The effective center of the multiverse where the Void Quartet reside and observe other worlds. Individuals who have end up lost will always find themselves appearing at the Nexus' front door, which is more of a massive round hall with summoning circles on the floor and an open dome for a ceiling. From here the path leads to the lobby of the Nexus, where the path branches out to other sections of the unusual world.

The Nexus has all the facilities needed by individuals that decide to stay here for the duration. Sleeping quarters, dining facilities, and baths are the most common necessities, but some would also find workshops, hangars, training halls, libraries, and gardens to name a few other facilities available in the world.

Matsu's journey through the void could be best described as unusual. He could see several debris from various worlds floating about, as well as what looked like planets (but aren't planets) that represented worlds. It felt like staring into the inside of a giant marble and finding a whole universe residing within.

They soon arrive at a planet-sized spherical structure with what looked like a small tower jutting out from it. Evil motioned for Matsu to follow towards the tip of the tower, rounded in shape with a big hole on the end of the tip. The unusual entity entered through the hole expecting the Devilman to follow right behind him.

In reply to Void Quartet (msg # 2):

Matsu followed close behind. His Eyes wandering to and fro, observing the landscapes and debris.

Not wanting to get lost in this literal void, he continued onward, following Evil towards the tower in pursuit of a way home.

"So... What are all these ruins and debris supposed to be? Am I not the only one who was sent here?" he asked with a feeling of unease. He would prefer to be on earth with all it had to offer, good and bad, over this dark and empty space.

It was quite depressing.

"Let's just say those worlds couldn't handle the amount of changes they were put on," Evil said as he stopped at the opening to look at where Matsu was looking at, "The best example I can give ya would be putting a weight on a piece of paper. That paper's gonna support that weight up to a certain point, but any heavier and it's gonna rip apart!"

"Pretty much something ya wouldn't wanna see after the first," Evil added as he waited for Matsu to catch up before entering, "Worlds breaking apart isn't something that usually happened - people getting lost, yeah, they come this way and we lead them back home."

The inside of the tower was made of solid stone, with gravity starting to pull both of them down and end up having the hole directly above them. The place has a feel similar to an observatory or a hall for people to gather, with carvings of directions set upon the floor and walls leading up to the opening.

"What is this place?" Matsu asked,looking around the tower. "And if your name is Evil, Why help me? Shouldn't you be... ya know... evil?" he added awkwardly.

"That's just how others often call me, doesn't mean I really am what you call evil!" Evil laughed and explained as he motioned for Matsu to follow him to a flight of stairs down the tower, "As for this place, we decided to put it together and call it a home. Beats just floating around out in the void - you can leave important things out there in the open after all, and it's annoying to wake up with your face sticking on to some weird things. Not that we really need the sleep!"

"The four of us just agreed on calling it the Nexus," Evil then added as they arrive to an expansive interior full of pathways and stairs leading to all over the place.

The brown-haired girl followed her guide through the dark sky, hair and tail whipping in the wind. She wasn't terribly sure about trusting this guy calling himself Night, but there wasn't much of a choice for her.

"Where're we going, anyway? All I see is more woods."

"Cast aside given perceptions..." Night replied as he motioned for them to fly higher, "The void is susceptible to one's perceptions, and that will affect how well you can travel out in the middle of nothingness..."

As they fly higher, Challah would notice the woods beneath her would fade from sight. In its place would be a bottomless void with objects in the distance that resembled giant marbles. Taking a closer look at these marbles would make one realize that universes exist in each of these spherical objects.

Up ahead, Challah could see a planet-sized spherical structure with what looked like a small tower jutting out from it. Night motioned for the Saiyan to follow towards the tip of the tower, rounded in shape with a big hole on the end of the tip.

"Hm?" Matsu turned towards the void.

"I sense someone else on their way here. I thought you said that this space was empty?" he said turning towards Evil.

"... Whoa."

After a moment's hesitation, Challah followed her guide, doing her best to ignore the steadily-growing block of ice in her stomach.

"And I thought time travel got complicated..."

Night and Challah soon enter the massive structure, spotting Evil and Matsu close to the stairway down.

"Yo! Looks like you picked up a stray on the way back, eh?" Evil called out to his colleague, noting the young woman that accompanied Night.

"The same can be said of you," Night simply said with a nod as he directed his attention to Matsu, "I hope my colleague here wasn't being a burden to you, young man."

"Wh-what do you mean by that!?" Evil exclaimed as he looked to Matsu for backup, "I'm the one who got him out of a bind!"

"Uhh... It was no problem..." Matsu replied before glancing at the girl next to the entity know as Night. She had a monkey's tail. That wasn't very peculiar considering his past experiences but he also could feel that whoever she was, she had a vast amount of power. This unsettled him slightly, but he sensed no malice from her.

"Hello." he said to her, giving a curt wave.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:53, Sat 23 June 2018.

The girl landed in a crouch and quickly stood up, tail swishing about behind her.

"Hi!" she said back, raising two fingers together in some sort of salute. It was kinda cute. "Name's Challah. You new here, too?"

"Yeah. I suppose so." Matsu said, the bags under his eyes more prominent as he slouched over in a tired posture.

"Both of you should get some rest for now," Night offered as he motioned for them to follow, "We are never short of room for guests, and wanderers like you are always welcome in our abode."

"Well, you guys get comfortable for now," Evil then added as he stretched his arms overhead before waving to the others, "I'll go ahead and check up on other matters."

Challah found a chair and sat in it Indian-style, slightly hunched so she could rest her arms on her calves.

"So what's your name, red-eye guy? Unless you want me to call you Red-Eye Guy. Kinda catchy, really..."

In reply to Challah (msg # 16):

"Oh... Sorry bout that. I'm Matsu." The 'Red-Eyed Guy' said with a chuckle. "I'm going to assume that you're from an alternate reality?" He asked, his crimson eyes glinting with curiosity.

'What I would give for some scotch right now.' he thought to himself while trying to process everything happening to him while simultaneously conversing with the peppy girl in front of him.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:00, Wed 27 June 2018.

"I... I guess so," Challah replied sadly. "I got into a fight with a bunch of fruit-eating bug-dudes, and their boss killed me, apparently. But I'm gonna get 'em all back!" She smacked a fist into a palm, before smiling and slouching over again.

"So how'd you get here? Night said I'd be meeting really strong people. Are you one of 'em? What's your Power Level? Who'd you train under?" Her tail swished about behind her.

Matsu raised his eyebrow in confusion. "What are you talking about?" he asked the girl, more confused than before. "What's a Powerlevel?" he continued, crossing his arms. "And uh... I got sent here by time travel... I don't understand it myself."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:34, Thu 28 June 2018.

Challah looked confused about Matsu's confusion. "Uh... It's... Well, it's supposed to measure how strong you are, but I don't think it's very accurate. It's okay for getting a rough idea, I guess."

She scratched the back of her head. "Wow. This 'alternate dimension' stuff must be more messed up than I thought. At least with time travel, you had a pretty good idea who could do what."

"Yeah... and are you some sort of mutant? I don't know may humans with tails. That is if you ARE human. I can certainly tell you're a hell of a lot stronger than one." he asked, giving a fanged, yet amused smile.

The girl huffed and sat up straight, arms crossed, though trying to suppress a smile. "Hmph! I could say the same about you! Lucky for you, I've decided to take it as a compliment! I'll have you know that I'm a pure-blooded Saiyan Warrior of the planet Vegeta. Well, that's where I was born, anyway. Suddenly ended up on Earth one day after a huge ball of light appeared in the nighttime sky. It was really weird...

"So how 'bout you, Red-Eye Guy? I don't know any Humans, Saiyans, or Hybrids that have red eyes and fangs, and-- well, since we're not even in a dimension, apparently, all bets are off. So what's up with you? What can you do? Ooh, you wanna spar?! It'll be fun!"

"I'm a special case." Mastu said, his eyes glinting. "If you want to spar, you'll find out what i can do..." he added, giving into the urge to fight. he began to stretch and loosen his muscles.

"YES!" The girl sprang out of the chair like a rabbit, landing expertly about ten feet in front of Matsu in a practiced fighting stance: Right hand drawn back against her side in a fist, left foot forward, left hand extended toward her opponent, fingers flexed into a claw-shape. Her eyes were narrow and focused, but her childish grin and swishing tail gave away her excitement.

Better start off fairly light, she thought. Get a gauge for how much he can take. Don't wanna hurt him too much.

"Well? C'mon, don't tell me you're afraid to hit a giiiiirl."

"Nice try. I don't fall for that kind of provocation." Matsu said, his teeth growing longer and sharper. he then began to flex his muscles as they hardened into an exoskeleton. In a short span of 3 seconds he had transformed.

'I can tell that she's stronger than me... so maybe instead of a direct assault... i should try a different approach...' he thought to himself before sucking in some air and releasing some hellfire in Challah's direction.

Challah quickly leapt backward to avoid the fire, though some black spots ended up on her shirt.

"Whoa! 'Special case', eh? Not half as dumb as you look, either! Sniper battle it is!"

With that, she opened her right hand, revealing a rapidly-growing ball of yellow light, which she thrust forward toward Matsu, hoping to catch him in the chest.

The blast would knock a normal human back several feet if it landed, but not do much damage on its own... but it was clearly not the best the girl had to offer.

Quickly tossing his body to the side, he put his body out of harm's way. Recovering, he lugged at Challah, tiny spines on his knuckles protruding as he threw a punch at her, going at high speeds beyond human comprehension.

Night was observing quietly as the two spar, a brief smile on his face at being able to watch two individuals from different worlds face off with completely different capabilities. Moments like this was extremely rare, considering that lost people rarely come by with more than one individual.

"Oof!"

The impact Matsu felt against Challah's midsection was not unlike a normal person punching a rebar-reinforced concrete pillar. Still, she was sent flying back several feet, and although the spines on the demon-boy's hand didn't seem to puncture the skin, they did leave multiple holes in the fabric of her shirt.

The girl with a tail skidded to a halt on her heels, dust clouds forming where the soles of her shoes ground against the floor. For a moment, she did nothing but pant and look down at her stomach. Then she suddenly looked up at Matsu and grinned dangerously.

"My turn."

One moment, the girl was about twenty feet away... the next, she was inches away, her fist careening toward Matsu's armored nose. Challah knew she didn't need to worry about holding back anymore.

In reply to Challah (msg # 29):

11:24, Today: Matsu Shoji rolled 13 using 1d20 ((13))

By the skin of his teeth, Matsu was able to swerve his head out of the way of the punch, his own hand shaking and sore with the impact of his punch to his opponent...

This girl was BEYOND what he was expecting...

'Guess I'll have to use a different approach...' He thought sucking in another breath before exhaling.

But instead of fire emerging from his throat a dark purple mist emanated and covered the area. covering 30-50 feet in no time at all, hiding Matsu from view
This message was last edited by the player at 03:31, Thu 05 July 2018.

"Nice try! Sorry, not that stupid!"

Challah simply jumped into the air, hovering a couple dozen feet off the ground.

"I could just pepper the place with Ki Blasts, but I wouldn't want to turn this nice tower into a pile of rocks. ... So basically the same, but... flatter. And on fire."

It occured to the Saiyan that she didn't know whether or not her sparring partner could fly. "Uh... is this cheating?"

Using his wings to fly out of the fog,Matsu rose up behind Challah. Before much time had passed, his antennas has started glowing with energy, before two bolts of lightning shot out in Challah's direction.

'I wonder if she can dodge electricity' Matsu thought to himself with curiosity before quickly retreating back into the fog below, and producing a bit more to keep his cover up.

Challah's muscles convulsed slightly as the lightning struck her back, causing her to curl up a bit, but she kept her place in the air stable. A smoking hole was left behind in her shirt where the bolt had struck her.

"Owwww-ow-ow-ow!" she shouted, turning around just in time to see Matsu disappear back into the mist.

"So you can fly! That's good to know. But I'm tired of this act already! Time for pizza!"

She raised her right hand in the air, a spinning golden disc forming from her palm. She shouted the word as she began throwing several of the discs, one after another, five in total.

"Kienzan!"

The razor-sharp energy discs flew into the mist and skimmed near the ground, causing a nifty light show from Challah's perspective. She couldn't enjoy it, though, because she kept turning in a circle to make sure Matsu couldn't sneak-attack her again.

Why'd I mention pizza? she thought, sighing internally. Now I'm hungry.

How stressful this was... dodging some energy blasts like this was starting to get on Matsu's nerves...

What to do?

Rising from the smoke, Matsu extended his arms in an invitational gesture.

"Come."

"'Kay. HRAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Challah suddenly darted forward, enveloped in a blue aura, then spun in midair and aimed a roundhouse kick at Matsu's abdomen!

"Gotcha."

Instead of hitting the Devilman's stomach, Challah's kick would instead phase right through Matsu's body as if he wasn't there to begin with!
(though that aura surrounding the kick did sting a bit.)

Before any time had passed, His clawed hands would have reach out with super-human speed, grabbing her face in his hands before unleashing a thick torrent of purple mist directly into her face before leaping away with spread wings.

"Just because you got some tricks, doesn't mean I don't have mine." he said wagging his finger in a taunt like gesture.

After spending a moment coughing, Challah clenched her fists and growled in frustration. Then she quickly dropped into the familiar stance and launched a stream of cyan energy straight at Matsu!

"Kame-hame-HA!"

"Oh shi-" Matsu was cut off as the wave of energy hit him straight in the chest, sending him flying back and into a tower wall...

Honestly, this wasn't the worst hit he had taken, but it was up there.

His vision was swimming and his armor was a bit cracked, yellowy blood dripping through and onto the floor.

But he was chuckling to himself.

"Oh, crud!" Challah shouted as she sped over to Matsu, panic on her face.

"I'm sorry, I-I lost my temper! I didn't mean--what the heck's so funny?"

"heheh... Nothing... It's not as bad as it looks..." he said. Standing up, he cracked his neck before giving a fanged grin.

"The difference between you and I is that I have a lot of experience dealing with stronger opponents. I'm almost as strong as the Mighty Amon, but that doesn't help me with opponents of your tier. However, there are other ways to fight."

The lingering remains of the purple fog grew more ominous.

"That gas you just inhaled is a highly concentrated toxin designed to take down the strongest of demons, some of which are capable of surviving a nuclear bomb. I'm capable of generating it due to abilities that the demon in my body grants me. I made sure it wasn't potent enough to melt your insides, but it will cause some temporary paralysis."

He extended his arm, claws extending.

"The fight isn't over yet!" he cried charging forward.

"Oh." Challah replied sardonically. She tried to move her arms, but they suddenly felt very heavy and sluggish. She could barely even lift her tail anymore. "Well that su--"

She was cut short by a large, heavy insect-man slamming several claw-slashes into her midsection. As before, the claws easily ripped holes in her cloth shirt, but only left red lines on her skin. Though the girl was obviously constructed of flesh and bone that gave under pressure, that flesh felt like Matsu was slashing at a rock wall, the bones like steel cables only bending under the strikes, no worse for wear.

Even so, when Matsu was done, Challah could only lay on the ground, still having a hard time moving her own limbs.

"Okay... that's enough..." she croaked. "I'm done..."

"Oof." Matsu said, impressed at the durability of the girl. There were other ways to deal with hard skinned opponents. But he would save that for another time. His top half shifted back into his human half, however since his clothes were shredded, he would stay half transformed for now.

"If I was a true demon, you would be dead by now. Don't think that the enemy will always be beaten with kicks, punches and energy blasts." he said, tapping Challah's head.

"Well... it's worked up until now," Challah replied, arms moving sluggishly as she tried to push herself up. It didn't quite work.

"I'm gonna... I'm gonna just hang out down here for a bit, 'kay? ... Hang on. This... stuff wears off at some point, right? Can't get stronger by lyin' on the floor."

"Sure..." Matsu said, sitting down and cleaning up his wounds.

"Do you want me to carry you?" he asked, glancing at the incapacitated saiyan.

The Saiyan managed to flip herself over so she was lying on her back, looking very sleepy.

"Uh... maybe just put me back in my chair, if you don't mind," she said. "You wouldn't happen to have any food on you, would ya?"

In reply to Challah (msg # 45):

Picking up Challah with ease, Matsu placed her in the nearest chair he could find.

"Ya know, I'm starting to feel a bit hungry myself. I wonder if those two cloaked guys would know where to get some food." he answer challah's question while stretching to relax his muscles.

"So what is a Sayian exactly?" he asked over his shoulder, observing the tailed girl with red-eyed curiosity.

Night has been there observing the fight until both have decided on who came out the victor of the spar. Despite wayward attacks that were unleashed, it did not seem like the mysterious man was hit.

"If you have need of sustenance, we have a place for that within. First however..." Night said as he stepped forward and motioned a hand to both individuals. Challah would feel whatever ailments in her body disappear, whereas Matsu would find injuries on his person healed and some clothes to wear on his arms.

"May I then lead you around the Nexus?" Night then said as he offered to lead down the stairway of the tower they started in. At the end of the stairway they were greeted by an unusual sight - almost like a maze of stairs and paths leading to different buildings within the planet-like object.

Challah shook her head when Night let go, feeling as though she'd just downed a Senzu Bean.

"Whew! That's handy!" she exclaimed, jumping back to her feet. "And you have food?! I'm starting to like you!"

She fell into step behind Night, then turned to Matsu to answer his question. "A Saiyan? Well, most Saiyans you'll run into where I'm from are actually Saiyan-Human Hybrids, living on Earth. I, however," she placed a hand on her chest in a grandiose fashion, "am 100% pure Saiyan, born and raised on the planet Vegeta! We're proud warriors and sometimes-scientists that push ourselves to the limit in order to best any foe we come across! ... Stop lookin' at me like that. I'm doing the best a low-class can do, alright? I've just... never had to put up with toxic gas before, is all.

"Speakin' of which, what about you, Matsu? I mean, you look Human, but none of the ones I know turn into bugs. Er, no offense."

"None taken." Matsu said, adjusting his button up white shirt. "At some point, I was human. However, I was forced to adapt to my current state. I am a Devilman, body of a demon, heart of a man. I possess the powers that the demon Vespus possessed, but not his vile and evil soul. In my world, the clan of the devil has invaded the world of man. Nothing too special." Matsu said with a smile, walking alongside the other too.

Challah just nodded and said, "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds about right."

The pair was soon lead to one of the structures, whose interior was filled with round tables that could fit ten people around it and chairs. There's a warm and pleasant scent of food in the area despite no signs of cooking visible yet.

"If you have something you need, the food will be served..." Night explained as some of Challah's thoughts from earlier were picked up, bringing in a freshly baked pizza with her preferred toppings on it to the table.

"Oh wow! What's the food limit? I'm a big eater." Matsu asked with excited grin as he sat down at the table, happy to eat anything other that canned food or raw flesh.

Having returned to her human form, Virulina stepped off the disc upon landing and had a good look around.  The roof afforded an excellent view of the surroundings... except there was nothing much to see.

"This is a sanctuary, Darkness?  I have many questions... but perhaps you could explain the situation first.  That would be the simpler method."

Virulina wondered if there were any other 'phantom survivors'.  She was an independent woman and capable of taking care of herself... but something this big probably required a group.

"It is, there will be living quarters you are free to use and fix to your basic necessities. Additional amenities may be found in worlds you happen to visit and may be added as you please," Darkness added as he motioned to the stairs, "This section simply serves as the entry to our home and means to observe the vast emptiness outside."

"As for the situation in your world - it was corrected by an alien presence from another world," Darkness put it as simply as possible, "They somehow acquired means to alter the fundamentals of other worlds, changing an important event in a manner that favors them."

"By some fortune people like you still retain awareness of how your world is supposed to be and can tell apart the abrupt change," the mysterious man continued as he lead the way down the tower and to a spacious chamber that lead to different paths. From here Virulina could see just how expansive the place was - corridors and pathways leading to other chambers as far as the eye can see.

"To restore your world, you need someone from another world to find the core of your world, also known as the World Crystal," Darkness then looked to Virulina making sure she still followed the explanation, "And then you have to get in contact with the World Crystal in order to restore the world to its original state."

Following along on the tour, Virulina liked the mention of additional amenities.  Also the idea of acquiring 'loot' from adventures in other worlds was something she wouldn't discount.  But there was one thing she just had to ask.

"If these people weren't trying to kill me, this alternative version of Prysmos 'could' be considered better than the original.  I take it there is some sort of catch in not reversing these changes?  Irresponsible magic, dire consequences, grumpy wizard stuff."

That last sentence she pronounced in a mockery of Merklynn's crotchety tone.

The Darkling Lord could have sworn that the robed man had held back a chuckle on her impersonation of the wizard, a smile on his lips the only hint that her inquiry was amusing to him.

"While it may be perceived as better, the fact remains that causes a distortion on your world," Darkness replied as he brought forth an image to represent his explanation, "Too much difference from the course of what should happen in your world will cause your world to break apart and leave you with no world to hail back from."

"Of course, there are less invasive means to come to the conclusion you would rather have," the ancient one added with a pause as he turned to look to Virulina's way (as much as he could look with his eyes covered), seemingly having an idea come to mind, "But we can make arrangements for that once matters are less pressing than it is now."

She knew that if Darkstorm was present, he'd ignore the warnings.  Fortunately, a more intelligent mind was at work.  Hers.

"So if I'm going to fix my world, then I need to visit another to find someone 'aware' like me... do you have anyone in mind?  These Phantoms are quite the challenge, so I wouldn't mind an enchanted blade either."

"Actually..." Darkness said as he reached under his armored robes to produce a dangerous-looking dagger, handing it handle first to Virulina, "A colleague of mine encountered an avatar of destruction who offered her help in the matter, handing this item before vanishing."

"It can only be used once," the ancient one then said with a serious tone this time in explaining to the Darkling Lord how it was used, "She requested it to be stabbed into one of the foes behind the trouble, allowing her to manifest and possess its body as her own. She will then become an ally that will assist in your quest of restoration."

Virulina 'carefully' inspected the blade and nodded in satisfaction at its quality.

"Any foe?  Or should I save this only for foes that seem unbeatable?  At any rate, I'm glad to have asked the question."

She would have to get a sheath for the new blade, once 'business' was over and done with.

"Tell me about these World Crystals... please.  I want to know what they look like, what dangers they present, and how I can track them."

"The avatar did mention preferring intelligent foes," Darkness replied with a nod as the Darkling Lord appraised the dangerous-looking dagger, "That way, she can somehow glean on the information they possess."

"To say what a World Crystal is would be tricky since no two crystal will bear the same form," the ancient one explained when the question went to the topic of what World Crystals were and what to expect from them, "I suppose the description most wanderers not native to the world that found a crystal would describe is a repelling sensation. The closer you are to a World Crystal, the stronger this sensation is."

"The World Crystal itself isn't dangerous - rather it's the world it serves as a core that would matter more," Darkness continued to explain to Virulina, "Inhabitants would have this unnatural feeling of being irritated towards things that don't belong to their world. It is something difficult to overcome unless you prove that you don't mean any harm to them. That or have a means of concealing the fact that you're otherworlders."

"Stab someone 'important'... it shan't be a issue."

The World Crystal description helped, but it still seemed 'visually' hard to grasp.  She would have to find out for herself.  At least a repellant feeling could be used to hone on on a location.  Virulina fussed with her hair and looked around, half expecting other people to show up.

"Ordinarily I would undertake this quest alone, but considering the might of the phantoms... I 'could' use some allies.  Given that I can't call on my old comrades... I am prepared to accept strangers."

Despite her haughty words, it was a disguised request for help.  Virulina's pride would not allow her to 'beg', but she could certainly offer 'suggestions'.

"Worry not, it is a quest that will definitely require allies - even if some of them are temporary," Darkness assured the Darkling Lord as he seemed to be looking to somewhere else, "I believe some of my colleagues have already found such allies... They are probably somewhere around here or on their way back as we speak."

"It is also possible to find new allies along the way when you travel across distorted worlds," the ancient one added as if in afterthought, "There is one particular location I want you and the others to seek out first and foremost before attempting to restore your respective worlds."

With Harlock at the ship's wheel, the Arcadia followed the course Altair had somehow provided by some unknown means into the ship's navigational computer. The Space galleon flew past the portals and came upon a world of unusual sight, sensors showing it to be at the center of the many portals that they were leaving behind as they approached their destination.

With Altair's further guidance, the Arcadia approached and docked.

"Power down to station keeping and begin repairing damage we suffered by the Illumidas before we arrived into this...Void for lack of a better term. Tochiro, stay with the ship while I go with Altair and see to how to get back to our reality."

"I'll get started right away, Captain", Tochiro said and opened internal comms. "Attention all hands, this is Tochiro - begin assessing our battle damage and send all reports to me once complete - Captain's orders."

Harlock nodded to Tochiro, confident he would have the Arcadia's damage fully repaired and turned his attention and gestured to Altair to lead the way.

"And what makes this location special?"

Virulina sensed an importance about the world.  While she was a naturally suspicious lady, these strangers had yet to display any signs of avarice.  In fact they seem to be motivated by pure virtues.

"Feel free to let your crew come down when they have nothing to do," Altair said to Captain Harlock as he floated ahead and lead the way, "I believe you'll need supplies and a place to rest properly before setting off."

The youthful ancient one soon lead the captain to the bottom of the tower, meeting a robed man who had a similar atmosphere as Altair around him and a woman garbed in a stylized armor similar to those worn by knights of old.

"It's an artificial world, and very recent," Darkness answered as he paused, facing towards Altair and the pirate captain by his side to acknowledge their presence, "Whoever created it holds a lot of power, and hopefully may be able to aid your cause and ours."

"Well, its a lead... I've often worked with cryptic clues in the past.  Very well, let us journey to this world and investigate.  When we are ready."

Virulina paused in her conversation with Darkness and turned to the new arrivals.  Altair seemed familiar with this place so she classed him as one of Darkness's peers or servants.  That just left the man with the eye patch.  Virulina noted his personal weapons and his clothing.

A commander of some sort?  Since I recognize nothing about him... this must be one of the 'allies' from these other imperiled worlds.  I do like his cloak...

Standing a bit straighter, the Darkling Lord gave a curt nod.  Virulina wasn't one to shake hands.  But since she needed helped with this momentous quest, Virulina offered a small smile.  Despite the Shark hologram on her armor's chest plate, she didn't seem to be bearing much in the way of technology.  No guns, no electronics... just a strangely shaped melee weapon.

"Another warrior by the looks of it... good.  I am Virulina, Darkling Lord of Prysmos... and I have clashed with many phantoms just to be here.  What is your name and title?"

Harlock follows Altair to the bottom of the tower and noted another robed individual and a woman, violet haired & with a face both beautiful but one that shows cunning. Harlock's thoughts drift to this armored woman's resemblance to Queen Baraluda of the Arfressian Militia.

When the woman curtly nodded and stated who she was and her victories, Harlock responded by crossing his arms and gave her a slow nod before speaking.

"I am Harlock, Captain of the Space Galleon Arcadia", he answered. "I am to guess you also have been pulled from your world and reality as I and my ship and crew?"

"A space Galleon?  Now that sounds interesting.  Well met, Captain."

Virulina's mind whirled with all the things she could use a space faring ship for.  However, that was something to revisit later on.  Right now, there were Phantoms to fight and worlds to liberate...

"I don't know about your experience, but my world changed overnight... and only a few of us remembered the original.  I left on my own accord to come here and seek answers.  Have you encountered any strange people who have subverted your world, Captain... maybe someone who dresses in white?"

"I was not on my world, Virulina", Harlock answered. "My world was invaded and conquered by the Illumidas Empire - for the past few years I and my crew have been fighting their occupation. We have been a thorn in their side but slowly we will become the saber that will deal the fatal blow to their empire and retake my homeworld of Earth and any world who yearns to be free of their tyrannical rule."

Harlock paused for a moment. "As to your question of seeing someone, I have not encountered anyone in white but during the battle that brought us here, I saw what I can only describe as an angelic winged woman in the airless vacuum of space before we were pulled into the reality where we find ourselves now."

He sounds like a 'good guy', but I can work with that.

Virulina listened to everything, taking certain pieces of the conversation apart for her own evaluation.  It was the similarities that mattered most to her.

"Well, I'd say that the winged woman is the person who has corrupted your... timeline?  I have only one world to worry about.  Finding one foe among many worlds sounds... difficult.  Forunately a lead has opened up, elsewhere.  Have you been briefed about World Crystals, Captain?"

She paused, looking to Darkness and Altair briefly.  They might want to explain the concept, but if they didn't... she would.

"Altair has mentioned what I must do to restore me and my crew back to my world & reality and this 'World Crystal' - truth be told I do not fully comprehend but if I must do this to return home, then so be it", Harlock said.

"Excellent.  I'm not sure how your ship and crew will fit into this questing, Captain.  What else do we need to know, Darkness?"

Virulina looked like she was ready for adventure.

"Normally we'd offer a short rest to prepare you on your quest," Darkness said as he motioned to the view of the inside of the moon-like structure, resembling a three-dimensional labyrinth where gravity worked as it pleased, "But if you are ready to set off then we can proceed to open the pathway to the world in question."

“I am ready to begin this quest.  We will do our best to bring this ally into the fold... or return with whatever help we can extract from them.”

She wasn’t sure what they would find on this artificial world or how well received they would be.  But if they could demonstrate a universe wide threat, that would surely get them an audience with whoever ruled it.

"If my vessel is not needed, I would like to communicate to my friend Tochiro for a brief moment to concentrate on my ship's repairs or be ready to set sail if the Arcadia is required."

Harlock pulls a communicator from his belt and waits for an answer.

"Your men are free to rest and make repairs on your vessel as you please," Darkness replied as he turned towards the Captain of the Arcadia, "It might attract unnecessary attention too soon before you could accomplish your objective."

"But fear not - we will make sure you remain in contact with your crew from here and can send the vessel to assist when necessary," the ancient one added as the location they were in seemed to have shifted to a different part of the massive construct the ancient one called home. A glowing portal stood on one end of the hallway, with faint shapes of a city visible on the other end of the path.

Harlock nodded to Darkness and activated his communicator. "Harlock to Tochiro."

After a few seconds, Tochiro responded. "Tochiro here, go ahead."

"How are repairs coming along?"

"Going well - We're fabricating components for our biggest repairs and we have enough supplies to cover all damage we sustained but we will need to resupply somewhere if we get into another major battle."

"Very well - continue getting the Arcadia spaceworthy - I am going somewhere to help us get home."

"Do you need company? I can send Tadashi or Yuki...Or me?"

"No, ill be fine. Have the ship repaired & ready by the time I return."

There was a long pause. "Aye, aye Captain", Tochiro said with a little annoyance in his voice.

Putting the communicator away with a slight grin, Harlock turned to Darkness & said simply, "Im ready."

"Onward then."

Virulina boldly stepped through the portal.