---

Though the blizzard finally let up, Akiko found herself back in Cait's tavern, and with her seemed to be the two dolts of her team. The two she had been looking for back in the world they had just been in. Whether it was just supernatural magic out of her control or something that the two girls did, Akiko was unaware, though the scornful frown on her face told the two girls everything they needed to know. With a dreadfully calm wave of her hand, Akiko's borrowed Red Relic vanished from her figure.

"Captured by slavers. Really?" Akiko scolded her cohorts, still amazed that the situation happened to them. Rose advertised herself as this cool pirate, then... this happened. Great. Just absolutely wonderful. Whatever the case, she wasn't going to hear it. She wouldn't let her annoyance screw with the atmosphere in the room, even if she very much wanted to. Hell, she was pretty confident that she could.

She felt it'd be... rude... of her to not at least say hello to the newcomers in the room. "Evening, White Masks. Was your first adventure successful?" She wanted to know. If it wasn't, then there was likely no use of these White Masks to Akiko, and if it was, well, surely she wouldn't have to explain her intents, right?

She walked over to the new 'shopkeep' in the room, recognizing the face of the booth owner due to a vision through a certain someone's past. "Heard quite a bit about you, Emilia." Akiko said flatly. "Kind of glad Lorelai and Asgard didn't get to you before you got out of that situation."

Akiko brushed the hair out of her face and back to the side before she offered a small smile. "Of course, I'm not gonna do anything. I'm just here to make business."

"And we're back! That's one successful adventure under our belts, eh Kanbaru?" The pirate threw an arm over Kanbaru's shoulders cheerfully, completely ignoring Akiko as she directed the duo towards the bar and sat them down next to Lin and Caprice. "It's a pleasure to meet you White Masks! As Cait said, we are Black Pentacle, and I am the leader of the Black Pentacle! You may call me Rose, the ultimate pirate captain!" With her usual bravado and flair, Rose bravely slid over to Cait... and started whispering.

"Alright so, I got a card I think you might be interested in. Basically, I can grow plants now. If you get me something to change my class into Warrior, I can get you so much catnip. We have a deal?" While all this was going on, Caprice and Lin would immediately notice an addition to their group in the form of the young lad who had "trapped" them in the world they had just narrowly escaped from. Takara was of course sleeping on his pillow, floating through the bar and occasionally bumping into and off of miscellaneous furniture.

After Rose slid away from Kanbaru to do less than legal deals, the Mage would suddenly find herself with a splitting headache as something roared inside her brain, demanding to be freed from it's prison. Around this time she would also notice her Henry card glowing with a white hot intensity, coupled with the card literally beginning to burn a hole through her pocket as the Serei Card shook violently.

The return to the bar was an unexpected reprieve for Sherry. As soon as the orange-haired girl found herself back on dry land she found that there was a letter addressed to her waiting over the bar counter. Apparently, it was some kind of invitation which she had to attend urgently.

"Hey, guys, I'm sorry but I guess that I gotta leave for a while. It seems that there's some family business I must deal with. I'll be back as soon as I can," she said as she took the way out, leaving the White Masks with one less member.

However, that wasn't going to last...

---

As soon as Sherry took her leave, another girl walked into the bar. She had an upbeat smile in her face while she pawed a pouch—clacking with the distinctive sound of gold coins—with a hand.

"Oh, hey! There's a lot of people here this time, you even got a new shopkeeper. Business must be going great, eh Kit Kat?" Clair said as she took a stool at the bar and placed the sack of coins over it. "I'll have one of the usual, please!" she said to the cat girl. Of course, the usual she asked about was nothing other than her favorite pineapple soda float with extra cream and cherry on top.

"Sorry for that, hehe!" Clair said as she turned around to face the other "patrons" while scratching the back of her head shyly. "The name's Clair, the greatest thief in the land. Nice to meet'cha!" she said, leaning against the counter as she waited for her order.

Meanwhile...

---

---

"Of course you wouldn't, dear. Harming the shopkeeper isn't going to do you any good, right?" Emilia—who was now wearing a newish-looking outfit—replied to Akiko as she set up shop inside of the left booth, leaving the right one still empty. Thanks to the Tower's mysterious properties the shop was much bigger on the inside than it looked to, or could feasibly, be.

"Now then, how about we set the past behind us?" the Dollmaker said, looking at Kanbaru and Rose. "All of you will find my services very worthy of your time and resources. Not only have I the best potions and trinkets you'll ever find. Furthermore, I can tune, modify, and even trade the cards that are your most beloved treasures."

"And, talking about cards, I have one here for the White Masks. A little token of their adventures through the World of Wasted Dreams. Short as they may have been, and despite not finding what you were meant to, your effort was not in vain," Emilia said as she drew a card from her grimoire and then teleported it in front of both Caprice and Lin.

"Wield her well. Lady Maria is as calm and collected as her undead countenance suggests. But, if you give her a chance, you'll find out that her Pandora's Box holds quite many spicy secrets," Emilia said, introducing the card as if she were an expert on it.

---

Caprice produced forth the donut from her pocket, glancing at it for a moment before shrugging and taking a bite. "I'll admit, it's a tempting offer, Cait. I always knew there was suffering out there, but seeing it myself left my spirits lower than I expected." Caprice spoke between bites as she consumed her donut, though never without carefully chewing and swallowing first. "It makes me wonder whether I'm quite cut out to it."

"Well, the cards hadn't hit the table yet, but we were in a bit of a tight spot when we left." Caprice answered Akiko, bringing up a hand and flicking out a full poker hand of cards into it, before slowly squeezing it down to only one card in her hand. "Absynthe Blue, a lovely name..." A smile tugged up at the ends of Caprice's cheeks for a moment, before she tossed the card through the air, looking away to take a drink. The card lazily drifted to and fro until it came softly to rest by Lin's glass face up. "Lin, I think this card would suit your style. Help yourself to it, if you like."

When Rose sat down next to Lin and Caprice, Caprice's eyes flitted over the pirate impassively for a moment. "Caprice is my stagename, a magician of unusual tastes." Caprice smirked, but her eyes did not show particular interest in Rose, and she looked away as soon as she finished introducing herself, and Rose went on to deal with Cait.

"Best of luck, Sherry, let us know if you need anything." Caprice raised her glass to Sherry's exit before taking another drink. As Clair entered and ordered, Caprice paid more attention to the drink Clair ordered than Clair herself, and seemed to nod approvingly. Or perhaps as response to the introduction, or both.

"At this rate of introductions, perhaps I should invest in business cards." Caprice paid no heed to Maria's card, instead continuing with her drink.

As the main group finally proceeded to settle down and redeem their profits for new gear and supplies, another adventurer would also find herself transported back to Dangeki Café. The muscular barbarian known as Elijah Mori landed with a solid thud before kneeling onto one knee and proceeded to catch her breath.

"Phew... that was hella close." the husky woman said to herself as she held a massive club-like Kanabo in her right hand by her side.

She was covered in small, bleeding, scratch marks, as if sliced by a myriad of tiny knives in rapid succession. However she was not at any risk in bleeding out on the floor anytime soon. Still, her last fight was indeed a tough one - one of the toughest (or perhaps most annoying) she had experienced so far. Even with her card - housing the voluptuous Imhotep - had a tough time helping in eliminating that pesky supersonic opponent. But alas, in the end they were finally able to conquer their opponent and all it'll remain as an important reminder of how vulnerable they could be in battle if they were not careful.

All while they mourn the comrades they've lost on the road here.

So it was a bit of a surprise for Elijah when she looked up to see a party of other adventures hanging out in the lounge. She slowly rose back onto her two feet and took a long minute to observe what was going on.

"And who are these guys?" she again thought to herself as she scanned the whole room.

Clearly these adventurers were not resurrections of her old teammates. No. These were definitely different people altogether, no doubt also having completed whatever their floor happened to be. The muscular gal took a minute to realize of the implications, for she believed that she and those comrades were the only ones to have been summoned here. But the fact that more had also been summoned and had partaken on separate journeys of their own was more intriguing to say the least. She definitely didn't expect more to be here.

Elijah then proceeds to burry into her mind as she attempts to contact her fellow partner.

"Oi, Teppy.", the barbarian prodded, "Hell is goin' on here? Where'd these others come from?"

Nonetheless, she'd begin casually walking towards the Magic Store. She already seems to have a chance to roll for yet another card.

"Wonder what I'll be pullin' up next..." Elijah wondered to herself as she makes her way there.

Their expedious return to Cait's tavern brought with it a bevy of odd arrivals as well, seemingly an entire group of parallel adventurers whose disparity from the Black Pentacle must have only been in the matter of minutes in terms of departure time. In her taking in of this assortment of plucky youths, Emilia left Kanbaru's side and announced the opening of her new store, commiserating the occasion by granting everyone a card- or in some cases, several cards.

Kanbaru was not one of those who got two of them, she hadn't even gotten a card in the last world, but tasting the power of the Henry card had left her satisfied where she was. It was almost a question of whether or not using another card would even be an improvement when the first one had such a broad and complimentary skill set to her own-

Clutching her brow sharply, the bluenette was forcibly reminded about one drawback to the Henry card, as its strong personality demanded to be let loose into the now crowded tavern. Now, it being a demon and exceptionally avaricious was something she could totally get behind in combat, but with so many prizes she was leery. Leery and feeling her head starting to split as though an over ripe melon threatened with a mallet, so she settled for taking the card of the oddly named Corpse Collector and absorbing it first.

Just like that, Kanbaru found herself in a familiar attire. It didn't carry the same connection to ice as before, but she felt a great many guns just waiting at her fingertips to be drawn from the air. Her eyes widened and a manic, teeth baring smile pulled at her lips as she felt a vehicle that had her salivating to use in an open area just waiting for her.

Then the migraine hit again and she shelved those thoughts, tossing the Henry to the floor boards. "Alright, alright. Come on out, oh so helpful Prince of Greed."

Of course this also posed a perfect excuse to ignore Akiko's judgement, though oddly enough she was only directing it at Rose with any force. Well, all the better for the bluenette who settled on a barstool, coat splayed out behind her as she lowered the gas mask and took in the pleasently chaotic environment.

"Ah, ain't this nice."

Rose lounged on top of a table lazily, smiling as she shuffled her cards about to admire their luster and sheen. Well mainly the one card with the fairy on it, she wasn't a big fan of this maggot woman on the other card. Not to say she wasn't happy with it's powers, it was very cool and all! Seemed to be the perfect card for tanking and frontlining in a fight... but did it have to be a maggot woman? Being a pirate meant that she was had to be cool with gross stuff sure, you can't be a prissy pirate when you're sailing the high seas... But maggots are just gross.

Best not to dwell on the Suparna card. Rose turned her attention to the Ryne card once more, smiling as she admired the pretty fairy. Now for most, this card would be objectively terrible considering she had traded in Solanne to get it. But Rose was a clever pirate, she recognized the capabilities of this card. It had no offensive capabilities whatsoever, but what it lacked in offense it more than made up for in raw utility. Incredibly fast, nearly indestructible, stealthy as all hell, this card had it all in terms of out of combat usage!

"Alright, let's do this!" Rose cried out as she sat up from the table, flourishing the Ryne card and focusing as she absorbed the fairy and became one with her. Ryne had little objection as she merged consciousness with the pirate, she was happy enough that she had actually been kept instead of getting immediately traded away! Just like Kanbaru, Rose too changed forms in the middle of the bar, yet her change went even deeper. Whereas Kanbaru merely changed outfits, got a little edgier, Rose had completely changed into a fairy! "WOAH! This is like, so cool!" Rose flew around the bar to observe the world from this new point of view, briefly buzzing around Kanbaru as she suffered what must be the worst headache known to man.

As Rose flew around the room, a face she didn't recognize showed up in the bar scored with myriad injuries. A lot of that going around today it seems. Regardless, it was only polite to go introduce herself to the new girl! Rose quickly fluttered over to Elijah with a smile, landing on her shoulder to sit down and talk. "Wassup muscle lady! Woah, this fairy has a weird vocabulary." Rose shook her head and continued. "Anyways, I'm Rose! Don't mind the fairy wings and stuff, just testing out a new card I just got!"

---

The energy in the room drained quickly when he was summoned, the Prince of Greed making his debut in the Tower as Kanbaru's card released it's prisoner. A dark red light emanated from the card as the demon floated above it, slowly descending to the floor with something akin to grace. He straightened out his suit quietly, adjusting his tie as he looked around the room with a critical eye. "So this is the situation then... How infuriating." Henry ground out as he glanced back at Kanbaru, appraising the owner of his card. He leaned in close to her, an aura of absolute death permeating him as he looked her in the eye. This was the absolute strongest the Nexus had to offer, a dimension of war and bloodshed that was perpetually reset to breed the greatest killers in the multiverse. This was the boy who had bathed in bloodshed and flourished from the second he was old enough to carry a blade.

Kanbaru of course knew none of this aside from what little she could glean from his memories, his mind an iron trap that let little of his past escape, but what she definitely would know is that this Demon wouldn't even hesitate to kill her should he find her lacking in any way. This staredown would last for a few moments, each one seeming to last an eternity as all eyes were on the duo. Then he sniffed her.

Whatever it was he seemed to smell was satisfactory as he leaned back and sighed, crossing his arms and speaking. "Alright then. From here on out, you are my servant, the arbiter of my will in this Tower. As such, I shall graciously allow you to use my powers. You may now thank me." Henry nodded to himself and grinned, satisfied with his judgement. And just like that, the room was back to normal, almost as if Henry hadn't been debating whether or not to bathe the room in Kanbaru's organs.

In a very short amount of time, various events happened, most all at once. One of the White Masks’ members departed for some reason or another. As Sherry left, her body was enamored in brief spades of light before dissipating entirely. No sooner was she gone that newcomer Clair arrived, budding and bright as ever. Cait made sure to give her “the usual” in rapid fashion with a swift slide of her tail, if only because she had other things to take care of; like dealing with a bug infestation problem that rose up in the last minute.

Cait was already armed with a butterfly net, eyeing up the miniaturized Rose with flitting eyes in case she decided to fly back to the bar area. Whether or not she realized it was in fact Rose or a fly on the wall was hard to say, least of all when the Dangeki was being lively for once in a hub of activity. Case in point, more and more new adventurers arrived at the gathering point, though one might not have called Elijah a newbie in any sort of regard. The scores of marks and battle wounds adorning her form was evident proof of that much.

Elijah’s words to her Serei Card went without response for obvious reasons. While others were blessed with sentient powerhouses, as with the case with Kanbaru and Henry right now, the Serei inhabiting Elijah’s card wasn’t so potent in such matters. Even so, it did glimmer briefly in Elijah’s space where she kept her cards. A single, nearly rotting bandage sprung up the card to smack at the pint-sized Rose sitting casually on the barbarian’s shoulder. Still, it was perhaps obvious to her and Elijah that these were a new group of adventurers.

Compared to Henry’s unspoken death threats, which now felt wholly concrete with Kanbaru summoning him, it was a slap on the wrist. For a moment, the Dangeki seemed to grow still as the two stared each other down, though it was doubtful Kanbaru was phased. The demon was allowed his monologuing before a sharp pain of his own clasped around his ear, Cait dragging him forward with a pointed glare. “Hey, no killing in my bar or I toss you out some random floor,” she warned in a serious demeanor, ignoring the fact she was gripping a Serei.

Mindful of her tone, Cait loosened her features and wagged a disapproving finger towards Henry. “And play nice. That’s your summoner there and you’re supposed to be a team! Just like those two,” she said like a scolding mother, directing her sights on Elijah and her stray bandage. Only then did Cait let go, backing away to go back to cheery bar tending duties.

As the commotion of the lower area only became livelier with people greeting and getting to know each other, the doors to the seldom used upper floor creaked open. Stepping out was a girl, yawning and stretching like she’d just finishd with a nap. She’d have questioned why there the place was suddenly crowded too but after seeing Cait’s display, she figured she’d just watch on observation lest she too say something to get herself tossed out…

“What is this supposed to be, happy hour?” she mumbled to herself, watching the crowd below.

---

Having already used his power for herself, it was no surprise that the being who came out was a black hearted demon with an ego a mile wide. She'd certainly felt that possessiveness when she'd used him to fight Solanne, and were the Crimson Hound any less of a bombshell then she was, Kanbaru would have probably had a harder time resisting the demon's influence in looting and killing her, in whichever order amused it the most.

Her brows arched upwards as Henry had the brass balls to order around his summoner, causing her lips to curl in the beginning of a vicious sneer as she felt something react with a faint disgust to his boasting. Were it not for Cait laying down the law of the land on his ear in a wince worthy pinch, she'd have desummoned him quicker then he emerged and seen how well the card stands up to being dunked in a tankard of beer. With the tension defused she swallowed the bitter feeling directed at the demon prince and hopped onto a bar stool beside him.

"You heard the bar lady. No fighting here or I sleep on the street and you get traded for a cat girl or something." Kanbaru said, eyes flickering to pair of articulate, fluffy triangles perched on Akiko's head. "So you can either sit down and talk shop about that awesome dagger of yours or you can go back to being a card and not giving me migraines."

The festivities were ultimately just that; happy festivities and a pause in the adventure. The two groups still had many journeys to traverse through of course, but unfortunately only one scroll was present on the wanted jobs board. Where the prior two from before had gone was probably a secret known only to Cait, and one scroll meant everyone would wind up on the same floor whether they liked it or not. Much like the others, a simple description was inscribed on the paper.

Umbran Catastrophe: Explore the world cast in shadows. Send morals to the wind and embrace the EDGY darkness! Loot at your own disclosure but watch out for looters looting back the loot you looted. Try not to end up on the wrong side of the law and don’t wake up any eldritch deities.

Assuming everyone wanted to partake in the adventure, the same ritual proceeding would follow. Cait signed away on the scroll like a contract and beckoned both groups towards the only door in the establishment. The new girl upstairs watched casually but made no move to be joining them, at least not yet. Much like before, Black Pentacle and the White Masks were enveloped in light before finding themselves each in a dark alleyway. Some of them were separated.

By choice or chance, the groups were split with some in larger pockets than others. However, each alleyway was relatively close to each other all the same if someone decided to expand their group. Strength in numbers was probably for the best as the hellish and almost neon-like lights from the city above loomed over the newcomers with a harsh buzz. There was also the whirring of jarred sirens coming in their direction but that was probably just a coincidence.

---

---

Taking the glass from Cait with one hand and picking up the card tossed at her with the other, Lin couldn’t help but smirk as she read the name. “Heh, I think you’re starting to know me too well, Caprice.” She remarked sliding it in her bracer to join Ami. “I guess you better take Maria then. We probably shouldn’t leave her behind a second time.”

It was at that time the place went from a bit full to crowded. While Caprice was cheery as ever to introduce herself, Lin’s feelings were the complete opposite. Instead of a proper introduction, she simply sipped at her scotch and gave a two finger wave to the Black Pentacle and other newcomers. It wasn’t hard to tell that the monk was not a fan of the revolving door of characters in the tower.

She wasn’t just going to sit and drink, however. With two cards to her name, Lin felt she might as well add to the collection. Getting up from her chair she ventured over to the shop that had opened. Feeling like testing lady luck, Lin purchased a completely random card. When the exchange was complete she checked the name of her latest addition and stated a loud “And Roma makes three. Should be ready for anything.”

A bracer full of cards and a fist full of scotch, Lin couldn’t help but actually feel a bit excited as Cait opened yet another portal for them to venture off into. Though she still despised the idea of sharing any loot, she had to admit going in with everyone gave them a better chance of even completing whatever challenge awaited them. Downing the last of her drink, Lin haphazardly tossed the empty glass in Cait’s direction before wordlessly walking in.

---

The neon flash and lights of the new world were both oddly comforting, and equally off putting. It almost reminded her of Miso City at night, a time and place she was very familiar with, but the buildings here were far from the traditional ones from back home.

Failing to take note who was with her and assuming everyone came to the same location, Lin instead walked out of the alleyway and began looking around. “Is it just me, or are there a lot of clocks here.”

Good times were had by all in the cafe, Rose in particular had fun evading Cait's efforts to catch her with a butterfly net, but all good things must eventually come to an end. With only one flyer on the board everyone took the same mission to the "world cast in shadows", once more diving headfirst into mystery and a world filled to the brim with adventure!

Rose was the first of her group to get their bearings, immediately snapping to attention at the sound of distant sirens. Police, the eternal enemy of every pirate extraordinaire. She turned to her group, getting a good idea of the resources she had to work with on this adventure. Kanbaru, her ever trusty second in command, Elijah, the muscle of the group to be sure, and Clair, a sneaky Rogue. Much more tolerable than the last rogue for sure, though her usefulness remained to be seen.

"Alright crew, we got work to do. We know nothing about this city other than that it's at least somewhat modern, which is both good and bad. Good because we can adjust quickly, bad because being a pirate and looting in the middle of the city is really hard." Of course the only thing on her mind was money. Adventure was what was most important in this cool Tower of adventure, and adventure usually lead to money! By that logic, money also lead to adventure!

"Now then, normally I would suggest I go scout around with my cool new Ryne card-" She quickly flashed the card proudly, smiling brightly at the sweet deal she got. "But I don't know if fairies are really normal around here, so I probably shouldn't. Yet. Any other ideas team?"

Something curious Kanbaru would note, Henry had returned to his card as soon as they left the bar. Seems he isn't interested in this city, or maybe he's still sulking about the tongue lashing he got from Cait.

---

Lin's group would consist of four people, same as the other group whether they knew it or not. Lin, the drunken monk, Akiko, the cat eared bard, Caprice, the sweet warlock, and most importantly of all, Takara. Who is for once, actually awake and beside Lin. The kid looked as sleepy as ever, but the fact that he was awake at all was a genuine miracle considering Lin had never actually seen him not asleep. Takara tugged on the hem of her shirt to get her attention, clutching onto his pillow with one arm and yawning. "Hey big sis? Do you know where we can get something to eat? I'm really hungry." The low rumble of his stomach would confirm his words, seems he skipped eating while he was at the bar in favor of sleeping.

Caprice, at Lin's urging, swiped up Maria card from the table. Lin's words seemed to give her a moment's pause as she stayed still for a moment after, until they were once again in a new world.

"There are indeed quite a number of clocks, I will agree. If we chase those sirens, we'll probably encounter whatever passes for law here, I suppose?" Caprice didn't quite have a clear grasp of where to go in this world, but nonetheless glanced around, lifting herself up on a candy cane pole with a footrest for a higher vantage before stepping back to normal ground.

Takara would find himself presented with a fresh crisp steaming breakfast burrito, filled with eggs, hash browns, bacon, and peppers.
"Breakfast is served." Caprice nodded with a smile.

Another world and there were already police sirens. If she hadn't missed out on encountering the forces of the Imperium the last time around, she might have thought they were forming a trend in being confronted by law enforcement. Still clad in the power of the Corpse Collector card, the bluenette sent her coat trailing behind her with a flourish as she strode to the mouth of the alley. A motorcycle formed from her magic, one she inherently knew the workings of and could summon at will as easily as Corpse Collector's guns or her own Keyblade.

"Let's a' go!" Kanbaru cheered, straddling the beast of a machine before pointing behind it. A puddle spread out from the rear wheel, only to freeze and raise, taking the form of a sled of ice secured to her ride. "Walking is for suckers. We are blazing a trail in style!"

---

"I better get going as well. When I get back I'm gonna bring you a nice little gift, Kit Kat—" Clair said as Caits opened the passage to a new world.

A low wolf-whistle escaped her lips as she noticed the uncommon number of people who gathered at the portal.

While she waited to go inside, the smallish blonde took notice of the latest person to get in the bar. The cards in Clair's holster felt weirdly agitated as he approached the girl, almost as if they felt something familiar in her. However, that wasn't what made her come closer but rather something much simpler.

"Hey, there!" she waved. "If you are here on your own, am I correct to think that you have no group to explore the new world as well? If that's the case, would you matter teaming up?" Clair said as she extended her hand to the redhead.

"The name's Clair by the way," she said with a beaming smile in her face.

"Oh, wait! I guess we got a group after all. If you wanna come, that is," Clair said as she noticed that she had been drafted into one of the parties already.


Meanwhile, in the new world.

The world of dark night and clocks was a sight to behold indeed. More so were the sounds of its hectic urban life seeping through the cluster of buildings even as the travelers arrived at their destination.

They formed plans and decided on their next course of action. Nevertheless, fate would it that their first contact with the locals would be one they didn't mean to initiate...

"..." A cold stare emanated from the dark alley behind the portal they came from.

Even if the sound of steps wasn't enough to denounce a presence in the same direction, the heavy pressure of the aura coming from the shadows would.

"Would you mind if I ask who are you and what are you doing in a place like this at this hour?" a young female voice—which not low enough to be called a full contralto but almost there—asked as its owner came into the more lit are near the group, revealing herself to be a young-looking, dark-winged girl wearing a school uniform, staring at everyone of them with her ruby-like eyes.

---

How Clair had scaled up to the upper levels of the Dangeki was anyone’s guess, but maybe it was indication her tail wasn’t just for show. Either way, the girl who spent her time observing everyone was only mildly surprised once someone finally noticed her. Blinking away the confusion, she eyed up Clair evenly before her sights landed on the extended hand. Well, she was definitely no redhead, but she wasn’t about to deny a potential ally either. “Katie. You can call me Katie,” the girl responded, matching Clair’s grin with her own smirk as she shook the fox’s hand.

“You know, I thought you weren’t supposed to take candy from strangers, let alone invitations. Besides, you wouldn’t want someone like me tagging around. I like to move at my own pace,” Katie said. Case in point, Clair’s group was already heading towards the open passageway and into the new world. “You’ll see me around then, Clair. Probably,” Katie called out as the group was swallowed up out of the Dangeki’s borders and into the new world.

Within the plane bathed in shadows and neon light itself, the groups were sorted and divided into their own clusters. While one was busy being interrogated by the judging eyes of what was perhaps a local of the world, the other was swiftly finding the sound of sirens getting closer and closer. From Caprice’s vantage point, she could see what looked like hovering police cars speeding out through the many streets and roads of the grand night metropolis. Quite a few were actually headed towards them and it wasn’t long before-

“Halt! State your ID and level of criminal intent.” In next to no time, one of the patrol cars had zeroed in on them as if following a trace. The harsh, robotic-sounding voice emanated from one of the metallic kind, an artificial sentry stepping out of the car and looking down the group with inhuman intent. “Isn’t it a bit early for you kids to start partying? You could at least wait for the rest of the schools to let out.”

“Oh let em party, you party pooper,” came another resident voice. By the exaggerated whirring of a robotic sigh, it was probably a well-known delinquent too. Indeed, the robot sentry didn’t seem surprised as it looked up at the building closest to the right of the alleyway. There sitting on its rooftop edge was a beaming girl, all smiles for the group of Takara, Caprice, Lin and Akiko.

“Where’s your sense of youth? Your carefree, unending burnth of a spirit? I know it’s hard for you robots to really understand, but that’s why I’m here! The Rampaging Tiger of Love and Passion, Itsuko baby! And if I say let the wilds run, then let them run!” The robotic sentry ignored her ramblings.

---

As Elijah walked towards the summoning table, she couldn't help but to spot a smiling fairy fluttering towards her. The muscular barbarian didn't seem to take much note of her until the dainty little thing landed on her shoulder up in her face.

"Wassup muscle lady!" Rose energetically blurted out before catching her own accent.

Elijah's head cocked to the side as she eyed the fairy closely before giving a light smile back at her.

"Oh hello there," the tall woman answered as she eyed the little creature, "And who migh' you be, lil' Miss Pixie-Person?"

The fairy introduced herself as Rose, but made it clear that she was not in her natural body. It was yet another form that the cards had given her to assist her own abilities. She seemed friendly enough, at least according to Elijah. However the same couldn't be said for her own card, as a mummified arm sprung up to smack Rose away from her master's shoulder.

"'Ey ey," Elijah coaxed softly as she poked at Imhotep's rotting arm back, "No need to be rude towards our new friend. My body's no temple like yours."

Regardless of the response, the muscular warrior would be interrupted as she noticed the others grouping up and supposedly discussing the next mission at hand.

She would be given the scroll containing the information regarding their next mission - a neon-city shrouded against the darkness while having an odd affinity for clocks. Their goal was to loot the city of her riches, while at the same time they had to avoid the police patrolling it. It was a classic game of cat and mouse - or in this case, cops and robbers. As the portal began to open, the barbarian would be find herself near a group of three, being comprised of the fairy she met, a little blonde girl, and blue-haired woman wielding a key-shaped blade. The blonde one would notice Elijah, as she walked over to greet the giant newcomer.

"Hey, there! If you are here on your own, am I correct to think that you have no group to explore the new world as well? If that's the case, would you matter teaming up?"

Up until now, she had been used to fighting through the dungeons alone, without any party members (save for her card) assisting in her valiant quest. But her last boss had proven that she won't be able to solo through without a substantial amount of assistance. Even her cards won't be enough to save her ass alone. Thus she quickly came to the conclusion that it would be smarter for her to join them.

"Sure thang!" Elijah replied determinedly as she kneeled to shake the girl's hand, who in turned introduced herself with a gleaming smile, "I'd gladly to be joinin' yer team. And I'm Elijah, by the way."

---

Once she entered the portal, the barbarian would find herself within the city described in the scroll. Everything here would've looked much like her home town, other then the fact that giant clocks could be seen perched on the highest skyscrapers and that the public crowd was almost as dense as Tokyo in rush hour. And being someone of her stature, she couldn't help but feel like she was sticking out like a sore thumb. This would seem to be true as they would soon find themselves in the attention of a dark-winged school girl, who asked why they were here at such an hour. Elijah silently gazed at the girl, her hands gripped tightly around her giant warhammer, as she expected the others to speak out on their behalf.

But knowing how things usually turned out, the barbarian was more than ready to fight at a moment's notice.

Rose nodded firmly, giving her second in command a thumbs up as she stepped on the sled and- oh boy this thing is really cold! The pirate shivered as she looked towards Elijah and Claire, briefly considering going fairy and hitching a ride on one of them instead of dealing with a cold seat. Clair's hood looked warm, that would probably make a good seat. Then again, Elijah would definitely be giving off a lot of heat, a much firmer seat too considering those abs...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a new girl from above, a dark angel in a schoolgirl uniform. A scene straight from an anime, truly this was a world worthy of adventure. And hey, if angels existed here then fairies probably did too! Rose could totally go all out with weirdness in this world it looks like, very modern fantasy.

"Hey there! I'm Rose, this is Elijah, Kanbaru, and Claire! We just arrived in the city and were gonna take a tour, try and get a lay of the land so to speak. Nice to meet you..." Rose trailed off, fishing for a name from the mysterious stranger, but not a mysterious stranger who wore a hooded cloak. A considerably less mysterious stranger, but mysterious all the same.

Kanbaru looked back to find what was the hold up in loading the cart, curiously giving a once over to the new additions to the party. Not that it wasn't already different in having twice the part members to what she had in the last world, but one was a hulking brute of a woman who looked to be made of muscles, and the other was a cat girl who wouldn't have been out place inserting 'Nya' into every sentence. Both of them and Rose were pre-occupied with the appearence of a fifth person, this one looming dramatically over them like an avenging angel, wings and all.

It would have been a more ominous sight if the wings weren't attached to a schoolgirl.

"Rose, what are you doing? This is a schoolgirl in a dark alley in the dead of night. She's either a magical girl or she's out here looking for compensated dating to fuel her cosplay addiction. Hey, pervy angel, we aren't looking to buy used underwear!" Kanbaru hollared at Iona, wary of her kind especially so with all the sounds of police sirens about. The last thing they wanted to be caught doing on just arriving at the world was be arrested for soliciting delinquent minors. She grasped the throttle of her magic motorcycle and coaxed the group out of the alley, carefully edging onto the street lest a sharp turn sheer the cart from her ride.

Safety first, then we can gun it and tear up the street.

---

"Are you sure about that? She doesn't look like that from here," Clair replied to Kanbaru's assessment of the mysterious winged girl right as Rose engaged the subject of their conversation.

"You better bet I'm not," the girl said. She flipped her hair, glaring at Kanbaru before continuing, "My name is Iona," she said to, replying to Rose", and instead of soliciting, I'm here to warn you that you are breaching the Council's regulation."

"And what Council are you talking about?" Clair interject just as Iona took a step forward.

"The Student Council, of course. What other authority did you think that ran this place? If you are not going to cooperate and answer my questions truthfully, I'm going to have to ask you to follow me to the office," Iona said, resting a hand on her hips and cocking her head to the side.

"Hey, wait! I don't think we are going to get a get out-of-jail-free card if we try to run now," Clair spoke as Kanbaru tried to ran away, leaving the Student Agent talking to the walls. Her assessment was probably a warranted one as well, given the unamused glare in Iona's eyes as she witnessed the group's newest hijinks.

If they thought they could challenge the Student Council and live, they did the last mistake of their lives.

---