Note: The chapter has SPOILERS for the later half of My Next Life as a Villainess: All routes lead to DOOM. If you have not finished the anime and want to avoid spoilers, turn back now.

This is also a crossover with my fanfic, 'Sailor Venus and the Quest for Power Ups.'

Ever After

My Next Life as a Villainess: All routes lead to DOOM.

ONE

"Well, that's interesting," Quill Fiat noted as they phased into the new universe. They emerged in a wooded area, though oddly there was a vegatable garden nearby. Looked odd, with the fancy flower gardens too.

Hazuki noted that Quill sounded tired. They HAD been jumping across universes fairly rapidly... maybe they should try to take a break.

"Oh?" Lilith asked.

"Another high magic energy universe. Unlike the last one with the giant lizard, this universe has a lot of available energy," Quill observed.

Hazuki was a bit disappointed that neither woman was impressed they had encountered GODZILLA. Though she supposed that both women came from different backgrounds...

"I certainly feel charged up," Lilith added.

"This won't make my sword act weird, will it?" Hazuki asked. The last time they had been in a 'high magic' universe, her katana had fired off energy bolts...

"It's not as high energy as the alternate Mars we visited," Quill said as she checked her readings on a holographic view screen, "but it's higher that most other universes. So, yes, your katana may react to it in some way."

"Oh joy," Hazuki grumbled.

As they talked, Lilith floated and glowed nearby, shimmering with magic as she called on her powers to search for Eve/Hatsumi. She frowned as the light faded and said, "She's moved on... but there is an anomaly here."

"Oh?" Quill asked her eagerly. As a scientist and researcher, she liked encountering unusual entities and such.

Lilith gave her a look, and sighed. "I sensed an unusually powerful entity, somewhere over there," she pointed ahead of them.

Not too far away from them there was a complex of connected buildings. While Hazuki wasn't an expert, it reminded her of a boarding school of some kind.

"Well, we need to find where Hatsumi...," Hazuki started.

"Eve!" Lilith corrected.

"Whichever, where they left this world. So let's go look around, maybe we'll meet the other one too," Hazuki finished.

The three headed off, taking in the gorgeous scenery. They soon ran into some students, dressed in fancy dresses and suits. The school girl uniform, witch outfit and jumpsuit they were wearing stood out quite a bit.

"MORE people in strange clothes?!" one cranky noblewoman cried.

Hazuki smiled as charmingly as she could. "Well, we're just visiting," she lied. "You haven't seen a pretty, mute blonde around here?"

The woman looked at Hazuki like something she scraped off her boot.

"That sounds like the assistant cook," another boy noted. "I think she knew Miss Campbell, too," he added.

The woman, Sienna, scowled at him for helping them.

Quill just ignored that as she asked, "Could someone direct us to the kitchens?"

A third figure tried offer directions, but realized they didn't know the layout. He looked around, "Oh, here's someone who could help." He called, "Miss Campbell!"

The blonde woman trotted over. As soon as Hazuki saw her, she got the odd feeling this was a 'main character' type. She was pretty. apparently talented, good natured and, Hazuki sensed, possessed of a powerful ability.

"Hello," she smiled, "My name is Maria. How can I help?"

"We were trying to find a lost friend of ours," Hazuki started, then described Hatsumi.

"Yes, she helped out in the kitchens," Maria agreed, then offered to lead them there. "Uhm.. are all of you magicly powered?" she asked mildly as they walked.

"Quill and I are. Not Hazuki," Lilith told her cheerfully.

"Oh, no," Maria shook her head, "I feel powerful magic in Miss Hazuki too. I don't know what kind it is, though."

"What?" Hazuki blinked.

Before they could continue, a red headed boy rushed down the hall at them. "Sirius?" Maria blinked as he shoved by them rudely.

He scowled, "I won't let you help them catch me!"

Before anyone could react to that, the young man gestured dramatically to the crowd of young people. Hazuki blinked as she saw what looked like a wave of blackness wash over the bystanders, their eyes glowing red.

"Oh this can't be good," Quill muttered as she extended her staff.

"GET THE INTRUDERS!" the crowd suddenly roared in eerie synchronization as they charged the group.

Hazuki kept her katana sheathed, both to use it as a club, and because she wasn't sure what it would DO if she drew it here. "What is...?" she started.

"Shield!" Quill ordered, putting a flat barrier in front of her,

"Maria!" an alarmed voice came from behind them.

As Hazuki was clubbing down attacking students, the saw an attractive brown haired woman pull Maria back, trying to protect her from the mob. Maria looked up at her adoringly, but the girl didn't seem to notice.

Beside her another blonde, dressed like a noble, hurried up to where they were fighting. "VENUS!" Lilith growled.

The blonde... shimmered, slightly, and the 'noblewoman look' vanished. Instead she wore a modified sailor fuku and a gold circlet, along with other accessories. "Venus love me CHAIN!" she yelled, firing off a slim golden chain that tied up several of the rioters.

"Sailor Venus?" Hazuki blinked.

"We've met?" Venus asked as she casually clubbed another attacker.

"You crashed into my library!" Lilith said as she also slugged someone.

Hazuki felt Venus looked questioningly at her. "Uhm, long story," Hazuki said. How did you tell someone they were fictional, where you came from..?

"Well, that was a thing," Quill noted as they subdued the last crazed student.

"Is anyone hurt? I can heal them," Maria asked anxiously.

Hazuki returned her sword to her side as she flatly asked, "Who was that guy and why did those people attack us?"

"That's... sort of my fault, actually," Venus admitted, and described running into Sirius and sensing the dark magic surging around him.

"So he panicked, bolted, and assumed you were with us," Katarina Claes, the other woman with Venus, noted. "Then enchanted the students to delay us all."

"We have to catch up with him," Venus added flatly, "you don't get that kind of dark power without killing something... or someone."

"We?" Lilith looked dubious.

"He might know something about the Eve of this universe," Hazuki pointed out. She added, "And I don't feel comfortable leaving him running around."

"She has a point," Quill told Lilith.

"Oh all right," Lilith pouted.

"I'm coming with you!" Katarina said firmly.

Before Hazuki could protest Maria added, "I, as well!"

Venus sort of slided up to Hazuki as she murmured, "You're not going to talk them out of it." She shrugged, "I know the type."

"Ok, he headed that way," Hazuki pointed, "is there anything out towards the woods, there?"

"There's an old storage shed," Katarina replied, and everyone pretty much agreed that was a likely place as any to start...

"Was the anomaly you sensed the boy?" Hazuki asked Lilith quietly.

"No, Venus," Lilith answered. She paused, "I agree, though... the boy is bad news too."

The group reached the shed, which appeared to be full of the usual stuff a shed had. There was no visible sign of the boy.

"Let me scan the area," Quill raised her device and switched it to staff mode.

"Oooh, neat!" Katarina admired.

Quill smiled faintly, then nodded, "There's a concealed door, with at least two chambers under ground. Dead ahead."

"So we just have to find the door," Maria started.

"CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!" Venus yelled as she fired off an energy beam, blowing a hole in the wall and revealing a hidden hallway.

"Or you could do that," Katarina said with a sigh.

"AND WRECK ANY CHANCE OF SURPRISING HIM!" Hazuki growled.

"Oooops," Venus looked sheepish.

"Come on, what's done is done. Let's find him before he can do anything," Maria made peace while urging them on.

To be continued...

Notes: Yes, in between chapters they ran into Godzilla.

I had thought this would be a done-in-one bit, but looks like it'll be two chapters.

Ever After

My Next Life as a Villainness, All Routes lead to DOOM

TWO

The group descended a cramped stairwell, and Hazuki felt a strange wrongness in the air. Travelling between 'books' they had ended up in some very dark worlds... and this felt very the same.

The red haired boy they were searching for sat in one corner, the darkness kind of writhing around him. He looked up as they entered, scowling... then blinked. "Who are all of you?" he asked.

'I wonder if he expected his classmates to come?' Hazuki thought as she took up a fighting stance with her katana.

"All right, Sirius," Venus started, then felt a hand on her arm.

Katarina quietly asked, "Let us talk to him, first."

"What." Venus blinked.

Maria added, "He has always been very kind, Miss Venus. Please, let us try."

Venus looked at them thoughtfully, then looked over, "Hazuki?"

"Well, why not," Hazuki agreed. She looked over at Lilith.

"I'm just tagging along anyway," Lilith shrugged casually.

"Look at these READINGS!" Quill seemed engrossed in her data.

Hazuki winced art her comrades attitudes. Not that she was surprised, mind you. She shrugged apologetically to Venus.

"Go ahead," Venus told the two girls, "but if he tries to hurt either of you, he's going down."

Interestingly, the young man seemed less hostile to both girls, especially Maria. Hazuki could sort of 'feel' the darkness pulse and shift, then it seemed to disappear entirely.

Quill noted excitedly, "The Dark Magic appears to be a seperate entity! He's rejecting it!"

Hazuki sensed the darkness swirling in midair, almost like it was looking for a new host...

"Venus Love Me Chain," Venus yelled as she launched her attack. Like a buzz saw the chain links tore the remaining shadows into bits.

"Nicely done," Hazuki said as she sheathed her katana, feeling a bit disappointed.

"Thank you, both," the formerly cursed young man bowed.

They got his story as the group walked back to the school. Apparently, he was actually Raphael Walt, who had been the half brother of the real Sirius. Sirius' actual Mom kidnapped him, and tried to use Dark Magic to put Sirius into Raphael's body. It failed, but left Raph possessed by a Dark Magic Ghost and Sirius' memories. So he posed as Sirius while plotting his revenge against the nobles who did all of it to him.

"Wow," Lilith blinked as they digested that.

"Thank you for your help, Venus-sama," Katarina beamed.

"You're welcome," Venus answered, It was a bit disappointing she hadn't found anything interesting, magic wise.

With that Venus raised the time key... and was gone.

"Do we disappear like that?" Quill had to ask.

"We teleport out MUCH cooler," Lilith said firmly.

The authorities at the school got involved, and Sirius/Raphael was taken away. He seemed eager to spill the beans of the real Sirius' mother, and there was talk of some sort of plea, as he had been possessed etc etc etc.

At the same time, Lilith did something with her magic to make them unnoticed.

"Why didn't you do this when we had to sneak around?" Hazuki asked, mildly annoyed.

"I didn't feel like it?" Lilith shrugged.

"Lilith," Hazuki frowned.

Quill put a calming hand on Hazuki's arm as she noted, "She might not be able to do it normally. This IS a high magical energy universe."

"Oh," Hazuki nodded.

Once the officials left the three found Maria and Katarina again, who in turn took them to the kitchens where Eve/Hatsumi had been assisting.

"Which is ironic, considering Eve can't cook," Lilith noted.

"Hey!" Hazuki protested.

"The girl could ruin pancakes," Eve sighed.

"I liked them," Hazuki pouted.

"You were blinded by love. Or possibly lust," Lilith teased.

Maria just giggled. "One of the princes liked her pancakes because they were 'unique.' I was never sure what he meant by that," she said.

They reached the spacious kitchens, and the group hung back as Lilith looked around.

"Huh, interesting," Lilith murmured.

Finally Hazuki asked, "Can you sense Hatsumi?"

"There's a lot of other effects covering it up," Lilith noted, frowning.

"Is magic that common here?" Quill asked Maria curiously.

"Well, almost all nobles have magical abilities of some sort," Maria explained.

"That's a lot of magic," Hazuki blinked.

"Hmm," Maria nodded.

Lilith stalked over, looking annoyed. "We've fallen farther behind," she reported.

"Damn it,"Hazuki sighed tiredly.

Maria looked over the three women worriedly. "You do look tired," she offered mildly, "you could stay here and rest abit."

Lilith gave her a suspicious look, "Are you interested in MY Hazuki?"

"Hey," Hazuki protested that.

Maria blushed, "No! I like Katarina-sama!"

"Huh," Lilith blinked, surprised to see a woman not falling for Hazuki.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Merry Christmas!" Eve cheered.

"Don't you, like, pre-date Christmas?" Loki asked

"Don't be a stick in the mud!" Eve smiled as she added, "And I didn't date Christ. It was a one night thing."

"WHAT." Thor blinked.

"Ooops. Ignore that." Eve winked.

Normally Eve would just be crashing the Arisugawa's Locket Christmas party, but she realized she'd popped in there a bit TOO often. So she jumped forward to Crystal Tokyo era. And ended up at the Divine Host, a bar for the former gods.

As belief in them faded away, the Gods powers declined. And the otherworldly realms they existed in collapsed as well. With nowhere else to go most entities ended up on Earth, left as semi-immortal but largely powerless entities.

"Does being in the comic books increase your belief?" Eve had to ask.

Thor looked embarassed, "A little, though I find I act more like the comic book character. It's a bit of a trade off."

"Ah," Eve nodded.

The hall was filled with various former gods and goddesses. There were alsp alien gods, who hung out there because they liked the company. Soome gods even had multiple versions of each other, due to major revisions in their holy writ.

"I was the basis of Christianity! I deserve a bigger spot!" Zeus complained.

Everyone just ignored that. He always got cranky on Christmas...

Brigid, a fire goddess and saint, smiled wryly as she poured them a drink. "Still being chased across the multiverse?" she asked.

"Hazuki is so clueless! She can't see that Lilith would be perfect for her," Eve pouted.

"Love is confusing," Brigid agreed. She looked thoughtful, "Have you thought about asking Cupid for help?"

"Those love arrows almost never work out well," Eve noted.

Brigid smiled wryly, "Point."

Artemis sauntered over, the brown haired hunter-goddess looking amused. "I never understood you two feuding over this mortal," she noted, "Why not share?"

"Brigid rolled her eyes, "Not all of us like harems, dear."

"Yeah, yeah," Artemis waved that off. "Trust me, a group of ladies and some imagination is a LOT of fun."

"Wine?" Eve suggested, heading off an argument.

"Please!" Artemis agreed.

To be continued...

Notes: No offense meant to any religions. I'm an atheist, personally. I will likely edit this later, as I kinda went blank on old gods...

Ever After

The Saga of Tanya the Evil

The three crossed into a new book in a burst of light...

"HOLY SHIT," Hazuki managed as they saw the squads of flying mages doing battle in the skies above them.

"Ack," Quill yelped.

Hazuki looked at her, "What's wrong?"

"My device is fritzing out. There's such a high level of magic here..." Quill noted.

"Again?" Hazuki muttered, then looked worriedly at Lilith.

The gorgeous blonde witch was floating in the air, and frowning. "There's... too much magic here," she muttered.

"Huh?" Hazuki blinked.

The huge eye on Lilith's hat even looked concerned, oddly enough. "There shouldn't be this much magic... not without it being a magitech universe like Quill's," she said flatly.

Hazuki looked around them as she remarked, "It looks like photos I've seen of World War One battlefields."

"And why would you have such a crude war if you have powerful magic?" Quill wondered. She muttered to herself, "I should take notes... this culture defies all the TSAB's beliefs about how magic shapes society."

Lilith just ignored that. "Let's look for traces of Eve and get out of here," she suggested.

They heard a unfamiliar whistling sound, then Hazuki grabbed both of them. "COME ON!" she dragged them off with inhuman speed.

"Wha...?" Quill yelped.

Behind them where they had stood exploded as artillery shells impacted, creating a huge crater.

"THEY'RE SHOOTING AT US?!" Lilith roared.

"They might be targeting our magic," Quill noted, also shaken.

Lilith's eyes flashed, "How DARE they nearly hurt my Hazuki."

"I'm fine, really...," Hazuki started.

"I WILL PUNISH THEM...," Lilith vowed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Colonel Tanya Degurechaff frowned as she said, "Why did you target there?"

The blonde woman was in her late teens, crazilly enough. A powerful mage she enlisted young, knowing she'd be worse off as a civilian. She had swiftly risen through the ranks as the war with the Republic dragged on...

"There was an unknown magical signature," the scanner officer explained.

"Exactly, unknown. It was Republican, or Albion, or any of the allies," Tanya pointed out. "It's entirely possible you ordered a strike on innocent people."

The man visibly paled.

Tanya stepped back, taking her cup of tea from a nearby desk and drinking a bit. She honestly didn't think they had shelled innocents... but there was no way to be sure. She hoped her chiding the man would at least result in him double checking, first.

"Colonel!" the scanner officer yelped.

"Yes?" Tanya hurried back, then frowned at the screen.

"The unknown mage or mages are heading HERE. At high speed!" the man reported.

"Oh hell," Tanya cursed, taking her rifle and heading outside. Clearly they had pissed SOMETHING off. And worse, she didn't know what it was. The alarms were wailing, and she felt some satisfaction at seeing everyone fall in.

Viktoria Ivanovia Serebryakov hurried up, the tall, busty woman frowning. "Republican attack?" Visha asked.

"We don't know. But they're inbound fast," Tanya told her aide.

In seconds they saw three figures coming into view. Two seemed to be flying via magic, and carrying the third person along with them. They also all were blazing with an alarming amount of magical power.

Tanya blinked, "The one's dressed in a Japanese Schoolgirl uniform."

"Attack spells, full spread! Fire!" Visha ordered the mages who had responded to the alarm.

The attack spells just bounced off the strange women's magic auras, which was rather stunning for the powerful Empire mages. The two fliers began to fire their own spells, then the black haired woman charged Tanya, carrying a katana of all things.

Tanya swiftly brought her military rifle up, gambling it could deflect a blade. Wrong, the GLOWING katana cut through it like butter.

"Colonel!" Visha yelped in alarm.

Tanya used her magic Orb to blast the woman backwards, even as she watched the other two women attacking. As angry as they both seemed, they weren't killing anyone, just blowing stuff up. Did that mean...?

As the katana weilding woman charged at her, Tanya made a snap decision, "Everyone, throw down your arms."

"WHAT," Visha blinked.

"Do it!" Tanya ordered.

As weapons were dropped, the attacking women stopped blowing stuff up. The sword using woman demanded, "Why did you shell us?!"

"It was an accident," Tanya said, "we detected an unknown magical source in an area where we knew there were only enemies."

"Hmm," the woman frowned, then looked at the blonde, "Lilith?"

Lilith scowled, but... "You accidentally rained explosive shells on us," she drawled.

"It sounds SO bad when you say it like that," Visha noted.

The (Indian?) woman fought back a giggle.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Is it me, or are we more short tempered here?" Hazuki murmured to Lilith.

Lilith paused, then nodded reluctantly. "There seems to be something disagreeable about this universe," she conceded.

"We could use your help, possibly," Quill noted to the Colonel. "We came here looking for someone."

"As long as they're willing to go," Tanya said cautiously.

Hazuki described Hatsumi, and sketched in her pattern of reincarnation.

"Wouldn't you get bored being reborn and living until you were sixteen, then do it all again?' Visha asked.

Lilith scowled at her. "My sister likes it," she shrugged.

Tanya just ignored that. "She doesn't sound familiar, but we can ask the squad leaders," she suggested mildly.

Quill looked at Lilith and asked, "Why do we always pop up near-ish to where Eve was?"

"Narrative causality. The universe likes straightforward stories," Lilith said.

"Ah," Quill nodded.

They checked with the staff members, found nothing. Lilith cast a search spell, and determined that Eve had been in a camp nearby. "We're going to go take a look," Lilith noted, "PLEASE don't shoot at us again."

"Sorry," Tanya shrugged.

As they took off AGAIN Tanya wondered why the schoolgirl uniform...

It all ended up as a false alarm, and a thoroughly annoyed Lilith transported them off to the next book in their search.

To be continued...

Notes: I'm NOT getting into Being X (God in the Tanya series) and the other gods and goddesses shown in the manga. One can assume Being X breathed a sigh of relief once Lilith left...