Chapter 1
The Gang's Call to Arms
(ギャング！軍隊への召集！の巻)
(or "The AAW's Second Best")

As the battle was about to begin, in Simile City, The Gang was busy performing their number in a concert. However, Silesia-Prussia soldiers, once known as Outerworld Ninjas and U.S. Yagami Slums, tried to invade the territory, stopping the show.

But let us draw the curtain down and relive how The Gang was involved in a universal melding, and how the joined AAW, along with Silesia-Prussia soldiers/moles, Kazuto Iizuka and Hajime Yagi.

It happened, months before Miyazawa and May experienced the fusion worlds and moments after Tohru Honda's deception. At his own winter home, on a snowy day, Percival sent out five invites to his friends and bandmates. His phone call, recently, was with Michelle Nevins, asking for the directory for each Gang member's hometown.

"To my fellow comrades, of The Gang
Tis I, Percival P. Gaynes. I am here to welcome you to an invite to a huge gig, NOT of the music kind. I'll explain later. However, that kind of information is classified, until you join in.
Anyway, I want you to help this matter out, helping the worlds, fixed up. I would've said "fucked up", but, you know me. A guy with a beard stubble that resembled Peter was in my beckon and said that I needed my bros to help out. My other help was currently on assignment, so I had to turn to you guys. Meet me at a place called "Akio-Shimada Inn" in Sakura, and we'll talk it over, on some sushi and snacks.
Best wishes, Percival
P.S. Do NOT leak this information onto the other people. This information is simply for your eyes only. Anybody who leaks the info to outsiders, you're fired!
P.P.S. – Okay, just NOT to the evil ones. Spies are everywhere."

After that, he mailed each invite to his friends and bandmates, The Gang. And so it began…

The first invite was sent to Farra's house, in South Florida. She was cleaning the house, dressed in a blue sweater and jeans. She turned off the vacuum and went to her mailbox. She read Percival's note and said, "Huh? What is that?"

She growled, "Oh, brother… It's bad enough I have me and my sister have to experience weird characters around our home, but the group back together for…"

She blushed, "Oh… Percival is such a sweetie… Remind me to kill him, later…"

Farra Stevens, Percy's wife, is somewhat emotional. She has a very violent temper, when things don't go her way. However, she's the definition of a Tsundere, since her parents died. She has very high cases of switching from good to bad. When news of her friends reuniting, only for a bigger cause, Farra had to meet with her friends, including two boys she had difficulty meeting – Steven Cooke and Peter Giese.

XXXXX

Speaking of which… Meanwhile, in a small apartment in Chicago, Peter was sleeping in his bed. He was sleeping in a huge olive green blanket, lying face-down on a king-sized mattress. He woke up, realizing that he was hungry. As he stepped out, a girl with brown hair and a black sweater appeared, with Percival's note.

"Hey, bro, this letter is for you." Krystle said.

Peter groaned, "Give me five minutes…"

He went to the fridge, as he grabbed a can of Pepsi. He then asked, "Who's it from, Sis?"

Krystle read it and said, "It's from Percival… Some kind of junk mail."

Peter retorted, "Per? What does he want?"

"Oh, now you woke up… Anyway, he said something about a fucked-up world. That explains the sudden arrivals of certain weird robots in the park…"

"Oh? And on January, too…"

"Yeah. Says that you should meet him in Sakura."

Peter snatched the note and said, "WHAT THE WHA? The Akio-Shimada Inn?"

Krystle grumbled, "Snatch-mo…"

He read the note and gasped, "WHOA! Hang on! You mean work with my best friend and girlfriend, and among others?"

Krystle sighed, "Why would you waste your time with your fellow rockers? You're not famous, you know. You just wanted so many gigs…"

Peter dashed off, as he cheered, "DUDE~! Where's my guitar?"

Krystle shouted, "Would it kill you to wear something warm? The weather is about 10 degrees!"

Peter Giese is an energetic man. But sometimes he can be very serious, and is also air-headed. Like Farra, Peter can go from good to mean, and then the other way around. He's very excited about coming to meet his fellow bandmates, including Mizuki Takase, his girlfriend.

XXXXX

At an apartment complex in Tokyo, Mizuki was practicing her cosplay skills, after she got the note from Percival. She finished her Peach pose and said, "Percival wants me to come. It's been months since our last tour, and I was looking forward to Comic Party, in my Card Master Peach attire. I mean, Peter and the others… they'll come."

Mizuki Takase is dubbed the Sexy Girl Next Door, since she has big breasts and long red hair. She's the second smartest member of the group and is often a very ingenious woman, since she's very creative. Of course, she cooks really well, but not too well, like Farra, who cannot cook shit.
She's the latest member of the group, after Steven Cooke, who joined because of his sister.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, Steven Cooke was relaxing in his winter home in Bismarck, North Dakota, having hot chocolate and pastries. He got the invite and snuffed, "Douche…"

He threw the invite out and sighed, "Steven Cooke don't need this, from the SAME guy I hate."

The phone rang. He picked it up and said, "Hello?"

"Did you get the invite, Steven?" Heather, his best friend, asked, via a phone call from Kentucky.

"Oh, that? What is it for? Another Percival Scheme?"

"No. He wants The Gang to be at the Akio-Shimada Inn in Sakura. It's something important… which is pretty sweet. Plus, I cannot breathe a word to my daughters, or anybody."

"Oh, I see. Tell them I'm coming. We'll need a bold leader for this."

"Whatever you say, Epstein. I better call a sitter for Beth and June."

Steven Cooke is dubbed as the leader of The Gang. However, Percival Gaynes is the leader. He's somewhat an arrogant person, out of his taste of fame. However, it is the signal of being a star, in his own way, by being picked on and/or beaten up by his friends, including Heather. Heather Dunn, of course, is one of the original members of The Gang, but is the drummer of the band. Solely, she has a cute disposition, a hot body, and a wild attitude, in case she gets angry.

XXXXX

Steven went outside and saw the huge black van, their all-terrain tour vehicle, drove by. He called, "Hey, homies!"

Farra opened the door and said from inside, "Hey, Douchington."

Steven stepped inside, as all six members were in the van. Steven sat by the window seat, while Percival was sitting in the middle, between Peter, Farra, and Heather, who were in the back. Mizuki was driving.

"So, why are we heading to the Akio-Shimada Inn?" Steven asked.

Percival said, "You'll see. I figured that we all have a get together in an onsen. Of course, work comes before rest. But, scratch and reverse it."

Farra asked, "Darling, is there a particular reason why we are going with you?"

Percival said, "Well, for one thing, it's nice to hang with the bros."

Steven said, "As long as we can get to Sakura."

Percival proclaimed, "Way ahead of you. Mizuki, prepare the hyper jets on this van."

Mizuki flipped the switch and the van started flying off the road, sprouting wings.

"Flight Mode engaged, Percival." She announced.

"What the wha? How'd ya do that?" Steven gasped.

Percival said, "Before our reunion, right now, I had Mizuki and myself install some newer features to the van. This is in case some weird stuff is going on."

They all looked outside, except for Mizuki, who was behind the wheel. It flew off, heading to Sakura.

"WHOA! Friendly skies!" Farra gasped.

XXXXX

They landed at the front of onsen's entrance, as they halted the van.

"Landing successful!" Mizuki said, "Please remain seated until the engine is turned off."

She turned off the ignition and announced, "Relaxation time!"

They rushed off as they went inside, heading into the onsen. Of course, knowing The Gang…

"Why do I always pay for them?" Percival sighed.

After a bath together, they were in blue yutakas, having a meeting together. Percival stated, "Well, now that we have everything under control, and our bodies rejuvenated, allow me to explain what is going on…"

He showed a picture of Chris McLean. He then explained, but Peter interrupted, "Hey, I know him! That's the guy from the Canadian Show, Total Drama! Julie and I heard about it, a lot."

Farra said, "Typical… But I never knew you liked that Reality drivel."

Heather said, "I'm better off with The Bachelorette."

Percival then explained, "Anyway…
This man is Chris McLean, and he is revealed to be the evil mastermind of the whole universal mind fuck. We have reasons to believe that he is located in a huge mansion, from far away. According to Intel, McLean is responsible for the destruction of iHyrule and the Video Game World. Thousands have died, including a few survivors. He is also responsible for hurting a few other innocent people, including an evangelist, Hiram Matthias, and former Resistance leader, Arisa Uotani; both deceased."

He doesn't want to tell that Tohru Honda did it. It was WAY before he mentioned Onigiri to the others.

He continued, "I managed to confront Chris, only to be bested."

Farra cried, "You had all the fun!"

Steven griped, "Why wouldn't you alert us about it, sooner? It's our motto – We do anything!"

Percival said, "Well, I ain't pulling your leg."

He then lied, "I sided with the Resistance, after a skirmish with the McLean interns. However, Uotani died, after she was killed by McLean. I realized that I needed help."

Mizuki responded, "And that's when you summoned us."

Percival said, "Yes."

Mizuki insisted, "We'll be offered to help, as long as it isn't dark and mysterious. If Taishi shows up, however, I'm out."

Peter barked, "Oh, no! NO help means NO Gang! I'll be offered to help, too!"

Percival remarked, "Taishi will not show up. I promise."

The Gang agreed to show up, as Percival declared his mission, "We are going to this address and hunt down Chris McLean. Fighting is not our cup of tea, but we know how to rock."

Farra smiled, "The only fighting we do is at each other."

Peter giggled, "Usually, she starts it off."

She strangled Peter and shouted, "YOU SAY SOMETHING, FAT ASS?"

He strangled back, "BACK OFF, BITCH!"

They started fighting, as Percival groaned, "Compose yourself, or you're not coming!"

Steven sighed, "Now I know how these two are friends…"

Mizuki and Heather grumbled, "They never stop."

The Gang then drove to the huge mansion, or what's left of it, of Chris McLean. This was following Percival's battle with Chris, himself, and was destroyed by Onigiri. The van parked by the rubble, as they stepped out.

Heather gasped, "Oh, my…"

Mizuki said, as she scanned with her iPhone, "Sir, I detect a faded life source inside."

Percival spoke, "I don't get it…"

Steven proclaimed, "ALRIGHT! Let's go!"

He and Peter ran off, as Percival cried, "WAIT! We haven't even done a battle plan!"

Farra walked past him and snuffed, "Please. What's the point, if there's no building standing? The place is possibly deserted."

Mizuki said, "Afraid not, Farra. I detect only one life source. Maybe it's Chris McLean, inside."

Steven barked, "Incidentally, Steven Cooke wants to know! What did Chris do, since he started this whole thing, besides a preacher's death and a Yankee's death?"

Percival sighed, "That's classified."

He gasped, "I mean… It's strictly forbidden to say. One of the members told me not to forward it to any civilians."

Heather smiled, "At least we know mostly about Chris… the murderer."

They approached the rubble and started to climb up. Mizuki pointed at the direction of where the body is. "Over there."

Farra asked, "Should we dig?"

Steven declared, "We'll have to move each concrete piece, until we find him! Or her!"

Farra shouted, "YOU SHITTING ME? I just hand my nails done!"

Heather cried, "Me, neither! I hate digging with bare hands!"

Peter barked, "Ah, don't be party poopers, bras!"

He marched with Steven and Mizuki and called, "We gotta mission to do, and we'll be able to get the job done!"

He and Steven high-fived each other, "AW, YEAH!"

Percival griped, as he placed his hand on his forehead, "I'm beginning to regret this…"

The Gang began digging in the rubble, looking for signs of life. Percival watched on, as they continued to dig. Peter called, "How deep is this mansion? Don't you die, during the heavy pressure of this huge wreckage?"

Mizuki said, "Yes. Our guess is that our mystery man in this mansion is here, inside this building… or what's left of it."

Percival called, "Any luck?"

Steven shouted, "We ain't found shit! It'd be easy if you'd help!"

"I'm supervising! Like I'd soiled my hands at helping you dig, like common moles?"

"Lazy loser!"

"SAYS YOU!"

Farra called, "Hey, guys! I think I found something! You better see this!"

They all huddled around, as they gasped in fear. They found McLean's corpse… dead, rotted, and mutilated.

Steven gasped, "No way…"

Peter cried, "Aw, dude! SICK!"

Mizuki scanned, as Farra replied, "He looked familiar."

"He sure does, Farra," Mizuki responded, "That guy is indeed Chris McLean."

"WHAT?" They all cried.

Heather gagged, "I'm gonna be sick…"

Steven cringed, "No way… That corpse is the man we're after?"

Percival growled, "Damn…"

He then thought, "But if… if Chris already died… then… then who did it? No… It just cannot be her… Can it?"

Steven snapped, "This is a waste of time! We hunt down Chris McLean, but we end up with the same perp… But, lo and behold, Steven Cooke gets zilch!"

Farra remarked, "Too bad. He died, already. And here we thought that the worlds are back to normal… but they ain't doing so."

Steven sighed, "Well, I think maybe that someone stole the power, after assassinating him. I've heard reports of the Hellish Woodland Critters, being slaughtered by a hunter."

Percival gasped, "Steven! What did you say?"

Steven said, "Well, I heard it on the news. A female hunter shot down these bad creatures. I was gonna head down there and offer advice, but they were already dead, when I got there."

Heather shrieked, "You didn't get peed on, didn't you?"

Steven cried, "Weren't you listening? Steven Cooke saw them dead, already!"

Percival pondered, "Hmm… Looks like I'll need some extra help on this."

He stated, "Whatever the reason, we should pick this body up and take it to a morgue. Besides, we can always take it to the boys in the lab, any day."

Steven snapped, "Oh, no! Steven Cooke isn't picking up a dead body!"

Heather shouted, "Me, neither!"

A girl called, "Perhaps I can help."

Two figures appeared and pointed a gun at them. The girl with short hair and glasses called, "You six! What are you doing in AAW territory?"

Percival explained, "Sorry. Our friends and I were hunting down Chris McLean, but we ended up empty handed."

A boy with spiky hair said, "We were wondering, too. This mansion was Chris's. But we never expected to have a dead body here."

Mizuki bowed, "Forgive us. We had the order to come here."

The girl snuffed, "By who?"

The others pointed at Percival, "HIM!"

The boy whispered, "What should we do?"

Percival sighed, "Don't worry. I can handle this."

XXXXX

SLAM!
Handle it, indeed. The Gang was in AAW HQ… in jail. Percival wasn't in the cell.

Heather mocked, "I can handle this… Asshole!"

Farra groaned, "Why isn't Percival in this cell?"

Steven griped, "THIS SUCKS! Steven Cooke helps out, but Douchebag Percival ditched us!"

Heather cried, "I WANNA GO HOME!"

Peter snoozed, as Mizuki held him. She replied, "How long do you think Percival will bail us out? I know this may offend our career, but it seems unfair."

Farra groaned, "Arrested for interfering in AAW business. That's bullshit!"

Steven yelled, "Double bullshit!"

Peter snapped, as he woke up, "STOP SHOUTIN', I'm nappin'!"

Mizuki sighed, as he fell asleep again, "This is falling apart."

Farra sighed, "How long before he can get us out?"

Meanwhile, at the main office, Percival was in the presence of the AAW's boss. She was a small girl with long dark brown hair and a purple uniform and skirt. She turned to him, on her chair, wearing her captain's hat and glared at him.

"Who the hell are you?" She spoke, "What gives you the right to interfere in AAW Business?"

Percival bowed and said, "Miss, my name is Percival Gaynes. I am a member of the Feral Beauty Investigators. F.B.I.."

He showed his badge and paperwork and said, "As you can see, I was hired by my superiors from the government to hunt down Chris McLean, but it seems someone beat us to it."

The girl huffed, as she thought, "So… He's legit."

She barked, "But that still doesn't make you interfere in Old Man and Hajime's business! This is AAW Business, and we do our part to help out!"

She whined, "Wah! Chris McLean is dead? Aw, man! Now the missions are done forever! But I cannot understand why this is still going on!"

He stated, "Ma'am, if I may have a proposition for you, I'm sure we can end this nightmare. I think I know who killed Chris… You see, I was investigating him, during my hunt for a Cocky Link. I am sure that you're aware of the Destruction of the Video Game World. It was caused by a figure named Onigiri."

She replied, "Not that I know of, but I have been searching for this mysterious girl. However, the clue I heard of is that she the Mythical Kaibara High School's Onigiri. She's just a myth."

Percival thought, "Tohru's no myth."

He then responded, "AHEM! Well, be that as it may, I was wondering if you'd help us out. While Chris McLean has been detained, dead, we shall move on to fixing these alternate worlds."

"Indeed we shall. As for your friends, I think they only came to meddle."

"They weren't. They're my bandmates… one of them is my wife."

Kazuto replied, "Now that you mention it, they do seem familiar."

The girl responded, "Well, yeah. Sadly, I do not like them, meddling in my affairs!"

Percival replied, "That's not true. Our motto with us is We Do Anything! However, that rule applies in the comedic world. So…"

The girl thought and said, "Hmm… Just let me think about it…"

She responded, "Oh, alright! Old Man, free The Gang! Hajime, you help!"

They left, as Percival smiled, "Thank you for your help, young lady."

The girl barked, "I have a name! It's Kanaka Nanase, leader of AAW – Alliance Across the World! And besides, I can't say NO to good people on the good side; especially government agents!"

Percival shook her hand and said, "Now, since we agree to help, our talk and my identity are to remain classified. Now, about our proposition…"

At the jail cells, Kazuto and Hajime opened the doors. Hajime said, "You five are free to go. Miss Kanaka has pardoned you."

Farra barked, "About fucking time!"

Peter woke up and yawned, "What happened?"

Steven giggled, "I knew Percival would help us."

Farra asked, "And what makes you think he won't?"

Hajime barked, "No more roughhousing! Kanaka wishes to see you!"

They all gulped, as they went to her office.

XXXXX

Kanaka saw the Gang, in full, as she thought, "Hmm, seems to me that The Gang is in full force. I never knew they existed already."

She asked, as they were in attention, "What brought you here, just to meddle with AAW business?"

Percival said, "Like I said…"

Steven stated, "Sorry. But Percival gave us the okay to give us a mission. Surely, you've heard of Chris McLean."

Peter pouted, "Now I'll never see Season 6!"

Kanaka barked, "Don't call me Shirley! It's Kanaka! And also, I am aware that Chris McLean is bad news. Besides, Hajime and the Old Man were looking for McLean, also. Sadly, you guys came, before us, and found the whereabouts of that scumbag."

Farra smirked, "I found it first, and then called to the guys. I think I deserve cred-!"

Kanaka shouted, "SHUT UP!"

Farra gasped, as Heather bowed, "Forgive her behavior! She's just upset today!"

Mizuki stated, "Percival told us about what transpired in-."

Kanaka said, "I heard. And after Chris died, his castle crumbled down. No one knows how, but it seemed that he died in the wreckage. However, the autopsy showed that he was already bludgeoned and smashed like a watermelon."

Percival said, "That is why I wanted help. Uotani died, after her involvement with McLean. My friend told me to traverse alone, so I'll lose. That's when I decided that The Gang will help out. United, we can beat anybody."

Steven said, "You never said that."

Percival smirked, "I saved the real reasons for later."

Kanaka inquired, "So, you're saying that you, the six bandmates of rock and roll, and easy to play Across the Universe, want to stop the madness and chaos that is happening?"

She laughed, "Are you kidding me? You six can't even fight well, at your condition!"

Mizuki snuffed, "Is she making fun of us?"

Steven nodded, "She definitely is."

Percival exclaimed, "Give them a chance. Maybe they'll be useful."

Kanaka nodded, "Smart thinking. I suppose one mission would be useful. In fact, I think I have the perfect job for you, if you're up for it."

The Gang agreed, as Kanaka gave them their first mission.

To be continued…

In the next chapter, The Gang recalls their very first mission with the AAW – a bank heist.