Chapter 1

Point of view- Doppel

This world was lucky enough to have the Cthulhu mythos freaking spelled out for them by Lovecraft, with ample warning as to how dangerous the likes of Daoloth was if summoned…

Doppel hissed. Of course, just because the humans of this world had access to such knowledge didn't mean they'd use it correctly. To be fair, some of the knowledge was either out of date or just plain inaccurate- her own depiction as Nyarlathotep, for example. But still, enough WAS accurate that caution was warranted. And the danger posed by Daoloth was one aspect that the early seers- who gave their knowledge in the guise of fiction- got right.

Daoloth, for those not familiar with the Cthulhu mythos- or perhaps just not familiar with Ramsey Campbell's contribution to them- dwells within dimensions beyond the three known by humans. This being, in a form too complex to be understood by either humans or her fellow liminals, could best be described to them as a mass of shifting geometric shapes. Lesser beings- which is to say, every sentient creature on this world besides Doppel herself- could not possibly gaze upon this form and maintain their sanity. As such, instructions for Daoloth's summoning always included the step to conduct the summoning in pitch-black darkness. If not contained properly by a magical barrier, Daoloth would expand indefinitely, and all enveloped by his expansion transported to dimensions bizarre to their understanding.

And by bizarre to their understanding, Doppel thought as she grit her teeth, what she really meant was so different as to be completely deadly to all of her human and liminal friends. If she hadn't intervened to contain Daoloth upon noticing the summoning, the entire world would have suffered such a fate. As it was, though she had successfully contained Daoloth in time to prevent that, the situation hadn't been a complete success. For all of her power, getting entangled with a power such as Daoloth always came at a risk- and it would appear this fellow eldritch being instinctually targeted what she sought to protect most in reaction. In other words, it targeted her friends, and those her friends held strong emotions towards, regardless of geographical proximity.

Though Doppel was at least able to prevent them from all dying after being transported to a truly alien world, she was not able to keep them anchored in the world they belonged to. Which was exactly why she found herself in the middle of another world's forest (in the middle of a light snowfall no less) with many confused humans and liminals surrounding her. As Doppel looked around, her eyes narrowed- though eight individuals surrounded her, she was certain that the number brought to this world was at least triple that. Looking around, Doppel recognized Miia, Zombina, Manako, Kimihito, and the police chief of Tokyo. Beyond that, a harpy clinging to the police chief was identified by Kimihito as Papi's mother, and an adult lamia referred to Miia as her daughter with no objection from Miia. Finally, the last of the eight in Doppel's proximity, was an obnoxiously dressed woman in a ganguro style that seemed even more over-the-top than the type embraced by Papi's mother.

"Hey, Doppel- can you get any of your gps equipment to work? I'm kind of nervous about Manako's suggestion just then."

As Zombina spoke to her, Doppel finally noticed her two teammates from MON attempting to get her attention. She had been too busy purging her mind of potential contamination caused by Daoloth to fully focus on the scene before her until just now. Shaking her head, Doppel turned to her two teammates.

"I'm sorry- I guess I kind of zoned out there trying to figure out what was going on. What exactly did Manako suggest just now?"

"I'm seeing wild plants that don't seem like they'd be common in a Japanese forest… And I'm starting to worry we might not be in Japan anymore. I mean, see those… they look kind of like tomatoes, and they're just growing wild? In Japan, you don't see that outside of farms."

"Right. I… I'll get the gps stuff, and see." Of course, as Doppel reached into her hair to grab the equipment, rifling through the hidden extradimensional folds within, she knew the real answer. Whatever universe they had arrived in, though it was capable of sustaining human and liminal life- Doppel had made sure of that- it wouldn't have the same satellites as in their world. As such, there were no geosynchronous positioning satellites that connected with their equipment, and the same would be true throughout this world. As Doppel conveyed her lack of success to her teammates, she wondered how to approach this situation. This world had been their destination in part because it attracted extradimensional travellers- so whatever society it held would be familiar with encountering outsiders.

The big questions looming were whether this world's civilization was accepting of such dimensional travellers, and whether said civilization had basic notions of civil rights.

"Finally! Heat, warmth, fire!" Miia's exclamation came as she and her mother huddled by a hastily constructed fire pit, crafted and lit by the police chief. As Doppel looked at the scene, she decided that those worries could wait until more pressing questions were settled. Namely, where the other two thirds of people brought to this world had ended up.

"Well, we can't exactly take Miia and her mother very far safely without some sort of mobile fireplace. I mean, the temperature is so cold that it's currently snowing around us. Given our equipment is somehow malfunctioning, as the only flight-capable member of the group who's not a birdbrain, I'll just do a quick search around the area. That sound good with everybody?"

As Doppel asked her question, she hoped the others would accept her logic. Unless she wanted to reveal her true nature to them- well, reveal anymore than she had already hinted at- she couldn't exactly explain that people they knew closely were scattered around nearby. This way, if she just 'happened' to find some of them, she could alert this main group that they weren't the only ones in the area. Then, she could hopefully manipulate them into helping searching for others who were possibly brought over. And after that… well, as for that, she'd just see how the situation developed before planning that far ahead.

As some of the others spoke their assent to Doppel's plan, she transformed into a harpy. Knowing that Papi's birdbrain mother was nearby, Doppel made sure there were significant differences between her appearance and Papi's. The last thing they needed right now was the complication of Papi's mother mistaking Doppel for her daughter. Her transformation complete, Doppel took to the sky, scanning the area.

It was immediately obvious they were deep in the wilderness. Perhaps this world simply didn't have civilization. The snow-covered forest stretched on, with occasional geographical features such as a river or rocky outcropping providing some small variety. Maybe heading to the river was a good idea. Living creatures tended to be drawn to water, after all. As Doppel started heading in that direction, she saw something which caused her to pause midair. What appeared to be some kind of liminal woman, covered with feathers, was napping a short distance away, visible from a gap in the canopy.

The gps systems might not be working due to the lack of satellites, but their radio communications should still function fine. As such, Doppel turned on the radio to contact her teammates. "After taking to the air, I've spotted-"

Doppel was interrupted by an unexpected voice. "Doppel! You're here as well? Tionisha and I could really use some assistance. We found ourselves transported to this unknown place with a large group of other people. The group includes Rachnera and Suu, which does not work well with the fact that it's currently snowing. I've started a fire so they don't freeze to death, but we can't stay here, and we need help figuring out how to travel with them."

Ms. Smith's voice came through clearly on the radio. Zombina and Manako quickly responded, engaging in a conversation with Ms. Smith and Tionisha. The various members of each of the two groups quickly joined in on the conversation, joining in the members of MON. Apparently the two of them were accompanied by seven other people. In addition to Suu and Rachnera, there was Lilith, Centorea's mother, a man who was apparently the ganguro woman's boyfriend, a policeman who came here with his bicycle, and oh yeah- the criminal orc who by all rights should still be lacking in sanity after what Doppel had previously done to him. The fact he seemed to have recovered his sanity was a slight disappointment to her.

While it was a relief to know that some of the others who came here were fine, Doppel still felt like there had to be more. Given the number of people she had felt coming with her… This was probably only one-third of the number transported here. Of course, it wasn't exactly as if Doppel could say that to the others. They'd be too curious as to how she knew this information, and it would be a bad idea to even mention the name of a being such as Daoloth.

As Rachnera commented on how they should have tried using the radio earlier, Doppel spoke up in agreement, before trying to make herself heard over everybody's reunion. "As I was saying earlier, I think I spotted a native of this place nearby. Some sort of feathered liminal woman is sleeping a short distance away, and I'm going to go talk to her."

Doppel ignored the chatter which followed this announcement. The only intelligent point made was when Lilith questioned the likelihood of Doppel speaking the local language. And of course, that was easily answered by the other members of MON, who explained how Doppel intuitively spoke every language fluently. As Doppel descended beneath the tree line towards the feathered woman, she quickly saw other women who appeared to be of the same species, most of whom were asleep. Doppel couldn't quite recognize what species of liminal they were, but none of them were wearing clothes.

As Doppel landed on the ground near them, she was startled by the shriek of one of the awake feathered women. "PIDGY!"

Upon that shriek shouted at the top of her lungs, the other feathered women woke up, and they all took to the sky, fleeing Doppel as they flew away. Normally, Doppel would have called out to them in their native language to say she wasn't a threat. In this case, however, something had happened which deeply disturbed Doppel. Whatever language these women were speaking, Doppel hadn't understood it. She had no idea what the word 'pidgy' was supposed to mean. Across universes, her powers should enable her to understand whatever language was spoken- and yet she couldn't even figure out the translation.

Hearing voices on the radio asking what had just happened, Doppel snapped out of the daze she just realized she had been in. "There were multiple of these liminal women, and one of them who was awake yelled out when I approached and they flew away. And… I don't actually know what she yelled out. I can't speak the language they used for some reason, and they seemed to view me as a threat when I approached in the form of a harpy. I think that maybe I should go back to the main group, and only head out with a partner for backup."

As she flew back to the main group, Ms. Smith chose to ask what surroundings Doppel saw. By the time Doppel relayed the general terrain of the area, she had returned to the others, upon which she shapeshifted back into her favored form.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any fliers in our group, and we don't appear to be anywhere near any of those landmarks you mentioned. I'll send out a scouting party to see if we can find any of them. In the meantime, the orders for you three are to make contact with the locals, and communicate friendliness. Wherever we are we should eventually be able to make it to an embassy where we can make contact with the Japanese government. One of you- Manako- should stay back to defend the civilians in case of any danger, though."

The moment Doppel heard Smith use the justification that they would eventually be able to find an embassy, she knew this wasn't going to go well. It made sense the others wouldn't immediately consider they were in an alternate dimension. However, they weren't considering the possibility of hostile civilizations from this unknown world. At least Doppel was assigned to go with Zombina to search for the natives, instead of staying behind like Manako. Hopefully Doppel could manage things so the others figured things out without causing themselves too much trouble.

"You heard Smith, Doppel. Let's go!" Zombina, lively as ever, set out at a brisk pace away from the main group, as Doppel kept pace behind her. Zombina was headed in the same direction Doppel had flown, which meant they were headed to the river. As they walked, Doppel furiously tried to plan out how a meeting with the natives of this world should go, only to realize she couldn't. There were simply too many unknown variables, and any plan would be sure to immediately fall apart upon encountering such an unknown.

Struck by a sudden thought, Doppel glanced behind them, only to be relived when she saw the snowfall was just enough to cover their tracks as they walked. Hopefully that should be enough to protect them from any hostile natives who might otherwise follow their footprints.

"So, Doppel. Next time we meet one of the locals, maybe try shifting into the form of one of those bird liminals you saw. Maybe that would help?" Barely a minute into the walk, and Zombina was already speaking loudly enough to ruin their chances at stealth.

"Sure- but do you think you could speak more quietly? We're in an unknown place, and I don't like the idea of drawing attention to ourselves on a scouting mission."

"What?" The volume of Zombina's cry of shock proved that the zombie woman wasn't listening to Doppel's advice. "You heard Smith! This isn't a stealth mission, and we're actively trying to find other people. We stay quiet, and we might pass by some locals without realizing it!" Zombina's voice was loud enough it was borderline yelling.

"Those bird liminals who flew away were scared of me when I approached. Given they outnumbered me, they probably had reason to be scared. I'm fine with seeking out any peaceful locals we might find. But if people worth running away from are around here, do you really want to risk being ambushed by them?"

"Hmmm." The next few minutes of the walk took place in silence, as Zombina seemed to be thinking over Doppel's point. When her MON coworker did speak again, it was in a much quieter tone. "I guess that makes some sense- but what if we get mistaken for ambushers ourselves because the locals didn't notice us until we appeared in front of them? I mean, we're both used to combat situations, so if we were ambushed, it wouldn't be too big of a deal. However, if we got a reputation as scary folks to avoid, that could really hurt our chances of getting help for Miia and her mother in dealing with it snowing right now. Not to mention, Rachnera and Suu, over with Smith and Tionisha's group, also can't handle the cold."

Doppel thought furiously as Zombina spoke. And then she paused as she realized Zombina had a point. Regardless of whether or not returning to their home world was an option, the core of Zombina's argument was unaffected by that. They were in a strange land with unknown locals. If peaceful natives existed, they would want to be seen positively by them, and if dangerous natives were around, as seemed likely, they would want to avoid them. The only point of contention was Zombina's brushing off of how dangerous combat might be- and that could be easily debated with no mention of them being in an alien world.

"You may be used to fighting, but I'm only useful for subterfuge. Pretty much all of those battles you've had as a MON member were fought with help from Tio and Manako. The few you fought on your own… Well, let's just say that I'm not counting the likes of your jiangshi frenemy as being a life-threatening opponent. As long as we don't do anything too aggressive, it shouldn't be too hard to show the locals we're friendly. By contrast, we have no idea how any enemies here might fight, and if you're taken off-guard and defeated by the element of surprise, I won't be able to help you."

Doppel felt relief as she saw that Zombina's previously jovial countenance was replaced by a steely-gazed battle face she only wore when facing seriously dangerous enemies. It would appear that Zombina finally was taking this situation with the degree of seriousness that it deserved.

And just a short time after Zombina had been convinced of the danger they were potentially facing, they saw a river, partially covered by ice, in a clearing up ahead. Both liminal women stopped upon seeing it. "I don't see anybody there- and I'm really missing Manako now that I've said that. I guess I'll shapeshift into one of those bird liminals I saw earlier and step into the clearing. If there's anyone there, and they pose any danger, I'll be sure to fly away. In such an event, please don't try to engage, as we have no idea what we might be facing."

Having said that, Doppel shifted into a copy of one of the feather-covered liminals she had seen. Steeling her nerves, she was just about to step into the clearing when Zombina's voice stopped her.

"I think you're forgetting something. Aren't you going to put on any clothes? I know you prefer nudity, but you're trying to blend in here."

"Oh right. I didn't mention it earlier, but none of the liminal women I saw who flew away from me were wearing clothes."

"Seriously?" Zombina asked, eyebrows raised. "Huh- sounds like you're going to really like this place."

Despite the situation, Doppel found herself smirking at Zombina's comment. Stepping into the clearing, she glanced around- and quickly froze as she saw what had to have been another native of a different species.

The person she saw was another woman- also naked- who was resting on the side of the river. She was obviously non-human, having both blue skin and hair- but also having some sort of dome… a shell? carapace? covering her back. The underside of the shell, a creamy white, covered the woman's torso. As the shelled woman shifted her position, snow that had been coating the top of her shell fell off, revealing the top side to be a rust-colored red. Doppel idly noticed that despite being very obviously a full-grown adult woman (albeit with small breasts), she was lacking in pubic hair.

"Squirtitty?" As the alien woman looked at her entering the clearing, she seemed to dismiss Doppel as a threat and resumed her relaxation. Though Doppel was glad her current form wasn't seen as a threat, she was frustrated she still couldn't understand the native language. She had lived far longer than any of her MON teammates suspected, and in all that time, she had never before faced the frustration caused by a language barrier.

Pondering what to do next, Doppel was caught completely off-guard when disaster struck.

"SQUIRTITTY!" The alien woman screamed in pain as a surge of electricity struck her. As the lightning coursed, a cat-woman covered in yellow fur lunged forward to the shell-covered woman, claws bared as she pounced. As the shell-covered woman tried to retract her head into her shell, the cat-woman proved faster, slashing the neck of her prey.

"Electrocat!" The murderous felinoid hissed as she turned to face Doppel. There was no way Doppel could outfly that sort of electricity. Acting on instinct, she shapeshifted to take on Tionisha's appearance, hoping it would be more threatening. Seeing this, the murderer did seem to pause, before backing down and…

Cannibalism. Although they did appear to be separate species- so maybe it wasn't cannibalism when the cat-woman began eating chunks of flesh from the woman she had just killed. The quiet snowfall mixed with the blood flowing from the murder victim, emphasizing the gory scene before her. Still in Tionisha's form, Doppel began slowly backing into the forest behind her.

"Doppel! What happened!" Zombina shouted as she burst into the clearing. Because of course her teammate had to complicate things. Zombina briefly froze as she saw the recently killed woman, blood still flowing from her wounds, with her murderer right above her corpse.

"No way am I letting you get away with the crime of murder!" Zombina shouted right before pulling out one of her guns and shooting at the cat-woman. The bullets, aimed at the murderer's feet, strafed the area, not giving their target the chance to dodge.

Doppel scrambled out of the way as the felinoid let loose another electrical attack, this time aimed at Zombina. The attack would have certainly killed a human, stopping their heart immediately. Zombina, however, was undead- and could function quite well with a heart not beating in the first place. As Zombina rushed towards the perpetrator of the murder, the felinoid seemed to realize electric-based attacks were mostly useless against her.

Instead, in under a second, the fur on the felinoid stood up straight- before shooting out in a spray of sharp, needle-like darts. Doppel, now in her favored form, was able to dodge behind a tree and avoid getting hit. Zombina, however, wasn't nearly so lucky, taking the full brunt of the attack. Some of the needles passed straight through her body, proving that the enemy's attack would have killed a human subjected to it.

Fortunately, Zombina was a zombie, and she could easily handle such damage. She had taken the brunt of bullets that had torn through her body many times before- and in the fight against the orc otakus, had even shot through her own chest to target an enemy. Not even slowed down by this attack, Zombina used the butt of her gun to hit the felinoid in the head. As the cat-woman clawed and bit at her, Zombina repeatedly bashed her in the head with her gun. After the fifth such strike to the head, the murderous felinoid finally fell limp, as she became unconscious.

Zombina, standing above her defeated enemy, clearly had taken quite a bit of damage. Chunks of her flesh were gouged out, and the embalming fluid she used in the place of blood was flowing freely from her body. It was a miracle none of the stitches keeping her- Never mind, one of her body parts had fallen off. It was instead a miracle the only stitches that had failed to hold a body part together were the ones supporting one of her breasts.

"We can't risk staying here and getting attacked while you're so injured. I'm sure that a lot of your stitches are barely holding you together. Just handcuff the cat liminal to a tree branch or something, and we'll get you back to the main group."

"She seemed pretty strong. What if the perp wakes up and gets away while we're gone?"

"So do you want to risk her waking up near the civilians and attacking them!?" Doppel snapped.

"…Good point," Zombina conceded. Fishing out a pair of handcuffs, Doppel's zombie teammate handcuffed the felinoid to a tree as had been suggested. Once that was done, she started heading back- completely forgetting the body part she was leaving behind. To be fair, the falling snow had started to hide it from sight, but still.

"You forgot your boob," Doppel commented, picking up said snow-covered body part as she caught up to Zombina.

"Right," Zombina grunted, not seeming to care.

For the next few minutes, the two walked in silence.

"How do you think Ms. Smith will react to this?" Zombina eventually asked.

"We caught someone in the act of murder, and stopped them. She'll be frustrated we had to deal with a complication in an already bizarre situation, but she'll be glad you managed to accomplish that."

And it was true that this was probably how Ms. Smith would react to hearing their report. However, what Doppel knew and Ms. Smith didn't, was that they weren't on their home world, and they had no idea what kind of people they were dealing with here. And right now, they had no idea how the natives might react. They were in danger, and Doppel had no idea whether Zombina's choice to enter battle against a murderer made that danger better or worse.