---

---

Night had already fallen over the city of St. Raleigh and a church were abandoned the night of the sermon. Except for one person who had taken a seat on one of the rows of wooden chairs in this rustic looking church that was constructed out of grey blocks. She was an abnormally tall African-American woman who had donned a leather jacket and blue jeans, finishing it off with her heavy steel-toe boots. She had a head full of dreadlocks and a face full of worry... what was her name? Nakala Phillips. She was growing a glowing yellow crystal in the air before she caught it, and repeated the process over and over again until she heard heavy footsteps approaching. That was the cue, and she knew that she had exactly what she came for. She caught the crystal just as her target walked into sight, a man covered in a black, thick, armor from head to toe and wielding a light machine gun, his eyes shining a bright red color as he marched in. He stood at the podium as Nakala hopped to her feet, holding the crystal behind her back.

She knew exactly what she was dealing with, and despite that, she was still nervous as hell. Nakala was taking a huge risk here because she knew about all the stories about this man. About all the lives he has ruined, and all the terror he has brought to the world. He was Abel... the most dangerous man in the world, and she was face to face with him.

"Nakala Phillips..." Abel spoke in a deep robotic monotone, as he faced her down, showing not even the slightest hint of emotion or humanity. "Why have you sought me out?" Though, monotone, he didn't immediately gun her down like his reputation as a boogeyman would have suggested.

Still holding the crystal behind her back, Nakala walked down the aisle towards Abel. "I wanted to ask you if you know of a girl named Olivia Clarke, she went missing a few months ago..." She trailed off, hoping that Abel didn't think she was going to suicide bomb him or something. "... And I got a gut feeling that REAPER is behind it."

"Hmph, she was on the list but..." Abel scoffed off the girl as he took a moment to go through his HUD's interface. "My REAPERS have no records of taking her."

"Why don't I believe you?" Nakala narrowed her eyes as her voice took a more hostile sound.

"Believe it or not, it is the truth."

"Well, that's a shame..." Nakala trailed off, as she began flipping the crystal in the air again. "... Because I wanted to bargain with ya' - her safe return and you get this crystal."

"I came for the crystal, child," Abel said, this time breaking his monotone for taking a more agitated tone. "Give me the crystal for wasting my time..."

"How's about this; give me back my friend you bastard and I won't kill you!" Nakala was getting angry as she clutched the crystal and felt it's power surging through her. Suddenly her fear of Abel was being overwritten as she thought about being able to take him.

"Either way," Abel said as he leveled his machine gun with her body, "I will leave with what I came for."

---

---

He immediately unloaded a barrage of bullets on Nakala one-handed, seemingly possessing the strength to take the recoil. He was expecting it to kill her immediately, but when the gun was overheating and he let go of the trigger... he realized she was still alive. The bullets had stopped upon contact with her skin and he noticed that her Delta energy was glowing in her body. It had enhanced her durability to the point where bullets didn't bother her. Which was troublesome, as the girl grinned. She flew at Abel at lightning speeds with her hands outstretched and rammed the brute directly into a wall, and she landed on her feet as she put the crystal in her pocket. Nakala cocked her fist back and delivered a punch towards Abel's midsection that sent him flying backward through the wall. She thought that she had him before he quickly came charging out and punched Nakala square in the face.

Even though she was enhanced by the Delta energy Abel still hit like a brick wall, and stunned her for a second. Another blow came her way and she put her hand up to stop it, she grabbed onto Abel with both hands and sent him spinning around in a circle before she let him go. The massive man went flying into the benches and destroyed at least five rows of them before he started to slow down, but he quickly got to his feet. Hands ready to anticipate the next ramming attack by Nakala, and just as anticipated she flew into him with her hands outstretched. Abel timed it and caught her by her hands, and the mere force of her body flying into his sent him skidding backward. After he came to a stop, however, he slammed his knee upwards and hit Nakala directly in the face as he threw her aside.

The terrorist came over and kicked Nakala across the room, destroying the benches that were left and making her hit the wall. He came running over towards her and she had already caught her bearings as she threw a wide arced punch towards the mad tyrant - he quickly deflected it with a quick hand and had punched her directly in the face that sent her flying backward. Abel quickly followed by grabbing her arm and wrapping it around her back and keeping it locked tight.

"This was a good spar, but I need that crystal..." Abel said as he reached for Nakala's pocket, however, she had other ideas. After recovering from that blow - damn he hits hard - she flew straight upwards through the ceiling fast enough that her plan to throw off the terrorist worked. In mid-air Nakala broke free and turned around, grabbing Abel by his midsection as she rammed him right back inside of the building. She crashed him through the room then directly into the ground so hard that she left a crater and an explosive boom. Nakala took a moment as she began breathing in heavily... she was bleeding a lot, but long as she draws breath she wasn't going to-

In a sudden movement, Abel had grabbed Nakala by the collar of her shirt and yanked her in for a brutal punch to the face. Then another, then another, then another, then another... All she could see was stars, all she could hear was ringing, and all she could taste was blood. He stood up, holding her up with him before he slammed her into the ground headfirst so hard that broke the floor and lifted her back up. He delivered another brutal blow directly to her face that sent her flying across the room. She hit the ground, dazed and confused, as she was bleeding heavily. Abel had knocked out a few of her teeth, and broken a lot of bones... if it wasn't for that regenerative factor of hers, she'd be down for the count.

"Nakala... what did you really expect?" Abel said as he walked back over to his gun and picked it up. He marched towards her as he continued to monologue, "To win? To kill me? I would have spared you if it wasn't for your arrogance..." He slammed a foot onto her stomach as he aimed his machine gun directly at her face. "... But, for what it's worth, I admire your drive, admire your strength..." Right when he was about to pull the trigger and kill Nakala, the unexpected happened.

A raptor ran into the fray and bit down on his machine gun, managing to knock his aim off. Abel ended up firing into the walls of the cathedral and he turned his head towards the raptor and if he wasn't wearing a helmet one could see the look of confusion on his face.

"... What." He said before he smacked the dinosaur with the butt of his machine gun. Breaking bones on contact and sending the dinosaur flying. "Filthy animal."

Throwing Abel off, just for that moment, was exactly what Nakala needed, she grabbed Abel by his leg with both hands. With what remaining strength the girl had left, she threw Abel's foot off of her chest and flew upwards, punching Abel right in the jaw. The brute was stumbling backward and Nakala cocked her fist back and delivered the hardest punch she could to Abel that sent him through a wall all with bloodied knuckles. The girl was panting as she held that pose for a moment, she... she had to go. This had gone horribly wrong, and she needed to get out of here.

She stumbled towards Impala, and picked her up, "C'mere girl..." She whispered to the dinosaur as she stumbled out the front door of the church, nearly falling down the stairs... and she could hear Abel's footsteps approaching. She kept stumbling with the wounded dinosaur in arms...

... and felt engulfed by blue light as she disappeared from her home universe.

---

---

It was yet another rainy day in the streets of this Murakumo Robotics controlled city, illuminated by the neon lights Oh-Two marched through these streets as she wore a heavy coat with a huge hood on that concealed herself. In a normal district of this city it would be quite conspicuous, but in this illicit area of the city where everyone was trying to hide their faces, she blended in just fine. She casually scrolled through the streets until she ended up at a vendor: An older Chinese man that just looked up at her. He had various electronics and other such tools, but Oh-Two had her eyes on a set of wires. She dropped some credits on his counter and pointed at the wires and he gave it to her without a word. She turned away before she disappeared into the crowds.

Finding a secluded place to do some repairs wasn't much of a challenge... she found herself in some dirty alleyway, sitting down as she examined her wrist. She had some exposed wiring that had become damaged - how wasn't the question, but she quickly underwent repairs using her other hand. First, a small laser beam cut the broken wires off, before she installed the new wiring, and used the blow tourch to meld it back on. Honestly, Oh-Two needed to find new parts in general, quality parts. When she's on the run from the authorities, such things are hard to come by...

Immediately her head darted down the alleyway as she noticed someone approaching,A Japanese woman that was obviously cybernetic, with mechanical arms and swords. Oh-Two's eyes began glowing a bright color as she scanned the woman's body....

MAKOTO KODA

BOUNTY HUNTER

FORMER SHELL PILOT, PREVIOUS ASSOCIATED WITH MURAKUMO.

ARMED WITH HIGH-FREQUENCY WEAPONRY.

The woman had on a hoodie as she walked up to the self-repairing android who couldn't help but hop up to her feet. "Sooooo, you're the scary robot everyone is up in arms about?" Makoto asked with a raised eyebrow, her thumb was on the hilt of her sword, idly flicking it forward a bit and exposing the blade.

Oh-Two nodded her head, "No, I am not."

"You sure fit the description." Makoto said with a grin.

"Please, we don't need to do this, I just want to live peacefully." Oh-Two pleaded, attempting to some part of the woman's humanity, but...

"Sorry to say this, but we do," Makoto said, "... Because I've come to kill you."

---

---

With a lightning-fast motion, the samurai had already unsheathed her blade and slashed it upwards towards the android - who was barely able to react by the virtue of her reflexes. Immediately a compartment opened in Oh-Two's shoulder that revealed a missile, that went flying straight for the samurai as she lunged backward. Makoto merely sliced the missile in half as she rushed forwards towards her target. She raised both blades in the air and slashed downwards, but Oh-Two had projected her own energy swords and parried the attack. The two had clashed blades as the far stronger cyborg almost brought Oh-Two to her knees - which was why she thrust away. Flying straight out of the alleyway and back into the busy streets.

"Oh no, you don't!" Makoto shouted as she leaped forward, and landed on top of a vendor's stand. She quickly leaped again towards Oh-Two and mid-air she had sliced off one of her butterfly wings and sent the machine careening towards the ground. She landed on top of another vendor's stand and sent the owner of it screaming. Makoto quickly ran towards her but she was immediately met with Oh-Two's concussive blasts, which she blocked with her swords. However, Oh-Two fired a beam right at Makoto's kneecap that brought the cyborg to her knees.

Seeing an opportunity, Oh-Two barraged her with an assault of beams that were blocked by the samurai's blades, but she made an approach. When she was close enough, she projected another blade and attempted and slash at the woman, but was again blocked. However, Oh-Two had planned for this and with her free hand, she launched away from the blade with such comical ease that it was sent flying across their little streetside battlefield. Taking away a major advantage from her opponent Oh-Two projected another blade and attempted to ram her, but the samurai was still capable of parrying two blades with one. The two quickly exchanged blows, starting a constant back and forth where one would attack and block the blows of the opposition. However, Oh-Two's shoulder opened up again and she fired a quick rocket at the woman that hit her in the chest, the explosion sent her stumbling backward.

Oh-Two rushed the woman and rammed her blades through her midsection, hoping to kill the woman. She screamed in pain... before she swiped her blade directly at Oh-Two's arm and cut it clean off. Oh-Two was surprised at the sight, but it didn't end up there, she was sent on the defensive by the woman and her barrage of slashes. Slashes that Oh-Two was only somewhat able to repel, and in many places, she was cut open or slashed by the experienced bounty hunter. She was sent stumbling back as error sign after error sign appeared and the woman had taken this opportunity to run and grab her other blade...

At this point, a hover ship had appeared and a team of armed SWAT team members repelled down, along with the few that arrived by car. They all surrounded Oh-Two in a moment's notice and had dozens of guns trained on her... while Makoto had sheathed both her swords and looked on very smugly with her arms crossed. "Plans worked like a charm." She smugly said.

"We have you surrounded! Surrender!"

Oh-Two desperately looked around as she tried to think of a way out, but realized that she had no way out. The android wondered how she could have done well so far only to fail spectacularly... but she noticed that she was being engulfed by a blue light, and had disappeared right as the Murakumo police had opened fire.

---

---

From across the universe, champions that were deemed worthy were being taken from their homeworld. Either in moments where they were about to be killed, captured, or simply whenever. Engulfed in a blue light, they were all disoriented by the experience... before the light faded and they ended up in a plain white room. Massive... and they looked around and saw other people being warped into the room with the light. The room was plain, except for the wires that were in the room that leads up to a podium of sorts. Stepping down from the podium was an android that was a glowing machine with pieces of white armor on top on it.

"Do not be alarmed, I mean you all no harm," The machine said with a near heavenly voice. "My name is Praxis, and I welcome you to the Initiative."

Still disoriented from being teleported across universes, Nakala grasped her head as she looked at the... robot? Its nothing like she ever seen before, and she has certainly seen some things. "... And what in the world is that?"

"Allow me to explain that there are more worlds out there than the universe you know, some of you are aware of that... some of you aren't," Praxis explained as tendrils came out of her back and carried her down to the floor. "Ages ago there was an event that threw the balance of the multiverse off and created portals and other such disruptions. The Initiative's goal is to find worthy champions and send them across the multiverse to correct these disruptions. You all have been chosen as the newest team... Team G7."

Praxis put her hands behind her back as she said, "Now, allow me to get across that you all will not be forced to participate in the Initiative, simply chose to and we will return you to your home dimension. But, if you want to participate, ask any and all questions now before we proceed."

---

---

"Aaand... done. Now, to wait for the reaction. If it happens, that is."

Elune was in her laboratory, testing a certain theory she had. Something involving the moon's core. She was actually located in her lunar research facility right now.

She was floating above a giant-sized beaker, holding her own normal beakers in her hands. As this was the Moon, she could easily jump upwards and hover downwards, thanks to the low gravity. She could set the facility to be in normal gravity, as it was embedded with gravity stones that would make everything heavier, but the experiment required a low gravity environment.

"Master, please be careful."

From below watching her was her personal assistant, a male homunculus by the name of Tiberius. He looked young, about 15 years old or so. His outfit was that of a butler, though he wore knee-length shorts instead of trousers. He had purple short hair, with the usual red eyes and long ears all homunculi had.

Elune landed in front of him with a smile.

"Oh, you're such a worrywart, Tiberius. Here. Store these at the usual place."

He took the beakers from her.

"I'm finished right now. Time to take a break!"

She did an upwards stretch, relaxing all the muscles of her body.

As Tiberius stored the lab equipments, Elune went to the dining room where there were a group of homonculi servants all ready to serve her. One pulled the chair, one helped her with the napkin, one served the dishes, and there was even one acting as a tableside cook.

Every day she lived lavishly like this. She could eat as much delicious food as she wanted without worrying about her figure, thanks to the food being created through alchemy, designed by her homunculus cooks to never make her fat no matter how much she ate.

Such a lavish life with many servants tend to be only for alchemists, as the cost of ordering a servant homunculus wasn't exactly cheap. Only the most skilled alchemists could create them. Thankfully, Elune was one of them.

As she drank her wine however, a blue light appeared out of nowhere and enveloped her. Before she could do anything, it activated, causing her chair to disappear, making her fall to the ground.

Her servants could only watch in surprise as their master disappeared right in front of their eyes.

---

---

"Ow!"

A new environment suddenly appeared in front of her. An environment she was entirely unfamiliar with.

"W-what...what just happened?"

She rose up and dusted her dress off. She looked around. In front of her was a strange-looking person-like being while all around her were even more people, looking as disoriented as she was.

"Do not be alarmed, I mean you all no harm," The strange being said with a near heavenly voice. "My name is Praxis, and I welcome you to the Initiative."

"What? Who?" she replied, still flabbergasted.

"Allow me to explain that there are more worlds out there than the universe you know, some of you are aware of that... some of you aren't," the being explained as tendrils came out of her (?) back and carried her down to the floor. It was enough to make her reach to her hairpin, readying herself for defense.

"Ages ago there was an event that threw the balance of the multiverse off and created portals and other such disruptions. The Initiative's goal is to find worthy champions and send them across the multiverse to correct these disruptions. You all have been chosen as the newest team... Team G7."

M-mutiple universes? B-but that's a yet to be proven hypothesis! So it was right all along!

It was all that she focused upon. The rest she was still too shocked to receive to her brain.

"Now, allow me to get across that you all will not be forced to participate in the Initiative, simply chose to and we will return you to your home dimension. But, if you want to participate, ask any and all questions now before we proceed."

"Q-question, please!" She raised her hand immediately. "Is this really a different universe? I-if it is, then may I go around to examine it?"

Council of Masters, we have detected a hereto unknown type of spacial manipulation emanating from Forward World Epsilon, localized to Exploratory Force 1's Barracks. A follow up has confirmed the loss of their Aerial Data Collection unit, to a bluish light. What is the council's decision? Though one spoke, the voice was yet many. A song of a thousand Scientist Troopers, singing out from a dozen worlds, echoing around the council chamber, where twelve androids sat, each one seated upon a throne, a thirteenth throne, seated further back, towered above all the rest, empty, but designed for something multiple stories high. The smaller thrones were enough for the three story tall Masters to rest comfortably. Though their forms were shrouded in shadow, their response was likewise a hum of voices, a song in response. "Trans-verse Research Teams One through Twelve. We have consulted, and have decreed that contact be reestablished with the lost unit, they will be frightened at being separated from the Whole. From the Goddess's Own. This may be a sign of the Mother, a call for us to make a holy journey to her, seeking answers. We will relay this information to the other branches, and to the Mother World. Continue studying the occurrence, but do not proceed too far should the projected risks outweigh our objectives. The loss of one unit is ultimately acceptable. So says the Council of Masters."

So as the Council of Masters hath decreed, so shall it be. We will continue our investigations into the occurrence, and attempt to determine its point of origin. May the Goddess of the Universe smile upon our work, and grant us her blessings. The song ended, and the chamber fell into silence, the council sitting upon their thrones, silent, conversing amid each other through imagery and text in data transmission. A sudden shadow was cast across the space, as a massive unit materialized into existence, seated atop the highest throne, their form even darker, each council member's attention drawn naturally. The Grandmaster had made her presence known, the immense machine gazing across the chamber, before her voice boomed, echoing throughout the space. "Council of Masters, the High Council is most pleased with this news. We expect regular updates in turn. Have a fleet on standby should the need arise. We are joyous, let this be a journey to new lands and worlds, to seek the face of our Goddess. To honor her tenets, and earn her favor. Rejoice, Children of the Rock, for she shall watch over us, and grant us passage into the promised after realm, to sit at her hall, to be recorded in the Chamber of Warriors. So says the High Council."

Each Master lowered their head, accepting the words of faith from on high, soon each one's voice swelled, in praises and cries, before finally, they ceased. The Grandmaster lifted a single hand, and then vanished into a flash of blue light, dematerializing, returning to their own chambers. One by one, each Master vanished as well, warping away to their assigned worlds. In the heart of the Headworld, the Grandmaster reformed, gazing down upon the control station, the power arrays traversing energy across the entire artificial world, located in the middle of their holdings. The light was beautiful, the statue of their Goddess that was the containment for the power station radiating the energy outward. But her face was hidden, out of respect for their missing deity. The Grandmaster stared ahead, and now alone, where none but her own voice could be heard, sighed softly. "Mother, you forsook us, abandoning us, why so? For five thousand years we have honored your tenets, but still you are silent. Still the Motherworld lies silent. Why? Please, hear my prayer...come home to us, your children, who you formed from the sweat and blood of your own efforts. And made in your image. Please, guide us, as you did so long ago. Unify us again." Her voice echoed in the space, but would go no further, containing the call of a machine who had lived for so many centuries, but had not had a single prayer answered. Sinking back into the throne she sat upon, the Grandmaster let out a soft sigh...And they wondered if the infant was alright.



Being a fresh factory model meant a lot of things. It meant having a barely prepared personality template. It meant skipping infanthood in the normal sense. She was not a Baby Trooper, born of the Nurseries, not raised to choose their own type. Her model had been decided for her before she was even produced. And now, it seemed her choice had been torn from her, as the young, nameless Aerial Trooper found herself flat on her back(assuming she wasn't placed upright in the process of arrival), having been asleep in her assigned quarters. It wouldn't be another week until she was to depart on the trans-verse project. But now, laying motionless, she realized something. She couldn't hear anyone. Tears, or the Rock Android version of them, welled up in her eyes, in fear. She couldn't hear her siblings, her people. No call to meals, no orders to perform maneuvers, not even the babbling of Baby Troopers as they were led around on tours. It scared her, which, the rest of the people would see as the black suited android sat up, hugging her knees to her chest, clearly on the verge of breaking down. It wasn't until she was addressed, or rather that the group was, that she paused, looking up towards the source of the voice. All other life was ignored, as she stared at the...angelic seeming being. Was this a Grandmaster model she'd never seen? Was this of the Mother World? Was this the Goddess incarnate, having decided to return now? But no...as she listened, fresh tears welled up again, as she realized that no, this wasn't the Divine Queen, the Divine Goddess. This was another world's...goddess, perhaps? Yes, that would make sense. Or at least, a machine specialized for bringing people together. She collected herself, and the nameless Rock Android slowly, weakly, raised a hand, her voice choked up with slight fear.

"E-Excuse me, but you said something disrupted existence? How l-long ago was this?" Could that event be why their Goddess had vanished? Was that why the Goddess had left them? Had she been taken from them? Questions shot through her mind. "Why can't I hear my people? Does this place...block out their minds? Please...its too quiet in my head..." Fear darted through the infant machine, as she stayed seated on the floor, clearly still nervous, frightened. A machine whose voice she couldn't hear, was speaking to her. There were possibly other lifeforms around. If only the Scientist and Engineer Troopers assigned to the project had finished upgrading her, she still lacked the defensive matrix they had been planning, the built in FtL drive for emergencies, even the more advanced scanning device. Still, she'd have to make do. But it was still scary. To have spent your entire life, all eighteenth months of it, with a countless array of voices in her head, from across the Diplomatic Branch, only to now be empty of any voices but her own? It was understandable why she was frightened. Unless there was just a lag in hooking up...they probably didn't have a relay node in this universe yet...Poor thing, she was shaking like a leaf, like a little kid, whose parents had just up and vanished, or worse, died in front of her.

---

^{@Hammerman@DocRock}

---

Two members of the newly formed group had questions, the alchemist girl and one of the androids. Praxis was set on answering all questions that the team set out, so she did it one at a time. Keeping her attention on the alchemist, she figured that she should clear up any doubts here and now.

"You may examine this universe should you accept the offer," Praxis started off. "The world you're in is known as the Initiative Headquarters, or Praxis, it's a station that floats in an empty space that acts as both a refuge for universes the Initiative couldn't save and act as a base for all Initiative Members. You won't find much interesting in this universe other than that because this universe has been rendered empty due to a war."

She nodded her head before she turned her head to the "Aerial Trooper" who seemed to be very distraught by being suddenly taken from her home universe. This happens a lot, with people having various reactions to being removed from their homeworld. The mechanical girl was asking about when the cataclysmic event took place, and Praxis had no solid answer.

"Every universe travels at a different speed, and the event took place outside of all time and space itself, for your universe it took place thousands of years ago." Praxis bluntly stated, before answering AT's other question. "You are in another universe, it's not so much that they're being blocked out as much as your connection to them has been temporarily severed, but..." Praxis walked over to AT, and gently placed her hands on the robot's head.

"... Ease yourself. You are safe, your people are safe."

---

---

Minutes ago, the field was lush and green, almost a tribute to nature's.

Now it was host to more blades of steel than blades of grass.

Ajen lay on the dead earth, his shoulder penetrated by such a spear, binding him to the ground. Overshadowing him was a glowing beacon of a man, surrounded by a divine mandala of solar light that overshadowed the one Ajen tried to create in just presence alone.

"The battle is over" Ketz said coldly, "It was over the second you challenged me again, and it was over the second you challenged me the first time. It's not even a yearly occasion that I extend mercy to a challenger twice. My part in this fight is now beyond your ken. Your battle is with the reaper, now, boy."

He began to turn around, his form transitioning from divine power to mortal fleh, giving reprieve of blinding light to the challenger. But Ajen would have none of that.

"I'll atleast extend notice to the village. If you don't move you may have enough energy to sur--" Ketz felt something hit the back of his neck. Something wet, yet warm. Spit.

He turned around. Despite being impaled through the shoulder with a spear, stabbed six times in his abdomen, as well as whatever other countless bruises and scrapes Ketz inflicted on him, Ajen only had a shit eating grin, which quickly turned into a scowl. Wielding his spear with one hand, it's tip glew, until it fired a single projectile at Ketz, whiffing him entirely.

Honestly, Ketz thought, the only thing remotely challenging about that whelp was his own arrogance.

"You just wasted what could have been the last of your Aether, boy. How about for once in your life you don't embarass--"

Ajen spat again, this time hitting Ketz right in the cheek. The Solar Avatar closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He pointed a single finger out towards his dying opponent. In the distance, the sun seemed to "hiccup" for a brief moment, before a ray of pure solar energy shot from it, and flew straight down to Ajen's position, obliterating his entire being, his entire physical form being burned to nothingness.

When the attack ended, all that was present of the challenger was nothing but horridly charred earth. Good, now that the insufferable knave was gone. For good.

---

---

Ajen found himself surrounded by blinding light. Not golden, exalted light of the sun, but white and sterile. His vision was too clouded blurred as he lay on the ground. But then, he felt a healing sensation come over him. His wounds were sealed shut, cuts and bruises healed, even his mind was liberated of the shock and disorientation.

By the time he was able to put his feet under his ass, he found himself surrounded by several other men and women, in a massive plain white room. At the front of the crowd stood an incredibly pale woman, who continued speaking whatever speech she was on while Ajen had his brain still tossed around.

"ask any and all questions now before we proceed." Was the only part he made sense of.

"Yeah! I do!" Ajen loudly proclaimed, raising his hand before she even finished her sentence, "Could you explain all that again really quick?"

---

---

The phone rung a full round. Then a second one, and then half of a third one before Alena gave in and answered.

"Yeah? Who is this?" She asked, still half asleep, slapping around her nightstand for her glasses.

"Alena, it's Jeffrey. Have you gotten your hands on the Isca Daila yet?" The phone buzzed.

"Yeah, just last month." The shaman replied to her former mentor. She clenched the phone on her neck as she walked to the nearby dresser, pulling open the bottom drawer-- All the way out, setting it on the ground. She then reached into the hollow space, pulling out a purple tome.

"You're sure it's the real deal? Not a reprint?" Jeffrey asked her.

"Yep, the original." Alena remarked, blowing a cloud of dust from the inside. The pages inside were filled with incomprehensible sigils and ritual circles.

"Alright, that's good. Would you mind if I borrowed it for a few days?"

"Sure," Alena shrugged her free shoulder, "If you can actually read it. I've tried translating it for like a week and I haven't figured out a word."

"That's no problem. We just need the book itself. We'll come pick it up in the morning."

"What's so important about it?" Alena asked, curious.

"It's complicated... You see--"

Just then, Alena disappeared from her empty bedroom in a blue burst of light.

"Alena? Hello?" Jeffrey continued, after the phone hit the ground.

---

---

Bright light blinded Alena, prompting her to raise a hand and cover her face. Her eyes soon adjusted, and found herself in a large, white room, standing in a crowd next to a wide gallery of strange characters-- Humans of all races and sizes, Some... Inhuman entities? Some sort of advanced Spirits, probably? Then a pale, almost robotic woman stood at a podium, filling them in on what sounded like a cry for a slap on the back of the head. Multiverse was out of balance, and now they were plucked out to become some super-crime-stopping squad? Eh.

On one hand, the lady, Praxis, the machine introduced herself, made it clear that she wasn't being conscripted, and would be allowed to be sent back home. On the other, assuming this wasn't just a crazy dream, it was a prime opportunity to understand countless other worlds beyond her own. Wonder how much buck that would be worth once she went back home. Either way, Jeffrey knew she had a spare key under the front mat.

---

---

"I see... I see... Unfortunate that this world had been ravaged by conflict. This kind of thing is why only those with knowledge and wisdom should seat on the throne of power," Elune replied as she put on her thinking pose, one arm supporting the other as she played with her chin. "This is all so hard to believe but with further examination, I'm sure I can prove the truth of it all without a doubt. Ooh, wait until the others hear about this!"

Then she realized something.

"Hey, are we supposed to keep this place a secret? Or even the existence of a multiverse in the first place?" she asked again. "I warn you though. No matter if I accept or not, I would still deliver this knowledge to my world. You have to erase my memories first before sending me back."

She then looked at the frightened, mechanical-looking thing near her. She was far more panicky than her, it seemed. She had no idea what she was speaking about but at the very least, their host was comforting her.

Her eyes glistened, a strange sense of relief flooding her systems, as she listened. The realization that she wasn't truly alone...merely disconnected, was a relief. "Then...they'll locate my signature, and try to reconnect, the Council is probably ordering a search right now!" Naivety was a strange concept for one to see in an android, but given that every last Rockroid were in fact, living beings with souls of their own, it was understandable that they seemed natural. Especially given the models that underwent a normal developmental cycle, rather than say, the factory produced models. Some might be completely unnerved by how humanlike the android was, to the point that it was very hard, nearly impossible, to tell the difference, but that was life.

The action by the strange being to place both hands on the effectively newborn Rockroid would have, under previous circumstances, made her flip out, possibly even fall back. But now, having been comforted previously, her response was simply to move her head into the hands, like a cat almost. Her lips curled up faintly in vague comfort, clearly already feeling better. Then she remembered what the other had said about...thousands of years go. "So uh...that means...this event is why our creator vanished? Only a few models in my branch have been alive since then, so I don't well...know much about that time." That was all she said, before falling silent again, her smile growing a tad stronger. As if just a simple pair of hands was enough to offer her comfort.

Kosnitch looked over the reports once again. A few Zoolith exiles had caused an incident, and were currently in custody in a foreign section of Praxis. They were currently still processing them, gathering evidence and dealing with paper work. After that, he'd go to collect them. He'd give the local authorities an apology and condemn the prosecuted. They were probably destined to be sent back into coalition space. There, they'd have their hosts repossessed and sell the perpetrators off into slavery where Praxians weren't looking. The Korth might put them on trial if they caught wind of it. They wouldn't follow through with the verdict when sent back to the Zoolith states; but they could if they really wanted. And that was why they put on the show. Kosnitch mentally shuddered. He only had to ferry players to the games now. He sympathised with the exiles, and felt a twitch of sorrow whenever they were caught. But he always remained watchful. Half the time, they were just an adventurous wretch thinking they'd found easy pickings.

Kosnitch set the papers down and leaned back in his swivel chair. He'd have to deal with the exile next shift. He span himself round once before standing up, facing his desk. It was made from a thing called 'plastic.' The screen for the computer in front of him was bordered by the same material. During the early days, it had been decided that number-brains and husk furniture weren't the most appealing to the ambassadors that visited. Even the section devoted to flaunting the Coalition and all its achievements for civilian view had been made more 'welcoming.' So they decided to buy everything from foreign contractors. By the time he came to work at the embassy, it meant they could get some practical experience handling the things. Reports of confused Coalition members fumbling with door controls and the like had reduced significantly ever since they started. He'd learnt this when reading up on the embassies records. Kosnitch would do it on slow days for something to do.

Pulling open a drawer, he took out a packaged food stuff called a 'sandwich.' It was a primitive meal, but the Coalition considered food to be a low priority item to bring through the portal. They had to make do with local businesses. If Kosnitch recalled correctly, he believed that at least one had made or were working on a product line targeting Coalition members. No had managed to secure a contract for the imported stuff the members not fully qualified to leave the building ate, but some places stocked it. Zoolith were big eaters who typically didn't care about taste, so the nutrient slurries they'd peddle were a cheap source of profit; as long as they managed to regularly snag some of the Zoolith stalking around the embassy. Breaking the seal, Kosnitch extracted the 'sandwich.' Pointing his head upwards, his face plate lifted up to a 90 degree angle, revealing the inner parts of his mouth. Dropping the food stuff in, his face plate snapped shut as his neck muscles rhythmically contracted, grinding the food down.

He exited his cubicle and headed towards the lobby entrance area. He was leaving work early. Or to be more accurate, he was leaving on time, rather than late. Fear of the management meant most did over time. He passed by his usual string of associates who were still working on his way out. He loosely knew a few of them, and had enough knowledge to know that some of them had been replaced. One in particular caught his interest; their host had an array of spindly arms, and they were working on two computers. Kosnitch would have to remember to look up their specifications. They looked they'd been set to scribe duty. The Coalition were still undergoing tests using the alien materials that went into things called 'cybernetics.' Nothing had yet been conceived that would allow a Zoolith to connect to a computer. So for now, they had to settle for using the inefficient controllers named 'keyboards' and 'mouses.'

Kosnitch entered a corridor that branched off into multiple stock closets, and ended in a stairwell that lead to the other floors. He slipped into the room where the dress robes were kept. They were loose things, made that way so they wouldn't have to tailor them to individual biped hosts. The Coalitions symbol, a Z written in Zoolithian and a K in Korthan, had been imprinted onto the front, covering the chest section. He put on a dull black one that had a hood. Some still found his lack of typical facial features disturbing. He also slipped on some light grey hard-socks. Regular foot wear never fitted properly. They instead had a Korth invention - socks made from tightly bound fibres suitable for keeping off any muck that might be gathered from day to day walking. It was fortunate he had control over his hosts sense of pain. The chaffing would be unbearable otherwise. He proceeded down to the ground floor, and into the plain white lobby area. The dull grey, pipe-framed chairs were empty today. The desk clerk kept their eyes fixed on their computer screen as Kosnitch walked by and pushed through the double doors out onto the street.

The sun was lazily making its way down the sky. Or at least, a simulation of a sun. They didn't have any information on how they made everything suitable for habitation by the various peoples on Praxis. Not to say it stopped the Coalition trying to find out. He past the Coalition unity statue as he went to walk down the steps leading to concrete the city streets. The statue was of a Korth standing opposite a kind of pedestal with a naked Zoolith a top it. It was a ball covered in craggy chitin plating. A small opening was near the bottom of it, facing the Korth; a multitude of tentacles were sprouting from it. The Korth side was made from some form of gene-wood, and the Zoolith lasting-bone. Kosnitch idly kicked a piece of litter as he stepped down onto the street. He couldn't decide whether he should go out of his way to buy groceries now, or to just head back to his apartment.

A sudden bluish-light sundered Kosnitch's thought. By the time it had enveloped his form, surprise had begun to register.

Observing the strange event, the passerby on the other side of the street blinked a few times.

'Never seen one of them do that before...' she murmured.



There was a beat as Kosnitch's mind began processing the new sensory information. He was in a plain white room. There were others in here. No discernable cover in sight. Wires leading up to higher ground. He was at a disadvantage.

Kosnitch had appeared in the room as he had in the street; standing straight, arms by his side, face pointed slightly downwards. Within a second, he was on all fours, with as low a profile as possible, and his face plate had lifted up to allow for acid firing. He turned to face the other occupants in the room, head snapping to each one of them in turn. Seven bipeds, humanoid. Flesh, clothed. Flesh, clothed. Armed (synth?) flesh? Armed synth flesh? Alien synth shelled, tendrils = potentially armed. Flesh, clothed. Flesh, clothed, spear? = uncertainty = higher risk. One biped, reptilian. Teeth, claws.

Combat instincts fired off in the number-brain of Kosnitch's host. It took a moment longer for Kosnitch himself to process everything that was going on. He had somehow been taken to a big white room with bipeds in it. The shiny tendril sprouting one was speaking. Multi-verse disrupted. Gathered to correct them. A reason for surroundings

He blocked out the wailing danger signals from his host. He was surrounded by foreign bipeds. The room he was in had no discernable exits. He was out in the open. He was in an unfavourable position to engage, and what it would achieve was highly uncertain.

After the initial shock had began to quieten down, a very familiar line could be heard in his head. He has a job. He must do it.

In a smooth motion, he stood upright nearly as quickly as he'd dropped to the floor. He went for the typical routine for starting negations. He brought his hands to hold one another, and let them hang in front of them. It was a thing most humanoid bipeds considered polite. And they seemed to make up the majority of peoples he had to deal with. Even everyone here was a humanoid biped, except the reptilian. He found it rather droll.
He approached the assembled group - the two flesh clothed, one with exposed leg and face skin, and the other with just an exposed face, occupying space near the alien shelled one. Praxis was what it had called itself. How queer, Kosnitch thought. When his presence was acknowledged, if at all, provide a shallow bow and say the following;

'I' am Kosnitch Yovun, representative of the Zoolith-Korth Coalition. You have supposedly brought us here to form some form of team to solve things, yes? This is based on Praxis, yes? Then who am I discussing and functioing with?'

---

---

Nale ran.

It was something he had gotten used to over the years. One day he was running towards danger and the next running away from danger. This time it was the latter. And not only that, but he had two children with him. The older one, the girl, could run by herself, but the younger one, the boy, was too exchausted, so Nale had to carry him.

They didn't run in a straight line. From time to time Nale took the two children behind a stone or a tree so they could rest and hide from their pursuer. It was hard to navigate through the woods, especially on this night when the thick clouds covered all the stars. But a Hero never leaves unprepared. Nale took out of his pocket a small stone and kept it on an open palm. The stone began moving away from Nale's hand.

Homing Stones were interesting artifacts. They were a pair of stones linked to each other through magic. When the stones were separated from each other, they would start moving towards each other. By leaving one stone at home, preferably somewhere safe, and taking the other with you, you would find your way home by going to the same direction the stone rolls.

Nale, deciding it was safe to move again, put the stone back into the pocket and ran with the two children. Finally they reached the village. On every door there was a horseshoe with ends pointing upwards, and above it four triangles forming a square, the holy symbol of the Sacred Order. Nale and the children ran to the third house to the left and knocked the door three times. Before the door opened, Nale turned to the girl.

"When you get inside, don't say a word. Just stay quiet until it's morning. Here..." He gave the girl his stone, "Take good care of it. I will return to take it back."

The girl nodded nervously. Then the door opened and a woman, the mother of the siblings, took them in. Nale stayed outside as the door was locked. Then he heard a sound. He didn't know what that sound exactly was, but he knew who was the owner of it.

"You are too late, Erlkönig" Nale said, turning around, "The children are safe now."

In front of him stood a somewhat humanlike being, tall as a tree and just as thin. It war covered in black armor except for the head, which had no face, only hair that reached further than its body and moved about like branches of a tree in storm.

Erlkönig, King of the Bugbears.

"You can't hide from me, Fate-Seeker," The fey said in a voice too low for any human to make, "Or rather, you won't."

Erlkönig was right. Despite all of his terror, Nale had stayed on the door, instead of taking to a new hiding place, just so he could face the boogeyman for the honor and glory of doing him in. But Nale had learned long ago of his fatal flaw, and prepared for battle. On one hand he took his iron dagger, and on the other he held the Book of Structures, Sacred Order's holy scripture.

"Let us see, if you are stronger than the Weaver." The Hero said, approaching Erlkönig. The fey unleashed some of his hair strands, but their movements were erratic and Nale cut them off with his dagger. But the King of the Bugbears wasn't easily cowed. He released the rest of his hair to Nale.

"Everyone has a place, and everyone is needed." Nale spoke the holy words.

"Everyone has a place, and everyone is needed.
Everyone has a place, and everyone is needed!
EVERYONE HAS A PLACE-"

---

---

"AND EVERYONE... is... needed?"

Nale looked around the room in confusion. Around him was a hogde-podge of people, though some looked more like homunculi, including this... Praxis. Realizing that he was still holding his dagger, he put it back.

"Sorry about that" He chuckled "I was in the middle of the battle when I came here. And the villagers probably think Erkönig took me with him. Long story, I'll explain later."

Nale then turned to Praxis.

"One very important question I think we all need to know the answer to is, how different are magic and achemy in each universe? Let's just say that I might not be able to use my skills in a world without Heroes. Then again, maybe I can think more clearly elsewhere."

---

^{@Hammerman@DocRock@wxps350@Chiro@Bones Johnson}

---

It wasn't long before everyone began to speak up, as more and more of them were being teleported into the room. Some questions could easily be answered by Praxis, some... was going to take a lot more explaining. "After I am done, I will explain everything to you at a slower rate." The young hero from the Asnoga universe's question was, unfortunately, the only one ignored as the machine had very little time and too much to do. She hopes that he understands.

"Hey, are we supposed to keep this place a secret? Or even the existence of a multiverse in the first place?" she asked again. "I warn you though. No matter if I accept or not, I would still deliver this knowledge to my world. You have to erase my memories first before sending me back."

The angelic machine looked at the young alchemist for a moment, as she was scanned. The girl, Elune, was a genius alchemist in her own universe and managed to create a portal at such a ludicrously young age! However, such a question irked the android, but she answered in a surprising manner.

"You may bring knowledge of the All-verse back to your home universe, as knowing that there are other worlds out there is useless," The android simply answered as she moved over to Elune. "However, you may not bring any technology from other worlds, otherworldly knowledge that would disrupt the balance of your world, or create, or condone the creation of, anything capable of crossing worlds. If any of you are caught breaking these rules, your memory will be erased."

The machine blankly answered as she turned to android, who still looked quite on edge, despite her attempts to ease. She still believed that the inhabitants of her universe could even reach her all the way from a completely different universe. Praxis wanted to tell her the hard way that they will never find her, nor will she likely ever see them again. Worst of all, she asked an awfully specific question that Praxis couldn't answer.

"So uh...that means...this event is why our creator vanished? Only a few models in my branch have been alive since then, so I don't well...know much about that time."

The android shook her head as she decided to simply be honest, it was the best thing to do in the long run. "It's possible, but there's nothing concrete in my databanks," Praxis started off, "Your 'Goddess' could have been sucked into the All-Verse, but it's still possibly that she still exists somewhere in your home universe." She shook her head, waiting for a response.

"Worst of all, there are thousands of disruptions in the All-Verse going on as we speak, and we have a limited amount of agents available to correct them all. With more popping up around the time we correct those. So it's impossible to tell at the moment."

Next to speak was a member of the Zoololith-Korth Coalition... They were quite troublesome in her eyes, and in her opinion, she should have never let it reach this point. This point is that they have citizens and embassies on a refuge for those who have lost their home universes. However, she saw usage in them, much usage. One, in particular, would be great for her team. He asked a question that she had the perfect answer for.

'I' am Kosnitch Yovun, representative of the Zoolith-Korth Coalition. You have supposedly brought us here to form some form of team to solve things, yes? This is based on Praxis, yes? Then who am I discussing and functioing with?'

"Praxis." Was the machine's first and most vague answer. "I am Praxis, the AI inhabiting all you see here and I am the Initiative. I have been since it's creation." She said it loud and clear for everyone to understand, and would gladly say it again.

"One very important question I think we all need to know the answer to is, how different are magic and alchemy in each universe? Let's just say that I might not be able to use my skills in a world without Heroes. Then again, maybe I can think more clearly elsewhere."

"The rules for each universe are different," Praxis started off, "However, when you are in another universe, you are fed the power from your home universe, thus none of you have to ever worry about being powerless." She nodded her head before she returned to the center of the room.

"Before we continue, I have to know of your participation," Praxis said, "The All-Verse is in a constant state of peril, and the Initiative is on sort supply of agents. If you help me, you will be ensuring that your people, and your universes as a whole, are protected from the threats and imbalances that are out there. If you choose not to, you will be returned to your home universe and will be free to reconsider at any point, but even with your strength I cannot guarantee your safety."

Praxis shook her head.

"So who's with me?"

It was a mildly tense moment for them... as nobody was sure who would put their hand up first.

Nale looked at the silent room, when everyone was waiting who would put their hand up first. But Nale knew his answer before Praxis had finished speaking. He stepped forward and took his hat off, pressing it against his chest.

"I've been a Hero since I was a boy. Although I have gone through dozens, maybe hundreds of quests over the years, I've never discovered my true destiny. But Everyone has a place, and Everyone is needed. And it seems my place is here, and the multiverse needs me."

Nale lifted his free hand.

"I, Nale the Fate-Seeker of Malana, accept this quest."

"Keheheheh... This is some mighty fine bullshit we got going on here aint it?" Ziton was here. He had previously been in the middle of a skirmish between freed prisoners and guards attempting to return them to their cells. Within the deepest depths of the hellish cells he had awakened something that was forbidden. Just while it was getting good he was brought here. Though disorienting he still felt the aura of his home world funneling through him. It was almost as if it were linked to him like an umbilical cord. He listened and listened well. Finding this all to oddly make sense, for the most part. But something was off. It was flattering to think that he would be deemed worthy in some way to defend the 'multiverse'. But it was not his duty to do so. He felt his cause was else where. But.. He began to think. This is what the Magoi dream of. The ability to enter alternate dimensions. His large white grin was visible beneath his low curling hair and the shadow cast by his hat within the well lit white room they were in.

Behind Ziton was a green horn poking out. Observing the group and most importantly the strange mechanized being that spoke to them. It was jarring to say the least. Yet everyone inside were acting calm, despite the serious nature of what they discussed. It wracked the boy with anxiety, yet he was relieved. Being outside of the battle field after just being in one, one with savage murderers at his back, was far worse than being here. Though he was saddened by the prospect of being thrown into another. He cursed his own weakness silently and attempted to steel himself. Something about this place was very much like a dream and hopefully would lead to something better than the hellscape Ziton often lead him into. He just wants to find his parents.. yet he knows that, as a wanted runaway slave, only Ziton could get him strong enough to find them. Or avenge them.

This pit stop took both Ziton and Baqar by surprise. However. Being from a very strange world and having undergone a few adventures together in that world has let them take this all in. Instead they remained mostly the same. Though riddled with questions and a glint in their eyes of the infinite possibilities. "I Ziton and this boy with me Baqar." He moved his tattered edged coat and revealed Baqar, who blushed at first but then tried to look determined. "We accept this roll of yours." He placed a right hand on his chest. Ooo..This will be fun...

---

---

"Hmm, sounds acceptable enough," Elune replied, "An exchange of knowledge between universes could be really useful but at the same time it could risk throwing the world into chaos. Returning home, there's no doubt us council members would have to think really carefully on the knowledge of other universes actually existing. Nevertheless, I'm sure this would hasten our development on our own trans-dimensional travel system."

"Protection of our universe from others though, I would have to discuss that with the others as well. I would have to tell them about this organization of yours at the very least."

"If you can agree with all that, then I would be glad to join," she said with a smile.

She didn't say anything further in response to what had been said about their deity, the young android blinking a few times. Sure, take a hive mind and separate a single member from it can cause issues, but she seemed to be recovering. Or at least, adapting to no longer being part of a central collective that spanned star systems. Though if they did cross paths with one of the branches, things could get dicey. She kept processing, before finally, after all the others so far had agreed, that she raised a hand, slowly. "Count me in, I'm not the most advanced of my people, but I can assist. Sort of. You said something about being fed power from our universe...What would that mean for those of us who don't rely on external power?" She was just trying to make sense of things, that was all.

Part of her almost wished she'd been made a Rune Model, just for the sake of better combativeness. Or that there were other Rockroids with her. Having them would be nice. If only because they'd work well in tandem. Oh well, it was just her, no big sisters or brothers to fight with her, no Rock Soldiers or Berserker Soldiers to protect her. Only time would tell if this would change, if at all. She was ready to fight as best able, either way.

Eodyth breathed deeply, slowly, gripping her two weapons firmly, but not forcefully. Through the circular opening ahead of her, she could see flashing white lights like gunfire in front of the night sky, and a huge structure which was barely visible, a silhouette, black on black. An immense sound was audible, too: screams and roars. Those screams and roars were not born out of aggression, but excitement. Thousands and thousands of them, above her and to sides and straight ahead, as well. She steeled herself for a moment longer, before walking powerfully up the slight incline of the darkened tunnel, into the great space outside.

She was in a circular arena. The flashing lights were cameras, they were fireworks, they were screens, and they were the bolts of lightning just a few dozen meters above the top of the circular stands, which themselves were colossal. Above, just outside the dome of calm, blue energy where the border of Order was visible, there was Chaos. Lightning, fire, and energy. All the elements reacting in myriad and unpredictable ways.

It was impossible to see anything clearly. The lights were too bright, but each was gone a moment later, so Eodyth's eyes could never adjust. Instead, everything was too dark except for the handful of instants when it was too bright. It was disorienting.

The crowd saw her entering, and slowly, they grew quiet in anticipation. This was not her first battle, though she wondered if it would be her last. Once, she had been a great hero, someone who fought in order to protect her homeland, her people, and her honour. Her homeland was now a ruin, her people were now scattered, and her honour was now in question. Now, she fought for things as common and worthless as money. But there was little fighting to be done. Were she not to fight for money, she would not have the opportunity to fight at all. And fighting was all she knew.

One thing was for sure: she needed a cause.

Perhaps Eodyth would give up arena fighting, perhaps not. At the end of the day, she was in that arena right now, and she would soon have to defend herself. Her opponent was now visible - a man, in that strange mix of traditional garb and modern gadgetry typical of a Hisogawan street samurai. Of course, no street samurai would ever stoop so low as to fight in an arena, not when their bosses had work for them - clearly, he had either defected and managed to escape punishment, or had never been a street samurai in the first place, instead simply expropriating their famous appearance and fighting style. It didn't really matter which this one was - either had the capacity to be dangerous.

In a flash, he was on her, cybernetically-enhanced arms driving his two-handed sword with impressive power - for a human. Eodyth deflected his rising attack with Neskin, knocking it off course enough that the downwards strike that would have followed was out of reach, and so instead he twirled the blade around into a guard position and prepared to defend against an attack from Eodyth.

Though the samurai was not as strong as Eodyth, the difference was small. He was also faster; she'd been right to take him seriously.

He was still waiting for Eodyth's attack. She was happy to oblige. She swung Irasjon around in a wide arc, hoping to bludgeon him with the handle of the weapon close to its tip. He swayed back easily, wasting no energy blocking an attack he didn't need to. However, he did not account for the fact that Eodyth did not have to dedicate herself fully to the swing, as most would with that kind of attack. Her strength let her stop the spear mid-swing regardless of its momentum. She caught him off-guard in that moment and thrust with the spear, stepping in to increase her power. The short movement of the attack denied it significant speed and therefore power, so it could not pierce his armour, but the force knocked him off his feet and onto his back.

Eodyth then rushed in to finish the samurai with a blow to the head from Neskin, but - astonishingly - he discarded his own blade and caught Eodyth's as it swung down towards him. He twisted, and before Eodyth knew what was happening, her knees had been taken out from under her, her weapons were five feet away, and she was lying on her stomach with punches raining down on the back of her head. Karate gimmicks. Perhaps the most frustrating thing in the history of human combat, but you can't argue with results.

It was at this moment the samurai remembered he was fighting a god, and what that entailed. Firstly, his punches weren't affecting Eodyth all that much. Secondly, he wouldn't be able to keep her pinned for long. She got her arms under her and started pushing, literally performing a push-up with him on her back. After a moment he was off, and Eodyth rapidly got to her feet, retrieving her weapons, and then her crown, which had rolled off during the grapple. His sword had also fallen this way, so she had intended to throw it back to him, so she could kill him fairly, when she turned to see him drawing a sawn-off shotgun from a compartment hidden in his mechanical left arm. Before she could react, she heard a gunshot, glimpsed for the tiniest fraction of a second a lethal shot directed at her head, and then there was blue light, taking her somewhere... else.

---

Eodyth fell into the chamber, weapons clattering to the ground, gasping for breath as she realised she wasn't dead.

"So who's with me?" she heard someone say. It was a good, simple phrase, perfect for inspiring a group of people into action. She'd used it in speeches herself, on a few occasions.

It sounded awfully like what Eodyth had just been thinking she needed a few minutes ago; a cause to fight for. She was still shocked from her near-death experience, but her actual injuries were very lacking, so she simply said, between deep, heavy breaths "Alright, who... do I need to kill... where... and when?"

---

---

Sweat dripped down Raven's face as Crow-II fired off another shot. It hit the Shell right in the shoulder. The weapon arm. Thank fucking God. She boosted forwards, hoping to put on more pressure on it while it couldn't fight back, but it darted away from the objective, behind some ruined building. She couldn't chase it. There were at least five more. Enough to overwhelm the convoy if she left it, probably not enough to overwhelm it if she didn't. Probably.

The word “damage” flashed at the corner of the screen as she took a hit to the back. She pulled a flare boost, did a quick 180, and fired at the Shell. The shot hit another building as it went around a corner. They kept darting in and out like that. Nipping at her heels. They'd take potshots at her or a vehicle near the edge of the pack; all the helicopters were long gone by now.

It was supposed to be a relatively straightforward job. She needed to help run… something through some wastelands in Grand Union territory. They wouldn't tell her what it was. They wouldn't even tell her who they were. Well, they said they were some company called Robo-Sys, but she wasn't buying it. Probably a shell company. But whether it was Paragon’s or Murakumo's, she had no idea. It was a big package, though. About as big as her Shell. It had to be something important, especially if these bastards wanted it.

Said bastards were an enigma as well. Their Shells were gray, without any markings. She'd expected to be up against corporate forces, but they didn't fight like this. They’d bring a bunch of guns, maybe put them in some good positions, and try to overwhelm you. None of this guerilla shit. They were probably terrorists, but the quality of their Shells suggested that they were backed by a corporation, too.

Another one slid in front of her, taking a few shots from Crow-II and the convoy before it disappeared again.

“Alright L.N.,” Raven said into her radio. “How much farther till we’re out of here.”

“Just one more block,” a female voice answered smoothly. “It should be clear sailing from there.” L.N. was her “operator” assigned to her by WOLFHOUND. More or less her handler. She did a reliable job, even if she was a bit monotone.

“Alright,” Raven said. “Fuck this shit, then.” She pressed a key as Crow-II kneeled down and unfolded its grenade launcher.

“Cover my ass,” she yelled to the convoy. “I’m gonna clear all this clutter!”

She aimed at the building directly ahead of the convoy and fired. An explosion engulfed the side of the building as it crumbled into dust. She leveled three more around their path. She couldn’t see past all the dust in the air, but she still had a couple of locks on what she knew where those asshole Shells that had been hounding her. She fired again, twice, until the computer let her know they were down. She knew there were more, but that probably crippled them enough to make them back off if they knew what was good for them. The grenade launcher folded back up as Crow-II rose to its feet once more. She pulled a flare boost and did another 180. There was the one she tagged in the shoulder, probably hoping to catch her in the back. She shot it, in the chest this time, and fire from the convoy’s cannons reduced it to a molten husk. There went most of her grenades.

“Well, that’s the end of that…” Raven muttered. No one responded. The drivers hadn’t said a thing since she met up with the convoy. Freaks.

“Can I leave these guys now?” Raven asked. “Contract only said to get them to the border, right? Looks like they’re pretty safe.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Raven.” L.N. replied.

Raven was too surprised to be pissed off as she saw the dust clear. It was less a mech and more of a city-sized mass of guns on legs. A Bastion. It must have been waiting there. She would have felt the tremors if it moved. Goddammit.



“What in the actual fuck,” Raven said. “This wasn’t in the briefing! How did you miss this shit?!”

“...” L.N. waited. She was either thinking of something to say or waiting for her to respond.

“This is way too fucking much,” Raven said with a scowl. “I need backup or I need evac. How soon can a carrier get here?”

“That’s such a shame, Raven.” L.N. said. “We were expecting so much more from you.” Raven huffed. What a load of shit.

“You know what?!” Raven soat. “Fine. But if I come back from this, “they” better treat me like a fucking queen.” If they expected more, they were getting more. They were getting the best fucking pilot the world ever saw. What else did she have to live for, than to prove she was better than them?

“COME ON, THEN!” Raven screamed into the dead air. The Bastions’ main cannon glowed orange. It launched a swarm of missiles that lit up the sky. Raven fired up the overboosters and readied missiles of her own.

Everything went… blue?

---

---

Raven felt like she had to throw up. She wasn’t supposed to anymore with her augments, but holy shit. The heat, the stress, it all hit her at once like a wave. Holy shit. She slammed at the keypad, the rear door opened. She stuck her head out into the… fresh air?

She noticed it was some sort of huge room, once she stopped retching. Thankfully it had a high ceiling, or her Shell would be crashing through it. There were all sorts of other weird people and robots and creatures around (mutants, maybe?) and they were talking to some sort of robot? It felt a little familiar, yet strange.

“L.N.?” she asked as she held her hand up around her ear. No response. Is this Hell? She held her plasma pistol as she climbed down the side of her mech. Fuck, this was weird. She felt like shit. The robot was talking about alternate universes or some shit. Just about everyone had questions. Raven didn’t. She was stuck trying to process it all. They were supposed to save the multiverse? Like some sort of weird superheroes, she guessed. Well, she would probably end up dying if she declined, anyways.

“This sounds like one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done.” Raven said. “But I’ll do it.” She holstered her pistol and crossed her arms.

“But I’ve got one question,” The wolfhound said, narrowing her gaze at the robot. “The world I come from is a massive shithole that frankly should have died a long time ago, and I don’t typically do this pro bono hero shit. What’s in it for me?”

It seems his question should have been worded better, as only the alien shelled biped answered. This hodge podge collection of bipeds seemingly didn't understand meeting etiquette. It made sense, Kosnitch thought. This was hardly official, and whether they were officials of anything was unknown. Not that it mattered. More bipeds were coming into being. They were as bland as the ones already here. One had come in a larger bipedal metal shelled machine. It's sudden appearance startled him, but triggered no overt reaction on his part. His combat instincts were still highly suppressed. Regardless, it seemed pointless to question them at this stage, unless they had all day to go round an ever expanding table.

It seemed this thing named Praxis wanted to hurry things along as well. It had answered a short list of questions, and now wanted them to decide whether they wanted to be cast back from whence they came or join it's task force. Kosnitch would have preferred if they'd provided him a fillable form than have to try make himself heard. It would have been even better if they'd posted it to his apartment. But they hadn't, and he was were here. Oh, this Praxis said they could reconsider at any time, but Kosnitch knew how polite modern intimidation was. He had to think about it now.

Joining it risked abandoning the Coalition, which meant they could do some very bad things to him if they found out. They were just as likely to see it as an opportunity, however, and then he would be bombarded with demands to take this and that. And then there would be dealing with disturbances in reality. He had a feeling that would be a lot more problematic than paper work and escorting people. Ultimately, whatever his choice, he would be forced into doing a job he didn't want to do, for and with people he didn't know and rarely cared for. Seeing as the choice didn't matter, he decided to go for the more interesting option.

'I' am in agreement. Or I shall join you. Your preferred lettering for acceptance.'

With that, he awaited whatever the next stage of this obnoxious form of recruitment, pondering questions to ask his associates. There would be the basics of name, profession, capabilities. Things needed to allocate roles to the most appropriate skill sets. Kosnitch also decided that he'd go a bit beyond that with this group. He might as well try grab the heart if he was already clawing the carapace. What was it other peoples talked about and ask? General well being, that sort of thing. He would perhaps try to take on a mode of communication considered friendly. It usually proved to be the most successful way of communicating with other peoples.

---

---

Nakala was largely silent during the whole affair, being shocked that she was just taken out of her homeworld just as she was on the brink of death. How she was saved by this "Praxis", and is now a traveler of this All-Verse? This was incredible because Nakala was getting tired of her own universe. Perhaps... Olivia is out there somewhere in the All-Verse? Nakala looked down at Impala, who looked up at her as she took a step forward. She smiled as she said,

"I guess I'm not a warrior like the rest of ya'," Nakala started off as she glanced at everyone in the room, like the girl that just teleported and pulled out a freaking gun. "I'll join Praxis on the condition I get to explore this All-Verse."

Oh-Two was largely silent during the whole affair as well, mainly because she was scanning every lifeform in the room. Her eyes fell on every single person in the room, starting with the two most talkative, the blonde haired girl and the scared robot.

Scanning...

BIOLOGICAL ORGANISM
HUMAN

Name: N/A.
Sex: F
Age: 25
Hei... ERROR.

There was definitely something off about the girl whom Oh-Two had immediately discerned as a scientist or whatever was close to it in her own world. Every attempt to scan her ended with an error sign appearing after getting past the most surface information, or sometimes even before it. Oh-Two could tell that she was an intelligent being and was eager to bring information of this so-called "All-Verse" back to her home dimension. Which Oh-Two thought was incredibly risky... but Praxis didn't seem against it. Oh-Two wondered if Praxis would mind her taking information from these universes. However, she was going to keep her intentions hidden for now.

However, she scanned the scared girl and got a surprise.

Scanning...

NONBIOLOGICAL ORGANISM
ANDROID

Name: N/A.
Sex: N/A
Age: N/A.

SYSTEMS INCLUDE FLIGHT, LIMITLESS ENERGY GENERATOR, AND WEAPONRY.

This certainly surprised the android, she was certain that she was the only one of her kind in the room. However, this android's systems were miles above her own in some ways, but Oh-Two still considered herself the peak of the human intelligence within her own realm. Oh-Two made a note to figure out where ever this person came from, and immediately head there to see what sort of technology they had. However, she saw a kindred spirit, as the humans would say, in the girl and was determined to make allies with her! Then her eyes went to the strange... thing.

Scanning...

BIOLOGICAL ORGANISM
UNKNOWN

Name: N/A.
Sex: N/A
Age: N/A.

COMPLETELY UNKNOWN ORGANISM. DEEPER SCAN REQUIRED.

There was nothing like it, it was alien in every sense of the word! It interested Oh-Two... but, at the same time she couldn't help but get disinterested. The thing would not help her feel human emotion and was useless to her and her plans. However, it definitely could help Oh-Two with something. Perhaps she could find new technology to upgrade herself with, Praxis seemed more concerned with maintaining the balance of the multiverse.

There were plenty of questions being sent Praxis' way, and she was determined to answer all of them.

"Count me in, I'm not the most advanced of my people, but I can assist. Sort of. You said something about being fed power from our universe...What would that mean for those of us who don't rely on external power?"

Praxis was confused by the question... as it was obvious that they would still function as usual. However, she didn't mean to be rude. "You will be fine long as your systems operate at one hundred percent." Praxis nodded her head.

“The world I come from is a massive shithole that frankly should have died a long time ago, and I don’t typically do this pro bono hero shit. What’s in it for me?”

"If you so desire a reward," Praxis started off, "I may gift you whatever you desire the most, mercenary." Praxis started off, before realizing it was time to debrief the group.

"Alright, as I said before, there are thousands of things for the Initiative to do allow to find a simple first assignment to assess your abilities as a team...." Praxis started off as she stood frozen for a few seconds before she suddenly sprung back to lift. "... Your first assignment will be in the universe we have designated; The Endedverse." In the middle of the room, the projection of a destroyed city appeared, and there were sand and ruins as far as the eye could see. What remained of trees, cars, and skeletons suggested this place used to be a glorious paradise.

"This is a universe that was destroyed by war, completely devoid of all life... all that remains are machines."

"Fascinating!" Oh-Two enthusiastically said.

"However, within the universe are notes that belong to a genius scientist known as Dr. Honda. A woman responsible for most of the technological advances in this universe and the notes detail how to create automatons with ease. They should be resting, untouched like everything else in that universe... however, scavengers from another universe have located the files and are now in the process of taking this knowledge back to their home universe."

Praxis nodded her head, "If this gets back to their home universe, this could lead to an explosive change in the balance of their universe that could possibly affect the All-Verse at large. Your goal is to find this group of bandits, get the notes from them, and bring them back to headquarters."

Praxis was confident they could handle anything the group could face... they were dealing with a group of petty thieves and some of the people she has gathered are the best of the best in their home universe. "The threat level they pose is fairly low, but they can still catch any of you by surprise. However, take this as a training course. You will learn each other's strengths and weaknesses, and how well you all synergize with each other."

With a nod of her head, Praxis added on, "Any questions? I'd advise getting acquainted with your team now."

---

---

"Going straight to our first assignment, huh? Well, I guess it could be a good chance for me to study other universes closely. I'm not the expert on the matter, mind you. My friend Elie is. Oh, if only she could be here."

Elie was another alchemist from a different family, and she was currently researching the existence of other universes and the possible methods to travel between them.

Elune then listened to Praxis' explanation on where and what their first mission would be.

"The Endedverse, hmm? A universe that is destroyed by war... that is a sad thing indeed..."

"And our goal is to get their notes and subdue them... I understand their desire to obtain more knowledge and wisdom but I suppose the stability of the multiverse is more important," she pondered with closed eyes.

At Praxis' suggestion of being acquainted with her teammates, she announced to the others her name and occupation.

"Hello, everyone! My name is Elune Terminus! And I am an alchemist!" she said with a bright smile as she curtsied, lifting the hem of her white dress a little.

"I could handle both healing and offense, though I'm not that great in melee combat, since I mostly attack with explosives and the like."

She looked at the other people in the room. She was surprised by just how many there were that didn't look like humans. Were the other universes just populated by mostly non-humans? Or was it just pure chance? It was another thing to investigate for sure. She would ask more about the other universes from them but she didn't believe there would be time for that before they would be thrown to their first mission.

She looked around, processing the suggestion to get to know everyone. A mission given, to retrieve data. If only she had a connection to the Imperium, she could have requested help from the more advanced units. Even if it meant risking say, Tyrant faction members popping up to cause chaos. The nameless android considered what else to do. She glanced around at the others present again, then looked towards the other android(02), ignoring the girl who had popped out of a mecha for the moment. She tilted her head, studying, wondering if they'd be someone worth making "friends" with. That was the term in her database, a concept that other models would laugh at perhaps.

Being a lower ranked model, she was impressive technologically, sure, but nothing compared to even the older models, let alone the Master or Grandmaster models. Or the ones who had gathered extensive amounts of bio-data, and used that data. She blinked a few times, then looked back to Praxis, accepting the mission given with ease. "I'll do my best...all things considered." Again, part of her wished for others of her kind, so she could have the aid. Not being truly designed for combat was...not good. She looked around more, wishing she had some of the better upgrades, but what she had would have to do. Here was hoping the mission would be easy, right?