Lighters

by Fezzgator

Out on a job for the mayor, Michiru is pulled away from her world and dumped in one that, at least on the surface, is paradise. Along with a cranky chimera who hates monsters, a girl who barely talks and a group of misfits displaced from across time and space Michiru will try to find her place. Plus crossovers with Slayers!, Xenogears, Final Fantasy 6, Escaflowne and more!

3. Chapter 3

Just a few short hours ago, if Michiru had found herself in the back of a police car, she would have thought herself in a desperate situation. Outside of Anima City, beastmen carried away by the police often found themselves getting beaten for nothing more than tripping while walking down the street. In the worst cases, you could be left to the mercy of beastman hunters, who often took more…extreme measures.

The police of Anima City itself were notably less ruthless to beastmen, being beastmen themselves. Nonetheless, the city still had a healthy underworld and crossing the wrong cop could mean getting sold off out of the city if you weren't careful. It had been just such a ring that Michiru had been off to help break up before her…relocation.

Now, instead of finding herself concerned, Michiru was just annoyed. After Sanada-san's heartfelt admission of guilt and Zelgadis' subsequent explosion at him, they had been paraded out to waiting police who were going to take them to the station for processing. Michiru hoped that just meant paperwork and nothing more sinister. More than anything though, she wished Xellos would just shut the hell up.

Almost from the moment they were seated in the vehicle, Xellos had peppered Michiru with questions, mostly about the world around them. When Michiru pointed out that she wasn't from this world, he had been quick remind her that she had said that she had come from one that was similar. Michiru had just got done trying to explain the concept of the internet to the odd chatty man, the subject having been brought on when Michiru had foolishly pulled out her phone to see if she had a connection, which sadly, she didn't. With the explanation done, the odd purple-haired man turned his attention to their vehicle. "Kagemori-san?" Xellos asked, smiling right at her and completely ignoring the irritated look on her face.

"Yes, what is it now, Metallium-san?" Michiru grated out, almost in a growl.

"Oh my, no need to be so formal with me, Kagemori-san! Please, just call me Xellos!" the odd man beamed. If the caped fellow lighter was bothered by their shared predicament, you'd never know to look at him. That fact was annoying the hell out of Michiru. It was almost like every word and every movement Xellos engaged in was calculated to piss someone off.

Michiru looked skeptical at the request, annoyed this weirdo she had just met would even ask such a familiar question. Why did she get stuck with him again? Oh right, Zelgadis would have been arrested for murder if he and Xellos were together and she may have killed Zelgadis if they had ridden together.

After a moment's pause, Michiru relented "Fine, fine, I'll call you Xellos if you want, but-" pointing a finger at the odd man "I'm still Kagemori-san, got it?"

Holding his hands up in mock defense, Xellos replied "Oh, of course Kagemori-san! I would never dream of being so informal with you should you not wish it!" Putting his hands down he continued "Now, I'm curious about this vehicle."

"It's called a car" Michiru interjected.

"Oh, yes, this car." Xellos looked about as if searching for something before settling on Michiru again "How does it run exactly? I can already tell magic isn't used. Is it that electricity thing you explained earlier?"

Michiru grumbled as she sat back against her seat, looking up at the car's ceiling, trying to think. "I'm not a mechanic or anything, you know, but no, the car doesn't run on electricity. Well, a lot of the stuff on the inside does but…its complicated." The tanuki girl began scratching the back of her head "but the car moves because it burns gas and the energy released is what moves it!" Michiru proudly exclaimed, quite pleased she was able to remember even that much.

It was at that point that the officer driving in the front seat, piped up, a bemused smirk on his face "Actually, ma'am, nowadays, most cars are electric! You have to pay a pretty penny to get your hands on one of those antique internal combustion cars!"

That took the wind right out of Michiru's sails, her whole being seeming to deflate as she muttered something about stupid alternate realities. Just as quickly though, her attention was drawn to the fact that having spoken, the cop had opened himself up to interrogation. No sooner had the officer stopped speaking did Xellos' attention fell squarely on him. "Oh really! It sounds like you can do almost anything with this marvelous electricity! Please, could you tell me…"

Grateful for the reprieve, Michiru began to toon out her extremely curious fellow lighter as she turned to stare out the window. This wasn't exactly what she had pictured was going to happen when Sanada-san had bowed almost comically low and professed his guilt at effectively kidnapping them. She had been shocked, of course, but Zelgadis had been livid. He'd pulled his sword on the spot and demanded to know what Sanada-san had meant by taking responsibility. She and Emeralda had to hold the rock-encrusted man back as Sanada-san kept his head low, almost encouraging a decapitation.

Michiru sighed at the memory, so fresh in her mind. She had had to yell at Sanada-san to raise his damn head and explain himself before she let Zelgadis go. Apparently having had enough of the verbal punishment being hurled at him from the restrained swordsmen, he did finally raise. He explained that in this world, over three quarters of the population was born with some sort of superpower, referred to as quirks. He further said that his had been stolen over a decade ago and had been used to bring people here ever since.

That had calmed Zelgadis down quite a bit, knowing the man before them had not directly caused this whole mess. Xellos had chimed in at that point to ask if he knew who had stolen his quirk. Sanada-san did but had declined to say who, appearing to not want to remember the event.

Michiru glanced back over at Xellos, still chatting up the cop before looking back out the window. This city looked so clean, so peaceful. Nothing like the rough and tumble streets of Anima City. It was so much like she remembered home was like before her change. Yet, as she saw people passing on the sidewalk as they sat at a light, it was striking how different everyone seemed to each other.

Everything from people with animal traits such as tails, wings or fur to one guy whose head looked like a round bubble of water. She watched as a mother and three children who looked like they were made of legos wait at the crosswalk. As interdimensional kidnappings went, Michiru supposed she could have ended up in a worse place. But it was a kidnapping. Michiru didn't want to be here, no matter how much she may fit in. Seeing the family pass almost made Michiru remember that her parents were finally going to come visit her soon…

Shaking her head to clear her head of thinking any more on the implications of her situation, Michiru then turned her attention back to her companions. The officer was in the middle of telling Xellos all about the command structure of the police. Michiru rolled her eyes as her mind became increasing filled with that must childhood of questions "Are…are we there yet?"

(X)

The answer, mercifully, was almost. Only a few minutes later the convoy of lighters arrived at Musutafu police headquarters. Glad to finally be out of that car with Xellos, Michiru stood up and looked over at the other car carrying Emeralda and Zelgadis. Noting that the latter had put his hood up, Michiru saw the distant look on the green-haired girl's face and moved to speak to her "That jackass wasn't mean on the way over, was he?' Michiru asked, catching Emeralda off guard.

Zelgadis' expression soured but didn't say anything as Jun signaled for them to start walking into the large if bland looking building. As they began walking Emeralda spoke, trying hard to keep her tone even "No, Kagemori-san. In fact, he said nothing. He kept starring out the window, looking at everything, like it was all new to him. I think…I think he comes from a world very different than mine or yours."

That was easily the most Emeralda had said all at once since they had met and Michiru was a bit surprised. It must have showed on her face because Emeralda blushed and turned away "I'm sorry, it isn't Emeralda's place to say."

There was that apologizing again. Moving to ease the other girl, Michiru quickly responded "No, no! Your probably right! It's a lot to take in, after all! It's probably pretty weird for you too, huh?"

Noting that this animal girl was almost exactly the same height as her for the first time, Emeralda caught the concern in Michiru's eyes. Emeralda's chest tightened as she struggled with how to answer that question. This situation was weird, terrifying even, but the last thing she wanted to do was tell Michiru that. And here was someone in the same situation as her trying to cheer her up and she couldn't bring herself to respond. It made Emeralda feel even worse as the other girl starred back at her, waiting for a response. Finally, Emeralda turned away again from Michiru's gaze, instead focusing on the doors they were quicky approaching and managed to say "Emeralda is ok. Thank you for asking, Kagemori-san."

If what Emeralda had said back at the mall about using the third person when she was nervous was true, Michiru knew the other girl's response was likely a lie. Still, there wasn't time to follow up as Detective Naomasa and Jun ushered the four of them into the building.

The group entered the reception room, a fairly small space only ten by twenty feet. Chairs lined one wall lengthwise with a few people sitting in them. The opposite wall had a door and a window beside it where a receptionist could be seen sitting on the other side of. As the group reached the door to the interior, which had an officer standing beside it, Jun turned to face the lighters. Addressing Zelgadis and Xellos specifically, Jun said "Before we proceed, I'm sorry but for the time being, we're going to need to hold your weapons."

Zelgadis looked aghast at the suggestion as the officer moved to accept Xellos' staff, which was offered with no fanfare. The rock-covered man wasn't going without more of a fight though, clutching his sword hanging from his waist "You're going to have to explain why you want us disarmed before I just hand you my sword" he growled.

Unfazed by Zelgadis' provocations, Jun calmly responded "We're about to enter the central hub where various villains are being processed, Greywards-san. They cannot, as a matter of policy, have armed individuals roaming about giving people the chance to take your weapon in an attempt to escape. Your sword will be returned to you once we leave. It's not like you are defenseless without it, correct?"

The aggrieved look on Zelgadis' face didn't change but he did begin to unbuckle his sheath from his belt. Glaring at Jun, the sword was offered to the waiting officer, who bowed slightly upon receiving the sword and darting into a door after pressing a keycard on a pad beside it.

With the weapons issue taken care of, Jun addressed the group once again "Thank you, Greywards-san. It seems that sword is important to you so we'll take great care with it. Now, if you're going to live here, we're going to need to know who you are, your powers and the like. Every citizen of this nation has such records so please, don't feel you are being singled out, though your special circumstances will require some extra detail."

The explanation was received with nods from Emeralda and Michiru, the latter of which had become familiar with IDs and paperwork with her time in Anima City. Xellos continued to take everything in stride, also agreeing but once again, Zelgadis proved to be the thorn. His arms crossed and eyes narrowed, he'd spent a good part of the last few years of his life wondering the world and didn't much like the idea of being registered, leading him to ask, "What if we don't want to be 'on record?' What's keeping me from flying off right now and looking for my own way home?"

This had come up a few times over the years from previous lighters, so Jun wasn't exactly surprised by the question. Still, it could be tricky answering as respectfully as possible without being condescending. Bowing, Jun tried to strike just such a balance "That is a fair question and I'm sorry to have to ask it of you. You have to understand though, this isn't your world, here there are many with powers that can be very dangerous to public safety, so we need to have an idea of what people of capable of. Besides, this is a huge country, just to keep everything running smoothly, we need to know where everyone is to better serve them. This isn't some wild frontier, wondering off without doing this will mean you'll have a much harder time getting by anywhere you go. If seeking a way home is what you want, you can only do that with our help because here, taking things into your own hands will get you right back in this building as a prisoner, not a guest. On the other hand, registering allows you the option to pursue any life you wish, should you work toward it. Even though we haven't found a way home for lighters yet, it doesn't mean we aren't trying. In fact, there are other lighters doing just that."

Over the course of Jun's explanation, Zelgadis' expression softened, until the last part, which brought a questioning raised eyebrow from the blue-skinned man "So you would let us look for a way home then?"

It took a fair degree of self-control from the former hero not to smile at the question, managing to keep a straight face as he answered "Absolutely, in time. If that is what you want to do, you'll have to go through the same training as anyone else. Know our laws, demonstrate control of your powers. Work with others. If you can do all of that, then yes, you will have the chance to search for a way home."

Zelgadis couldn't help but feel like something was missing from that explanation, but he couldn't deny a sense of hope as he got his answer. Turning to glance at the other three, he could see they looked very excited, even the stoic Emeralda. "Alright then, let's get this started" he finally said, unfolding his arms.

Jun nodded and Detective Naomasa opened the door, motioning for them to enter. It led into a corridor with adjoining rooms on either side that ran for about twenty feet before they reached another door. Coming up behind the four lighters, Jun began to open the next door as he said "We'll start the process through here. It's a bit busy in there so please stick close to the detective and myself."

The four entered and instead of another cramped space the narrow corridor implied, they were greeted by a massive room, the interior of which was quite the sight for any new to this world. The main hall the group had been ushered into was huge, with what seemed like an endless number of desks, each with its own computer. To Zelgadis and Xellos it was another sight that hammered home just how different this new world was from their own.

The place was bustling as uniformed officers did their work. Some on the phone, others typing away in front of their screens while still others passed with detained villains headed to one of the many adjoining rooms that lined either side of great space that would do the halls of the greatest kings shame. With everything going on and the eclectic nature of the people moving about, the group of lighters didn't really stand out much. Everyone was used to the often colorful and outlandish clothing worn by heroes and villains so two caped individuals didn't even register among the many people in the room. This didn't stop Zelgadis from keeping his hood up, his hands held tightly to it, trying to keep his head hidden as much as possible. All the while he kept muttering about people starring at him as the group walked.

Michiru gave the hooded blue man a side eye, almost embarrassed to be seen beside him with the way he was acting. After a few moments of this she finally muttered at him "Seriously? If anyone is starring it's because of the way you're acting. You don't look any stranger than anyone else, in case you hadn't noticed."

This brought the hooded man up, stopping entirely and starred at Michiru's back as the rest kept walking. After a few paces, everyone else stopped and turned back to their blue-skinned companion. Zelgadis was looking around at the people moving about as if seeing them for the first time. When one officer passed by, whose head looked like it was as much broccoli as anything else and gave him a courteous nod as she passed, Zelgadis simply starred at her, dumbstruck.

Snapping out of it, Zelgadis caught the smug look on the tanuki girl's face when their eyes met. He looked away and sighed, saying nothing. After another moment, Jun inquired "Are you ok, Greywards-san?"

Quickly snapping out an answer, Zelgadis said "Yes, I'm fine" and started walking, his hood still up, but no longer clutching it with his hands. Jun looked a bit concerned but nodded as he turned to continue leading the group.

Finally reaching their destination, a room on the left side of the main one, about midway through. Once they got to the door, Jun again turned to address the group. As he was about to open his mouth, though, a faint buzzing could be heard from his pocket. Jun was tempted to ignore it but he was expecting to hear from Hitomi or Nezu. Turning to Detective Naomasa, the former hero looked apologetic as he stepped aside and pulled his phone out, walking some distance away. Not missing a beat, Naomasa stepped into his place and began speaking "Now we'll need to get photos of each of you, both for our records and for your IDs. Does everyone know what a camera is?"

Naomasa inwardly sighed when only two hands went up, Michiru and Emeralda. Having become part of the Lighters program as part of the wider investigation into All-For-One, the detective had come to learn not to take many things for granted. He had certainly learned to keep expectations low whenever a new lighter appeared but it could still be jarring to have things so common be unknown to these poor souls.

Glancing over to see Jun engaged in conversation on his phone, looking more than alittle distressed, Naomasa knew he was on his own for this one. Usually, Jun or Hitomi would handle introducing new lighters to this world and he would keep off to the side, getting a read on the new arrivals and assisting where needed. Now it seemed it was up to him to handle things directly and though he was qualified, this wasn't exactly something Naomasa had a lot of expertise with. With four sets of eyes watching him, expecting him to follow up he straightened up and smiled as he opened the door and motioned for the four lighters to enter as he spoke "Well then, let me explain what a camera is..."

(X)

"What do you mean their rooms aren't ready yet?" Jun icily spoke into his phone.

"I am sorry Luminaire-san, I've tried to get a hold of our contractor, but they are out of the office for the rest of the day. If it had been just one new arrival, I could have worked something out but on such short notice, it's going to be another day." Nezu calmly explained on the other end of the line.

Taking a moment calm down and breath deeply, Jun responded much more evenly "What else can we do? Without the dorms, what else is there? We can't very well make them sleep here. What about a hotel for the night?"

"You know just as well as I do Luminaire-san that the commission wouldn't like that idea very much at all." Jun clinched his open hand as Nezu continued "You are free to ask, of course, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. They will likely see police headquarters as a much more secure location."

It was everything Jun could do just to keep his fury in check at this turn of events. Nothing upset him more than his own failure to do something, whether he had any control over it or not. After not getting a response and guessing why, Nezu decided to change the subject slightly, gently asking "How are your other two students?"

Like a switch had flipped, Jun's attention and mood swung right back into focus at the question "Oh, yes, I've been texting with Kanzaki-san. Recovery Girl was there to greet them so Kusakabe-san will make a full recovery after some rest."

"And what of Brandford-san?" Nezu asked.

Jun's face crunched up in pain as he answered "They say they can't find anything wrong with her. Recovery Girl thinks, hopes really, that its exhaustion. We won't know anything more until she wakes up."

"Don't worry, Luminaire-san, she'll be fine, I'm sure. She is in the best hands. Call the commission and tend to your new charges. I'll see if there is anything I can do to speed up getting their rooms ready. Take care." Nezu replied, his tone carrying more authority than was his norm.

Jun frowned, annoyed he would have to rely on the detective for a bit longer. Scrolling through his phone, Jun found the number for the president of the Hero Public Safety Commission. Before dialing, the silver-haired former hero looked for and found an empty interrogation room. This wasn't going to be easy.

(X)

After a lengthy and awkward explanation on what a camera was, made worse by constant interruptions from Xellos seeking clarification, Naomasa was ready to move on to actually taking everyone's photos. The room itself was a stark white, rectangular in shape and only about half as big as the reception room they had first entered from earlier. A small digital camera was set up on a tripod on one end and the opposite wall featured a wall length panel with markings for height on it. A large black X marked the spot on the floor where the subject should stand.

After moving behind the camera, Naomasa motioned for one of them to step forward to the large 'X' on the floor. Zelgadis, Xellos and Emeralda didn't move, none wanting to be the first. Michiru rolled her eyes as she started over to the marking on the floor, making a show of it to try and relieve the others fears with a confident stride. As she reached it and turned to the camera, Naomasa spoke up again "Oh, I meant to ask sooner, do any of you have any other forms? We'll need photos of them as well."

Zelgadis looked very annoyed at the question but shook his head. He raised an eyebrow however when Xellos cheerily volunteered "Not anymore!" Emeralda also shook her head in the negative.

Michiru though lost the confidence that she had tried to display just a moment eariler, shrinking a bit as she spoke up "Yeah, I do have a human form." As she glanced back at the others, Michiru noticed that Zelgadis' lips perched, and his eyes widened. Was he angry? Then again, when hadn't he been angry since she met him? Michiru decided there was no sense wasting time on it, since she had a question of her own and asked, "Why do you ask, Detective? Is it a common thing for people here to have more than one form?

His head bent to look through the camera's screen, Naomasa casually answered "It's not exactly common but morphing quirks do exist. Plus a few other lighters have other forms."

"Huh, well I guess we'll see the others for ourselves then, won't we? Detective, do you want this form or my human form first?" Michiru answered, noting the daggers still being leveled at her from Zelgadis.

"Oh, it doesn't matter, Kagemori-san, whichever. Oh, and you can smile if you want, this isn't exactly a mug shot." Naomasa answered, giving a thumbs up and immediately wondering if that gesture had the same meaning for him as it did them.

Michiru wasn't sure there was much to smile about in this situation but if it'll help the others... Michiru nodded to the detective and tried to put as genuine a smile as she could muster as the camera flashed. No sooner had the shot been taken did Michiru start to feel very self-conscious, and she wasn't sure why. Why should it matter if these people see her in human or beastman form? They didn't even have beastmen here after all. Realizing the detective was patiently waiting for her, Michiru blushed and said sheepishly "Sorry, just a second." With a flurry of small flashes of light, Michiru again returned to her birth form, feeling all the more exposed for it.

The smile that adorned Michiru's face this time was much more forced and disappeared the moment the photo was taken. Not a moment after, Michiru shifted back to her tanuki form and stepped away from the X, suddenly not willing to look anyone else in the eye. She could tell Zelgadis was still starring at her as she took the spot Emeralda vacated, the greenette moving to be photographed next. Leaning against the wall, arms crossed, the tanuki girl kept herself focused on an especially interesting spot on the ground.

After Emeralda's turn, the other two followed suit. It took some convincing from the detective to get Zelgadis to pull his hood down plus some passive aggressive prodding from Xellos. The purple-haired man had invoked several names that finally seemed to get the blue-skinned sorcerer to finally expose his head. Michiru wondered despite herself if Lina, Gourry and Amelia were his friends or family. Xellos' photo went quietly, much as Emeralda's had, and the detective announced they were heading to another room to do paperwork. Joy.

(X)

"Sanada-san, your request is completely out of the question." Came a professional, if slightly strained voice over Jun's phone.

After exchanging pleasantries and reporting the latest to the head of arguably the most powerful governmental body in the country, Jun had made his pitch to find appropriate lodging for the four new lighters. Hearing his request denied, Jun couldn't help but wonder if he would have been more successful if Hitomi had been making it with him. Still, he wasn't ready to give up. "President, we could bring heroes in to guard them. I'm sure we could-"

"Sanada-san, that is quite enough. I see no reason to go to such lengths to build a security infrastructure for one night when we already have it there at the station. It's a waste of resources, frankly. I realize it's not the best situation but you, yourself said their dorms should be ready tomorrow, correct? It's one night, it isn't going to kill them." The voice finished, a hint of frustration starting to crack through at the end.

Knowing that exploding at the committee president would be…less than productive, Jun held back the simmering anger he was feeling, mostly at himself. She had a point, it was a lot to ask. Even if the these had been regular victims instead of interdimensional refugees it would have been a lot to ask. "Yes, Ma'am, I understand. Please forgive my unreasonable request." Jun managed to answer, as contritely as his could.

"There is one more thing, Sanada-san." The president responded, not even bothering to thank the former hero.

This didn't go unnoticed as Jun cautiously responded "Yes, what is it, Madam President?"

"It's regarding one of your students, Branford-san. Given the events at the mall, we are rescinding her provisional hero license." The president calmly stated.

Again, a reasonable decision given Terra's sudden turn as a berserker. And yet, it pulled at Jun's sense of justice and his feeling of responsibility toward the lighters that Terra would have something she worked so hard to earn suddenly pulled away from her through no fault of her own.

The swirl of emotions within Jun almost pushed to the surface in those few moments after the president spoke. It would have been so easy to rail at the injustice of it, to scream that this was madness. But that wouldn't do Terra any good. Instead, swallowing the ball of emotion, Jun said the only thing that could help his student "Yes, president, given the circumstances, that is best. She will be devastated to hear it, of course."

"I am heartened to hear you say that Sanada-san. In the end, she is lucky she isn't being placed in custody, such an option was on the table but considering your track record thus far, we are trusting you." The president responded, a touch of appreciation in her voice.

Did that mean…"President, are you offering…"

"Yes, assuming she is herself when she awakens, she can re-apply if it can be proved whatever her outburst was, was the result of outside forces and that she can control herself." Responded the president.

That was unexpected, honestly. The commission was quite conservative, especially when protecting the image of itself and the hero society it upheld. It was entirely possible they were just as concerned about the implications behind the size of this latest lighter incident as he and Naomasa were. Still, it was more than he could have hoped for just a few moments ago. "Thank you, president, on behalf of Branford-san, it is greatly appreciated. I'll submit my full report on the latest arrivals once the interviews and evaluations are complete."

"I eagerly await your report, Sanada-san. Good luck." With that, the call ended, Jun not given the opportunity to reply, as was the president's way, never time for pleasantries. Checking his phone revealed a text from Nezu apologizing for not getting any further.

Sighing, the former hero realized Naomasa would have to be done with photos and was now having them handle their new arrival paperwork. Well, he'd already missed that much, what was a little more? Scrolling down, Jun pressed dial to call Hitomi, inwardly apologizing to his detective friend and thanking him for holding down the fort.

(X)

With photos taken and the camera's memory card handed off to an officer, Naomasa lead the four lighters a few doors down from the previous room. This door opened to a corridor connecting to several more rooms. After passing one set of doors, the detective led them through a door on the left into yet another featureless white room save for the wall length mirror that ran from the ceiling to waist height. There was a table at the center with four chairs and four stacks of paper. The others may not have realized where they were, but Michiru knew right away and turned back to Naomasa with a concerned look on her face as she said, "Detective, what are we doing here? Why are we in an interrogation room?"

The other three turned to look at the detective as well. Zelgadis asked, more forcefully than he intended, what was on the other's minds, "Did she say interrogation room? What the hell is the meaning of this, Detective?"

Naomasa raised his hands up defensively "Its ok, we're only here for privacy! It isn't common knowledge that you all are from other worlds, and we'd like to keep it that way."

Zelgadis relaxed his stance at hearing the detective's answer but in answering, another came to the forefront, voiced this time by Xellos "And just why is it kept a secret, if I may ask, detective?" Zelgadis couldn't help but roll his eyes at the irony of the secretive purple-haired man asking that question.

Naomasa took a moment to consider his answer. Settling on his response the detective said "The world saw a long period of strife and chaos when quirks first appeared and it took a lot of work to bring the relative peace you've witnessed on your trip over here. Introducing the reality that we are but one of many worlds where even magic is possible may well plunge us back into chaos. That is something the man who is responsible for all this may well be counting on to take advantage of, so please understand our want to keep this as quiet as possible."

Xellos' eyes crept open when the detective suggested he knew who was responsible for their kidnapping, the smile on his face disappearing as he replied "Oh? So you do know who did this? Sanada-san was less forthcoming, taking the blame himself and only saying his quirk was stolen."

Moving over to the table and picking up the stacks of paper, Naomasa didn't notice Xellos' change as he said "Oh yes, we've known since the beginning, its finding him that's the hard part. He was the leading figure in the underworld for a very long time, known as All-For-One."

When Naomasa turned to hand a stack to each person, Xellos' smile had returned and when he got his, Xellos cheerily responded "Oh really! How fascinating…Oh, I should probably point out Kagemori-san is the only one of us who can actually read your written language."

Naomasa's shoulders sunk as his eyes widened in realization "Oh, of course. I suppose I should have known, my apologies." Looking over at Michiru, who titled her head wondering what was going through the detective's head, Naomasa settled on a plan. "Kagemori-san, it seems you'll be the only one to fill out your own form, just ask if you've got any questions." The tanuki girl nodded as Naomasa moved to sit at the desk.

Setting the three stacks beside each other, the increasingly beleaguered detective looked up at the other three as Michiru sat across from him "I'll just have to ask you three each question and I'll have to fill them out for you. The questions aren't exactly private, so I hope you three don't mind?"

Xellos agreed immediately but Zelgadis and Emeralda were much less reluctant to give their ascent.

Michiru had been scanning over the forms and thought they looked pretty harmless to her. Seeing her two companion's apprehension, she spoke up "I haven't read everything but from what I've seen, they just want to know some basic stuff. You know, where you're from, your powers. I think it should be ok!" Flashing a thumbs up with far more enthusiasm and confidence than her words conveyed.

Zelgadis looked more annoyed than convinced but finally nodded. Emeralda continued to look very concerned but the building pressure she felt from everyone's eyes on her combined with the stress caused her to slowly nod as well.

"Wonderful!" the detective exclaimed, glad to be moving again "I have no idea how your names are written so for now I'm going to take my best guess and we'll adjust later, sound good?"

"What does that even mean? How can you not know how a name is written?" Zelgadis blurted out. Before Naomasa could begin to explain, though, the blue-skinned young man thought better of his question, cutting the detective off with a wave "Never mind…I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Go ahead with your questions when you're ready."

After taking a moment to fill out each lighter's name at the top of the three forms, Naomasa was ready. "Ok, I'm going to ask a question and I want each of you in turn to answer. Let's start simple, how old are each of you?"

"Twenty one" Zelgadis answered.

"Oh, I stopped counting after a thousand!" Xellos cheerily added.

Everyone but Zelgadis starred at the purple-haired man, including Michiru, who had stopping filling out her own form, frozen mid-writing.

Seeing confused and/or shocked looks, Xellos added "What? I use great moisturizer!"

"Right…" Naomasa drawled as he turned his attention to the last to be questioned, the pensive Emeralda. "How about yourself Kasim-san?"

It was a simple question, one the greenette knew was coming, and yet she hesitated, avoiding eye contact with the detective. Her wondering eyes settled on Michiru, who once again looked up to see why things had gone quiet. Finally, Emeralda firmly said "Eighteen. I'm eighteen." It almost sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as anyone else in the room. An uneasy silence filled the room when it became clear that was all she was going to say.

"Ok, then, on to the next question then!" Naomasa blurted out trying to ease the tension. "Do you have family and if so who and how many?"

"Why does that matter, they're not here, now are they?" Zelgadis snapped.

"Oh, well it helps us to try and build a profile of lighters as a whole to see if there are any patterns that might help explain why each of you were taken." Naomasa answered as though it was the most logical thing in the world.

That did actually make sense, but Zelgadis didn't have to like it. Sighing when no one else spoke up he figured he was going to be first in line going forward "I had parents, but they died in an accident a long time ago. I had a Great Grandfather as well but…" as he paused, Zelgadis' fists clenched, and his features knotted up "…well he got what was coming to him. He's gone too."

Naomasa's features softened as he replied, writing down Zelgadis' answer "I'm very sorry to hear it Greywards-san."

Zelgadis waved him off and said, "Don't be, I wouldn't want them to see me as I am now anyway."

"Does that mean your parents didn't have similar features to you then?" Naomasa couldn't help but ask, his investigator's curiosity getting the better of him.

His eyes narrowing, Zelgadis coolly answered "No one shares my 'features' detective."

Trying to ignore the shift in tone, Naomasa attempted to move on by saying, "Well, that's getting ahead of ourselves anyway, we'll save that for later. How about yourself, Metallium-san?"

Xellos seemed to take a moment to consider the question before he snapped his fingers and declared "Nope! Can't say I've ever had family. Does a master count?"

Naomasa was starting to dread asking this guy anything, there was just something off about him and he suspected he knew why already. Keeping a smile on his face, the detective answered "yeah, no but I'll make a note and we can circle back to that later." Xellos shrugged as Naomasa came to the quietest member of the group "And you, Kasim-san? I know it may be hard to think about your loved ones but what about your family?"

With less hesitation this time but still clearly struggling, the tan girl softly answered "No…my parents…they died a long, long time ago. Emeralda may have…I may have a sibling but now, I may never know."

It was heartbreaking to listen to Emeralda speak and hearing it made Michiru want to get up and hug her. The tanuki girl was filling out her own form but it was hard to not listen to her fellow lighter's answers, especially when they sounded as pained as Emeralda's. Somehow though, Michiru got the impression Emeralda wasn't the hugging type and decided to stick with words "Are you ok? We don't have to continue if it's going to be so hard, right detective?"

The Detective inwardly cursed as he wandered where Jun was. "Not at this exact moment, no. Though it will have to be completed sooner rather than later." Naomasa responded gently but firmly.

"NO!" Emeralda quickly called out before catching herself and drawing back a bit. "No…I agreed to do it and I will."

Michiru, taken a back, nodded slowly, wondering how true that was going to be going forward given some of the next few questions if something as straight forward as asking about family was so challenging for her.

Naomasa was thinking basically the same thing but pressed on, asking "If you wish, Kasim-san, we can continue. On that note, this question is related to the previous. Do you have a significant other? Children?"

A chorus of immediate no's caught the poor detective off guard and a bit flustered. With that answered so empathetically, the detective pressed on "Right, well that was…forceful. Moving on…this is one of the odder questions, but we've come to learn its less obvious than I use to think."

Zelgadis, who had a degree of sympathy himself for the struggling Emeralda, was nonetheless impatient to get this over with and snapped, "Just get on with it, detective."

"All right. Fine. Here we go…Are you human? If not, could you describe what you are?" Naomasa responded, unsure if the inquiry would be regarded as silly or insulting. He got his answer a moment later from the perpetually jovial purple-haired man.

"An absolutely fascinating question, detective! The very question implies either that this world has non-human sentient beings or that others like us are themselves not human. I wonder which it could be?" Xellos cordially asked, a finger on his chin to emphasize his thinking.

Relieved to have not had a more extreme response, Naomasa was glad to answer "The latter, actually. Several other lighters are what we consider of a supernatural origin, including a demon! That's why we ask. Almost anything can be explained away as a quirk but that only goes so far, especially when it comes to magic and the like because usually we end up having to ask lighters to limit what they can do."

Michiru was beginning to wonder if she'd ever get to finishing this damn form if she kept getting distracted by all she was learning from the other lighters. This situation was getting weirder with each passing question. Looking at Zelgadis and Emeralda, Michiru was getting the feeling they felt the same. Xellos was a different animal altogether. Like when she was in the police car with him earlier, Michiru could see a glee in his eye as answers kept opening up more for him to learn.

This continued to be the case when Xellos followed up the detective's answer with another query of his own, "Ah, so given the relative lack of magic here and what you just said detective, I take it this world of yours lacks such beings? No monsters, gods or the like?"

"Only in stories, religious dogma and fairytales, Metallium-san. Here there are no demons, no angels. Only humans, for better and worse." Naomasa responded firmly.

"Oh, that is absolutely interesting to hear, detective. You've given me a very good idea what my new home is like! Its greatly appreciated, thank you!" Xellos exclaimed so sweetly it bordered on saccharine.

Zelgadis watched the exchange with a creeping sense of dread that he did his upmost to keep hidden. Up till now he had felt his only real play given this insane situation was to keep an eye on the monster in human form that was Xellos. Now though, he was going to have to take the first chance he had to let these people know just what they had on their hands in private.

So wrapped up in his thoughts, Zelgadis had missed that Naomasa had been trying to get his attention and when he noticed, responded with, "I'm sorry, what did you say, Detective?"

"I just wanted your answer to the question, Greywards-san. Is everything alright?" Naomasa said, looking a bit worried.

Shaking his head, Zelgadis waved him off "No, no, I'm fine. I…just have a lot on my mind." Taking another moment, the rock-encrusted man gathered himself. He hated talking about his condition just about as much as he hated people's faces when they saw him for the first time. Breathing out slowly, Zelgadis answered "I'm a chimera. A fusion of three different kinds of creatures, namely human, golem and brow demon."

Naomasa raised his eyebrows at the chimera's answer "We'll that's different. I don't even know what a brow demon is."

Zelgadis rolled his eyes, annoyed at having to explain it "Don't let the name fool you, they're basically just goblins that are good with magic."

Naomasa nodded, unsure that helped clarify anything and replied, "Huh, well very good then, that'll do, thank you."

Sitting in her chair, Michiru was staring at the same question on her form. She'd been listening in, curious about the others but as Zelgadis answered, she began to wonder just want to put down for herself. Sure, she could just put down beastman but would they want more of an explanation? Was it even true to call herself a beastman to begin with? Would it even matter to these people? It's not like they'd have a natural born beastman to call her out on it, right? A natural born beastman…Michiru's thoughts turned toward Shirou, wondering just what he was doing at the moment? Probably worried sick. And Nezuna…Mom, Dad? Would they even know yet she was gone?

"Oh, I'm a Mazuku myself! Or at least I was, not sure at the moment though with what this little displacement has done to me!" Xellos exclaimed, almost laughing as he spoke, which brought Michiru out of her impromptu introspection. The distraction was welcome and Michiru watched on as everyone else in the room was once again spun for a loop by something the odd 'man' said.

Zelgadis, who by this point had taken up residence in a corner of the room with his arms crossed, once again lost his cool. "What the hell does that mean, Xellos! And don't you dare say it's a secret!"

Xellos turned to face his compatriot, a pouting expression etched on his face "Oh, you're no fun at all, Zelgadis-san. Fine, fine. I just mean that since we got here, this is all there is of me."

Naomasa looked very confused at this "I'm not sure what you mean, what else would there be?"

"Heh, well it's a bit complicated, really. How to put into words" Xellos responded, scratching the back of his head.

Zelgadis answered for him, his eyes wide in surprise "Wait, you mean to say you think this is the real you, not your usual astral projection?"

"Ah, very good, Zelgadis-san! That would be fair to say. You see, detective" Xellos flared his arms out to offer a whole view of his body "Where I and Zelgadis-san are from, beings such as myself exist on another plane of existence entirely and any form we take that humans can see is simply a projection that can interact on their plane of existence."

At this point, Naomasa begin to feel very much like the two males of this little group had completely forgotten about the rest of them as Zelgadis pushed himself off the wall, eyes narrowing and said "I take it that's why you made yourself scarce during Terra's rampage? Because now all of a sudden you could be hurt? Pretty cowardly. But then, that's exactly what I've come to expect from you."

Feigning insult, Xellos drew back "Come now, Zelgadis-san, I've been there when it counted! Why as I recall…umm, why are you walking toward me, Zelgadis-san?"

One word escaped the chimera's lips as he broke into a dash toward the mazuku "Payback." In moments, Zelgadis had closed the gap, thrown Xellos to the ground and began stomping on the smaller man. An almost mad glee could be seen in Zelgadis' eyes as he called out "That's for burning the Claire Bible pages! And that's for making me dress up as a bunny! And that's for-Hey, get your hands off me!"

At first shocked by the sudden assault, Emeralda had recovered quickly and dashed behind the enraged chimera, wrapping her arms around his waist. She was a solid eight inches shorter so grabbing him by his shoulders wasn't really an option but wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling at him while in mid-stomp threw him off balance for her to easily toss him aside. The tan girl didn't move to pin Zelgadis down, but fixed a challenging gaze on him, her arms shifting to blades.

Shocked at having so easily been tossed aside, Zelgadis starred wide-eyed up at the shorter girl's amber orbs, all the anxiety and doubt replaced with resolve as he reached for the sword that wasn't there. By this point Naomasa and Michiru had shot up from their chairs and came to Xellos' side, Michiru exclaiming "What the hell! Is that any way to treat a friend?"

From the floor, Zelgadis scoffed "He's no friend of mine. Or don't you recall what was happening when we first got here? This…thing is a horrible, horrible creature, not to be trusted! I've only ever been forced to tolerate his presence out of convenience and respect for the fact that he could have killed me any time it suited him!"

Before Xellos could answer the charge leveled against him, a panting Jun and a uniformed officer rushed into the doorway, trays of food in their hands "What the hell is going on here!?"

Not missing a beat, the scuffed up Xellos sat up, a dumb smile once again on his face as he answered "Paperwork!"

(X)

Hello, thank you again for reading. I am sorry if this isn't the most exciting chapter. I admit it got away from me abit, the little one's been sick, which naturally passed on to me. I've had a fair number of starts and stops as a result and I fear this doesn't flow as I would have hoped. Still, I realize this is only the third chapter but know I intend this story to take its time. Perhaps in better hands we could get to where I want to go more efficiently Instead, you'll get my best. Enjoy and see you next time!