"We have agreed to try to relocate our families to Remnant first," Jessica replied. "Given how Lady Soma is now not on the run anymore, I think we can start that."
"I would like to see what happened to the Trump Kingdom in the time after my death," Cure Priestess declared. "And then, I'll help Cure Beauty's team in their battles."
"Please get me home," the other Magical Girl nodded.
"Uh…" Ruby looked at everyone else. "I kind of want to stay, but Dad and Sis are likely to be really worried… Maybe you could ask Professor Ozpin to help you? I'm sure he'll listen!"
"I want to get back to my brother," Jin announced. "Return us-"
"Wait, Lord Jin," Yayoi shook her head. "Chances are, our world was erased by the Event Interference already. We should stay."
Huh?!
Spoiler: CRACK!5-13
https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Aerora_(Lightning_Returns)
A wind spell; distributed to Sakura
What did she mean, 'world is likely erased'?!
'Her world has this artificial Goddess that can make things real just by Observing them,' Wisdom responded. 'She made another version of a world when you snatched them, the two people who could've stopped that, away.'
"...and then it would be not a Ragna that is my brother," Jin frowned. "Fine, we'll stay."
As Yumi digested that, everyone else turned to Batman.
"...quite frankly, I would like to evacuate my people here," he grunted. "My world is in the middle of a zombie apocalypse."
"And if we don't want to let the zombies here?" Georg frowned. "Miss Soma's power already might've contaminated the world with the reason people rise as undead…"
"If I was infected, you'd know," the superhero shook his head. "The piece of Anti-Life Equation in virus form is not subtle in the slightest."
"Okay… and what is that 'Anti-Life Equation', and does it deal with necromancy?" Cure Priestess frowned.
'It's a formula that proves that life is meaningless, as opposed to the Life Equation, which proves otherwise,' Wisdom piped up. 'Both are terribly dangerous.'
"It's a memetic weapon of the God of Tyranny," Batman replied. "Powered by his domain, it strips away free will and life, leaving behind shambling husks."
"...I see," CaoCao nodded, an unreadable expression on his face. "Well, in any case, the Hero Faction will readily welcome those who wish to stay - Georg and Daikokuten shall arrange for lodgings and other such things. Soma, Chiyo, please return the rest to their native worlds. After that, we start planning for the Masquerade Breakers' family members' rescue."
On that note, the meeting was adjourned.
***
Issei's head hurt.
"Oi, Issei," Motohama fixed his glasses. "You seem weird lately. Did you discover a new pair of oppai to daydream about?"
"Probably in his dreams," Matsuda heckled.
The brunet looked at his friends, unimpressed.
"No," he frowned. "It's the complete opposite - I feel like I am forgetting a great pair of oppai, which should be impossible - my memory for oppai is perfect!"
"Totally a dream," his friends deadpanned.
"Oi!"
After a successful session of peeking on the swimming team, he went home, and looked through his manga and doujins again, to no result. The greatest oppai eluded him, somehow.
He started to doubt himself. He wouldn't mistake a dream oppai for a real one, right?...
"No!" he jumped to his feet and shouted in determination. "I would not mistake an illusory oppai for real one!"
And then, his left hand shone red.
'Oppai, oppai, oppai… do you ever think of anything else, kid?!' the green jewel of the gauntlet that appeared on his entire forearm complained. 'Damn it, Albion would be so smug…'
"Huh?!" Issei shook his armored hand, trying to dislodge the weapon off it, to no result. "What the hell?!"
'Listen well, mortal!' the deep voice of the gauntlet boomed. 'I am the Red Dragon of Domination, Ddraig! And you are the host of my prison, the Boosted Gear! Now, you'll need to get in shape, I can tell you're a weakling, and my pride does not allow for anyone associated with me to be like that!'
"Wha- wait, exercise?" the brunet frowned. "Why?"
'Because my eternal enemy, Albion, shall try and kill you,' was the reply. 'Frankly, unless you prove yourself, I could let him, just to get a better host.'
"WHAAAAT?!"
'So get up, maggot!' the dragon growled. 'Ten laps around your neighborhood!'
"But what about those oppai…'
'DID YOU HEAR ME OR NOT, MAGGOT?!'
"Sir, yes sir!"
***
"My right hand is the stone that bridges worlds. My left hand is the blade that binds reality. The black-haired shepherd is hung from a chair. Stratus clouds come, and I strike down the ibis!"
Frankly, Yumi had zero idea how Chiyo aimed at the required world, but the Shinigami assured her that it was as easy as swinging a sword, so the summoner let her maid do her job.
The Garganta opened, Cure Priestess and Cure Beauty looking at the opening suspiciously.
"Let's go!" Kyogoku and Bailong were ready to ferry the two Magical Girls to the other world, and the Kido Caster climbed into the carriage. "C'mon, let's go!"
As the carriage left, Yumi sighed in relief. Two down, one more to go before Chiyo would have to get to Terra.
'Ah,' Wisdom sighed. 'Now that we got a good look, we have to say that sometimes you just copy people instead of summoning them.'
What.
'It's not a new concept for me,' the new voice replied. 'My Servants are copies summoned from the Moon Cell's records. So it's like that too?'
W-what?
'Calm down. You were in danger, and your control is almost nonexistent, plus you do your best to remedy the situation. You do your best, and that's admirable, our Saint.'
Oh no, Yumi thought. If the Goddesses - and the new voice - were placating her, that meant she did something wrong…
'Since when do we speak anything but the truth?' Din scoffed. 'Chin up, hold your head high, and continue carving your will into this world!'
"Something wrong?" Sakura, her pink hair in an elaborate braided bun instead of a usual ponytail, asked. "You look pale, Yumi."
"I… just thinking about my summons," the brunette replied, tilting her head in emotional exhaustion. "What if I actually summon copies? What if I really brainwash them into compliance? What if the summons have some unforeseen side-effects???"
"I was with you almost the entire time, and so I know you're doing the best you can," her friend took her hand and squeezed gently. "I had suspicions over how easily Chiyo and Jessica decided to serve under you, but… it's nothing but a suspicion, and you don't abuse the trust placed in you. I think I can forgive you if Batman's accusation is true."
Yumi's eyes grew wet.
Spoiler: CRACK!19-4
https://animalcrossing.fandom.com/wiki/Rocket_Launch_Set
A set of decorations depicting a rocket launch center; due to low roll, it is made of papier-mache
"...Thank you," she whispered.
***
As Ruby Rose rode in the carriage with the two not-Faunus and a Shinigami, she wondered what to tell her dad and sister. They were absolutely worried about her, and the window of acceptance to Beacon was past, so she'd probably have to go back to Signal after the misunderstanding was cleared… that kind of sucked, after being scouted by Professor Ozpin himself, but she supposed that meant she would stay with her friends, and that wasn't all that bad.
Still, losing a chance to go to Beacon with Yang sucked. Even if helping heroes to fight monsters lurking in the shadows was really cool, she contributed only by awakening a trainer's Aura, and so she didn't feel all that heroic.
"Almost there," Miss Brynley noted, her impossible, magical - and wasn't that so cool! - matchlock gun set over her shoulder. Ahh, how she wanted to see how it worked! "Miss Rose, we're going to enter Remnant through a warehouse in Vale. We trust you to be able to get home by yourself, but, if needed, we can ask our allies to arrange for transportation."
"You have allies on Remnant?"
"Yes, but, for secrecy's sake, we shall not disclose their names to you," the Faunus - were their allies the White Fang? No, that was unlikely, given that the Hero Faction fought for humanity… - no, the Feline replied. "It's a courtesy, as it would be easy to deduce them, but if we don't tell you, you could hide behind 'I don't know'."
"But what do I tell my Dad then?" Ruby asked. Lying would be… really bad!
"You could tell that someone had a bad mishap with a Semblance," Mister Butler offered. "It wouldn't even be a lie."
And then, they were out of the darkness, and into the artificial light of a… warehouse?
As Miss Brynley withdrew a Scroll from her pocket and called someone, Ruby realized that she should do the same.
…she was gone a lot longer than she thought, she realized as her Scroll synched with the CCT. By now, she'd be held back a year! And, her Dad was probably so worried!
Calling him, she waited with bated breath for the video to connect…
"Ruby? What's wrong?" her Dad answered, rubbing his eyes.
"Dad! I'm sorry to have disappeared for so long!" she exclaimed. "I got summoned to another world!"
"Huh?" Taiyang blinked the sleepiness out of his expression. "Wait, wait, start with the beginning. What happened?"
As she recounted her tale ever since that Dust store robbery, the blonde man started to frown.
"Where are you?" he finally asked.
"Somewhere in the city of Vale," she replied. "The people that returned me said they'll help me get back, and here I am! Oh, and Zwei is with me too - I think the summoner got him by accident. So yeah! I called the first thing I could!"
"Okay," her dad nodded. "Please stay where you are, Qrow is in the city, so I can ask him to fetch you."
"Oh, Uncle Qrow!" she smiled. "Yeah, I'm going to ask where exactly in Vale I am, and then send you the coordinates. See ya, Dad!"
"See ya, Ruby. Stay safe," and he hung up.
***
Yumi dreamed of a girl with her face, in a black jacket over a black and orange sailor fuku.
"Hello," the mirror image's expression was placidly friendly. "You can call me Francis Xavier. I am the Servant that you summoned into your body."
Yumi blinked.
"Servant…?" and then foreign knowledge bloomed in her mind. "H-hey, don't mess with my head!"
"I'm not," the other girl shook her head. "In fact, I'm stemming the flow of my being so that it wouldn't overwhelm your existence. While I was a simple NPC, I'm a Servant now, and so a human like you can be drowned so easily in me."
"But… are you really Francis Xavier?" Yumi frowned. "From what I now know, your abilities don't line up with that at all!"
The Sovereign of the Moon smiled slightly.
"It was a joke," she explained, already back to deadpan. "My actual name is Hakuno Kishinami. Nice to meet you, Soma Yumi."
"Um, same! But… why am I dreaming of you like this?"
"Because I am the Master of the Moon Cell," the doppelganger replied. "And thus I have… privileges. In any case, this is not a mere courtesy call. I am here to talk to you about my abilities."
"Oh," the summoner nodded. "Okay. Please tell me everything you can."
"My greatest power is the Authority over the Moon Cell," the other brunette nodded. "Even constrained by the limits of a Servant vessel, it allows me to summon other Servants - independently of your own abilities. You will be able to too, should I grant you the right to be a Master."
"Summon Servants?" Yumi frowned. "Is it like my own summonings?"
"Not quite - you'll be summoning copies of Moon Cell AIs," Hakuno shook her head. "By my authority, they all will be asked if they want to serve you, and answer only if they agree."
"Oh, that's good. How do I do that, then?"
"Well…"
Yumi looked at the back of her right hand, where a golden butterfly-like pattern was now engraved, a sign of her qualifications as a Master, then at the floor in the basement of the Hero Factions' mansion assigned to her, where a complex magical circle was drawn in mercury amalgam.
She breathed in and out, then channeled mana into her Command Seals and chanted:
"A vessel of silver and steel. The foundation of Archduke of Contracts. A wall to protect from the wind that shall fall. The four cardinal gates close, a three-forked road, coming from Crown to Kingdom, rotates."
The magical circle underneath her lit up with the same color as her tattoos.
"-I hereby declare. Your self is under me. My fate is with your sword. Submit to my beckoning, and kneel before me, for I swear to attain all the virtues in the world and vanquish all the evils in the world!"
Le Fay Pendragon watched the proceedings with fascination, already in the swimsuit that gave her access to Morgan's power.
"From the ring of restraint, bound by three words of power - come forth, Protector of Balance!"
[CRACK!]
Special rules: Roll FGO Wikia
White GardenThis Craft Essence features Europa, Orion, Asterios and Male Master. fategrandorder.fandom.comThe summoned Servant is Rider Europa.
[/spoiler]
"My name is Europa. How do you do?" the beautiful golden-haired woman smiled at Yumi, then blinked, remembering something. "Um, well...ah yes... What was I saying? Ri...Riden...! Oh that's right, it's Riden! I have manifested as a Riden-class― Yes, what is it, Talos? Hm? I am… wrong? It's not Riden, but Rider!?
…this one was a total airhead, huh…
" ...Oh my. Ahem. Let me start again. I am Europa, and I have manifested as a Rider. I am one of the consorts of the great god Zeus. I ask you - are you my Master?"
"I am indeed your Master," the brunette nodded, showing her Command Seals.
"Success!" the magician grinned, ceasing to take notes and hiding her notebook in a bag. "Miss Soma, how is the mana drain?"
'As if my Saint would ever run out of power,' Din scoffed.
'Our Saint,' Farore corrected.
"Negligible," Yumi replied. "I can do this all day."
"Let's try again, then!" Le Fay smiled.
Europa blinked.
"Ah, I need to get out of the circle, then," the Servant nodded, stepping aside. "But, Talos is asking if you could fuel him too, if you summon another Servant? You don't seem to have a Holy Grail to fuel us…"
'If you want a Holy Grail, that can be arranged,' Nayru hummed. 'In fact, it's better if you guys had it than the Devils.'
"...I think I can," the brunette replied. "Le Fay, make a note to tell CaoCao about the Holy Grail."
"Sephiroth Graal?" the blonde human blinked. "You know who has it?"
"Later," Yumi waved her hand. "Let's summon another Servant."
Another chant, another flash of light - and a pink fox woman in a black tight leather suit stood in the circle.
Spoiler: CRACK!Special Rules: Roll FGO Wikia
https://fategrandorder.fandom.com/wiki/Koyanskaya_of_Light
The Servant is: Koyanskaya of Light
"Thank you for summoning me~" the new arrival smiled toothily. "Infiltration, industry, negotiation, and sales - I am Koyanskaya of Light, here on behalf of NFF Services. I'm here to service all of humanity's needs! And you're my contractor, correct?"
"I am," Yumi nodded, her Command Seals flashing. "You're… an Assassin, right?"
"That I am!" the fox woman agreed. "But I mostly deal in weapons. If you need to supply an army, I'm your girl!"
"Perfect," the brunette nodded. "That would be highly useful."
Then, the summoner turned to the human magician.
"Caught all that?" she asked.
"I think I got the gist," Le Fay agreed. "But Sephiroth Graal would be a lot more efficient in infusing the Hero Souls into human bodies, I think. Still, thank you. This is priceless data."
***
Ruby stared at the second Zwei in her father's arms.
"But… how?" she gasped, suddenly feeling dread. "Is Zwei… Am I a copy?"
"Seems so," Uncle Qrow shrugged. "So, Rubes, gonna tell us how this happened?"
"Okay… can I sit down?" she asked, silver eyes darting between her father and uncle. "I feel faint."
"Of course," the blond nodded, withdrawing a chair from the table and offering it to her. "Still, we are very interested in your story. What happened?"
"After I talked to Professor Ozpin, I was summoned to another world," she replied. "Miss Soma told me she didn't control what she summoned, and later offered to send me back, which I accepted? I unlocked a man's Aura in that world, gave him a rundown on how to use it, and then they opened this portal to here, gave me Zwei, and then I got ferried here by a carriage through a dark void? Then, I called Dad."
"So, you ended up in the warehouse district with them?" Uncle Qrow asked, leaning on the kitchen wall.
"Uh, inside one of the warehouses. It was lit. I avoided the guards with my Semblance."
The black-haired Huntsman frowned.
"Okay, Ruby…" the blond looked at his old friend. "I have no idea how to break it to you… but you might be a clone."
"Um," she looked at the Zwei in her hands, then at Zwei in her father's hands. "So there is another Ruby now?"
"You're the other Ruby," Qrow replied. "If you didn't have Aura, Semblance, your keys, Scroll and Zwei, I'd think you to be an infiltrator, but with all these present, it's likely that girl that 'summoned' you actually copies people. Frankly, a fascinating Semblance - I wonder how the fuck that works…"
"Oh," she hugged her Zwei to her chest. "Um. Do you hate me?"
"No, of course not," Taiyang was quick to reassure her. "It's just unexpected, that's all. We'll need to call Professor Ozpin and tell him about this, but in any case we'll take care of you. I'm sure Yang and Ruby would love to have a little sister."
"But what do I call myself now," she whispered, eyes tearing up. "I'm Ruby, but… there is another Ruby Rose?"
"I mean, you could always take the Xiao Long family name," Uncle shrugged. "It might be a bit confusing, but at least it'll be different."
"...okay," she nodded. "Um, but what would we tell other people? It would be weird to suddenly have two Rubies."
"Eh, we'll just say there was a mishap with a Semblance," the black Huntsman waved his hand. "Now, go to sleep. We're going to call Ozpin now."
As Ruby - was she Ruby, really? - went upstairs, she wondered if this was as easy as they said.
***
Europa and Koyanskaya listened to CaoCao's explanation of their predicament.
"Of course I'll help you! All of humanity are my grandchildren!" the Rider smiled.
"Ah, but this is another world," the vixen grinned. "So aren't they just humans?"
The blonde Servant blinked.
"They're children of Europa, no? Then, they're mine."
"...I wonder if you have Mad Enhancement or Mental Pollution," the Assassin pouted. "Anyway, humans! This Goddess decided that this is a worthy fight to support~ Just give me offerings, and I'll bless you!"
"...what sort of God are you, anyway?" CaoCao asked.
"Ikusautsuwa-no-Oomikami," Koyanskaya grinned. "Greater Goddess of Weaponry. Ah, but to manifest as such, I would need a Holy Grail or two…"
"Speaking of the Holy Grail," Yumi cut in. "I've got a Revelation that it is currently in Tepes Vampire Faction's possession. We should go and rescue the holder after we get Dad and Sakura's mom out."
"Hoh," the True Longinus user grinned. "Sure thing - Sephiroth Graal would be a tremendous boon to our Faction. Speaking of your families, team's ready to retrieve them. We were waiting your and Le Fay's experiment to end."
"Good," the brunette nodded. "How do we do that?"
"Let's go to the conference room," the Chinese teen replied. "I'll tell you everything there."
***
The Eternal Blade was getting antsy. It was still an implement of War, and thus it thirsted for blood, and the current user fought exactly twice, both times without using it. Sure, it was just a few days Soma Yumi became its owner, but it was still…
…at least the red-gold Goddess, that the holder was a Saint of, agreed that there could be more slaughter.
'Soon.'
Placated by the promise of slaughter, it decided to wait a bit longer before trying to get the latest user killed.
They were moving through dimensions, the ally 'Devil' being having snuck them in on a special train. He smelled of suffering, sex and defilement, like Slaaneshi, and it hated him already.
It wondered if 'Devil' blood tasted differently from human.
"We're here," the sleazy voice of the 'Devil' was heard by its holder. 'I trust you to make your own way to the false Leviathan and Lucifer compounds and back. Do not bring them on my head, understood?"
"Yeah, yeah," the Holy Spear user replied. "Let's do it. Everyone have their Phone Snails? Everyone remembers the plan? Team A, Team B, Team C, ready?"
"Ready!" the sword-birthing Saint Maiden cheered.
"Ready," the male Holy Sword user replied.
"Ready," the dimensional mist creator answered.
"Then, we move out."
And then his young owner summoned it, still in the form of clawed gauntlets. Not the best to offer skulls, but at least close and personal enough to tear out hearts.
Soon, they were in a different territory, and the mission began, his owner moving through the mansion in search of her progenitor, her allies following her.
Somehow, they avoided every patrol, every trap. The blade blamed the blue-gold Goddess for that.
And then, it was used to crack the skull of a 'Devil', a tiny bit of blood gracing its knuckles. Mmm! This was powerful blood: it had more energy than a usual human, perhaps comparably to a Mage.
"Dad!"
"Yumi! Oh God, I missed you so much!"
And then the holder hugged her progenitor, a wave of intense emotion rushing through her. Ugh.
"We need to go, Dad! We were likely noticed… Georg, get us out of here!"
"O-of course, dear," the older human nodded. "Lead the way."
As the blade raged over the lack of bloodshed, there was a noticeable drop in temperature, and a powerful 'Devil' appeared in the room. Immediately, the Spirit summoned her white bull steed which tried to ram the newcomer, and the divine metal giant which broke through the walls and wards like the Eternal Blade itself through a lowly foot soldier.
Those were considerable weapons, it mused, being used to punch away an ice spell. It wanted to clash with them.
"Soma, retreat," the Holy Spear user ordered. "We'll take it from there."
"Okay," the holder nodded, tugging her father away from battle - how annoying! "Dad, let's go - my allies will hold her off."
"In the name of Miracle Levia*Tan, no one shall retreat!" the 'Devil' announced, doing her best to freeze them… and failing because of one of the holder's summoned powers. "Hey, what the hell, how are you still unaffected?!"
But the holder did not listen, instead climbing on the hand of the metal giant, and being withdrawn from the mansion together with her progenitor and a shadow user.
"Connla, can you fight off these guys?" Yumi asked, and the Eternal Blade could've grinned at the negative answer of the shadow-user. "Then, I'll have to fight. Talos, keep my Dad safe."
And then, a satisfying crunch of bones, a delicious spill of blood off its suddenly-spiked knuckles.
She was good at battle, it noted, even if she was too squeamish, relying on the green-gold Goddess's blessing to not puke her guts out, and using entirely too much magic for a good fight. She was good at bringing Chaos, too, and that's why it tolerated her for so long.
Still, the battle was too short, the holder, her progenitor and her allies retreating through the dimensional mist back to the ally 'devil' and riding the train back to the Human World. It was not sated, not even close.