The Reaping (Multicrossover)

[iowan]

(Arthur’s note: Warning, this may contain spoilers pertaining to the Mass Effect series; if you have played the games a lot of this will make sense. As to how this was born, let’s just say Elf and I sometimes have way too much time on our hands and our plot bunnies tend to get really really crazy.

The RP will take place mainly in a universe of my own creation [http://lazy-bones.deviantart.com/art/Hiigaran-Empire-Notes-WIP-122739200] but it will also take place in Mass Effect’s universe. So far, Elf and I confirm that the following universes are involved via their characters being…well “recruited” to help: DC, Marvel, FMA, Elf’s fate travelers, League of Legends. There may be more depending on how much inspiration she and I get. Elf and I, I think, will be interchangeable with our characters as we generally know each other very well.)

“The Reapers are finally coming…” Commander Shi Shepard, commander of the Normandy, hero of the battle of the Citadel, and savior of the galaxy looked…tired. She had just been going over the reports coming in from Cerberus’ sources that clearly stated what everyone had been fearing. The Comm room table was covered in data pads, all of them bearing bad news.

The ancient race known only as the Reapers or the Old Machines as the Geth who opposed them also called them, had finally awakened and were making their way back to the Milky Way Galaxy. Shepard tried very hard not to think of the implications that came with this revelation. The information on the Reapers themselves was sparse, but chilling. They were known to enter the galaxy every 50,000 years to wipe out all civilized life, often leaving very little evidence that they were ever there. They would enslave and literally purge anything that had reached the peak of their civilization. Then the Reapers would leave just as suddenly as they appeared, leaving only enough life behind to restart the horrible cycle.

The only reason why this generation of life had any warning was thanks to the sacrifice of the Protheans 50,000 years in the past, whom had gotten lucky and managed to leave behind clues and warnings for the races to come. Shepard had been blasted by one of their beacons, gaining a vision of their proud race being decimated by the Reapers.

Shepard had gathered up like minded individuals who accepted the threat that loomed over them, despite even the Council itself and the vast majority of the populace refusing to believe in the Reaper’s existence. Even after Sovereign, a Reaper attacked the Citadel but was luckily defeated by a combination of the Council and Alliance fleet; everyone brushed Sovereign off as a Geth weapon.

Shepard wanted to beat her head against the wall in frustration; it wasn’t until the Reapers were practically right at their doorstep that the majority finally pulled their heads out of their asses to acknowledge the Reapers were real. She wondered though, if it was still too late. Fuck she hated politics and politicians.

She had already dealt a huge blow to the Reapers, killing Sovereign and defeated the Collectors when they had been gathering human colonists to birth a new Reaper. She had managed to keep the Collector home station, which hopefully would provide useful technology to fight the Reapers with.

“Commander Shepard.” Shepard’s weary green eyes turned to note Jacob, one of the soldiers from Cerberus who was assigned to her. He saluted and continued. “You look tired ma’am.”

Shi gave a weary smile. “Well it’s hard to get any sleep when you know that potential extinction is approaching you.” Her smile quickly vanished. “Dammit Jacob, we tried to warn them. We told them over and over again that the Reapers were real and they still refused to believe us. It had to have the Reapers right in their faces for them to finally understand how stupid they were.” She slammed a fist down on the table.

Jacob looked unperturbed at Shi’s outburst. “I know ma’am. It was frustrating for everyone. What I don’t understand is why we’re out here. A vague message saying that there were people that wanted to help us?”

Shi nodded. They were currently in a far off corner of the Terminus System. A heavily encrypted message had been relayed to them from an unknown source. All it had said was there were forces that wished to speak with Shepard and only Shepard. They claimed that they wished to help against the Reaper threat, but wouldn’t say why in the message. “I don’t know Jacob, but if we have people willing to help us, we’re taking it.”

” Both were yanked out of their self misery by the appearance of a small glowing blue orb. “Commander there is no sign of any other ships in the area.” The crisp professional tones of EDI, the Normandy’s AI cut through the silence. “I will keep the sensor working, but so far we are alone out here.”
Shi frowned. “I damn well hope this isn’t some wild goose chase we’ve been lead on.”

“Unknown Commander…wait, I am detecting something…several energy signatures…” EDI’s tone suddenly took a worried edge. “Several vessels have just uncloaked and have surrounded us.”
Shi started. “What? But how could no one see…”

“You don’t understand Commander, these ships have true cloaking. We didn’t detect them at all either by sensors…or by sight.” The Normandy itself did possess stealth technology, but only by hiding the ship’s heat emissions. For vessels to possess true cloaking technology… “…Commander we are being hailed. I can relay it to the comm room.”

Shi nodded. “Do it, Jacob tell the others to prepare for trouble.” The soldier nodded as he left the comm. room. When the holo image finally came up, she was sure how to take it.

Displayed in the image was a lone figure sitting in what appeared to be some kind of command chair as evidenced by the various holographic displays emitting from it and were in easy reach of the occupant. The figure looked like a human male in his early thirties, dressed in a military uniform* that Shi did not recognize. What disturbed Shi the most though was the man gaze, a penetrating blue eye gaze that gave the impression that he was reading her through and through.

“Greetings Commander Shepard, I apologize for the rather…ah dramatic entrance we made. We had to make sure it was actually you and incase it wasn’t…well let’s just say we are not incline to allow information of our existence being leaked out to just anyone.” The man’s voice was a mellow tone, spoken with a slight accent that Shi recognized as German.

“And just who are you exactly. You weren’t very informative in your message.” Shi’s eyes narrowed, she didn’t like this.

The man nodded. “Of course, we couldn’t give out everything over unsecure channels; secrecy is a weapon of ours Commander. As to who we are…” He paused as his head turned slightly as though listening to someone Shi couldn’t see. He nodded and returned his gaze to Shi. “I am Admiral Bayer Abendorth of the Imperial Hiigaran Navy.” Seeing the lack of recognition, he chuckled. “Of course you would not know of us Commander, suffice to say we are not…native to your galaxy.”

Shi did not respond for a few moments. “Admiral if this is a joke, I don’t appreciate it.” The only response to her clipped reply was a sigh.

“It’s not a joke Commander. We possess technology you can’t even begin to understand. But…my matters are based on the military, perhaps if I allowed you to speak with someone more verse in information?” His gaze was once against shifted to whomever he had been speaking with previously and he typed something into the display next to him. The projection swung left as Shi took in a new figure.

Tall and straight backed, this man was in his late twenties. Of African descendent, his uniform differed from Bayer’s in that it lacked the dress coat and epaulettes. Instead, it had an appearance more toward armor, with shoulder pads that overlapped.
“Commander Shepard, I am Staff Commander David Lawrence of the Hiigaran Interdimensional Tactics Division. If allow me time to give you the short version of who we are, we can get down to business.”

Shi cocked an eyebrow; he wanted to get straight to the point. “Alright then, explain.” And so he did…and it was a good while as he explained. By the end of it, Shi’s skeptical expression had changed to one of shock.

“Wait…let me get this straight. You’re from a completely different universe.”

“That is correct ma’am.”

“…so I don’t get it. Why do you want to help us against the Reapers?” At this, Shi noticed the man suddenly looked very embarrassed.

“…carelessness on our part ma’am. The Reapers have somehow gained knowledge of us and this is a very bad thing I assure you. If the Reapers were to gain access to our dimensional technology…” Shi’s mind almost had a breakdown as it sank in.

The Reapers were dangerous enough to one galaxy…”My god…are you telling me that it could be possible for them to endanger others?!” Then her anger manifested. “Damn you! How could you allow this to happen?!”

Lawrence’s gaze darkened. “Believe me ma’am, we did not intend this. It was a mistake that shouldn’t have happened, but it did. We underestimated the Reapers. You have to understand, it’s not just your galaxy in danger now. It involves countless others.”

Shi’s brain was working overtime trying to process this, if what this man said was true, literally millions if not countless others lives were now in dangers of being wiped out. “…fine, what do we have to do?”

Lawrence looked relieved. “I’m glad your military sense is as strong as ever. First, we need to get an establishment between our forces and yours. We can send agents to your Council to explain the situation, in the meantime Shepard; I suggest you gather your most loyal and best people to come to the homeworld. You’re not the only people we’re reaching out to.”

Shepard nodded numbly as Lawrence said he would send the required coordinates to the rendezvous point where she and her crew would meet with their escorts. She then cut the transmission and moved to the port side observation room, just in time to see the small fleet that had met with them pull away to warp.

“God fucking damn, we are in deep shit now…”

* www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEES_81oVdw The gold/black uniform that you see one of the guy's wearing is pretty much the uniform of the high ranked navy people in my universe.

[Elf]

He never expected the notice to come in the mail. For all the unlimited inter-dimensional technology the Hiigarans possessed, one would think that they'd find a slightly more glamorous way to communicate with him than via the postal service.

But no; it was a simple letter in the Rockbells' mailbox, with no postal markings, no return address, no destination address either--just "Edward Elric" in plain, handwritten script. He arched a golden eyebrow at the curious item the moment his tawny eyes fell upon it--now if that wasn't suspicious, he was a blue-quilled hedgehog.

Ed carried the mail inside, shutting the door quickly against the bitter winter chill. It had been a few months since the last of his inter-dimensional escapades had ended. Al had his body back, him and Winry were finally sort-of-official, and Pinako and Winry were more than content to insist that the Elrics call the Rockbell house home for a little while longer. After all, they'd spent four years more-or-less without the boys, and Ed had been missing (not to mention presumed dead) for almost a year while he traipsed through alternate universes; they wanted to hang on to the brothers for as long as the boys were willing to be hung onto.

It had taken almost a month for Edward to release the full story of what had happened to him, of why he had disappeared and where he'd been in the meantime. After all, Al lost his memories of his time in the armor upon regaining his body. Starting from the very day his brother re-appeared in their world, the memories had begun to return to him little by little, but it had still been hard for Edward to reveal certain painful things to his kid brother, things he probably would be better off not remembering...like how a Homunculus wearing the face of their dead mother had tried to kill them, how Scar transformed Al into a walking Philosopher's Stone, how Al had been forced to watch Envy kill his older brother, and how Al had died yet again in order to bring his brother back from the edge...

And that was all just the beginning of the story. Of course Al wanted to hear what his beloved brother had been up to in the nine months he'd spent away from the world of Amestris. Explaining the concept of alternate universes to his family and how one traveled between them was confusing enough, but telling them about the Justice League was its own awkward experience. He figured they'd react much like he had--with disbelief. In a world governed by science and secular principles, the idea that superpowered beings, among them aliens, Metahumans, and magic users, ran around in tights saving the world left and right, was a little far-fetched to say the least. Much to his surprise, Winry had taken to the stories with a sort of bewildered fascination, and his little brother to them with an insatiable childlike curiosity. Pinako had been rather stunned to hear of Edward's exploits with the League, but figured the eldest of her wards had no reason to lie, not to mention lacked the imagination to have invented the whole thing. She eventually came to accept the truth of Ed's recounts with the same gruff indifference she afforded the rest of the world.

Tales of the Tyrants had been met with a rather different opinion. All three of his family members had shared shock and anger when Ed relayed the tales of his first fights with the genetically-modified, Ouroborus Virus infused, Psionic Terrans: King, Monarch, and Empress. They'd been equally flabbergasted to hear Ed describe the circumstances by which his monstrous adversaries eventually became his friends. Well--Empress was certainly a friend, but King would NEVER be considered as such, not while the man still possessed the INFURIATING habit of ridiculing Ed's stature. And Monarch? Well...Monarch had nearly killed Ed in his first encounter with the gigantic man. Despite the fact that Monarch himself no longer looked at Ed with enmity, Edward's apprehension of the hulking Tyrant would never die.

Ed's retelling of what happened after he managed to get away from the Justice League's universe--when he was unwittingly thrown into England of the 1880's--was a little more scant, and with good reason. The whole fiasco was a neverending source of humiliation for the young alchemist. Being stuck relying on KING of all people, and at the mercy of a mad genius like Sherlock Holmes, was not something the golden-haired spitfire EVER wanted to dwell upon. In fact, there were certain parts of that adventure, particularly of one certain undercover mission involving high-heeled boots, that Edward would have liked nothing more than to forget alltogether...

And Ed's recounting of the events afterward, of his visit to the Hiigaran Empire itself, were met on all accounts with unbridled awe. The idea of the Empire itself was so fantastic that Winry's cerulean eyes stayed wide all through the stories, and Al had to fight to keep his jaw from scraping the carpet. Five races, all drastically different, some of them vastly inhuman, working together towards a common cause--the preservation of all knowledge in the Multiverse, no less--definitely warranted wide eyes and hanging jaws. As did the very notion of the sheer level of technological prowess the Hiigarans possessed. Edward tried to approach that subject as lightly as possible, fearing that his technophile would-be-girlfriend might have a heart attack when hearing about spaceships capable of not just faster-than-light travel, but inter-dimensional travel. Predictably, Winry went off on a squeeing rant at the information, lamenting how badly she wished she could have been there to take one of them apart.

And it wasn't just tales of the Empire itself that fascinated his family, for this was the period of Ed's adventures when he met Will. The alchemist spent a good chunk of time telling tales about his Homunculus counterpart. Homunculi were something that Al could relate to, being an alchemist himself, but more than that, Ed felt that his baby brother had a right to know about the other golden-haired boy. Will had all but latched himself onto Ed as if the alchemist were his own brother, and had even lamented his guilt at doing so, admitting that Al should be the only brother in Ed's life regardless of Will's feelings. Al had smiled pityingly at hearing of the Homunculus's grief. The two brothers shared the burden of knowing what a Homunculus's existence entailed--the failed Human Transmutation, the legacy of the dead human's memories, the hole in their souls and the insatiable need to fill that emptiness. Ed only wished that Will could meet his little brother; the Homunculus was so twisted up with guilt about things that weren't his fault, fears that Edward himself could never assuage. Meeting Al would have done him some good; he'd had the feeling all along that Al would take pity on the poor creature. But Ed and Al were here, and Will was...God only knew where, what with his being an inter-dimensional Traveller by trade; the chances that they would meet again, that the Elric brothers would be able to give the guilt-ridden boy a few comforting words, were slim. That was, as Will had expressed sadly, 'the nature of these things.'

But a few weeks after his return, Ed had run out of stories. For Al's sake, he occasionally recounted stories of the Elrics' journey around Amestris to recover their bodies, but those occasions were getting fewer and farther between as Al recovered more and more of his lost memories. And now, four months after a Hiigaran portal spit Edward out on the Rockbells' front lawn, the fantastic stories and painful memories had faded into the background of all their lives, into unspoken understanding.

"So, what do we have today?" Pinako looked up as Edward shuffled into the kitchen, pile of mail in hand. She almost smirked at the grumpy hunch of the teenager's shoulders and the flush still lingering after icy kisses from the winter winds. He looked like he could use a cup of hot coffee.

But Edward didn't make a beeline for the coffee pot as he normally would. Instead, he stood before the table, frowning at something in his hand. He dropped the rest of the pile on the table distractedly, not caring where it landed. Pinako looked up to see that he still held one letter between his automail fingers, and it was at this which he scowled.

She raised an eyebrow. "Who's it from?"

"Doesn't say." Ed turned the letter over in his hands. "No return address. No destination address." His eyes flickered up to the grandmother. "No stamp. No postal marks of any kind."

The singular eyebrow crawled a little closer to her grey hairline. "So some stranger is sneaking messages into my mailbox in the dead of night? I'd have thought Den would notice." Dogs were always a good way to tell if anyone was stalking about the house, and Den was particularly skilled at waking up the family in the dead of night.

"Me too." He slid a thumb under the flap and pulled it open. It wasn't sealed.

Pinako watched as her ward's eyes devoured the contents of the letter, watched as his face popped into shock, slide into numb incredulity, shift into an intense, unhappy look, and then degenerate into barefaced rage.

She took one last sip of her coffee before bracing herself for the explosion.

"GOD. FCKING. DAMNIT!!"

"What is it?" Pinako asked automatically, knowing just from the fuming look on Edward's red face that she was going to hear about it regardless.

"Those BASTARDS! I finally get my life back after ALL THAT crap and now THIS?! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FCKING KIDDING ME!!"

Pinako frowned. That did not sound good. "Who's it from?" she tried again.

"The Hiigarans," he snarled, still staring at the letter as if his gaze could make it burst into flames. "Some asshole called David Lawrence. Says he's getting ahold of people I know, too. I'll see about THAT--that weird-ass fcking gyzmo Empress gave me should be good for SOMETHING if Winry hasn't turned it into a thousand pieces by now."

His molten gaze flitted up, meeting his guardian's eyes. "They want me to go back. Back to the Hiigaran Empire. They say they need my help. And I don't think I'm gonna get much of a choice."


((...Hopefully I didn't break anyone's brains with this post. XD; If you have any questions about the crap that this version of Edward has been through, feel free to PM either myself or Iowan. Most of it should be revealed in-character anyway, but there's a LOT of stuff, so if you're curious, ask. XD;

I plan to bring in at least four more characters in this arc, but I decided to go with introducing Edward first, as he was a central thread in the plot-arcs that lead up to this point. The others should be easier to introduce...emphasis on "should." XD;;;; I'll have a slew of other characters that might get cameos, but for sure on those four. Which is not counting the Marvel and DC canons I'll be puppeting. Again, hope I don't break anyone's brain. XD;

Also, if anyone wants to puppet a canon from ANY universe that hasn't been yoinked yet, you're more than welcome to. Creating as much mass chaos and epic fight scenes and randomness as possible is sort of the point of this arc. XD;

...and now I'm wondering if I should stake my claim on a few canons, or if that would just be overkill at this point. XD; I'll wait. Enjoy! :3 XD; ))

[iowan]

Empress was not pleased. With the looming of the Reapers darkening the horizon, she had a lot of things on her mind. Luckily as a Terran, she had the brain capacity to multitask better than any human. First she was listening in on the holographic meeting that had called in all the major corporation powers that could be directly involved in the war, Umbrella, Tech Core, and several others had sent their CEOs. Empress served as Umbrella’s public face…but everyone knew who the real power behind Umbrella was.

Then she heard the high frequency of her communicator that only she could hear, keeping one part of her attention on the conversation taking place, she pondered on who would be calling her at this point. It was the generic tone, so that meant that it was neither her siblings nor her husband whom all had a unique tone. Hitching the device to a port that would open another holographic display next to the one she was currently watching, she finally answered. “This is Empress…”

She was most certainly not quite prepared to for the sudden amount of rage that was aimed at her form the screen. It took her a heartbeat before she realized who is was. “…Elric?” Oh wait…he must of gotten his message. Vainly she tried to get through his rage. “Edward…Edward…EDWARD!” He seemed taken aback by her sharp tone. “Please speak slowly Edward, I am also listening to a meeting and I can only process so much when the other tasks on my mind.”

****

Juna was troubled. A stranger who was obviously an offworlder had appeared in the midst of the Institute of War and had requested to speak with the Summoner council. This didn’t bode well…”Oh listen to me; I’m starting to sound completely paranoid.”

Kel raised an eyebrow at her friend. Both were currently seated in one of the outdoor patios while they waited for news to come to them. “No, I’d say you were just being cautious. Let’s see the facts. One, an offworlder just suddenly appears via methods that are not magic. Two, he immediately says he wants to speak with our leaders. Three, he looked worried.”

Juna nodded as she fiddled with the betrothal bracelet on her wrist, Yi had gifted it to her on her birthday. The tiny band of green gemstones twinkled in the sunlight. “I guess, I just wish they’d hurry up and tell us what’s going on.”

Then they both felt the magical tug that indicated a summons. They exchanged glances before heading to where the announcement would be made. Both were surprised to find instead only one of the council and the offworlder.

“Ah, Juna and Kel. This is Eugene; he is here for you two.” The offworlder, having features similar to Juna’s ethnicity, slightly bowed his head to them.

Kel blinked. “What why us?”

Eugene gave them both grave looks. “If you would consent, I can mentally give you the information you want.” Juna and Kel looked at each other again, and then nodded in agreement. Eugene then held out his hands. “Each of you please take a hand and just relax.”

Both Summoners did as they were told and there was a long pause. Kel reacted first when she finally released Eugene’s hand. “Whoa what?! Holy runes that sounds like a lot of trouble.”

“Yes I’m afraid it is, “ Eugene said sadly, “we wanted you two for we deemed you the most fit at adapting to the situation. You each may select certain champions to accompany you permanently. I’m sure your magics will allow you to summon others if needed.”

Juna chewed on her lower lip as she thought it over. From what they had just learned, she needed to take the ones she trusted most...and neither of them had the choice to say no. This was just way too big to ignore. “Alright, just give us the specifics of where you want us to gate and we’ll be there once we select our champions.”

Eugene nodded. “Very well, I have already imprinted the information to your memory. Please be quick, we have much work to get to. I will stay actually so that my superiors will recognize you as summoned help.”

The Elder looked a tinge worried. “May the magics protect you two.”
It was later that Juna made her selection, she chose to take Master Yi and Teemo, the two champions she trusted most. “Well those are my choices…what about you Kel?”

[Meryck]

The teleportation room managed to keep a few minutes of peace and quiet before it made the mistake of porting in the cantankerous, snarling Reploid nurse known as Rai Hymn.

On her arse.

"GODDAMMIT!!" Her unnaturally-mechanical, stocky legs flailed and got under the rest of her human, small form. Black, pixie-cut hair disheveled, bangs in her face, shorts and tank top rumpled, war-hammer strapped to her bat, tanned by nature, and only about 4'9". She huffed and stormed out of the teleportation pod, blowing the hair out of her golden eyes.

And then the other Reploid came.

The light of teleportation went off again, but instead of landing on her ass like the nurse, she cartwheeled out, landing gracefully on her feet. She wasn't that much taller than Rai- about three inches at most- but she was far more complete, as her body had normal legs. She was slender, as one would expect an assassin to be, jeans, boots, and t-shirt softly bagging around her, and pale. She tucked a few strands of translucent-white hair behind her ear, then lowered her amber sunglasses to let jolly ruby eyes glitter. "Howdy."

Rai snorted.

"Show off. Have some reservations, Ely." Elysium Serenade merely chuckled and re-adjusted her shades.

"You're just my 'cause my entrance was better'n' yours. Be glad that the boys think we're on vacation and Z's brand of showing off isn't going to be present."

Rai just huffed at that.

[Elf]

Beet-le-beet-le-beet-le-bee--

"Urrrgh." Ed tapped his automail foot impatiently against the bedroom carpet, the collision of bare metal to the floor sounding a clink in time with every thud. The clinkthud of his impatience wove an atonal symphony with the high-pitched, trilling ring the Hiigaran communicator emitted while Edward waited for Empress to pick up the other line.

Beet-le-beet-le-beet-le-beet-le-beet-le-bee--

"I don't CARE about your beetles," the alchemist huffed, now drumming his flesh fingers on the desk. "Just pick up the damn line."

Booot.

A blue light flashed on the circular communicator, and suddenly, a circle of light sprang up from the thing, suspended in midair--a holoscreen. Empress's countenance resolved into view. Relief bled through Edward at the familiar pallid complexion, hair so dark it may well have been Xingian, and almond-shaped, piercing green eyes.

The relief lasted all of half a heartbeat as impatience trampled over it, hooking up with his earlier rage and throwing a mosh pit.

"This is Empress..."

"ABOUT TIME!" the teenager howled. "Empress you would not BELIEVE this crap--I gotta know what the hell is REALLY going on here, cause this asswad isn't saying squat in this stupid LETTER he left me--"

"...Elric?"

"Yeah it's me, who were you expecting, a yellow porcupine? Anyway listen to this, this assface sends me this letter, just drops it in my mailbox with NO address and NO return address or NOTHIN', like he freakin' KNOWS me or something--"

"Edward--"

"And for all the infinite vastness of the Multiverse and your Hiigaran technology the jackass couldn't even find the decency to call me or something; noooo, he LEAVES me a LETTER like a freakin' psycho-stalker or something--"

"Edward--"

"AND THAT'S NOT EVEN MENTIONING WHAT'S IN IT, which I don't even--All of EXISTENCE?! What the hell is this crap, Empress? Who? Who could threaten THE WHOLE OF EXISTENCE, and why the F--"

"EDWARD!"

He choked, eyes flying wide in startlement. Normally Empress was jade-eyed ice. He could scarcely recall such a tone from her. So of course, rather than dealing with his sudden spike of fear, he turned it into more rage.

"WHAT?!"

"Please speak slowly Edward, I am also listening to a meeting and I can only process so much when the other tasks on my mind.”

He snorted a scoff. "What, are you on a Psionic conference call or something? Alright, whatever you like." He sighed. He wasn't about to pick a fight with Empress; he actually LIKED the woman, which was more than he could say of any of her coworkers. When Edward spoke again, he managed to cool his hot head enough to get words out at an intelligible rate and at a volume that didn't blow out the eardrums.

"This David Lawrence guy sent me a letter saying that he needed my help. He said some enemy--didn't say who--is invading the Hiigaran Empire and that it could mean the end of the whole Multiverse if they get what they want. Which doesn't exactly sound like I have a choice in whether I come or not," he finished indignantly. "Empress. What the hell is this all about?"

*****

Kel pursed her lips in thought. Normally, such a grave look would never be anywhere near the lighthearted, slightly airheaded Summoner's fair face, but the gravity of the situation had tightened her youthful features and brought an uncharacteristic darkness to her blue eyes.

"...Will." She looked up, her blue locking onto her best friend's amethyst. "I know he hasn't been a Champion for very long, but he's already a very skilled fighter..." She recalled the Will's first battle on the Fields of Justice with a slight grimace, remembering how the Homunculus had gone berserk after watching Master Yi fall. "...and a trustworthy ally." Will's countenance flitted to mind, and a small smile broke the melancholy on her face as she recalled the boy's optimism, his sunny looks, his wide-eyed honesty. "Plus, he seems to have taken a liking to me." She shrugged. "He says he has a girlfriend, so maybe I remind him of his sister back home or something."

"That's not..."

Kel froze, then whirled, wide-eyed.

"...exactly what it is." Will appeared from the corridor behind the Summoners, wearing a rueful smile that looked more pained than his apologetic looks typically did.

"Um..." Kel shifted her weight from one side to the other, suddenly feeling awkward in her own skin--her sky-blue robes shifted with each movement, her curly fluff of brown hair also fluttering. She hadn't meant to be talking about Will behind his back--it had just sort of happened that way!

Will let out a sigh, deep and weary. His face looked chiseled with a weight and exhaustion that didn't belong on such a round, babyish countenance. His tawny eyes looked as cloudy as ever, but now their gaze seemed to stare inward, studying some Leyline that even the Summoners couldn't see.

"...I should tell you." The seeming-teenager's tone dragged along the floor before it reached Kel's ears. "It's kind of hard, you know...seeing you every day and seeing..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry. No, I'm used to it by now--I should be used to it. But it's just...maybe I feel..." Will sighed, pulling his head up. He offered Kel another apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I'm not making any sense, huh?"

Slowly, bemusedly, the diminutive mage shook her head.

"Right..." Will dragged a hand through his hair, pulling back the golden-blond bangs into the rest of his shoulder-length tresses. As always, they fell right back into place as soon as he lowered his hand, framing his face. "I'm sorry," he said again, this time with less of that earlier melancholy and more of his softspoken optimism. "I'll explain it to you someday."

"...Someday might be good," Kel admitted. "Right now, Will...I hate to say, but we have work to do."

*****

Not ten seconds after the inter-dimensional portals spit out one very irate Reploid and one very be-sunglassessed Reploid, energy surged through the device, and the portal opened once more. Out of it stepped--not tumbled, nor cartwheeled, but stepped, as if it were any mundane doorway--two teenagers, a boy and a girl.

The girl possessed long hair, so jet-black that one might mistake her as of Asian descent if not for the Caucasian features and lightly-bronzed skin. Her hair was bound in a braid whose tail just brushed her waist. A red handkerchief sat tied around the end of the braid like a malformed bow. The girl had a bit of stature to her, standing at 5'7", but her build--neither overly petite nor overly voluptuous, possessing of mature curves yet athletic as only a youth could be--offset her height somewhat, making her a rather average figure to behold on first sight.

Unlike his dark-haired counterpart, the boy's hair was a bright shade of blond, a pale gold that those of a poetic disposition might refer to as 'angelic.' Yet the boy shared more similarities with the girl than differences. He, also, possessed an athletic build, though he clearly had not finished growing yet, as he stood about two inches taller than the girl. His facial features were so similar to the girl's that the fact they were siblings could only be mistaken by the blind. However, while the girl had a healthy amount of meat on her, her brother looked on the skinny side--not lanky like a boy who grows too fast for his feet, but more undernourished than anything. His complexion, much paler than his sister's no-fair-in-the-dead-of-winter tan, also gave a hint to a lack of overall health. Yet despite his apparently sickly appearance, the boy carried himself with a grace and sureness that professed an inner strength--both strength of limb and strength of will.

Both siblings had eyes of a clear blue, bright as sunlight reflecting off of summer seas. These two pairs of identical eyes swept the room in opposing arcs--she looked that way, he looked this way.

"Mm." The girl idly tapped a leather holster, one of two strapped to her thighs outside her boot-cut jeans, eliciting a light clinking sound that betrayed the presence of a firearm. "Nice. Kinda reminds me of Auntie Shader's lab, don't you think Joshua?"

The boy let out a noncommittal sigh. "If you say so, Mary. In any case, we--" His words died as his eyes met with those of Elysium. Blue orbs stared into crimson ones as if discerning hidden truths from the ruby pools...or as if they already had, and just wanted to confirm what they knew.

Mary noticed it, too. "Red eyes," she commented nonchalantly. She gave the white-haired assassin a cordial nod. "Nice."

"Anyway." The braided gunslinger took two sauntering steps forward, placing her within casual speaking distance of the only guy in the room who wasn't wearing a set of bulky Terran Marine body armor. He was a straight-backed fellow, somewhere in his mid thirties, with brown hair, mocha eyes, and an infinitely impatient expression.

"I'm Mary Azmaria Valentine, age 19, occupation Paranormal Detective of the Chi Detective Agency. Skills include expert marksmanship, Touch Telepathy and kicking the ass of anything I've got reason to. This is Joshua Christopher Valentine, age 16 and my little brother; occupation, same. His skills include melee combat, particularly with his back-handed longknives, and the gift of Second Sight."

Mary pulled on the collar of her sleeveless red linen shirt, straightening it compulsively while a confident smirk spread across her face. Her brother took one step to hover in his sister's shadow, causing his open, white, collared overshirt to flutter, except where the holsters of his longknives strapped crosswise to his back kept it stationary. His brown leather boots, identical to his sister's in all but size, let out a single clump on the linoleum floor.

"We heard about your predicament," Mary continued in her same even tone, only her choice of words themselves betraying the slightest snark. "We're here reporting for duty. Tell us where to shoot, Sir."

[iowan]

Empress mulled over her decision after hearing Ed’s “rant.” There was too much to explain and it unfortunately was her turn to state what Umbrella planned to do for the war effort. “I’m sorry Edward but I don’t have time to explain myself…I’m going to transfer you to people who can. If you’re lucky, you’ll get Arelia instead of her husband.” Without giving Ed a chance to retort, she rerouted him just as she was called upon to speak.

Setting her face back into its flat emotionless expression, her voice mirrored it. “Umbrella will be allowing use of our Tyrants and other bio weapons to help with the war. Not that it will be much help as the only real enemies we can affect are any indoctrinated organics the Reapers have taken. We are unsure as to how our weapons will affect the Reapers themselves despite their techno-organic nature.” She sensed Wesker’s approval in the back of her mind; he was never one to throw resources at a pointless situtation.

Tech Core’s Ceo nodded. A Technoar with sharp silver eyes, she was always known to have an equally sharp mind beneath that stoic Technoar face. “I would believe that our weapons would benefit the war more directly when involving the Reapers.”

****

Arelia stared down into the gate room through the protective glass of an upper balcony, where the newcomers had suddenly come bursting out of it. Chewing her lower lip, she returned to her task of helping to monitor the machines, they needed careful looking after or something messy could happen.

King and Monarch were poring over reports, arguing only in the way that those two understood each other.

“No, it’s…”

“But with the inclusion of this brother…”

“Bah, it’s still too risky!”

Arelia smiled to herself, and then jumped as a tiny beep alerted her to an incoming transmission to her personal number. The memo that accompanied it stated that was a…irate Edward Elric needing information about the war. Arelia remembered the alchemist from his last visit; he had been rather flabbergasted that she of all people was married to a man like King. Despite her attempts to try and explain why, he still partially refused to believe. Looking back to make sure King wasn’t paying attention, she answered.

“Edward, what a pleasant…” She stopped at the pissed off look on his face. “Um…never mind. I see Empress wants you to be informed about what’s going on…”

King’s eyes looked over the data pad he had been looking over with Monarch.

“Well it’s…oh it’s a huge mess Edward. I’m so sorry we have to involve you in this! But here’s the rundown.” Carefully Arelia explained who the Reapers were, how at the worst timing a dimensional rip had occurred that the Reapers discovered before the Hiigarans had been able to seal it. Now the Reapers, after learning of the immense technology at the Hiigaran’s fingertips, sought the ability to travel worlds as well…to spread their vicious cycle of wiping out all intelligent life in a galaxy or enslaving them.

King interjected once Arelia was finished. “What? We don’t need the shrimp’s help. All he’d do is get in the way and make people trip over him.” His British accent perfectly complimented his snark as a nasty grin spread across the otherwise handsome Tyrant’s face while Monarch gave him a disapproving frown.

“We need all the help we can get brother, this problem doesn’t just affect us now.” Monarch’s low southern tinged baritone reflected what he thought of King’s never ending tactic of doing everything in his power to aggravate Elric.

Meanwhile in the gate room itself, Darion Morgan gave his data pad a tap, crossing out a set of names on the list. The Terran was very annoyed at this point, everything needed to go according to schedule and even him factoring in the chance of variables, and things were not going as he wanted. They still needed the delegation from the League of Legends, that Edward Elric alchemist, the superheroes, and the Azerothians.

Raising his eyes to Mary’s introduction, his eyes roamed over her, her brother, and the Reploids, then he gave another irritated tap to his data pad. “I see. Very well, I am Commander Darion Morgan of the Hiigaran Interdimensional Taskforce, I will be your liaison once we have finished gathering up the rest of the offworlders.” His tone was tinged with the brisk professional tone of someone who used to things moving smoothly, his accent was a light Irish. “Now if you would please clear out the area you are standing in unless you want a large group of people to suddenly drop on top of you…” He made a swishing motion with his hands and the marines in the room prodded everyone off to the side. “There’s a side room over there where you can find refreshments and relax until we get everyone here.” The Terran’s tone brooked no opposition.

****

Juna nodded at Kel’s proclamation. “Yes, we have work to do…and it sounds unpleasant at the very least.”

“I see, so that is why we have been summoned.” Directly appearing behind Will was the somber Master Yi, a chirpy Teemo perched on his shoulder. The Wuju Bladesman gave no sign he was bothered by the Yordle’s chosen spot.

Teemo gave a wave with a tiny hand. “Ooh, are we going somewhere?” Master Yi reached up to transfer Teemo to Juna, the Yordle happily allowing the Summoner to hold him like a giant living breathing teddy bear.

Juna gave a smile at her lover before she playfully ruffled Teemo’s ears. “Yes indeed little one, we’re going somewhere.”

Eugene inclined his head again. “If you please, we’d like to get moving as quickly as possible. And please don’t make any sudden movements when we get there. We did not calculate that you could actually be capable of traveling like this yourself.”

Juna nodded. “Ok Kel, we’re going to have to do this one together considering the distance and the amount of people we’re transporting.”

Kel nodded her agreement as Juna put Teemo down and the two Summoners faced each other. “Ok you guys, you know the drill.”
Well at least, Yi and Teemo did, Will had no clue. Yi beckoned to his student. “Here stand between them, the spell needs to encompass all of us to work. “ Teemo was eagerly bouncing in place as the champions took their positions along with Eugene. The two Summoners then wove their hands in mirror movements of the other, their words forming a complex series of spells.

Teemo then remembered something. “Oh! You might to hold on! This might be a little…” He couldn’t finish his sentence before the rings of light appeared to surround the entire group and with a bright flash, they were gone.

Darion was startled out of his train of thought by the sudden appearance of a series of light rings that had just appeared in the middle of the floor. The marines tensed, but the light cleared to reveal the group standing in the middle of it…a very ill looking Eugene among them.

Immediately there was a clatter of weapons as the group ground themselves now facing down the barrels of several assault rifles. “HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!”

Eugene looked like he was trying to speak, but his apparent nausea was preventing him from doing so. Juna just looked startled. “What…”

A marine roughly prodded her with his rifle. “I said hands where we can…” Bad move.

The marine suddenly found himself flat on his back, held down by a surprisingly thin but strong arm, and a sword blade mere inches from severing his head off his shoulders, armor and all. Master Yi was angry, which was an understatement.

“You…do…not…TOUCH her!”

[Meryck]

Ely blinked at being herded, but decided to go along with it- for now, at least. Whapping Rai- who was already reaching for her warhammer- and turning, she skittered to the room the commander had motioned toward, nurse at her heels. She managed to get in about two moments before the other Reploid.

Not that it helped. WHAM.

As Ely pulled herself back to her feet, wobbly, rubbing her sore-head, Rai strapped her weapon back on with a snort. She then turned, mechanical legs whining slightly, and stalked off for the refreshments.

"Need food", she grumbled, and that was the end of the rage.

As the assassin got her bearings back, she heard the clatter coming from the 'porting room, and peered out.

Blinked once. Twice. Thrice.

"...Well, sh*t."

[Glyph]

Which, of course, seemed to be the perfect cue for the portal to thrum to life once again, because a trio of new faces decided to seize that exact moment to appear in the gate room.

One appeared slightly separate from the other two, as if she'd jumped their place in line. Her richly bronzed skin glowed beneath the pale lighting, and her wiry, ink-black hair hung coiled in long, perfect ringlets, rippling with every minuscule movement, nearly brushing her hips... And what hips they were--draped in black velvet and looped with gold, they matched the rest of her perfectly, right down to the dangerous, telling shimmer behind exotic yellow eyes and the polished gleam of her coy smile...

Amused, the she-demon smiled.

"Looks like we dropped in at a bad time, eh, mi corazón?"

The addressed bit back a sickened grimace at her croon, but his eyes flashed with all the fury of the mid-day sun, bundled in ice. His voice came in a dark rumble, hinting at a creature that possessed more punch than his slim--achingly slim, had the tan overcoat not hidden his worst angles--body seemed capable of packing.

"Hold your tongue, Avaritia."

"I shan't. There's no telling what germs I might catch."

The paler demon heard a low growl rumble from behind, but he ignored it in favor of backing himself and the growler away from the swords and guns as placating as his dignity and rank would allow. Avaritia could go and get herself killed for all he cared, but Epitome would be damned if he'd let her stupidity bring harm upon a single hair on Sarah's head, and if that earned him an irritated fist to the jaw from the stocky, hazel-eyed human later, then so be it.