Out of the Gate and into the Renaissance Fair

[Ururu Kyuuei]

The universe folded in on itself as white gave way to bursts of color, sounds of wind, the noise of reverberation at a high octave and starlight. It only seemed to last for an instant but Ururu could have sworn she saw something more even as she and Hikaru emerged from the gateway. Something entirely familiar to her old life…?

Was there a link or a loophole in there?

“Well I’m alive,” Hikaru breathed with white knuckles wrapped around her creator’s hand.

Both of them took a moment to ensure they hadn’t left anything behind. Dusters, tools, and everything else were still there. Even the cloth masks they hadn’t bothered to use were still there. Whatever it was, it didn’t affect matter in any noticeable manner.

“Could be a fluke, we may need to test it with more skin contact-“

Hikaru’s hand suddenly met the back Ururu’s head loudly in a smack that sent a bird or two from a nearby tree, “Let’s keep our focus shall we? I am not ‘banging’ you in the middle of the wilderness where anyone can walk up on us and kill us. Or watch.”

“I never said anything about banging, but if you want,” Ururu’s grin widened even as she had to dodge out of the way of an even stronger slap to the back of her head.

Hikaru let out a long suffering groan that seemed to be more than just the situation, but she couldn’t keep the bit of humor in it from showing through. How was it that she was the more mature one of the two when Ururu was technically older by a number of years? Everything she knew about people said that it should have been the exact opposite.

Ururu shrugged, “Maybe I’m special that way.”

“You know,” HIkaru blinked and paused as a thought crossed her mind, “Is it me or have we been plucking whole thoughts from each other without even trying?”

Another shrug accompanied her response, “Maybe it’s this body or whatever that’s balancing my power?”

Everything about the place was odd… well no not this place… Forest, a road, blue skies, birds, stone brick archway… all in all normal as far as Ururu was concerned. For that matter a lot of it matched up with a number of ruins she was used to exploring in her free time. All it needed now were some power lines hanging from stone or wood pillars and it’d be home.

“Yep maybe something underneath the underneath,” Ururu said with a cringe.

The side long glance Ururu received for her words said more than her own expression. Quoting, even partially, shinobi dogma wasn’t a good sign for their situation. Though as they had yet to be in a fight for their lives, having people hunting them for wanting to break from tradition, theft, misunderstandings involving corpses of clones, explosive gore well yeah, maybe for once their luck would hold out, or not.

Really this world was just too new to predict yet.

Research would solve that and gathering such intelligence could only be done where people congregated. So that meant mainly one of three things, a library, a market, or…

“First tavern on the right and straight on to hangover.”

Hikaru’s hands settled on Ururu’s shoulders in a rather restraining fashion, “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Ururu murmured with a dangerous tone on her lips. She hadn’t had a drink in well a while, and more than anything

Said fingers tightened, “One you look like your nine, two that liver you have may as well be. You can skip hangover and go straight to alcohol poisoning.”

Logic, sometimes, Ururu hated it and she was stuck in this body until she could create a new one. Killing herself through imbibing would be… problematic. But that didn’t mean she’d have to abstain completely. Just take a little bit at a time. Right?

“I suppose,” Ururu acquiesced, “but first chance we get, were building up my tolerance.”

The Network let her know exactly what HIkaru was thinking on that subject but Ururu chose to ignore it. After all what was a new life without new aspirations? Dull boredom.

But unfortunately waiting here wasn’t helping either. Obviously the group who had seen them earlier was long gone and they couldn’t expect someone else to just show up. So like most research, they had to go out and make their own rather than wait for it to happen to them.

“Let’s get moving again.”

Hikaru nodded before taking Ururu’s hand and both were moving down the road at a more brisk pace than they had in the previous world of white.

[Ururu Kyuuei]

Ururu and Hikaru had been walking in companionable silence for a while with not a trace of a single bit architecture beyond a broken down cart that was beyond Ururu’s ability to repair at the moment. Not that she would have given that if she could she wouldn’t need it in the first place.

So as it stood, or rather it didn’t, made it a moot point.

If not for the fact that they had actually seen people Ururu might have been worried that this place would have been completely uninhabited and that Mad God had lied. But that brought up another subject that had been silently plaguing Ururu these first few hours.

The implication was that everything was made of omnilium. At first that could have just been a metaphor to how valuable it was but with what happened to Saru when she dismissed the body… If that was the case with her own body that could well mean a number of things a few she didn’t want to think on. What worried her was how each of the personas were and some cases are asleep.

That had never happened before.

Though it was an easy matter to wake them up, however she didn’t want to expend the amount of chakra she needed to do so at the moment. And the fact of the matter was her mind still felt jumbled from the stark differences her life had taken in the past few hours let alone the past few days.

One day she was planning on escaping the village, the next she was being captured and then… bam, she was here.

Seriously it was a miracle she was sane.

How does someone not go nuts? How did this affect her world view? She had no world anymore which that alone had a LOT of positives attached. Enough possibly she could be unique. No more shinobi? But He said there were more like her? People beyond the norm? That just meant that humans with too much power, power they didn’t deserve.

Power to end worlds.

Yep that’s what people did the energies of creation, used it to destroy, corrupt and dominate others. She had been very close that as well. Hikaru pulled her back. Her soul saved from damning itself into becoming an abomination that would have seen the world on its knees.

That wasn’t her now. She’d have no part in any war if she could help it.

Now all she had to do was not get dragged into some stranger’s war. Which well, Ururu didn’t want to think about what would motivate her to do that, she just knew it was distinct possibility that she didn’t want to deal with.

They walked on, after all it was a beautiful day and they needed to research this world lest this world become their only and total reality.

If she was going to be free of those shackles of history she wouldn’t let ignorance replace them any more than fate

[Ururu Kyuuei]

One would think that it would be a simple and smart effort to build something substantial near the gate in order to have a better trade and security opportunities. Even with the now unobservable scouts they couldn't possibly keep their borders secure in any major way. A fort of observatory at least would have been ideal for alerting the residents to the presence of undesirables.

Then again could this place be so peaceful that advanced militarization was unnecessary? Far be it for her to change the status quo if that was the actual situation at hand. But that seemed unlikely. Human nature and her experiences with such vehemently made that clear. Plus there would have been significantly more civilization closer to the gate than there was.

But no, the changes in the landscape were non-existent; sure there were minors signs of humanity in the refuse on the roadside but beyond that nothing. The distances involved seemed to suggest something more, that holding any kind of permanent residency there was untenable at the least, suicide at worst.

So what was the catch?

What force was so great that it would keep whatever bit of sapience that inhabited this area far away from a gateway that was so obviously an access point to others? How much of a miracle was it that she had gone to this world?

Ururu shivered she had no idea what had lurked behind those other archways but the lack of cross-traffic between them was concerning.

A thought occurred to her suddenly, what if the lack of cross-traffic wasn't because people feared the Outside but rather people Outside feared the place she was in. Something about it maybe kept it clear of habitation?

Unfortunately this was all just idle speculation. Nothing at the moment could confirm or deny any of this until she found something conclusive. Hopefully by then it wouldn't be to late for her to escape or combat the problem.

“Could be w-” Hikaru began but Ururu's hand silenced her with a finger to her mouth. Or rather in it.

“Don't go handing fate lines like that.” Ururu said with a cringe.

Hikaru gave her a penetrating look before she lightly bit down on Ururu's finger as a warning which she took promptly.

“Superstitious much?” Her companion said once the offensive digit had been removed.

“A Mad God kidnapped us and reconstituted our matter into a material that as far as I know doesn't exist in nature.” Ururu said with a small amount of annoyance, “I think we have a fairly good reason to be suspicious of casual circumstance and coincidence.”

Hikaru shrugged as if this were something normal. Then again for her it arguably was or least similar enough not to bother her to any great deal.

They carried on quietly for some time after that, the silence only broken by their foot falls and birds talking incessantly. Most likely their conversation regarding the two idiots who would risk their lives walking so blatantly down Death's Driveway to ring his doorbell.

Ururu sighed and finally broke their mutualsilence, “Are our lives so skewed that this barely above normal?”

Hikaru chuckled, “We were never normal to begin. If you want to be technical about, up until recently I didn't even exist. How many people can say that with a straight face?”

Nodding, Ururu had to concede the point as true enough; as painful as it was. But then again the circumstances that put her in this place the ones that gave her Hikaru and the others... were ones she'd never change.

What do you call a life where imaginary friends had souls and bodies given to them in a moment of pain and grief?

Definitely not normal but not wrong either.

Nothing this good could ever be wrong even when they were cross with each others' perspective.

The road began to widen a bit as the trees themselves parted for once. Ururu noted at once this area was looking a bit more tread upon which itself was probably a good thing. And more importantly recently as well.

Then again it just occurred to her if this area and the path behind them wasn't used more than occasionally, much of the growth she had seen so far would have been working to reclaim it.

So probably thoroughly used in mass but not regularly. Just enough to ensure any new growth is reasonably and totally trampled. This bespoke of large organized unit movements rather than the regular scout patrols she had seen hinted at. Which meant this area about an hour's walk from the gate was a staging ground or close to one.

A staging ground meant that some form civilization had to be near by.

Both Ururu and Hikaru hoped that it was a friendly civilization. Or at least one oblivious enough to admit them long enough learn what the hell was going on around here.

[Ururu Kyuuei]

The staging ground was as Ururu suspected; the road was still thoroughly traveled though each of the roadsides were, while not as much, showed signs of humanity's need to section and compartmentalize things.

Fencing made from weathered wood that showed some level of care marked where Ururu speculated that some form beast of burden had been kept. For that matter ash darkened earth were common as well, hinting at frequent, greasy use of fire pits.

Her eyes scanned side to side of where the forest still dared to encroach but had been thinned considerably as well by humanity's defiance of nature. Nearly three hundred meters wide and another nine hundred to the top of the hill which no doubt had been taller before people had showed up to reform the land; if the raised level of the forest's edge was anything to go by. That didn't even include the numerous camping glades that existed beyond the edges also.

Just how massive of a force were thrown through that archway and how big of a response was expected that no one dared to mount a defensive structure at such an ideal choke point?

Big enough if this area was anything to go by.

Mounting the hill, Ururu felt her eyes widen as the land itself seemed to unfold before her. In the distance were streamers of smoke but closer was what looked to be exactly what she had been expecting. Though by the looks of it, abandoned as it was for the moment, the fortified tower had a profile to it that could oversee the entire valley that had opened up in front of her eyes. Perhaps more so.

The tower for that matter was cleverly built. Now that she was practically underneath it was when it was mostly visible. Whoever designed it built it to blend in with the horizon in general shape and coloring of the forest. No doubt if someone was stationed in it they could have seen her coming for the last forty-five minutes as the line of sight matched the angle of the hill she had found herself on.

While not ideal at monitoring the archway it certainly gave support for the road itself. But again it didn't make much sense. The fortifications were so minimalist that Ururu could swear that she was missing some unknown aspect to their reasoning. No one able to comprehend and construct the tower such that it was, would be able to overlook such a gap in their defenses.

It was like purposely blinding yourself.

Almost like there was a better alternative. Like the ability to... to fly.

Which seemed impossible to Ururu. Her own world had only developed reliable flying machines half a century ago that didn't require fuuton. A place such as this still using basic plate-mail wouldn't have any means of prolonged aerial patrols. That was something her people hadn't even conquered due to fuel concerns with exception of, again, fuuton users. The few machines that could make such a journey were huge unwieldy things that could be seen from literally hundreds of miles and heard for even further.

But it fit.

And what had the Mad God said?

Omnilium is everything, without it you were nothing, or something along those lines.

She was made of it. Her clones formed from chakra became it when dismissed. So did that mean Everything Is Omnilium also? Like chakra? Could it form the backbone of the system that equated essentially to programmable matter? What could even the layman not do with such a technology? Hell there wouldn't even been technology in a traditional sense.

Raw creativity would be all that was needed to overcome pitiful things like R&D budgets and time. Any leaps of logic or philosophy could potentially be valid.

Something niggled in the back of her head, glancing at Hikaru her companion nodded. They had been thinking along similar trains of thought. Or maybe it was instinctual? One thought triggering something programmed into these bodes.

Again the sense that these bodies weren't their originals. While normal for Hikaru's case, Ururu's own may not be the one she had been in. A replica?

And if that was the case and indeed made certain amount of sense... how much effort and will could she exert over omnilium? Just how far could she take and change things. Or for that matter how much could she change herself.

The fact that her knowledge of how chakra worked directly contradicted
the results she had so far was... Scary. But if her body had been programmed with that sentient balancing system that she had encountered, the sickness she had suffered has been more her fighting her own body and tearing itself apart.

Her will had been exerting itself on omnilium for lack of better metaphor had its processing resources used up. She had been asking for something it was incapable of at the time.

But what about now? Or how about in a day or week from now? She already felt more her, more potent, more capable just be breathing this air and eating a few rations.

Ururu paused by under the shadow of the tower, the wind blowing softly. Hikaru also stopped after a few feet and noticing the 'emotion' often indicating indecision and curiosity within her creator.

Breathing softly Ururu held out her hand, often like she had envisioned the hokage of old performing their legendary Rasengan techniques. However in this case Ururu focused on herself and saught not the power of chakra but something else... Raw essence. To see it, to bring it into visible being.

A breath in and a breath out. Envisioning it like quicksilver and yet prismatic. Chromatic. Untarnished.

Something stirred both in her heart and her hand as she Knew what she had done in a bright bold character of thought.

Opening her eyes a perfect orb of reflective chrome was held in her hands. Something about it was dense, denser that it would have been just a few hours ago. Instinctively this knowledge she knew was supposed to be innate. It was almost a liquid, a solid and a gas and yet it was between and beyond those inept descriptions.

Just what else could she do with this and did she have enough to begin making a new life here? Still though if she figured this out in just a handful of hours, how about people who had spent their entire lives here? What could she learn from them and would they share it freely or expect more from her than they did of themselves?

It reminded her of a book she once read, a man, a trader said quite simply and perhaps prophetically, 'I'll trade you these for less of these.'

Sage protect her if that kind of thinking was common here.

Either she'd have this place conquered in less that a week or she'd be puling her brains out by the ends of her hair. At the moment she wasn't sure which fate would be worse.

But Ururu definitely wanted to find out; she just hoped she wouldn't live to regret that sentiment

[Ururu Kyuuei]

The shadows were growing longer quickly now, merging together like the quicksilver in her hands. With a thought, Ururu banished the orb back within herself before turning to move on before darkness set in.

So far that meant day was about to end unless this place was one of the binary star systems astronomers had discovered within intergalactic spitting distance of earth.

That's at least that what she thought it might be like, not like she could be a genius in everything. Those kinds of legendary people from shounen manga simply didn't exist. No specialized knowledge was at least the normal for the abnormally intelligent.

But for now those thoughts needed to be waylaid for more conventional practicality, like finding shelter. If this place was like any other number of towns she had visited in her life time, she was bound to find an inn or a tavern of some sort. Given the construction of the fort, she could guess that any other buildings would likely follow the Foreigner designs she had seen rarely among those from the far east of her continent and beyond.

That left her with a general idea what she was looking for and began moving off.

“First tavern we see, we're going to eat some proper dinner” Hikaru said, breaking the silence as they both started forward on the road again.

Ururu nodded in agreement even as she responded, “Proper being with a good amount of alcohol.”

Hikaru snorted, “If you get yourself drunk you're sleeping on the floor or in the bathroom.”

“Who says they even have a bathroom, this place is Clan War era technology at best if that fort is anything to go by. They probably don't even know about sanitizing water.” Ururu said with a grin, and could tell this time Ururu had won the argument.

“Fine but we're sharing then.” Hikaru muttered grudgingly.

“Oh? An indirect kiss... how scandalously prudish of you.” Ururu chided and brought her arm around her companion's shoulder. Leaning in close enough where she cold nibble of her ears if Ururu was so inclined she then whispered, “Don't worry we'll find some place very private before I really start the banging.”

A blush rose only slightly in Hikaru's face as, she was far to used to this sort of behavior normally... But in this case it was the emotions radiating through the Network accompanied by the burst of imaginary images that got to her. Something to do with paper thin walls and an unintended audience.

Ururu, despite the ordeals so far, seemed to be adapting spetacularly.

This sort of back and forth behavior went on as the Staging Grounds and the Fort fell behind them by more than an hour's brisk walk. Leisurely really for the pair of koinichi but for most brisk to be certain. And thats how they found themselves the outer limits of what looked to be a farming community.

Or what Ururu supposed was a farming community. There was a distinct lack of rice. And instead long stock that well above her head by twice her own body length, or perhaps even further. At the end and to the upper sides were long ovals and maybe bits of white, yellow and brown.

Was it some kind of squash tree orchard? The stems seemed rather green and thin to be trunks, but... Well it was odd to say the least. More than that though was the fact that the were in rows rather than staged in a grid like rice patties would be set.

Regardless, it was far too orderly to be naturally occurring and the size and greenness of the stems bespoke of young plants that couldn't be more than a year old. Some had been working this land recently.

To reinforce this point on the opposite side of the road, brush had given way to a series of trees that was most definitely an orchard. They grew rather top heavy and had some sort of dark berry with sharp oval leaves in fern like bunches.

Leading her partner over Ururu found one of the darker ones hanging over towards the edge of the road and plucked off to sample it.

Hikaru suddenly stiffened, her mind racing between theft, to idiocy of trying an unknown consumable which didn't leave enough time to process the actions before Ururu popped it into her mouth whole.

The outer fleshy part didn't really have a taste up until the point she bit into it. Whatever she was expecting it hadn't been this. Bitter with a pungent oily aroma erupted into her mouth, nose and psyche.

With a juicy and roaring gag she relieved her mouth of the offending fruit but that didn't remove the taste, the smell or the trauma of the memory. So much was the feeling that her arms and spasmed between sputters and the follow up gagging as even her saliva betrayed her with that same flavor.

The Network was also shivering with the feedback of the horrendous experience its creator was subjecting it too. Enough even Hikaru was starting to look a bit green but not so much that she wasn't able to support Ururu who may not be one to survive the night if her expression was anything to go by.

A couple of minutes passed by with the aid of most of the pair's stock of canteen water, more than either would have liked but a necessity of the situation. Gagging and a few dry heaves though were all that was left by then, all the while Hikaru had a mild look of disapproval and concern playing on her face. In her opinion this as a perfect time to be judgemental of Ururu's actions, but part of her was reflecting on the deeper meaning of the situation.

It's seemed almost as if in the span of a few days she had to managed to regress in maturity in several subtle ways. But today and more pointed since arrival here it had gotten worse. Maybe part of the balance of this world?

She knew and understood the principles of the immortality jutsu and it should have been isolating Ururu from hormonal and general biochemistry associated with the brain of a child... but it wasn't.

"Better?" Hikaru asked with a slight tone of worry.

Groggily with drool hanging down her prepubescent face, Ururu nodded, "Yeah."

More was said in the Network, a lot of it unintended, but general message was the same. Tavern, sleep, food and alcohol. Preferably all at once but only one of those items was necessary.

Leading her carefully, the pair began again their brisk pace into the town and this time with no detours or contemplative musings.

Farms gave way soon enough to the town proper and various shops a stalls that we're closing for the evening. Not that they were interested, instead their eyes were peeled for the hearthy glow of a fire and the sound of music; both of which were so endemic to inns and taverns.

Luck it seemed as they were met with a golden orange light flickering through a window and edges of a door frame.

Looking the place over they found everything about the place seemed to be either some heavy wood or wrought iron save from the dull glass through which most of the light in the establishment was escaping through. A second glance and an averted gaze from the wheat colored light revealed a sign barely illuminated by the last few rays of the sun.

The Squire’s Precipice, featuring a caricature of a boy on an overly large horse and an equally large hill. In one arm was a shield and the other a tinkered of some golden liquid. Hopefully cider.

“This’ll do” Ururu said finally and with no other warning, dragged Hikaru and herself in through the front door.

[Ururu Kyuuei]

When the pair finally entered the Squire's Precipice's common room Ururu was feeling a least bit more at ease with stomach again, not completely but enough where she could probably stomach food. Alcohol on the other hand wasn't sounding nearly as good as it had a while ago.

Which may have been the subtle emotions being projected by Hikaru to try and dissuade her from that particular course of action. If that was what it was though it was working given that sour look playing on the clone master's face which grew even deeper when the various corked glass bottles fell within view of her gaze. Instead her eyes shifted to sweeping the room for possible threats, signs of food, and hints as to the currency used by this place.

Her tired hunch had it that some form of raw omnilium being minted into coin of sorts. In which case they'd probably be set given how much of an essence she could feel in her veins now that she knew what to look for.

It was rather odd all things considered. Her sense had a stronger notion of her chakra still. That was practically second nature to her but now... this other feeling this living active understanding of the balance in the world was likely the omnilium itself in her body. The more of it she had, the more the balance was in her favor.

Which made her loathe to part with it but she probably had no choice if she wanted to eat and sleep some place comfortable. But worse was this bubbling bit of froth that was her understanding of what she was now and how it all connected. Giving up any bit of that felt like a threat to her very existence.

Then again so was starving to death or getting mugged for being too tired to even defend herself. Which more or less sealed the deal on her decision.

As the door closed behind her and a bell rang, people glanced from what they were doing to inspect the newcomers. Apparently two preteen humans was unusual enough that conversation stopped and a wariness fell upon the common room. The only person who seemed to continue what they were doing was the Bard by the fire who had a little ditty on the tips of his fingers of a fiddle, but that didn't leave him oblivious. In fact of all the people he seemed to be the most aware of them with a rather striking and piercing stare.

Ururu however wasn't one to be dumbstruck by the attention. Throwing back her leather hood so it fell across her backpack she moved forward to the bar which had a thuggish tender cleaning a glass. Hikaru mirrored the motion and the tension on the room both raised and dropped. Everyone was watching and waiting for them to do something.

Possibly violent.

The bar's tender grunted out a string of words, just barely looking up from the glass he was still polishing, “Give 's no trouble primes and ye can have a room and dinner for three omnipence. If ye want a tub, it'll be four for the both of ye. If ye want a priv'te dinner then it'll be four or five.”

Something in Ururu twisted and translated. It was clear he wasn't speaking the common tongue of her nation but that same other-force in her knew and understood his words. The amount he wanted for Hikaru and her to stay was also microscopic compared to the wealth she had accumulated.

A pence was the smallest denomination omnilium could take which itself helped Ururu feel a little bit better about giving away what was essentially bits of her body.

With an uneasy movement she slowly reached into her duster pocket as if pilfering through a money bag and conjured five coins of gold before dropping them on the counter-top. Each one had the profile likeness of the barman.

The man fingered the coins a bit as if testing them before his retreating hand took them and left a key in their place with a silver 5 engraved on it. A small smile played on his lips.

“Ring d' bell when ye want the tub brought up. Food will beh 'p there shorten.”

Ururu nodded and both went up little more than a nod. Behind them they could hear a collective breath being released which if anything told them more about this world than any other.

First was that they stood out, second they were easily identified as primes whatever those were... and further more they weren't trusted easily. Finally Ururu's hunch was right, though her worry about cost of living was... exaggerated by a great degree.

Finding their room on the second floor Ururu felt her body start to give out as she hit the mattress with all the thud that her small body could provide. She stayed there for who knew how long as her mind listed on the edge of sleep and strained wakefulness when the smell followed by the knock of food pushed her back into alertness.

A young serving girl greeted them at the door with a heavy capped platter in her hands that was steaming like a small fire. The dress she was wearing was barely more than a rag though it was clean. Her face also looked to have a perpetual blush on it as well as she came in and laid the food on the desk that had been provided by the far right hand wall. With a look to determine if they wanted any other services (hinted with a raised skirt) both of koinichi blushed and gave a rather embarrassed no thanks before she too retreated out of the room.

Food and drink made for a quiet mechanical affair and normally a shared bath was something Ururu relished but the weight of their long six hour day was laying on her something more fierce than even day of hard training. The strange meat and vegetables while delicious went unremarked and a blur and so it was with little discourse or conversation that Ururu found herself curled up naked next to her long time lover, seeking not carnal fulfillment but just simple contact of the one human being who she trusted in this world and any other.

Sleep came swiftly but not comfortably.

Temporarily leaving thread for the astral realm

[Ururu Kyuuei]

And back from the astral realm

Ururu yawned as she sluffed off the first vestiges of sleep. Fingers twisted in a stretch along with the rest of her body. There was a warm feeling all around her as the feeling of skin contact was pervasive. Hikaru's body.

Warm heavily freckled tan skin was meshed between her own limbs making them a veritable human tangle. Par for the course really. Though the differences were still there.

Less squishy, more wiry on both sides of their party. But for once, it felt like they fit together better than Ururu could ever remember. It brought a sense of completeness that normally only came on as an afterglow of their more gratuitous acts.

But for now at least, this was something she could accept wholeheartedly, maybe in the future it would help in other areas... However reality wasn't going to wait on them and Ururu forced her eyes open.

Her near mirror image greeted her and she placed a touching kiss before untangling herself from Hikaru who stirred immediately.

There was too much to do today to lull around under the covers of bed even with so much incentive to do so. No this world was an unknown, albeit a strangely familiar unknown that she needed to document...

Speaking of which, or rather thinking of which she had the strangest dream last night involving a purple midget, tentacles and her Bridge strangely decorated in water and books. While that wasn't really above normal for her dreams, having others that weren't bits of personality froth was unusual

“It wasn't a normal dream. We did have a visitor” Hikaru said in a rather soft but sure tone.

Ururu blinked. Odd. Well maybe in time the reasons for such would be revealed and hopefully whoever it was wouldn't make a habit of it. If whatever she was could find her way to the Bridge... well getting access to an unoccupied clone was actually possible.

Which could have some bad repercussions.

Bad things she didn't want to think about... if that visitor was able to bridge the gap in the Bridge that was usually filled by Ururu's brain... Well. She simply had to change her mindscape to accommodate undesirable breaking and enterings.

That would have to be later with a lot. Read A LOT. Of meditation. On par with the time she ended up first constructing the Bridge. Which was rather tedious now that she thought to remember about it.

“Eugh...” Ururu groaned.

At least today it was more traveling which meant clothes. Clothes to be worn, which if this kept up would need to be the first things that fell off her. Her duster aside her current costume weren't really meant for cross country travel on foot.

If only she'd been on her chopper when that Mad God had abducted her. Then at least she and Hikaru could manage a much greater distance in the course of a day. The again she still couldn't figure out where most of the foot traffic was.

Could flight really be that reliable and if so where were people getting it from?

She hadn't heard any flying machines to prompt her to look up. But then again she hadn't bothered to pay much attention either. For that matter she hadn't seen any roads that went past the other side of the Archway either. Which was odd now that she thought about it, why not go in all four directions.

What was stopping them? Human progress rarely cared about such minor inconveniences as forests or other geographical obstacles.

Things were not adding up to a point where one plus one kept equaling eleven rather than two.

Sighing Ururu finished throwing on her clothes and part of her was dying for a fresh pair of underwear. Everything not in her backpack was in her Book of Cosmos, and that- well that hadn't been working the way she had built it since she had gotten here.

If she ended up getting bladder infection, there would be hell to pay; Deity or not, that Mad God was going to be screaming uncle.

Glancing back Ururu spotted Hikaru doing much the same. Shame, but some taboos must be afforded consideration before breaking them. The last thing Ururu wanted to do was have a lynching mob chasing after her for public indecency.

Once was enough.

“Ready?” Ururu said, shooting her companion a look.

Grunting Hikaru sped up, not wanting to risk being drugged out of the room barely clothed. Another grunt of pulling her own duster up, Hikaru replied, “Yeah I am.”

The trip down stairs was unremarkable at best, the sounds that greeted them was a quiet timber of headaches and the smell fresh eggs, some sort of soup if Ururu's nose was right and something undeniably delicious and utterly foreign..

Now that she was mostly conscious she could make out a number of wooden tables which were now empty, they sported intricately carved stools that looked to have once been kegs of some kind. The walls where the stairs was hidden behind also had several larger inlaid barrels.

Possibly whole as they looked like they could be removed.

The fire upon the hearth had gone out and the bard that had been staring at them so showed no sign of having been there beyond an empty tankard set up on his stool.

Of the few occupants of the room who didn't appear to be suffering from an acute case of hangoveritus, they were stooped over bowls of soup and a plate of eggs with funny strips of streaked meat which was the smell she hadn't been able to puzzle out.

Her stomach growled and just like that she could hear the sound of a cup of some sort moving and being polished.
Ururu tracked the noise to the barkeep who didn't look any more worse for wear, despite the other people who seemed less than human at the moment. Black shoulder length hair with an ever so slight wave to it, back eyes and a graying mustache and beard. Thick burly body..

“Gunna stay fer br'kfest? C'mes with th' room if ye eat now.” He said still not looking up more than an eye from a glass mug which practically sparkled at this point.
Sharing a nod with Hikaru, they both clambered up onto a high stool at the bar. Tall enough where grown men wouldn't even reach the floor but neither one seemed to have an issue.

“Molly t' mar plates!” He called, as for once his neck actually straightened and aimed towards to kitchens or what Ururu took for such. Several of the hunched over people also elicited groans from the volume his voice took.
“Ah take ye two are fr'm aut of town?” The keep said in a lower octave.

Ururu giggled, “What was your first clue barkeep-san?”
He set the mug down, “N'me's Samuel. Samuel Goodf'ller. And weh nev'r ge primes th's close ta the Gate.” Then he nodded towards their nether areas. “Ye'h shoes, don't see like of th'm.”

Hikaru blushed at first before she realized Samuel was referencing their feet rather than anything more private. Ururu was rubbing off on her. That was the only explanation.

“An’ ta be frank, ye don’t want to be not’ced as primes if ye cannae ‘elp it. Ta war with Cur’scant means te want ta ‘cruit em good.” He nodded to himself in agreement before wiping down the counter in front of the two before giving them rolls of silverware. Two implements were decidedly foreign while the other was a pair of dull pewter chopsticks and the third was a corruption of a soup spoon.

Pewter. That was a new one for both of them.

A second later the door to the kitchen swung open the same serving girl, Molly apparently, from last night appeared with two trays food. Her hair like that of Samuel was black but more of a wave, her dress this time green satin that had seen better days as well. But was was noticeable was not the food but how short the dress.

And she was still blushing.

“Well I’ll lev ye too it, Ah imagine ye two are head’n fer the Tourney right?” Samuel said with a glimmer in his eyes.

That instant time slowed down or at least it felt like it as Ururu engaged the Network into its full bandwidth taking them both into a half-dive. The room itself seemed to darken and two spotlight shined down on the pair that was the instinctual knowledge of each other's position.

A tournament, those things in the historical past of the foreign lands always had large cash prizes or some sort of wealth. Ururu shot forward

Hikaru’s body shimmered as the persona split from the body for a instant, nodding, That’s always a possibility and we could use something to help get us on our feet. Though we could be risking being gang-pressed into military service.

True but that’s what we have clones for in the first place… and lets see if we can get back our transformation abilities, entering as someone who doesn’t look like us would be perfect. Ururu’s mentally broke out in an inherent grin and the color green. It was closer to who she truly was that rarely could be seen physically.

Then let’s do it, with that condition in place. We need to hide our identities. Hikaru said with a tone as if some contract had been signed and sealed.

The room lightened and time seemed to resume its place in the natural order of things. Or rather the rapid fire of mental thoughts over the network had slowed to a pace that was… sustainable.

“That was the idea anyways.” Hikaru replied before looking to Ururu.

Ururu nodded in agreement, “Though we weren’t sure we wanted to risk getting pressured into a war that wasn’t our business. We like wandering quite a bit.”

Samuel frowned but conceded in a shrug, “Aye, Ah can understan’ the sentiment, bu’ where the Emp’re ‘s concerned weh should all be weary.”

Empire? That didn’t sound too friendly.

“Jus’ don’t mak’ any rash dec’sions eith’r way. Now eat b’fore ye food gonna get cold” Samael said, motioning to the aforementioned items before finding another cup to polish clean.

As far as taste went, over the course of the next ten minutes both Ururu and Hikaru polished everything off and then some. Ordering and reordering the miracle known as bacon three times before finally requesting a bunch to go as part of travel rations.

Molly by this time was sitting there, her face flushed as she watched Ururu finish off the meal while Hikaru at a less breakneck pace.

“Like ye nev’r had bacon before. Ye new here or sumthen?”

Ururu saved Hikaru the embarrassment of talking with her mouth full of salty meaty goodness, “We hunt for most of our food when can help it.”

That took Samuel and Molly aback for a moment but Molly recovered first, “Your primes m’ladies and you hunt your food?”

Ururu nodded, “Why waste omnilium when its easier to set a snare.”

Molly smiled at that one, “Hope you catch lots of rabbit, them vermin keep destroying my garden when we aren’t looking.”

Rabbits, at least one other animal besides birds seemed
to fit here.

“Nothing but rabbits.”

The serving girl offered them a vicious grin, “Well m'ladies if you can teach me a snare that work’s better than this bafoon’s, I’ll teach you girls how to make each really feel like high heaven.” At that she shot Samuel a glare who kept only polishing his mug.

Ururu opened her mouth but was cut off by a hand pinching the inside of her thigh in a rather creative manner. One that was a mix of both pleasure and pain but mostly just pain.

Instead Hikaru smiled a bit dryly, “We’d be happy to show you the snare, no need to thank us.”

Molly’s eyes bobbed between the two but made no further fuss of it, “Well at the very least the Bacon is on us if it means getting rid of them critters.”

And that, Ururu thought would be a good trade. Although, she was more interested in what Molly may have been willing to offer and how much the pair had already discovered on their own. Hikaru though had proven to be somewhat possessive especially as of late with Ururu and the usual sharing and caring was strictly curtailed with few exceptions.

Unfortunately this wasn’t one of those exceptions it seemed, although Ururu wasn't sure why.

About an hour later and a backpack laden with bacon, the two wished Samuel and Molly many tasty rabbit stews and promised to return if they were ever in the area again. Something Ururu was sure would happen quite often if they could manage it.

After they were out on the open road and the remainder the town was falling behind them, Ururu sighed and felt the need to air out the last few hours.

"Hikaru," she broached her companion.

Hikaru turned and blinked as she tried to feel out the tone and found nothing in the Network other than a sense of frustration. Her creator was either hiding behind it or she had done something that had pressed Ururu's buttons the wrong way. Considering how they were connected and how they had grown up together the latter seemed... incomprehensible.

Ururu's eyes had a glimmer that while not steely were not the usual soft and playful. They were however searching for something.

"Why didn't you let me accept Molly's offer? It's not like we haven't done that sort of thing before," Ururu paused before considering her words further, "or even discussed the whole thing as partners."

Hikaru eyes widened. Well that hadn't been what she was expecting. Or well it was... similar. But not quite. Maybe her effort in manipulating Ururu's dream a little bit had paid off. The fact that she was willing to discuss things now was an improvement rather than dragging her around like a blond wagon.

Mirroring the earlier sigh from her partner, Hikaru thought carefully of her words which could easily make or break today's comfort zone. A deep breath was the start to her words, “Well Ururu have you noticed that you've been dragging me everywhere and been far more pushy about nearly everything so far?”

It was Ururu's turn to blink several times, “Uh- well no.”

Nodding Hikaru didn't let up for the moment otherwise something told her she'd lose the point, “For that matter do you remember what it was like to be nine years old, how does it compare to now? Are these things you would've done then or just a few days ago?”

Looking a little green at the thought Ururu was being pointed to she nodded hesitantly. Realization seemed to well up on her face and she was fighting to keep it from overwhelming her.

Hikaru felt the frustration in the network to ebb towards shame. It hurt but sometimes guilt had its place in relationships.

“Do you really want to start up that kind of relationship with a stranger when you are that susceptible to suggestion? In the last fourteen hours since we've gotten here, you've been flighty, and more than little obsessed with alcohol and sex.” Hikaru finished, her chest raising for a bit of breath even as they walked in awkward step.

Ururu stopped moving for a second before picking up the pace quickly, “That's me all the time.”

Hikaru wanted to smack her or herself, preferably both, but at the moment she had to be the adult in the relationship. “This is more extreme than that, otherwise I would have been right with you taking up Molly's offer.”

Ururu met her eyes for a moment, frowning and surprised, but waited for Hikaru to continue.

She was getting through to her.

“We are in a new world, your immortality is on the fritz and you may as well be the age you appear at the moment. STDs aside we don't know how much else this body is going to effect you and it hasn't even been a full day since we've gotten here.” Hikaru finished or thought she had, until she figured a little positive motivation was in order.

She pulled Ururu to a stop and turn both her and herself into facing each other. The kiss was as deep as it ever been before. Tongue in all but less sex and more just plain need. Passion burning across the Network until Ururu was practically scarlet in a blush.

Hikaru pulled back meeting her eyes, “I'll make you a promise, the next time we stop for the night, we'll take it for all its worth. Audience or no, but before that we need to work on rebuilding your self control to a level of something that matches your true age.”

Ururu eyes teared up and she nodded, “Alright.”

Smiling softly at the first sign of her creator she reached and brushed the tears away as their foreheads met. “I love you and I know you love me. We can work through this.”

Sniffling a bit Ururu just nodded again before trying to exactly what was expected of her. Acting her age. She was fifteen damn it if she couldn't be the adult that she was she didn't deserve Hikaru after all.

“Right lets get moving, its still morning and that bacon isn't going to eat itself.”

[Ururu Kyuuei]

The sun had begun to set again for their second time. Ururu and Hikaru had been mostly quiet that day. This was to say it was bantering and idle chat but nothing as meaningful as that morning’s topics. Then again to much meaningful conversation often found its way in destroying a good day or breaking hearts.

Ururu for her part didn’t feel quite right either. Something was just off in her and now she could feel it ever since Hikaru had pointed out and as much as the thought of sex would have normally excited her… it just didn’t work.

It was painfully obvious to both that she was more concerned on how she was being warped by this body. And unfortunately she was still stuck in it with no way out. No solution to her problem other than smeager elf control.

The silence of the day was only broken by the treading of their feet and Hikaru’s soft calming hum which had kept Ururu half sane between that and the constant reminder by sharing each other’s hands. But now that darkness was looming that protection was going to disappear in a few minutes. They need to break for camp. Camp in world they did not know.

It was bound to happen but that didn’t make Ururu feel any easier as they pulled to the stop and moved towards the forest. Once again they hadn’t seen anyone on the road and though Ururu had dutifully looked up every once in a while (or rather three times when she actually remembered) no sign of anyone had come to fruition.

“Ururu… I kind of need my hand.” Hikaru said with a patient tone.

Ururu blinked and glanced down at their intertwined fingers before letting go slowly, “Right. I’ll get the fire going.” With that she moved off towards the spot they had chosen while Hikaru went off to get some water and see if there were any edibles around that would go well with bacon.

The fire pit was an easy thing to take care of, earth manipulation had after all been a specialty of hers. She could do that even now with just a stomp of a foot and a swipe of her hands. And even with the rut she was stuck in, that at least worked out easily enough.

Honestly it was one of the simplest things to do.

Which left her with plenty of time to distract herself. Otherwise… well…

Tears immediately started to sting her eyes as she fought them and fought to block out the sensations they’d create in the network. No she wouldn’t go putting HIkaru through that again. She was fifteen damn it even if she didn’t feel like it any more.

Right focus on the issue at hand that she could change.

She needed a fire.

Fire needed fuel.

And she needed to learn about omnilium.

Taking a breath Ururu folded her legs under hear as she met the ground and pressed her hands forwards. Eyes closed she started feeling for her chakra, grabbed it and then let it go. She moved for something deeper, less real and more basic. That chromatic force that seemed apart of her and yet separate, that was entirely unnatural.

She needed something to burn. Burn like a stick. And perhaps something extra, colors, sounds. Could it do it? She wasn’t sure but she had some experience with wood too, not as much but enough to know what she was about to try was scientifically impossible without some complex chemistry at work.

Here was her first test at the idiot savant summoning.

Iron oxidized wood. I want sentient metal wood that knows that ‘I am a stick’ Nothing can change that, its life blood burns many colors while its body warms a greater radius and brings peaceful life to the area. Starts the process of renewl.

This is what I desire

It was an odd thought but that was why it was a test. The control was already there in life. Most wood burned and burned normal. This wood shouldn’t and from the feeling in her chest it would barely take any omnilium at all.

And with that feeling she breathed out. Let her force flow and sound started her into opening her eyes.

Before her was a rusted red metal wood with a thick heavy grain. The logs had been split into quarters and more than that, it gleamed with prismatic sap.

It shouldn’t exist and yet it did and because of that she was able to get it ignited in seconds.

Striking a piece of stone against it sent sparks sizzling in all directions in a burst of bright gold flame that began to devolve into iridescent rainbow of flame that seemed to sing rather than roar. It was a siren song the like she had only heard in stories of hitodama and kitsune. Everything around it seemed more vibrant, the plants especially.

“Dood, that’s cool.”

Ururu blinked at the voice behind her and turned. What was wrong with HIkaru’s voice-

“What the hell are you?” Ururu squawked as her fingers went to her belt to draw out a knife only to find nothing in its place. Instinct had told her that her kunai were there but reality found that to not be the case.

No reality decided to get her a giant bird like thing that was half the size of a man and about on par with her own height instead. How generous. What’s more it had a scarf and several more behind it looked similar with various other garments.

“Pretty dood dood.”

“Yeah like what made you think of that dood?”

“Is that what you can make omnilium dood?”

“Dood, wish we could do that.”

“What dooc wouldn’t?”

“What the fuck.” Was all Ururu could say as a mass of giant pengiums came upon her camp and Hikaru was nowhere to be seen.

“Dood, it’s not cool for a kid like your be cuss like that. Leave it to the professional.”

“I told you not to get ahead of me.” Hikaru’s voice, like honey in a bitterly insane world, came flying to Ururus ears. In the far back behind the group of monstrosities was her blond companion who seemed largely unconcerned. More than that she had what appeared to be a giant bushel of food.

“Not our fault you’re a slow dood.”

All Ururu could think was a desire to make it stop. “Hikaru what’s going on?”

Her clone paused, and realized what was going on, “I tried warning your but you cut yourself off from the Network.”

Oh right her crying. She did do that didn’t she?

“I found these poor things wandering around trying to find ingredient for their master or for a dungeon or something.

“Our mater lives in a dungeon dood! She’s the final boss.”

“Yes well it’ll go bad by the time they find it again so I offer to share our camp fire. And well here we are.” Hikaru said rather evenly despite verything.

Ururu was sure she had finally cracked.

This was it. Her days would be spent dreaming of penguin minions being led Hikaru. Worse ways to go but this was by far one of the strangest. Someone needed to save her since Hikaru obvious wasn't trying.

[Schwi Dola]

Everything turned to bright white light as Desco passed through the gate, and then she was suddenly standing on her tail in the middle of the road on the other side of the gate. She had no death shroud anymore, everything was clear. The sky was a bright blue with clouds rolling by and before her was some kind of road through some mild grassy hills, lightly tree-d. Desco wasn't familiar with this place. It wasn't like the three verses she had been in before in the Omniverse.

Desco unsummoned Yogsothoth. The tentacled monster faded from view after a short handful of seconds and Desco's tail slithered back under her dress and back to its stub size hidden there, lowering her body and feet to the ground. She didn't need Yogsothoth when she wasn't in combat, unless she needed the tentacles or flight. Now she was curious about what this place had to offer. Desco could always figure out where Ambrosia or the Green were later, she could have cool stories to tell Guu when she got there! So she started to step along the path in front of her.

Nothing of too much interest as she moved farther and farther away from the gate. Her big red demon eyes peered innocently at the humans that walked by her from the other direction but she mostly got avoided eye contact and people ignoring her. Other roads and paths started to branch off, or run into, the road she was on but even with more and more people around her, she was ignored time and time again. This wasn't a very friendly place to Desco, the commoners seemed hostile or afraid of her. Desco didn't like it, commoners weren't that important to her but it wasn't comfortable.

Taking a different branching path, soon Desco was alone on the road which seemed a lot better than those people. Desco frowned and crossed her arms as darkness started to seep into the sky. How did it get so late when she had found so little in this verse? Maybe she should head back, this place was starting to get boring. Before Desco could decide, she saw a light flickering ahead. She had already forgotten about the attitudes the people she passed by earlier, she was eager to see if there were people up ahead.

She approached and there was a group of people there. A couple of girls that seemed vaguely familiar though Desco didn't know them and a bunch of Prinnies! Now these were people Desco could probably relate to."Hello? Desco saw your light! Are you guys adventuring out here too?"

"Oh Dood, this isn't good"
"She came here to check up on us Dood!"
"We almost have it Dood! We just need more time!"
"Didn't she just say Desco Dood?"
"Are we going to get punished now Dood?"

The Prinnies went to various states of panic as they saw the young demon girl with little red horns on her forehead wearing a purple dress with boots, or something, going nearly all the way up to her very short dress and similiarly gloved hands going up her arms, and yellow eyes all over her body at various places. "Does Desco know you Prinnies?" Desco looked at the Prinnies, puzzled by their reaction, but after a few moments approached the two girls. If there was anyone among Prinnies, they were probably in charge. "Hello, I'm Desco! Who are you?"

[Ururu Kyuuei]

Ururu's mind was slowly processing what was happening to her. Panic gave way to rational thought, but only just. They were summons or some sort of demented animal spirit. And she was totally useless she still had her gloves though it felt like forever since she last used them.

And just like that her comfort zone was back. Mostly.

Or that what she had been hoping until the birds started squawking at something behind her. It was going to be a mad raving monster that wanted to eat her or a tentacle monster that wanted to ravage her in mind broken pleasure. At this rate it could be one or both. Something out of the Kiri-chan Mizuken Doujin series.

That would be her luck. And the look on Hikaru's face was something of shock or rather puzzled surprise.

Turning around carefully since most tentacle monsters can't see you if you don't move... Ururu spotted the point of contention in their group. It... or rather she was familiar. Really really familiar but for life of her the association was with someone from her days in the Academy or her lab.

Maybe a transuniversal doppelganger or an appearance she had been experimenting with?

Then again she couldn't remember a name other than the one that was being squawked repeatedly by the birds and the girl. Two universes two Descos?

She certainly was unique.

“Uh Hello.” Ururu began as she stood up, “I'm Ururu and my friend here is Hikaru. Do I know you? These guys sure seem to.” She motioned to the flock of penguins with the weird bat like wings.

Did she come from the only sane universe?

At this point she was willing to bet it was so. How could such beak faced monstrosities possibly come about in nature. They didn't look like anything that could possibly survive. No natural weaponry, not even limbs that could serve a function for development of technology.

I would be like seeing ponies being able to wield swords or accessorize... except these things were even less plausible. The fact that they seemed to know this Desco (why was that so familiar?) hinted they had similar origins which could mean this outfit she was wearing... may have been not clothes but skin? What was she?

What in the world had she gotten herself into?

[Okor]

Okor's constant, heavy tread carried him through the iridescence of the gate, the quiet whistling of the wind filling his senses. He took a deep breath, toxic gasses filling his four lungs. His guests rustled inside him, shifting through rotten flesh and a thin veneer of skin. A new realm. Soft, weak, devoid of technology. However, it was exploitable. From what little he knew of his prison, Camelot was accepting. The foolish, the naive, the outcasts all flocked beneath its banner, huddling around the dying fire while the electric lights of the Empire blazed. Gathering close, devoid of what knowledge his people would have of The Lord of All's gifts.

His own trophies and awards writhed in anticipation, infusing his flesh with god-granted strength. Viruses, parasites, bacteria, and things that could not be classified due to their partly spiritual nature. All of this and more lurked in the bowels of Okor, just waiting to be unleashed upon an unfortunate population. He enjoyed a gurgling chuckle at the thought, taking a simplistic pleasure in the opportunity to exercise the pure freedom Chaos granted.

"Whatcha laughin' at mister Oh-Keer?" Spoke his traveling companion from atop his shoulder, her innocent voice a stark contrast to the Plague Marine's own dark ruminations. "Just... the opportunities, Rebbecca." He responded, stopping mid-sentence to hack and cough, his ravaged system at times unable to maintain the facade of life. Rebbecca. That was a risk he was not sure he was willing to take. His ward was entrusted to him by Nealaphh, his new, worthy master. He would not needlessly risk her life. He would save the plague for the end, perhaps. Leave a message to show the people the way, tell them to embrace the disease, to cease resisting its inevitability. Only be accepting death could they stave it off. Thus was the great paradox of Nurgle. But of course, there are still more pressing issues to attend to.

Namely, finding the thrice-accursed place. His eye was still scorched from the attack, its delicate systems still rebuilding, despite his seemingly endless vitality. He hoped it would be functional in time for the tournament, so that he could face his foes, whoever they may be. If not, well, he could claim he was fighting them on equal footing. It did no good to admit weakness to underlings. "Child, watch for signage pointing to... Camelot, or the coliseum." He rasped, hoping that the strange child was more literate than he. "Why don't we just ask them?" She said, waving an arm in a direction Okor could not even hope to see. "Who?" With a feeling of mounting dread, he continued. "Describe them."

"Well, one of 'em is a little girl with horns and tentacles, she's all purple-y with eyes and stuff! She's really weird! Other one's just a little girl. With loads of birds." She said, free of the cynicism and pessimism that had begun to influence Okor's interactions. By all the foul Daemons in the deepest pits of the Warp, by all the deluded saints in the corpse-god's Imperium, why does this continue to happen to me? He began to shift himself into what he desperately hoped was shadow, only to quickly abandon his ruse. It was no use. The thrice-cursed, ever-present, constantly multiplying, endless stream of young, magical children would have already seen him. He froze, hoping against hope that they would be too absorbed into whatever invented drama they seemed to create to notice him. It was then that Rebbecca spoke up, her weight shifting upon his massive shoulder as she waved vigourously. "Hi! are you heading to the coliseum too?" Okor reached up his necrotic claw, covering his maimed eye, slowly shaking his head from side to side, yellowed horn piercing the sky.

[Schwi Dola]

Desco looked at the Prinnies, half of which were looking at her unexpectedly, then looked back at Ururu. "They are Prinnies." She said this with an inflection that was as if it should have explained everything. Desco was from Hades so it wasn't unusual for Prinnies to know of her. "Desco is from Hades." Desco didn't even consider than they wouldn't know what Prinnies were or what her version of Hades was, even though she's been in this crossover universe for a long time.

"Desco again. Dood"
"Desco? Dood?"
"Dooood, That's right, her color is off."
"This isn't Master DesX Doods, its Master Desco Dood."

Desco suddenly looked at the mention of DesX. "You know Desco's sister DesX?" DesX wasn't a prime but their father was so he probably gave DesX the Prinnies. He'd sent Prinnies on tasks before, that one had dropped off the handheld devices when Desco had just arrived in the Omniverse. Of course, he was watching Desco even now with tiny nanobots floating around her but Desco didn't know that and wouldn't mind even if she did know of them.

"Yea Dood, we work for DesX. She sent us here to find something."
"Yea Dood, we need to find..." Another Prinny grabbed the Prinny's beak as he was about to speak. "Dood, its top secret!"

From that, Desco figured that these Prinnies weren't associated with the girls. She wasn't concerned at all about the business of Prinnies, they were doing something for DesX which must mean they are doing something for Daddy. That was more than Desco really needed to know. "Desco found herself in this universe after being a ghost and she was looking for something interesting to do. She found some unfriendly people, then she found you! Do you guys know anything fun around here?"

[Schwi Dola]

Another voice spoke so Desco turned to face it. Another girl showed up here in the random darkness, speaking of something. Could this coliseum thing be fun? There was suddenly a lot of young ladies meeting in this random place at dusk with a bunch of penguins, what a strange place this was but it seemed like a normal day to Desco. "Oooh, who are you? What coliseum? Is something fun happening there?"

[Ururu Kyuuei]

And then a girl and her pet zombie showed up. Or that's what it looked like at first glance. At second and third glances Ururu wasn't sure what she was looking at because... Sage this was not right. She feel her pupils dilate as the whole place darkened just enough that the gloom matched her racing thoughts.

It was like she was in world where every shonen manga was real and then some.

Thankfully the question asked by both parties was relatively benign and didn't need much in the way of processing power to answer. If it had been more complex then Ururu was sure she weould have crashed with the typical operating system error of those new fandangled sunagakure osKunai Shikaku edition.

Stuttering only just a little Ururu spoke, "I... I mean me and Hikaru were going to enter the Minas Tirith Tournament. So if that is at the Colosseum then yes."

Hikaru's fingers wrapped themselves around Ururu's shoulders in as comforting as they could be without eliminating Ururu's combat capabilities. They didn't know how this situation would play out and things were just too crazy for it to possibly not dangerous. They hadn't survived a number of dangerous circumstance to take things like this without a little bit of apprehension... and in her world at least children like this were every bit a threat as they could be innocent.

In Desco's case Ururu was sure she was both.

That was a scary combination if her hunch was right. All the more reason to keep her chakra ready to activate her claws long enough to summon a clone of herself and Hikaru and make like a banana and split.

Anything less would be asking for more trouble.

Though that big guy whatever it was... could be more problematic if it was under the control of the girl. One wrong command and it'd be a regular B-Movie slasher flick.

And zombies didn't take impalement lying down if it was indeed a zombie. Which didn't make much scientific sense. Yet again it seemed science was more of guideline here than it was a rule, and omnilium did all the heavy lifting. Which wasn't comforting.

No room to weasel through fewer loopholes to exploit. Just power, power and more power.

All it took after all was one psychopath in a densely populated area draining life after life for that power... and they'd have an unstoppable god. A few thousand lives at least if how much power she had gained in the last two days was anything to go by.

Ururu shuddered and not because of the cold. For that she threw on another of her metal logs that she had been experimenting with. The area was immediately doused in a prismatic light show of a thermite fire and roaring spectral flames that seemed to enhance the colors of everything towards the pastel.

Hikaru took the stage and probably saved their lives, “Don't mind my friend... this is all a bit new to us. If you all would like to share our camp for the night, feel free.”

Ururu nodded mechanically as her mind raced from plot point to plot point in how this all could possibly work out. In the end she just settled for pulling off her backpack and her duster. Leaving the heavy metal gauntlet like bracers in place and unfolding her plush two person bedroll.

“Yeah, feel free” Ururu mirrored, her head nodding a bit her voice more scratch than usual. She could just pretend they were her former teammates... Think of them like that just for a little bit until she could settle her nerves and figure out what to do with them.

While she had made a pact with herself to stop killing people, the more she got know this world the more she was realizing that might have been setting the bar too high in terms of expectations. Seriously, it was practically stupid and blind of her to ever think that something a feeble as morality would ever have a normal place in her life without reality and fate getting together to spank her ass for being a dense petulant child.

Well technically she was a dense petulant child. Her situation practically reinforced that. But even children in her culture had manners. Tradition must be observed.

“So once again. I'm Ururu, this is my companion Hikaru.” And together we're either dead or the super ninja twins... Ururu thought bitterly but forced herself to move on turning to the more animated of the group.

“And you are Desco, these are Prinnies, right? Dood, dood and dood.” Ururu then looked to the new pair who had shown up. Did zombies have names?

“I'm guessing you two are a pair?” She said finally, hoping that if this was going to get violent it would either be a quick escape or a short painless death.

[Okor]

Dammit all. One more, he was mired in the minute machinations of magical minors, ensnared in the whirlwind of egomania and undeniable power that surrounded them. Dammit all. Perhaps, with a few carefully selected words, and a hasty retreat, they could continue on the path to- Minas Trith, was it? The name barely sounded human, tones of something foreign seeping into its title. Deplorable. No matter. So long as everything aligned in their favour, they could be on the road in but a few seconds-

The weight of Rebbecca left his shoulder, as she leaped to the forest floor, nimbly navigating the distance of almost three meters. Her cheerful, innocent voice pierced the fog of Okor's momentary despair, beckoning him forward, almost slavishly behind his ward. His jaundiced hand, the skin over it thin and taught, clutched the rusted hilt of his verdigris-coated blade, ready to strike against any who might harm her. "I'm Rebbecca! Daddy sent Mister Oh-keer to show me the tournament! He's really strong!" The Plague marine could easily imagine her pale yellow eyes, not quite human, not quite alien, gazing up at the older children, full of hope and happiness. While he wished no harm upon her, he was forced to admit that she could be somewhat of a hindrance on occasion. He crushed leaves, branches, and other natural detritus under his heavy tread, a viscous slime adhering itself to his footprints, the substance alternatively sizzling and seeping into the earth, the vegetation around it growing somewhat greener. Rattling breaths served as a background noise to the pair's approach, desperate gasps hissing through an antique rebreather. The child pointed towards the freshly-unfurled bedroll, and looked up at the three children, two of which shared the same face. "Are you having a slumber party? I always wanted to have a slumber party!" she exclaimed, bounding around on tiny feet with ample exuberance. The Marine loomed over her, his dead eye, still charred and ravaged by the blow, glared at the Primes. Why did he hear two voices, but three speakers? Damn this realm.

[Ururu Kyuuei]

Ururu blinked, “Slumber party? I mean sure Rebbecca-chan, it sort of fits... but wouldn’t it be more a camping party?”

Shaking her head for a moment her scratchy cleared itself as she began to rifle through her duster and pulled out thick tome. This thing had been acting odd for her far more often than she could count. Namely a lot of information she had read but never written down had found its way in here. Maybe it had something to do with crossing over into the omniverse in how the various fuuinjutsu inscriptions had melded together even though she couldn’t perform them anymore.

Like the lingering power of the Original Ururu having been absorbed into it.

Chakra was the spirit and body of a person. Her experiences, the essence of who she was, was engrained in the bound leather and silver of the tome. Flicking through a few pages she focused on one specific set of knowledge.

She opened it up and spoke, “Slumber Parties 101: Everything you Wanted to know but were too Afraid to Ask”

Ururu gave a pained grin as she read one of the lines… “Well this is useless, not like we can make prank calls. Unless someone happened to bring along a cell phone when That Bastard abducted us and it still somehow has a connection.”

Her’s… well she had smashed it upon faking her death. Last thing she needed was to have someone triangulate her position based on its data transponder. She still remembered all her contacts by heart, most of the contacts in the world of knowledge and science. The few she had counted on as friends were dead save her sensei…

Yeah. Fun times.

[Schwi Dola]

Slumber party? Desco hadn't actually come for something like that but it wasn't out of the question either. It was strange but she was trusting of strangers, these girls seemed nice and honest, and Prinnies were always lazy untrustworthy demons! The zombie was wierd too but he didn't seem so bad, had a gruff demeanor. "A Tournament? A slumber party? Those could be fun.." Ururu was right though, this was more like a camping trip out here in the open air.

Ururu also had a book on slumber parties? She seemed oddly prepared for this, but she was here first, with her twin and the Prinnies. The Prinnies continued to make small talk amongst themselves. Being that they were invited here by Hikaru and they had nowhere else that they wanted to go, they did not seem to keen on leaving. She didn't have a Cell Phone? Desco didn't have one of those either, but she had this communicator with various buttons and a touch screen that could be used to talk to other people. "Desco has this that daddy gave her." Desco slipped off the small backpack she wore, practically blended in with her outfit as her father gave her the backpack and pulled out a small touch cell-phone device. "Its a communication device common in the Omniverse. He gave her a dataverse device too."

She handed out the device and offered it to Ururu, then moved over to Okor. She realized She was floating about with Yogsothoth again, they had seen it, though Desco thought she had abandoned him. Desco must have summoned him without thinking about it when she saw the light. So she unsummoned him, Yogsothoth faded from view and her tail slithered back under her dress bringing her back to earth. But she looked up at the zombie ultramarine, who at this close proximity was practically a giant compared to the 9 year old demon girl, had to be over twice her height without Yogsothoth. She was completely unafraid of him, rather emanated curiosity with her red eyes. "Are you going to fight in this tournament too?"

[Ururu Kyuuei]

Ururu’s eyes widened when the girl offered the device so freely. For some shinobi, especialy the younger teens, these thing had been their entire life. Half their income from missions went towards upgrading the blasted things or getting the latest and greatest ones. When Ururu had ‘died’ all she had was a four year old flip phone. She valued her hand built tech much more.

“Thank you Desco-chan, I’ll just need it for a few minutes.” While she figured out how it worked.

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull when she said it as the girl had run off to the new comers, apparently forgetting Ururu, and floating on a tentacle monster than she could swear was part of her body and extremely extremely familiar for something.

She had no memory what so ever though over meeting someone like that in her home universe.

What the hell?

Could that be the portion she had been missing as to why there was so little foot traffic in this place? They could just summon things that could fly? That though would have to be an experiment for tomorrow though.

Ignore this section if you want to.

Ururu stared at the device. She'd always been handy with various tech, like taking apart computers and putting them back together as part of other devices. Her first lab had been a mishmash parts and pieces when she had been in the growing 'spare' parts phase of testing advanced transmutation of clones into Doll types.

This however was something different.

From all appearances it could function as a radio transmitter but. It was more than that though.

Ururu closed her eyes trying to sense that intent that she could almost taste in it. Like it was sentient, or rather barely aware.

Of course, it was made omnilium. Could the thing that balanced her out be what she was detecting? However it was almost like the feeling her network had. It was a pervasive frequency, at least which was the best way she could describe it. Frequencies were one dimensional, up and down... this... could that work?

She cupped her hands around the device and let her chakra flow. Flow around it, flow into it. It resisted her will but she wasn't trying to change it, merely understand it. This omnilium was of another body that wasn't hers. It resisted even being understood, but chakra was as pervasive as the device’s signal.

If anything worked more like the Network did that true radio. She remembered hearing some revelations about quantum tunneling and teleportation. Hell there was even a recent discovery about entanglement that boggled her mind. Her work on the Network predated those discoveries but mirrored them as well to the point where she almost thought they were using the same principles.

This here took that to the same level and put a twist on it.

If radio was one dimensional, then this was certainly at least four dimensional and that gave her something to work on. A hypercube was the closest and there was some rare fuuinjutsu that operated on the same level. Her portable black holes and the collapsible seal. Put the two together and you had something rather grand.

They often imploded if paired together the wrong way. Luckily Ururu has survived that particular snafu and had stumbled upon the means to make the Network Interface Seal which was tattooed onto her chest, just under her collarbone..

Taking a breath Ururu did one last final check in her mental calculations before handing back the device to Desco and drew upon her omnilium in one hand and summoned stone and more chakra from the ground in another.

She could take that basic idea and make it something more.

Together she began to mix them together like claw, granite heaving under her finger tips and inscriptions began to literally burn under her hands. The more she folded the chromatic material and stone together the more metallic like hues came out.

More and more she worked at a quick and furious pace as she pulled and push on the chakra and omnilium to form the specific seals she needed and wanted, drawing from fuuinjutsu and her knowledge of hashing computer parts together. More than anything she recreated a piece of tech she lost in her last fight against Sensei. It was her visor, only better.

Taking what she learned from the logs on the camp fire she willed a bit of her personality into it much like how she did routinely in creating a persona. More than that she created small Network connection to it that would allow her to mentally control the device to a degree that previous version lacked.

Finally was shaping it while it was still more or less putty.

A willful command fired through her mind and her voice, “I command you to exist.”

It wasn’t really necessary but if her thoughts on the connection between interaction and perception were correct, it would only make the process of shaping it less expensive and easier to do. And really, it damn well felt good for reality to actually, literally, listen to her voice and respond.

The swirling mass of polished granite, brass and aluminum with streaks of gold, silver and even a glass like emerald ribbon, began to bubble. In the cup of her hands it was violently shifting and shuddering until quite suddenly it froze under her balefully commanding stare. Then like a whipped animal it slinked into what she desired. A visor with a single ear piece, though the other end would produce sound just as high of a quality as the other, rested in her hands. Every few seconds a string chromatic, holographic foil like, circuits and calligraphy flashed across its surface.

Smiling Ururu mentally order it to ‘Close!’ and in a flash of prismatic runes and block like pixels, the face portion disappeared into the earpiece.

Perfect.

Back to your regularly scheduled RP.

Positioning the ear piece on her, well, ear. Ururu felt the snug familiarity of her visor that she had missed for two days. Granted it didn’t have all the spy type perks she had built into the original. That would have to come later… but for now. Well for now she got to investigate with a new toy.

It only took her a few seconds of activating it that something occurred to her.

“Desco-chan… is there a digital verse?” Ururu said, her voice breaking.

[Okor]

Rebbecca twirled around the makeshift campsite, sky-blue dress swirling around pale grey skin, the colourful cloth a hope of a life above the darkness of Rapture. Well, she had it. She danced under the setting sun, surrounded by what she considered to be normal friends. A slumber party! How exciting! How naive. One of the twinned voices seemed enraptured with some device, and another came from his feet. Leaning forward, the object of his attention little more than a strangely purple blur in his damaged vision, Okor spoke, his voice laboured, distorted by damage, disease, mutation, age, and the mechanized suit of armour he had bonded to. It was a voice that had antiquity built into its very essence, its timbre like that of pus-covered mahogany. "Yes." Shambling forward, he refocused what could barely be called his vision on the rapidly moving, bright blob that was his Ward. Within a few moments, the young child had sat down on the cool grass, the shadows beginning to lengthen as the sun began to disappear over the Horizon. The rotting giant stood over her, his necrotic arms crossed over his chitinous chest. The child clapped her hands together, glowing eyes looking towards the trio with hope. "What are we gonna do first?" She asked, her voice brimming with excitement.

Meanwhile, Okor sized up the others. He was outnumbered, true. While it pained him to say so, it was impossible to properly gauge the strength of his foes. The nature of this realm meant that even small children such as these could pose a challenge.

The first two. Twins, judging by the voices. They would be individually weak, but they would be highly attuned to working with each other. Several blades could peel back his carapace, given time, and opportunity. He would deny them that chance, to be sure. It was worrisome, but they could be overcome. Pin one down, end them, take advantage of the other's grief. Such pairs were far from unique.

The other one, however, was far stranger. They had a strange sound to their voice, one not entirely mortal. Strange protuberances emanated from them, which was far from usual. Their strength could easily be on par with Okor's if they were some form of Daemon. Damnable.

For now, he wheezed in another death gasp, tendrils squirming within his eye as his passengers worked to rebuild their host. He looked to the other three strange shapes around the fire, waiting for their next move.

[Schwi Dola]

Desco nodded to the zombie giant. He didn't seem very talkative at all. Maybe Desco would have to pester him some more to get him to open up. But Ururu interrupted Desco pondering what to ask him. "You mean inside the computers and the internet? You can access it with this tablet." Desco got out her backpack again and pulled out the dataverse device. Desco didn't actually know anything about entering the dataverse or that it could be akin to a normal universe and didn't consider the idea with Ururu's question, not direct enough.

The young demon girl also considered Rebecca's question. What did you do on camping trips? Desco had never been on a camping trip before so her expectations of one were based entirely on television and the knowledge implanted in her. "When you are camping you are supposed to eat marshmallows and tell scary stories right?" Desco held one hand over her chest and willed out a piece of the omnilium inside her. She grabbed the multicolored malleable sphere-like bubble that emerged and held it out. She focused on the omnilium which, as normal, flashed bright colors. After a few minutes, the sphere had expanded and formed everything you need for Smores. A few bags of big marshmellows, metal pokers to hold them, heresy's Chocolate bars that were the kind that naturally broke into smaller rectangles for easy resizing, and cinnamon graham crackers.