Note: Hello, all. Here is the next chapter. I also really liked writing this one. Things will be slower now that I started school again after two years.

Chapter 17

"I'm really proud of you all. It looks like the Nether Gate will be up and running soon. We're going to need all the help we can get," MacArthur said with a smile on his face.

The location where the machine was being built was in a dimly-lit testing room. Computers decorated the main test zone with screens that displayed numerous charts, graphs, and formulas. Countless unorganized wires connected each and every one of them. If the scientists used the room before, then their experiments were successful since the computers looked fine and didn't have a single scratch. Maybe they just got replaced recently. Who knows? The room also had a smaller area that was protected by this very thick glass should the device malfunction and blow up. The machine blowing up on the general wasn't a problem since he was able to quickly heal. He sadly cannot say the same for the rest of his team. It was still in its early stages so no one can really know what is going to happen. Either Tagitsu will show up as normal or she'll look different in a bizarre kind of way. This looked to be delicate stuff.

MacArthur was not helping the rest of them build the machine. He stood by the protective glass with his arms crossed as he just watched them. He knows they would do a much better job at building it without his help. Anything involving the netherworld or noro was now outside his area of expertise since he hasn't touched on this topic for years. He was just excited to see the progress being made. Several of the individuals kept looking at him from the corner of their eyes. They felt like hostages. In a way they were forced to build the Nether Gate. They were afraid he was going to scold them should it look like they were slacking off but there he was. He was standing there with a smile on his face.

"How much longer?" MacArthur asked as he walked towards the machine.

"It just needs a few more adjustments," said one of them as he was typing at a computer.

"Done!" yelled another.

The machine had a circular design. The circular pad had four equally-spaced very bright rods that rested at the border. Imagine a clock being the pad with a rod located on the 12, 3, 6, and 9. Hanging on top of the device was something that looked like a circular mirror. In reality it was a very large magnet. Each of the rods had a small bundle of wires that were connected to a small box from under the platform. A very simple design but they will all make sure it works. All it needed to work was noro. The noro was like its battery source. A container of it went inside the circular pad.

"This is all we have but it's enough to get the gate working," Yuichiro came out of a room holding a small tank of noro. It was the size of a coffee thermos. Maybe this was someone's coffee thermos and they dumped out its contents to store the noro.

"Perfect. I didn't think you had any here. I've been looking forward to meeting the aradama princess," MacArthur said as he held the tank. He stared at it as if he had just found the Holy Grail. This little thing was going to propel his experiment forward.

MacArthur walked onto the pad with the tank in his hands. He opened the compartment at the very center and inserted the noro as if inserting a battery into a clock. He closed it and took a deep breath.

"Fire up when ready."

Everybody was already behind the protective glass waiting for MacArthur. When he walked behind it, the lead scientist began working on the main computer. He flipped several switches into the "on" position and pushed the red button. The four rods started spinning around the pad at a very high speed. The motion caused everyone to slightly cover their eyes due to the brightness. With all the noise coming out of the machine, they were beginning to think that it was going to break down and fling pieces all over the place.

There was a massive flash of light as if someone threw a flash grenade. Everyone looked away to prevent blindness. This was something major so they'd rather not go blind.

"Yukari how dare you!" was the first thing to come out of the aradama princess' mouth as she appeared on the pad. That voice that can send shivers down a spine.

We did it. We brought her back from the netherworld. MacArthur thought in disbelief. Everyone else was equally shocked at their apparent success. The creature that had caused absolute chaos was in the room with them.

"Wait. What is this place?" Tagitsuhime said as she looked around the room.

"Welcome back from the netherworld! Great to meet you!" MacArthur said as he walked over to her.

"The netherworld? I wasn't there," Tagitsuhime spat back.

"E-excuse me? What do you mean? What was it that you yelled out?" MacArthur said with great confusion in his voice.

"The young Toji freed her little lovebird from my clutches. I was going to strike them down and then Yukari smashed the ceiling and the three of them fell through. I then ended up here."

"When did this happen?" MacArthur's face twisted into one of horror.

"What year is this?"

"2019."

"Toward the end of last year then."

The man slowly turned toward the group of individuals who were all slightly shaking in fear.

"You all built a time machine! You brought Tagitsu here from the past!"

"We're sorry! We didn't know!" yelled Yuichiro.

"Out of the way!" MacArthur yelled to Tagitsuhime. She was somewhat confused.

She obeyed and jumped out of the way. MacArthur went over to the machine and started smashing it. He broke off the rods. He used one of them to break the mirror-like magnet, the broken pieces raining down on him. He broke the main pad in half with his insurmountable strength using only his hands. He flung one of the halves across the room and smashed one of the computer's monitors.

"We are not messing with this stuff. I don't know how this supposed time travel works seeing as how nothing has changed. At least I don't think it has," MacArthur said as he was breathing heavily and sweating. He was still holding two of the rods. This was the first time any of the members of the group has seen him out of character.

There was then the sound of thunder rumbling that lasted five seconds.

Everybody in the room looked up.

"We messed with something we shouldn't have," MacArthur said.

Yuichiro stepped forward and stood by MacArthur and asked, "What now?"

The general quickly regained his composure and stepped in front of the aradama princess.

"The six Toji and Yukari are very much alive today. My name's Wilbur O. MacArthur. How would you like to have things go your way? I can help you," MacArthur said as he extended his hand to her.

"Do you expect me to suddenly believe you? I just met you," Tagitsuhime said with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I'm a man of my word. I will make it happen. We can get rid of any Toji who comes between us and your goal. You were feared and dangerous back in your time. I need you to do the same in ours."

"He's right. He doesn't bullshit. He'll make it happen," Lawrence said as he was leaning in the doorway to the test room.

"Then what do you need me to do, MacArthur?" The way Tagitsuhime said it made it seem like she wasn't fully on board with the whole thing.

"I'm going to need you to bring me noro. Your desired future is within your reach. I'll help you kill any Toji."

MacArthur stepped outside of the base to get some fresh air after being inside a dark room after a mind-shattering experience. He didn't think something like that was possible. Something that only existed in fiction.

"So it is raining, then."

Note: "'You were feared and dangerous back in your time. I need you to do the same in ours.'" The inspiration for that quote comes from my favorite quote in Avengers: Endgame where Thanos says, "They're not trying to stop something I'm going to do in our time. They're trying to undo something I've already done in theirs."

What Tagitsuhime described was what happened towards the end of episode 22.