Act 1: The Beginning of the End
Following the next day in HQ…
"So… what exactly happened before we came here with this Imperator Lady and Terumi?" AJ asked.
"Whoever they are, they seem like bad news to me." Natalie said as Dark Water agreed by nodding.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Hello everyone, my name is Hibiki, Lord Kagura wishes to see you." A boy with short black hair in a military uniform said.
"Sure thing." AJ said.
"Sure feels weird working for a military. You got us into this, AJ. Hope it doesn't kill us." Hitomi said.
"No it won't. Besides we can't just leave the Vanguard with their problems. We gotta owe it up to them after that little mistake we made." AJ said.
Hibiki eventually led them into a room where they saw the Vanguard, Kokonoe, Celica, a tall and very muscular red skinned man, and a tall black haired man waiting for them. "Lord Kagura, everyone's here." He said as the black haired man opened his eyes and looked at them.
"Right, thank you." Kagura said. "Wait, where is Major Tsubaki?"
"She went to investigate something, she'll be back soon." Kido said.
"Anyway, it's nice to officially meet you Doomsday Legion. I am Kagura Mutsuki, but please call me Kagura." He said as he winked at Hitomi and Natalie before being bonked on the head by Linne.
"Ladies man?" AJ asked Linne.
"Mmhmm. I've met many people like him in my past lives, but at least they weren't womanizers." Linne said.
"So, before we actually get to it, I'd like to know who are these two you're after. The Imperator, and Terumi." AJ said.
"Well for the Imperator, her real name is Saya and she is mine and Jin's sister." Ragna said.
"As for Terumi, he used to be one of six heroes, and for some reason after Kido and I along with the others defeated the Take Mikazuchi, something's been going on with the planet." Jin said.
"Like what?" Natalie asked.
"Well for starters, that black sphere appeared, it's known as the Embryo, I can't tell what it is but there is definitely something existing inside it." Kokonoe said.
"Inside of it, huh? Sounds like bad news." Hitomi said.
"Yeah, and it's causing intervention phenomenons to occur, In fact it's easier to cause them internally then in the outside world. Even the Takamagahara can't alter objects outside of our current plane, like the Master Unit. The Imperator is no exception to this rule." Kokonoe said.
"Umm… So what does that mean? That Embryo thing is intervening in events that are going on...inside?" Makoto asked.
"That would mean that any sort of thing could happen in there. Mimics, enemies from the past, the list goes on." AJ said.
"Or, that object is is intentionally altering itself… Or observing something going on within itself." Kokonoe said.
"WHA…?!" Kagura said in shock.
"You mean to tell us that thing is ALIVE?!" The red skinned man known as Tager said in shock as well.
"It seems like it. So, what do we do about it?" Moth said.
"I can't say with certainty, but that object is the remains of the Gigant: Takemikazuchi." Kokonoe said.
"So it wasn't really destroyed." AJ said.
"We thought it was, but somehow that thing appeared the day after the Takemikazuchi was destroyed." Kido said.
"So shouldn't we do something about it? You know, figure out a way to kill it?" Hitomi asked.
"For right now we should keep a close eye on it. Hibiki, put a few able bodies on monitoring the sphere, but not too close. If any of them start to feel sick or weird, retreat immediately. I don't want to lose anymore soldiers." Kagura said.
"Understood." Hibiki said.
"In the meantime, what should we do while Hibiki's on the case?" AJ asked.
"We're currently on a power shortage of seithr right now. You all should head to the Yayoi residence, Homura is there in the 4th Hierarchical City, Naobi. And we'll need Ragna's help if we want to defeat Saya now known as Izanami." Kokonoe said.
"And there's still no sign of her, Terumi, or Relius. Whatever the hell they're waiting for it's probably nothing good." Haruto said.
"I'll bet." AJ said. "So, let's get this seithr stuff and not wait to find out until it's too late."
4th Hierarchical City, Naobi
"So what is this Seithr stuff anyway?" Natalie asked.
"Seithr is a substance that covers this planet. It cannot be tasted, smelled, or seen. However, in thick clumps it can be seen, and it looks like a black fog its also known as magic-" Noel said before a creepy mask attached to a black substance appeared and she screamed.
"What the hell is that?!" Natalie asked.
"Arakune!" Ragna said as he put a hand near his sword.
"Uh… is he, she… It… dangerous?" AJ asked as Arakune looked at them.
"Ragna...Ragna the Bloodedge….Azure Grimoire, give it to me….GYAHAHAHAHAHA!" Arakune muttered incoherently.
"Does that answer your question?" Hitomi asked.
"Very much, yes!" AJ said.
"Ugh, I don't have time for this crap. You guys better take care of this for me." Ragna said.
"I'm not gonna face that thing! It wants you, you fight it!" AJ retorted.
"DIE! DIE! DIE!" Arakune yelled.
"Well one of us has to face it, or its gonna kill us!" Natalie said.
"Fine… go get him, Hyde!" AJ said.
"Alright, leave this to me. Come forth, Insulator!" Hyde said as he pulled out a long red sword from his palm.
HYDE VS ARAKUNE
(Cue- Thin Red Line II- Blazblue CP)
"Stand in my way, and I'll cut you down." Hyde said.
Recurring VOID Effect
1st Clause…
DIVIDE!
Arakune pounced on Hyde as he fought back with Insulator and launched an orb of darkness at him. "EXS...Gyro Vortex!" He called out as he impaled Insulator into the ground, causing a vortex of energy to swirl around him as it sucked Arakune in and hit him multiple times.
"Please stop!" A voice called out as Litchi approached. "Please...don't hurt my brother!"
"Huh?" AJ said.
"Aw, and just when things were getting good…" Hitomi said.
"Hitomi, I think there's more to ask here, like…. How is that black mass a brother to that woman?" Moth said.
"Roy was originally human, but when he tried to enter the boundary, he became this. I used to be an assistant for Professor Kokonoe but now I'm just a doctor trying to find a way to bring him back." Litchi said.
"He's like Dark Water in a way, except he can't change into a human form…" Noel said before Arakune disappeared.
"Roy, wait!" Litchi called out. "All of you please follow me to my clinic, it seems some of you need your wounds tended to." She said.
Litchi's Clinic…
"I still can't get over the fact that guy was your brother. Here's what I'm curious about, what does he want with Ragna?" AJ asked.
"Didn't he say something about a thing called Azure Grimoire? Ragna, is it something you carry?" Natalie said.
"It's my right arm actually, before I got this, my right arm was cut off when Jin here was under Yukianeisa's influence, and now I have this, the Azure Grimoire which also contains a piece of the Black Beast inside it." Ragna said as he raised his right arm.
"I could never forgive myself for what I did to him years ago, but thanks to Kido, Tsubaki and I are free from the Power of Order's influence." Jin said.
"So why does Arakune want it? Doesn't really make sense for him to attack, right?" Natalie asked.
"Unless he wants it for something…" Hitomi said. "Know anything about this, Doc?"
"He plans on using it to control the boundary so he can revert to his normal self, but I think that's too big of a risk. I tried to find a way to become an observer to try and save him, but Rachel Alucard told me it would be impossible and it would risk endangering the lives of the people I care about." Litchi said before Bang entered.
"Ah, hello Miss Litchi, and it seems Sir Kido and Sir Haruto have brought along newcomers." Bang said.
"Hey, that would be us." AJ said waving.
"A pleasure to meet you all, my name is Bang Shishigami, and I am the protector of this town. A pleasure to meet you all." Bang said.
"We uh… just had an encounter with Arakune, if you didn't know." Natalie said.
"Roy was at it again, Bang. And he ran off as soon as I arrived." Litchi said.
"I see, he must've went back to the sewers to hide out again." Bang said.
"You see at first, Arakune lost his memories, but recently he started to remember me, Professor Kokonoe, and Relius Clover, the one he has a hatred over for what he did to him." Litchi said.
"So, Relius did that to him. Can't help but feel sorry." AJ said.
"Well no, he has a hatred for him because he turned Roy into a weapon. And just when he had a moment of sanity, he told me to stop looking for a way to cure him and turn to Professor Kokonoe for healing. He was originally used for an experiment to create the Black Beast which Ragna mentioned. So he lives in the sewers in hiding so he wouldn't harm me or the people of this town." Litchi continued.
"Damn…" Moth said as Dark Water looked at the others and nodded.
"Wow, hearing this almost makes me forget what we're here for." AJ said.
"Oh you need seithr correct? Here, I actually had an extra container filled with it. Professor Kokonoe explained the situation. Here." Litchi said as she held out a vat of seithr to AJ.
"Well, that was easy…" AJ said. "But, thanks."
"It's no problem at all, come back at anytime. Actually...Bang, how about you go with them?" Litchi said.
"Are you sure Miss Litchi?" Bang asked.
"Of course, don't worry. I'll be fine, just be careful okay?" Litchi asked.
"Well alright then. I am honored to help you all during this time of crisis. I'll help in anyway I can." Bang said.
"Thank you, Bang. It's great to be working with you." AJ said.
