Prologue 3: Did you honestly think for a second that we were done with the setup?

After a short time spent in contemplation, the trio decided that meeting with their landlords as they were was a godawful idea, and that a quick trip through the city for clothes and a bathhouse visit was in order. That ended up being really awkward, due to both having to share the room just after meeting the others physically and because they were surrounded by a bunch of Tokyo grandpas in what amounted to a steam room.

A steam room that ended up being rather rank and noxious due to the sewer stank that had been rolling off them.

Yeah, the room full of old Japanese men giving them veiled looks of disdain had discouraged them from taking their time with the experience..

Trent had settled for washing quickly, doing the best he could to scrub himself thoroughly of the smell prior to a quick dip in one of the larger tubs and then beating a retreat from the noxious steam trap.

Johan, on the other hand, opted to endure the judgemental stares and malodorous stench so that he could scrub every last trace of the sewer from his body. God did he hate feeling dirty.

Alphonse wasn't so much bothered by the smell as he was by the gazes that seemed to bore into the back of his head, but he decided to pay them as little mind as he could and took his time to soak in the warm waters of the bath and relax his tense muscles.

The Canadian who had retreated earlier took his time dressing in his new clothes and removing the tags, and ended up sitting out near the front and sipping at some coffee they sold at the bathhouse. Soon enough, Johan and Alphonse joined him, the former picking up a can of green tea and the latter a bottle of water from a nearby vending machine.

Heaving himself to his feet, Trent looked at the other two and then slugged back the last of his coffee. Having done so, he tossed the paper cup away and declared, "Well lads, shall we mosey?"

Alphonse laughed and shook his head. "I dunno Cloud, can we count on you to handle the entire conversation with Rika for us?"

"Do I have to, NPC number one?" the blond shot back at the Mexican, eyebrow raised.

Said Mexican just laughed harder before saying "Welcome to Corneria!" between chuckles.

If you'd been looking at the world through the lens of an anime at the time, you would most likely have been able to see the question marks hovering over Johan's head, not having been knocked off when the joke had flown over it. As it was, in reality they were just heavily implied.

Trent, unimpressed with Al's joke, kicked him in the shin, declaring, "Square up, shitlord."

Crane raised his hands placatingly as his giggling died down, "Alright, alright. Although I'm fairly sure I'll drop aaaall of the spaghetti when we talk with her; I'm no good for this kind of stuff but I'll try. Just don't leave me to die alone with her in a suplex when I fuck up."

"Am I the only one of us with any ability to navigate social interactions?" the blond murmured before looking to the other two, not feeling very confident.

Johan yawned dramatically. "I could, but it's such a hassle. I'm not exactly the type to shmooze, you feel me?" He shrugged. "But if you really don't want to, I can do it. Or we can take turns."

"The latter sounds like the right idea to me, but then again, I'm also a lazy shit," the snow Mexican opined.

"Oh fuckin' a', we're all slackers," Alphonse commented wryly. "That's going to be a problem."

Trent chuckled. "Well, I enjoy working out, and as a certified coach-slash-instructor for numerous sports, I gain a great deal of satisfaction in seeing others workout. Or rather, in making other people work hard."

Johan shot the Canadian a Look. "You enjoy working out? Go explode, normie."

"Pay me," came the easy reply, one that Johan really should have seen coming.

"Aw fuck, right. I almost forgot for a second that this is physical exercise between all the crazy esper shit everyone pulls," the Mexican whined before looking at his thighs and slapping them lightly. "Hope you guys are ready to get torn to shit for the sake of being allies of justice."

Johan winced. "Yeah...conditioning's gonna be a bitch, isn't it?"

Trent, thoroughly amused by his friends' whining, cackled. Alphonse began to feel dread pooling in his stomach and feared for the chastity of his legs.

The three walked into the afternoon, heading in the direction of the Noyamanos', Trent feeling vindicated in his healthy lifestyle, Johan resigned to his wretched fate, and the South-South-Canadian moving along with them with all the dignity and grace that one could expect of a man who had just been told he was now a death row prisoner.

After having picked up a map and consulted a phonebook, the trio had tracked down and trekked to the boarding house the Noyamano family ran, luckily arriving not too late in the afternoon. Taking a moment to brace himself, Trent reached out and with an almost delicate poke, hit the doorbell. For a few moments, they heard nothing, until there was a faint sound of a woman shouting followed by a choked scream and something heavy hitting the door before them. The door buckled and collapsed, falling out of the way as a teenage boy crashed through it and slammed into the Canadian, knocking him prone with the teen atop him.

Johan blinked at the sight, then looked down at the boy who would save the world one day. "You alive, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm good, would been better if some GORILLA hadn't just thrown me, kinda surprised that I'm not out cold given the distance," the teen remarked hotly, firing off a middle finger at the blonde woman stomping down the corner towards him.

The moment the word 'gorilla' came out of the downed boy's mouth, Johan and Alphonse wisely took a large step away from him, so as to keep out of the splash zone. It was only after they'd moved that they noticed that they'd left their northern compeer behind, trapped beneath Itsuki Minami's prone body.

"Who's a gorilla?" the blonde woman roared as she grabbed the teen by his legs and stomped down on his chest, earning a pained grunt from the teen and a second one from the man beneath him. "Stealing my meat? I'll give you the thrashing of a lifetime!"

"I'll arrange for 'Despacito' to be played at your funeral, Trent," Johan remarked while bowing his head in mourning for his soon-to-be-lost brother in arms. Alphonse simply stood at attention and gave a salute as his eyes began to tear up, doing his best to hold back the feeling of crushing grief invading his chest.

Groaning from beneath the teen, the Canadian grumbled, "I'm going to make your lives hell, you fucking children. Help me out here, Christ on a goddamn cracker."

Johan sighed. "Fiiiine, you big baby. And we're the children." He raised his eyes to the strawberry blonde who was currently standing atop Ikki and Trent like some sort of conquering hero, and cleared his throat. "Miss? I'm not trying to interrupt your...disciplining, but you kiiinda got our friend in the crossfire. Kiddo fell on him when he came through the door."

The woman's eyes darted from the kid she was stomping on, to the American, and then down to the man trapped beneath the target of her fury. She offered him an apologetic smile as she hoisted the boy off him, muttering, "Sorry about that."

And then slammed the kid back first onto the ground beside the Canadian, earning a sharp yelp from the kid in question. Trent just murmured, "Thanks fam."

"So, if we're trying to board here do we talk to you or…?" Johan trailed off, slightly apprehensive at distracting the woman from her therapeutic beatdown but acknowledging their need for shelter.

Though Alphonse was absolutely fascinated at the many different ways the woman was brutalizing the child, Johan's words managed to snap him out of his trance and decide that maybe he should actually do something.

The Mexican coughed loudly trying to get their attention, and when that failed he decided to look to the skies speak out loud. "Hey, yo! Some clients over here! Could you please help us out here, pretty please!?"

Johan sideyed Alphonse for a moment, then his arm came up and slapped the Mexican upside the head just hard enough to get his attention. "Oi, let me do the talking," Johan said out of one side of his mouth. "With Trent bodied, diplomacy falls to me. No offense, but you've got a bit of a temper at times."

The man in question was very much pissed at the sudden introduction to Johan's hand but saw his point and took a step back while pushing Johan forward. "Fine, you go."

Mikan, decidedly unimpressed with the Mexican's antics, shot him a stink eye before calling into the building, "Hey, Rika-nee, in case you somehow didn't hear, we got a couple of people who want to talk about boarding with us. Also an asshole, but I think they might be a package deal!"

"Nah, he dug his grave…" Trent remarked weakly from the ground, seeing no need to pull Alphonse from the hole he'd dug. For his part, the Mexican't just decided to close his eyes and breathed in, deciding not to comment and just deal with it.

Johan, on the other hand, gave Mikan a weary smile and said, "Please, forgive him. We've had a...well, calling today long wouldn't begin to cover it. I think all three of us are dealing with it in our own ways, and his came out like that." He glanced at Trent. "You need a hand there, slugger?"

"Nah, I might go thug on your face at this point, especially if you decided to prank me or something…" the Canadian groaned as pushed himself up and to his feet. With a grunt, he stretched and rubbed his stomach as that had taken the brunt of the damage, and offered, "You got a hell of a kick Miss, I'll tell you that for free."

Ikki, poor, foolish Ikki, interjected, "Why the hell do you think I call her a gorilla?"

This comment earned him a dropkick to the face, as Mikan abandoned all pretenses of friendliness and attacked him. As the two descended into a brawl, a redheaded woman walked into the view of the door and let out an explosive sigh. She approached the trio waiting awkwardly beside the brawl and offered them a somewhat strained smile as she asked, "So, I heard you gentlemen needed to talk to someone about boarding here?"

"Yeah, we're… new in the city and need somewhere to stay for the foreseeable future. When we did some poking around, we heard about your place," Trent began, trying to break the ice as smoothly as he could manage. "Would you have three rooms available?"

The eldest of the Noyamano sisters thought about it for a few moments before inquiring, "And you would all be paying separately for rooms, or together?"

"We're currently working under a minor bout of socialism, so, together for the moment. I'm so proud that my country has inspired these two so much," the Canadian remarked cheekily, ignoring Johan's protests and Alphonse's giggling.

Rika looked between them with a raised eyebrow, clearly bemused by the statement and the reactions it garnered, but remained professional. "And, do the three of you have jobs?"

"Well, due to having just arrived in the city, we're currently unemployed, but we planned on seeking employment as soon as we were settled. We've had a bit of a…rough landing, as it were, but we don't intend to let that stop us," Trent explained, gesturing a bit with his hands to illustrate his point.

While she didn't look entirely sold on the idea, Rika hummed, "Well, if you guys are able to pay upfront for the first month then I suppose we can host you for at least that long…"

Trent looked to the other two, and asked, "You lads cool with that?"

Johan nodded. "I'm down. Should be able to find something in that time, right?"

Alphonse just assented quietly.

Swiveling back to the redhead, the Canadian declared, "Sounds all good to the lads. Shall we discuss the price?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, I'll put some tea on," Rika agreed as she stepped back, gesturing for the three to join her inside.

-x-x-x-

After a minor discussion with the head of the house and money changing hands, the lads found themselves with a roof over their heads and settled into the rooms they'd rented, putting away what little they had.

A few hours after that had them reconvening on the street outside the building, bags with ATs in hand as they trekked away from it. The blond among them rolled his shoulders and asked the other two, "So, where are we heading to practice? The school's out due to the whole issue with Buccha…"

Johan scratched his head. "We could try that park we were in before, maybe? I don't remember much about this city, truth be told."

Alphonse thought about it for a moment before coming to an uncomfortable realization. "...Y'know, it just occurred to me that we didn't actually check for any stickers marking the turf of any Stormrider teams while we were there. Might want to check that out and be careful if we find even one."

Johan pointed at him. "You're absolutely right, Allie. No sense in taking unnecessary risks."

"You'd think that most would leave public gathering places open, if only for the sake of having open safe spaces for Tool Toul To to gather customers," Trent commented obliquely, thinking more on the possible repercussions of a group doing that.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to keep an eye out, and see what we can find," Johan said with a yawn.

"Well, considering that all those dank Witches are giving maintenance and parts to everyone for free, I can see where you're coming from," the Mexican replied while scratching at his cheek. "I don't have a problem practicing in the park if it's no one's territory; it's large, doesn't have that many obstacles or slopes...yeah, probably the best place to practice."

The Canadian chuckled, "Now if only we had helmets, then we'd be set." He shrugged exaggeratedly, clearly having fun with the idea. "Of course, we couldn't just wake up with any."

"Maybe the nice witch ladies will have some?" Johan offered with a shrug. "Anyways, there's no sense standing around shooting the shit; let's get going."

The trio eventually arrived at the park they'd met. In the late afternoon, the place had a completely different ambiance, there wasn't nearly as much people as there was back then, only a couple on the same bench they'd rested at and a few people here and there off in the distance. The streetlamps in the area were all unlit, but given the hour, it wouldn't take long for that to change. Birds were already congregating and flying in circles around the place, ready to retreat for the night.

"So..." Alphonse glanced at the Aryan specimen they'd been stuck with. "What's the plan, coach?"

Trent, instead of answering immediately, took a few moments to change into his ATs, with that done, he looked to the Mexican and declared, "We get used to actually moving in these, because that's the main thing. They need to be like another pair of shoes."

"I've never used rollerblades in my life, let alone self-propelled ones, so that's going to be a bitch and a half." Crane grimaced as he began to unzip the bag. "Any advice beyond 'don't lose your balance' that you can give us?"

"Yeah, remember that your body's position over the AT can influence how much speed you gain, as well as the fact that any force you put in is going to come out doubled. Oh, and remember, they're like skates, so try pushing your feet outward when moving," the Canadian offered as he moved forward slowly, showing how he moved and gaining a bit more speed than he'd intended to, causing him to jerk to a stop. "I need a bit of work, I'll admit."

"Great, so the exact opposite of how I walk," Alphonse deadpanned and sighed, looking at his ATs carefully. "Would you, like...mind if I began practicing with the ATs turned off first? I don't want a repeat of earlier today."

Johan nodded. "I think I'd prefer that as well. I don't have the best balance, and I doubt adding engines comprised of solid, concentrated bullshit will help matters."

"…I mean, I guess? I don't know how much that'll actually help when adjusting to ATs, but go for it, I'mma try not to neck myself with these things," Trent replied, moving back to the other two, taking care to maintain a slow speed.

The duo donned their ATs, shaky-legged and wobbling like newborn deer. Johan stood, then slowly slid forward, maintaining his balance for scant few seconds before he put just too much weight on one foot and tumbled to the ground, taking care to shield his head from the concrete. With an irritated huff, the American struggled back to his feet, legs quivering as he tried to maintain his balance. To his frustration, he had precious little luck, his back and front becoming quite well acquainted with the ground over the course of the next few minutes.

After putting on his ATs, Alphonse crawled to a light pole like a total baby and hung onto it to get on his feet. Surprisingly he managed it without much difficulty, drawing a quick laugh out of him. Of course, that overconfidence would prove to be lethal, as the second he let go of the cold yet comforting metal, he slipped and fell painfully on his ass. Turning around, he rubbed his behind with a hiss and got up once more, hanging on to the pillar for dear life.

Trent meanwhile, was slowly wheeling around the park, working on controlling the speed he was moving at and keeping steady on his feet. He made a few small, slow loops around the area, moving with deliberate care in order to maintain balance. He wasn't as bad as the other two, if only because of his own experience with rollerblades, as well as the experience he built up during their trek with Majima.

The lads kept at it, Trent occasionally slipping up and scraping himself a bit, while both Johan and Alphonse had a ball eating pavement and sliding across the ground. Not much time passed, but both because of their efforts and the sun finally coming down, it felt like hours.

Alphonse was no longer hanging onto the lamp post and managed to stand in perfect balance, but only while completely still. Johan, on the other hand, was mostly staying on his feet as he rolled forward on flat concrete, but the moment he hit even the slightest incline he would always overadjust and either fall or have to take a knee.

The three heard a strange sound, turning around to find the source but the three found nothing. The park was now completely devoid of people, and even as the lights turned on, they couldn't find anyone else aside from them.

Once more, they could hear the same sound, this time louder; it was something similar to a giggle, but there was a certain malice to it, making it far too creepy.

"Oy, I'm not the only one hearing this, right?" Alphonse asked the other two.

"If you're talking about the menacing giggling, then no you aren't," Johan said, scanning the foliage and the shadows. "Whoever's making that noise sounds about as unhinged as a sliding door."

"I mean, sounds a bit like a seagull on helium," the blond opined, speeding up a bit as he did laps around the other two. "Kinda familiar though…"

Crane was thoroughly creeped out by the sound, but now that Trent mentioned it, it was definitely similar to something he'd heard before. He reached out to the light pole for support but instead ended up slipping and falling on the floor for the Nth time that day as the sound repeated itself, cutting itself off as he did.

After a single second of silence, they heard it clearly this time, a hearty mocking laughter. It was full of life and joy that couldn't be found with ease, a boisterous, euphoric cackle that one could only produce while they were having the time of their life.

The trio turned to the direction the guffaw came from and were completely dumbstruck by what transpired in front of their eyes. As if from thin air, a swarm of gold butterflies gathered and swirled in front of them, a dazzling spectacle before them taking their breath away.

Then, they converged in a single spot before vanishing like gold dust, revealing a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a large, elaborate brown dress with some wine-colored highlights and gold-trimmed patterns depicting a bird of some sort. The image of grace and dignity it projected was completely shattered by the lady herself doubling over laughing as hard as she could, what little of her hair wasn't held by the ribbon with a rose on the right side of her head, the bun on the back of her head and the braid that circled it, swayed back and forth, side to side as she moved her head wildly, incapable of holding back her amusement.

"Why, I thought I'd found the most pathetic rider only a few days ago! I cannot believe I've been so thoroughly, rigorously, exhaustively, painstakingly proven wrong so soon!" the woman gasped between laughs with tears in her eyes.

Trent, rather than take offence, looked to the others and immediately threw them under the bus. "Honestly, I don't think you should be too hard on them, they're only a few thousand steps behind elementary schoolers."

"Eat me, maple leaf," Johan shot back, though his quip was rather undermined by how wobbly his legs were at the moment. The Canadian just laughed and made a vague gesture towards his crotch, telling the American he could choke on that.

The woman's response was simply to cackle even harder than before. Alphonse was too busy being completely floored by the flashy entrance and appearance of the mysterious lady to be insulted by her completely valid mockery.

Taking a moment to enjoy the fact that someone else was helping him dunk on fools, the blond joined his fellow in laughter. After pausing to catch his breath, the canuck asked, "So, what brought you this way, your wickedness? The lot of us being shit at ATs, or some other happy coincidence?"

"It was the latter, as it happens," she answered with mirth. "However, I just couldn't help myself when I laid eyes upon your pitiful struggles. At first, I simply took a cursory glance, but as these two kept failing and failing I just knew I couldn't miss this."

"Well, I tried construction criticism, but they didn't take being told that they maneuvered like steamrollers very well," Trent chuckled, waving at the duo in question. "Honestly though, we're just starting out, can you really say we're that abysmal?"

"Indeed, and perhaps even worse than you can possibly imagine!" the blonde replied with a more restrained laugh. "They're almost like chicks who have been thoroughly deboned and are expected to be anything more than nuggets, and while you're less piteous, you're also not exactly a genius at riding; your form isn't too bad, but it's completely inadequate for ATs."

Johan grunted, then offered halfheartedly, "Well, at least there's nowhere to go but up, right?"

"Well, then nut up," the Snow Mexican joked in reply. The American responded in the most mature fashion possible: by sticking out his tongue at Trent and blowing a raspberry at him.

By this point, the actual Mexican's brain was done rebooting, but was still having problems processing what he was seeing.

"Those butterflies..." Alphonse shook his head, still confused and somewhat unwilling to accept the existence, or rather, the presence of the person in front of him. Knowing the answer but still not quite knowing if he wasn't just imagining things, he asked the question out loud. "Who are you?"

"Kuhahahaahyahyahaha! You ask who I am? I am the most powerful of Witches, the greatest sorceress to grace these lands! The Endless Witch who seeks a Golden future, and ensorcells all in her wake!" The blonde threw her head back as she erupted in raucous laughter, exclaiming for all the world to hear her claims. "I am the master of the seventy two demons of the Ars Goetia, bearer of the contracts with many and all! I am Beatrice, the Golden!"

Johan blinked. "Wow. I think I've finally met my match in chunnibyo. No, she might actually be stronger than me."

"You can practice later Johan," Trent murmured at his friend before clapping. "And my, that was quite the declaration, but does that mean you're any good at riding?"

"Of course!" she drawled in, terrible, shitty Engrish before speaking in Japanese once more. "Perhaps I should provide a demonstration?"

"Do it or no balls," Trent said without thinking. Alphonse, standing nearby, choked on the air in his throat as he remembered the difficult situation that was Beatrice's downstairs mixup.

At that second, her expression turned wild and deranged, her smile turning into one that brought terror into the hearts of all humans.

Was the woman in front of them the family alchemist who granted ten tons of gold to the man known as Kinzo Ushiromiya, or was she the bastard child who was thrown off a cliff and who would later discover said gold and succeed him? Was she the terrible witch who toyed with the lives of humans on the island of Rokkenjima, or was she the lovelorn child who wrote a thousand murder mysteries and set them adrift at sea? Was she truly the Golden Witch, Beatrice, or was she Sayo Yasuda, who took on that identity?

The two who knew of her tale didn't know which one it was, or why she was here...but that night, in a park in another world, the three men were shown Magic.