Fictions Mentioned:

Episode 13

OP Song:

Corpse Party - Shangri-La - Romaji and English Lyrics

Insert Song: Start

Resident Evil 4 Save Theme (Extended)

Leon S. Kennedy, Gilead S. Burgundy, and Mitsuki Yamamoto were walking silently across the dilapidated halls. They walk past one corpse after another, never examining them as Leon and Gilead had both agreed not to. Why? Because looking at corpses results in terrible things. Gilead would know since he's had his fair share of traps sprang up by evil spirits.

Leon has his iconic handgun ready in case things needed to get a little heated. He really ought to thank Gilead for upgrading his handgun for these types of situations.

"It feels like we're going around in circles," Leon commented, his eyes narrowed.

"That's what you'd feel normally around this place, to be quite frank," Gilead said, his eyes narrowed. "As for me, I can still sense all of the restless souls that wander throughout the place. Best if we stick close as I lead the way. We don't want to get caught in any booby traps of the dead and alert the real hard cases."

"I mean, we've dealt with white lady ghosts in the last corridor, what could be worst than them?" Leon grimly asked.

"A lot worst if we're not careful around this place," Gilead grimly explained. "I have a feeling that there's more to this place than meets the eye."

Mitsuki was trepid and concerned along the way. She is worried about all of her classmates that were still trapped in this place. She prayed and hoped that they weren't dead. From what Gilead told her a while ago as they were traversing this seemingly endless hallway that smelt like rot of termite and flesh; if one were to die here, they'd suffer their own pain of death for eternity.

She thought that it was such a frightening and terrible concept to think about.

"Wait," Gilead narrowed, raising his left hand, signaling everyone to stop.

"What is it?" Mitsuki asked softly, immediately heading for Gilead's back.

"Something's up ahead," Gilead muttered. "Get ready, Leon."

"Right," Leon narrowed as he readied his handgun.

They waited as they all stared at the corridor. Something was festering in the dark. No. More like a horde of them. Slowly appearing were humanoid figures. They were walking in slow motion. Their flesh is rotten. Their teeth and other parts of the skin are exposed. They almost felt like rotten corpses.

"...!" Mitsuki gasped in shock. Her fear and disgust were slightly heightened.

"Zombies," Leon narrowed, aiming his handgun at them. Specifically, he was going to aim for the head as it feels like the best option when considering his experiences. "It always has to be zombies."

"The slow motion kind," Gilead narrowed his eyes. "I'd say they're more like Walkers based on the color of their skin and the way they walk slower."

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr," the Zombies, or more accurately termed Walkers, were noticing the three from the other side of the hallway. And they were now about to charge forward in their typical slow manner.

"Welp, this is your forte, Leon," Gilead smiled grimly. "I'd say that you can handle these guys just fine without little old me getting in the way."

"How very kind of you," Leon smirked grimly.

At that moment, he begins to fire his handgun at each of the Walkers straight in the head, killing them instantly. With each shot, the Walkers were falling down from the floor with ease.

"I suggest that we keep moving while I take care of the stragglers," Leon suggested as he continued to fire at the Walkers.

"Good point," Gilead agreed. He looked at Mitsuki. "Stay behind me, no matter what happens, jou-chan."

"Of course," Mitsuki nodded.

And so, they continued to move forward, albeit rather slowly as Leon was cleaning house. One, two, three, four, five. Each succession of a kill, a trained marksman by profession and experience. Leon pushed forward, slowly and surely. Each step was solemn, recalling the old experiences that he had dealt with. He was a war veteran at this point, having been through several outbreaks and fought against some of the nastiest bioweapons known to man. For him, this was easy as pie.

While Leon was clearing the Walkers, both Gilead and Mitsuki continued to walk unabated. They pass through one corridor that was crawling with Walkers and they had to stop in order for Leon to clear them. And he did clear them, almost as if it were a shooting game from an arcade. With Leon and Gilead by her side, Mitsuki didn't feel as scared as before, seeing the two men being used to this kind of situation, even nonchalantly making jokes in order to lighten up the situation.

"...So, you once said that Leon is from another world, right?" Mitsuki asked, quite interested in that topic. She was quite surprised that Leon was from another world. Then again, her world isn't exactly normal either so she isn't one to judge.

They were already walking across another hallway for Leon to clear once again of the Walkers. And he did clear them. He shot through the left and the right with precise accuracy, taking down five Walkers in total.

"Oh yeah," Gilead said, glancing at Mitsuki who was holding him by the arm. "He's from another Earth. Similar history and all of that from ours, but with a whole lot of differences."

"Like what?" Mitsuki asked.

"Like the fact that there's a certain city in America called Raccoon City that got destroyed in 1998 due to a zombie virus under official orders from the US Government," Gilead explained.

"Eh? Raccoon City? I've never heard of that name before," Mitsuki spoke softly, raising an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't, Miss Yamamoto," Leon commented just as he shot two plus three Walkers in the head as they walk. "Because that city doesn't really exist in yours and Gilead's Earth. Honestly, that at least made me feel a little better when thinking about it."

"Because of Umbrella Corp?" Gilead asked, concerned.

"Yeah," Leon nodded. "At least your world didn't have to deal with those monsters every now and then like me and a few others still fighting the good fight even after all of these years."

"Welp, too late for that though since the Knights of the Covenant have been dealing with them from time to time too, and Night Baron and the others as well," Gilead explained.

"Yeah, that is rather unfortunate," Leon said with a bitter smile. "Umbrella's influence spreading across time and the worlds. That's quite a frightening concept to think about especially when you try to sleep at night."

"But at least you're all not alone in the fight, especially when you have superheroes or guys like me by your side," Gilead raised a thumb and pointed to himself, making a cheeky smile of humor.

"True," Leon muttered with a smile, shooting a couple of Walkers in quick succession.

As of now, they are walking outside the door, with Leon already clearing the Walkers scattered throughout the door with ease. The skies were clear at least but there was a hint of light rain pouring in all directions.

"It's raining and freezing out here," Leon commented, his breath slightly visible due to the cold temperature.

"But we've got no other choice but to keep moving forward," Gilead reminded. "If we stay in one place for too long, we're basically handing ourselves over to a game over."

"Kinda like a video game, right?" Leon raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, you have to admit, the comparisons are a little uncanny when it comes to this place. A little of the familiar walking dead type of gameplay that Capcom is known for. Or might as well be a living death game ala Sword Art Online, just with more gory and violent and supernatural stuff. Now that I think about it, this place might as well be right up on Kirito's alley of expertise as he's the expert gamer when it comes to life and death situations. We definitely could use his help right about now. But alas, he isn't here, at least as far as I know since this place has been dragging people everywhere and everywhen," Gilead smiled with humor before turning serious. "Besides that, we really need to find Touma and the others and regroup. I can feel them somewhere, but I can't get a good reading. They're either too far or too near for me to track."

"Your spiritual tracking senses are off when it comes to finding them? Someone probably doesn't want them to be found," Leon muttered, readying his handgun as they begin to walk towards the unknown road.

"Or someone doesn't want strength in numbers to be a viable option," Gilead explained. "Probably both. Not surprising if my hunch is right."

"Those five friends of yours, one of them is Night Baron Kid, right?" Mitsuki spoke in amazement. She recalled the one specific discussion that they had when they were walking by the school corridors.

"Yep," Gilead smiled. "But I ain't telling his true identity, jou-chan. Brother's trade secret and all that."

The three individuals were walking on the clear open road. There were forest trees left and right. Abandoned automobiles lie everywhere. Decayed sign boards. One is reminded of the old green nature of Oregon. The incredibly varied landscape. Forests, deserts, marshlands, mountains, and metropolitan areas. You name it. They were walking across the deserted road. There was nobody there. Not a sound. There were no traces of animals except for the corpses of deer and wolves among other forest dwellers that were left behind.

"("Huh, this particular landscape definitely reminds me of good old Oregon. Reminds me of that time when me and Marshal Butcher were out fishing in the lake. Good times.")" Gilead smiled a little in thought.

Leon was also having thoughts of his own. In spite of the dire situation that they all find themselves in, at least there were a few comforting thoughts that dwelled within his mind as he takes in the scenery that he was shown from his very eyes.

How long had he been fighting the good fight against bioterrorism? How long had he been protecting the world against madmen, corrupt government officials, overtly ambitious individuals, and powerful organizations?

Maybe too long. No matter what Leon does in his reality, there was always the subtle overlaying fear of bioterrorism. People back in his world had this fear on the back of their heads. Maybe they are the next ones to turn into freaks. They may never know. Outbreaks of a biohazard origin are dime a dozen in his native reality.

REB Earth-1996. The designation of his native world. It was a world that had a similar history with DCMK Earth-Prime. But there were also a bunch of differences.

To summarize, it had its fair share of troubles. The biohazard kind of troubles. Leon was just one of many known protectors. Sometimes, there were moments when he was just tired of fighting, wondering if there was ever a point to all of it. No matter how much he and the others make the effort to stop a biohazard plot, another inevitably sprang up. And thus, it felt like a continuous cycle with no end in sight. It felt like the end of the world was inevitable and they are just delaying it with every plot that they stop.

When does it end?

How does it end?

Leon sometimes reflects on what life could've been like had Raccoon City wasn't destroyed due to most of the inhabitants there being infected by the infamous t-Virus. What if there was no such thing as zombies or what manner of mutant abominations were created through the use of unethical biohazard experimentations? Maybe he'll just be your random naïve police officer just doing his part the same as the rest. Maybe he didn't have to shoulder the burden of the world sometimes. Maybe things could stay the same.

A naïve way of thinking. But hey, it's the Multiverse. Ever since he and a few others wound up discovering its existence, it's been one heck of a ride. And all because of him meeting a Time Lord who isn't supposed to be where he's supposed to be. But then, that same Time Lord was meeting him where he isn't supposed to be. Time travel. It usually brings a couple of headaches for the most part especially when it's the out-of-order type scenario. And it gets even more complicated with alternate universes getting dragged into the mix.

Sometimes, Leon feels that he's been given more than he bargained out for. What happened to the simple days when he only needs to worry about biohazards and bioterrorists? But then, life is not as simple as anyone thought the moment Raccoon City Incident happened.

After more than one hour of hiking, they manage to find a bridge nearby. Under it was a stream of water. The bridge wasn't that damaged. There were holes on the side. Otherwise, it was perfectly crossable. And so they venture through the bridge and walk to the other side. Forest trees were still a common sight without any form of shortage.

After walking a few paces away from the bridge, they managed to locate an abandoned convenience store nearby along with an abandoned gas station. They stop for a moment to look.

"Hey, there's a convenience store nearby," Mitsuki said, curious.

"Right, but we aren't going in there, no sir," Gilead shakes his head, thinking rightly that it was a bad idea.

"Eh? Why?" Mitsuki asked.

"Because I feel something off about that place. It just screams trap to me if we stay there for too long," Gilead spoke with a grim tone.

"We should at least check for food supplies, right?" Mitsuki explained, concerned.

"I don't think that we have to worry about food supplies since I'd figure that Gilead can just conjure up food all on his own," Leon explained.

"Wait? Really?" Mitsuki sported a surprised expression.

No sooner was that said than when Gilead begins to hand Mitsuki one pack of junk food for her to eat. It was the cheese variety. "Here."

"Oh, thank you," Mitsuki muttered, surprised as she was getting the pack for her to carry.

"So we shouldn't stay here for too long. Let's go," Gilead said.

Insert Song: End

Insert Song: Start

John Carpenter - HALLOWEEN Theme

And so, they begin to walk away from the abandoned convenience store. But Gilead was narrowing his eyes, walking a few steps towards Leon while gently dragging Mitsuki with him.

"Alright, whatever you all do, nobody panic, but...I think we're being followed," Gilead grimly in a whisper.

"Eh?" Mitsuki muttered in shock.

"Wait what?" Leon narrowed his eyes. "You sure?"

"I felt the presence ever since we've been walking through this forest for about an hour ago. From what I can sense, we're dealing with a slasher," Gilead explained.

"Well...shit..." Leon grimaced a bit, keeping his sidearm ready for him to use. He was now also keeping a firm concentration across his surroundings. The danger just returned at a much subtle level.

Slashers.

When it comes to the Multiverse, they're the type of individuals that you need to be absolutely warry of. They all come from different origins and backgrounds. They are not all the same in terms of personality and modus operandi. But there is one thing that they all have in common.

Killing.

"Can you get a read on who the hell are we dealing with?" Leon asked.

"Unfortunately, I can. And not just that. I can tell just who the bastard is," Gilead spoke in a grim tone just as he uttered a name that might as well rhymed with pure evil. "Myers."

Leon widened his eyes a bit. "Myers? As in Michael Myers?"

"One version of him anyway, thankfully one of the weaker ones," Gilead explained in a whisper. "That's why we shouldn't be too obvious and just act natural. We don't want to tip him off more than needed."

"Right," Leon nodded.

"Jou-chan," Gilead glances at Mitsuki who was growing worried with every second that seems to pass. "Stick with me and don't separate. Don't panic and do as I say, got it?"

"R-Right," Mitsuki nodded. Despite being scared, she will trust Gilead and Leon since they seem to know what they are doing in this situation.

Somewhere from afar, there was someone watching them.

It was one tall individual. A man in gender. But his face was hidden by a white Halloween mask which was blank and expressionless. He was wearing a dark blue mechanic jumpsuit and carrying a kitchen knife.

It was stalking its prey. It was observing it. Yes, it. It is no longer a man. It is no longer a 'he' as it's far from the living definition of it at this point in his life.

It has no idea what it's doing here. It was dragged here against its will. It was now in uncharted territory. It didn't know who dragged it here. But it didn't care. It needed to retrace its steps. Where was the last place it could remember?

Yes. It recalled being on fire. Yes, it was all because of Dr. Samuel Loomis, its good old psychiatrist.

Now, he was no longer on fire. Now he was here, restored back to normal.

That was quite a strange experience. Or was it?

Nevertheless, it did not matter how it managed to get free from the flames. It would continue to do what it would always do.

Kill.

It was now stalking three new prey that it had managed to see in its walk in the woods. They would have to do as it had yet to find Laurie Strode. Family ties and all that. Afterward, it would probably need to find a proper vehicle that isn't rusted and abandoned so that it could continue to explore this strange new world that it had landed itself too.

Mitsuki Yamamoto grew frightened as Gilead began to explain something to her.

An ominous tale was being told of a cold-blooded serial killer by the name of Michael Myers. Also known by the titles of The Shape or The Boogeyman.

Somewhere on another Earth, born on October 19, 1957, when he was six years old, he suffered from bizarre, inexplicable nightmares and heard a "voice" in his head that would tell him to do things. The voices told him to say that he hated people. On October 31, 1963, Michael committed his first act of murder when he was still six years old. His parents were away, and he was at home with his sister Judith who was supposed to be babysitting him but cared more about spending an intimate moment with her boyfriend, Danny. After Danny left, Michael, dressed in a clown costume, went into the kitchen, picked up a kitchen knife, walked up the steps, and stabbed Judith to death. He then quietly walked back downstairs and into the front yard where he waited for his parents and the police to arrest him.

Michael was taken to Smith's Grove Sanitarium where he became the patient of a psychiatrist named Doctor Samuel Loomis. He spent fifteen years with Doctor Loomis, barely moving, never speaking a word.

On October 30, 1978, Michael Myers destroyed his room at Smith's Grove and carved the word "sister" on his door before breaking out. He also released the other patients from their rooms. At the same time, Dr. Loomis and Nurse Marion Chambers were arriving at the facility to transfer Myers for his court hearing. Noticing the patients roaming around outside the hospital, Loomis got out of the car to investigate as Michael attacked Marion and sped away in their station wagon. As he drove across Illinois, Michael stopped to murder a truck driver to steal his boiler suit. Traveling to Haddonfield, Michael returned to his childhood home.

The next day on Halloween, it was one hell of a nightmare for Laurie Strode who was a teenager at that time. Laurie's friends, Annie and Lynda, were killed. Lynda's boyfriend, Bob, was killed as well. Laurie almost had her life ended when Dr. Loomis thankfully saved her and shot Michael six times, causing him to fall off the balcony.

But his body was never found.

He apparently managed to survive it.

That was the summary that was told to her at least. It terrified her that there was a person like that. One that held nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding in even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. The living definition of pure evil.

What was more fortunate however was that the SCP Foundation, the organization that she knew somewhat based on the fact that they are recognized by her world's various nations, including Japan, as being allies of the caped crusader and superhero who bears the title of Night Baron and the ones who deal with the more anomalous and strange occurrences that ordinary law enforcement and military organization couldn't bear to handle, managed to dispatch MTF Epsilon-6 ("Village Idiots") to deal with Michael lead by MIB Division Agent Andrew William "Andy" Barclay. The results of the operation were successful. Michael was killed personally by Agent Barclay himself; his body incinerated into mere ashes.

That was the way the Foundation nipped the bud so to speak. Without Foundation intervention, Michael would have killed quite a couple more over the years, the victim count reaching about 80 in total. The Foundation decided to act before Michael could take any more lives. And they did act, sparing all of the lives of those who could have been potentially become victims of this cold-blooded killer.

And this is related to the backstory of Michael Myers in general. The prime version has already been dealt with before he could do any form of damage, meaning that he is already dead. What was confusing Mitsuki was that it was Michael who is now stalking them.

"Hold on, if he's already dead, then how could you be sure that it was him that's following us?" Mitsuki asked in a whispered tone.

"I just have this natural sense of sensing slashers and realizing their identities. It's kinda like a sixth sense to me which is 50 times a gigantic pain in my ass, excuse my language, and 50 times quite useful when it comes to preparing for the threat that I'm about to face," Gilead explained. "You see, jou-chan, the way I see slashers is like seeing black goo. It's quite revolting and irritating to look at that they stick like a sore thumb."

"And it's probably one of the reasons you are one of the best there is in the Covenant," Leon commented.

"Eh. I try not to brag but the skill helps at least. I'm a natural-born serial-killer detector. Natural, preternatural, or supernatural," Gilead shrugs his shoulders, not making a big deal out of this. "It's why the Covenant usually sends me when it comes to local law enforcement in different universes asking for our help specifically in tracking down serial killers and slashers all around the world, even the worst kind. And as to how is Michael alive, he isn't. This is another variant of Michael from a different alternative. He comes from a possible reality where the Foundation didn't intervene. The Multiverse can be quite a bitch to deal with when you have alternate variants of slashers that should have stayed dead. They're like weeds that you need to cut down every now and then as part of proper gardening."

"...So...how exactly do we get out of this situation?" Mitsuki asked, terrified at the fact that there is a bona fide serial killer stalking them.

"Oh that," Gilead smirked. "I have a few ideas."

Strange, The Shape thought to itself.

The patterns of his newly found targets were not the ones it is used to deal with. It was quite odd. An adult man, a young man, and a young woman. The last two appeared to be students from a foreign country judging by their outfits. It also took the young man's appearance into account. He and the adult man were Americans while the young woman was Japanese. The adult man appeared to be carrying a type of sidearm. Other than that, they were unarmed.

It needs to act carefully. It needs to wait for the right opportunity. It took into account that it should save the adult man for last. It is the young teenagers that it would need to deal with.

Yes, it relished this game of cat and mouse. It was the cat. They were the mouse. This could provide a good challenge.

Like the three individuals, The Shape was walking. It was walking through the woods. It noticed all of the abandoned automobiles, the slightly cracked asphalt, and the carcasses of the animals. This was quite the strange land that it found itself on. It didn't really bother it so much. All it needed was to kill. That was it. But it cannot deny that this place intrigued it a bit.

The Shape noticed something. It stopped. It sees one of the individuals separating from the group. It was the young man. It appeared to it that he needed to be elsewhere. Maybe he needed to relieve his personal business so to speak. Perfect, The Shape thought. Now was the opportunity that it had waited for.

And so, The Shape would slowly move forward, remaining silent. It was readying his kitchen knife as he held it with an iron grip. It was its trusted weapon. It and the knife felt inseparable. It was like a part of its soul.

It was slowly moving forward. It walks for a few meters, passing by a couple of tall trees and heavy bushes. It was looking straight at its prey. The young man has his back wide open and he was facing the tree. It slowly walks in the silence of the night. It walks and controls his breathing. It was silent like a log. It's right hand which carries the kitchen knife was raised for the kill.

Only a few more steps.

But then, the unexplainable happened.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't notice you, Myers?" the young man said.

That surprised it as it stopped its movements. It knew its name. It tilted its head for a moment.

But that was a mistake. The last one that it ever made. And then, there was a strange type of gunshot was heard. It was shot on the head with precise accuracy. And everything with it went blank.

Insert Song: End

Insert Song: Start

Resident Evil 4 Save Theme (Extended)

Leon S. Kennedy had managed to shoot Michael Myers in the head. The gun that Gilead had blessed was quite effective in delivering precise blows to many types of evil. And it was quite effective against a monster like Michael.

He sees that Michael was now falling down to the ground, his kitchen knife along with him. Michael Myers is dead.

But...

"Better safe than sorry," Gilead said, raising his right hand that was now sporting bright white circles with Scripture inscriptions, saying. "Sit lux crucis Christi consecrationem polluitur. Ad te, Domine, speravi in custodiendo ab omni malo. ("May the light of the Cross of Christ consecrate this defiled body. To you, O Lord, do I trust in keeping it away from all evil.")"

At that moment, Michael Myer's corpse would incinerate into ashes. Even his soul is not spared and is now about to be sentenced to the judgment that is due for souls who have passed on.

Mitsuki Yamamoto was behind Leon's back. Her expression was one of horror and relief. The serial killer was dead. His body was cremated by a type of invocation that did not allow for an evil wandering soul like Michael Myers to wreak havoc. There were already plenty of vengeful spirits in this realm. No need to add Michael Myers into the mix.

"I have to admit, that was a lot easier than I expected it to be. Maybe a little too anticlimactic," Leon muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, as I said, just be glad that this is just one of the weaker ones. That only proves my point on how dangerous this dimension really is. If it's dragging evil souls like Myers, then who knows what else could have been dragged here," Gilead explained in a grim tone.

"Are you...Are you saying that there may be more slashers out there?" Mitsuki asked, frightened a bit.

"Maybe. I pray to God not. But in case I'm right, it's better to at least be prepared," Gilead muttered apologetically while maintaining a serious demeanor. "But you wouldn't have to worry much, jou-chan. As long as we stick together, we'll be fine." Gilead begins to walk ahead. "Come on, let's go find your classmates."

Mitsuki watches Gilead walking towards the road. She looks at Leon who nodded for her to go forward while he stays at the back just in case. Feeling reassured, she begins to walk ahead. And then, Leon walks as well, readying his sidearm in case he needed it.

Somewhere in another part of this hellish dimension...

Shots were fired. Rapidly and non-stop. Precise in each shot and the trajectory where it was fired.

The sound of an old revolver was heard. It was Kyon. He was firing his set of revolvers at a couple of black stick figures with precise accuracy, aiming at the head and sending them crashing to the ground. Magenta-colored energy blasts were coming as well from Sota Mizushino's Ride Booker, killing the stick figures that were unlucky enough to cross his path.

Just like that, they managed to at least clear the area of all hostiles. No stick figure remained alive. Guts and other unnatural body parts were splattered everywhere.

The Eighth Doctor and the Companions were currently somewhere in an abandoned classroom. Touma Kamijou was sporting a relieved expression just as Lelouch vi Britannia manages to thoroughly unlock an old brown greyish chest box containing one fragment of the soul of Seiji Shinozaki.

It wasn't quite as easy as it sounded. While Lelouch was busy, the rest of the companions were holding off a wave of black stick figures that were coming in droves just like the last time. But the Companions managed to at least hold their ground just as the surrounding area can attest to itself. Aside from the black stick figures, Lelouch had to solve a very complicated crossword puzzle that holds the key to unlocking the old chest box. The answer was about a particular time in history.

And here lies the question from a particular slightly crumpled note that they found in the chest. The note was written in crimson-stained blood that had already dried up.

"I spy with my little eye. You touch and you die. Certain swellings, either on the groin or under the armpits, waxed to the bigness of a common apple. Others to the size of an egg, some more and some less, and these the vulgar named plague-boils. Oh, how the west suffers so!"

Naturally, after much pondering, the correct answer was the Black Death.

It was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. The plague arrived in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. People gathered on the docks were met with a horrifying surprise: Most sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those still alive were gravely ill and covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus. Sicilian authorities hastily ordered the fleet of "death ships" out of the harbor, but it was too late: Over the next five years, the Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe—almost one-third of the continent's population.

If Lelouch vi Britannia and Conan Edogawa didn't know any better, it was more like a twisted game of Riddle Me This, Riddle Me That. If one fails, one dies either way. And they for one shook their heads at this twisted sense of humor.

Nevertheless, one fragment was taken from the chest box. Dhruv Varma, the friendly Indian ghost accompanying them, examines the soul fragment in Lelouch's hand. The Eighth Doctor and the Companions were examining the soul as well.

"That's one fragment down," Touma Kamijou muttered, concerned.

"But still not all of them. I feel that there's plenty more where that came from," Lelouch vi Britannia grimly added.

"On that, I would have to agree, about twenty-two fragments left to go, I might add, since we already have two so we're not counting them," Dhur Varma explained.

"This almost seemed a bit too easy," Kyon pointed out.

"Yes, which is why we need to be more cautious from now on," the Eighth Doctor pointed out. "If there's one thing that I find to be quite common in my run-in with dangerous predators..."

"...It's that that they tend to play with their prey sometimes, right?" Touma added grimly.

"That's right," the Eighth Doctor nodded. He begins to look at the exit. "We should keep moving for now. We don't stop in one place for too long as I fear that it may lead to untimely bad endings. And I hate endings already."

And so, they begin to move forward, strolling through the many piles of black stick figure corpses that were laying around the area. They walk downstairs and head toward the outside world. There was littered garbage everywhere. The bridge they crossed long ago was not far from here. And they continued their walk undeterred.

"You know, this reminds me of all of those apocalypse worlds that we ended up getting stuck at back in the day," Kyon spoke in reminiscence.

"Oh, we remember alright," Lelouch spoke with a grim smile. "The TARDIS does have a sense of humor."

"By humor, you mean every single damn time she suddenly breaks down because of reasons," Kyon muttered in slight annoyance.

"Come on, Kyon, you know you like the adventure and excitement as much as the rest of us," Lelouch explained with a humorous smile.

"Why do I fear for my future the moment you lot are talking about getting stuck on those types of worlds, even by accident at that," the Eighth Doctor muttered in slight annoyance, tempting to take a note of this and retain this particular part for future caution.

It wasn't like that was anything new to him as he'd been to a couple of them throughout his adventuring career, and that was during a time when he's usually flying solo, but he couldn't help but feel annoyed when his companions and students are getting dragged into the dangers of those worlds by random and remarkable circumstances. Then again, it wasn't the first time for him as much as he can recall. It still annoyed him though.

"Hey, it's not that bad, Doctor," Lelouch explained with a reassuring smile. "We get to meet a few friends along the way and help out where we can."

"Well, there's that. And then there's the fact that we tend to run from the zombies and monsters all of the time. Some of those cases were literal encounters of the first kind," Kyon pointed out in a deadpanned tone.

"That's the story of our life at this point, Kyon," Sota said with a smile. "And on the bright side, at least we got a lot of physical exercises through all of that running."

"Heh, physical exercises. If that's what you call it, then my snarking just so happens to be the most normal thing that we needed in those times," Kyon smiled slightly Then, he glances at Lelouch. "Speaking of exercises, I seem to recall the fun times when Lelouch tries to struggle hard in even lifting a couple of books."

"You're still on about that?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow.

"I can never forget it and neither can anyone else who has known you a lot longer," Kyon made a smile of humor.

"Hm. As I can recall from my own history, Lelouch vi Britannia is known for many things. Physical fitness isn't usually one of them," the Eighth Doctor said, intending to become involved in this humorous discussion, bringing up knowledge of the dictations of original history that he had the pleasure and sorrow of observing.

That was quite peculiar. Lelouch vi Britannia as one of his companions someday. Well, historical figures as companions aren't that new. Mary Shelley was among those that he can recall from his mind.

But Lelouch vi Britannia was more than a mere historical figure. He was many things which depend upon the people that you could ask. Some say he was a tyrant. Some say he was a genuine psychopath. There were lots of views regarding him, both in and out of the universe sources. But for the Doctor who observed these events as a silent observer of history, there was more to this than meets the eye. It all started because of family, specifically his sister, Nunnally vi Britannia.

To summarize, life was hard for both of them. Hated on both sides, enemies on both sides. Lelouch had to carry the heavy burden of caring for Nunnally in the darkest of times. The main goal behind the Mask of Zero was because of Nunnally's dream for a better world. Nunnally was his main anchor in those darkest of times before he even met the unique characters of history like the immortal C.C. or the fiery Kallen Kozuki or the hometown sweetheart Shirley Fennete or even many of the Ashford Student Council. Nunnally vi Britannia was his beacon of hope. The first one. Remove her out of the equation, the Eighth Doctor could only grimace at the doomed timelines where it was so.

And even then, life was still hard. Even as Zero, in many cases, Lelouch's plans went downhill due to a couple of outside factors beyond his own control. Too many to count but suffice it to say that things don't always go according to plan which inevitably leads to Lelouch becoming an unknown martyr for the world. In order for real peace to be achieved, it was deemed necessary for Lelouch vi Britannia to become the scapegoat. He sets himself up as a dictator hated by all. United in that one common hatred, the world can finally achieve a semblance of peace. Whether or not such a plan was the wisest course of action has been the subject of debate among historians in general.

But now, looking at Lelouch vi Britannia, now a companion of his from the distant future, history itself has gone off track. Now he wondered what could have happened that lead to the implementation of one of his plans. Making Lelouch a companion was a daring move on his future self's part. Perhaps he had the resolve in the future to eventually help the poor lad out of his misery. Lord knows that he needed it.

Lelouch needed a family. Lelouch needed some place that he can call home whenever everything around him was seemingly against him. The Eighth Doctor had thought of providing such an offer but didn't make a move. At least not yet, deliberating on whether he should intervene or not.

The future is unknown to him. And that was quite the curiosity.

The Eighth Doctor, the Companions, and Dhruv Varma continued to venture onward towards the unknown. After a few steps of hiking, they ended up in a deserted town. Abandoned automobiles, abandoned buildings, shards of glass on the floor, orange flames found in various parts, overall, it looked like a scene from a movie about the end of days. There was even green spray paint on the wall, saying:

"NOBODY IS GOING TO SAVE US!"

The Eighth Doctor, the Companions, and Dhruv Varma all looked at each other, concerned. They all had a bad feeling about this. Nevertheless, they decided to keep moving for now.

But while they were moving on, there was something watching them from above the rooftop of an abandoned motel just on the right side.

"Grrrrrrr."

It was an individual wearing a faded red hooded sweatshirt and dark blue sweatpants. There was a certain white reflective glow that is found in its eyes. The Hunter has found its prey, multiple targets to kill. And it begins to make haste, maintaining stealth while hopping towards another nearby rooftop.

But unbeknownst to the Hunter, Touma can already sense his presence. His sixth sense was tingling for probable danger. His eyes narrowed, a hint of yellow was present.

"Guys, we've got company," Touma muttered in a grimaced tone.

"You noticed it too," Sota asked in a grimaced tone.

"Well then," Kyon gets his revolvers out in case there may come a time needed to shoot. "Might as well get ready for what's coming."

And the Eighth Doctor, the Companions, and Dhruv Varma were walking slowly, taking into account their surrounding area. It was quiet. But that further adds to the hidden danger that lay ahead in this abandoned town.

Insert Song: End

ED Song:

【ARTERY VEIN】Confutatis no Inori (Full Version)【CP Blood Covered】【Eng Lyrics】

Incarnation(s)/Regeneration(s) of the Doctor:

The Eighth Doctor - A: Paul McGann

Main Companion Protagonists:

Touma Kamijou - VA: Atsushi Abe

Shinichi Kudo/Conan Edogawa/Night Baron - VA: Minami Takayama

Kyon - VA: Tomokazu Sugita

Sota Mizushino/Kamen Rider Decade - VA: Daiki Yamashita

Lelouch vi Britannia/Zero - VA: Jun Fukuyama

New Characters:

Michael Myers (Halloween II (1981 film) Timeline) - A: Nick Castle

Author Notes:

Mission Objectives:

Number of Soul Fragments of Seiji Shinozaki Collected: 2/24

Michael Myers (Halloween II (1981 film) Timeline) - KIA - COMPLETE.