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Post by Vapovile on Dec 13, 2021 15:22:50 GMT
"You must be unbelievably sheltered if you thought I would agree to that. Go back to your world of vanilla, live a happy life, and let others do the same" Haruko listened to these words carefully, not caring about the insult. There was plenty to understand with what was given. The acknowledgement of Yamiko still being inside, the insinuation of herself having a 'happy life', calling herself sheltered...there was pain in this Haruko's voice. Perhaps even a hint of jealousy.
Haruko watched helplessly as her alternate self took out a silk glove and placed five gems inside, unleashing her godlike transformation. Her blood ran cold when her eyes flashed red and hair white, but her alternate self remained in control. The world around them turned to monochrome as alternate Haruko's aura spread further out.
"What are you going to do, sheltered me?" The godly Haruko taunted. Opal Song stared on for several seconds...then nodded, clutching her gem and flashing into an aura of light, back into her original form.
"I am beginning to understand your situation now, Haruko...your world seems far more bleak than my own. And you still must contain Yamiko, while she was forcibly torn from my soul. But...while you called me sheltered, I think the two of us are more similar than you may think." Haruko smiled, and began to stroll.
"Considering we share a name, I assume the circumstances of our birth are the same. Left alone at an orphanage, confused...unwanted." Haruko let out a sigh. "Even after all this time, I'm sure you too remember the bullying we endured. The feeling of loneliness that pushed away others, not wanting to get hurt again." She continued.
"However...we were both saved by the same talented woman, brought to Adaway and slowly began to trust people again. We made friends. We felt love for the first time, Haruko." Recalling these past events was clearly painful for Haruko, but she pressed on.
She stared directly at the godly being before her. "I don't know when our worlds diverged, Haruko...but you're clearly in pain. And I want to help you too. Help you deal with whatever plagues your world. I don't know your family status...but in addition to my adopted kids Kate and Cosmina, I have a daughter from an alternate universe too."
Haruko produced a photo of the 4 of them, Melody hugging Cosmina while Kate leaned away, Haruko smiling politely. "Her name is Melody, and she comes from a world that has been conquered by dolls. Dolls like Cosmina herself. But she chased this tyrant to our world, and drove him back with Aria's help. Now she visits us regularly, and I visit to help her world out too. For even if she's not my own daughter from my world...she's still my kid, and I love her the same."
She put away the photo, and looked at godly Haruko with determination. "I'm not asking you to abandon your world to save this one. I'm simply asking if we can put aside our differences, and work on this issue together." She glanced up and down godly Haruko's body, and smirked. "By the way...I love that dress. Nice to see all that power also keeps us fashionable, huh?" The seamstress joked.
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 16, 2021 0:12:57 GMT
“If that was your best, I feel we have found what regard I am superior in.” Jun felt smug for a moment before the other Jun retaliated, pushing her back again. Without her crystalline cover, she was taking hits now, shallow slices drawing blood. She was forced to focus entirely on defense, parrying hits until she swept one aside to find a fist in her face. Her vision went black for a moment and she lost control of her legs. It took a moment to realize she was on the ground, still blinking stars from her eyes. The entire middle of her face was numb, a thin buzzing feeling that seemed to seep into her brain. She wanted to stand but could not, so she dropped her sword and took aim with the fingers that still held crystals.
She wanted to shoot her opponent through, but something stopped her. It wasn’t her inevitable failure to land the hit. No such despair could stop her actions. “Jenifer…” Jun mumbled. What to say? What to do? Was her loyalty to her friends, or her sister? What did it matter that it wasn’t the sister she knew? Before she knew it, her hand fell. “I cannot condemn her. She is our sister. I could not save my Jenifer, and I will never let myself go through that again.” She awkwardly folded her legs under herself to sit across from her alternate self. “I will work with you, but I ask that you allow my friends to leave peacefully. I will not trade them for her.”
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Post by TimePuppy on Dec 16, 2021 20:41:04 GMT
Arty was sure he had Arthur, that he'd immobilize him and make his accel edge far less useful, but Arthur was faster on the draw. His Accel Edge was already out and he was now too fast for Arty. Perhaps Arty still had a chance, but it was a very slim one, considering...
"Ehehe, of course we're both selfish. That's just how we are. Sadly, I can't exactly give you a proper match now. As you can see," Arthur put out his hand and Accel Edge appeared in all it's glory for but a milisecond before shards of the blade scattered to the ground, only a piece of the edge, no bigger than the edge of a butterknife, still attached to the hilt, "I already made sacrifices for my universe. So tell me, why not use your still functional time powers to fix your universe? Surely it can't be a problem that transcends time itself."
Before the fight, or curbstomp as someone would surely see it, could continue, the room was engulfed in a rainbow mist spreading from an awe-inspiring Haruko transformation. While Arthur was distracted by the transformation, Arty jumped back to observe the situation. Ruko was trying to talk her down, but he wasn't sure if she could manage it. If the ultimate Haruko tried attacking, he wanted to grab his own Ruko and dodge to protect her.
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Post by othus on Dec 22, 2021 23:33:48 GMT
Akane vs Akane
"So what, we just join your collection of Akanes and you help us save this world? Is that what you have been doing all this time?"
Musashi shrugged and smirked
"It's not like I forced anyone here. All five of us agreed to merge into a single body to save as many worlds as we can, but more importantly, we do it in order to kill Akane number one"
"...What?"
Arthur vs Arthur
Arthur's shoulders slacked when he saw the broken accel edge. He shook his head as he sighed.
"Oh, so there is no reason for you to be here...You know you can't even get the sacred treasures without the accel edge, right?"
When his younger self spoke about using the time powers to save his world, Arthur clenched his fists, his relaxed look stiffened as he frowned.
"Do you take me for an idiot? You think I haven't tried? countless times...there is no way around the virus, and everytime i rewind it comes back stronger. You have no idea what it feels to be powerless, but I am about to give you a glimpse"
Jun vs Jun
"Is that so? I wouldn't be so proud about it if I were you, You know nothing of what I have been though... I have been traveling to many worlds in this journey, and this is the first one that looks remotely worse than mine"
The semblance of Jun softened when her other self finally dropped her weapon. Jun embraced herself, or, her other self, to be more precise.
"We aren't here to fight you, we just want to make our worlds better places."
The demon empress let go of her other self
"Take your friends with you back to your world. I appreciate the offer to help, but you would only drag us down in your current state"
Out of nowhere, Jun made a fist full of heavy crystals and threw the blow straight at her counterpart's solar plexus, looking to incapacitate her as she ran away.
Haruko vs Haruko
Was this all a trick? yes, she understood exactly how she felt to some degree, and they most definitely had many things in common. She could knock her out with a snap of her fingers, perhaps she was aware of the difference between their powers and decided talking would be a better option? still, everything she said resounded in her mind. The friends and family she loved, where were they now in her world? She did not know.
A picture of people she had never seen was shown at her. People she had never seen and yet, she knew exactly who they were. Not Melody, of course, but even she seemed familiar for some reason. tears flowed down her face as she removed her glove.
"I'll...be willing to talk things through some more. I am just, desperate, not knowing about my family and friends...they must be suffering under Cyrus' rule as we speak"
A loud noise was heard outside, shaking the entire castle. Akane, Arthur, Jun and Haruko looked upwards
"FIRE!"
five static aircraft resembling futuristic choppers began launching missiles at the castle, focusing first on the automated defenses, then moving to the structure.
"Tch, I am done with these drifters, if they keep dragging attention so close from base..."-A short woman with black hair said as she pushed buttons to reload the missiles of her aircraft.
"Relax Mai, everytime we have made contact with them they retreat, it's clear they don't want conflict with us. we just need to push them off the forest, so keep firing"-Another voice replied through the comms.
Back inside, the structure of the castle began to shatter. Musashi looked upwards and proceeded to kick Akane away.
"Sorry, but we have to go. Think about my offer, you aren't getting the sacred treasures of this world, I guarantee that, especially without the compass"
Musashi rushed back and her team was already ready to leave.
"Alright, we have what we came for and the shorties seem to be quite angrily knocking on our door. I guess I will leave you guys to deal with them!"
Arthur snapped his fingers and the whole castle began to crumble, a clouds of dust and snow rose and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.
"Don't fucking move, weirdos!"- A voice called from the chopper
Akane recognized the aircraft, and more importantly, the voice!
"Mai?!"
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 23, 2021 5:06:27 GMT
Jun accepted a hug from herself, a touch both familiar and alien. She was pulled to her feet in her counterpart’s arms. It felt like her sister was holding her, for a moment. The closest thing she had felt to that for a long time. Then her other self struck her again, driving the wind from her and knocking her back on her ass. “You- you-” Jun gasped, trying to stand but just falling to her hands and knees. Treachery! Appalling, miserable treason! Her mind roiled with vengeful thoughts. Pure rage helped her find her footing and she began staggering after the other Jun. She didn’t make it far. When the castle shuddered, she lost her footing, and she was falling when it all fell apart around her. She collapsed in snow that was a castle moments before. The cold revived her in a fashion. Heat was sucked away from her worn body, snapping her back to lucidity. “From one band of nuisances to another…” She mumbled as she picked herself up. She really, really didn’t want to meet Mai, not in any universe.
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Post by TimePuppy on Dec 28, 2021 21:48:12 GMT
"No, I didn't know we needed the Accel Edge for that... But come on, don't make it sound like I'm completely useless here! I can still fight... Or serve as a cab if we need one..." Arthur feigned offense. Or maybe he didn't feign it at all. No time to think about that though, as the conversation got heavier.
"Sigh, I'm sure you already tried everything you could think of, Arthur. But there has to be another way. If the virus always appears and it grows stronger, clearly someone or something is causing it intentionally, probably a god you pissed off. I'll gladly go with you to take down whatever's the root is, I'll brainstorm with you to figure out what the root is, but I can't let this world go. And you know how stubborn we are."
And then the world shook.
No, it was just the castle. Another monster assault? No, those sounded more like missiles. Survivers from this world? Did they think this was an Izanami base? No, probably not, maybe their other selves just managed to piss them off in however long they've been here... Not that Arthur could ask now since these assholes(!) were already escaping, causing the castle to turn to snow as they vanished. In their place, a short and unknown figure appeared, though she was also strangely familiar. The answer to the mystery came a second later when Akane said "Mai?!"
"Mai? That's this world's Mai?!" He tilted his head to look at her better. "Yeah, okay, I can kinda see it, even if she is lacking several tons of muscle. Though I suppose Akabane was also way shorter..."
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Post by Vapovile on Dec 28, 2021 22:24:52 GMT
Cyrus? Who was that? Haruko opened her mouth to respond, but the castle was rocked by explosions. The entire structure began to collapse around them as they were joined by two strange figures in a plane, one of them Akane exclaimed was Mai. Haruko squinted...and began to see the resemblance.
"I think you're right, Frosty...so this is the Mai from your world...?" The seamstress asked. Facing down a jet made by a master of technology wasn't something she wanted to do. She quickly transformed back into her gem form.
"Er, hello...Mai? You know your sister, Akane? Or me, Haruko Miyata?" She asked. If these two were willing to cooperate, did they have a chance of catching up to their counterparts? Haruko moved clover to Arthur, wanting to be next to his ice barrier if they decided to fire so she could put up her own layer of defense as well.
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Post by othus on Jan 5, 2022 5:12:37 GMT
"Hey, she wasn't that much shorter..."-Akane replied to Arthur while still lifting her hands up in the air. Meanwhile Mai jumped out of her aircraft and raised her weapon, aiming at Haruko. Her words didn't really make her drop her guard whatsoever. "Oh I recognize your faces alright, I also know you are all fakes, you have been causing a mess this past month, following us everywhere. finally got what you came for?"
The aircraft finally landed and more trucks surrounded the area, there were at least two dozen people armed to the teeth aiming at the group out of the chopper a girl with long hair and purple eyes set her hand on Mai's shoulder, signaling to lower her gun. "That's enough Mai. Let me deal with them" "Rem..." Mai lowered her gun but still stood her ground.
"So? I asume you are willing to talk now? you never cared to stop before" Akane held her breath, all of them were still alive?! "Rem, Mai... I know this will sound crazy, but it's me. I don't mean a drifter version, it's actually me, we are not the same group you have been chasing"
"Fuck that, I'm shooting this bitch, you think you can pass for my sister?"-Mai said as she loaded her weapon "It's actually me! you helped me drift with the overlord machine! I know I look different but...I came back to help"
"Then...that Arthur, is he?"
"...No, I know he looks exactly like ours, but he's not. Don't worry, they are all my friends, I can vouch for them, we..have been through a lot"
Mai ran up to Akane and embraced her.
"You shouldn't have come back"
"I wasn't about to leave my little sister alone"
Remilia waved at the trucks and they set themselves closer to the group.
"Come with us, it's not wise to stay out here, we can talk things more camly at base"
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Post by HungryHunter on Jan 11, 2022 3:31:36 GMT
“That wasn’t us, you fool. We do not resemble them whatsoever.” Jun put herself between Mai and Haruko. What kind of Mai needed a gun? Strange. She wouldn’t let herself believe that was a good sign. No doubt it was some sort of super gun. She didn’t recognize the other girl. Somebody she didn’t know? Or simply too different in this world? Rem? No, she didn’t know her. She wasn’t happy with the idea of getting on the helicopter, but that would be up to Akane. “If you tell me to go with them, I will.” She looked to Akane for guidance.
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Post by Vapovile on Jan 11, 2022 9:49:24 GMT
Haruko was prepared to turn back into her gem form and create a shield for everyone, but that wasn't necessary. The timeline's Mai believed in Akane's story, and the sisters shared a hug together. The seamstress breathed a sigh of relief as she relaxed a little, turning to Remmy.
"Thank you. You probably know a different me, but I'm Haruko. Nice to meet you." The seamstress said politely. She followed the others into the trucks, ready to be taken to wherever this group was headed. They didn't have many options right now. The angelic form of the other Haruko hung in the seamstress's mind. Was that really what would happen if someone were to gather that many gems? What was that glove she was using? Haruko hoped her appeal would cut through to her other self, and perhaps make her convince the others to work with them.
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Post by TimePuppy on Jan 12, 2022 20:41:50 GMT
"Well, we look a bit like them," Arthur told Jun. Though the differences between him and his counterpart were... A bit more obvious. Regardless, he was glad Mai ended up believing Akane. Though he wasn't sure why Mai would be so interested in their Arthur being around. "Uh, yeah, sorry, I only know your Arthur from what Akane told me. But I'm sure I can help you guys. We all can. If we can somehow deal with the versions causing you problems for the last month, that is."
He followed the dark-haired girl. She and Mai were the most friendly faces they've seen since coming to this world and Akane was happy to see them. That made them trustworthy, no? And maybe they could help the group help the world.
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Post by othus on Jan 20, 2022 23:33:02 GMT
"Who are you calling fool, you idiot? you look exactly like them, idiotic face and everything!"-Mai told Jun as she stuck her tongue out at her. Akane tapped her sister's back in an attempt to divert attention away from Jun, Musashi looked at the shattered one and nodded. "In any case, we definitely should go with them, we shall talk about the rest of the details then"
Remilia sighed when Haruko spoke about herself, but ultimately smiled. "Yes, I do remember you, used to team up with an incubus and Arthur all the time, correct?"
she then signaled Arthur to follow her along with the rest "If you are anything like our Arthur was, I'm sure you will be of help. let's move out of here"
The group did a short drive back as they followed the heli, back inside what seemed to be a ravine, the group's vehicles were teleported inside. while everyone else walked through a series of undeground caverns to get to base.
"We modeled these tunnels after the ones you would see on some dwarven lands, turns out most Shinto don't actively go underground so, they make up for a decent hideout"
Remilia seemed pleased with the results, she set her hand on Mai's shoulder proudly
"As long as we have her shindo abilities, we can keep expanding non stop, so Mai and the dwarves from Valstand get all the credit there"
Remilia guided everyone to an area that seemed to be sort of an office, there was even a window with view to the bottom of the ravine carved in rock and glass, she offered everyone a seat and looked at Akane
"So, if you were by the castle ruins, I imagine you wanted to resume our old plan, yes?"
Akane raised a brow
"Old plan? are we not going after the sacred treasures anymore?"
Remilia shook her head.
"Not anymore, when we lost access to the armory, Mai decided to make a new compass, and we actually scouted the location"
"So what's the problem?"
"You know who's the current ruler in Asia? Izanami gave the land to Jurojin of the seven deities...he can't get inside the temple due to Orochi's enchantment, but he set a barrier over it, anything that goes inside ages at an extremely fast pace...we learned that the hard way. plus, the area is infested with ridiculously strong creatures. there's simply no way to get inside, unless anyone here has another idea? for now, we have just accepted our fate, humans will live underground for the rest of time"
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Post by HungryHunter on Jan 21, 2022 4:27:36 GMT
Jun bit her tongue and didn’t pursue an argument with Mai. It wasn’t worth it. Be the bigger woman. Literally, for once. She was amused by that. Why was everybody so small in this universe? It was like a world made of Harukos. Absurd. She rode with Akane again to their base and found their base unfortunately just as depressing as she expected. Surely the apocalypse was no excuse to not decorate at least a little? “This world has lost its capacity for art. How disappointing.” The Shattered One seemed to agree, in his own odd way. “Creatures we can help with, but immortality is sadly not found among us… besides the demon within me. I’m afraid he cannot come out.” Jun let her hopes get up when it was revealed that there was another compass, but they dropped again immediately. Why even bother bringing it up if it was inaccessible?
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Post by TimePuppy on Jan 23, 2022 21:28:52 GMT
"Shindo powers? Like, the gainen stuff? You must be super strong if you can counter a god like that." Arthur said when they explained Remilia was keeping the darkness at bay. He followed along the rest and listened to the explanation.
"So we don't need the treasures then?" Arthur asked, breathing a sigh of relief. That should mean the other alters can save their worlds too. And they don't actually need to beat them. "Phew. I guess that means everyone can scratch their itch."
The plan B wasn't a much easier solution though... "Damn, that sounds like something I could've solved if only I still had my time powers... And I doubt the other Arthur is too ready to cooperate now... Not sure what we can do now though."
...
.........
...........................
Why's Haruko staring so hard at him so hard? Did he say something stupid again?
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Post by Vapovile on Jan 26, 2022 4:31:46 GMT
Herself and an incubus? No...was it possible she was still with THAT incubus in her timeline?! She watched as they disappeared into an underground headquarters, one that apparently the shinto didn't dare go down into. Seeing such deep ravines did made Haruko slightly nervous...but she knew she could fly if things went south.
The seamstress listened to Akane's explanation, and nodded. So there was another compass now? She listened to Arthur talk about his old time powers...and just stared at the ice mage, unblinking. She then let out a sigh and raised her arm, lightly bringing it down upon Arthur's head as a fist.
"Arty...you still don't age, even without Accel Edge. Do you think Arty can get through this alone even with that though?" Haruko asked, turning to Mai.
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Post by othus on Jan 28, 2022 1:56:52 GMT
Akane frowned when Arthur suggested they no longer needed the treasures. "So, you are saying it's ok for my people to live like this for the rest of their lives?! hiding like rats hoping they aren't found by Izanami's forces?"
Remilia lifted her hands to her shoulders, signaling Akane to relax "Now, now, the last thing we need is to fight amongst ourselves...it is true this is not the ideal thing, but we have little choice"When Haruko asked Mai about Arthur's condition, she took a second to reply, but she did so. "He wouldn't die, but if his time perception is normal he will feel like he's in there for at least a couple hundred years...you would probably go insane, which is why I haven't gone there myself either...he mentioned something about time powers tho?""The other Arthur has an artifact that can control time...do you think you can use it if we manage to take it away from him?"-Akane asked Arthur.
"I think they are far too strong for us to beat but...maybe I can convince them, I have something their Akane wants"
"You do?"
"Yes. she wants me to fuse with her. turns out she's already a bunch of alternate versions of me"
"So what happens if you do that?"
"Well, it's hard to describe. you become a new person, but also keep all your memories...so I would stop being myself. technically speaking, I already stopped being the Akane you or them knew anyway. so what do you guys think?"
Akane said as she looked at Jun, Arthur and Haruko.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jan 28, 2022 4:14:07 GMT
“I cannot accept that.” Jun said. “You say you are no longer the same like that is easy to accept. That was one fusion with a self close to your own, and already it took away who you were. How could your family and friends accept you becoming somebody entirely different? I already could only get close to you after the you I offended was already gone. This Akane is a devourer of individuality, and I will not countenance you becoming her next victim.”
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Post by Vapovile on Jan 29, 2022 23:55:38 GMT
Haruko shook her head when Akane mentioned fusing with the other Akane. "I agree with Jun. Surely we can either try to convince that Arthur, and failing that...are there any other immortals around? Surely some of them are still alive, right?" Haruko thought back to that breakthrough she nearly had with her counterpart, before they were interrupted by Mai.
"Also, I think we can convince my alternate self to help. We nearly had a breakthrough...but they ran off again. But if she is willing to listen, I bet even their Arthur would consider her opinion on the matter." Haruko offered up. She didn't want Akane to effectively die by fusing with the other Akane.
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Post by TimePuppy on Feb 6, 2022 16:57:47 GMT
Arthur was confused by Akane's reaction for a bit before realizing his mistake. "Oh, I'm dumb. Sorry, for some reason I forgot the compass would take us to the treasures, not actually solve the issue, ah ha ha... Whoops."
With that issue hopefully resolved, he went back to listening to the continued explanation, chiding himself for not thinking of the solution that came to Haruko. Though in his defense, he'd gotten quite used to his situation after all these years,he didn't often think about it.
"Hm, I can't say walking for a hundred years sounds very fun. I really don't like being slow, you know." The solution to the solution's issue was also not one he liked. "Yeah, I'm with Ruko and Jun here. Feeding you to their Akane is no good, and even if it was, it doesn't mean we'd get what we want. They might just get the treasures before we even get the new compass. They might not fulfill their end of the bargain. And there's no guarantee that I'd actually be able to use the other Accel End. My own is already bound to my soul so maybe the other one will refuse to listen or something. Or maybe its power isn't the same as my blade's. No, not good. I think Ruko's right about their Haruko. But we probably still need a bargaining chip..."
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Post by othus on Feb 14, 2022 23:59:19 GMT
"See, this is why Arthurs and Akanes have problems getting along, it's always the same with you guys! there's such a thing as being too carefree!"-Akane told the ice mage. Ultimately she exhaled and relaxed. "Nevermind that. Ruko raises a valid point, can't Osechi get it for us?"Remilia shook her head. "She has Izanami's blood, the barrier set by Orochi repels her""So we have to negotiate with them regardless?"Akane listened to Jun and Haruko's take on joining the other Akane. "It's true there's a chance I'll stop being myself altogether...she carried so many different blades, there's probably at least a dozen versions of me inside that body already. That being said, I don't think she will be willing to cooperate. If Haruko's alter was willing to help, then perhaps we can convince most of them, how sure are you of that though?. We could still use the prospect of me joining that other Akane as a bargaining chip as well..." "Well, if you are actually going to try any of that, you better move, cause they are fucking fast and they have the compass. Lucky for you guys, we do happen to have a teleporter, so you can intercept them at the temple...we would go, but I feel we are most likely outmatched""Yes, it's best if only us four deal with this. Don't worry though, this world will be saved by noon!"Remilia guided the group through the tunnels. Akane waited last to exit and touched Jun's shoulder just as she was about to leave. "Thanks. what you said back there, well, I appreciate it"
The Temple
Moving out of the gate the team was greeted by the view of a total wasteland, black clouds and lightning adorned the sky as the seemingly abandoned Shinto Temple stood tall. The barrier was clearly visible, a green dome of energy that covered every corner of it.
"Looks like we managed to get here first...wherever this is. Stay vigilant, they are bound to arrive sooner or later"
Akane's words we correct, it wasn't even a couple minutes before the other team arrived. Musashi and the rest flew down to meet their alter versions.
"You are all outmatched. Looks like you know about the barrier, surely you don't expect us to hand over the keys for the sake of it?"-Musashi told them
"I thought you said you would stay out of the way? why is it so hard for you to simply step away?"-Jun told her counterpart.
"Well there's really nothing you guys can do to negotiate this. I don't know what our Akane told you guys, but I'm the one holding the keys, and I need that sacred treasure to save my world, so you won't have it"
The Haruko on their end remained silent, looking away from the group elsewhere. It was almost like she didn't want to talk any more to them.
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