Metal and Threads Universe, Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
"Hey, Lici, are you ready yet?" Alfonzo asked, shouting up the stairs of his mansion. "If you don't hurry, we're gonna be late."
"I'm coming~~~!" Elicia replied, her words accompanied by the sound of footsteps and a rolling cart.
"Where are the two of you going, anyway?" Marin Kitagawa, one of Alfonzo's wives, a beautiful young woman with blonde hair that transitions to pink at its ends, pink eyes, and a curvaceous figure, asked as she approached Alfonzo from the direction of the mansion's living room. "I mean, you two have been keeping it, like, really secret."
"We're just going on a trip to meet some friends." Alfonzo replied as he reached up and started combing his fingers through Marin's hair. "We'll be back tomorrow night, or the morning after at the latest."
"Which friends?" Marin asked curiously. "Were they at any of the weddings?"
"The ones we went to see for a week a few months ago." Alfonzo replied.
"The ones you didn't take any of us to see." Marin shot back, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"If you wanna be technical about it." Alfonzo replied in a nonchalant tone with a shrug.
To be honest, Alfonzo and Elicia really did not like keeping this secret from the other girls. Especially since Alfonzo has already come up with a way to traverse worlds. Though, those worlds are only worlds parallel to Earth Land. And there is only one. The real issue is that they did not want to end up like James, who was treated as if he had lost his mind when he mentioned the chat to his family and friends.
Unfortunately, Alfonzo and Elicia forgot one fundamental difference between themselves and James. And that was the fact that Alfonzo only trolls the people he does not like, and Elicia usually does not mess with people in that manner. Whereas James trolls everyone. So, when James spits out such an unbelievable story, everyone thinks that he's just messing with them... like usual. And they respond in a similar way, making it seem like he's out of his mind.
"Whatever." Marin replied while rolling her eyes. "Just make sure to introduce us to your friends one day, okay?"
"Of course." Alfonzo replied with a smile.
"I'm here!" Elicia shouted as the sound of footsteps could be heard from the top of the stairs.
A moment later, Elicia appeared at the top of the stairs while pulling a rolling suitcase. She also held up three outfits covered in plastic, two of which were tuxedos while the third was an evening gown.
Cana, another one of Alfonzo's wives, a tall woman with wavy brown hair and purple eyes appeared behind Elicia a moment later.
"Come on, Lici." Cana said, her tone making it clear that she was annoyed, as she kept up with Elicia with a bottle of mead in her hand. "Why can't you just tell me where you're going. I promise I won't tell anyone."
"Say that while you're not drunk." Elicia replied while rolling her eyes as she started climbing down the stairs. "After that, promise to stop drinking... And actually keep that promise."
"Are you trying to say I have loose lips when I'm drunk?" Cana asked indignantly. "I'll have you know, I've never told a secret I'm not supposed to when I'm drunk."
Hearing that, Elicia turned to stare Cana in the eyes with a blank expression on her face. However, Elicia was not the only one to look at Cana like that, as Alfonzo and Marin were both staring at her blankly, as well.
Feeling the additional gazes on her, Cana turned to see Alfonzo and Marin.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Cana asked before raising the bottle to her lips and taking a swig.
Deciding not to get into this conversation with Cana, who could be as shameless as anyone when she's intoxicated, which is nearly all the time, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Marin turned away from Cana and said their goodbyes.
"Hey!" Cana shouted indignantly. "At least say something! Don't just ignore me!"
After a little more time, Alfonzo and Elicia eventually left the house before climbing into a magic vehicle that was made to look like a silver Aston Martin Vanquish. They then, with Alfonzo behind the wheel, drove away from the town of Magnolia to find a private place where they could invoke their [World Travel Tickets].
Scattered Cherry Blossoms Universe, Human World, Japan, Kuoh.
"Why is James taking so long?" Lilith asked in an impatient tone.
"Why are you so impatient, Lady Lilith?" Venelana asked with a smile. "The concert isn't until tomorrow. So, there's no way we'll be late."
Currently, the two people in James' world who were most interested in traveling to Tatsuo's world, Venelana and Lilith, were seated in the Alaverus Estate in the Human World along with Venelana's personal maid, Grayfia. And right now, Venelana found it quite amusing that Lilith, formerly the queen of the Devil Race, was so impatient to see Tatsuo again.
"He will be here shortly." Scáthach said as she walked down the stairs leading to the second floor of the six-floor mansion. "He's doing some last-minute maintenance on his swords."
"Why does he even need to do that?" Lilith asked indignantly.
"Because he is a warrior." Scáthach replied calmly. Though, her tone made it clear that this was something she had no intention of budging on. "And no true warrior would go anywhere without his weapons being in their best condition."
"So, this is your teaching, Immortal Witch?" Lilith asked with her eyes narrowed dangerously.
At the same time, Lilith's demonic power began flaring. Then, she began to grow in size while her hair changed from black to white, her body grew more voluptuous, and her clothing turned more provocative.
"It is." Scáthach replied without a change in her expression. "In fact, it was one of the first things I taught James when he became my disciple nearly a decade ago."
While Lilith continued flaring her Minor God-Ranked demonic power and staring down Scáthach after she admitted to being the reason why James was taking so long to arrive, Scáthach was completely unbothered. Instead, she simply made her way from the stairs to the couch and took a seat. She then held out a hand and waited for Grayfia to serve a cup of tea.
"That probably won't do you any good, Lady Lilith." Venelana said while trying to hold back laughter. "Master Scáthach could have killed any Minor God-Ranked being back when she was human. And now that's she's risen to the Major God-Rank, there's no way that she would submit to you. Add that to the fact that you're no longer the queen of the Devils, and…"
Hearing that, Lilith froze completely. For most, it had been over a thousand years since the Great War between the Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils ended. However, for Lilith, who had been put into a magical coma by her former husband, the original Lucifer, so he could use her as a literal baby-making factory to supplement the number of Devil soldiers in the war and was just woken up earlier in the year, it was quite recent. So, from time to time, she forgets her status with other Devils.
Eventually, Lilith's shoulders slumped, and she sat back on the couch with a dejected expression on her face as she reverted back to her smaller form.
"Alright, is everyone ready to go?" James asked, his voice cutting through the tension in his living room. "Sorry I took so long. I was finalizing the itinerary with Tatsuo. We can't all show up in his apartment, after all."
Hearing that, Lilith snapped out of her dejected state. She then turned to stare at Scáthach with a gloating expression on her face. Scáthach, on the other hand, turned to look at James as soon as his voice was heard. However, when she heard his words directly contradicting her own, she could not help the twitching of one of her eyebrows.
Meanwhile, James made his way down the stairs from the second floor. However, when he saw the current atmosphere in the living room, Lilith staring at Scáthach in amusement, Venelana doing her best not to laugh, Grayfia serving tea, which was not too outside of the norm, and Scáthach staring at him with a promise of the most grueling training he had ever been through, James could not help but be confused.
'Just a minute ago, it felt like Grandma was ready to kill someone.' James muttered internally. 'So, how did things end up like this? And why is Master looking at me like that? What did I do to piss her off so bad? *Sigh* I'd better not ask, though. That will only make things worse.'
"Anyway, we'll be leaving in ten minutes." James said with a shrug, deciding that thinking about the situation was pointless. "Tatsuo said that his mom needed to get a few of the apartments in his building ready for us."
"Oh, does she own the building?" Venelana asked in a curious tone.
"Yeah." James said nonchalantly. "Apparently, she's pretty loaded."
James then used his demonic power to float a video game controller over to himself and pressed the button in the center of the controller to start the console.
"Anyway, I'm gonna play a few rounds of DOA until he contacts me. Anyone else wanna play?"
ICDS Universe, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
"It's been so long since the last time I saw Tatsuo." Shea, the blue-haired rabbitman from the Arifureta Universe, said happily as she packed an evening gown she bought with Violet into a suitcase. "You don't think he forgot about me, do you?"
"Hurry up, Worthless Rabbit." Aletia said in an impatient tone.
"Sorry…" Shea replied, her tone turning downcast. "I was just so excited that I couldn't concentrate on packing."
"It's okay." Violet replied with a smile. "The concert isn't until tomorrow. There's no rush."
"Miss Sumire, you're so nice!" Shea said as she momentarily forgot about packing, sprung to her feet, and threw herself at Violet to give her a hug.
Smiling wryly, Violet patted the taller girl on her back while being smothered in the rabbit girl's considerable chest.
"Anyway, you should finish packing." Violet said as she gently pushed Shea back. "And don't forget, your dress will be wrinkled if you just stuff it into your luggage like you were doing."
"*Gasp* Oh, no!" Shea exclaimed as she released Violet, rushed back to her suitcase, and picked up her evening gown. "No~~~~! It's already wrinkled."
"Stupid Rabbit." Aletia said without mercy as she glared at Shea disdainfully with her arms crossed.
In response, Shea turned towards Violet and Aletia with big, comical, anime tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Her gaze, clearly distraught, was asking for help.
"Now, now. Ther's no need to be so mean, Aletia-San." Violet said, trying to de-escalate the situation. "Like I said, the concert isn't until tomorrow. So, we'll have time to take care of the wrinkles after we get to Tatsuo-Kun's world."
"Sniff* Okay." Shea replied with a nod. Though, it was clear that she was still worried.
"Hmph!" Aletia only snorted in response while sharply turning away.
"Now, let me help you finish getting packed, okay?"? violet asked in a gentle tone as she approached Shea and her suitcase.
'*Sigh* I hope Tatsuo-Kun contacts us soon.' Violet thought to herself while she organized Shea's suitcase. 'If he doesn't, those two are definitely gonna start a fight. Plus, I really miss him.'
As that last thought passed through her mind, Violet blushed involuntarily while a smile spread across her face.
Naturally, both Aletia and Shea saw the changes in Violet's expression. And they both reacted to it in their own ways. While Aletia pouted in jealousy, knowing that Violet was Tatsuo's only true lover, Shea smiled happily, just as happy as Violet at the thought of seeing Tatsuo.
TYPE-MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
"Do you have everything you'll need?" Rin asked as she watched Sakura enter the living room of the Tohsaka Residence.
"I do." Sakura replied calmly. "I'll only be gone for a day or two. So, you don't have to worry so much, Onee-Sama."
"*Sigh* I know you're right, Sakura." Rin said while shaking her head. "*sigh* I still can't believe that those two weren't even from our world."
Before leaving the TYPE-MOON Universe, Elicia, while Tatsuo was waiting for her to invite Sakura to the [Dimensional Chat], told everyone, Sakura, Rin, Zelretch, Illyasviel, Leysritt, and Sella, about their origins. So, they were all aware that there were worlds other than their own. And they were all curious to know what these worlds were like. Unfortunately, only Sakura was invited to join the [Chat].
However, when they found out that Zelretch received an invitation to join after Elicia left, the other girls were so jealous that they considered attacking Zelretch to try and take his spot in the [Chat], even if it would have never worked.
"I was surprised, too." Sakura said as she carried her suitcase over to a couch and took a seat. "But it's not really that surprising when you think about everything the Wizard Marshall has done."
"That's true, I guess." Rin replied, remembering that Zelretch had been to all sorts of parallel versions of their own world in the past… And probably still does. "Still, these aren't just parallel versions of our world. They're completely different worlds. Some don't even have Earths. And some are still experiencing the Age of Gods, even if humanity has continued to advance. It's just so interesting. I'm sure I could really learn a lot if I could visit a world like that."
"Well, when I have more Coins, I'll be sure to take you when I go visit another world in the future." Sakura said with a smile. "You'll just have to be patient until then."
"I know." Rin replied with a pout. A moment later, however, she turned to Sakura with a loving smile. "Thank you, Sakura. I'm so glad to have you back."
"I'm glad we can be a family again, too." Sakura said with a happy smile. She then turned to the opposite side as she continued. "And I'm really happy about the wish Tatsuo-Kun made for my sake."
As soon as Sakura's words ended, the space next to her shimmered as Medusa, looking exactly as she did during the Holy Grail War, took her physical form.
"Actually, now that I think about it, since you two are connected by the [Command Seals] will Rider be able to come with you?" Rin asked in a curious tone.
"I'm not sure." Sakura replied while lightly shaking her head. "But I hope so. If not, there's a chance that I could come back, and Rider will have been returned to the Throne of Heroes."
"Well, she could extend her stay if she really wanted to." Rin replied absent mindedly. However, when she felt Sakura's glare, she shrunk back. "Not that she would ever attack people and drink their blood to absorb mana for a reason like that."
*Flash!*
At that moment, before Sakura could retort, a light flashed in the living room before spreading into a circular portal. A moment later, Zelretch led Illyasviel, Leysritt, and Sella through the portal created by his Magic, [Kaleidoscope].
"Hello, my disciple." Zelretch said in a jovial tone as he closed the portal behind him and the other three. "How have your studies been coming along since the last time I saw you?"
"You just sent me back from the Clock tower an hour ago." Rin shot back while rolling her eyes. "Just how much studying could I have done since then? Especially since part of that time was spent helping Sakura decide on the evening gown she would wear to Tatsuo-Kun's concert."
"Onee-Sama~." Sakura whined in protest.
"Hohoho!" Zelretch laughed good-naturedly. "It would seem you really are looking forward to seeing young Soramoto, aren't you, Miss Sakura?"
"So lucky…" Illyasviel muttered jealously. "I wanna see Assassin, I mean Tatsuo, again, too."
After saying that, Illyasviel turned on the puppy-dog eyes, grabbed the hem of Zelretch's clothes, and looked at him pleadingly.
"Grandpa~~~, Can't Illya come with you?" Illyasviel asked in a sugary sweet tone.
"We already talked about this." Zelretch said, his tone both patient and amused. "Not only am I immune to those eyes of yours, but I don't have the Coins necessary to bring another person. It's barely been a week since I joined this mysterious [Dimensional Chat]. And though I am loathed to admit it, I have not had the best luck with the daily Coin Lottery."
"My luck has not been particularly good either." Sakura said. "I've only averaged 65 Coins since I started drawing."
"That's definitely better than this old man. Hohoho!" Zelretch said with a good-natured laugh. "My highest draw has only been 66 Coins. My average should be somewhere around 40. That's barely enough for me to travel to another world for two days. Or to send one person to another world for a single day. But since they would have to travel with me, that is irrelevant, isn't it?"
At that moment, both Sakura and Zelretch flinched. Tatsuo had just sent a message through the [Dimensional chat], tagging everyone who was planning to visit his world. That the empty apartments were ready and they could start making their way to his world.
"Well, it looks like it's time to go." Zelretch said with a smile. He then turned to Illyasviel with a grandfatherly smile on his face. "I'll see you when I get back. Don't give Rin too much trouble while I'm gone."
"Fine~…" Illyasviel replied with a pout.
"I'll see you later, Onee-Sama." Sakura said to Rin. "And try not to fight too much with Illya-San, okay?"
"No promises." Rin replied with a pout of her own.
Shaking her head at her sister, sakura then turned to Medusa.
"Don't worry, If I'm not pulled along with you, I'll keep them safe, Master." Medusa said before Sakura could say anything.
"Thanks, Rider." Sakura replied with a smile. "And I want to say that I'm sorry you aren't pulled along with me. But I promise I will when I have enough Coins."
Instead of replying verbally, Medusa only nodded her head in understanding. Then, Sakura and Zelretch began navigating through the [Chat's] [Shop] before buying their [world Travel Tickets] and setting their destinations. Once that was complete, they vanished from the Tohsaka Residence's living room.
Yet, instead of only two flashes, there were three. Meaning, medusa was also dragged alongside Sakura due to the contact, leaving only Rin, Illyasviel, Leysritt, and Sella behind.