Chapter 25
Issei´s mind was stretching out over time and space... over worlds and dimensions, trying to find the signs that he was looking for... trying to find them.
While he was doing this, his thoughts were in perfect sinch with Ddraig´s, whose powers were the whole time boosting his telepathy.
It was a few days ago now that half of his team had been lost.
Together with Darien, he was standing in a wing of the mansion that was the Guardian´s headquarter, that resembled a large astronomical observatory... a quite futuristic one from the 27th century, however.
Only that the forms of glowing orbs, stars and galaxies, above them were not the actual night-sky over the mansion, it was a virtual display of various universes - assisted and manipulated by their own combined mental power, an astonishing mixture of futuristic technology and supernatural powers.
Under the guidance of the Guardian leader, he and the Dragon, were now together using their supernatural senses to search the time streams of different universes for interruptions in their space-time.
It was the same principle with that they had located the SHA and discovered their plot in the first place - where the entire problem had started. Whenever someone or something was transferred between the worlds, intentionally or per accident, such an interruption appeared.
The problem was only that there were millions of universe out there, many thousands that were populated. That and the fact that the Guardians were by far not the only beings who traveled between the dimensions.
The specific universe they currently concentrated on was shown as a full virtual star-map, that showed entire groups of galaxies - while the others, close to it in the multiverse, were represented by small blue shimmering globes.
Until they switched to another dimension and the one they had just watched shrunk down to just another small blue orb and another one took its place in full display.
So they both were manipulating the virtual representation with nothing but their minds, as they were searching the universes for time-stream breaches.
Millions of worlds...
xxx
"How should we ever find them?" Issei had asked in desperation.
"They have most likely been sent to worlds in your own cluster of universes," Darien had explained. "Your control-equipment is programmed to target only realities that are part of it. So it is unlikely that they have landed somewhere else, even with the malfunction."
"Unlikely, but not impossible?" Issei questioned.
"As you have learned, something like absolute security doesn´t exist in the multiverse," Darien replied.
xxx
[That might be true, but remember what your counterpart has told us,] Ddraig reminded him.
Yes, Issei remembered.
And even more, the controller was also hardwired to never - under any circumstances - send a traveler to a world those physical laws didn´t allow life. So at least he could be sure that his friends had not been sent into a dead universe - one without air or with hundred times of gravity or something.
Their cluster, that meant worlds that were close variations of his homeworld, with the three Supernatural Factions, the Great War, the Sacred Gears, his hometown Kuoh and its role and similar similarities.
But that still meant many hundreds of possibilities.
But they would find them. He was completely sure about that. They would find them and reunite with them. And then they would all celebrate a goddamn party and exchange stories about everything that had happened...
... and then, he would also see Irina´s boobs again, his thought started to wander off... and then they would have sex the entire night.
No, he push this out of his mind. He had no time for this now, he told himself. He had to concentrate.
Boobs and hot night would come later.
Yes, they would find them, Issei promised himself, but it might take some time. He could only hope that they would take care of themselves until then.
He thought a moment about Irina, how much she meant to him. Just like Raynare and Asia. Right now he was actually happy that they had left Asia at home. Who knew where she could be now?
xxx
Ddraig was during all that silently supporting his partner.
Still, he admitted this experience here was also quite interesting for him as well. He had never used his powers in this way before.
It was pure telepathy, mixed with interdimensional magic and telekinesis.
He had never come to the idea to use his powers like this. Of course, he never did have a reason to. There had never been a need for him to locate someone across several parallel dimensions.
Yet, he admitted, whenever he had worked on creative ways to improve his abilities before, it was mostly to reach a higher level of magical power.
It was the battle credo of the Dragons, their mindset... they were not called `Beings of Power´ for nothing. They were proud creatures and had their way to do things.
... raw power against raw power, strength vs strength... the stronger one being the victor.
His and Albion's signature techniques that they had developed so long ago were perfect examples of this. `Boosting´ and `Dividing´, both were ultimately simply a way to increase your own strength compared to your opponent.
Of course, he also possessed high skills in telepathy and various forms of magic. But he never actually used them offensively in a fight.
Well, one or two of his past hosts might have tried something in that direction, with limited success. Too many of them had just been too impatient and got drunk with power too easily.
It had never crossed his mind to just remove the air around an opponent to weaken him. Or to cut off his conscious mind from using his powers. Or to distort time and space around him to make it impossible for him to use them. Or to simply freeze him in time.
Just like he had never thought that someone would separate his mind and soul from his body and trap it into a Sacred Gear. And what had happened?
But all that were also forms of power. Fighting your opponent in unexpected ways was not a show of weakness, it was one of strength, he knew all too well. He remembered how he had to deal with Albion´s Divide technique for the first time so long ago. It had caught him by surprise and would have cost him the fight, if he hadn´t pushed himself and managed to Boost several times at once to compensate.
But that was long ago.
Since he had arrived here along with Issei, they had met many powerful beings - many originally much weaker, but some of them came to rival or even surpass him... using their powers in hundreds of different way, exchanging ideas, training each other's abilities.
... And he was learning, along with Issei.
Albion and his host would be getting a surprise when they were fighting the next time, Ddraig thought to himself smugly. They would soon face a completely new Red Dragon Emperor.
xxx
One of the most difficult things he had to do about this situation, he had already brought behind himself...
... and that had been to tell Rias and Akeno´s families about their disappearance.
xxxxxxx
Two days earlier
He - together with Raynare and Gaeriel, who supported him - had been meeting with Sirzechs, Grayfia, Rias parents and Sona Sitri and her Queen from the Devils and Baraquiel and Azazel from the Fallen Angels in Sona´s office in Kuoh Academy.
None of them was anywhere close to happy when they heard the news.
The future-counterparts of himself, Rias and Sona were also in the room with them. They had asked to be present during the meeting. He was actually glad about this, since their presence helped a lot to calm the shocked and outraged Devils and Fallen Angel down somewhat.
A situation like this reminded him once again just how damned powerful Sirzechs was. Being around creatures like Darien and the other leaders of the Guardians could sometimes make one forget this.
The energy the Super-Devil started to radiate as he heard about what happened to his sister, would have been enough to obliterate multiple countries.
"So you are telling me that Rias had been lost in some parallel world?" he asked in a dangerous voice. "And that on the first mission she had decided to join you on? I expected you to look out for her."
"And Akeno as well?" Baraquiel asked.
Issei nodded.
"I - I tried to protect them," he tried to explain. "I wanted to send them back to this world because I wanted to keep them out of danger. But the control-mechanism malfunctioned and..." they all already knew what happened. "We are sure that they have arrived safely wherever they are. It is just that we don´t know where."
"But you have no idea what these worlds are like where they have been sent?" Venelana said. "You have no idea what kind of danger could be there."
"No," he admitted. "We are pretty sure that they have landed in worlds very similar to ours. That means our Supernatural World and the three Factions should exist there. Most likely."
"But that is no guaranty," Zeoticus stated. "For all, we know the Great War might have never ended in one of these worlds. Or something even worse could be going on."
Issei said nothing for a moment.
"You should not blame Issei for this," Future Rias spoke up. "By what I heard, he did everything he could to protect them.
And if I have to remind you, my counterpart had volunteered for this position... and none of you had protested against it, despite that you knew the danger. You wanted a closer relationship with the Guardians from the beginning because you saw this as a chance to spread the Devil´s influence beyond this world. And as my counterpart wanted to join Issei´s team, you just saw this as another opportunity.
I know you all too well. So don´t try to put all the blame on Issei now."
Sirzechs, Zeoticus and Venelana flinched at her words for a moment and looked actually guilty.
"We didn´t know something like this would happen," Zeoticus responded. "It... " he broke off his sentence.
He, Venelana and Sirzech couldn´t help to stare at the double of their missing daughter.
"Sorry, it is just... a bit confusing," Venelana said. "It is just, you are her and yet not. It is confusing."
"I know," Future Rias answered. "Look, I am hundred percent sure Issei-kun will bring them back. My Issei was always there for me and always protected me," she stated with a side-look to his future-counterpart. "Even when I often didn´t deserve it," she admitted.
"And by what I have seen, in this world, he is just the same. I am sure he will find them. Just give him some time."
Sirzechs nodded.
"Issei Hyoudou, you will find my sister," he said in a stern voice. "You will not tire until you have located her and Akeno and the others and brought them back to safety. Do you promise this?"
"I do," Issei replied.
"I am sure he will do his best Baraquiel," Azazel said to his old friend, laying his hand on his shoulder.
"And you will do your best to assist him, right Raynare?" he asked her in a meaningful tone.
"Of course I will My Lord," Raynare replied.
"Wait a moment," Issei´s future-counterpart addressed him, as he and the others were just about to leave the room.
"There is something that might help you."
xxxxxxx
Present
Now all he had to do was to fulfill his promise and actually find them.
Issei remembered what his other self had told him... and concentrated once again.
No, the universe they were currently searching didn´t show any signs of his friends. They switched to the next one.
And again Issei focussed his mind... wait, there was something. Finally, a sign.
But was it truly one of them, he asked himself... or something else?
xxxxxxx
`Akeno´s´ world
Akeno was in this moment staring at the person whose presence shocked her more than anything else.
"Who are you?" Issei´s counterpart asked her sternly.
"I - It may sound strange, but I am Akeno Himejima. Just not the one you know."
"She is a Devil," Rias stated. "I am not sure we can trust her."
"But I willingly admitted that," Akeno herself responded. "I even powered up in front of you. If I were here to spy on you or something, would I have done that?"
"Ae´kay, she actually has a point here," Rias admitted. "Imagine. She actually claims to be Akeno´s double from an alternate universe. Like in the Twilight Zone or something."
The local counterparts of Koneko and Akeno herself, who had been staring at her the entire time, were now looking at her as if she was truly an alien. Okay, in some sense she really was one, she knew. She was not from this world after all.
She could however also sense that the two other girls had also activated their powers... and were probably ready to attack her if needed - just like Issei´s counterpart was.
Neither of them was a Devil, that much was clear. No wonder if Rias counterpart was human. And given how she reacted to Sona, they might not have the best relationship to Devils.
What kind of fucked up universe was this anyway? Differences between universes were caused by `decision-points´ in the timeline, things that happened differently in the past - the further back, the greater the differences in the presence. But this? How could one person be in one world a Devil and in another a human? It made no sense.
"Rias, is this some kind of joke from you?" `Akeno´ asked her, crossing her arms. "Have you somehow conjured this double with magic or something for a prank?"
"No, I have not," Rias replied annoyed. "It is just as I said. She was suddenly standing at the door."
Shuri was also looking at the double of her daughter, they had found standing in their living-room, in similar bewilderment.
Okay, she had already seen many strange things since she and her daughter came to be living with Issei. And also before that with her husband. But she had simply not been expecting something like this today. She and the others were just supposed to return home and spend a quiet afternoon.
She promised herself, if this actually turned out to be some twisted joke from Rias to get back at her daughter for one or another of her antics, she would have some words with her herself.
"Mother," Akeno heard herself say, more quietly than the last time. But the others could hear her.
She could not help herself. Seeing her alive was more than unsettling. But at the same time, a part of her was more than happy about it. While another part was screaming at her that this wasn´t her true mother - not the Shuri she had known.
"This is my mother you imposter," `Akeno´ told her with a sudden burst of anger.
"You don´t know how good you have it," Akeno only replied tonelessly. "You don´t know."
"What do you mean with that?" her double asked confused.
But Akeno only sank her gaze silently, her face suddenly filled with an expression of pain.
Shuri Himejima had a strange feeling as she saw this. She actually had to fight the urge down to walk forward and take this `girl´ into her arms - and that while the real Akeno was standing right next to her. One thing was clear. This was not simply some magical created copy.
It nearly felt as if she had suddenly two daughters - or more likely `two versions´ of her daughter. Of course, her logical mind told her that this was bullshit.
Issei, however, was just observing Akeno in what seemed like silent curiosity. He had said nothing so far.
Now, however, he raised his hand.
"It is true," he stated. "She is a Devil, a reincarnated one. I sense the Evil Piece inside her. But I can also sense her Fallen Angel side and what is left of her human one." He turned his head to the others.
"Shirone," he addressed Koneko´s counterpart. "Would you take a look at her as well?"
The young Nekomata nodded.
"Of course Issei-sempai," she said respectfully.
A moment later, as she had used her senses to examine the stranger, she was looking surprised.
"Her - her energy, it is practically identical to Akeno´s. Except for that this one had been turned into a Devil, they actually feel like the same person," she stated.
"I thought the same thing," local Issei replied. "So you are either another version of Akeno Himejima," he turned to her, "or a very well made copy."
"Look," Akeno responded, "I just need a place to stay for a while, until my comrades have found me. You don´t have to trust me... or even to like me. But please, I have no idea where else I could go."
Issei was looking at her for a few moments silently, it seems he was thinking. Everyone´s eyes turned to him. It was clear that he would make the decision. Of course, this was his house after all.
But how she and her mother came to live with him, she didn´t knew.
The first thought that came to her mind was of course that they were both his lovers... and maybe Koneko´s and even Rias doubles as well.
The Issei she knew would have certainly been excited about having a big breasted mother-daughter duo in his bed.
But what about her father Baraquel? If they were now Issei´s lovers or not, why were they with him and not with her father. Had the attack of the Himejima Clan ever happened in this world.
This Issei here, however, didn´t make the impression that he was a pervert like her world´s. No - he seemed cool and collected, like their Issei was when he truly had his things together - or like his Exorcist counterpart.
But you couldn´t know for sure. The truth was, she didn´t care... much.
She would have gladly had her mother and herself being fucked by Issei, if that only meant she would still be alive in her world. Deep down, she actually caught herself, as she was actually a bit aroused at the thought. You are a bad girl Akeno, she thought to herself... a very bad girl.
"Okay," Issei´s counterpart finally said. "I think I know a place where you can stay. But don´t misunderstand, that doesn´t mean that we will simply trust you. We will have someone keep his eyes on you the entire time."
"Do you really think that is a good idea?" `Akeno´ asked him.
"Do you think it is a better one to let her run loose in the town - looking exactly like you?" he replied.
"Where do you think she could stay Issei-sempai?" Koneko - No, Shirone - asked him.
"With my assistant of course. She has an apartment in the town, after all, that is easily large enough for two or three people."
"Yes, that is a good idea," human Rias said with a smug grin, "let this bitch Raynare take care of her."
"She won´t be alone," Issei responded. "We will take turns in helping her to look out for `Akeno´ here."
Rias face was falling.
"Hold up, that means I have to live with... her?"
"Just a few hours a day," Issei responded.
"Well, that´s just great," human Rias commented sourly.
In the end she just shrugged with her shoulders and accepted Issei´s suggestion.
She turned to Akeno.
"Okay, I don´t pretend that I believe your crazy story," she told her. "But lets just say I would believe you. If you are Akeno from another world, you was the evil Devil who had turned ya´?" Rias asked curiously.
Akeno´s face fell. She wasn´t quite sure how to answer that question... and she admitted - at some level - she had to hold back her laughter.
xxxxxxx
`Rias´ world
Rias Gremory knew she was an idiot.
She downright admitted she was an idiot, at least to herself.
At this moment she was sitting in a jail cell. Ironically it was the same cell in that she and her peerage had locked up Freed Selzen not so long ago.
What the hell had she been thinking just showing up walking through the town like she owned it? Why had she not considered that her counterpart might mistake her for some kind of spy or assassin?
`Because you are arrogant,´ she told herself. `Your future-self was right. You are a spoiled girl, who believes deep down that everything will always go your way. And this is what you have gotten from your arrogance.´
The counterpart of Koneko was guarding her cell. She had tried to exchange a few words with the young Nekomata-Devil, but the double of her good friend was just ignoring her.
Her reaction, Rias admitted, was actually not any different than the one from the Koneko she knew would have been.
She had been sitting there for one, maybe two hours, as suddenly something happened.
The place was under attack. At first, she had heard shouts and loud noise from outside, that became louder and louder.
And then suddenly the door of her cell was blown open.
Two people stepped inside. She recognized them both. It was members of the Hero Faction of the Khaos Brigade, Siegfried and Jeanne. It was kind of ironic, since they had just first fought against each other and then briefly worked together in the last world she had visited.
Both of them were staring at her with open surprise as they saw `who´ was sitting in the cell.
"Now, who do we have here?" Siegfried said as he had caught himself.
"If I didn´t know completely sure where Rias Gremory is right now, I could swear that she was sitting here in her own cell," Jeanne commented.
"Who are you, Devil?" Siegfried asked her.
"I think you would not believe me if I told you," Rias responded quietly.
"Really? I can actually believe a lot, Devil," he said. "But I think I can guess why the Gremory-bitch had you locked up here. Didn´t want anyone who can pass off as her twin sister walk through `her´ town, right?"
Rias didn´t say anything, but the wince on her face gave him his answer.
"So who are you? Some kind of spy for the Old Maou Faction? Or just some unfortunate Devil girl who happened to have the wrong face?" he asked. "It doesn´t matter. I am sure Master Cao Cao and Hyoudou would like to talk with you as well," he said.
Hyoudou? Issei? she thought surprised.
As they brough her outside, she could see `Koneko´s´ dead body lying next to the door.
She forced herself to remember that this wasn´t her friend, not really.
xxxxxxx
`Irina´s´ world
She had finally found another small group of people who she saw as she was walking through a large park somewhere in the city, who she considered approaching for help.
One of them was a teenage boy, maybe in her own age and two girls who were standing close to him.
The first of the girls - and that was what dumbfounded her a bit - was another one of the identical looking clones. Though this one seemed somewhat stronger as the other ones she had sensed.
Merlin had suggested that maybe, this one here was the original.
The other one, who was sitting on a park bench while the other two were right now talking to each other, was a short, platinum blonde girl, who was clad in... a Nun-dress? Irina was a bit surprised at this. She admitted, from her appearance, the girl reminded her of Asia - a bit at least.
They were about thirty meters away from her, at the other side of the place.
`Why are you not going to them?´ she heard Merlin´s voice in her mind. `Yes, what exactly was she waiting for?´ she asked herself.
She had already been thinking about what she should say.
But then suddenly something happened that she hadn´t expected. A sharp wind suddenly blew up, it was more like a storm, strong and surprisingly enough to completely throw her from her feet and into the ground.
She didn´t know that, since she had arrived here, another being had noticed her... and was heading in her direction. This being had been in another part of the town at that time, but now...
As Irina lifted herself up again, she saw to her surprise, that the air all around her was still standing still. I was as if this win had only blown up for a single moment. And only at exactly the place where she had been standing as it seems, since the three people she had been watching from the distance seemed to be completely unaffected.
As she turned around in the direction where the sudden blow came from, she saw someone standing not far from her... another young man. He had a sleek body and white hair. And he was looking at her with a scowl and a cold expression.
"I have been looking for you," the stranger addressed her.
"M-me?" she asked.
"Don´t play dumb. I know about you. I might not know who you are. But I know you are `not from here´. I could sense you entering this world and I followed your trail since then," he stated.
"I don´t know why you came here, but your presence put us all in danger."
He began to form some kind of glowing energy-globe with his hands. But it wasn´t any kind of magic, so much she could tell.
One moment later he threw it at her. She managed to dodge and the attack impacted on the ground close to her. The resulting explosion told her, if it had hit her, she would have been done for. And the guy looked as if he was already ready to attack her again.
`Okay,´ she thought, `here goes nothing.´
She materialized her Excalibur and prepared to send a `flying slash´ at him. He had attacked her first and was clearly aiming to kill, she thought. No reason to hold back.
She unleashed her attack. The white haired boy made no attempt to dodge at all... and the attack hit him frontally.
But then she was met with a nasty surprise. In the moment her slash touched him, it was just... being sent back to her in full force.
Split-seconds later she could feel the sharp pain in her side. She had been hit by her own attack, she realized.
Not only had it done absolutely no damage, it had - for the lack of better words - `bounced off´ of him and thrown back right to her.
Irina was forcing herself to keep standing despite her injury.
What in the world was she supposed to do? she asked herself. How could she defend herself against such an opponent?
"I am sorry," he said to her, "But for all our safety... you have to die."
xxx
Touma had spent the last two hours, taking a walk through the town, with his friend, the girl in the Nun clothes with the somewhat strange name `Index´. He had a few things to do at first, and then... he had just wanted to spend the rest of the time relaxing.
Somewhere on their way, they had met Mikoto-san and `somehow´ she had come to accompany them for the rest of their way.
Of course, like always it came to a few arguments between them... that meant in first line of course between him and Mikoto Misaka.
Index said very little for the most part, at least as long as Mikoto was around. From time to time she was staring at both of them, not always looking happy. And of course, she spoke up whenever she wanted to eat.
In other words, it was mostly like it had always been.
Finally, they were taking a break at the park.
But of course, he didn´t get to spend a quiet afternoon. Like so often in the past, things were turning bad really quickly.
A few moments later they heard the explosion close by.
As he, Mikoto and Index were running forward and looking for the source of the noise...
... they saw Accelerator fighting with a girl they had never seen before.
xxxxxxx
`Kalawarner´s´ world
Kalawarner had been walking around in the area of the destroyed school for some time, looking if she could find some more clues of what exactly happened. Unsurprisingly she didn´t find any.
The Devils - or whoever had cleaned the place up after the incident - had done a good job at removing all evidence of a supernatural involvement.
It was a few minutes later, however, that the Fallen Angel noticed that she was no longer alone.
In some distance a magic-circle shined up on the ground, that she had never seen before... and a few moments later two people had appeared.
Kalawarner felt their presence nearly instantly - especially one of them was frightening.
As she turned around to the source of the immense power, she was surprisingly met with the face of...
`Issei,´ she thought. But at the same time, all her senses were screaming at her that this wasn´t him. And not in the sense that this was just his counterpart from this reality.
No, his energy didn´t even feel human. And it was not Ddraig´s either. it was... something different.
"Hello, Fallen Angel," `Issei´ greeted her. He sounded friendly, but not too much, mostly impartial.
The second newcomer was a girl. She was wearing glasses and had shoulder long red hair with a few black strains in it, that she was wearing in twin ponytails. Her clothes consisted of a red and black colored shirt, black jeans and red leather boots.
She also seemed somewhat familiar to her, but she could not place it.
"I see you have an interest for the remains of the Highschool?" `Issei´ asked Kalawarner.
"Yes," she replied. "I didn´t know that the school had burned down," she replied.
"Not surprising," he replied casually. "You are `not from here´, right?" he asked.
"No." In the truest sense of the word, she thought.
"I thought so," he said.
The girl was only looking at her silently with a scowl on her face. It was clear that she didn´t exactly like her.
"Okay, why don´t we end this and speak openly," the Issei lookalike said to Kalawarner. "I know that you are not a regular Fallen Angel. In fact, I have sensed a tear in the structure of this universe, just at the place and at the same time when your energy suddenly appeared in Kuoh. The question is, what are your intentions? Are you some kind of threat?"
"I see," Kalawarner replied. "I don´t deny it. It is true, I came through this tear. Not intentionally. I was actually supposed to land somewhere else. But something went wrong. I just want to wait until my comrades have found me?"
"Okay," Issei stated calmly.
"You are also all but normal," Kalawarner responded," even for a supernatural being."
"You are right. I am not normal. And like you, my home is not exactly in this world. But if you truly have no hostile intentions, we have no problem with each other. But if you allow, I want to make sure."
Kalawarner felt a slight probing on her mind. He wanted to read her mind, she realized.
She just nodded. She needed help and after all, she truly had nothing to hide.
She felt his mental powers entering her mind. It was not exactly unpleasant, but strange. Normally this would have freaked her out, a stranger entering her thought. But he was so similar to Issei, she just couldn´t help but trust this being somewhat. And she knew she had no great choice if she wanted to earn his trust.
A few moments later, after probing her mind, `Issei´ was nodding back at her, looking satisfied.
"Do you really believe we can trust her?" the girl next to him asked.
"I have seen her thoughts Seria," he answered. "She is not an enemy. In fact, she doesn´t even want to be here."
"She is one of `them´," she said. "This is the same woman."
"No, she is not Seria," Issei replied. "She has no memory of what had happened to you... and even then, it was not `her´ who had attacked you, right?"
The girl now winced visibly. But the sharp glance at Kalawarner returned a moment later.
"Do you have a problem with me?" the Fallen Angel asked.
"A problem with you, why would I?" the girl replied with visible sarcasm. "Your kind has only attacked and nearly killed me, crippled me and left me help- and powerless. They had taken my friends and family from me, destroyed the place I have lived... is that reason enough for you?"
Issei layed a hand on her shoulder.
"You know this woman hadn´t done any of this," he told her softly. "She is not even from this world."
"Wait..." Kalawarner finally recognized her. She looked completely different from the last time she had seen her, but...
"Sona, Sona Sitri?" she asked.
The girl now grimaced painfully.
"Sona doesn´t exist anymore," she answered. "She died."
It was more than clear to Kalawarner that she didn´t mean this literally. But if she wanted it that way...
"I am Seria," Sona Sitri´s counterpart introduced herself stoically.
"Kalawarner," she responded with her own name.
"I - I wanted to ask. Could you help me? I just need a place to stay until my friends have found me. I promise I won´t be a bother. If you say no, I would have to return to the Grigory. But I just don´t know the situation there in this world."
"I understand. Well, I am sure we will find a place for you at my home," Issei´s double told her.
Kalawarner realized that she had just agreed to live with a complete stranger. But on the other side, technically everyone in this world was that.
"One last question," she said. "It is just, you look very much like someone I know. He is a human and a Sacred Gear user - Issei Hyoudou?"
"Hyoudou?" he repeated. "I understand. You could say I am him... and I am not. It is complicated. But I am not human, not really. And I have never been," he stated.
"I am a Dragon. But I was pretty much born in this human form. You can call me Issei as well," he said to the confused Kalawarner.
xxxxxxx
Issei´s home-universe, Italy - Rome
It was an old building a few miles outside of the town. The building was a place that existed till the middle-ages. But barely anyone knew that it even existed.
In fact, most of it was underground. The entrance was camouflaged as an old ruin of an old church. But that was only a deception.
It was a prison... a secret jail where the Vatican was holding it´s most dangerous criminals.
But someone had found out the location of this place... and now it was under attack.
Figures - wearing red coats, with bizarre masks on their faces that were modeled after Demons, suddenly appeared out of magic circles, materializing right inside the underground complex. The magic wards that were surrounding the area were somehow not able to stop them... and they attacked without hesitation.
The first of the Exorcists who were guarding the place were already killed by magical blasts and orbs of energy and other attacks, moments after the strangers had appeared.
The rest of them were doing their best to hold them back, but the mysterious attackers were just too powerful.
Not only that, they all felt weakened, nearly as if something was robbing them of their power.
Less than five minutes later, the first cells of the prisoners were being opened.
One of them belonged to someone who had spent the last months here. He was currently clad in a straightjacket and chained to the wall.
But then his cell-door was being broke open. The man saw with a smile on his face how one of the Exorcists who were guarding him was being decimated.
And then the masked figures were cutting the chains and the jacket off his body he was only laughing.
"Freed Selzen," one of the strangers addressed him.
"Yes? I don´t get visitors often here. How do I deserve this honor?" he asked.
"We have come to make you an offer. We want you to join us."
"Oh really? Does that mean I would also have to walk around like this?" Freed asked sarcastically.
"No," the man replied. "We are only wearing this disguises for this one assault."
"Good. That alone would be a reason to refuse. So you want me to join your little group? And if I say that I prefer to work alone?"
"You should accept Father Freed." He heard a voice he recognized easily. "It will pay off for you. And besides, you are hardly in a good position to say no. You are right at the core of Church territory after all."
"Mittelt?" he asked surprised. "What in the world happened to you that you ended up like this?" He laughed loud.
She removed her own mask and revealed the face of the small Fallen Angel. She visibly winced at his words.
"Let us just say that I didn´t have a good time. Kind of like you."
"To answer your question," the first masked man addressed him again, "if you refuse, we go our separate ways from here on. You can fight your way out of here together with us, but then you will have to see how you get out of the Church territory by yourself.
If you accept, however... What would you say about a chance to kill more Devils than you have ever dreamed of. Not only that, but also gain access to a place where the Church could never reach you?"
Freed grinned.
"Well, that nearly sounds too good to be true, right?"
"It is true," the man responded. "You just have to make your choice. By the way..." He looked at one of the other masked beings and he gave Freed a sword and a gun, both weapons of an Exorcist, in his hands.
"A present for you," the man said. "No matter what choice you make. We just expect you to kill a few of our opponents on your way out."
Freed laughed once again.
"Really? How nice of you. I guess I can stand it with you for some time, so I will accept, at least for the time being."
"That is acceptable," the man replied. "I am Pazuzu. This group here are the Devil Hunters."
They, together with Freed and some of the other inmates who had joined them, were now facing the remaining guards who would be trying to keep them from escaping.
Less than 20 minutes later nobody would be left alive at this place and the group calling itself the `Devil Hunters´ would have disappeared from the face of the Earth.
xxxxxxx
Guardian Homeworld
Issei had found a breach between the universes... in fact, not only one but two.
But one of them, he realized... was located in his own home-universe. Someone or something had just entered his reality.
xxxxxxx
Rias world
She had been transported away by the two Khaos Brigade members to a place that she could only guess was their base, far away from any town, somewhere in the forests... and then dragged to another room, another cell.
`From one cell to another,´ she thought sarcastically.
They took a few blood samples from her and made a few tests. Then they left her alone.
Another two hours or so later, they came again and brought her into some kind interrogation room.
Inside she was confronted not only with her double, who was chained to a chair, but also with the sight of Cao Cao... and Issei.
But it was clearly not either of the Issei´s she had met. He was wearing some kind of black leather combat suit and the cold and disgusted look he sends to her as he saw her made her literally freeze inside.
The Issei she knew was her friend - despite everything what happened between them - but this one here, he was clearly not.
Her double was glaring at her as well as they placed her roughly on another chair next to her. But it was nothing compared to the way this Issei looked at her.
"Now, what do we have here?" Cao Cao asked smugly.
"It is kind of strange," his Second in Command Georg - or whatever rank he had in this world - told him. "As it looks they are in fact identical in every way. The blood samples we have taken, their energy signature, even the way they are talking. By all rights they are both Rias Gremory."
"Isn´t that nice Issei-kun?" Cao Cao said him, who only had a grim look on his face. "I promised you Gremory and now you get two for the price of one."
"I only want to see her die," he finally responded.
"Okay - okay, I admit it," Rias double called out, "I am not the real Rias Gremory. I was send by the Old Satan Faction to take her place and had her locked up a few days ago. Please, I have nothing to do with this, just let me go."
Issei just punched her in the face.
"Shut your mouth filthy Devil," he hissed. "I have enough of your lies once and for all. Just shut up."
Rias couldn´t say she felt bad for her counterpart. Bitch, she thought - first she had her imprisoned without even a trial and then she was trying to throw her under the bus to save her own ass.
"You thought I had died, didn´t you? You thought you got rid of me, right? That was exactly what I wanted you to think," Issei said dangerously. "I will kill you slowly. I will let you suffer, just like you deserve it."
"Why are you doing this?" Rias asked him quietly.
"You dare to ask me that?" Issei growled. He grabbed her roughly by the chin.
"Please - I am not the Rias you know. I don´t know what had happened."
Issei just nodded.
Then, without a warning, he kicked her painfully against the legs.
"I have enough of this game," he called out. "I don´t know who of you is the real Rias and I don´t care. I will just torture both of you to death. It only means I have the pleasure to see you die twice."
He was insane, Rias started to realize. He didn´t even bother to make a difference between her and her counterpart.
"You want me to remind you?" Issei ranted. "Good, let me tell you a little story. It was once, not so long ago, that I was just a simple human boy. Okay, I was a known pervert and more than anything, I wanted to get a girlfriend.
Until then, some day, a girl that I had never seen before suddenly asked me out. She called herself Yuuma Armano, but like I later found out, that was not her real name. Then, a few days later, we spend our first date together. It was a nice time actually," he said melancholically.
"But then... she acted somewhat awkward in the end and told me suddenly that she wasn´t sure if she could see me again and just left.
A few days later, however, I got a letter, a message from her that she wanted to see me again and to go to an old abandoned house at the edge of the town to meet her.
As I went there, however, I died. The house, as it turned out, was the hideout of a monster, a Stray Devil that was hiding in the town.
I had been sent to my death." He laughed bitterly.
"But it was not the end. I awoke sometime later and a short time later met with a girl who just told me outright that she was now my Master. She told me that she and her peerage had just come to kill the Stray who had killed me... and that she had `saved´ me at the last moment by turning me into a Devil.
She told me a lot. She explained to me about the Supernatural World, the Three Factions, the Devils and the Fallen Angels. Of course only as much as I `needed´ to know.
She also told me that my girlfriend Yuuma was, in fact, a Fallen Angel with the task to kill me. I was devastated about this of course.
But she also promised me many things. A harem of girls, the chance to become a High Class Devil... I was so stupid," he spat.
"A few days later we went to attack the Fallen Angels, who were in a abandoned church just outside of the town. What I found inside was Yuuma - or Raynare, as her true name was - having bound a girl that I had never seen before and trying to extract her Sacred Gear.
I cam just in time to stop her... and we fought. Then, a short time later, as we were both exhausted from our fight, I finally asked her... why - why had she send me to a death trap...
... and imagine my surprise when she had not the slightest idea what I was talking about," he sneered. "She admitted that she had actually been planning to kill me in the beginning and then she had not brought it on herself to do it. I suddenly realized that she had no reason to send me to the Stray Devil, when she could have just as easily killed me on the date before," he pointed out.
"Then I finally realized who had truly sent me this message."
Rias felt cold like ice, she felt how her jaw dropped and turned her gaze slowly to her counterpart.
No, she couldn´t have.
Suddenly Issei´s words from their confrontation in their club-room went through her head. How much of a step was there between what she did... and this.
"It wasn´t me. Don´t you understand? It wasn´t me who had done that," Rias pleaded.
But Issei backhanded her across the face.
"Silence Devil," he snarled. "I don´t want to hear anything out of your rotten mouth. Where have I been? Oh yes...
... and then you suddenly showed up," Issei continued. "You just showed up and acted as if you owned the place. You revealed that you had already killed the other Fallen Angels. And then you killed her, when we were both exhausted and couldn´t fight anymore. And I could do nothing but stand by and watch.
And after all that you dared to tell me that I was still your servant and I had to follow you.
But I got away from you later. I had ejected the Evil Pieces from my body, even if it had nearly killed me. But I survived by having Ddraig turn me into a Dragon... and now, you will pay for everything you have done."
Here is the start of Arc 4. The lost members of Issei´s group are now having smaller side-storylines, as shown in this chapter.
Irina for example is in a world that is a variation of the Anime "A certain magical index".
Rias is in a world where Issei has joined the Khaos Brigade... and her own counterpart in this reality might be a far darker version of herself.
Akeno is in a reality where Rias is for some reason human (will exlained later) and also in other way completely different from her usual selves.
Kalawarner´s was so far only shown in a few glympses.
Side-note: Accellerator´s power in canon is based on `Vector Manipulation´, meaning it can manipulate physical movements. This makes him practically invulnerable to regular attacks, since everything is simply redirected from his skin.
The `energy´ globe he had thrown at Irina in this chapter is formed by him by using his powers to compress air molecules to turn it into plasma and use it as a weapon. He had actually done this in the Anime.