Act 3: The Embryo

The following day, AJ was sleeping in his room before his nose picked up something thanks to his enhanced sense of smell.

"*Sniff, Sniff…* I smell death for some reason…" AJ said.

He walked to the cafeteria and saw Noel cooking something as a girl with blue hair in a ponytail was sitting at one of the tables.

"Hey uh… Noel? For some reason, I'm smelling something off. Are you… cooking?" AJ asked.

"Oh, AJ! Yes, I am, why do you ask?" Noel said holding up a pot.

"Well, my nose picked up some weird smell coming from here. I gotta ask you something… you're not a bad cook, aren't you?" AJ asked nervously.

"Well...I'm trying my best but it seems like I always mess something up. Hehehe. Oh, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine, this is my friend Mai Natsume, she was one of my classmates alongside Jin, Tsubaki, Makoto, and Carl at the academy." Noel said.

"A pleasure. What're you doing sitting down?" AJ asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I LOVE Noel's cooking!" Mai said. "Her death dinners are to die for!"

"Death dinners? I don't like the sound of that…" AJ said as the others came in.

"Hey! What're you doing, AJ?" Natalie said.

"Uh oh…." Ragna said.

"Oh! Kido, everyone! I made something to eat if you're hungry." Noel said.

"Tsubaki! Makoto! Long time no see!" Mai said.

"Noel was asking me to eat something of hers. Anyone interested?" AJ asked before seeing the Vanguard inching away. "Why are you guys trying to back out?"

"Ack! Well uh… you see…" Makoto said.

"Don't be shy Makoto, I made enough for everybody!" Noel smiled as she opened the pot.

"Oh, what the….?!" AJ said shocked in thought.

Inside the pot was indescribable as it was too horrifying for both of the groups not to see.

"Anyone hungry? There's still time before we head off to fight in the Embryo." Noel said.

"N-NO THANKS!" Ragna suddenly stuttered.

"Yeah uh… I'm stuffed! Totally stuffed, already ate like a hundred Chestnut Parfaits and meat!" Makoto said.

"Oh no I appreciate the offer Noel, but I couldn't I just ate a little while ago." Tsubaki said.

"Oh come on, why's everybody backing out of this? Noel's death dinners are amazing!" Mai said.

"You are one crazy chick…" AJ said.

"Here, Mai. Eat as much as you want!" Noel said in delight serving up a big plate.

"Thanks Noel!" Mai said as she began chowing down as everyone looked with white eyes.

"Heh, Natsume hasn't changed at all." Jin said.

"That girl...sure has an iron stomach." Kido said.

"Anybody else freaked out by this?" Hyde asked.

"Pretty much everybody in the room." Natalie said.

"You know…. I think Mai would be great on the team." Makoto said.

"You mean she's got more uses than being a human garbage disposal?" AJ asked.

*BANG!*

Noel bonked him on the head with a frying pan as she had a tick mark on her head.

"OW! Hey, what was that for?!" AJ asked.

"Don't be rude AJ, and also I agree. If that's alright with you and Haruto, Kido." Noel said.

"Of course. What do you say, Mai?" Kido asked.

"Hell yeah! Count me in!" Mai said as Kokonoe, Lambda, Kagura, and Rachel along with Valkenhayn entered.

"Now then, if you're quite finished chattering…" Rachel said.

"Whoa, a Rabbit!" Natalie said. "And… some sort of cat-umbrella and a little red...thing?"

"Bat! I'm a bat!" Gii said.

"Gii, mind yourself. Do I have to stretch you again?" Rachel asked.

"N-No, Princess…" Gii shuddered.

"So uh….you must be Rachel Alucard." AJ said.

"Yes, a pleasure to meet you AJ Drake and this is my butler, Valkenhayn of the Six Heroes." Rachel said.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance. And Miss Nine, Lord Jubei, and Miss Trinity, a delight to see you all again." Valkenhayn said.

"Great to see ya too. Guess this makes four of us here. All we're missing is Hakumen, but I think we all know where he is." Jubei said.

"Yeah, he's inside that thing along with Terumi and Izanami, listen...you all will probably be in for the biggest fight of your lives, who knows what will block your way to them, but all of you please...be careful." Kokonoe said. "Good news for you and your friends, AJ. You all have been cleared of your charges."

"Oh, freaking hell yes!" AJ said.

"It's good to be finally free at last…" Natalie said.

"Eh, I could care less about the stuff I've done. That was all killing in the name of the stuff going down in my world… though I have killed a few idiots too." Hitomi said.

"Kido, I'm not saying this means we'll go with you though. But… you'll hear my answer if we get out of the Embryo alive." AJ said.

"Let's just make it out alive and then we can talk. Let's do this!" Kido said.

Everyone was deployed to the embryo as they busted into it. Inside of it, it was much weirder than the outside.

The inside of the Embryo itself was the same as the world they were in, but constantly shifting.

"So… you decided to come here, did you?" A voice asked.

"Who's that?!" AJ asked.

"Hehehehe." A voice laughed as Izanami appeared. "Hello...I'm glad you all could make it."

"Saya!" Ragna said.

"Hello, brother." Izanami said. "I see you've been busy making new friends."

"Yeah, and one look at you I'd say you're one crazy sister." AJ said. "Never mind that, we're here to help Kido and Haruto here stop you for good, right you two?"

"Yeah, if you think we're just gonna let you reset the world, then you've got another thing coming." Kido said.

"Get ready, cause' it's whoopass time!" Haruto said.

"Hehehe… oh please…" Izanami said hitting AJs mind with something.

"Argh!" AJ said. "What'd you do, bitch?!"

"Oh nothing, I simply ordered the embryo to replicate your memories. Now you won't just have to fight everyone that the embryo copied from this world… but the fighters that you met. Take this one for example…" Izanami said disappearing.

The embryo then morphed and shifted as barren lands turned to stone and wood, becoming a location unfamiliar with some of the group.

"What the hell?! What's this place?!" Luna asked.

"This is the Tiger's Lair…" AJ said. "Which means…"

(Cue- The Tiger Warrior- Killer Instinct)

A man was seen sitting down as he meditated before turning his head as he stood up and slowly turned to the group before pounding his fist into his palm as he got into a fighting stance.

"Who's this?" Sena asked.

"I dunno, but he's looking to fight! Let's kick his ass, Sena!" Luna said.

"Careful you two! I don't think this is an ordinary opponent!" Jubei said.

"You worry too much, master!" Luna said.

PLATINUM THE TRINITY VS JAGO

READY….FIGHT!

"Magic Missile!" Luna called launching a projectile at the Copy of Jago.

"Endouken!" Fake Jago called out in a distorted voice as he fired an energy ball, canceling out the attack before he did a shadow kick at Platinum. He hit dead on before firing off a deadly barrage of rapid fire kicks and scimitar strikes before launching Platinum into the air with a firey uppercut.

KILLER COMBO!

"I told ya to be careful!" Jubei said as Platinum landed.

"Owowowowow…" Luna cringed.

"This guy's tough, Luna…" Sena said.

"Yeah, so?! I don't lose to any masked muscle heads!" Luna said charging back in. She whacked Jago with her staff as she also attacked with a giant fan and whacked him a couple of times. But Jago was able to break free with a well-timed attack.

C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

"What the Hell?! Okay, that's it!" Luna said using a distortion. "Cure Dot Typhoon!" She called out as she began to spin at high speeds hitting Jago multiple times.

The fake Jago then retaliated by attacking Platinum again, but then Platinum countered into her own combo before finishing off with her Astral Heat.

"Luna… let's go!" Sena said trapping the fake Jago in place. "The strength that lies dormant inside me… I will call upon you! Full power! Go! Shining Layered Force!" She yelled as her outfit and weapon changed as she fired a laser, finishing off the fake Jago.

"Together we can't be beaten!" Luna said as Platinum's body posed in the air.

ULTIMATE

(End song)

"Who was that?" Noel said.

"Someone I'm familiar with… the EMbryo must've copied my memories and gave physical manifestation to the fighters I've met during the titan stuff. That means we'll not only be fighting fakes of everyone in this world, but also the allies my team met." AJ said.

"Well, that's just perfect…" Ragna groaned.

"I wonder how long you can last until you can get to the end where I am, brother?" Izanami said.

"Well, no going back on this now, we gotta keep moving and smash down whatever this thing throws at us!" Makoto said.

"Yeah." AJ said as they ran on ahead as the Embryo continued to shift and fuse locations with its own original form.

Eventually, the Embryo was able to form a new location which consisted of an ancient Japanese village with spirits roaming about in the background.

"Uh…" Natalie said.

"This place is Scary…" Sena said.

"Look over there." Hyde said as they saw a girl with long black air, black sclera white eyes, in a tattered kimono and holding a naginata as she phased all over the place.

(Cue- Village of Whispers- Killer Instinct)

"(I will devour you)" The girl said right in front of them.

"Oh, snap…" AJ said.

"I've got this." Linne said.

LINNE VS HISAKO

READY….FIGHT!

Linne quickly got her blade and daggers out as she clashed with Hisako's Naginata. The two were then pushed back as Hisako dashed at Linne to try and slash her with the naginata.

"Wolf Howl!" Linne called out as she slashed with her sword in wide arcs from top to bottom as the last hit slammed Hisako onto the ground. "Flying Swallow!" She called out as she jumped and did a spin slash which allowed her to spin towards the ground and slam Hisako onto the ground once more.

Hisako parried the next oncoming strike but Linne was too fast as she activated her Infinite Worth.

"This blade shall Slice the Veil of Night!" Linne said as her sword ignited with yellow light as she spun around landing a few hits before slamming it down on Hisako. "The Diviner!"

ULTRA COMBO!

"You're not soft. If you raise your blade against me, I will not hold back." Linne said.

SUPREME VICTORY!

PERFECT

(End Song)

"C'mon, we gotta keep moving!" Ragna said as the group advanced.

"Hey, you think that there will be other enemies besides just ones like Jago and Hisako?" Natalie said.

"The embryo did copy everything about my memories, so it's a likely theory." AJ said.

"For right now we need to keep moving." Kido said.

(Cue- Gateway- Megaman X8)

The others advanced through the embryo as they saw it was constantly changing, as if trying to replicate everything about the world they were in.

"This place is weird, it's making environments on the fly. It's almost as if Tager was right about it being alive." Natalie said.

"Yeah, we have to stop Izanami and Terumi quickly before it's too late." Hyde said.

"Provided we don't tire out from facing all these copies of enemies first…" AJ said.

The next room they entered was surprising as it had a large gold structure with 8 teleporters glowing different colors on different platforms as there was a door on the other end and the sun shined through the roof above them.

Ragna approached it as he tried to open it but to no avail. "Damn, it's locked."

"Wait, I think I know what we have to do." AJ said. "That door probably leads right to Terumi and Izanami, but its locked. Going through those 8 portals and defeating whoever is behind them might be the only key to unlocking the door. We have to split up."

"Yeah, so eight of us may have to split up while the rest of us wait here." Linne said.

"Kido, Haruto, you guys have to stay here with Ragna and JIn. You need to rest up for the final bosses. We'll take care of the eight doors." AJ said.

"Look at you, taking charge…" Nine said poking his cheeks.

"Will you stop that? Your husbands over there. Jubei, can you do something?" AJ asked.

"Come on, honey. Leave the poor kid alone." Jubei said.

"Oh don't worry, I was only teasing him." Nine said.

"Everyone take a portal and take down whoevers on the other side. We'll meet back up here." AJ said.

"Right." Hyde said as he and the others entered the 8 portals.