The USS Ronald Reagan's ponderous path around the Far East coasts wasn't all that slow given the motors of Earth. Night raids were balanced by relaxed days exploring the ship. Some nights were fueling stops so that Michael could take Purrcy out to dinners with fantastic and distinctive flavors. With shining eyes he teased her with the exotic foods of the Far East. She made faces at foods too spicy, too strange, but still her interest and curiosity at the new things to try, see, and experience lifted him and balanced out the concern he felt for her at every facility they were required to infiltrate and shut down.
Little by little Purrcy healed physically and little by little Michael was able to heal internally as well. Her description of her fears being like coming to rest against the large ship that was his felt very real. On the large aircraft carrier he was able to help her walk the deck, above and below, and to teach her how much he loved her. Like Purrcy, Michael was grateful that he could finally truly enjoy having her shipside with him. They'd enjoyed it during the pirate times, but had always had to be reserved out of respect for her and Nyanta's relationship. Now, they could enjoy the time spent together, unreserved.
Michael was truly in his own personal heaven. There could be no better honeymoon for him, even if it did include work for both of them. There were days he was tempted to buy them a boat to sail and live on forever, never settling down to a real house. He knew that was impractical, and his other task masters would be quite upset if he did. It would have to be enough to enjoy it while they could, this rare experience.
India crept up on them inexorably. They arrived off the coast during the night. Before morning, Michael, Purrcy, one guest, and her three guards were arriving at a hidden villa one-hundred-twenty miles north-east of the secret magic-research facility that was newly the equivalent of a smoking ruins.
"It's good to see you again, Prince Singh," Purrcy said politely as she and Michael walked into the small nook where the Prince was having his morning breakfast, she holding Michael's elbow as was their habit.
Windows surrounded the round table to make it seem as if Prince Singh were eating outside. A small chandelier hanging over the table was lighting the space for now, but the dawn already presaged the sunlight that would shine through those windows to lighten the space.
Prince Singh took his teacup from his lips to set it down on its matching saucer with a light clink. The newspaper in his other hand folded down in a rather practiced move to end up small on the table beside the small plate holding a mostly-eaten piece of toast and some cut fruit. The cup that had held his soft-boiled egg was already empty.
The maid that had brought them into the room bowed and quietly disappeared. Bowie, Stiletto, and Gareth stopped behind Michael and Purrcy some distance - obvious guards but politely standing far enough back to not loom or hover over their conversation. Their guest stayed with the guards for now.
"Welcome," Prince Singh said, rather calmly for someone being interrupted without warning. He still held himself with the grace he'd had on Theldesia. His body on Earth wasn't as tall and was more round than the one he'd had on Theldesia. Purrcy was sympathetic to the difficulty his return to Earth would have been.
"Thank you for being willing to host us for the day," Michael said, keeping it polite.
Prince Singh waved a hand at the other chairs at his table. "It's for a good cause, and obviously for selfish reasons as well. Please, sit." Michael held out a chair for Purrcy, seating her first, then sitting in the seat next to her. "Shiroe-san's flight arrives in about three hours or so. My driver will be picking him and his wife up to bring them here. Do you need to eat or rest before then?"
"That's very kind of you," Purrcy answered, letting him choose.
Prince Singh motioned to the staff member waiting on him that morning. That person bowed slightly and disappeared briefly into the kitchen.
Purrcy motioned to their guest. A little nervously he walked over to the table to stand at a respectful distance. "Prince Singh, this is another Adventurer, from China. We would like for him to be able to participate in our discussions today, and to be able to make his statement during the press conference. Would it be too difficult to obtain a Mandarin translator for him on short notice?"
Prince Singh inspected the man without being overly rude about it. His eyes turned to his secretary, who was also waiting off to the side, sitting on a leather couch in an open area that could have been a side office or a television/entertainment room. "That shouldn't be too hard a difficulty," Prince Singh said. The secretary was immediately pulling out a cell phone.
Prince Singh's eyes went to the three Eagles. They all thought he went to a rather dark look, although he kept it off his face for the most part. "Do the others need refreshment this morning? Perhaps in the kitchen?"
It was borderline offensive, but Purrcy only gave a faint lift of her lips. "I'm sure it would be appreciated. If you'd take our guest, please?" she requested of the Eagles. She motioned to the Chinese national and he returned to them. They were escorted by the staff member, who'd returned by then, back to the kitchen and likely a more casual dining area.
"I would say you were brave to come to the premier," Prince Singh said as he leaned back in his chair to look at the couple across from him, "except that Shiroe-san's words to me were quite sobering. I take it that was one of the ones who needed rescuing?"
"Yes," Purrcy said quietly. "I'm sure we don't need as much protecting as he does." She paused as a glass of orange juice was set down in front of her by a waiter, then one in front of Michael.
She took a sip of her glass before continuing. "It is truly horrifying, actually. So many of them have welcomed death over remaining alive on Earth, to have discovered that to return home was so much a worse decision than to stay in a place not our native home."
Prince Singh's eyes narrowed. "Are they really choosing death, or having to take it as the alternative?"
Michael raised an eyebrow. "That depends on which country they arrived back home in, doesn't it?"
"And social status," Purrcy murmured, giving Prince Singh a pointed look.
Their host blinked and looked away briefly. "Still. Surely it would be better to allow a nation time to release them properly?"
"I'm sure," Purrcy agreed readily. "Thus why the press conference will include our plea to all the governments of the Earth." She sat quietly, watching the sun as it sat just above the horizon now, turning everything bright colors outside the windows. Plates of food arrived to be set down in front of her and Michael and the server removed himself again.
Purrcy finally sighed, her shoulders slumping a little. She looked down at her plate. "Sometimes, it's difficult to not be here what I was there. Perhaps my voice carries a little weight because of what I was, but here I can only be one mortal woman. I can't gift all those who cry out in fear and pain the miracles they desperately desire. I can only try to influence." She looked at her food, not really feeling hungry, even though it was nicely continental.
Michael picked up his fork and said quietly, "They've gone to the effort to prepare it for you. It would be rude to allow it to go cold and uneaten." He was still making sure she got enough calories in her.
Purrcy picked up her fork and obediently began to eat. He wasn't wrong, it just felt wrong to be free to eat when there were those whose hearts begged for release from the pain they were suffering. "To have to live it again," she murmured sadly.
Prince Singh gave her a sympathetic look. "It is certainly terrible, I must agree," he answered quietly. He sat in silence while they ate, occasionally eating another bite of his own meal.
"Well," Purrcy finally said with a sigh, sitting back again and feeling a little better for having food in her, making Michael's point that eating was rather a necessity of life for more than one reason. "Thank you for the meal, Prince Singh. I know it's a burden to have us, when you're very busy. If you've a sunroom we can wait in until Shiroe arrives, we'd be happy to stay out of sight and not be underfoot until then."
Prince Singh didn't answer to her points, waiting on her. She did continue, "Resting for a bit before he puts us all to work would be nice, I think. Plus I'm a little too depressed to be good company. I'm afraid I'm finding these most recent revelations about the plight of the Adventurers on Earth a bit overwhelming. Shiroe was kind to keep me protected from them when I first arrived, or I might have also been one of those to flee."
She rose to her feet as Prince Singh motioned to his secretary. The man rose to his feet and bowed to the Prince. Michael joined Purrcy as they were motioned to follow the secretary. "I think, Raajkumaari, that rather you knew full well what we would all face when we returned." Prince Singh's words condemned her quietly.
She turned back to him, then said in return, "The world gods did. Thus why they made us all fight so hard for the right to return, and did their best to dissuade us. Humans are stubborn and blind more often than not. You already understand it. When we had proven to them we would have to see it with our own eyes to be content, what could they do? It was that or have their own world destroyed by we who wouldn't see clearly."
"Yet you wouldn't have come back," Prince Singh didn't relent.
Purrcy dropped her head a little, then gave a nod. "No. I already knew there was far and away better than here. It was a dream come true for those who understood it." She looked back up at him. "But even you couldn't see it. Even you chose to return home."
Prince Singh looked away and could only give a silent nod. He had. And even he had paid a price. This was his noble prison. His family had chosen to place him in it instead of go the full length of disowning him. His youngest brother had chosen to stay behind, but he'd felt the responsibilities of Earth dragging him back.
He'd chosen to have the movie produced in order to have his story told, in the hopes that he could clear his name of the claim of lies, or madness. A second movie of the Adventurers of Theldesia was a second witness to the world of the truth of what they'd been through. He would help Log Horizon fight to have all Adventurers cleared of what he was accused of.
If they wanted to fight to free all those imprisoned so wrongfully as experimental subjects, he would help them do that, too. He also knew by now that Shiroe's coattails would gain them all the most advantage. Thus, why he'd agreed when Shiroe had asked to have their strategy meeting before the premier at his villa.
-:-:-:-:-
There was a large and noisy crowd waiting around the massive stand of microphones at the press conference following the Indian Theldesia movie premier. The members of Log Horizon present all looked at each other, took deep breaths, and walked out together.
The movie had been shortened similarly to how the first one had been. Because Inari had made those who'd followed the dark deities of Theldesia forget what they'd done, level seven had been left out altogether, save for the final resolution to bring peace to the southern part of India.
The Indian Theldesian story began with the arrival of the Adventurers, showed the Princes Singh gathering people together and setting up reasonable peace in the Ganges valley. The excitement of winning over the unsettled guilds in Calcutta was included, and then the movie moved to the meat of the conflict between the northern India Adventurers against the southern India Adventurers because of the failure of the server in the northwest.
That oppression and conflict and the Princes' efforts with their people to bring relief and peace to that area was the main focus of the latter part of the movie. At the end, the resolution was a grand final battle through the city Guild Hall up to and within the upper throne room of the Shah. Instead of showing Log Horizon's involvement, they showed that the Princes and their aides overwhelmed the Shah and his right hand man. No priestly robes or functions were involved in the movie at all.
There was at the very end of it, a call to the Princes and those with them to now come aid all of the Adventurers of the world against that which had brought them to the planet.
Prince Singh had explained that he'd left off the World Tree battle since it had been controversial after Shiroe's release of the first movie, and because he also understood that if there were going to be many movies made to tell the whole story, it could become its own stand-alone story.
That was just fine with the current Earth Log Horizon. The Indian movie told the story sufficient, the same as their own had. Arrival on Theldesia had been shocking. Life had been confusing at the beginning, power hungry people had taken the upper hand early in many cases, to the sorrow and oppression of many. Bringing true peaceful living to Theldesia had meant wars had been necessary.
This night Shiroe and Purrcy in particular were glad to have their Guardians for supporting strength and courage at their backs as they walked out to the microphones and the waiting press and fans. Standing in the limelight of Earth was quite a bit different than on Theldesia. Here, they really would be facing everyone on the whole planet all at once. It was daunting, even if they did want it to be the case today.
Questions were called out until Shiroe was in place in front of the microphones and had raised his hand for quiet. He spoke briefly about the movie, giving an official reaction to it, then turned to his own topic. "When we arrived on Theldesia we were lost and afraid. All we desired when we returned to Earth was to return to our loved ones and the lives that we'd been stolen from, and we hoped to find kindness and understanding.
"We understand that it's difficult for everyone to accept and understand that such a strange thing occurred to fellow citizens. It saddens us to know that so many who returned to Earth hoping to merely return to their lives have encountered derision, rejection, and shame for a thing they had no control over.
"It has been a hard thing to return, and this movie shows it. The same repression and communal spite that is in the Indian Theldesia movie is the same that we've received on re-arrival at home. Please, I plead with all citizens of Earth: be kind." Shiroe's hand clenched on the podium in front of him as his face fell and slightly twisted in his grief. "I also plead with the governments of Earth. Please stop experimenting on returned Adventurers to see if magic can be done on Earth."
There was a quieting of the crowd as people stopped in surprise at his words. "Log Horizon's research into finding the way back has ended. We can't do it with Earth technology. It isn't possible. We've submitted our report to the international investigation committee. Each committee member has submitted it to the appropriate governmental office. In it we detail what research we did and what the results were.
"We can't go back, we can't get anyone else back from there, and it isn't possible to do magic on Earth. Please release those Adventurers who don't have advocates from the torture you're subjecting them to. We do not need the world to descend into the chaos of another 'arms' race over trying to be the first nation to have magic as a weapon, nor should it ever be used as one against our own kind if it were even possible."
The press was shouting questions at him now, asking if this was allegation or if there was proof that such experimentation was going on. Others were asking how Purrcy had been brought home then.
Shiroe turned and held out his arm, gesturing for the rescued Adventurer from China and his translator. "This man was one of the Adventurers who wanted to come home. Hear his story." Shiroe stepped back and let the two others take his place.
The man swallowed then spoke, letting the translator speak as he went. "I was angry on Theldesia that I'd been taken from my home on Earth. I was angry when I returned that my sister wouldn't come home with me. When I was questioned by my doctors, and then by the military of my country, I told them the truth of what had happened. The military asked me if I would be willing to help our nation retrieve those who wouldn't come home. Because I wanted my sister to come, I said I would help."
He paused, swallowed again, then continued. "In the facility were other Adventurers who had also been asked to help, or who'd been told they had to help because they'd failed in their duty to make sure that everyone returned properly. At first they worked with us to understand, although it was very hard to translate what was done on Theldesia into the technology of Earth.
"Something they did seemed to work, or so they said, and the next time I was called in to the lab, I was hooked up to the computers again. The pain was so excruciating I passed out. From that time until I was rescued, I remember very little, only darkness and pain and hearing my own screams. Sometimes I would wake up a little and hear other's cries and tears." He was shivering at the memories.
"It was terrible," he whispered. "I would have stayed on Theldesia had I known. Many times I wished merely to die. Please, stop the experiments. We only wanted to come home."
The translator finished translating and helped escort him back from the microphones. Purrcy held his hand until he was able to recover somewhat. Akatsuki patted him on the other shoulder, also offering what comfort she could.
Shiroe had stepped back up to the podium. "This isn't limited to only his home nation. I've contacted people I know in every nation that I can. We've confirmed that there are people missing in nearly every nation that weren't on the list of those who chose to stay behind.
"I've also sent that specific report to the international investigation committee so that they can contact anyone who might have had contact with those people to confirm it. Many of them were Adventurers who had no family or others to care for them here.
"Again I ask, please stop experimenting on people who only wanted to return and live their lives. Let the Adventurers who have returned be free to live their lives and treat them with kindness. It is all anyone would ask for."
When enough of the other questions had been thrown at Shiroe, Purrcy stepped up and put her hand on his arm. Shiroe stepped back and she took his place. "I am Purrcy, the Caretaker of Theldesia, and the most recent of the Adventurers to return to Earth. You've asked how it was that I could be brought to Earth if the report says it isn't possible. Let me tell you what I believe and understand."
She drew a breath. "If you've seen the first movie, you learned that we were taken there by two beings we called the World AI and the Game Bot. They are very much like extremely massive computers or computer AIs. They are capable of calculating what one event in the present will do to their planet billions of years into the future. Because they have that capacity, they also could calculate what would happen if the Adventurers were returned to Earth."
The crowd was quiet again, listening closely. "It was necessary to appease the anger of the Adventurers so that the kami of emotions wouldn't destroy Theldesia. When we demanded that the only answer was to allow us to return home, they had to relent and allow it. Thus we are where we are.
"I was not brought here by Log Horizon. I was sent by the World AI of Theldesia, the same as it sent the rest of the Adventurers home. As Caretaker of Theldesia, I was needed there for a time to make sure that the planet returned to a state of growth rather than destruction. I was sent to do what little I could do as one woman. Perhaps it is enough, I don't know.
"The one thing I can do now is to echo Shiroe's words. Please, be kind to those who were harmed by being taken to Theldesia. Help them heal and return to normal lives here. To make their lives here even more miserable and terrible than it was there is so counter to what we hoped with all of our might and put all of our efforts into there.
"Please close down your experimental facilities. Heal those you've tortured and let them return to what life they can have here on Earth. This is a technological world, not a magic one. Please don't let the curiosity of humans destroy what life we're all able to enjoy now. We never wanted that, only our homes and lives back."
She stepped back and Prince Singh stepped up to the microphone to give his own testimony, of how many Adventurers had come to him with complaints of being shunned in their communities, of others who had come asking where a friend was that had promised to meet with them. After searching, their families or neighbors could only say, at best, that they had gone off to heal somewhere.
Prince Singh made demands of his own government to release them and to halt their own research. He pled with the people of India and the world to be kind and to let the Adventurers heal so that the world could go back to the normal it was supposed to be. When he was done, the press conference was over and they all escaped.
-:-:-:-:-
The following day the Log Horizon group met with the Indian group and oversaw the final edits of that press conference. They were promised that it would be added to the end of the Indian movie and the unabridged version added to the video disks that would be sold. Proceeds of the movie viewing and sale were going to be used to pay for the campaign to release the held Adventurers, and then to pay for their likely very needed psychological counseling so they could return to some semblance of normal life.
The second day after, Log Horizon joined Michael and Purrcy on the USS Ronald Reagan. Once they were out to sea, there were two conferences held. Marielle had been fielding calls from governments since the press announcement. At the appointed time, there was a world-wide satellite phone teleconference in a guarded conference room of the ship. Only Purrcy, Michael, and Shiroe were in the room.
"You've levied harsh accusations against us all," one translator said.
"It's a harsh thing you've all done," Shiroe replied calmly. "And completely unnecessary since our own modern technology is so superior to what any magic user could do on Theldesia to begin with."
"It is unkind and wasteful of your research funds," Purrcy said, just as calmly.
"You have one week to shut down your facilities and return your hostages to proper public hospitals for recovery assistance," Shiroe said.
"You'll give an ultimatum such as that?" another translator asked.
"Yes," Shiroe answered. "Or do you not understand yet? Surely if you've all approved the funds for the research you did your own proper research first." He pushed up his glasses, although they wouldn't see that. "I am still the Archmage and Master Strategist of Theldesia. I haven't changed just because I'm home."
There was silence as those listening rearranged their thinking a bit. "So ...you openly stated such accusations in order to get the people of the world demanding the releases for you, public outcry being your intended pry bar?"
"To let everyone know what you're doing behind their backs is always the first step to getting you to actually back down and desist, although I understand that many of you don't care because you're dictatorships in form, if not actuality. Still, world-wide pressure should be useful even in those cases. Public opinion isn't sufficient, however, so I know you also need the reassurance that I really do have a bite behind my bark." Shiroe's eyes rose to Michael's. They waited.
"This is General Hackston of the U.S. military," was said next from Washington, D.C. "We aren't interested in another Cold War, and we're really not interested in the next World War being started over magic. We stand behind Log Horizon and the Adventurers in this. Close them down or we'll get involved."
"You're already involved!" It was angry from China.
"And what of it?" General Hackston asked. "We all know you'd continue the experiments regardless of any verbal threat. It was just simpler to take it down first to get our witnesses. Don't rebuild it or we'll come tear it down again. We're under rights by the rules of war and engagement of Earth."
"No one is asking you to publicly admit the facilities exist, or that you've been doing the research," Shiroe interjected at that point. "You can still publicly deny you had them or were involved if you feel it in your best interest.
"We are asking you to shut them down, but you only get this week to do it in. After that, we'll go public in every nation with further evidence to your citizens. We'll give them another week or so to feel useful, then we'll ask the U.S. military to step in and enforce it regardless. Already you've been torturing innocent people too long."
"But..., our experiments have shown magic is a real possibility on Earth," one finally had the courage to say.
Shiroe looked at Purrcy, she raised a finger and went inside. In the magic realm all of the Caretakers of the nations of Earth were already waiting on her. She'd scheduled for them to meet just before this same time and had prepared them before the satellite conference had begun.
"Okay. My spell is ready. Are yours?" she asked them. They gave her sober nods - or rather their images did. She made sure she'd wrapped up the loose ends, tied in the other Caretakers properly, and had her intent firmly set.
She folded her hands together at the table in the ship's conference room and said out loud, "No. Magic is not possible on Earth. Any reports to the contrary have been falsified by those who desire to get more of your funding out of you. We've proven it solidly as a neutral party whose interest isn't to get gain by it."
As she spoke, she wove her intent and her spell into the words she was speaking as she cast it. It was picked up by all the waiting Caretakers and spread by their spells. "You can compare with the report we've sent out for confirmation." She watched as the spells networked in a web all over the Earth, boosted by Earth's AI, until it had reached every mind at the governmental levels that had any connection to the research.
Her piece, also assisted somewhat by Earth's AI, went into every research facility and computer in those facilities to scramble the data and add in programmed electrical shorting of the experimental equipment. The increased need for repaired equipment would increase the requests for funding, which would fuel the suspicion that the research was motivated by greed, since it was all fairly new equipment and shouldn't need replacing yet.
The other thing it would do would be to slow down the research and give the experimental subjects some relief until they could be properly released. Plus with scrambled data, the next set of reports would take longer to come out and hopefully (by intent) conflict with the preliminary data that had already been reported on.
When the spell work was completed, Purrcy looked at Shiroe to let him know it was his turn again. "One week, everyone. We'll be watching over the U.S. military's shoulder as they watch you." The satellite phone connection was cut there in the ship.
Purrcy went back inside. "Please help us watch over them until it's fully cleaned up. We'll be on call if you need us until we're all satisfied."
She was being stared at. "And what about you?" she was asked. Her brow wrinkled in confusion. "Will you also forget magic or continue to use it?"
Purrcy shrugged. "That's up to Earth's AI once things are cleaned up here. If it's already calculated that the present factions of magic users on Earth are more dangerous to the future of Earth than you can manage, I'll probably still be hanging around for a while to keep things on an even keel. Not like I need to have it for any other reason."
"And you're not going to demand to sit the highest seat?"
Purrcy laughed at them. "You must not understand American's either, nor have watched the movie enough," she said to that one. "Since we already have to sit in that seat for our own individual selves, we all know what a pain that is when it's over that many people. It's hard enough to work hard and put a roof over your own head and food into your own mouth. To have to do that for the world?"
She chuckled and shook her head. "I don't need that kind of responsibility again in this place, although if I have to take it because I'm told to I will. I'm quite the reluctant Queen, you know. I'm looking for retirement, thank you very much." She waved at them and left the space to return to the conference room of the ship. Her smile stayed with her.
Shiroe and Michael were looking at her with interesting expressions. "What?" she asked.
"You're amused?" they asked her.
"They wanted to know if I was aiming for the top hat again. I laughed at them."
They both had to smile in agreement. They also knew she would want to stay as far away from that as possible.
-:-:-:-:-
For a week the USS Ronald Reagan sailed in lazy circles in the Indian Ocean. Marielle and Naotsugu had left India for Europe, where they were "vacationing" with Kanami. Regular calls back to India kept Central Command up to date on how well the various governments were being obedient.
Sadly, very few governments moved to release those Adventurers being experimented on during that week. The addresses of every one of those still in operation were leaked to press outlets. Kanami was just as happy to get the Adventurers of Europe walking with placards outside the experimental facilities there.
Since it was the top news of the world, many soon had reporters camped outside of them. Because more than half of the world's governments controlled the news outlets and what could be reported and couldn't be, most of those reports only came out on the internet as anonymous reports.
Still, it was enough to get many people shouting outside government buildings, demanding that they answer to it. A few more governments, somewhat reluctantly, shut down their facilities. At the final count, no one in Central Command was terribly surprised that the USS Ronald Reagan would have to continue on it's world tour. It was maddening, and extremely sad, but not surprising.
Shiroe and Akatsuki were snuck back home, where they met Marielle, Naotsugu, and the rest of Log Horizon at their guild hall again. They would be safe enough there. They were only the public face of the movement. There wasn't anything they could do directly against the governments or their facilities. It was the USS Ronald Reagan that was watched suspiciously as it finally turned out of the Indian Ocean and headed west again, to continue on around the world. It was leaving the waters it was assigned to.
Everyone knew that the U.S. kept their ships divided by regions. Normally, Purrcy, Michael, and the Eagles would have been transferred to the European theater aircraft carrier, or some other ship from that fleet. That it didn't happen made all of the other governments sit up and pay attention.
They did more than that. A very loose coalition of them sent ships to blockade it and send it back where it belonged. If they couldn't do that, they were to do damage. The pirate repeat had begun. It was as much a miserable failure on Earth as it had ever been on Theldesia.
No one had bothered to look a little closer at what the U.S. European theater naval fleet had been doing with their close allies in waters not so far away from there. They closed their net around the ships come against the USS Ronald Reagan, sank them, took prisoners, took down nations involved, and used it as further evidence that they had full rights to pound back on them to get them to back off and let the Adventurers go.
Africa's various experimental facilities fell shortly after the Middle East ones did. Europe scrambled and finally relented so that only a very few had to be actually physically taken out. Most of those relenting governments used the excuse that Purrcy had given them with her spells to get out of direct confrontation with the U.S.
When the USS Ronald Reagan finally headed out into the open Atlantic Ocean, everyone in the Eastern Hemisphere governments breathed a little better. Those that tried to start the experimentation back up got to find the easter eggs left behind. Those who tried a third time received threats directly from the U.S. government, who took Purrcy's tattling very seriously. She was grateful for the Caretakers who were just as serious about doing that tattling. Usually after the third time the Caretakers could handle any whispers that came up suggesting that it could be tried again.
The trip across the Atlantic was a needed peaceful R&R for those on the USS Ronald Reagan. The Western Hemisphere braced itself for their arrival as stubborn governments and researchers pretended like they were giving in.
Level 8.6: Eastern Hemisphere Again (Woman Restored) has Purrcy and the Eagles sailing the ocean route they would have taken on Theldesia if they'd not had other requirements to Izanagi. They moved parallel to the line MarketMaker, Kanami, and Kazuo took on the train. They will end up going backwards when they reach the other side of the planet compared to what the Eagles did on Theldesia. In the quiet moments, Michael is content to finally have one of his few personal wishes come true. Because of the rough beginning, he feels quite justified in nearly expecting it as return payment.
Shiroe has found a way to walk his delicate line yet again as they do their best to repair the same sort of troubles that had been brought to innocent Adventurers in Level 7. Their desperate hope is that those who are in the Earth research facilities aren't the same Adventurers that they saved from the Adventurer priests of the evil deities of Theldesia. They are so concerned that having to relive it a second time on their home planet will break the erasure of the first time and make them completely insane. It's a hard thing to even consider and keeps them focused on the tasks that must be done.