[b]Shimazaki Perfecture, Eastern Lands[/b]

The day before had been absurdly peaceful. There were no drunk half-naked men fistfighting in the musky taverns, no violent gamblers in the makeshift casinos, and no angry hagglers in the wet market. There was no one for Elise to smack on the head with her sheathed blade. All of this had put her to sleep rather early. She had, once again, fallen asleep while sitting on a humble canoe, letting it take her god-knows-where. Birds were sitting and chirping on the brim of her hat when, all of a sudden, an angry shout from a silly man with a mustache drove them all away. 

"Come on, you weird, uh, thing! We're zoologists, we know where you belong!"

"Behind the bars of a cage? No thanks."

"We'll feed you well and let you enjoy a life of luxury. You'll be the main attraction, after all."

A little moogle was in a big fix. He'd come here to study the world's system of magic. His work wasn't as big as that of his higher-ups at the Blachrenae, but it was important nonetheless. There were certain metals here that, once refined, could harness the magical energy around it. Not only would they serve as a source of renewable energy, but they could also be used to make cheaper Gummi Ships. The moogle had asked his higher-ups to arrange diplomatic meetings with the world, but they were busy arranging for the arrival of a band of new warriors, so he decided to go check it out himself. That turned out to be a very dumb idea

The moogle's world hadn't made contact with this one yet, so he decided to land on an open grassy field. He didn't want to arouse suspicion from its inhabitants, so he didn't land in a city. As he was wandering around, trying to take in his new surroundings, two lanky men with immaculate facial hair had approached him with the intention of putting him in a zoo. Sure, they "needed" a raise, but the moogle had his own things to do.

"I have a ship landed nearby. It's armed with all sorts of lethal weapons, and I won't hesitate on using them on you two."

"If a talking plush toy told me it had an airship, I wouldn't believe it.", said one of the men. He was named Steve, and he was a civilized man who wore a business suit and a holstered handgun. His companion was less civilized, as he wore a tank top and carried a shotgun twice the moogle's height. He was also chubbier.

"The point is, I'm here on official business. Please leave me alone."

Just then, another inhabitant of the world wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a cheap robe walked by.

"Look, Steve, it's an Easterner! Hello, mister Easterner! Is it true that you people cook dogs and eat them?"

"Shut up, Houston!"

[color=lightgreen]"It depends. Ethics vary from place to place, as always. By the way, is that really how you people greet Easterners?"[/color]

"Look, Steve, it's an Easterner who looks like a boy but is actually a girl! Are all Eastern women actually like this, or are you just flat?"

[color=lightgreen]"Shut up, Houston. Anyways, I can't have you trying to poach our talking beasts. They're of great importance to us locals."[/color] The Easterner's words shocked Steve, who was used to being ignored by Eastern locals. They all knew that people from the Abode loved their guns. "Hey, we aren't poaching. We're just [i]very[/i] cautious tourists." 

Elise shoved her hat up, revealing a pair of closed eyes. [color=lightgreen]"I'm also a very cautious person, and I know a poacher when I see one."[/color] She then curled her lips into a sly smile, which prompted Houston to aim the shotgun at her. In an instant, a loud bang accompanied the flight of a bullet, and in an even quicker instant, the bullet had been sliced into half. Steve drew his handgun and fired shot after shot, but stopped when he found his handgun also cut cleanly into half. Frustrated, Houston threw away his shotgun and charged at Elise, only to get knocked out with a clean hit to the temple.

[color=lightgreen]"Go away. Plane tickets are cheaper at the Yoshirou Prefecture."[/color] Steve was going the draw out the other handgun he was hiding in his suit (it always helped him when he was facing wannabe gangsters), but a sudden crack in the ground prompted him to run away for good, with Houston in tow. The crack seemed to open into a void of nothingness, leaking an ominous dark energy that sent shivers through the moogle's (probably nonexistent) spine. After a moment of ominous idleness, the ground began to shake, and an army of hideous little creatures as dark as night itself sprung from the crack. 

[color=lightgreen]"Oh no."[/color]

Elise drew her blade, and with a single well-placed stroke cut down a number of the creatures. There were more of them, though, and they were unrelenting. She killed one after another, but with every one that died came a dozen more. Eventually, she found herself overwhelmed. The creatures gnawed on her body and all she could see was a black mass that seemed to stretch on forever. She pulled herself together and, with much effort, used the ki around her to pin the monsters into place. She was kneeling, her breathing was heavy, but this was nothing she hadn't dealt with before.

[color=crimson]"Open your eyes."[/color] 

[i]God.[/i] She hated this man. She hated his bold composure, smug face, and willingness to do all sorts of terrible things. She hated the way his scarred and chiseled body hung out from his scanty robe. She hated the undying fire in his eyes, as it reminded her that whenever she struggled, he'd always come out of the corner of her mind to taunt and jeer at her.

[color=crimson]"Open them. Only then will you become who you truly are. You run away from the truth, only to collide into it like the fool you are."[/color]

With that, he grinned. Elise tried to control her temper. She turned away from him, dismissed him as a figment of her imagination, and prepared her blade for her next attack. She told herself to ignore him, to curse him only after she had done what she had to do.

She failed pretty spectacularly. 

[color=lightgreen]"I am not going to open my eyes. I am sick and tired of you telling me to do everything you want me to do. I've already shown you your place, and that is thirty feet under the ground. Do not bother me anymore if you don't want me to do that again. [i][b]Do you understand?[/b][/i]"[/color]

[color=crimson]"If that's what would please you, then do it."[/color]

Elise would've swung her sword at the image of her old man if not for the Gummi ship that was right behind her. It hit her hard, sending her flying into a nearby tree, which hit her even harder. 

"Sorry, kupo, I couldn't see anything!"

She stood up, and gave the moogle a disdainful thumbs-up. With that, the moogle opened the door to his ship, and with a mighty leap unbefitting someone of her slender frame, Elise jumped into it. Before the door closed, she readied her blade, and after telling the little pilot to bring her higher, made it expand. The katana became at least fifteen times its length, and it glowed with the distinct hue of magical energy. It cleaved into a huge mass of the beasts, turning them into wisp and sending their companions running back into the crack, which promptly closed. The earth stopped shaking, and Elise fell to her knees, letting out a sigh of relief. 

The moogle closed the door and began tapping on a panel laden with buttons in a frenzy. "We've got to hurry. That crack must've been caused by excess magic from world-travelling invaders. Given that the excess magic was enough to create a crack that large, the invaders must be [i]very[/i] strong. Chances are, they're heading towards Renovation, a hub world connecting the many parts of the Multiverse. I need to warn the emperor [i]immediately[/i]."

The ship then zoomed out into the distance. A confused Steve looked on in utter shock.

[hr]

[b]Palace of the Blachrenae, Renovation[/b]

[color=lightgreen]"All right, first you appear out of nowhere, then a bunch of dark monster thingies attack me, then you take to some place I've never even heard of. What exactly is going on?"[/color]

"That's for later, damn it! Hurry up!"

Elise was carrying the moogle on her hat, which was miraculously unharmed by the entire ordeal. Sometimes she wondered if an old friend of hers somehow lived on in it.

"Wait, wait, stop there! Go left!"

Elise took a hard left, thrusting herself towards what may have been the biggest castle she had ever seen.

[b]"Giorgioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooos!"[/b]

[@Letter Bee]