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Area C-6L: The city of Gefallen

Mustang sighed as he exited through the doors of the city's Court building, his grey outer jacket still limply draped over his shoulders. He had a face of slight disappointment, mixed with a dash of frustration. He grumbled something quietly about his agency being founded by Strays, and the girls that he had asked to stay outside while he dealt with the court all stood up and approached him. Knowing they were eager for information, he got straight to the point.

"Good news and bad news," he stated not breaking pace nor course. "The good news is I managed to convince the City Court to let us talk to the strays that came out of the anomaly. The bad news is that I have no clue if they'll let us leave with them. Despite the fact that the Stray Collection Agency, our Agency, was founded specifically to gather all the Strays together. To make matters worse, the Court refuses to believe that the Rhine is a major threat to their survival."

"Wait-wait-wait," Ichiroku quickly interjected. "What do you mean 'they don't believe the Rhine is a major threat'?"

"I mean what I said," he replied degeneratively. "In the 200 years the city has been here, its stood against 16 sieges, and during each siege, no enemy force has gotten any farther into the city than inside the outer wall. They're thankful that I warned them about the coming forces so they can prepare for the siege; it's the main reason we're allowed to talk to the strays in fact. However, they firmly believe this siege will be no different than the ones before it."

"If it survived that many, do you think the city might still hold up?" Saori Takebe asked with optimistic curiosity. Mustang stopped walking at that, and the girls there stopped with him. He turned to face them, a serious expression on his face.

"What I know about the worlds you girls came from is limited. I can tell you this though, and let's just get the record straight here; there is no military in any of your worlds even remotely close to what the Rhine is capable of. They're using techniques and creatures that to you all will seem like magic and sorcery; many of which you will believe are straight out of a fantasy book."

The girls were quiet at that, none quite sure of how to respond.

"Is the Rhine really that powerful?" Yukari Akiyama asked quietly. Mustang turned to the dark haired and eyed girl, and gave a response.

"Powerful? Yes. Unstoppable? Unbeatable? Indestructible? No. No chance that they could be an absolute in either of these. I've fought them far longer than anyone has. I have a rather complex relation to one of their members."

Mustang simply sighed again.

"The strays are in a warehouse down by one of the docks. We should go talk to them and find out what we're dealing with here." He motioned for the girls to load up, and they set off toward the docks.

As they moved through the city, Miho looked around at the people walking on the sides of the streets. They were citizens of the city, going about their business at various shops and locations. Most of them did look her way with a strange look however. It made sense, by what she had seen so far their technology mimicked the technology from the turn of the 20th century. Tanks therefore shouldn't be invented for another decade, and the ones the schools were driving wouldn't be designed for at least double that time.

Something bothered her though as she looked at all the people.

"Mr. Mustang?" she asked over the radio.

"Oh that's right! We still haven't come up with a code phrase for you girls yet. For now I think you should call me: General."

"General?"

"Yeah. Is, there a problem?" Mustang asked curiously.

Miho stuttered for a moment. "N-No, that's just that wasn't what I was going to ask you is all."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Well..." Miho paused again, glancing about the people around them. "What's going to happen to all the people that live here?"

The radio was quiet for a moment before Mustang gave a response.

"To be honest, I'm not sure Miho." His voice was not sounding very reassuring. "We don't have the resources or power to bring any of them with us. Most won't listen if we tell them to leave anyway. They don't want to risk leaving and running into something that could get them killed. They feel safe here; and they believe without a doubt that the city is invincible. Of course, the city is almost doomed to fall with that mindset."

Everyone was quiet after that, as no one was sure what could really be said. So they continued their way through the city in silence; heading toward the warehouse where the new Strays were being kept.

...

It should have occured to Miho that there would be other languages being spoken in this world. It was a different world after all. Yet, why was she surprised when Mustang began speaking in an unrecognizable tongue to one of the guards? The guard and Mustang exchanged a line of professional sounding dialogue, and Mustang held up a slip of paper with writing on it and what looked like an important seal.

The guard went silent before he turned to one of the warehouse's large doors and pushed it open. The guard stood aside and motioned for them to enter. Miho and the others complied and walked into the building. It was a simple warehouse; a wooden structure with a steel frame that formed a rectangular building running parallel to the docks. That all made sense to Miho. The part she really didn't understand was what was being kept inside of it.

There was an assortment of females ranging from girls in their young teens to women in their early adulthood. Most appeared to be from Japanese decent, although a few did appear almost European. They wore various outfits from sailor uniforms to shrine maiden robes to some questionaly skimpy clothing. They all had varying different faces of worry and concern.

A portion of them noticed the new arrivals and turned to Miho's group. Miho couldn't help but feel awkward with so many eyes on her. She had never been exactly comfortable being in the spotlight. At least it seemed she could let Mustang do all the talking.

Speaking of which, Mustang had begun talking to one of the guards inside the warehouse. The way they were going back and forth made their conversation look like an argument, or at the very least an important debate. One of the women standing in the warehouse walked up to Mustang, and asked in Japanese: "What are you two talking about?"

The woman had long flowing black hair, reddish brown eyes, and what strangely looked like metallic antennae atop her head. Her clothing shone a surprising amount of skin, yet she held a commanding personality.

"I'm sorry, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Komendant Mustang of the Stray Organization," he said stretching out his hand to the woman.

"Nagato," she replied as she shook his hand. "Secretary Ship of the Kure Naval Base. If I may ask, what is the 'Stray Organization'."

"We are an organization whose objective is to gather of all the strays together, and if possible turn them into a fighting force."

"Strays?"

"It's what I call those who come out of the anomalies."

"The anomalies? You mean the storm that brought us here?" Nagato asked putting a hand to her chin.

"That correct," Mustang said with a simple nod.

Nagato took a deep cool breath and sighed. "You didn't answer my question from earlier; what were you two talking about?" she said after a moment. Mustang blinked.

"Sorry," he replied sheepishly, rubbing a hand behind his head. "I'm trying to convince the guards here to hand custody of your group over to me."

"Why would that be?" she asked as she folded her arms.

"Because the Rhine's forces will be attacking this city soon and we don't have the power to stop it. The city will fall and I can't let you fall into the hands of the enemy."

"The Rhine?"

"A country set on global domination. I'm trying to gather all the power I can to stop them."

"Why should we trust you? How do we know we won't be fighting for the wrong side?" Nagato asked sceptical.

"Three reasons. One, the Rhine's leader is mad with a power hungry vengeance that extends through all of the multiverse. The Rhine has already conquered another world, and now wishes to spread to literally all the others. Two, should you ever decide join the Rhine, when it deems your purpose fulfilled, you will be disposed of without a care. Three, if we take down the Rhine and win the war, I'll be able to send everyone home."

That got Nagato's attention. Well, more everyone in the room's attention. "How?" Nagato asked.

"There's a mysterious object that I know of. It's the key we need to get everyone home. According to my sources, whoever possess it is able to gain control of the anomalies."

Nagato nodded quietly, what he was implying didn't take a genius to figure out.

"So if we defeat this 'Rhine', we can all get home." It wasn't a question. Mustang simply nodded in affirmation.

"Wait a minute," another girl behind Nagato said. "What kind of sources do you have to get that kind of information? That doesn't sound like something they'd just let anyone know."

Mustang was quiet for a moment.

"Let's just say I've worked directly with the Rhine's leader before; long before said leader decided to go on a conquest. I know what the Rhine does when they fight a battle. There is no honor, justice, or mercy. They have technology, weapons, tools, and creatures that sound straight out of fantasy stories. This city we're in, it will fall by tonight. I can't let you fall into enemy hands."

The room was quiet yet again. As Nagato attempted to process it all, suddenly a guard from outside ran into the room and started shouting something in his language. Mustang turned to the guard and replied in the same language. The guard's voice sounded urgent, and no one there needed to understand every word he said to know something was wrong. At the motion of the guard, Mustang and the girls that entered with him ran outside.

The sky in the distance was black with abnormal storm clouds. Different from the anomalies, but powerful all the same. Thunder kackaled, lightning flashed. Miho noticed Mustang's eyes narrow before he said it.

"They're here."

Description
Area C-6L: The city of Gefallen

Mustang sighed as he exited through the doors of the city's Court building, his grey outer jacket still limply draped over his shoulders. He had a face of slight disappointment, mixed with a dash of frustration. He grumbled something quietly about his agency being founded by Strays, and the girls that he had asked to stay outside while he dealt with the court all stood up and approached him. Knowing they were eager for information, he got straight to the point.

"Good news and bad news," he stated not breaking pace nor course. "The good news is I managed to convince the City Court to let us talk to the strays that came out of the anomaly. The bad news is that I have no clue if they'll let us leave with them. Despite the fact that the Stray Collection Agency, our Agency, was founded specifically to gather all the Strays together. To make matters worse, the Court refuses to believe that the Rhine is a major threat to their survival."

"Wait-wait-wait," Ichiroku quickly interjected. "What do you mean 'they don't believe the Rhine is a major threat'?"

"I mean what I said," he replied degeneratively. "In the 200 years the city has been here, its stood against 16 sieges, and during each siege, no enemy force has gotten any farther into the city than inside the outer wall. They're thankful that I warned them about the coming forces so they can prepare for the siege; it's the main reason we're allowed to talk to the strays in fact. However, they firmly believe this siege will be no different than the ones before it."

"If it survived that many, do you think the city might still hold up?" Saori Takebe asked with optimistic curiosity. Mustang stopped walking at that, and the girls there stopped with him. He turned to face them, a serious expression on his face.

"What I know about the worlds you girls came from is limited. I can tell you this though, and let's just get the record straight here; there is no military in any of your worlds even remotely close to what the Rhine is capable of. They're using techniques and creatures that to you all will seem like magic and sorcery; many of which you will believe are straight out of a fantasy book."

The girls were quiet at that, none quite sure of how to respond.

"Is the Rhine really that powerful?" Yukari Akiyama asked quietly. Mustang turned to the dark haired and eyed girl, and gave a response.

"Powerful? Yes. Unstoppable? Unbeatable? Indestructible? No. No chance that they could be an absolute in either of these. I've fought them far longer than anyone has. I have a rather complex relation to one of their members."

Mustang simply sighed again.

"The strays are in a warehouse down by one of the docks. We should go talk to them and find out what we're dealing with here." He motioned for the girls to load up, and they set off toward the docks.

As they moved through the city, Miho looked around at the people walking on the sides of the streets. They were citizens of the city, going about their business at various shops and locations. Most of them did look her way with a strange look however. It made sense, by what she had seen so far their technology mimicked the technology from the turn of the 20th century. Tanks therefore shouldn't be invented for another decade, and the ones the schools were driving wouldn't be designed for at least double that time.

Something bothered her though as she looked at all the people.

"Mr. Mustang?" she asked over the radio.

"Oh that's right! We still haven't come up with a code phrase for you girls yet. For now I think you should call me: General."

"General?"

"Yeah. Is, there a problem?" Mustang asked curiously.

Miho stuttered for a moment. "N-No, that's just that wasn't what I was going to ask you is all."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Well..." Miho paused again, glancing about the people around them. "What's going to happen to all the people that live here?"

The radio was quiet for a moment before Mustang gave a response.

"To be honest, I'm not sure Miho." His voice was not sounding very reassuring. "We don't have the resources or power to bring any of them with us. Most won't listen if we tell them to leave anyway. They don't want to risk leaving and running into something that could get them killed. They feel safe here; and they believe without a doubt that the city is invincible. Of course, the city is almost doomed to fall with that mindset."

Everyone was quiet after that, as no one was sure what could really be said. So they continued their way through the city in silence; heading toward the warehouse where the new Strays were being kept.

...

It should have occured to Miho that there would be other languages being spoken in this world. It was a different world after all. Yet, why was she surprised when Mustang began speaking in an unrecognizable tongue to one of the guards? The guard and Mustang exchanged a line of professional sounding dialogue, and Mustang held up a slip of paper with writing on it and what looked like an important seal.

The guard went silent before he turned to one of the warehouse's large doors and pushed it open. The guard stood aside and motioned for them to enter. Miho and the others complied and walked into the building. It was a simple warehouse; a wooden structure with a steel frame that formed a rectangular building running parallel to the docks. That all made sense to Miho. The part she really didn't understand was what was being kept inside of it.

There was an assortment of females ranging from girls in their young teens to women in their early adulthood. Most appeared to be from Japanese decent, although a few did appear almost European. They wore various outfits from sailor uniforms to shrine maiden robes to some questionaly skimpy clothing. They all had varying different faces of worry and concern.

A portion of them noticed the new arrivals and turned to Miho's group. Miho couldn't help but feel awkward with so many eyes on her. She had never been exactly comfortable being in the spotlight. At least it seemed she could let Mustang do all the talking.

Speaking of which, Mustang had begun talking to one of the guards inside the warehouse. The way they were going back and forth made their conversation look like an argument, or at the very least an important debate. One of the women standing in the warehouse walked up to Mustang, and asked in Japanese: "What are you two talking about?"

The woman had long flowing black hair, reddish brown eyes, and what strangely looked like metallic antennae atop her head. Her clothing shone a surprising amount of skin, yet she held a commanding personality.

"I'm sorry, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Komendant Mustang of the Stray Organization," he said stretching out his hand to the woman.

"Nagato," she replied as she shook his hand. "Secretary Ship of the Kure Naval Base. If I may ask, what is the 'Stray Organization'."

"We are an organization whose objective is to gather of all the strays together, and if possible turn them into a fighting force."

"Strays?"

"It's what I call those who come out of the anomalies."

"The anomalies? You mean the storm that brought us here?" Nagato asked putting a hand to her chin.

"That correct," Mustang said with a simple nod.

Nagato took a deep cool breath and sighed. "You didn't answer my question from earlier; what were you two talking about?" she said after a moment. Mustang blinked.

"Sorry," he replied sheepishly, rubbing a hand behind his head. "I'm trying to convince the guards here to hand custody of your group over to me."

"Why would that be?" she asked as she folded her arms.

"Because the Rhine's forces will be attacking this city soon and we don't have the power to stop it. The city will fall and I can't let you fall into the hands of the enemy."

"The Rhine?"

"A country set on global domination. I'm trying to gather all the power I can to stop them."

"Why should we trust you? How do we know we won't be fighting for the wrong side?" Nagato asked sceptical.

"Three reasons. One, the Rhine's leader is mad with a power hungry vengeance that extends through all of the multiverse. The Rhine has already conquered another world, and now wishes to spread to literally all the others. Two, should you ever decide join the Rhine, when it deems your purpose fulfilled, you will be disposed of without a care. Three, if we take down the Rhine and win the war, I'll be able to send everyone home."

That got Nagato's attention. Well, more everyone in the room's attention. "How?" Nagato asked.

"There's a mysterious object that I know of. It's the key we need to get everyone home. According to my sources, whoever possess it is able to gain control of the anomalies."

Nagato nodded quietly, what he was implying didn't take a genius to figure out.

"So if we defeat this 'Rhine', we can all get home." It wasn't a question. Mustang simply nodded in affirmation.

"Wait a minute," another girl behind Nagato said. "What kind of sources do you have to get that kind of information? That doesn't sound like something they'd just let anyone know."

Mustang was quiet for a moment.

"Let's just say I've worked directly with the Rhine's leader before; long before said leader decided to go on a conquest. I know what the Rhine does when they fight a battle. There is no honor, justice, or mercy. They have technology, weapons, tools, and creatures that sound straight out of fantasy stories. This city we're in, it will fall by tonight. I can't let you fall into enemy hands."

The room was quiet yet again. As Nagato attempted to process it all, suddenly a guard from outside ran into the room and started shouting something in his language. Mustang turned to the guard and replied in the same language. The guard's voice sounded urgent, and no one there needed to understand every word he said to know something was wrong. At the motion of the guard, Mustang and the girls that entered with him ran outside.

The sky in the distance was black with abnormal storm clouds. Different from the anomalies, but powerful all the same. Thunder kackaled, lightning flashed. Miho noticed Mustang's eyes narrow before he said it.

"They're here."