[h2]Marisa Kirisame - Academy City[/h2]

Marisa was careful to listen to everything that was said between Kakine and Misaka. So they'd be taking a route through... some kind of place where there was lots of stuff? She internally shrugged. As long as it gave her a good chance to slip away, she was fine with it. It's not like she was [i]permanently[/i] running off, she'd be back to meet Crowley or whoever. But who wanted to just ignore such an awesome place and go off to meet some guy? She was going to [i]explore[/i]!

And so, as soon as her two companions got going, she was happy to follow along... at least, until they got somewhere where it was nice and crowded and easy to escape...

[h2]Saber - Castle Tepes[/h2]

The King of Knights paused for a moment when two newcomers appeared. The Samurai was not officially part of the UMMA, but his consistent aid was greatly appreciated by the council, and Saber respected him as a warrior. She nodded her head to him, and then Kazuma, who had also teleported in. She had not known they would be receiving further defense of this castle. Certainly, there was no way that Shadow Eternity would be able to obtain the Eye of the Serpent if it was so well-defended.

"Hello," she began, "Kazuma, Jack."

It was a simple greeting, but she was glad to see more allies. She was, admittedly, not sure how to feel about the ghostly maid, Shirly, who was currently panicking as if she had done something wrong, apologizing profusely and bowing over and over again. It took direct interference from Queen Tepes herself to calm the maid down. Shirley at last gave one last apology before moving to the Queen's side. It was only then that the Queen realized there were new arrivals.

"Oh, I didn't even know the UMMA was sending more!" she said with a fang-showing smile, "Well, I'm sure you already know why you're here, so let's get inside."

Just as everyone reached the door... it was opened by [url=http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=1372755]another maid[/url]. This maid, certainly, was not transparent... but closer inspection would reveal a plethora of stitches, around her wrist, her legs, her neck... and a pair of bolts in the sides of her neck, as well.

"... Ah, your highness!" she greeted the Queen cheerfully, "And guests too! Welcome home!"

Then she saluted. Well, at least for a moment, before remembering she was a maid and not a soldier and bowed quickly before stepping aside.

The interior of the castle was vast. A brilliantly red carpet stretched towards an elegant staircase leading up to the second level, and there were passageways in the dark wood walls leading off to other rooms. It gave the impression of old, elegant royalty... at least until you noticed the shelf of small, plush bat toys to one side, and a brief glimpse of a large television through one of the doorways.

"I hope you'll enjoy your stay," said the Queen, happily, as she turned to face Saber and the others, "But first, we'll need to head downstairs to the Eye's chamber."