A woman in heavy clothing had approached as well, and introduced herself as Mei-ling Zhou. In most cases Youmu would have bowed politely and introduced herself as well, but this was hardly what could be referred to as 'most cases'. Indeed, moments after she had realized she might want to perform some sort of introduction herself, the swirly-head man finally revealed why he had brought everyone here. It was a long and fairly involved explanation, but to the silvery-haired girl's surprise it was revealed that there were alternate worlds, other universes with a host of differences within them. This was a lot of information to absorb, but it did explain the enormous variety in the people around her. Many of them hardly looked like the kind of people she would expect even from the outside world. But that wasn't the end of it, not at all.
It was also apparent that some of the people working for this Agency the man described had gone rogue, or something of that nature, and were seemingly intent on causing chaos across multiple realities. Now the half-phantom gardener understood why they had been called here, and why he did not seem quick to return them. Youmu nodded to herself, quietly. Yes, this too, then, would be in service of Yuyuko-sama.
Clasping her hands in front of her, Youmu bowed. Not to introduce herself to the man, as he already knew of her, but to introduce herself to everyone else.
"I am Konpaku Youmu," she began, her phantom half following her motions as she straightened. "I hope we can all work together. I will not fail."
Rem
As the man with the vortex head spoke, Rem lowered her flail more and more. There were... multiple realities? Not only were there multiple realities, but there was a threat to all of these universes in the form of these agents? It was almost too overwhelming for the blue-haired girl to comprehend, and for a few moments she sat in silence trying to get her thoughts together. But, there were a few matters that stuck out to her in the conversation. That lay in the threat that these agents posed. It was a threat to entire universes, to the people in them. It was on a scale that was difficult to understand, but what Rem could understand was that it posed a threat to the people that she cared most about. As much as she wanted to return, so that she could be close to Subaru, to be able to ensure her both him and her sister were safe, this, too, would be for their protection.
After some hesitation, Rem finally put away her flail. The maid quietly bowed her head, as well, her feet shuffling slightly. In truth, she was worried. Worried about how things were turning out back home, for Subaru and her sister. She was worried about a great many things. This new information had only grown her list of worries. What would happen?
And... it was hard to deny the appeal of that wish...
So caught up in her concerns was Rem that she did not directly state that she would work to stop these agents. However, the way her ball and chain had vanished may have made things clear.
Othinus chose not to comment on Goldibanne's remark, though she found it something of a relief when she seemed to heed the warning that had been set forth. Imagine Breaker was well-known in their world, but here, all bets were probably off about that. If Touma was smart, he'd try to keep that as a trump card as long as he could.
She knew far too well, though, that brains came second to his self-sacrificial desire to save, though. Not the best thing to count on, it was.
"Er... Right," Touma said, finally figuring that Othinus would remain quietly in her own thoughts for a little while longer. "My name is Kamijou Touma, and I'm a student from Academy City. This here is Othinus," he commented, pointing at the little Magic God in question that was sitting on his shoulder.
Before either side could ask any further questions, though, that 'Entertainer' person began to speak. As he continued to talk about the problem that was in front of them all, the young man subconsciously clenched his right hand into a fist, his eyes burning with resolve.
"Oh. Well, at least it's not like the issue with the High Priest this time..." Othinus sighed in exasperation as she massaged her forehead. By now, she could already tell that he was wholly dedicated to joining this whole ordeal.
Well, at least it was better than starving half to death in that dorm of his. With her prior theory about this being 'another world' thus confirmed (though much larger in scope than what her past magic entailed), Othinus opted to remain silent as Touma silently nodded towards the figure.
Not many words were needed after that.
Komeiji Satori
Satori glared at the 'Entertainer' as he began to speak at length about whatever problem he had dragged the group over to handle, and she was none the happier hearing about all of it. She couldn't get a grasp on his mind for some reason, but his monologue was more than enough to parse a summary of the problem.
He messed up, and he brought them over to fix it. Of course it would be a development like that.
The offer of a wish might have been more enticing to some, but for Satori the possible threat to her sister of pets was of a higher priority. While she was almost completely certain that the shrine maiden or the boundary youkai would be able to handle any threats if they actually entered Gensokyo, she couldn't deny the empathy that stuck in her heart.
So, at the very least, she'd participate... On one condition.
"That's fine and all, but you still haven't answered my question about our families and close acquaintances. Won't there be chaos if people begin to spontaneously disappear from existence? Adding to the problem that you've created won't make it smaller, you know," she quipped, crossing her arms as she stared with stone-cold eyes at their "host". "Unless you provide sufficient proof that they won't be wrapped up in any of your side of this problem, I shall assume you have the intent to wrap everyone up in this whole ordeal. After all, you brought this many in already; what is there to stop you from dragging more into what is essentially your personal army of 'volunteers'?"
...Maybe she had been too invested in that story she had been reading before this whole... Thing.
"It's nice to meet you, Kamijou-san, Othinus-san~" Goldibanne replied, brightly, with a second curtsy before she straightened. It seemed the 'Entertainer' had finally elected to actually explain to them what was going on. The whole 'alternate reality' thing, well, that explained why there were so many unusual people around, didn't it? If there were a vast amount of different realities that meant that there was a bast amount of different possibilities that could all be totally unique and separate from one another. Gracefully rotating on her heel to face the swirly-headed man, she cocked her head slightly to one side as she listened to the explanations. So, there were people who wanted to mess with everything and cause chaos, was there? Well, if it could threaten Ayame-sama and her 'sisters' then that was absolutely not something she could ever allow.
"Goldibanne will agree to all this, then," she said, waving her hand quickly. A wish, too, huh...? "Goldibanne can't deny being interested in that wish, either~ But Ayame-sama is what Goldibanne cares about most."
Naturally, the biggest matter of concern was the safety and well-being of her creator. If any of these agents did try to harm her...
"Those agents will get to experience being nothing but a bloody stain on the floor~ Fufufu~"
Shirou turned his head towards the woman that spoke to him, introducing herself as Yoko. He gave a polite smile and returned the introduction, "Hi. Emiya Shirou."
Before they could converse further, the swirl-headed thing finally began explaining the reason for bringing them all together. He listened with a serious expression. So in short, they had all been gathered to take out rogue agents of this IDEC thing. Said Agents were highly dangerous and looking to mess with the entire multiverse just because.
On a scale of 1 to Grail War, this was edging dangerously close to an 11.
Now... should he choose to trust this guy's words? What reason could Swirl have to lie about anything? He couldn't think of a particularly nefarious reason behind his actions, so perhaps he was genuine in his intent.
And even if there was... Shirou couldn't just ignore the part where an entire multiverse worth of innocent people were in danger. He was going to have to do his part to save as many people as possible. No, scratch that, save everyone.
"...All right, I'll help," Shirou answered, making a mental note to collect as many exotic recipes as possible. He'd need to make a lot of apology meals to Saber once this was over.
Cracking the last egg of the carton into his mouth, the black-haired man with the shopping cart sighs. He rubs the back off his head.
"So uh... I'm Kuroki Inago. If... if you don't mind, let's just leave it at 'I'm strong.' Not unless you like monster movies. But, I got a wish in mind, whether or not I want to see my shithole of a homeworld wiped clean."
Victoria looked around the room once more. She saw how the doll-like girl was introducing himself to the average-looking boy, whom she just noticed had a fairy perched on his shoulder. How curious. There were certainly fairies in her world but they were all human-sized, not tiny like her. Then she heard the blue-haired maid asking to be returned. The eye girl also made the same request, though she expressed it with much harsher words.
She then heard another person giving a tongue lashing towards the Entertainer. Another girl with long black hair and little horns on her head. An oni, perhaps? She said her job was to save the entire multiverse. And yet she didn't seem to be acquainted with the Entertainer. Could it be that there were multiple multiverses? Or could that be just because the multiverse was vast and that the Entertainer and her worked at different worlds, never crossing path with each other.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a girl wearing some thick suit who looked like a winter robe. She waved her hands to everyone in the room, introducing herself as Mei. A Chinese person, huh? Victoria waved back while smiling at her.
And then finally, the Entertainer began his explanation. To put it shortly, he needed their help to capture the rouge agents that had rebelled from his organization. If they were not stopped, he said, they could harm the worlds, and even possibly their own worlds. That certainly would not do, she thought. She loved her world after all.
She didn't know why she was the one chosen though. She was just an ordinary school teacher, not a trained soldier. If he was going to get someone from her world, she would recommend getting one of the dragonfolks. They simply had extraordinary strength incomparable to the rest of demikind.
And as for the wish, well... she would think of something.
She looked around, wanting to know the reaction of her peers to his proposal. The oni girl immediately agreed, as did the ghost girl. The maid girl just stood there, seemingly unsure how to respond. The boy with the fairy simply nodded in agreement, and then introduced himself and his fairy. Touma and Othinus. At least now she knew their proper names.
The eye girl however was still unsatisfied. She asked the Entertainer if their disappearance wouldn't make a mess in their world as their families and loved ones would worry for sure. She basically blamed him for his problem, which, she thought was a little bit unfair to the poor man. It wasn't his fault that his subordinates ran away, right?
The doll girl, named Goldibanne, agreed, declaring gleefully that she would turn them into bloody stains on the floor. She wasn't sure whether to see her as adorable or disturbing. Perhaps it should be a mixture of both.
The red-headed boy also agreed, as well as the man with the shopping cart (she didn't understand why the shopping cart would be carried over as well).
Now, it's time for her to answer.
"I can help~" Victoria said to the Entertainer cheerfully. "But are you sure about choosing me? There are others stronger than me in my world, you know?" she said with a melodious, teasing tone. "I'm just a school teacher after all~"
Yang had been pretty quiet up until now. She stood up, stretching.
"I'd love to be there to look out for my little sis, but I guess if we're saving the entire everything, I'm sure she can take care of herself for a little while," she explained, placing a hand on her hip. "I definitely have a wish in mind, and I don't want people to die for no reason." She shrugged at this, and smiled.
"It's not like any of you guys know how to fight Grimm or anything, and they could probably be moved around places. It's been done before. Hey that would be a pretty Grimm situation, am I right?" She giggled a little, then continued. "But with all seriousness, I'm ready to pound some faces."
Yoko simply nodded to Shiro. She merely crossed her arms as the man explained the situation regarding rogue agents. Rogue agents, huh? Well, that she can definitely fight. Not that she's needed. She's dead. She looked around to see the others. They clearly had people they want to go back to, or people who they vowed to defend. Yoko died defending her loved one. The least she could do is help the others with protecting their loved ones. Hopefully without the dying part.
Though the offer of a wish intrigued her. If she could, she could use this wish to ensure Kaito grabs the sacred fruit and become king. She could help him rule, even after her death. Reviving herself was out of the question. There was a possibility that Kaito died during the fight for the Forbidden Fruit, and she would not live in a world without him. She simply stepped forward.
"I'll assist. Of course." She said. She then glared over to the golden one who burns just like the sun after she dropped a pun.
"That's fine and all, but you still haven't answered my question about our families and close acquaintances. Won't there be chaos if people begin to spontaneously disappear from existence? Adding to the problem that you've created won't make it smaller, you know. Unless you provide sufficient proof that they won't be wrapped up in any of your side of this problem, I shall assume you have the intent to wrap everyone up in this whole ordeal. After all, you brought this many in already; what is there to stop you from dragging more into what is essentially your personal army of 'volunteers'?""
"Don't you worry about that, Miss Komeiji. I have procedures prepared for those things. Granted, I haven't actually tried any of them yet but we have done simulations and the success rate is around ninety to one-hundred percent." The Entertainer answered though you feel his patience was being tried, probably from your attitude. "Though if things really get out of hand, I can always just do a mindwipe so that no one remembers that you were gone. That's a universal solution, that one."
"Also, there is nothing stopping me from dragging more people in this brouhaha." He admitted. "But having more isn't merry as I would need to keep tabs on even more people." He then added quite nonchalantly. "Unless you die in the middle of this and I would need replacements."
"But are you sure about choosing me? There are others stronger than me in my world, you know? I'm just a school teacher after all~"
"Dearie, everyone's a soldier in war." The Entertainer solidly stated his reply.
-EVERYONE-
Hearing the almost unanimous decision to help out, you all feel The Entertainer almost leapt with joy. "Splendid! Splendid, splendid, splendid!" He got down from the stage and walked towards the hall's exit. "Now then, if you would all follow me."
Following The Entertainer out of the Assembly Hall, you would find yourselves in a large corridor. It was not empty though, human people in dark military gear or uniforms went about their businesses, walking and scurrying to their destinations. As you walked through the corridor, any passing soldiers stopped and saluted you before heading off. They were probably saluting at The Entertainer but it still felt otherwise.
You all emerge from the corridor into a huge atrium where there are even more soldiers doing about their businesses or simply hanging out. You were at the most lowest floor and there appeared to be ten floors to this structure. A silver sphere hovered at the center of the place with a single flight of stairs leading to its entrance. "Welcome to IDEC, ladies and gentlemen." The Entertainer said but he didn't stop walking. However, you do notice that there were absolutely no windows of any sort in the place. All the light was from the artificial lightbulbs.
There were multiple corridors leading out of the atrium, some were labeled while others were not. The Entertainer lead you to one that said 'PORTAL GATE CHAMBERS'. "I suppose now's the time to tell you how IDEC gets to places." He said as he continued walking. "IDEC has these 'portal gates'. These lead to all the universes in the Multiverse." You now notice that his voice was not coming from him but rather, from inside your heads. It was the reason why you could clearly hear him despite the ambient noise and your distance from him. "Each universe has a combination of wavelengths that designate that universe. Those wavelengths can be used by a portal gate to enter that universe from another. However, an extra wavelength is needed to link two portal gates together so that travel can be safe. Otherwise, you might get deposited into a... an unfavorable area."
After another large corridor and into a large pair of doors, The Entertainer lead you into an enormous hangar filled with machines and people. You spot two pairs of tall, steel arches on the hangar's walls. These were probably the portal gates The Entertainer was talking about earlier. "I want all of these turned on right now!" You hear him yell which made everybody in the hangar scramble to their positions. After a moment, the portal gates lit up. The white mass of light in the center of the arches shone brightly.
The Entertainer lead you to the center of the hangar. "Impressive, isn't it? Anyway..." He then snapped his fingers and suddenly you all feel something in your wrists. Looking at it, it appeared to be a watch of sorts. "IDEC has at least one outpost on each world and thus, one portal gate. Those watches will give you the general direction of that outpost so if you need to exit a universe or get lost or something, you have that." He explained. "Don't lose it."
"Now then, to the main topic." The Entertainer produced a small black box. "Your main task is finding the universe where the rogue Agents' main base is. This black box can record the wavelengths I was talking about earlier. You can either connect this to a portal gate's computer to record the past three universes that portal gate has entered or you can have someone manually input the wavelengths should he or she know the exact numbers and letters." He explained the main objective. "A black box will be issued to you by IDEC operatives as soon as you arrive."
"Now then without further ado, let's get this show on the road!"
-------
"This portal gate leads to a world of fantasy. Of magic. Of dungeons and dragons.
However, our sources there's suspicious activity happening in a kingdom called Razelia, the magic capital of this world. You will be emerging from an IDEC outpost just outside the capital city of Zauberheim. If you need more info, you can ask the operatives stationed there. Though I heard there's been some sort of unrest happening there. Tell me all about it once you get back, okay?
Please don't bring any sort of modern technology. Just... don't, okay? It's going to be a headache if you do."
"This world is a sort of modern fantasy. There's a Celestial Realm, a Hell and of course, the Earth. There are girls there who's got all sorts of super powers.
You will be emerging in an outpost in the remote areas of Japan 'cause that's where all the action is. Our sources have reason to believe that the rogue Agents have made contact with some of the locals. I'm sure you know what that implies so be careful. Also, report to me or to the operatives anything that happens to you there."
"This entire world is known as Gamindustri. It's a bunch of lands floating in the sky. The people there might recognize you and if you are an avid video gamer, you might recognize them as well. Or at least figure out what they represent. They're also... quirky to say the least.
However, sources have indicated that there might be rogue Agent activity meddling with the affairs of this world. Also, there are suspicions that some of the locals have had contact with the rogue Agents so again, be careful."
"...or what's left of it anyway. Well, there isn't much you can see here since Gyossait, the goddess of Earth, got mad at humanity and tore the planet asunder. Now the sun is red, the water is acid and monsters rove the wasteland.
Still, somehow our beleaguered sources in the world has detected non-IDEC portal gate activity there. I want you to go there and investigate as well as retrieve any wavelengths you find.
--------
"Oh before you leave! I have one more thing you should know." The Entertainer quickly stopped all of you. "I have... well, let's call them my 'children'. These guys can be a big help to you and they'll most likely do if you just ask them." He then sighed. "But... they don't like me or IDEC very much. It's... complicated. So should you encounter them, just keep me and IDEC and the Agents out of the conversation as much as possible. But if that fails, just tell them that Mister Peculiar is also in on this. In fact, just tell them you are acting under Mister Peculiar should they ask."
"What do they look like, you ask?" He paused to think for a bit before answering. "Their appearances vary but you'll know them once you see them. They usually stick out in the worlds they're staying at."
"Anoo~ That didn't answer my question at all..." Victoria replied back to the Entertainer. But it seemed he was too excited to respond back.
In the end, she really had to be the one doing this, it seemed.
With a sigh, she resigned herself to her fate. She just hoped the battles ahead wouldn't be too tough for her, and that she could return to her world in one piece. It wouldn't do for her students to never meet their teacher again after all.
And then she remembered. The mid-term exams would be in four months from now.
Add "returning back to her world before the mid-term exams" to her wish list.
"Ara~ I should have mentioned that to Mr. Swirly Head Man..."
And so in the end she followed The Entertainer without complain just like the others did. After entering the corridor beside the assembly hall, she noticed people with military uniforms walking past them, giving them (or at least Mr. Swirly) a salute every time they did so. She now knew that this really was a military base, even though Mr. Swirly had been acting quite casual in front of them.
They then entered a large atrium, filled with even more soldiers. A curious silver sphere hovered in the middle, with a single flight of stairs going towards it. They ignored it however. Instead, they veered towards one of the corridors leading out towards the atrium. The one they were going towards was named "Portal Gate Chambers".
She could already guess what it was going to contain.
And indeed her guess was correct, as the Entertainer soon explained that they used those portals to travel between worlds in the multiverse. As he made his explanation, she noticed that his voice went straight into her head without passing through her ears, allowing an undisturbed communication even as they entered the hangar where a lot of loud machines were in place.
Then she saw it, the gates the sign was talking about.
There were two pairs of tall, steel arches on the hangar's walls. Soon, the gates turned on, after the soldiers in place scrambled to start them as soon as they entered the place. They didn't look too impressive, as least according to her opinion.
She then suddenly felt something appearing on her arm. She looked down as saw that a watch had suddenly appeared on her right arm. The Entertainer explained that the watch would tell them where the IDEC outpost was located on a world. Yep, she definitely wouldn't want to lose this watch, or else she may just end up being stranded on a world forever. She shuddered at the thought.
Their task was to find the rogue agents' base was, or at least in which universe it was located. She wasn't quite sure she would be up for the job, as she didn't fancy herself a skilled detective. But once again, she was the one who was chosen, so she just had to do the task as best as she could. That was what she taught to her students after all. Never give up in doing something even if you feel you're not good at it. If you failed, at least you could say that you already tried your best. And she made sure to show her appreciation to that effort.
There were four worlds to choose. After thinking carefully, she thought she would fit best in the medieval world of magic. She was a magical creature after all. And she had always wanted to be in a fantasy medieval world herself.
Before she departed, the Entertained added that there would be his "children" inside the worlds that may help them. But they weren't fond of the organization, so they should try to keep him and IDEC out of the conversation.
Hmm, how curious. She was going to ask for more details but she had a hunch that they and the Entertainer had a history between them. She didn't think Mr. Swirly was the kind of man who would tell them that even if they asked.
Youmu caught the man's answer to Satori. She didn't like what she heard. Wiping memories? That sounded... quite terrible. She didn't want such a fate to befall Yuyuko-sama, and the fact that it was even a possibility in the first place was disturbing. However, at the same time, the fact that there was such a hazardous circumstance occurring meant that there was little time to discuss such a thing. Quite simply, Youmu knew what she would do if such a thing was brought up with intent rather then hypotheticals. Her blades were drawn for a variety of reasons, but the chief purpose they held was in order to defend Yuyuko-sama. If there was any threat of Yuyuko-sama's mind being tampered with, she would absolutely defend her.
Absolutely.
But for now, that matter was hopefully unlikely to be of true concern.
At the moment, Youmu was presented with a selection of worlds to proceed to. Trying to focus on what was currently required to protect Yuyuko-sama rather then possibilities, Youmu considered the potential options before her.
After a moment's pause, she headed right for the world described as a 'world of magic'.
Rem
For the most part, Rem looked towards the future. She had to reunite with Subaru, so she had to defeat these threats and return. This was an unquestionable goal in her mind. She would do anything she had to in order to achieve this goal. For the most part, she was silent. This was an unfamiliar place and she was surrounded by unfamiliar people, and so Rem found herself remaining quiet as she approached the portals, staring with some level of determination and each. She didn't fully understand the way the worlds were summarized, but she knew that the people she had been taken from her world to hunt down were in all of them. The sooner she dealt with them, the sooner she could return.
She had to return as soon as possible.
Taking a deep breath, and clutching her flail once more, Rem eventually selected the 'modern fantasy'.
The Field marshal rose and walked towards the indicated gates. The first was eliminated as a possibility right away as it was unlikely to have any black powder. The second, however, sounded like a much better idea. He wasn't entirely sure about anything to be honest but always believed that action was better than inaction. This decision was made on the move and he continued walking straight into this 'modern fantasy'.
You found yourselves emerging into a large chamber similar to the IDEC hangar where you came from. A soldier immediately approached you with a black box on his hand. "You must be the people the boss brought to help us out. Here, the wavelength recorder." He handed the black box to Youmu. "I'm sure the boss already told you how to use that. But if you forget or anything, feel free to take any of us to the portal gate."
"Now then, follow me." The soldier lead you outside of the chamber into a corridor that ended with a flight of stairs. Ascending the steps and to a door, you and the soldier emerge into a verdant, untouched forest. The chirps of birds and bugs filled the air while the trees' canopies blocked out the midday sun. If you look back, you would see that the entrance to the underground chamber is disguised as a small mound covered in vegetation.
"Welcome to Razelia, ladies." The soldier said. "The capital Zauberheim is located over to that direction." He pointed. "There's also a port town over there that a lot of people use to get to Zauberheim. It's pretty busy because of it but it's a lot less famous than Zauberheim. It's the perfect place to hide while keeping an eye on the capital."
"Good luck. If you need anything, you are free to come to the outpost at any time." The soldier said. "Oh and, please don't cause too much of a ruckus or reveal our existence, okay?"
You found yourselves emerging into a large chamber similar to the IDEC hangar where you came from. A soldier immediately approached you with a black box on his hand. "You must be the people the boss were talking about." He handed the black box to Tamas. "You already know how to use that, right? But if you forget or anything, just take any of us to the portal gate. Make sure it's secured and intact of course."
"All right, follow me." The soldier lead you outside of the chamber into a corridor that ended with a flight of spiralling stairs. Ascending the steps to a door, you and the soldier enter a dark area that appeared to be a cave of sorts. The soldier moved on and with you following him, you soon emerge out of the cave and into a beach.
"Welcome to Japan." The soldier said. "There's an academy over there that you can start but there's also a temple right over there that is worth investigating." The soldier pointed the directions. "You also might want to do something about your clothes. You kind of stand out in those." He also remarked.
"Good luck. If you need anything, you are free to come to the outpost at any time." The soldier said. "Oh and, I have a feeling you guys aren't familiar with this era so... just be careful, ask questions if you need it, don't make it suspicious and don't attract too much attention."
Suddenly, a whirring sound approached and before you knew it, a strange-looking bird flew overhead from an incredible height. "...Do you guys know what that is?" The soldier asked.
Victoria looked at her new surroundings when she passed through the gate. It was quite similar to the big room she was in before, so this must be the IDEC base of this world. She noticed Youmu being given the black box the Entertainer talked about before. She decided to leave the object with her, as it just seemed to be a bothersome thing to carry around. The girl seemed to be the serious, responsible type so she shouldn't lose the thing.
Victoria followed the soldier outside, and when she was greeted by the sight of a lush jungle filled with the melodies of birds and bugs, she clasped her hands together on her chest and said, "My, how beautiful!" It reminded her of her old home, and if it were to have a beautiful shining lake in the middle, then it would just be like the forest they Undines lived in.
The soldier explained that the world's name was Razelia. He also gave some directions, whether to go to the capital or the port town. She had no idea which one she should choose so she turned towards the swordswoman, smiled, and said, "Well, where do you think we should go, Youmu-chan~?" She couldn't help adding the suffix as the girl was simply a cute, short little thing.
After taking the box Tamas was silent as he followed the man through the facility and out onto the beach. He looked around, knowing that he was in well over his head.
"I think I'll trust you to guide us in the right direction."
The soldierhad said that their clothing might stand out but didn't exactly explain why. Since the facility seemed to be permanent then it was likely that they did this sort of thing often. It was also likely that it would be very helpful for him to carry his weapons around.
"Would you be able to help us blend in? And maybe arm us in a more suitable way?"
For a moment, Youmu was taken off-guard. Not by her surroundings, but by being referred to with such a familiar honorific. '-chan'!? Her pale cheeks flushed slightly and she quietly shuffled her feet, before taking a deep breath and trying to clear her throat and focus. At the moment, she couldn't exactly say she knew which of their destinations seemed to be particularly useful. Indeed, either one seemed like it might hold the target they were searching for. She really couldn't say either of them sounded like a more logical option.
"Ah... perhaps the village? Maybe they would try and hide out somewhere less populated for now..." she trailed off for a few moments. Was that true? Or would they want to go somewhere more populated and try and recruit support? The half-phantom really didn't know for certain. Still, she had to try something. She was doing this for the sake of Yuyuko-sama, and so she couldn't just let someone else attempt to puzzle out where they should be going.
Japan...? No country such as that had ever been discovered back in her home... however, this was another world, so perhaps that was only to be expected. Clutching her ball and chain, the blue-haired girl peered around. Her clothing wasn't appropriate? Rem still felt some reluctance to change her outfit, however. She was a maid, so would it really be appropriate to completely change to a different outfit? Regardless, the girl remained mostly silent. She was not working for these people and she did not know them, so she was truthfully uncertain of what to say. She tried, instead, to remain focused on the duty at hand. The faster she could destroy these rogue agents, the more quickly she could return home to Subaru and her sister.
The strange whirring above, however, did briefly take her attention. What was that...?
Victoria quickly caught Youmu's little bashful gesture. For a seemingly serious and straight-laced person, she was sure to turn a little red easily. Well, it wasn't like she wasn't unfamiliar with people like her. Some of her students were like that too. They seemed to hide their soft insides with a tough exterior. She remembered how she loved teasing them, just to see their reaction. Just a little though. She wasn't a cruel teacher after all.
Speaking of her students, this ghost girl would just be the perfect age to be one of her students. She didn't really know how old she really was, but judging from her mannerism, she was still in the teenage years mentally. Even if her skills with those katana of hers were that beyond of an aged master.
Mmm, that contradiction just made her even cuter to her eyes.
"The village? Alright then, we'll go there!" she replied cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "No sense in thinking about it too hard! We're just started after all so we should take it easy!"
So she led the way, walking towards the direction that the soldier told them about.
"Stay close to me, Youmu-chan~" she said with a singalong voice. "Who knows what kind of creatures might be lurking around in this forest?"
Now even though she might look like she was walking forwards carelessly, she was monitoring her surroundings carefully. She could sense the presence and movement of the water around her. And in a forest, there would be lots of such things, thanks to the morning dews that hadn't evaporated yet.
Your trek through the woods was mostly uneventful. Only the small forest critters appeared before you and they mostly moved out of your way when you approached. Soon, you found a dirt road that helped guide your way towards the port and in half-an-hour or so, you arrived at your destination.
Like what the IDEC soldier said, the port was bustling with activity. People in different garbs were out doing whatever they were doing, merchants in their stands yelled about magical trinkets and carts and wagons of varying complexity moved through the streets. You would be forgiven to think that some grand event was nigh but perhaps this was normal in this port town. The business made your presence relatively unknown, only a few people spared you a glance or two.
Passing by an alley, you could see a man wrapped in bandages and rags putting some objects into a worn down box. It appeared that despite the activity and glory of the port, some were just too unfortunate to take part in it. When he lifted the box, the box gave way and his belongings spilled all over the stone ground. He then went back to collecting his stuff without a word.
However, the loud neighing of horses caught your attention and it appeared you have stood in the way of a carriage. Its door was thrown open and out came a woman in white clothes. "HEY! What the hell is wrong with the two of you?!" She angrily asked. "Are you blind that you cannot see that this a road? Well news flash, blind people need canes or assistants if they wanna roam around outside. Not that it'd be enjoyable for them, being blind and all."
"Or maybe you think just because your foreign and a noble means you can stand in the middle of the road." She approached the two of you, her anger unwavering. "Well let me remind the two of you dolts, you ain't special. You're just two specks of insignificant matter who, instead of minding their own business, decide to delay my trip to Zauberheim."
"I think I'll trust you to guide us in the right direction. Would you be able to help us blend in? And maybe arm us in a more suitable way?"
"Uhhh, that's not really part of my job so I'm not really sure how to help you with that." The soldier replied. "But we do have Agents in the field who do know those kind of stuff and knows the right set of clothing for this world. Let me contact them but in the meanwhile, you should start your search because they'll take time to get in the vicinity. Don't worry, they'll find you."
"And about your weapons, they're fine and I'm pretty sure they'll be needed to combat the threats we're going to face. Just... don't go overboard with them, okay? Having attention on you will make it harder for you to move around." The soldier added. "Also, it will be helpful for you to hide them as much as possible though you can also just say they're props. That works most of the time."
The two of you awoke and saw a steel ceiling with multiple white lights attached to it. Judging from its distance from you, you could tell that you might be in a huge room.
Rising up, you found yourselves in a humongous hall filled with all sorts of military vehicles from tanks to choppers to jets. However, they were all quite some distance away and you notice that you two were in the center of a large, empty area. "Oh thank goodness your larger bits didn't come with you." You hear a voice approaching.
You two spota person with a strange appearance and perhaps a stranger face walk up to you. "Well anyway, welcome to IDEC ladies. Now, I'm The Entertainer and I run this place." He introduced himself. "Oh by the way, IDEC means InterDimensional Enforcer Corps."
"Now I'm sure you have a lot of questions so lay it on me so we can get things cleared and going." He said. "You're already a bit late to the party so come on with the questions."
"Yes, our distance from the rest of the joint tactical network is of a void value..."
"Meaning wherever we are, it's not on Earth..."
Such conversation happened within the direct quantum communication link between the two Fog mental models and within an infinitesimally small amount of time...
"Well I'll let you do questioning then, If I did it, we'd probably antagonize them"
"Good suggestion..."
"Standard set of questions then Mr. Entertainer... Why, What, Who, and Where... That is... Why us? What for? by Who? and Where to?"
Youmu couldn't help blushing again somewhat at being referred to with '-chan'.
There was a great deal of hustle and bustle here. Many different kinds of people of all different manners of dress and profession, all of them walking about all around her. The half-phantom wasn't used to such surroundings, but it wasn't as if she had never been in a crowd before. She frowned a little when she saw the man struggling with something in the alleyway, however. At the same time, Youmu had to work as quickly as possible, so she simply hoped for his wellbeing and proceeded onward. At least, until the carriage stopped behind them and the passenger left to chastise them.
"... I am sorry," replied Youmu, bowing her head slightly, "But aren't you taking more time to stop and complain rather then letting us know and then continuing on your way?"
It seemed fairly straightforward to Youmu. That, and, well, she felt a little indignant at being insulted like that. This woman seemed like she just wanted to yell at someone. Youmu's phantom half drifted from her right side to her left, slowly.
