It was a relatively easy choice which door she wanted to go through in the end. While a door to Miso City seemed nice and all, it was too familiar of a place to be a real adventure. Thus, Rose stepped through the door to darkness with the rest of the group, the stars in the sky leading them forward to a bright new beginning. A dude not unlike the Mysterious Dude appeared, yet this particular mysterious dude was not nearly as fun looking as the Mysterious Dude from earlier. In fact they seemed quite intent on fighting the group, which was fine by Rose in the end. You can't have an adventure without a hint of danger after all!

He struck Kanbaru with lightning speed, yet Umi was already on top of him as she tried pull his legs out from under him to get him into the dirt. Rose readied herself quickly, muscle memory she shouldn't possess moving her into a fencing stance as she instinctively moved in front of their Bard, who had just taunted the man in an attempt to get him away from Kanbaru. "Alright then, lets get this show on the road! Jolt!" She thrust her rapier towards the man in black, despite being nowhere near him whatsoever. Yet somehow she knew this was the right thing to do, as a bolt of red lightning erupted from the tip of her sword and arced towards the figure, seemingly homing in on him as Rose already prepared her next action. Mana surged within her as she focused her attention on Kanbaru, the initial casting sending her systems into overdrive as she cast yet another spell immediately. "Petal!"

Her dagger flashed through the air before bursting into a shower of rose petals above Kanbaru, yet she reached behind her and drew another dagger from seemingly nowhere as far as Akiko could tell, being right behind Rose and all. "Whoo, that was thrilling! Looks like it's two at a time though, can't throw out spells as quickly as I'd like." She kept her eyes focused on the hooded man to see what he would do next, on guard in case he pulled another disappearing act to try and attack her or Akiko.

The land beyond the door was simple, almost serene if she wasn't bracing herself for confrontation. The grass crunched beneath her boots, the level expense stretching onwards beneath a gloriously starry sky. If there wasn't a spot of darkness deeper then the expense up above she'd have had reason to take her eyes off the hooded figure walking towards her with an alarming surety of step. Then without so much as a flicker of movement, the distance evaporated and body screamed in pain.

Being under the Mysterious Figure's full attention for but a few seconds was like going through a blender, but there was shockingly little blood or injury. The bluenette's key rose to block, the tool weighty enough to take the card blades but unable to match the ambidestrous assault fully. Her teeth gnashed hard as what few cuts where physical piled up, the clang of struck metal rattling in her ear as she was pinned on the defensive right from the start.

It was a relief to find that once more, she fought with allies at her side. Umi dashed in, throwing dirt and trying to grapple while even the shifty girl Akiko tried to draw attention to herself. Rose's actions had Kanbaru interposing her weapon between herself and the airborne dagger on reflex, but rather then deflecting a poorly timed bout of treachery it exploded into...flower petals. A rush of vitality hit her, the cuts along her arm and chest closing up as the roses scattered and faded away completely.

"T-Thanks." Kanbaru shouted back, whincing as the petals seemed to do nothing to dim the phantom pain of the less material card strikes and it showed in the lapse in her voice. Rather then dogpiling on the man she used her Quick Dash to launch herself to Rose's side, exposing her back to the figure while she slammed her key down into the grass and concentrated. The soil dampened and churned under the force of water surging down and out, worsening footing while she expanded her reach for a geyser of boiler water.

"Get ready, this guy is going to break off and hit whoever's easiest. Don't expect to keep him pinned for long."

The group had gone through the darkened door, most of them eager to get a start on their brand new adventure within the tower. Tokuda was certainly a bit hesitant to move through the door, being one of the the last through the door as it slowly closed behind them. He held himself, his fingers wrapping around the edges of his armor as he gave a paranoid look around before the new mysterious man caught their attention. It was a moment of great fear in Tokuda, who stood there frozen as the mysterious figure summoned blades in both of his hands. His breathing quickened as he merely watched the figure began moving towards the group and the hopes of not having to fight something were dashed.

Tokuda absentmindedly summoned his shield,the great towering shield his Tokuda as he held it up to defend himself despite being at the back of the group. Yet, despite holding the shield in front of him, Tokuda found that he could stare straight through it rather than having to merely cower in the unknown. He saw the figure calmly approaching them and he braced himself for a sudden attack, but instead it just kept approaching them. His eyes glowed as he absorbed the situation, thinking of what would be the best place for him to interject himself. There was enough time to think, especially since the figure was merely walking towards them.

Then, he saw as the others began to move forward and commit to their roles within the party, Akiko taunting the hooded figure, Umi attempting to grapple the figure, and the others going defensive. With Umi attempting to keep the figure in one area, Tokuda pushed himself to rush forward to be of some help though still very much hiding behind his towering shield. Tokuda positioned himself between the figure and everyone else; Akiko, Rose, and Kanbaru. He kept his eyes on the figure, and though he had rushed forward, it seemed that Tokuda was still cowardly enough to shake behind his shield.

---

If Umi’s attacks, if one could call them that, were meant to be intimidating or even a remote distraction, she would be sorely mistaken. For one reason or another, the dirt she flung at the Mysterious Figure landed just behind him in a clump on the ground. Curiously, the same happened to her hand as she went to grab his ankles, though physically her flesh remained. Then it became blatantly obvious; the dirt and her hand had both phased through their opponent, as if he was a phantom of the unknown.

Though regardless of this trick of his, there was a crucial factor that was overlooked. The Mysterious Figure, the original one, was still walking towards the group, as calm as ever. However, the one attacking Kanbaru and now Umi was definitely still there. With each step, the truth was unveiled. As if from the shadows, copies of their original opponent manifested, including the one that had initially attacked Kanbaru. It was no speed-as far as the group knew-but the Mysterious Figure copying himself to attack their party on all sides.

The one who unleashed his flurry of strikes upon Kanbaru and phased through Umi’s maneuvers, now turned on his heel to deliver the assault onto her. With swift moves and lighting-paced strikes, he swung at Umi without a falter in his step. Likewise, two more copies emerged and headed right for Akiko’s group consisting of herself, Rose, and Kanbaru. One of them sidestepped away from Rose’s cast lightning, the bolt hitting the ground near his feet before he dashed at Rose with swiping blades and an intent to kill.

The second one focused entirely on Akiko, responding in equal terms to her taunting with one of its own. Instead of attacking with twisted blades of cards, it summoned a blank card and let it hover towards the sky. In moments the card burst into flames to rain down an orb of fire large enough to cover two fields. It was perhaps some luck that Kanbaru had recovered as she had and prepared to unleash a geyser of water because there was little doubt the Bard and Rose could hold back a meteor by themselves.

In the last moment, Tokuda stepped forward in an act of bravado with shield at the ready. The great orb of fire and earth slammed into his shield, exploding on contact and filling the area in fire and flames. No doubt he had fulfilled his duty to protect the ladies, but it was hardly going to matter in the long run. Especially when one copy was still aiming to strike at Rose while the other was set to summon another meteor upon the gathered group.

The only one not clustered in one spot was Umi who, for better or worse, had been isolated. The copy that attacked Kanbaru still focused on her and this time it was joined at last by the original. Having closed the distance between them, now there were two Mysterious Figures, each slashing at Umi with maddening speeds. Both were relentless in their moves, both intent to keep her isolated from the rest of her allies.

---

What she'd taken for teleportation or some form of extreme speed was in reality a doppleganger as solid and menacing as the original. Intangibility along with copies? Now that was just unfair, but this Tower never did promise them an easy road forward...well, aside from their Benefactor, but Kanbaru was as liable to trust him as she was to join shield boys harem.

A prospect made only slightly less laughable as he came through the closing door to plant his shield between the other ranged girls and a freaking meteor falling from the starry sky. Glancing over her shoulder as she willed her water to swell upwards violently, she was impressed to see Tokuda endure the falling ball of rock and fire without so much as a step taken backwards. Kanbaru thought it only fair to spare him the latter half of the attack and willed her geyser to rise before him, splashing his shield and smothering the flames that could find little purchase on land turning to mud and marsh around them.

"Hey guys, has anyone noticed if their entire bodies are intangible or only certain parts? Cause if its the former then I think we can take them so long as we take a few hits ourselves. Just need to live...recklessly." The bluenette questioned aloud, uncaring if the speechless figures reacted to her words. Her attention turned fully to the one acting like a surrogate mage as they brought another card up to bombard them once more.

Tokuda could probably take those hits for them, but all the figure needed to do was target the more distant fighters and problems would mount like cord wood. The swampy plain bubbled beneath the caster's feat before rising in a plume of boiling water, both man and card vanishing in the plume. Holding every doubt that such an attack would actually hurt him but hoping the seperation between man and floating card would ensure the meteor was averted, she Quick Dashed towards him as the water fell and laid into the dopple caster with a wild flurry of bludgeoning blows. If for nothing else then to lock down one more enemy while the others fought on.

---

"I'm willing to bet their entire bodies!" Akiko shouted as she doubled back, drawing her fans out as she kept up her running speed. Sure, she wasn't as fast as the other characters she was around, but she wasn't about to let herself be cooked alive by the doppelganger that attempted to destroy her just now. Thank God the boy was still around to shield the attack, otherwise that probably would've been the end of the fight for Akiko and Rose.

She darted towards the boy, still maintaining a steady pace as she moved. While running, she turned to look at the battlefield beside her, taking in everything that she could, including the slow-paced Mysterious Stranger who just then truly joined the fight, focusing Umi with maddening speeds. Though, it did leave (presumably) himself open for Akiko to study him. It was unclear whether they actually had a head or not, and there was also no visible skin, but they had a form that Akiko could study regardless.

Though, in her heart, she found herself thinking about the man in the hood deeper and deeper. Before she even knew what was happening, she used her [Critical Past] ability to see if there was anything she could identify about the man. Maybe with it she could reach some sort of peaceful agreement and victory with the stranger.

Her attack was easily dodged, the figure came at her with murder in their eyes(?) and she knew that they had fucked up. Her instincts screamed at her to run, scream, cower as the figure bore down on her. Yet she ignored them completely and instead locked blades with the hooded figure with a smile on her face, albeit a smile tinged with anxiety as she wondered just what the hell they were gonna do about this. "You know, you are not nearly as cool as Mysterious Dude was! Jolt!" She pointed her dagger at the figure who had hopefully been locked in place, seeking to shock them directly in the heart and then [Disengage] with a well place back flip. Spreading out would be for the best considering the other figure that was summoning FUCKING METEORS TO KILL THEM. "Guys I don't think we're gonna win this one! Thorn!" As she landed on the tips of her toes she pointed her rapier at the hooded figure she had just been engaged with and a blade of cutting wind shot towards them nearly instantly to try and separate their head from their shoulders.

Umi saw her dirt attack just pass through the mystery man and her hand failed to grab his leg, even when he didn't bother trying to dodge. "A ghost!?" Umi stilled dodged back and avoided immediate retaliation. But as she did another mystery person arrived, and soon there were a whole group of them. At least one was attacking the others and keeping them divided while Umi had the misfortune of being attacked by two. A blade cut into her arm, causing a burning sensation to shoot up her shoulder. "Ouch!" However she didn't let that wound slow her down. Even if she was outnumbered she was able to deftly avoid further attacks, dodging and weaving between their unsought. It was obvious however that these two intended to keep everyone separated. Quickly Umi scanned the situation and started thinking about what she can do, what they can do, to survive and defeat this man.

First and foremost was that this person is able to summon copies of himself, ghosts perhaps, that they can't physically touch. But maybe their weapons can or whatever passes as magic here. Umi observed that while her dirt and grapple attack went right through them the other copies dodged the magic spells. Either they were just showing off their speed by dodging literal lightning fast magic (Possible) or they could actually be hurt via magic. Additionally not all of them fought using the strange floating swords; one summoned a meteor storm that sent down flaming rocks onto them. So they had a lot of tricks up their sleeves.

There was a lot going on no one knew about, and it could be possible that they aren't suppose to win this battle. "But fuck that." Umi thought as she narrowly avoided a simultaneous blade spam, looking down at their feet. "So what if this world is against me? That's nothing new. That's the story of my life." Umi put as much distance as she could from the two attacking her so they don't have her in a pincer, and started dashing towards the area where the meteor storm was happening. It was going to be a dangerous gamble but she had more than enough situational awareness to watch for her enemies and the rocks falling from the skies. More so than she normally would have; something about this Tower made Umi feel stronger than before. Faster, more observant. Greater.

"I don't know what this guy is capable of but he doesn't know me either. If he thinks he can beat me, beat us, just because we're new to the Tower, he's sorely mistaken." Umi's plan required careful planning and careful tactics. She made sure to watch for any ghost man trying to sneak up on her, but she was only interested in the real copy. She had eyes on him since he attacked but felt there was some small cue in the form of his footsteps; the ghosts phase through physical stuff, such as grass and dirt. If their movements didn't disturb the grass than they were one of the ghosts. But if the movements did, it was the real one. "The real one's movement will move the grass! If physical stuff won't affect them, then they won't leave a trail either. Watch out for the ghosts but take out the real one right there! Use magic to hurt the ghosts, or even this meteor shower against them. I doubt they have friendly fire on!"

There was a moment of pure terror when Tokuda saw the great ball of fire and rock coming towards him, causing his body to tense up to where he could no longer move a singular muscle. He closed his eyes and looked away from his impending destruction only to feel the bulk of the meteor strike against his shield and for a moment he believed that he was dead. This was not the case, even though he felt the hulking bit of rock and fire slam into him, he did not move a singular inch. A feeling of astonishment came over him as the fire spread around him and he was generally left unfazed by the attack.

Tokuda looked back at the girls, seeing them figure out that nothing could truly affect the clones, though that was hardly something he was focusing on. He looked forward, staring down the slow walking one and formulating a plan to get closer to the real one in order to properly attack. With one step he launched himself forward, his legs going against his desire to run away as he charged towards the mysterious figure, holding his shield towards him.

He had heard them say how they needed to focus on the real one, Tokuda figured that purely focusing on the real one would do some good for them. The shield, he figured, was going to be good enough for protection, but he hoped that the others would try to follow him forwards to end this fight quickly enough so that none of them would die to an overwhelming amount of ghostly clones. Tokuda knew there was little he would do in terms of damage to this figure, but if he could distract the mysterious one enough, then perhaps that would be enough to stop any more meteors from being hurled at them.

---

Umi’s deduction and ability to formulate a plan in the middle of action was remarkable, more so than the rest of her peers. It wasn’t unlikely to say she was the one guiding their little party and the difference between victory or damnation. That was probably why the original of the mystery figures decided to focus on her entirely. For the most part, she did well in avoiding the double volley of blade strikes directed at her, even able to put distance between her attackers and dash back towards the group.

Before the original Mysterious Figure could give pursuit, Tokuda gained some semblance of confidence and attacked him with his shield. Be it out of bravery or foolery, it was no doubt a bold attempt to give some distraction. While the copy evaded the boy and dashed after Umi, the original responded to Tokuda by hammering against his shield with strikes too fast to properly avoid. Were it not for his shield, he would have been feeling his fair amount of pain and even then, the power behind the Mysterious Figure’s blows slowly forced him backwards.

Yet it was nearly the perfect setup for Akiko’s Critical Past to connect with the Mysterious Figure. There was only a slight pause in their enemy’s moves; a pause that would reveal five whole seconds to Akiko. What she saw wasn’t particularly useful though because all that was revealed to her was the literal last five seconds of the battle. However, each one flitted in a flurrying flash, coming from every perspective of the mystery figures on the field.

Akiko was bombarded by the rapid flashes of their enemy decimating their party from the last five seconds. Only when it ended would she be mentally knocked back with a sharp sting of pain to follow. She was lucky those were the only repercussions for trying to peer into another’s mind. All the same, it prompted the original Mysterious Figure to kick Tokuda away, boot planted on his shield to force distance between them. It was time to end this.

Kanbaru and Rose would find each of their initial attacks had successfully landed; a little too easily. The moment they made contact, the copy they were facing exploded with force and power. For Kanbaru, it was during her water magic, the explosion catching her point-blank when she zipped forward to unleash her strikes. The meteor it was trying to summon was now haphazard, sending chunks of rock and magma falling from the sky thanks to Kanbaru prematurely ending the spell.

For Rose, it happened during her first Jolt, the explosion rushing towards her as she flipped away and tried to use Thorn. The rest of the copies would bombard themselves as well, the one after Umi only detonating when it was right at her heels. And then there was the original, who manifested another card and let it sail high above the group’s heads. Unlike the meteor from before, this one expanded out into a void of infinite darkness. All things would be ripped apart fomr the earth and sucked into it, including each one of the party’s members.

It was a black hole, one that would be impossible for any of the children to avoid or escape. As they zipped towards their fates one by one, the Mysterious Figure watched in silence from his position in the burning world around him. It wasn’t bad for a first encounter, better than most. But they still had much to learn. Summoning three cards in his hand, the Mysterious Figure casually tossed them with the children into the black hole.

Be it out of mercy or curiosity, no one knew. Three cards flying towards them and the Mysterious Figure’s undaunted shape would be the last thing any of the group saw before their vision turned black. When each one of them returned to the waking world, they would find they remained in their clothes and their weapons were still able to be summoned. If this really was a dream, it was one they hadn’t yet awoken from; they were still in the Tower.

Three of them would find a card resting in their palms. One was held in Tokuda’s palms. Another was resting in Akido’s hands. And the one that had been gifted to Umi….was blank. Furthermore, they were no longer in the starry realm that housed the Mysterious Figure. Instead, there was the distinct sensation of a hardwood floor under their bodies and as each one spurred awake, they’d find they had somehow landed right in the middle of a tavern. The only indication of where their new location was came in the form of a sign hanging near a front door.

It read: Dangenki Café Club.

---

Umi smirked seeing the shield boy go after the real copy, with everyone else's attacks either hitting him or his ghosts. This locked him down for just a moment not only allowing them a few good hits but also gave Umi some breathing space as she now only needed to dodge meteors and one ghost man. Umi kicked up a lot of grass and dirt as she dodged, rolled, and ducked out of his way but sure enough nothing touched him. But just as things seemed like they were looking up it all went downhill. As the original separated himself from the shield boy the ghosts started exploding. The meteor shower became even more chaotic even after the caster went down, spraying lava and stones around randomly. Umi barely had time to brace herself as the ghost she fought lunged at her and exploded, sending her flying back towards the original.

Everything hurt. Despite trying to minimize the damage by feebly blocking and even rolling as she landed, her body was wracked with pain. She was barely able to get onto her knees as the original threw up another card into the air that summoned some sort of black hole. Umi could already feel it pulling her up as it started, and she tried to resist as best as she could. But all she could do was grip a handful of dirt and a small stone as she felt her body getting pulled towards the yawning portal. "Dammit! Dammit! This can't be it! I won't let it end like this!" As Umi was being pulled up she noticed the strange gauntlet on her arm, which she thought was a claw, seemed to have popped out into some strange arm mounted weapon. She didn't really know what to do about that so she simply took her rock and threw it at the original mystery man. Unlike Umi herself, the stone was unaffected by his magic and would sail straight towards him. She didn't get to see if it struck him though as she was taken out of this realm.

Umi frankly expected her entire being to get torn to pieces like noodles as she got closer to the black hole. At least that's what was taught to her in science class. But instead it seemed like they landed back to where they started. Or so she thought. Her body still felt sore from that explosion as she got up from the floor and she noticed two things: First was that they were in some sort of pub and second she had a blank card in her hand. This looked like the same sort of card that Kanbaru had received. Umi vaguely remembered seeing the mystery man some some cards but she was too focused throwing her rock at him to realize he gave them to the others.

Taking a few steps forward Umi nearly collapsed, catching herself on the nearby bar counter. Her wounds started bleeding, especially the one around her shoulder where she was cut by the magic sword. She could see her legs had some bruises from the explosion too. Her arms felt like someone had smashed them with a baseball bat (Something she's actually quite familiar with), and it was hard to move her fingers. And yet despite all of this, she couldn't quite call it pain. Sure it hurt, and she did wanna go lie down, but it almost felt like this sensation was just telling her that she was still living. Either that or the adrenaline was numbing her senses and she'll be crying like a baby in a few minutes. Either way Umi took a seat and looked at the card.

"Huh, I got a card too. Is it going to let us go somewhere else now?" She held the card out in front of her like Kanbaru did, trying to use it to summon forth some light or something. At first nothing seemed to have happened which just left Umi confused. She shook it around, tried to peel it, bend it, lick it, but nothing happened. She was about to give up when it started glowing, just like how Kanbaru's did before. "Whoa!"

Kanbaru had found that, even in the short time she had them, she liked her abilities. One was broad with nigh infinite potential, and the other was clear cut in its utility. They came to her as easy as one would curl their fingers, but just as any limb, they had certain limitations. Limitations like being unable to redirect herse mid-dash when the Mysterious Figure she had moved to engage exploded, a wave of force and water striking her like the back hand of an angry god to send her pinwheeling back from whence she came.

Her back settled amidst mud and grass, the later tickling her neck as she glimpsed the sky above while her ears rang incessantly from the force of impact. Alive, she certainly was. Stunned, even more so.

Yet even such she could still react with spine chilling terror as a black hole opened above them, swallowing her view of the starry sky with an inky oblivion that went beyond description. It pulled, and her body responded, fist-fulls of mud falling fruitlessly through her clenched hands as she was unable to anchor herself. With nothing to affix herself to she was yanked into the event horizon swift as could be.

The other side of a black hole turned out to be a tavern. Kanbaru's first thought upon realizing there was hardwood beneath her boots was that physists would be hanging themselves by their neck ties if they saw this. Then again, they'd probably be doing that just from all the magic breaking the laws of matter on a constant basis, but that was just getting off topic.

"Well...that was a thing. Still deciding if we picked the right door or not, but if this isn't the afterlife I can't complain." The bluenette sighed, resting her arms on the bar while she stretched her back out like a feline, a contented gasp parting her lips as a kink worked itself out with a pop of vertebra. Meanwhile her gaze turned to Umi, who seemed to have gotten a card somehow and was attempting to use it as Kanbaru had earlier.

Only, this card didn't open a door. It brought out a very familiar face. One that would be swallowed up in buxom as Kanbaru flung herself at a diminutive girl with wild green hair and a near constant aura of murderous intent that rebounded off Kanbaru without effect. "Touka! Oh I'm so happy to see you, jesus it's been ages and we've got this whole Tower adventure thing that would be so much smoother if we had the club together. Oh, you smell of strawberries. Must be a new shampoo, I like it. Maybe I'll borrow it sometime-"

She rambled on rather excessively, Umi's Serei being assaulted verbally and physically as Kanbaru lifted Touka upwards to rub her cheek to the girl's like an affectionate feline would a kitten.

---

"Grrgh! Son of a bitch!" Akiko shouted as she clutched her head tightly. The last five seconds were hell on her, but they would be short lived as she saw the black hole form on the battlefield. Her immediate reaction was to get up and run, but she soon found that it was futile, her body being lifted off the ground and pulled back into the dark hole behind her, everything becoming black as they faded away into obscurity, if only for a little while.

Once they awoke, they found something interesting that they hadn't possessed before, which was a card labeled "Smitten Kitten". Akiko didn't know what to first acknowledge between the tavern the party was in and the card she was holding. She chose the former, though she really didn't have much to say. It was a tavern, with barrels of alcohol and barstools against the counter. It was weird to go from a battlefield to this place, but outside of that it just seemed oddly normal. This must be one of those "Safe Rooms" she heard about in the games her colleague played in her spare time. Maybe she could tend to the headache she had now.

Now, onto the more pressing matter, with the card over there in Umi's hand summoning a whole other girl to the game, one of whom Kanbaru seemed to have a fond interest in, calling her 'Touka' and hinting at a club they were both in. So these cards hold some form of spirit of a specific person or... thing. Akiko was very confused why this catgirl, was on her card. She could've sworn this was on a pillow somewhere in a mall she visited once. Regardless, Akiko rubbed her head and held her own card out, trying to summon forth what the Smitten Kitten had to offer. Maybe this would be the first of the order of Knights she wished to have? Solo Player didn't really hint at that, but who knows?

"Let's see what my card holds..."

A few seconds passed with nothing happening, then the card began to glow.

"Wah!" Umi yelped in surprise as her card ended up summoning someone! She looked like a girl taller than Umi with green hair, a red scarf, and a black bodysuit of sorts. And oddly enough it seemed like Kanbaru knew her as Touka. Though when Umi looked at her card she saw a still portrait of Touka with the name "Dark Magical Girl Red Wire" instead. Putting two-and-two together, she figured that this Touka must be someone who Kanbaru knew where she came from. Specifically, her world. Umi thought everyone came from Miso City since that's where she was at, but considering the aberrant nature of the Tower it was only natural that other people from other worlds could also be drawn to this place. It would also explain why everyone seemed to adapted to quickly to the tower and had their weapons already. For them, this wasn't anything new or unusual. For a newcomer like Umi she was just starting to figure things out. Looking at her gauntlet again, she tried to fiddle with it but wasn't sure how to make it unlock. Something during that explosion somehow managed to open it up but now it was shut tight again. Oh well.

Umi approached Kanbaru and Touka, bowing her head slightly as she tried to ignore the soreness in her body. "H-Hello, Red Wire T-T-T-Touka-san! My name is Umi, and... I guess I just summoned you from my card here." Umi held her card up to look at again. She still wasn't sure if this was something that's suppose to happen or not. Why didn't Kanbaru's card do the same? Or maybe hers only opens doors? Either way Umi put the card into one of her pockets and bowed again. "Sorry if I summoned you while you were busy. I'm just learning how to use these strange powers I got. I guess I can summon you now to help us! If you want to, that is!" Umi said rather flustered. She didn't want to sound bossy or anything. Her title, Dark Magical Girl Red Wire, sounded like a villain's name. Umi might not be the best at academics but she's street smart enough to know someone with a name that is both silly and badass like that isn't someone she should take lightly, especially since she doesn't know her. At the same time though Umi didn't want to look weak either so she stood up straighter and cleared her throat.

"I mean, I didn't summon you just for fun. I'm still learning my powers but I need them so I can save my friend who's trapped here. If you can help me I would appreciate it! But if you can't or don't want too, then we can both just move on and I won't bother you again."

---

Meanwhile as Umi was chatting with her Serei, Akiko summoned a small girl with cat-like features. She pounced out from the card, jumping off the table, the ceiling, and the wall to land a good ten feet away from Akiko. She positioned her body low to the ground as if ready to pounce again but soon stood up and dusted herself off. She scanned the room curiously but with a hint of danger as well. She didn't know what was going on or who these people were so she was on edge. Aside from some silliness going on with a group of girls, the nekomata looked back at Akiko, walking towards her and sniffing her. From her scent she knew that she was likely going to be stuck with her for a while, and she sighed. "Well... I guess you're not the worse person I've had to work with. My name is Smitten Kitten, Kitten is fine too. Mind explaining who you are and what I'm doing here? This doesn't seem to be Deepground since my hud isn't coming up and I can't log out." Smitten Kitten stood with her hands on her hips looking up at Akiko and expecting an answer.

---

The surrounding darkness of the abyss was no stranger to Lin’s dreams. Many a times she found herself in this emptiness instead of having an actual dream. In actuality it was the appearance of the three items that were foreign to her. A sword, shield, and rod sat in front of her. She had never seen these exact items before, yet she almost instinctively knew what each meant. The three objects seemed to beckon her towards them, each one calling to her trying to appeal to her in different ways, but the call of one was clearly stronger. After only a few seconds Lin stepped towards the the sword and grabbed it’s hilt. Her actions immediately triggered a flash of light engulfing the once dark void.

Just as quickly as it had come, the light then faded into reality. Or at least, something close to it.

“Ugh. The hell was that?” Lin asked herself as she slowly came to. Her surroundings were blurred by her freshly awaken eyes but she could tell this was not her room. Sitting up, she brought her hands up to rub her eyes only to suddenly let out a small wince of pain as a dull headache made its presence known. Between her light hangover and her mind still trying to process what exactly she drempt, Lin sumized her unfamiliar surroundings were nothing more than her own deliriousness. Once her vision had cleared up, though, she found that her theory was incorrect.

Instead of her mostly empty bedroom, Lin seemed to be behind the counter at some strange bar. Had she gone somewhere else last night? And how did she end up behind the counter? Had the staff just left her there passed out? That had to be a major health and safety violation. Lastly, what was she wearing? It seemed to be some sort of costume you would see in an old school fighting game, but it felt rather high quality. She was especially drawn to the greaves and bracers she had on and the fierce tiger each one had etched into it.

Lin was at a loss, and she needed some answers. Grabbing the edge of the counter, Lin pulled herself up to get a better look at the place, maybe see if someone was working. To her dismay, the place was completely devoid of life. Not a soul was present. The only thing of use was the sign above the door. Dangenki Café Club.

“Hello?” Lin called out, hoping maybe there was someone nearby. “If anyone’s there, you’re kinda doing a shit job.” Still no reply. With a disgruntled sigh, Lin decided she would figure this out on her own. Grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the shelf, Lin poured a glass as she tried to think back and piece things together. She remembered walking out of the bar, heading the usual way home and then… The tower. The vivid image of the structure suddenly came back to her, but there was no way. That was impossible. How would she have even-

In a sudden flash the once dead café was now occupied by a small group. Initially Lin was startled. Dropping below the counter once more before any of the new patrons could see her. She stayed down long enough to hear them talk about cards and introduce themselves to what she guessed were newer members. Well, Lin. You wanted answers. It’s now or never.

Once more Lin pulled herself up from behind the counter and looked over each of the new arrivals. “Hey there.” She said as a blanket greeting to the party. “Names Lin. You all seem to have some idea of what’s going on here. Someone mind filling me in? Free bottle for the first one to answer.” She gestured behind her at the large assortment of drinks that were definitely not hers to give away.

---

The person summoned forth from Umi’s card, one that she could recognize as a Serei, was none too pleased to be summoned at all. Indeed, Dark Magical Girl, Red Wire, or Touka, frowned when she suddenly found herself in a bar. Arms crossed, she looked around to see some random group of people as well as a girl who was gawking at her as if she sprouted an extra head. Eyes narrowing, she flicked a finger and immediately manifested a wire under Umi’s throat.

“You have less than a second to convince me not to lob your head off-the hell!?” It was perhaps some good fortune Kanbaru had stepped in when she did, having indebtedly saved Umi’s life. A moment more would have resulted in messy endings all around and the wires against Umi dissipated. “Get off Kanbaru,” was Touka’s only reply, hissed out with as much venom and annoyance she could muster. Irritation became confusion though when Umi actually walked up to her and began introducing herself.

“….and why can this brat see me. I’m transformed, aren’t I?” At once she shoved an elbow into Kanbaru’s gut to force some space between them, huffing as she eyed up Umi. “Tch. I don’t know what’s going on but if you can see me like this then you’re pretty special yourself. That would explain why you even summoned me to begin with,” Touka said with a hand on her hip. No sooner had she said that did Akiko summon her own Serei in the form of Smitten Kitten. And then another adventurer appeared, someone who had been hiding behind the bar’s counter.

“Hey, listen up too idiot because I’m not repeating myself,” Touka hissed, directing a glare at Lin. “All of you for that matter. What I am is a Serei. An amalgamation of someone outside the Tower. Frankly, I don’t really have much choice if I want to help you out or not…Umi, right? Same goes to you, Furball,” she said, now directing her deathly stare at Smitten Kitten. “But we’re not real. We’re only as real as the memories of the people outside the Tower.”

“That’s right~!” The voice was airy and sporadic and its owner sprung out from beside Lin behind the bar counter. She…hadn’t been hiding there this entire time, had she? By the way she rubbed her eyes and yawned, it was evident the real bartender had been taking a self-appointed cat nap. “Congratulations on surviving your first floor travelers! And welcome to the Dangeki Café Club Save Area! My name’s Cait and I’ll be your trusty saver~”

Cait waved an arm out around to emphasis the empty but homey tavern. The group could see two small shops positioned on opposing sides of the area, though both were closed with the lights off at the moment. “And what Miss Touka said is correct. These cards of yours are Serei Cards! Can you say Se-rei? Serei!” By how pink Cait’s cheeks were, it was also likely that maybe her cat nap was more of a hangover than anything else.

“And just like Miss Touka said, each Serei holds data gathered from the outside world. Whatever the people out there know, your Serei knows, to an extent…but please remember that they’re nothing but zeroes and ones and coding~” Cait nodded and closed her eyes, as if reaffirming her statements to herself. Then she turned right around to gather a tray with green-colored vials resting on the surface before spinning back around. “Complimentary potions to help you on your way. And it looks like you need it most, sweeties,” Cait said with a wink to Akiko and Umi.

“Yeah. Thanks,” Touka muttered with a roll of her eyes.

---

---

"Ah, hello Kitten. I'm Akiko." Akiko smiled softly towards the almost childlike catgirl. It was there that she started to talk about something called Deepground, something Akiko had never heard about. HUDs were only slightly familiar to the bard, but something called Deepground was completely foreign to Akiko. "I'm kind of the party's bard, right here. We're scaling the tower, and I'm on my own personal quest. If you don't mind, you could be... hm...?" It was at about that time another girl had appeared to join the cast of characters, calling herself Lin.

"Ah yes, another girl to add to his growing harem." Akiko snarked as she pointed towards the boy, realizing then that he still hadn't told the party his name. "You still have yet to introduce yourself to anyone, by the way." She let that hang in the air before looking back down at Smitten Kitten, extending a hand to her. "Care to hang out with me for a while? I promise I won't bite~." Akiko said with a trusting smile, one that could definitely do no wrong, though her eyes looked into Smitten Kitten with a mischievous glare.*

Regardless if Kitten took it, 'Touka' would start to explain the mechanics of a Serei to the group, followed up by a newcomer named Cait, though she probably wouldn't join the party as they continued trying to ascend up the Tower. So Serei were just fabrications of summons? Interesting indeed, though Akiko wondered if they had another purpose. Might be a good question to ask Cait and Touka before everyone got too comfortable.

"Is that all Serei's do? Not that I don't like the nekomata here, she's quite cute, but I'm just curious for the rest of the party's sake." Akiko inquired, grabbing her potion and uncorking it to get a quick whiff of the contents.

---

* gonna mark times I use Critical Past with a red underline.

---

Tokuda awoke from his nap with a start, his breathing very rapid as he remembered the black hole hurling towards him like a sphere of death. He had raised his shield and looked away to avoid looking at imminent destruction before he had awakened in yet another strange room, but this time with the same weird people. It seemed that the events that had transpired were not just some dream that he could waive off and continue the day. However, it seemed that he was safe, or rather as safe as he could be while in the tower.

He got to his feet, his shield dissipating as his head turned around to absorb the bar-like atmosphere that the group found itself in. Tokuda’s eyes eventually traveled from the old faces to the new; Lin and Touka, then upon the one known as ‘Smitten Kitten’. The lad let out a sound as he processed what was going on, the talk and such before his mind began to refocus on everything else. At least, they were no longer fighting that figure that they had encounter moments earlier, though he did not know how long he had been sleeping on the floor. When his mind was done processing the information, he finally looked down at the card in his hand, seeing that it read ‘Charlie’ and had a green snake on it. Tokuda put the card in his belt before looking up to the group.

‘His harem’ being the first words he had properly paid attention to cause a large red blush to go across his face, not so much embarrassed as it was sparking the thoughts of why people kept pointing it out. “Eh, I’m Tokuda,” he said, finally introducing himself in a rather awkward voice that made him seem more of a teenager than an actual man, voice cracks and all. Tokuda cleared his throat before continuing, “Sorry, for not introducing myself earlier. I was, eh, surprised to -erm, wake up with a group of ladies after falling asleep the night before.”

With that wording, Tokuda planted his palm into his face as he turned away from the group and allowed his social awkwardness to isolate him more than he had already done by not talking earlier.

Well that had been an interesting first fight. It was a bit terrifying, but it also stoked the fires of her passion. Maybe by the end of their journey they would reach that level of power. A fun thought to be sure, but one she wouldn't voice aloud to the group. They had barely escaped with their lives after all, they probably weren't in the mood for inspirational anecdotes and quips. They awoke standing in the middle of a tavern, maybe a cafe if the sign hanging on the door was accurate. Everyone was alive, they even gained something out of their trials in the form of these strange cards that seemed to dominate the existence of the Tower. Perhaps whoever made this lace really liked YuGiOh? Focus! Rose quickly moved to heal Umi and Akiki, now that they were out of combat it seemed to be much less exhausting to cast magic. Immediately after she did that Umi's card started glowing, summoning a girl who looked very edgy into the cafe.

A catgirl appeared shortly after from Akiko's card, with Rose immediately gravitating to her and moving to hug her from behind. "Congratulations kitty, you're now the mascot of the crew! I'm gonna give you lots of hugs, lots of head rubs, and tons of fish okay? Okay, glad to see you're on board." Rose barreled through the conversation with no input from Smitten Kitten as she continued to hug the catgirl. Of course she would have to work out a new method to hug two catgirls at once when the bartender appeared, along with the other new girl to add to her harem crew. Rose pulled Kitten along without a care in the world, quickly finding her way behind the bar as she moved over to Cait. "You are now also the mascot of my crew. Many pets, many hugs, many fish. Now get over here!" She took one arm off of Kitten to grab at Cait, pulling her into a hug and squishing the two of them against her chest as she squealed and giggled with delight. "I love this place so much! Adventures, catgirls, booze, magic, this couldn't get any better!"

Suddenly Rose released her two captive mascots as she gasped, bringing her hands up to her mouth as a thought occurred to her. "But what if it could. Cait, are there any sky pirate ships in the tower? I still need a vessel for my merry crew." Indeed, you can't call yourself a pirate without a pirate ship. And a sky pirate ship would be the perfect way t traverse this tower, flying through the air and to the angel at the top. "Alright crew, we have our first task!" She stepped up onto the counter, striking a very captainly pose as she looked over her assembled crew with an expression of utter seriousness. "We need to find a worthy vessel for our adventure, preferably one that can fly so we can make it to the top of the Tower! Now praise me for my genius insight!" A proud grin planted itself on her face, eyes closed and teeth showing as she put one hand to her chest and huffed with satisfaction. Truly she was the greatest captain.

Umi just sort of stood there with a blank look on her face as Touka explained what exactly she was. Dumbing it down, Umi knew that Touka was an ally. Maybe not a friend, but an ally. So That was enough for her. Another girl got summoned too, a cat girl named Smitten Kitten, and then the owner of the pub showed up. The barkeeper, Cait, gave them free potions too! Umi took one but before she could drink it Rose came to heal her. Suddenly all of the pain went away, her bruises shrunk, and she stopped bleeding. It felt nice. "Oh! Thank you Rose." Umi smiled as it seemed like everyone was recovering from that harsh fight. Honestly, Umi felt like beating herself up for her overall poor performance. They couldn't land a single real hit on that guy and he had managed to run circles around all of them. But they were alive and stronger now, so she wasn't going to dwell on the negatives.

Pocketing her potion Umi walked over towards Touka, bowing her head respectfully once more but this time not acting so meek. "As I was saying before, it's nice to meet you, Touka-san. We are allies now and I'll be relying on your strength. I can tell you're not really friendly so I won't make you like me, but as long as we're together I want to be able to help you help me. So with that in mind can you tell me about what you can bring to the table? What your powers, strengths, and weaknesses are? This way I know how to make the most of your talents and not put you in a bad position." As Umi chatted with Touka she overheard Rose request for an airship. The idea of flying through the skies were awesome, but also seemed rather far fetched. They just got here and got their first Serei cards, the chances that they'll get an airship anytime soon seem slim. And besides that they still needed to find out how to even go to other levels in the tower. "Rose-san, I know you're excited to find treasure but we still need to figure out where we are first, and how we get to other parts of the tower. If this place is like a video game I'm guessing this tavern is suppose to be our first starter town. We should try to find other magic doors like the one Kanbaru summoned for us to fight bosses or raid a dungeon, or I guess we could just walk out of these doors and see what's around. And maybe start a bit smaller than an airship. Carts and horses maybe?"

---

Kitten just looked at everyone as they started talking, trying to get a feel for their personality and intentions. She could tell a lot of them were new and naive and she didn't really expect much from them. She didn't hate that, but at the same time she felt like they were going to do stupid things that she'll have to get involved in. Again. Though hearing that Kitten was a "Serei" bothered her a bit. She could tell that she's not in her original world, so there's a good chance this is just a dream version of herself. But was she real? Was she just some figment of imagination? That sort of existential thinking wasn't something Kitten liked to think about so she ignored it. Smitten Kitten was Smitten Kitten. She was real enough.

Kitten turn her attention back to Akiko, who apparently summoned her. She was very hesitant to call Akiko her "master", or anything that would give Akiko any real authority over her, so she'll just call her by name. "Akiko, right? Right." Kitten didn't shake Akiko's hand but she did look into her eyes, giving the bard a small glimpse into Kitten's Memories.

There Akiko would see Kitten alone in a dead end alleyway, facing off a mysterious woman on a motorbike. The biker ran right towards Kitten but suddenly she vanished, followed by a loud crash, explosions, and Kitten mounting the biker with a claw to her throat. "Don't worry, I will kill you. But first I have some questions, and I know you have answers."

"No offense, but I'd rather that we not get too personal. If what astroturf said is true we're only spirits anyways. Ghosts of our real selves. I doubt that it'll be very meaningful to get close to us or try and change who we are or what we can do." Kitten tried to use some of her stronger abilities but nothing happened, causing her to sigh a little and sit down on a table. "And while I hate to say it I'm not nearly as strong as I should be right now. Most of my stronger abilities have been locked away and unless you happen to have like, two million EXP crystals for me, I can't get any stronger than I am right now." And just as Kitten was starting to feel somewhat comfortable enough to at least sit and talk to everyone here, some huggy floozy grabbed Kitten from behind. "Oi! Unhand me you cow!"

Kitten had a bit of a hard time at first since she was caught off guard and her arms were stuck to her side, but once the lady went to grab the other girl Kitten was able to slip an arm out and press it against the loud lady's face. "I don't even know you lady, hands off!" Eventually she would let Kitten go, and instinctively she went over to Akiko. Kitten didn't mean to, it's just out of everyone here she was the only one Kitten could "trust", and that's only because she had her card. Hiding behind the bard Kitten glared at Rose. "Touch me again and I'll cut you!"