[h2]Sogiita Gunha[/h2]
The constant crises that Academy City seemed to be in recently did not faze the No.7 Level 5 esper, who continued to face the coming days with a confident grin on his face. While Gunha wasn't officially a part of Judgement, he did occasionally pop around here and there like a certain Railgun and resolve incidents himself. Though it occasionally seemed like he wasn't a welcome appearance for either side more often than not, none of that sort of thing really mattered to him. After all, if neither side had the guts to tell it to his face, then they didn't have the right to have him stop, right? And it wasn't as if he was doing anything illegal; quite the opposite, actually.

That wasn't on most days, though. In the end, he was still a student of Academy City, and given how today was the start of the weekend for him, Gunha quickly took to relaxing the only way he knew how: wandering the streets aimlessly, a cold sports drink in hand as he remained on the lookout for anything interesting.

Imagine his surprise, then, when the interesting thing found [i]him[/i] instead. From walking around the city to a weird pink room... Well, it felt as if something was up. Well, if the girl asking for help didn't give it away yet, at least.

With a slow glance around the room as he took a sip of his beverage, Gunha took in the appearances of the various people standing around awkwardly. Most still seemed to be in a bit of shock, which was understandable. But that sort of action was gutless--especially the blonde girl's statement. It was obvious, wasn't it? Whatever the heck the problem was, they'd be gutless to even [i]think[/i] about not accepting!
...
Unless the girl had less-than-savory intentions. In that case, he'd take her on himself. Lying to people was so much more gutless than hesitating at something like this. Tucking away his sports drink in his back pocket, Gunha crossed his arms and stood dramatically, his legs split and his cape seemingly fluttering in the air (regardless of the lack of wind in the room).

"Sogiita Gunha, at your service!" the young man shouted, a grin plastered on his face as a few explosions blew up from behind him, sending colored smoke rising into the air from their locations. "It takes guts to bow your head and ask for help, so c'mon, let's hear it! Whaddya want us to do?"

He could worry about going back to Academy City later... But the higher ups in the city would probably not be having much fun with his absence. Whatever, those guys were pretty gutless anyhow.

[hr]
[h2]The Anguished One[/h2]
A bitter smile crossed the Anguished One's face as he watched the Shining One and his allies move on to a world unbound by the Akashic Record. Given who he was, there was no way he could follow them to that new world, so here he would remain, in this void left by the absence of humanity. The being beside him, Miyako Hotsuin, seemed to have a similarly bitter expression. Though it had only been a few days for her (and a few weeks for him), the Shining One and his friends had overcome the Administrator and found themselves a new future. For the continuation of humanity, at least, he could be grateful; for all he had given them would not be for naught, with the death of Canopus, it was only a matter of time before he, too, would disappear. With the hope that the new world would prosper, the Anguished One closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable to come.
...
And yet, it never did.

The sensation of solid ground beneath his feet took the Anguished One by surprise, and he immediately opened his eyes and took a cautionary glance around. There were many beings gathered around in the room, none of which he had seen before. This fact... it was disorienting and, to be quite frank, went against everything he had known. As far as he knew, everything in existence should have been wiped out. So then, why--?

[u][b]"But first, would you like to join me in creating the perfect world, for all of us and everyone?!"[/b][/u]

At those words, the Anguished One's mouth turned into a tight-lipped frown. A perfect world... He already knew that such a world had come to fruition, though he could never truly see it for himself. But this girl... It wouldn't have been an understatement to say that she seemed to have been broken by all standard conventions. Though he saw the highs and lows of humanity (especially during the Shining One's fight against the Septentriones), there had been no such insanity as was present in this child. Her eyes seemed to give off an aura of despair, which he disapproved of greatly. As a rather portly egg-shaped man began to ramble on his own, the Anguished One began to process the events that had transpired over the last few minutes.

[i]If this girl speaks of the concept of 'new universes' and has brought be here, then there are many conclusions to draw. First and foremost, the world of the Shining One and his friends--the universe that I originate from--is not the sole existence in the grander scheme of things. Furthermore, the fact that I, of all people, was brought here, means that she has enough power to overcome the system within which my own universe was built from. Creating a new universe also requires an amount of energy unable to be naturally obtained in any given state of the world, which means that...

[b]There are still greater things that may threaten their new peaceful lives.[/b][/i]

Though no change of expression was present on his face, the Anguished One was, internally, quite distressed. There was no doubt that this girl could send another wave of invaders to that new world, and the Shining One and his friends might be none the wiser. For now, at least, he could afford to play along; to steer them away from the world he would now play the unnamed protector of. As far as he knew, it was more productive to not be blackmailed (was that what humans had called it?) than it was to take incentives. So he would act accordingly; sate this mad child's desire while neither acting nor remaining still. Above all else, he could act as a test for humanity elsewhere: to see if they could withstand the threat that now faced them. It wasn't as if the job was new to him, but he would have to remain secretive about it all.

"I do not believe we are in a position to argue," the Anguished One stated, his face neutral as he faced the man criticizing the one who was likely behind this entire ordeal. "Would we not be better off if we heard an explanation first?"

Information was what he lacked, and so it was what he would seek.