Watching the others' behavior made Nanoha sight. She imagined that it wouldn't be that easy to coordinate anything with them since big egos were apparently a common trait among this group. Still, the information she gathered didn't dissuade her from the objectives she had in mind. In fact, this was better than Nanoha could expect.

"Miss Yakumo challenged us to a match first. I don't think that what happened will affect her disposition towards us. Denying her would probably have been worse," Nanoha said, replying to Minami's stare. "If we can find her again, I'm sure that we will be able to get our feelings across. No matter the cost. Right, Raising Heart?" She asked her device, which chimed in, asserting Nanoha's words.

"Anyway, if you want to know what happened over here, I can send you a copy of the mission report. Would it be possible to request something similar out of your side? It doesn't need to be a detailed report, but anything that can help with intelligence gathering would be very appreciated," Nanoha replied to Leonardo's question, as Raising Heart projected a copy of her mission report at a split screen beside the video conference monitor.


"I agree with Miss Yuyuko in that it seems like Miss Yukari, as well as Altair, wouldn't be doing this without a reason," Meteora said once she had the opportunity to speak again. "Altair's motivation for taking part in this incident is a mystery. She already got all of her wishes fulfilled by the end of our story, there's nothing other than Shimazaki Setsuna that could goad her into action. The only way to find it would be to ask her directly, which is the same for Miss Yukari, I think."

"Anyway, I don't agree with your plans, Mister Sharpton. In this situation, withholding information would be a disadvantage for us. Altair's main source of power is the internet. If we begin to spread rumors concerning our plans through services like 3chan and Dwitter, I'm sure that she'll catch wind of them pretty fast. She'll obviously know it's a trap but knowing her, Altair will show up in the marked places either way. Furthermore, if we decide to use encrypted means, she'll still find her way to the information. There's no denying that, when it comes to weaponizing social media, no one is better than Altair."

"In fact, I've been doing this for a while now. She should be aware of a pretty good deal of what happened in the past few hours as well as a plan to set up a 'teleportation rig' linking several crisis management organizations throughout the world." Meteora concluded her long-winded exposition flashing her phone's screen to the to hers, showing several posts in many social media outlets, including pictures she took, usage of sensationalist hashtags, and a gratuitous amount of vitriol aimed at Altair.


"Huh, what's happening here?" Tohka said as a giant wolf and a biker girl run past her while she tried to get a snack out of the machine only to notice that it refused to take her money for some reason.

"Hey, why are you doing this? I just want something to eat," she added while shaking the machine. However, no matter how much Tohka tried to get something out of it without using violence, her efforts would be in vain, given that the machine's lights were turned off, obviously because of the lack of power supply to this partially ruined sector of the city.

Tohka was so focused on trying to get her breakfast that she didn't even notice the other group of people staring at the biker girl from down the street.

---

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y@Rin@TheFake@Crusader Lord

---

"Bluntly speaking, seeding chaos like this must have a very deliberate purpose. An endgame if you will. So to what specific end or purpose might this all be aiming for? We must ask ourselves this as we investigate this matter on all sides, even if it seem ludicrous at the time as we weed things out," the small Empress said once her time to speak came along, having carefully listened to the others speak with a calm formality about her, though she did continue speaking after a second, a determined regality in her tone, calm, smooth, yet calculating in nature much like the look of her eyes at this point in time, "There were two similar situations in my world where someone drove the world into a war, both times to meet specific ends and goals. Similar sentiments have been noted here about both Yukari and Altair, that they would each have a distinct reason for acting as they are. And if both don't have plainly obvious reasons, as seems to perhaps be the case, then we must look beyond the boundaries of their normal character as to why they might be doing what they are."

To what end was bringing many random beings here for? It couldn't be to simply stir up chaos, there was always a reason others did such things to the world. To seize power, manipulate the populace, to awaken forces for their own gain, among other potential things. She had even sent the Greil Mercenaries to disrupt illegal slave trade a time ago to better get a hold on the senate's more underhanded dealings. Whether in small scale or large, there was always a reason. And if this Altair was as intelligent, powerful, and cunning as she was being made out to be then there had to be a grand scheme. A bigger plan than to cause chaos or recruit others to her cause such as this Yukari. that or even this Altair could be under the effect of something else beyond this, if she had no proper reason to do things here according to Ms. Meteora. It was all still very much a mystery.

"Thus i have a suggestion. If we could find a manner in which to force one or both of these individual to manifest before us without battle, or under the right circumstances, we could potentially question them even if temporarily. Further, a coordinated effort between our groups that might separate them for questioning could be even better so if possible," Sanaki continued, keeping a proper tone as she stepped forwards again to stand in front of the screen, arms held behind her back in a proper manner as if addressing the senate or another crowd whilst on her feet, "Regardless of what plans could be made, information is also an important matter that requires care. With Altair's apparent skills, though, we must not be too secretive either, lest this arouse too much suspicion. Thus i propose that we utilize our 'unique' people on both sides to find a means by which to securely communicate. Perhaps by magic of some kind, or a combination of things?"

---

---

The Yakuza. Japan's own version of the Mafia, some operated well into modern times admits all the advancement and other goings on. In particular, one group had operated in Tokyo for a few generations, and even in modern times had storehouses and meeting places scattered about Tokyo for purposes of business. And business had been going smoothly and quietly as normal....until recently. Strange people appearing out of nowhere, monsters destroying things, they had been forced to pull supplies and forces out of some areas to avoid taking too much collateral.

In particular, a hideout concealed in the basement of a legitimate business (one this particular group owned) near the borders of Ikebukuro was in danger due to the area being declared a dangerous place to avoid. In response, the group was trying to get out a shipment of smuggled arms and "human product" they had been keeping there as soon as the first abnormal dangers in the city had arisen, to be moved to another place. In the meantime they had offered a little help in getting people out of the affected area initially, which had kept the eyes of the officials off of them enough to make this possible.

Though there was one problem they had never forseen....

"Oh? This is not the Moon Cell." he had exclaimed initially.

A man who looked like a Chinese in fancy clothes had appeared before them within the hideout, out of the blue. Another one of those strange figures seemingly jumping from the world of fiction, and the group of men currently removing supplies and people from the storage area had attacked on sight. How dare more of these things show up, on their turf, killing their guys and ruining their business! However, even this had been in vain, as the strangely clothed, red-haired man had slain the group down to the last man faster than they could manage to do a thing to react more.

As the martial artist knocked down the entrance, chunk of the wall blown away like paper in the face of a fire, he dusted himself off as the people he'd freed walked past. Surely it wasn't his job to free them, his fists had done much evil in life. But "that girl" back home would have scoffed at this terrible sight, he knew that much, and until he returned he could at least do this little something for her as a reminder to himself as well of that need to return. Further, the act of keeping these girls like this offended him. And so he did this, to free those weak and slay those men who had dared to raise their weapons at him in a futile effort.

'Not even a challenge...," the martial artist thought to himself with a mental sigh of exasperation,

He thought this even as the bruised "human product" ran out of the building, the few scared-looking girls moving past him without a thought, running out of the building proper as well to escape and flee to potential safety together outside of Ikebukuro. They had learned the area wasn't safe from their captors as the first few had been gathered up to be moved, and as such weren't interested in hanging around now that they were free. Only one, a girl in her mid-teens seemed to stop, however, and give enough time to respectfully bow to the martial artist before running off to join the others. It merely brought a small smile to the martial artist's lips, as her appearance reminded him of "that girl" who was the master of the ruler of the Moon Cell.

But looking out into the distance, he noticed the destruction from Ikebukuro from afar. It only took a moment of pondering before a smile came to his face. Ah. Such devastation to be wrought, it was like what that man who had been a former master of his had described the world as after their initial meeting. Though this was definitely not the same world, at all in fact, though similarities to what the Moon Cell had recorded of "proper modern civilization" were too strong to discard.

Yet most importantly, whatever could do that damage might prove a fun match for him. Yes, to put his life on the line with his life at stake, such was the true purpose of martial arts.

And so the man, the servant, Li Shuwen of the Assassin class, began to sprint off towards Ikebukuro.

---

---

@KoL@PKMNB0Y@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@TheFake

With Miku pointing at it, there was no way that Hibiki could miss the silhouette of a truly oversized wolf bounding from rooftop to rooftop. Far more normal than the Noise, true, but an animal of that size could only be dangerous... as confirmed when an oddly silent biker rode up with a written warning. Not that the gear user was going to take such a warning as applying to herself. Tell Miku to stay safe? Yes. Immediately transform and take off in the same direction as the creature, right past the girl shaking a vending machine? Also yes.

Giant wolf or not, she ought to be able to catch up to it. Maybe if she got up to the rooftops herself...

---

"It would be wrong to assume that anyone with the power to do something must have a reason for it. it is equally common that some powerful Beyondian would stir up trouble only because they wanted to entertain themselves or by not considering the consequences of their actions to be important. In this case, it would seem unlikely that anyone is unaware, but we don't know enough to rule out their interventions being for more than amusement's sake," the redhead said, disagreeing with Sanaki's swift conclusion that it must be some elaborate plan. "And because of that, we should be careful not to focus too much on what would help Altair. If someone else with worse intentions was to find out which property I signed for as an office, we might find ourselves caught unawares, or walking into a trap."

"Communicating with phones should work as well as magic."

---

The vampire rolled her eyes as yet another one walked out of the conference. They really were children, weren't they? Not that she could blame them, the conversation was boring if you had no interest in participating. Though the promise of refreshments was at least a reason to sit through it until she had something better to do. Though by now, Evangeline's disinterest was rapidly apparent, the short blonde sat crosslegged on her chair and paying more attention to the sadly empty cup in front of her.

Nanoha listened to everything the others had to say, trying to absorb as much information as possible while not letting herself be shaken by the general lack of organization in this effort. If everything continued to be this chaotic, it would be really hard to get anything done, especially a task as complex as interdimensional transportation from a completely unknown—possibly very isolate— world such as this one.

After another round of opinions had been thrown in, she raised a hand, requesting the opportunity to speak.

"I appreciate everyone's ideas but I think that we are beginning to grasp at straws. Theorizing without any solid basis will get us nowhere. So, why don't we adjourn this meeting and continue doing our separate investigations for the time being? I believe that we have a physical meeting being prepared if what Mister Sharpton said is correct. We can resume the conversations when we are in a place where we don't need to worry about spies. Unless anyone has any other crucial information to add, this should be enough, right?" Nanoha said. This meeting answered some questions and created even more; she needed some time to process it as well as take care of her own issues.

Bouncing empty theories around just made them lose time after all.

"I understand what you are trying to say. Perhaps I'm too fixated at Altair. All of us just have our original worlds to take as a frame of reference, so I think it's only natural that this kind of situation where worldviews collide would happen sooner or later. Maybe we can proceed with caution for the time being. I'll keep working on the only lead I have, but I don't wish to compromise anyone's situation with my own ideas," Meteora said in reply to Klaus' statement.

"As far as motivations go, I think that they may as well be all over the place, so spitballing ideas at random isn't really going to help us. We should do as Nanoha said and focus our efforts for the time being. It's also getting pretty late here so we can go eat something and rest, before continuing our investigations in the morning," she said before nodding to herself. An empty sack cannot stand upright after all. If nothing else, the biggest problem of this joint investigation would be dealing with a half-a-day time lag between teams.

Just from this small hands-on experience, Meteora could see why most creators got lazy and didn't properly address the issue of timezones on their works. These things really suck.

Back at Tokyo, Tohka's attention was taken from food acquisition to a certain girl that she saw running right past her in the street. She was going right after what seemed to be a giant dog and someone on a motorcycle, climbing the roofs of the nearby buildings, leaving Tohka completely confused about what in the world was happening.

The only thing that the purple-haired girl knew what that the girl in armor looked way too much like someone from that annoying Mecha-Mecha Squad that always attacked her on sight. With the idea that this would be the best chance for her to get some questions answered, Tohka summoned Sandalphon and raised it over her head, however, a certain idea passed through her mind just as she did so, saving the buildings where the dog was at the moment from being further destroyed.

Nevertheless, a moment—and a sliced snack machine— later, Tohka, who was now wearing her Astral Dress and well as wielding her Angel, would catch up with the Mecha-Mecha girl thanks to the fact that she seemed to be the only one around here capable of flying. "Hey you, Mecha-Mecha girl, what's happening here? Why is everyone going after that giant dog? It didn't eat your homework, did it?" She asked in a completely serious way. The only reason anyone would put this much effort to catch a dog would be because it ate their homework or something like that. At least in Tohka's limited opinion.

---

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y@Rin@TheFake@Crusader Lord

He stood in his obtrusive cloak and leather armour. The mage inclined his head in acknowledgement to Hibiki and approached the group. He had been about to mention his encounter the night before when his attention was taken by the helmeted rider and the wolf she was chasing.

The sight of the animal cause him to freeze for just a second. The oversized canines he knew of were incredibly dangerous and hostile and one such group harboured a special dislike for a certain dark skinned mage. But those were hounds and this was certainly a wolf.

"I agree, we should be able to learn something here, although you two girls might not be suited for this."

He spoke this last part directly to Misaki and Miku. Hibiki, he knew, could certainly handle herself. With a gesture Quick Ben turned and stepped casually up into the air to begin his own pursuit.



"I an Ennis, of a fictional New York. I have little experience with things of this nature but am confident that I can work in a team."

She leaned forward in her seat to get a better view of the screen.

"A physical meeting would be more productive, especially after we have all done some research and preparation. "

She hadn't even been aware that a meeting with individuals from other countries was to take place. And any preparation might also involve taking steps to keep tempers in check. Klaus's mention of phones caught her attention and planted an idea in her head.

"Few of us should have any knowledge of the origins of everyone else, perhaps social media could be leveraged to gather information quickly. It is impossible for governments to have strict control of witnesses. Would should take the next few days to discover what we can and research who our allies and opponents might be."

Mr. Sharpton gave a curt nod towards Nanoha as she suggested that the groups trade reports on the recent incidents, but paused for a moment as Meteora suggested that the governments should work towards internet-based warfare. That in and of itself was a bit odd (putting aside how the sites she had mentioned weren't pronounced as such) to him, all things considered, but as the discussion progressed, he did have to admit that as things were progressing now, there wasn't much else to establish other than connecting names to faces.

"Hm... Very well, then. Ms. Takamachi, we'll have the writeup of the recent incidents today sent over in a few hours," he stated, adjusting his tie as he looked at the rest of the people present. If anything, it seemed as if everyone was tiring of the topic at hand, and so it did seem like a good time to split off for now.

"If we're all in agreement, then, should we draw this discussion to a close? I am feeling a bit peckish myself," Yuyuko chimed in before he could suggest doing so. With a glance around to see the rest of the group (on both sides), the ghost smiled and gave a bow towards the screen. "Very well. If you would, then?"

There was a brief pause as the person handling the computer looked towards Mr. Sharpton for a response, and when given a nod, terminated the video feed. There was a bit of a sigh from the UN official as he glanced at the screen before he shrugged his shoulders, but other than that, it didn't seem as if he had any issues with how things had turned out.

"Well, at the very least, that marks the end of my orders here," he remarked, giving a slight smile to the group as people began to rise from their seats. "Before you all leave for the night, though, I would like to treat you all to dinner. I've rented a vehicle to transport everyone over to the restaurant we're to eat at, so if you would..."

There was a distinct blanching of Leo's face as Yuyuko seemed to light up with expectation, and there was a distinct bit of worry on the former's face as the group left the room. After all, given how much she had eaten before (and given how she seemed to still not be sated after the fact), there was a bit of worry that their patron would have a painfully empty wallet by the end of the night.

It didn't take long after the group had left the UN Building and entered the vehicle to be driven to the restaurant in question. It didn't seem all that fancy, all things considered, but Leonardo had to admit that it was definitely beyond what he could usually afford.

"Here we are," Mr. Sharpton said, leading everyone out of their ride and gesturing to the entrance of the restaurant as an older man in a chef's uniform calmly stepped out to greet the group.

"Ah, you must be the group that Mr. Sharpton was referring to," he remarked, snaking the hands of everyone in order before opening the doors leading inside. "Please, do come in and make yourselves comfortable. I couldn't bear to leave my old friend's guests waiting."

Once he was inside and had taken his seat, Leo simply picked up a menu on the table in front of him and began to scan through it intently. A waiter, of course, simply stood by to take their orders as they came.

"Mmm... You know, I don't actually remember the last time I've been able to eat at somewhere like this. What to get, what to get..." he muttered to himself as a glass of water was poured out for everyone present by the aforementioned waiter. "Actually, can I just have whatever the special is today?"

"And I would like to try one of everything~!" Yuyuko chimed in, to which Leo simply stared blankly in shock. "If you would, of course."

"Certainly, madam," the waiter responded, seemingly unfazed as he waited for the rest of the group to order.

Of course, the slight vibrating of the water inside the glasses might be a clue for as to something else going on, but Leo himself didn't notice in the least.

---

As soon as the call had ended, the Private let out a deep sigh of frustration at what Mordred and Tenshi had done before taking a deep breath and looking at the others who had decided to not just leave rudely in the middle of the talk.

"Ahem... Well, um... I'm not sure what else to say, to be quite honest. We'll get your IDs ready by the time you return, but until then you're free to walk around the city as you please. If you don't feel like going to find a place to eat on your own, though, I would be happy to guide you someplace to eat at," she said, trying her best to hide her displeasure at how things had played out. "Actually, speaking of which... Has anyone seen Tohka at all today? I thought she was here when the call started, but..."


Misaki paused for a moment as she watched both Hibiki and Ben fly off after the wolf, leaving both her and Miku standing on the street awkwardly. The two paused for a few awkward moments before they noticed a girl with a sword flying up after Hibiki.

"I don't like the look of that..." the esper trailed off before Miku grabbed her arm and began to run off after Hibiki. "Hey, wha- What are you doing?!"

"I'm not going to simply stand around on the street, you know," Miku responded, dragging Misaki along. "If anything, standing around like this means that we might get spirited away or something; if we're close, we might be able to help or something, at least."

"You realize that we're probably the worst people to provide aid even IF we got there, right?" Misaki quipped in return, stumbling a few times as she attempted to keep pace with Miku. "What makes you think that getting any closer is going to help?"

"I..."

Miku paused for a moment, trailing off as Misaki caught up and glanced around at the nearby area. It was clear to Misaki at a glance that the girl was hiding something, but even now she felt as if it would be problematic if she attempted to dive into Miku's mind to find out what that was.

Or, more accurately, that it would result in a punch that would likely separate her head from her body.

"In any case, I'll agree with you that we should get somewhere where we can observe them. That's why I came here in the first place, after all," Misaki sighed, walking along the road with Miku as they eyes Ben, Hibiki, and the wolf from a distance. Said wolf seemed to recognize the presence of the new people in the air, though, causing it to turn for a moment and reveal the slight silhouette of a sword in its mouth before it began to bound away once more.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@KoL@Rin@TheFake@Crusader Lord

---

She had concurred with the red-haired man that wanton destruction could itself be a reason, though still mentally held that there could also be a reason. Indeed, questioning at random with no reason would not help whatsoever, but at the same time just tossing away all thoughts of what could be a reason after careful investigation was not helpful either. Regardless, she had kept her tongue and merely nodded to the other side before the screen cut off.

Though now was a slightly different story to her composed and serious self in the video conference.

The small Empress attempted to adjust to sitting with the others in this....more humble of accommodations than sitting around the prying eyes of many had earlier at the other establishment. A light fidgeting of her legs under the table and a minor uncomfortable feeling showing a little bit in her eyes were signs of that. So used to meals on her lonesome, provided by the staff who tended to her whims and desires back in the capital of her dear Begnion. This this more than before, since the main topic had been put aside seemingly for the night, was leaving the small Empress in a more uncomfortable position visibly and internally. It somewhat hammered home a bit of what she dubbed "homesickness" as it were, though she did her best to put on her usual airs and was mostly successful in this endeavor save for the minor clues being unintentionally shown on her part.

"I will have whatever is considered the finest dish on this menu," she said, her voice confident but hoping that said 'finest dish' would at least keep her full and content for the night, helping to chase away whatever thoughts of home might be lingering. Though however it all might go down, her eyes drifted over to her own glass of mere water as she took a moment of thought, but snapped out of it as she saw the slight vibrating in the water and raised an eyebrow at it.

Was there something going on just outside or something?

---

---

After leaping into the ruined area, Li had gone about searching for the source of the destruction, the root of this that could potentially provide a suitable fight or answer to tide him over for the moment after having arrived in such odd conditions. Regardless, the thrill of battle would be its own reward in his mind, should he be able to locate something, though in the end he had heard noises of something large running atop buildings from afar. Safe to say it piqued his interest, more so than the basic programs to be fought back home, though was reminiscent of the larger and far more deadly foes he'd been able it fight there. Ah, potential prey! It was something, at least.

The martial artist had swiftly made his way in the direction of the noises, at speeds only servants were perhaps capable of, before finally spotting from a rooftop a sight that made him laugh aloud at how ridiculous it seemed for a moment. Someone riding on a bike with a yellow helmet, a girl in some kind of armor with no weapons in her hands, a cloaked figure seeming as if she was flying, and a large wolf with what seemed to be a sword in its mouth at the head of things with the others seeming to pursue. A hunt, perhaps? Has this wolf done the damage around here, or was it looking for something else? Though following a ways behind seemed to be two other girls, according to his trained eyes.

Perhaps asking first would yield interesting facts first, its what that girl would have wanted perhaps, though his fists yearned for some actual challenge.

Leaping over, the man garbed in what could only be called an outfit fit for a rich yakuza or a "pimp" landed suddenly in front of Misaki and Miku, looking over to them with arms crossed calmly.

"What is going on here? Are the people over there hunting that wolf?" the martial artist said, not exactly the most tactful in his arrival and sudden questioning, though he was at least getting to the point of things in his mind where it mattered most.

---

---

@PKMNB0Y@TheFake@Rin@KoL@TheFake@VitaVitaAR

"Haaah, that meeting was a drag," complained Mordred, hands in her pockets as she strolled down the street. At the moment, she was in the need for some breakfast. Something that didn't include talking to some shorty with a marshmallow floating behind her and a lady who had way too much in common with a cow. If anything important came of that meeting, she knew she'd hear about it later. So there was no reason for her to hang around and be bored out of her skull, now, was there?

There really wasn't.

Scanning the streets, she noticed a convenience store ahead, and strolled in to push the door open. Yeah... the blonde knight needed some breakfast. After a moment, she snatched a candy bar off the shelves and walked up to the counter, slamming the required yen down. Before the clerk could say anything, Mordred had opened the candy bar and walked out, chowing down. Yeah... this was an easy breakfast, right? She left the surprised clerk long behind as she headed back out onto the street.

Haah... what was she going to do today, then?

@PKMNB0Y@Raineh Daze

---

The entire meeting after one of the people on the other end had insulted her and more importantly Yuyuko-sama and stormed out had felt sour to the small half-phantom. Still, she couldn't deny that going out to eat sounded appealing... though she was more then a little worried about what Yuyuko-sama would be ordering. And indeed, Youmu's concerns were almost immediately brought into reality when they sat down and looked at the menus.

"Eh-heh, Yuyuko-sama..." Youmu sighed. All of them? Yuyuko-sama wanted to order one of everything? ... It wasn't even surprising, really... it was nice getting eat with her regardless. "I guess I'm not surprised at all."

Some small part of her had always wondered if certain features of Yuyuko were influenced by the amount of food that she ate. The rest of Youmu blushed whenever that thought came to her mind and tried not to think about that any longer. As she looked over the menu, however, the small white-haired girl was quickly overwhelmed. There were... many options. And she didn't recognize any of them. Some of them looked a little like foods she was more familiar with... except they had many ingredients she didn't know much about, and names she didn't recognize.

"... E-er..."

Finally, she pointed at something creamy, with a poached egg and pieces of what she guessed were some kind of pork-based product in it.

"... This?"

@KoL@Crusader Lord@PKMNB0Y@TheFake@Raineh Daze

"Eh? Mecha?" Hibiki asked, looking away from her pursuit for a second to look at whoever had somehow caught up and asked the question. Not that it told her much before she had to look ahead again to make the next jump: it was some sort of magical girl with a sword? So like Tsubasa in that way, only Tsubasa couldn't fly without X-Drive... which was a shame, there were plenty of situations where flight would have been useful, but only the Shenshou-Jing had that ability.

... but that wasn't important right now. "Ikebukuro is dangerous with that around, it needs to be stopped!"

The wolf apparently felt the need to confirm it, turning to reveal that it had a sword. Somehow. What was a wolf doing with such a huge sword? It was nearly as big as some of Tsubasa's, and she had thumbs.

Ennis followed the group to the restaurant, taking a seat facing towards the entrance. She picked up the menu, immediately turning to the back for the wine list. If this meal was being paid for by someone else then she was going to enjoy it. "I'll have steak tartare, grilled asparagus and a bottle of the '98 Coche-Dury."

It might be unfortunate for Mr. Sharpton that he had taken them to an Italian restaurant, cuisine that she was intimately familiar with. Her wine choice alone would retail for a thousand dollars. She wasn't particularly sorry.

Nanoha sighed deeply after the meeting was over, taking a moment to think about how could everything get this complicated so fast. She could only hope that someone on the other group could make sense of the report she sent them as well as provide any valuable information they gathered.

"I would be glad for anything, " Nanoha replied to Private Minami's offer of showing them a place to eat. The surprised look in the auburn-haired girl's eyes made it evident that she thought that didn't look like the type of person that cooked her own meals. After an offer such as this one, Nanoha immediately thought that Minami was talking about either a lunch at a JSDF base or a street restaurant. Indeed, Nanoha could totally see Private Minami as being a regular at a ramen restaurant.

Her thoughts were cut short when the Private spoke again, this time asking if any of them had seen another girl named Tohka.

"Tohka?" Nanoha replied, thinking out loud, in an inquisitive voice. "Ah, you mean that purple-haired girl, right? The only time I saw her was yesterday before we went back to our rooms. Isn't she still sleeping?"

"Ikebukuro?" Tohka replied to the orange Mecha Girl; her voice making it clear that Tohka didn't know what she was talking about.

The look of confusion didn't leave her face, despite the fact the answer but it seemed like the Mecha Girl wasn't going to talk more until they stopped that giant dog.

"So, we just have to make that dog stop running around, right?" Tohka said before she sped up, crossing the dog's path just as it jumped between roofs and striking it with a heavy overhead slash aimed at the sword it held in its jaws, intent on either knocking it towards the Mecha Girl or at least slow it a bit.

---

With the other orders taken (and Mr. Sharpton's face blanching at Ennis' order of wine), the waiter for their table nodded and simply marked everything down before leaving to deliver their order to the kitchen. The official treating them was crying inside at how fast his expected budget for the meal had been overshot, but all things considered, it was a small price to pay for... Well, people who could down two giant wyverns flying around the city without breaking a sweat. Leonardo, however, seemed just as worried as their host, though for different reasons entirely.

"Ah... I wish I had a suit or something. This place feels way too fancy with my usual clothes all worn-out like this..." he moaned to himself as the shaking of the water in the glasses became more pronounced. As soon as Leo noticed it himself, though, he paused and quickly glanced outside the window. It didn't seem like there was anything outside, even with his All-Seeing Eyes of God, but the floor was shaking nonetheless.

"Maybe... From underground...?" he wondered out loud to himself as the shaking slowly began to subside... Or, at the very least, began to move away from their location.

Whatever had just passed was leaving now, and it wasn't like they could simply blast through the ground to figure out the cause without causing even more issues for everyone else here.

"I-in any case... Klaus, does the office have the same layout as the one we had back in Hellsalem's Lot? I don't mind sleeping on the couch again, but that's really only if the place doesn't need to be remodeled overnight. Actually... Without the usual staff, how long would it even take to make the place look like normal again...?"

Yuyuko, on the other hand, was calmly staring straight at Ennis. After all, she had only ordered food at the end of the day, and had no idea what all those fancy drinks on the menu even tasted like. In other words, the woman in front of her would probably know what alcohol here was worth trying, if anything.

"Hm...? Was that a bottle of rare alcohol or something of the sort that you just ordered?" she asked, leaning forward with a bit of a gleam in her eyes. "Would you mind letting me have a taste when it arrives? After all, fine drinks are best enjoyed with company, are they not?"


The Celestial wasted no time in following after Mordred, opting to glide along to floor to catch up with the blonde knight rather than run in order to move faster. She, of course, shared similar sentiments about how the meeting had panned out, but at the very least there was someone here who gave her an easy route out of that boring meeting. It reminded her of those gatherings full of officials that her father made her attend on occasion, and those were always boring enough to put her to sleep.

"Hey, wait up! If you're gonna explore the place, then I'm gonna tag along! No ands, ifs, or buts!" she declared as Mordred walked into a store of some sort to buy some food. Tenshi was momentarily awed by how clean the place was compared to the shops in the Human Village, but quickly brushed it off before going off to buy some food of her own. There wasn't necessarily anything that struck her fancy, though, so in the end she decided to pick up an onigiri (with just an umeboshi inside, of course) for a snack. After all, her target was already leaving!

Without any further fanfare, Tenshi dropped a pair of 100-yen coins on the counter before continuing to give chase.

"Actually, do you know this place, or are we just going to wander around until we find something interesting?"

---

The Private glanced at the people present as they split up, leaving just Nanoha behind to take her up on the offer to eat. Of course, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but if possible she'd have liked to keep tabs on the others...

"Oh, was she sleeping? Well, I wouldn't want to disturb her, then," she said, crossing her arms as she walked out of the room and towards her own (personal) car parked alongside the road. "We're going to be riding to Yoyogi for breakfast, if you don't mind. There's a nice cafe there run by an old friend of mine, and knowing how much of a workaholic he is, the place is probably still open. Assuming nothing weird happened overnight, at least... That's a flag, isn't it?"

Once she opened the door to the driver's seat, however, the Private paused before remembering the exact details of Nanoha's request earlier. Given what she knew, it wasn't as if the young lady in front of her was going to simply slip in as a transfer student this easily, especially given her semi-superstar status even among children...

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask, Ms. Takamachi, but is there any school that you had in mind? The things being taught in a normal classroom might be a bit too low-level for your liking, so I was thinking that you might want to try your hand at some high school or college courses... Not to imply anything, of course!" she said hastily before slipping into the car and starting up the engine. Of course, this was all assuming that those schools were still open after the chaos (which was likely), but even so...


The sudden arrival of a man who wouldn't look out of place in a yakuza film or Chinese gangster movie caused both Misaki and Miku to flinch and stop in place. From just his actions alone, the former had a premonition that her ability, as usual, wouldn't work (which itself was starting to become a bit troublesome). The girl beside her, of course, seemed hesitant to move, which was more than enough of a cue for Misaki herself to start trying to help them squirm out of the current situation.

"To be quite frank, sir, I have no idea what's going on over there," Misaki stated, gesturing to the chaos that was only now beginning to unfold. "It does seem that way, though; I'm not sure why there's a giant wolf in Ikebukuro in the first place, though..."

Hopefully, this would be enough to at least cause the man to leave them alone; attempting to take over his mind seemed like nothing if not an exercise in futility, and that... Wasn't exactly a possibility that she wanted to entertain for the moment.

---

The wolf was, quite obviously, taken by surprise when Tohka attacked it (or, more importantly, the sword it was wielding) mid-leap. The impact threw the large beast straight towards Hibiki, but despite that fact the sword remained firmly within its grasp. Of course, the wolf was not some magical creature that could easily shift direction and orientation in midair, and thus was thrown completely prone towards the brunette.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@KoL@Rin@TheFake@Crusader Lord

---

Wait, the girl didn't know Tokyo? They were in the district and she didn't know about it? At least she got the idea that they needed to stop the wild animal before it went on a rampage but... why was she hitting the sword?

A normal person would have been quite squashed by the massive canine. A more violent person would probably have punched it as hard as they could. Hibiki, though, was still reluctant to attack something that wasn't immediately a threat to her or others--the Noise were an exception, but they were obviously unnatural. This was simply a large dog.

Instead, the girl found herself bracing for impact and catching, sliding back perilously towards the edge of the rooftop with the wolf completely obscuring her vision--and her arms. It wasn't as heavy as a space shuttle, but it was doing a good comparison with that tank turret...

---

Mr. Sharpton wasn't the only one to recognise Ennis' wine order--though Klaus made little comment. The large man could hardly have been seen to hold back much on the expense front, only seeming frugal by comparison.

"The office floorplan should be the same as our previous office once the paperwork has been filed, but it needs some refurbishing before it matches. There are a few dividing walls in other rooms to remove and no tiling yet," Klaus said, thinking about the building he had visited earlier. The place was right--which was to say, not the nicest place in the city but that was fine--and it was the same building, but it would need some care and attention to form a suitable office. Especially if they wanted to help co-ordinate internationally, style was important. "Furniture should be easier to arrange, but security will need to be last."

Though... would they be able to get such good security in this world? That was going to be difficult.

---

Evangeline avoided the private's breakfast invitation, saying that someone had to keep an eye on the children--it was a good enough reason. Someone did need to stop them from picking a fight with the next person to show up from another world. It had happened enough already and the meeting showed that it didn't take long for either of them to get wound up. There was something interesting about Mordred, too: how could King Arthur's illegitimate child end up looking like that? She could just find the answer by looking, but that was boring.

And if she ended up in the right sort of shops, they would be better at carrying heavy boxes.

The contract connection gave a good start for working out where Mordred was... if she formed a proper pactio then it would have been easy to just teleport the girl to her. Working out where all that magical energy was going, though? Well, it would take a few minutes, and she wasn't going to run, but she would catch up.

Probably not long after Tenshi.

"Haaah?"

Mordred looked back over her shoulder. Oh, so one of the others had decided to follow her, huh?

"Hinanawi, right?" she asked, one hand shoved into her pocket as she took another bite of her candybar. It was exactly what she wanted, something sweet and chocolaty to get going. Maybe she'd stop somewhere to get a bigger meal later, too... But right now she had to address the tagalong. "I guess you can tag along, it'd get kinda boring wandering around by myself."

It was true. She had no idea where she was going, and while that was kind of fun in and of itself, that didn't exactly mean she was guaranteed to find anything to do. In fact, it kind of made that even less likely.

Of course, it was about that moment that she noticed the little vampire girl, her temporary Master, had shown up as well. Had she found the meeting that insufferably boring and irritating, too?

"Eh? Temporary Master?" Mordred asked, "You want something?"

@Raineh Daze@PKMNB0Y

Quick Ben Slowed his headlong charge though the air to match the pace of the wolf and then stopped dead as Hibiki attempted to stop the best in its tracks. He touched down on the rooftop and reached into the stone that made up the building, Forming it behind the girl into something she could brace against.

For some reason she seemed reluctant to do it any injury, though weather she had some knowledge he didn't or was possessed of an overwhelming sense of altruism. Absent any answer, he made his own move in kind, clamping down on the air that surrounded the animal with an iron grip.



"Alcohol? yes."

Perhaps the girl was from a very different world. Though, she certainly didn't look old enough to drink. Not in America in any case, though Ennis had been created during the Prohibition.

"Some cultures put an emphasis on drinks to go with certain meals and dishes."

As the orders were made and conversation began, Ennis leaned over towards Leo and Klaus.

"An office? What kind of work were you two involved in?"

"I think so. Her door was closed when we left and her room was silent," Nanoha said to Private Minami while the two of them were still talking about Tohka's whereabouts as she followed the older woman.

"The way you talk reminds me of home. This friend of yours must be a really nice person," Nanoha said as she boarded the Private's car. "Please, call me Nanoha, at least when we aren't dealing with any official business," she said in a friendly voice just as Minami called in such a formal way. It didn't feel right to have someone older, especially when they were responsible for her wellbeing, calling her in such a way.

"I may be a devil, but it doesn't mean that I don't know how to make friends without Starlight Breaking them. Nyahaha!" Nanoha joked while scratching the back of her head, showing that she already studied some of the knowledge that this world had about her. Whether or not the Private would find it funny was another thing entirely.

"Anyway, to answer your question," the auburn-haired mage said in a pensive voice. "The truth is that I enjoy going to school with my friends and other children of my age. Fate, Hayate, Arisa, and Suzuka may not be on this world—at least not that I know— but I feel that it would be unfair to them if I got any special treatment. If you are worried about level, I'd say that an escalator school like the one I used to attend would be the best choice, however, I can understand if the government can't afford the tuition."

While Tohka didn't try to hurt the giant dog, she was surprised to see that the Mecha Girl caught the enormous beast as if it was a big, fluffy ball, instead of shooting missiles at it or something like that. Considering how their kind—especially that annoying Tobiichi Origami— were prone to shooting first and asking questions later.

"Ohh! That was nice, Mecha Girl. I didn't think you were so strong," Tohka said in an excited voice, momentarily forgetting the bad mood she was in before. "What are you going to do with it now? Can you find a leash this big anywhere around here?" she added, in a tone that obviously made it seem like she was thinking that the creature was some kind of pet. Considering that the giant dog was about as big as Yoshino's Angel—when she's not using her maximum power— Tohka had a good reason to think so, even if she was completely wrong.

"Since we are in an Italian restaurant, I guess that I'll have some spaghetti," Meteora said as she made her order. "It's not every day that I have the chance to eat non-Japanese food, pasta will be good for a change. Perhaps, I could have a pizza or two, if they have takeout here," she added, thinking out loud before she turned her attention to the table, or better to the water shaking inside of their glasses.

Considering how many times she missed her predictions up to now, Meteora thought that she was just being needlessly paranoid. However, when the shaking didn't go away after a few seconds, she began to think that something wasn't right there. Instead of jumping straight to the conclusion that a giant monster was attacking the city—since it already happened earlier today— Meteora called a waiter and asked whether or not there was any subway line that operated under their establishment, or perhaps a construction site nearby that had a habit of working until late in the night.

If the normal-ish explanations were ruled out, the only thing left to do was to pick up her phone and search for any news on the social media while Meteora waited for her food along with everyone else.

---

There was a distinct sagging of Leo's shoulders as he heard Klaus' estimate for the office's renovations. While the young man wasn't exactly fazed by the projection of time in and of itself, it was still kind of hard to wrap his head around a New York City that did stuff... Well, normally, really. Under ordinary circumstances, even the city could be rebuilt in a few days' time.

Maybe that was just a glimpse into how warped his sense of scale had become in Hellsalem's Lot.

"So... In other words, it'll take a while, huh?" he asked, sighing. It was possible to hire people to help (which was a bit risky) or ask the others here to lend a hand (also risky), but that really couldn't be helped assuming they wanted to get Libra up and running again.

Ennis' sudden entry into their conversation caused Leo to clam up, however, as the topic of Libra had been drilled into his head as something that shouldn't be discussed by its members. After all, making known the fact that they were agents was bound to cause trouble, not to mention how that might all lead into the topic of his All-Seeing Eyes of God. And so, Leo did what he thought was smartest given the circumstances.

Take a big sip of water and let Klaus respond for the both of them. It wasn't a life-threatening situation, after all, so it was probably fine to let the person who was better at talking to talk in their stead.

The waiter who Meteora called over pondered her questions for a moment before shaking her head no.

"Well," he began, hands crossed over the tray in front of himself, "the nearest subway line is a few minutes' walk away, ma'am, and I don't believe any of the nearby buildings have been undergoing recent renovation work. However, the manhole—"

Before he could speak any further, though, the smell of food and the arrival of the waiter who had taken their order earlier (with a fair amount of dishes laden with food on a pair of trays) caused him to draw back. The fact that his co-worker was eyeing him for seemingly gossiping on the job didn't help matters either, and so he meekly stepped back to help put the plates of food out in front of the patrons.

Yuyuko's eyes seemed to shine at the assortment of food laid out in front of her, and, rubbing her hands in excitement to try this foreign food, only gave a cursory glance to the side to see that the wine that Ennis had ordered was being poured out. Tipping her own glass out slightly, the ghost watched as the deep red wine filled her cup before smiling towards Youmu.

"Of course, that much is certain. Just as a great sake should be paired with a great flower-viewing party, no?" she replied before turning towards Youmu. "Youmu, come now, you should try some of this as well. You might not get this chance ever again~!"


Tenshi had a proud smirk on her face as Mordred said that she could tag along—not that she would listen if she was told otherwise, of course, but the fact that she hadn't been told to up and leave was more than enough to inflate her ego. The arrival of Evangeline on the scene was somewhat expected and somewhat unwanted, but at the same time it didn't seem as if Mordred had any idea about where to go.

To be frank, though, she didn't, either.

"Did something happen back at the ba..." she began to ask, trailing off as something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.

Or, more accurately, a lot of things: crane machines, lined up row after row inside an arcade on the block ahead. It seemed as if the chaos hadn't really spread enough to cause everywhere to close down shop, it seemed, and despite the situation it seemed like there were still a fair few people inside this early in the morning. In an instant the Celestial jumped beside the Knight of Treachery and, pointing towards the arcade, gave a wide grin.

"We should check that place out! I've never seen one back in Gensokyo... Or even heard about them from that weird child from the Outside World yet, for that matter. Come on!" she said excitedly, an almost childlike naivety about her as she gleamed at the pair she was with.

---

"Alright, then, Nanoha," the Private responded, letting a little laugh slip as her companion entered the car soon after she did. "And yeah. He's a bit of a brickhead sometimes, but he certainly cooks some good food. I'd be happy if you could slap him upside the head for me a few times if he's a bit too lax on the job, though."

The banter had raised the mood of the atmosphere, at the very least, and the drive to the aforementioned restaurant in Yoyogi felt like it passed in the blink of an eye. Private Minami, of course, could see where Nanoha was coming from with regards to the idea of 'going to a normal school to make friends', but that celebrity factor was going to be a worry that would poke at the back of her mind for a while to come.

"Well, it's not a matter if you can afford it or not, but..." she trailed off before shaking her head. "No, it's fine. If it's just that, then I can help fill out the paperwork for your transfer without too much trouble."

The rest of the ride went by without incident, and before long the pair had arrived at their destination: a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant that seemed to have few (if any) patrons inside. The smell of freshly-cooked fish and white rice wafted out of the entrance as the Private opened it up, and the sound of a ringing bell followed by a "Welcome!" from the chef caused Minami to respond in turn.

"It's been a while, Sakajima! Everything fine here?" she asked, taking a seat at a nearby table as the chef turned towards the pair.

"Yeah, just a few earthquakes is all. What the heck's been going..."

Of course, said chef began to trail off as he took a look at Nanoha and stared blankly for a moment.

"Hey, wait, don't tell me..."

"Yep, it's just as you think. Anyways, Nanoha, just ask him for whatever you want. If it's Sakajima, he'll manage... Somehow."

"A first name basis, too... You can't be serious," Sakajima laughed, shaking his head in disbelief before smiling. "Ah, whatever, talk can come after food. Just tell me what you want, and I swear on my pride as a chef that I won't disappoint you!"

---

The giant wolf (now stuck in Hibiki's iron grip) flailed around for a moment, glancing around in slight disorientation as it searched for the cause of whatever had suddenly swatted it out of the air. Its teeth remained firmly clamped around the sword in its mouth, however, as it finally realized that it was a human that had caught it. After realizing that it wasn't going to be released any time soon (and that it couldn't attempt to do so due to some unseen force), the wolf simply let out a whimper and relaxed. It had been trained to fight, after all, but if the people in front of it weren't hostile (well, maybe except for the one that had launched it here in the first place), then maybe it would be fine.

Of course, that situation changed as soon as the sound of a horse neighing combined with the revving of a bike engine began to approach the group, and soon enough that same biker from earlier that had attempted to dissuade them from moving further into Ikebukuro was in front of the group once more. She seemed to turn towards each of the people present in turn, half in disbelief, before immediately typing out something onto her phone and showing the resulting message to the group.

"What's going on here?! Without even figuring out why that wolf was jumping around the city, you decide to slap it down and capture it! I was following it to see what it was planning, but—Aaagh!"

It was clear that the biker was frustrated by their actions, of course, but it wasn't like she could help the situation any right now. The wolf, on the other hand, silently glanced warily towards the center of the region. It almost looked like worry—if, of course, any of the people present could discern that sort of emotion from an animal's visage.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@KoL@Rin@TheFake@Crusader Lord

"Ah..."

All the food had arrived! And... and if Youmu was being honest with herself, it both looked and smelled delicious... She knew there was no way, even remotely, that Yuyuko-sama would hold back. And, well... she couldn't really herself, either.

"Itadakimasu."

With that, she somewhat awkwardly picked up her fork(still more used to chopsticks) and prodded at the poached egg sitting on top of the noodles. After a more firm prod, it broke, the golden yolk spilling out into the noodles and blending into the creamy sauce that coated them. She could also see crispy bits of pork sitting in the dish... after a moment's pause, Youmu awkwardly fumbled with her fork in order to scoop up a good sample of the meal, plenty of sauce, crispy pork bits, and noodles, and took a bite.

The creamy sauce, the crisp pork, the flavor of the egg yolk... it was all so perfect! Was it possible this was a recipe she could learn to prepare for Yuyuko-sama?! Forgetting herself for a moment, eyes shining, the diminutive white-haired girl dug in even more eagerly, devouring her meal with gusto. Every bite was so creamy, so delicious... And it was different then her usual favorites. Not to say that it was better, or worse. But it was a different experience from the kinds of meals she was used to. In spite of featuring noodles, it was hard to compare to, for example, ramen.

She only stopped when she realized Yuyuko-sama was speaking to her.

"Ah, er..." Youmu hesitated for a moment, setting her fork down.

"V-very well, Yuyuko-sama..." she said, at last, holding up her glass, intending to pour the wine for herself.

@PKMNB0Y@KoL@Raineh Daze

Shockingly, catching the massive beast had apparently acted to calm it, and Hibiki was glad for the chance to place Sif down rather than continue to hold something that otherwise filled her vision with a wall of white fur. Of course, it was a wolf and not a person, so the seeming next step of trying to ask what it was doing became rather more difficult. But a giant wolf was kind of like a giant dog, and so the magical girl went to the next step of trying to pet it whilst its head was still within reach. Which was still something of a stretch.

"Eheheh... I thought it might be dangerous, but it seems quite well behaved? Maybe someone trained them?"

Sif was certainly an improvement on the Noise or especially the Nephilim... giant sword aside--and even that wasn't so giant compared to Tsubasa's attacks--there was nothing terribly otherworldly or nightmarish about it. Now that she could get a good look, it was a remarkably good looking beast.

---

If Klaus remembered Leo's last reactions in a fancy restaurant--or had noted them in the first place--then he was too polite to say anything as he began eating, thinking over his words for a minute before answering Ennis. "I would normally give an answer about how we assisted law enforcement with difficult cases but here it would be too easy to look up the details. Leonardo and I are members of Libra, an organisation for maintaining the balance between Earth and the Alter-World, but the authorities don't always appreciate our activities.

"Since we need some organisation for now that can operate independently from the UN, I went and found an appropriate site for an office. It will take longer to set up than Hellsalem's Lot, but at least this one shouldn't need to be rebuilt so regularly."

For instance, Leo would normally have invited destruction onto the restaurant with his mere presence by now, not that Klaus followed him constantly enough to notice this.

---

"You seemed more interesting than the soldiers," was Evangeline's excuse--though Tenshi was sidetracked by the arcade almost immediately. Not a bad place to go... she'd rather get a console or something, since arcades didn't tend to have RPGs, but she'd played plenty of arcade ports in her time. The content of the games was another thing that had changed over time... and she was frustratingly rather lacking in the height department for playing some things effectively.

She could warn the pair that arcades were designed to make you keep losing and spending money. But what would be the fun in that? She'd just explain how arcades worked. And hope that they got past the row of crane machines without breaking into one for a prize.

An arcade? That was where there was all kinds of games! Naturally, some place where there was anything remotely challenging was perfect for Mordred. After all, she left no challenge unanswered, and there was no way she would ever lose to something like an arcade game! The blonde girl folded her arms confidently as she strode into the Arcade, immediately making a beeline for the first of the claw machines. So, all she had to do was grab one of the toys with the claw, then, didn't she? Simple!

"This is no challenge to the heir to the Throne of Camelot!" declared Mordred, slotting a coin into the machine and eagerly maneuvering the claw to pick up a stuffed lion toy in the chamber. It all looked good at first... but then, as she picked it up, it suddenly dropped. Narrowing her green eyes, Mordred tried again.

And again.

And again.

By her fourth try, needless to say, Mordred was fuming.

@PKMNB0Y@Raineh Daze