearing manner. Looking down at the little, point-fingered man, he made an exaggerated sigh, rolling his gleaming orange eyes. ”What do I care about your blustering and needling, Forneus of the great titles? Are you feebly attempting to call me out? An emperor does not feel any sting when the cricket chirps at him. You try to deride my confidence, no doubt to feed your own bloated ego...it is the very essence of hypocrisy. And you go to such lengths to be strong and clever! It's like a child trying to showcase his maturity and outdo an adult. I must say, I did like your waterworks performance. A plus! Indeed, this body once belonged to another: my arch-nemesis, the greatest warrior of the only bloodline capable of stopping me. I conquered it.” He shrugged. ”I suppose I'm the one boasting now,though I assure you I have no real interest in joining your dick-measuring contest. Then again, I suspect you are compensating for something with all those titles. It is a sad day that I, DIO, must admit myself to be wrong.” Closing his eyes, DIO hung his head slightly. ”I mistook you for a great worker of magic, but you've revealed yourself to be an over-mighty, over-stuffed ponce.” Opening his eyes again, he turned his head to address his allies and murmured so that only they could hear, ”Forgive my delays. We'll get to business in just a moment. Juri, I believe you may be ready to summon your Stand for the first time. Call it by name, any name you please.”

DIO held up a hand, and Forneus's watery cat floated into the air, held invisibly by the scruff of its neck. ”Deary me, you've got a pest. If companionship means nothing to you, it can be nothing more.” It hovered over the road between Forneus and DIO, who no longer bore a look of enjoyment on his face. ”Allow me to assist you.” The cat fell to the ground, and nearby a chunk of rock-hard Oreo was torn from the road and abruptly slammed on top of the liquid feline, squashing it flat. ”There you are. Anything else we might...help you with?”

Clank, clank, clank. The Overlord's bulky suit of armor clanging against each other as he moved to the beat of his heart! However, the Overlord did have to think if his heart was still pumping out blood. He was pretty sure he was still alive, although being birthed by the most evil being in the world, raised by half-witted minions in the core, corrupted by the magical explosion of the Tower Heart, and being trained in dangerous magic did raise some questions. The Overlord was now legitimately questioning if he was actually still alive, both of his hands outstretched as his piercing glowing eyes tried to find something that would solve this conundrum. Continuing to walk down the path to the noise, the Overlord slowly placed his hand in where the heart would be found, and waited for something.

Nothing... Well, it seems that the Overlord is just a walking corpse fueled with supernatural magic! It didn't matter to him that much, but it was nice to see that he had further reasons to not relate himself to his slaves! Ha! The Overlord took his hand off of his chest... Wait... The metal man looked down to find his hand had been placed upon his chest plate, oh. I guess this is why the Overlord needs something rather evil to do, if nothing too evil happens around him then he just starts to embarrass himself. The Overlord mentally sighed to himself, lifting his Apocalyptor slightly into his shoulder before making it slam back into his armor causing a mighty clank! Just as he seemed to ring out his position, almost instantaneously someone responded to his disgruntled noises, and the voice was all too familiar. The Overlord swiveled his head towards DIO's direction, and it seemed that someone else was tagging along side of the creature. Who was that? She seemed hazily familiar, but her body seemed rather nice... She seemed to be someone that could be added upon his collection of mistresses! The Overlord thought about that for only a couple of seconds before bashing the idea away, his three mistresses are barely getting along together, and adding another wouldn't help the situation at home. With that thought out of his mind, the Overlord accepted DIO's offer by walking slightly closer to the two, barely making eye contact before the three continued their way over to the curious source of many screams.

Making their way over to the pained sounds of Roanapour, the Overlord and his two allies managed to pinpoint the exact location of a rather unimpressive sight. He expected some sort of gigantic monster to rampage across this place, not some kind of magically enabled child! The Overlord stood by his usual stance behind that of DIO and Juri, standing aggressively passive. It didn't take too long before the creature tried their same tricks that he had done last night, was he going to try to make yet another ally? Was another person in this rag-tag group of villains going to work? The Overlord could already tell that Juri had some type of infatuation over the demonic beast, a rather poor choice in men. Though, the Overlord can tell when people have some rather big egos, and this person seemed to be the king pin of pride. He adjusted his gigantic mace once again, sliding it across his shoulder plate as his eyes squinted at the boy.

Oh boy, this child is going to go on speech. Shit, he has faced too many of these kinds of people! Every single challenging enemy that he has ever battled against, and they never realize that these are always so boring! It also didn't seem to help that this boy had not a single shred of humility within that scrawny body. However, this person did seem that he could have the power to walk the walk, and talk the talk, though it still didn't help since the child was still a child. The taunts seemed rather nice as well, that evoked a rather nasty emotion from the Overlord as he tightened his grip upon his weapon. The Overlord kept his anger to himself, though the metal man did have some sort of grudge against this Forneus, and the Overlord doesn't forget about grudges too easily. Hefting his mace from his inactivity, the Overlord watched as this Forneus had something to show to the group, and it wasn't too pretty.

The show of force was rather impressive, the Overlord had to admit that this creature proved that he could act all high and mighty, but it still wouldn't stop the Overlord from letting his minions piss on his corpse. He was just going to be another obstacle towards his path of domination, and he would most likely be ranked two for the time being, DIO would hold the top rank for quite some time until someone else with such an overwhelming presence could even make DIO break! So, that would actually take some time. Forneus, even after showing his rather impressive powers, continued to spit in their direction. The Overlord was confused on his physiology, he wondered why Forneus's back was so straight when it should be bending for his head to stick right up his ass! Mentally chuckling at his joke, the Overlord soon found that DIO's speeches also seemed to be as powerful as his presence once he started to speak back to this water demon.

If the Overlord could smile, this would be one of those times. Varieties of insults were creatively spurned and launched with deadly precision towards Forneus's position. Seriously, the Overlord suspected that this water demon will need some Blues after being roasted as bad as forty Reds pissing lava upon his corpse! With all of those sick burns, the Overlord continued to stand on his patented aggressively passive stance, the slotted eyes still peering at the demon. Though, it was the last action that almost spurred a reaction out of the Overlord. It was almost a few seconds before the demon cat was defeated by being crushed to death... Can you kill a construct of water by crushing it? The Overlord didn't know the answer to that question, but it would be rather obvious for Forneus to react rather aggressively to DIO's 'helpful' actions, and metal suit started to spark in little jolts of lightning. It would be entertaining to be in a fight with DIO, Juri, and Forneus. He would be able to tell their fighting styles and power, though most of them have already seen it, they were mainly just showing off rather than actual combat value. So, the Overlord waited for something to pop this tense atmosphere.

Juri, Joppa Road

"I'm not a servant, and I'm not under any sort of spell," Juri frowned as Forneas spoke to DIO about having obtained servants using his charm. However, she did enjoy being compared to an Asura in power. Juri always liked to be complimented on her strength. "I find him... attractive, though thanks for the compliment."

Juri frowned as Forneas spoke directly to her. She really considered it more of a violent lust for DIO that she had rather than actual love. However, Juri really did not want to speak of how she planned to betray M.Bison, especially with people who valued loyalty like DIO. She would have preferred to keep that a secret until the right moment to spring it, but given how Forneas knew about DIO as well, she could not leave the comment unanswered. Juri clarified to those around her, "The person who I want revenge on ain't here, and it'll be a month before I get a chance to kick the Viewer's ass to even get back to my revenge."

"I got nothing better to do until then, and he showed himself the superior fighter," Juri said, glancing at DIO again and smirked at him. "Even if I wasn't fine with working with him, I wouldn't be able to win a battle against him and would like to survive the month."

It did however seem that things were about ready to head to a fight, though. Forneas and DIO both had egos and a desire to prove their superiority. Juri would not have minded a fight, but her Feng Shui Engine was still offline. Juri did not have access to her greatest fighting potential. However, DIO whispered to her reminding her of her potential to have a Stand. With the Feng Shui Engine offline and a fight brewing with Forneas, not helped by DIO splattering Forneas' pet cat, Juri figured her only chance to survive a battle is to try to summon her Stand, and she felt like she knew already what name she to call it.

"Ying Yang Twins," Juli said under her breath... Hoping that she would summon a Stand despite being fairly new to using Stands. Supposedly, only she and DIO would be able to see it if it was successfully summoned.

---

The kitten's memories faded as she was picked up, in her final moments she saw the unamused vampire pick her up with some force and then, the OREO. The rest faded to black, she had died, but at least she had finally found a reason to live.

Forneus' smile faded instantly, the only ally who he had had up to this point had been killed by some energy that the vampire possessed. He watched in suprise as his only subordinate was crushed into the ground by a giant cookie. A sea creature, one whom Forneus himself had trusted and had allowed it to follow him had been ended by this worthless piece of garbage. The abyssal energy in Forneus' veins crackled to life with new anger, hatred and resentment towards this arrogant creature of the night. Underneath his cape his other weapon had felt this and immediately shook in agreement. It's hatred rising as well and therefore would rise in power, but even if it wasn't Forneus didn't care. How dare this pompous, annoying and narcissistic child kill a creature of the sea?! How dare he talk back to the Abyssal Lord of Water!? Stroking his ego even farther than Forneus himself could fathom, how dared he!? Forneus clenched his right fist and reached for Venge when he stopped himself. This was not... This was not the way to approach your comrade dying! Regain your composure!

Forneus took a deep breath, looked at the three for what seemed like hours and then he began to slowly clap. The Lord of Water hadn't lost his composure since he had been taken on by the legendary pirate Black who had managed to outwit him! He was impressed and at the same time furious that he had been talked to in such a way. Forneus finally spoke, "Color me impressed vampire. Color- me- impressed~. I applaud you for using some of your most vast power to strike down my only ally!" Forneus said as his smile returned, this time more wicked than before, "Though I have a question for you! If you have so much power and so much charisma- then why defend yourself when a demon is talking down to you? You're obviously higher in stature than me? I thought you would have thicker skin than that since you have done so well to develop this complexion for yourself? You should have no reason to talk back to me, a: "lowly cricket" as you put it?" Forneus sighed, "And here I thought that you were so powerful that you wouldn't even have to kill a defenseless sea creature! I'm disappointed in you vampire!" Forneus walked up to the remains of the watery cat, it had died due to it's figure being crushed- while it still was water it had a clearly visible brain and this upstart smashed it right in. How pitiful.

Forneus placed his hand upon the corpse and in an instant the strange sound returned, the screams filled the air around the four- this time they were more silent. Forneus' left arm lit up with an eerie amber light as the watery mess beneath him began to slowly rise up and caress his arm, slowly it made his way up his arm and flowed around it for awhile until an ear-shattering scream occurred and the remains seeped into his skin. The soul of a mischievous rebel would merge with Forneus, slightly raising his power. He took a deep breath as the tiny ritual ended, and his eyes lit up with a most wondrous crimson. "Ah... Refreshing. Your strange power intrigues me vampire! I desire to uncover its secret, however judging by the look on your face you wouldn't tell a soul now would you? How boring." The cat's memories showed him it's last moments, and in those moments he saw it, he couldn't see its features- only an outline of a being consisting of supernatural power. "A being that you can control at will? Interesting, very interesting. However that interests me not now!" Forneus said as he began to well up with a terrifying burst of abyssal energy, and in an instant his voice changed from smooth as the ocean's calm waves to a fierce- storm-like distortion.

"What does matter is that I will teach you, youngling an important lesson! Your arrogance is amazing! And I despise it." As Forneus said this, water began to gush out of the ground around him. In it's waves it showed images of the damned, their faces in ever tormented agony as they spun in the watery grave. The waves of magic began to crash against each other as, Forneus' eyes began to take that oval shape again, this time lighting up with a combination of yellow and red hues as if to signify pure rage and yet it conveyed that he was still fully in control! He wouldn't lose himself that easily, however- playtime was over. Forneus stared intently at the three, a twisted smile inching across is face as his hair began to flow in the wind. "You talk back to me, you destroy my subordinate and then treat me like I am but a mere powerless HUMAN." The waves began to crash against each other as the familiar screams rose to a resounding crescendo, "So then, "Emperor"! How about you and your subordinates entertain me? After all, I am just an annoying cricket to you- You worthless MAGGOT!" As he said this, Forneus reached into his cape and withdrew Venge. The red sword gleaming in the moonlight and glowing with pure hatred.

"Come then! All of you! I think it's time that you learned to- RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!" Forneus yelled as finally the water around him splashed around and trashed, much like an insane beast who had recently been cut loose of it's leash for pure sport. What DIO hadn't realized is that appearances can be decieving, and that now- he had made a powerful foe. And he and his subordinates would feel his wrath.

Clementine - Roanapur

The day had started off so well. It had gone to hell so quickly. Between getting separated from Juri and getting chased by monsters that were arguably worse than walkers, Clementine was more than a little worried about what to expect from the rest of the month. Since the death of the first bug to chase her, Clem had been hiding. In the garbage. She had climbed into a half full dumpster and pulled it shut over her, and gave thanks that most of the trash had turned into food. From there she listened to the sound of the challenge occurring throughout the city.

She heard gunfire from all directions, and screams too. There were the screams of food animals, but those were the fewest. Likely, those creatures had been hunted almost to depletion by the time the bugs arrived. There was the hideous screech of the giant bugs as they were gunned down, or killed by the people from other worlds. It wasn't like anything Clementine had ever heard before. What she heard the most though, was the screams of humans being torn apart and eaten alive. Compared to the noise the bugs made, those screams were something horribly familiar.

Clementine made herself comfortable, and waited for the screaming to stop. She heard an explosion from somewhere high, and the sounds of... something hitting the ground. A few minutes later, the screaming stopped. Clementine shifted her body, and opened the dumpster a crack. The light was briefly blinding, but soon her eyes adjusted. Nothing was moving nearby. Scattered through the street were pieces of bugs, and more than a few complete bugs, but all of them were scorched or burning. It stank.

Climbing out of the dumpster, Clem jumped down to the pavement, and set off at a cautious walk down out of the alley and down the street.
She didn't take more than a dozen steps though, before the ground started glowing. "I REALLY don't like this city.." she muttered. That was just strange though. Then the screaming started, and Clem was running. Clementine understood the screams of people dying. It bothered her, but at the same time it didn't. She didn't know what was causing these screams, and that made her very uncomfortable.

She didn't run far either though, because after the first turn she tried to make, she ran in to ...

The Super Skrull - Roanapur

Kl'rt had slain several more bugs at ground level before becoming unable to find new targets. Despite limiting himself to his shape-shifted claws and the most basic techniques of the Skrull race's unarmed combat, they had been no challenge. Abandoning the form of the hero from Earth, Kl'rt resumed his form as second in command of the city's gang. Straightening up his clothes, he started walking back towards the warehouse district.

A block away from where he had finished fighting, the disguised Skrull was met by a human in military garb, carrying an assault rifle. A second such man was standing about ten feet further back, and their attitude suggested they were not the only soldiers present. Neither soldier took an aggressive stance. The closer soldier spoke abruptly; "Hotel Moscow is aware of your feats this day, and is impressed. You are invited to meet once more at the Yellow Flag, in order to discuss a mutually beneficial relationship." Kl'rt gave the soldier a curt nod, and the soldiers departed.

Wondering briefly how much the Russians knew, the Super Skrull began walking towards the bar, when a cacophony arose from the very streets. The invitation would have to wait. If this noise heralded the next challenge, Kl'rt would not shy away from it. He cut through an alley, heading towards the source of the racket. At the far end of the alley, just before stepping out into the wider street, something collided with him. While the disguised Skrull readied himself to counterattack as soon as he pinpointed his newest opponent, Clementine fell back and sprawled on the concrete.

Lowering his guard, the Skrull lifted the child back to her feet. As with most of the new arrivals on this world, Kl'rt had seen her in the bar the previous night. She hadn't seemed like anything special, and had left with the martial artist Juri. The last report he'd gotten was that she had been abandoned by this protector, and Kl'rt had to re-evaluate her, for having survived the insect swarm. "You're still alive. That's impressive. If you want to stay that way, you should keep close by and out of the way... or get very far away, as fast as you can."

He didn't wait for a response, but continued following the noise to its source. As he was getting much closer, a glance confirmed that the child had in fact followed him, was keeping only a couple steps behind him, and had drawn one of her guns. At last, the two of them came upon the source. Standing in the middle of an intersection were four figures. Kl'rt slowed and then stopped, staying far enough back to remain unnoticed for now. He moved along the wall, Clementine close behind him. Kl'rt recognized most of those standing in the intersection. He had seen three of them on the night of the arrival.

His view was first drawn to DIO at the head of the group of three, who had attacked him not long ago. The Armored warrior to DIO's side was an almost unknown factor, but for what Kl'rt had seen on the first night. Finally, the Skrull looked at Juri. All three of these had displayed power that Kl'rt had either seen first hand, or had reported to him. The fourth figure was totally unknown until he identified himself. Forneus and DIO spent some time quipping back and forth, petty words that Kl'rt expected from humans by now. He barely contained his scorn when DIO compared himself to an emperor, since he had made the comment in front of an actual emperor.

When Forneus' cat familiar was destroyed, he revealed himself to have been the origin of the light and the screams. DIO and Juri both whispered something, and a fight seemed to be brewing. As a precaution, Kl'rt wrapped himself and Clementine behind a force field, and leaned against a wall to watch what happened next.

@LuciansMentor@GameGuruGG@Invisible Man@Lugubrious

Bored now but greatly anticipating some fun, DIO waited for Forneus to get mad. His patience needed not be tested, however, for the abyssal lord wasted no time complying. Various parts of Forneus's attire vibrated, and his veins glowed violently with a chaotic glare. Hmph. It seemed as if the vampire's adversary was going to be building up for a while, trying to milk his magical displays for however many inklings of intimidation he thought they had. Instead, DIO looked back again at Juri, having heard her say a few seemingly nonsensical words that suited a Stand perfectly. He watched, legitimately intrigued, as there came a violet-hued flash, and behind the Taekwondo user there appeared a new form. His one mirrored Juri's body exactly, down to the tiniest detail, with the sole distinctions of color and composition: it appeared as if Yin Yang Twins' body were made entirely of a deep, purple, liquid metal. Immediately DIO's mind raced to categorize it. ”Very similar-looking,” he said, ignoring Forneus' staring and unoriginal clapping. ”I'd expect it to be a high-damage, combat-oriented, short-range Stand, no major spells or unique powers. The manifestation is unstable, but enough to satisfy me. At this stage, its best use would be to surround your own legs and arms when striking to increase your energy.”

When Forneus appeared on the verge of getting to the point, DIO was forced to return his attention back to him. This action struck him as nothing less than tragic; the abyssal lord hosted a visage so petulant and braggadocious that spending time looking at him rather than Juri felt criminal. To the accusations and rebuttals of Forneus, DIO only shrugged, rolling his eyes. How much of a blusterer was this alleged demon? After crushing the cat, the vampire had been sure that the fight would begin immediately, and yet words were being thrown rather than punches. N'doul is a thousand times less of a show-off, a thousand times less overinflated, and a thousand times more deadly. Were he here, he could have severed this duffer's throat with Geb and end this babbling.

One thing did interest and even begin to alarm him, however. Forneus, despite not having a Stand, had gotten a clue about the World via some sort of soul-searching power. For all his idiocy and blowharding, then, Forneus would have to die. DIO stared impassively as the wind and water began to rise, an ominous storm brewing before it with a dangerous magician in its center. Though he did not respect Forneus, DIO would not underestimate him either, and because of that he would win. Gone were the days when DIO would toy with his opponent, only using his stronger abilities as a last resort and deliberately holding himself back. The rage of the abyssal lord bellowed above the raging maelstrom, and after glancing critically at his opponent's sword, DIO remarked, ”Finally, the fight begins. You took all the time in the World.”

He snickered at Forneus, who'd abruptly stopped moving. In fact, everything had, including time. Despite this, there was no time to waste. DIO turned to his right, reached out, and seized the Overlord by his arm. The task of dragging the armored brute, even with his superhuman strength, did not come easily, but nevertheless DIO managed to position his metallic ally right in front of Forneus in four seconds. In the remaining instant, the vampire ducked around to the backside of his enemy, pushing through the water pooling around him. ”Time flows once again.”

Everything unfroze, and to Juri, Forneus, and Kl'rt it would appear as if Overlord and DIO teleported to either side of the demonic hydromancer. Not caring what the Overlord did so long as he did something distracting, DIO reached out to grab hold of Forneus' throat, where he would freeze the blood vessels with his chilling touch in order to suffocate his foe alive.

Tailred - Mahora

Tailred glanced around, frowning as she found that basically no one was interested in actually going to make sure that people were okay, deal with damage control, that sort of thing. It was practically beyond belief! She admittedly wasn't entirely sure if they did, but how could they call themselves heroes without caring for the people that couldn't protect themselves?

Okay, so she wasn't the best at that in her world, but she had a excuse! She did have a life after all, and people to do that sort of thing. She couldn't spend all her time halfway around the planet fixing what property damage did accrue. Besides, it wasn't as if they had anything better to do at the moment.

Still, at least Filia gave her the dignity of an answer, though she could understand why the girl with the miniguns might not, given how she was immediately confronted by the crazy guy. That sort of thing might tend to be a bit distracting. Still, she could hardly excuse it from the redhead, or the other folks who had proven themselves here. But Tailred would turn her attention to the person talking to her, and try to not be too angry about it.

"Maybe they are," she ceded firmly, a hand resting on her hip while she looked at Filia. "But even if they are, as far as they know they're real. And I won't sit by while people are in danger, just because I think they're an illusion. I'm a hero, and that's what heroes do." She might be a fool, but in the end she would always be herself.

---

Suddenley as quickly as the battle started, the Abyssal Lord found himself in the middle of two people. Odd, just a second ago he had seen the vampire- wait! Did he have the power of teleportation?! So. This puny vampire knew more than just a few parlor tricks and controlling a being of energy, how interesting! Perhaps one of his associates had given him this power? Maybe a wise old warlock. Or maybe it was a person he killed and absorbed their power!? Wait, could vampires do that? Whatever. Forneus had to think rationally now as the odds seemed to be against him for the time being. A metal man on one side, and a cunning vampire on the other who reached out for him with his icy grip. After narrowly dodging the icy grip DIO had managed to rip off some of Forneus' hair dropping some of it to the ground. An amused Forneus decided that the best way to tackle this would to be creative with his attack so that it would not only provide him with better spacing but could also slip up the vampire who seemed to underestimate him as it were. Forneus was prideful for a reason, its because he knew without a shadow of a doubt that no matter what the opponent his cunning would go through and even if it didn't Forneus would still have made his opponents know his power! Dying was the least of his worries, what mattered the most to him as of right now was to assert himself as a powerful force and teach this upstart a powerful lesson.

Forneus cackled as he saw both of them on either side, "So this is what you can do eh? Your teleportation powers amuse me vampire, but know this- I am not so easily fooled!" With that Forneus raised his arms and crossed them, pointing to either side of him in a rather stretching matter. Slowly the tempest around him began to rise until it took shape into a bubble, it topped itself off with a loud popping noise. Forneus then chanted something and runes appeared across the bubble, in that moment it began to rumble and eventually pointed spikes came out of the bubble. One by one they began to circle around until eventually the whole bubble was covered with them, all looking very sharp for a mere image of water. Forneus released his focus and cried, "Abyssal Puffer-fish!" The bubble exploded and all at once spikes began flying in either which way, both at DIO and at the Overlord. They seemed to gain immense speed as the air hit them, they even made small sounds as they hurled themselves through the air much like a fleeing puffer-fish.

Forneus then finished with his first technique followed up with a second, he quickly stabbed the air around him with his fingers and as he did small bubbles began to move throughout the air. He spun around as the bubbles began to surround the area, creating a rather cool but humid feeling. This was a technique that Forneus reserved for when he was fighting, and it was always nice to have it with you if you were a water magus. With this, he could send explosive bubbles flying everywhere! Some at the start some at the end, or even some to throw off his enemy! There were so many options! And what excited Forneus even more is that the fight had only begun.

@Lugubrious@invisible man

---

The Grandmaster smiled underneath his mask at the monk. Did she train under him? That technique seems to be similair to the way he fights... Perhaps she is his sister? No. Again Jax remember! People here are all from different worlds! Some alike some aren't! Still the way that Chun-Li and Saotome fought reminded him much of one of the League's most summoned champions: Lee Sin, The Blind Monk. He was a powerful monk who even though he was blind could fight as if he saw everything, Jax remembered countless clashes with the blind brawler, all seemed to be flooding back to him now as he watched this lady's beautiful movements. They were almost similar, except Lee had one thing that she didn't- The Dragon's Rage, yes he remembered it now as it had connected with his face more than one time. That monk was a powerful fighter, and judging by this woman- she too was the same. Are all monks like this? Damn, I should've took up training long ago.

He looked back over to the group, Saotome was still in battle stance, The robot girl was explaining her power, a floating beastkin with superpowers was still tearing up insects and finally- a freaking sea creature just came down form out of nowhere and started wrecking everyone. This was certainly getting a bit too far fetched for the Grandmaster to fathom, but like most matches in ranking below certain levels there was one thing thrown around that stuck to him, "Anything can happen." Regaining his composure Jax decided to hatch a plan as to what to do next. Then he remembered seeing images of that distant land, he saw everything and more of what he thought was Demacia. People were over there, Saotome was right. We gotta get going!

Jax put his Summoner's Cup to his side, clasped his hands and then spoke. "Alright gang. We gotta get movin' then, it's not like that kingdom's gonna save itself now is it? Do you think we should get everyone here acquainted so that we don't just fumble over ourselves? I mean I already know you two and the..." Jax stuttered he was trying to find a word that didn't sound to offensive, "-equine over there. But what about these three?" Jax said pointing first to the beastkin, then to the "robot" and then to the marauding sea woman.

@Grey Star@GameGuruGG@Green Rhapsody@Shoryu

"...Thanks. It means a lot ta me that people would help out." Ranma said with a relieved grin on his face as he listened to some of the various people affirming to lending aid. They were trustworthy people, and had much better moral integrity than the majority back home. Really, the boy felt kind of weird that things were gong so swimmingly well considering how much hoops and whistles he often had to go through in Nerima just to get through the day. "So uh... do we just hoof it from here on out or do we-" The sound of a large object lightly screeching to a halt stopped his sentences as he turned about, finding a rather expressive bullet train pull to a stop on the tracks near the table car turned restaurant building. "...Never mind."

Chao simply smiled like the Cheshire cat once again from her place, face full of innocence as the martial artist turned to stare blandly at the proprietress of the eatery. "Ah, this is just something that I picked up on my travels through... exotic locations." The Chinese girl said with her constantly smiling poker face, gesturing to the object with eight cars. "It lost a few functions once I picked it up from... a certain place, but the vehicle is trustworthy and will be able to safely and quickly transport those of you interested to your destinations in record time! Once enough of you who are interested board it, it'll get moving so you can be heroes!" This was said with a rather cheeky thumbs up, causing Ranma to gape at the sheer cheesiness of both pose and train that looked like an enlarged children's toy. For those people who weren't close to the eatery, they would simply hear her voice echoing throughout the entirety of the large campus town. As well as several signs lighting up to say "Eat At Chao's" with giant arrows directing them to the area.

---

As the tense (to the rather nervous approaching group of ruffians scared by all the super-powered freaks popping up in their formerly sane territory) underlings in cheap white suits approached the current confrontation, their supposed leader edged forward ahead of the rest of the small group who were clutching their uzis and machine guns, his own current hands holding onto a slightly thick manila folder. The Hispanic man with the ratty moustache and sunken eyes quailed for a moment before attempting to cough and catch the less crazy member's attention to hand over said package, staying as far away from those embroiled in the showdown as possible.

Anyone who took this would find that there was simply several photographs detailing what appeared to be an idyllic countryside of sprawling plains and picturesque stone castles... if it weren't for the fact that in the skies there appeared to be knights jousting on horse sized winged reptiles against the bugs that had previously attacked Roanapur in the background. The notes were rather simple and to the point, stating "Go forth and raise a suitable amount of destruction in the neighboring locality like you did in Roanapur. We will reward you accordingly if you inflict enough havoc." If anything, it displayed that Roanapur was willing to deal with the newcomers and attempt to use them at the same time. And yet, choosing to go along with the order could be rather beneficial to the would be conquerors given the lower tech level of the neighboring area and amount of resources that one could get from being first come first served...

"Oi, shut up about your stupid guns or whatever," Kyouko commented, waving her spear at the masked man, who seemed intent on his harassment of the girl with the huge guns. It was getting kind of obnoxious, Kyouko didn't feel like putting up with hearing any more of that. She glanced at the red-haired little girl, tilting her head slightly. "That's the kinda thought process that gets ya killed. Jeez..."

She let out a sigh. It was stupid, wasn't it? And yet... Working with Mami and all... it made it kind of hard to keep up that sort of attitude, didn't it? Grr... But it really was difficult, after all that... and deep down...

Kyouko shook her head. The thought of Mami's disappointment was just getting to her, that was all. But it was really getting to her now...

"... I might as well come," she said with a shrug, and chomping down on another chip with a crunch. "Just to see if any of you can even deal with it."

Yeah, that was the reason.

... And then, as if on cue, a voice announced that there was swift transport and a sign indicated food. Not one to pass either of these things up, Kyouko popped another chip in her mouth and headed for the source of the voice.

Might as well, right?

Damian had hung back and observed throughout the insect fight, using it as a chance to assess each participants abilities as well as the features of said giant insects. Of course, if any of them had been in legitimate danger the Boy Wonder would have been obligated to step in and turn the tide of battle himself but fortunately they all had turned out to be more than capable of defending themselves and each other. This was certainly a mixed group with strange abilities. An obese plumber with super-strength, that markswoman with the talking motorcycle, the...Japanese pop star(?) with song based super powers, the martial artists and more. If he had to fight them he would have to think tactically but...that wasn't what was important now.

A relief effort was being organized to potentially aid residents of the city suffering in the aftermath of the locust attacks. Damian was...frankly loathe to consider being burdened by a team of any sort, especially one where his natural role as leader was likely to be contested and the makeup was entirely of strangers with unknown powers. That said, his father would say he had a duty to lend a hand to those in a state of crisis and perhaps even his grandfather would assert that as an Al Ghul it was his role to shape the chaos after a disaster...although likely more to winnow out the weak and rebuild things in his own image. Regardless, he would just have to go on his own and offer his help unhindered by this so-called group of heroes.

He saw his chance when the train arrived. Toylike though it was, it would still serve his purposes nicely. So, the costumed boy wasted no time gaping or discussing, only sneaking around the crowd and clambering up and aboard the train and hiding in what appeared to be a sort of cargo area. The train would take him to the people he needed to help and this would let him avoid the annoyance of inevitable hero team ups, for now.

Confused, confused would be the right word that the Overlord was feeling at the moment. He had been standing upon the ground, ready to fire streams of lightning into the water demon for an obvious reasons, but it seemed that DIO had other plans that included him. He didn't even know what was happening in the first few moments, he was standing far away from Forneus, and suddenly found himself directly beside his enemy! For the first time, the Overlord was surprised. He has experienced the magic of teleportation before, but this one seemed almost instantaneous without any type of build up at all! The Overlord guessed this was another power of DIO that the Overlord didn't know about, and this power seemed to be, at the moment, the most annoying of all since teleportation could make him easily move around with even having to move. However, since the Overlord was completely dazed at the entire situation at hand, he had forgotten to attack the demon causing a space for Forneus to retaliate against DIO's move.

So, regaining back his barrings from the sudden phase shift, the Overlord saw that Forneus was preparing some kind of attack with his arms stretched from side to side. The Overlord didn't even look behind himself to check out the attack as he knew that it was going to be unpleasant with that wretched look on his face. The lightning ceasing to spark against his armor, his hand started to glow in an almost heavenly color instead of the destructive elements that had been firing out of his hands. It was his shield spell, something that he would use when he knew that he couldn't dodge a powerful attack. And the Overlord was lucky, just as Forneus screamed out his attack, the spell activated, coating only the Overlord inside of the durable magic from the Abyssal Puffer-Fish.

And that Abyssal Puffer-Fish hit like a truck. Spikes of water slammed into the Overlord, almost causing the brute to lurch forward from the sudden force. The Overlord thanked his reaction timing for saving him, without the shield protecting him from the initial wave of spikes, he would have been done for, but the metal man couldn't even keep up this shield for another second. So, without hesitation, the Overlord gripped his Apocalyptor with both of his hands causing the spell to dissipate around him. Spikes and bubbles slamming into his metal armor causing the Overlord to grit his teeth from the pain. Though, pain has never stopped him from doing the right thing, and the right thing was to slam that stupid smile off of Forneus's face. So, the mace swung at an alarming speed. By the looks of his size, it would seem that the Overlord would attack in a slow manner that anyone could easily dodge, but this wasn't the case at all. With his strength, the mace almost swung like an aluminum bat towards Forneus with hell-fire spewing out of the mouth. It wouldn't take too much time before cold hard metal clash against the warm weak flesh.

Juri, Positively 4th Street

Juri decided that she should follow DIO's instructions in regards to her Stand, though she knew it was unstable and that she wasn't in any serious fighting position at the moment. Though she did hear of what Forneas had said about the watery cat being his only ally, which she scoffed at.

"No wonder it was his only ally," Juri grumbled to herself. "He's an asshole."

"Even tall, dark and grusome is more worthy of me than he is, let alone DIO," Juri noted, referring to the Overlord. However, Juri waited for some opening to form in regards to to the Forneas fight. However, Forneas wasn't leaving himself an opening for an close-range attack. DIO had used The World to effectively teleport the Overlord in front of Forneas and DIO to behind him. The Abyssal Puffer-fish move was certainly something she couldn't counter too well had she been close to it, given her dependence on close combat, especially without the Feng Shui Engine.

However, because of her hesitation to get into the fight with Forneas and the fact that Kl'rt and Clementine were behind a force field, it ended up being Juri who the Hispanic man with the manilla folder had caught the attention of. And so it was her who grabbed the manilla envelope and looked over it. It looked to be no type of medieval era she ever knew, but it at least wasn't candy coated like this land was.

---

Chun-Li, Bento Tree

"Well, that explains the singing," Chun-Li said to Hibiki, but she was happy that so many people had been willing to help a land in need. However, when Jax was questioning who three of the new people were and Ranma was wondering how exactly to get there, a bullet train provided by Chao appeared. Very convenient.

"We can learn more about each other on the train," Chun-Li declared to Jax's concern. "Now let's go."

"Thanks, Chao!" Chun-Li then began running onto the train. She was ready to help out this new land and hoped that the others would not be far behind. They were a strange group of various humans and creatures, but it was the only heroes that land might have. Chun-Li had a duty to try to help them.

Tailred's assertion received only a glum, uncertain look from Filia. If this girl believed she could legitimately do good for people, well, good for her. Somewhere, maybe, the classical idea of heroes lived on, with perfect standards of good and evil, good-looking and mighty heroes, and nefarious, irredeemable evildoers to be beaten down. In Filia's world, however, no heroes existed. Right and wrong were blurred, life for most was a fight to survive, and those with power seldom ascribed to heroic ideals. New Meridian took heroes, chewed them up, and turned them into the very antithesis of all they thought they stood for. Neither host nor parasite desired a fate like that.

Whether or not Tailred was delusional, Filia decided to attempt to enlighten her. “Maybe...you're not looking at this the right way. Back where I come from, there are these beings -the Skullgirls- that command incredible power. I saw one once: her name was Marie. She controlled life, shadow, and bones, able to raise the dead from all across history. Her power...unreal. Somehow, this Viewer seems worse. Don't you think he'd like to obliterate heroes for entertainment? I'm sorry, just...as far as I know, heroes can't exist in a world where evil is the supreme power.”

She jammed her hands in her pockets, still ill at ease. Samson, meanwhile, watched her back as always, though with more of a disinterested air than usual. Both faces, however, turned to curiosity when an announcement boomed through the district surrounding Mahora. Filia winced, and her parasite scoffed. ”Hah! Perfect ironic timing! Gonna go and help people, kid? Maybe bein' a hero ain't so bad. Don' worry about the Viewer jus' yet. Remember, you got you an' me.”

Filia put a knuckle to her lips thoughtfully. “Uh...maybe. If we work with these people and get on their good side, they won't attack us, right? Anyone calling themselves a hero can't do that. I'll...give it a try.” Her partner smirked and formed her hair into beetle wings, recycling the leftover into twintails like Tailred's, perhaps in an effort to associate herself with heroism. Otherwise, Tailred was forgotten as the duo flapped away toward the train station.

The trip was short, and the schoolgirl touched down on the train's roof with a clang. Samson spat out her hat and hid beneath it, trying to keep himself a secret from the Mahora bunch, and Filia climbed down manually to board the vehicle. Her hands shook with nervousness. Medieval times meant swords, axes, spears, knives, and more, all things great for cutting hair.



The seeking fingers, so tantalizing close to filling the veins of Forneus with a smotheringly frigid slurry, barely missed their target. Instead, a few locks of DIO's opponent's hairs were flash-frozen and fell down to fracture on the sweet pavement below. This did not perturb DIO whatsoever, even if it did seem to excite the abyssal lord somewhat. After all, if his very first attack resulted in his enemy's death, the whole event would have to be logged as momentously disappointing, not to mention boring. Of course, this didn't stop the vampire from noticing with a critical look that the Overlord failed to seize his opportunity and properly distract Forneus.

Overlord's evaluation would have to come later, for the abyssal lord began to craft his counterattack. DIO leaned away, scraping some dirt from beneath a fingernail in the epitome of boredom. Did all of Forneus's attacks take so long to set up? A single punch would be enough to splatter the ground with a far more diverse array of fluids than water—but then again, perhaps the localized maelstrom around the demon hosted some sort of special property. DIO compliantly chose to wait and see, watching as the magical attack formed, proved to be named something utterly ridiculous, and burst outward. Clicking his tongue, the vampire held his arms crossed in front of his face and barely moved as the spikes of water penetrated his pale skin, slinging blood and vampiric essence into the storm.

Ultimately, though, the spikes did not make much progress. Within DIO's arteries flowed an incredible cold, and upon breaching his blood vessels the water spikes froze solid. For a split second, the vampire resented a monstrous, icy hedgehog, but he wasted little time before he flexed, and the icicles popped out of him to shatter lifelessly on the ground. On the other side of Forneus, the Overlord appeared to be powering through the destructive spell's might to deliver a crushing mace attack, and an idea crept into DIO's mind. ”Your struggles are in vain! They are useless, useless, useless! Mu-DA!” As the Apocalyptor sank into Forneus's face, DIO twisted around and went low, aiming a ruthless, frigid elbow into the abyssal lord's spine. If the demon could survive a horrific blow to his skull and an equally devastating attack to his spinal cord, perhaps he did deserve some credit, after all. All the same, DIO imagined that he could not.