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Eurys The distress call goes out, with coordinates. An attack on one of Asphodel's many train stations between realms. Finding the right warpgate is easy enough, but heading through it reveals a hell of a sight.

A modern-era outdoor train station, black-and-grey, floating in an abyss. A canopy rests up above the area, 'giving shade', as numerous benches are laid out between a pair of rail lines, with a large building across the tracks - check-in and service.

The train station is positively huge. It could fit thousands, easily. There's not that many people presently here, numbering more in the hundreds.

The abyss, meanwhile, can be called that because it's primarily blackness. If you step off a specific part of the platform, you'd fall, likely endlessly. But it's not exactly dark. Dozens of lights brighten up the sky, some sort of star system throughout the abyss.

Once out in the platform and having gained bearings, the problem is clear. The 'civilians' are panicking, trying to flee into the interior of the building, which has been damaged and has a big hole in the wall that they're trying to barricade, or to the train parked at the rails. It's large and black, and long enough that you can't see where it ends easily in the abyss. The words 'Kharon Express' mark the side. Transluscent liquid is in pools at several places near the train station, like bloodstains, while the fight becomes clear enough.

There's four figures of interest. A man in a grey conductor's outfit is trying to usher people into the train as quickly as possible, with short black hair and an unkempt moustache, cap on his head. A young woman in a dress jacket is trying to help out the people hiding in the building, guarding them and trying to reassure them.

And a massive purplish-black carrion bird covered in miasma, with missile-like feathers and a razor-sharp beak, fights a young man with short brown hair in a grey 'junior conductor' outfit, scythe blades manifested out of his hands. He's losing, as the beast scrapes into him, knocking him backwards into a bench, before letting out a deafening screech.
Riku "It never ends."

Whatever the cause, Riku arrives through the Warpgate onto the train station, already in his purple combat suit. The vast vista and starry darkness around them doesn't seem to keep him occupied for more than a few moments. What he's looking for is quite apparent and making itself known. The moment the massive miasmatic bird is seen, Riku lunges into a portal of black that opens before him, swallowing him whole...

And he pops out, spinning in to interpose himself between the fallen young man and the bird. With a yell, his hand lights on dark flame and he hurls it into the bird point-blank in a detonation of energy.

"Hey. Come try me instead." He says, flicking a hand as his Heartbrand, Soul Eater, manifests in his hand with a wash of shadow.
Raziel 'The sight I was greeted to upon exiting the portal was a dizzying abyss.  The darkness seemed to go on forever, and the feeling that if one were to fall into it, they too would fall forever was instilled in the back of my mind.  Above the stars seemed to shine, though ones I was not familiar with.  A building was being barricaded, while someone was ushering people into a large metal vehicle.'

'However, the sight of a bird that seemed to be the source of the disturbance...and was likely the Wraith in question.  Unlike the soul eaters of my world, this one took the form of a giant bird, instead of a grotesque and malformed person.  It would seem that simply trying to persuade the creature would be only done with violence.  Fortunately, I was well equipped for this.'

Raziel shoots out of the portal, the wraith himself looked...well he looked like an emaciated husk.  Blue skin, burning orbs for eyes, claws for hands and cloven feet.  Two tattered wings hung down his back, and most of him looked as if it were literally burned away.  Around his right arm burned something else, an energy that just radiated hunger, especially towards the nearby spirits.  

Raziel would leap from the portal aiming to roll in front of the man thrown into the benches and pointed the arm with the energy towards the bird, a sword appearing in his cloven hands as he slashed upwards to try and drive the creature back.  The sword would almost seem like it was /made/ for this specific thing.  The blade hungrily responded to the presence of the bird, as Raziel's eyes glowed with focus.  

"I suggest you fall back, this creature seems to be beyond you," Raziel says to the man, aiming to cover him until he could make his escape.
Muramasa Sparks fly from the edge of a blade as the redheaded man works with a grindstone, pausing as his radio speaks up. It's an alien item in his surroundings, an oriental smithy. There was no need to think about it, he already knew what he had to do -- it was a compulsion that was bored deep into his person. It wasn't wrong to help people.

        LATER:

A white-and-dark blur attempts to slam into the avian creature, a man whose lower body was clad in samurai armor while his top was left bare, save for a white floral haori. He'd taken off of the ground at record pace to deliver a powerful downward kick to try and slam the 'Wraith' as it were, into the ground and give the beleaugered attendant some room to breath.

Hopping back, Muramasa placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, a Japanese tachi. "I'm here to help." he states, to be clear with his intent.
Tina Natsumi This looks just like one of her devil worship games. Tina's parents would be absolutely horrified by the expanse of blackness and darkness that the faux cowgirl is streaming to her audience right about now, gawking at the mass of lights and the screaming hole of nothingness in the distance while people flee from a fight between man and bird.

Good thing her parents don't know where to find her streams.

"Ain't that a doozy? Never thought I'd see somethin' like this on a Wednesday show, but here ya go! Let's see what kinda mess we got here and see if we can't put Big Bird down!" Strapping her phone into her jacket's breast pocket aftert a quick selfie, the Persona user brings out a revolver while a larger-than-her-but-still-reasonably-large robot appears behind her, decked in the the most American RED WHITE AND BLUE.

Also, fireworks explode behind it. Following up on the flames, blades, and kicks from the Elites that arrive before her, Tina and Uncle Sam both unload a volley of bullets upon the creature courtesy of tommy-guns wielded by the pair. "Let's turn 'em into roast chicken!"
Staren     Staren takes in the scene. He's not sure what he expected an afterlife to look like. Asher's about his only reference... but it involved trains too. And didn't he once hear about a world where a train took spirits to the afterlife or something? His dad used to know a guy who suplexed it.

    There's damage. What might be ghost blood. And... one of the locals fighting a monster. Now, Staren's willing to entertain explanations for people doing 'bad' things but if someone shows up and violently attacks civilians going about their day it's kind of a shoot first and ask questions later situation, regardless of their appearance. It doesn't seem like the bird is interested in talking, anyway.

    "Well then." Hoping it hasn't noticed him yet, Staren lets fly with a blast from his trusty twin beam cannons. They may not be some unique creation or multiversal treasure but they get the job done!
Nie Li     While Nie Li's no superhero or typical do-gooder, one simply doesn't ignore a call for help when you're in the area. The Warp Gate strangely ripples with activity, but it's the only sign that anything has entered... or, has it entered? Because absolutely nothing seems to have emerged.

    Before too long though, a figure emerges from black shadow right behind the Bird-Monster. A young man - boy, really, perhaps thirteen at most - wearing an unusual, extremely-not-from-around-here orange martial artists' getup. His eyes are black pits though, and from his wrists emerge shadowy blades. He simply lashes out with his right arm - and the blade EXTENDS and twists like a snake, moving to pierce into the bird and haul it off its victim!

    "Just who DARES act so belligerently in this peaceful corner of the Multiverse?!"
Eurys A bunch of people join in, moving to support the junior conductor. He nods as Raziel speaks to him, and the others join in. "This one's far more coordinated than usual. Be careful - I'll support the 'princess'." It's said in a way that's sort of dismissive, but only lightly, since there's a panic and all.

As he flees, the others strike at the Carrion Eater Wraith. It gets only a few seconds to look over them and figure out who or what they are, before a blast of dark flame explodes in its chest, causing it to skree as its feathers are burned. It responds to Riku with another talon-strike, and the reason the young conductor was having trouble becomes apparent. The miasma is corrosive, burning painfully into wounds and debilitating its foes.

Raziel's aura, meanwhile, triggers fight-or-flight. For the Carrion Eater, who is forced back but tries not to budge, instead bleeding black ectoplasm, it triggers fight. Viciously, it moves to bite at Raziel with a miasma-filled beak, spreading that toxic energy through a razor-sharp chomp.

Sengo comes in with a kick, and the bird is hit hard, but responds by jerking its body in his direction, /bodyslamming/ him backwards.

Tina and Staren fire bullets and beams, causing another skree as it bleeds and burns. Despite all the black ectoplasm, though, it doesn't seem even close to being destroyed, as the miasma fills into wounds like clotting and keeps it moving. It responds by /firing/ the missile-like feathers at them, still coated in miasma, which explode when they impact like they were actual missiles.

Nie Li moves for a grapple with his shadow blades, and is able to further force the Carrion Eater back, but at this point, it's completely focused off of the attendant and onto the group. It suddenly starts flapping its wings, and unless Nie Li removes his sword, it'll pull him up with it, burning him in miasma. But it's not escaping.

The missile-like feathers are aimed at the whole group. It's preparing a barrage!
Tina Natsumi Tina whistles lightly in amazement as the Carrion Eater patches over those wounds everyone's leaving on it with that fetid gunk. "Boy, that's some disgustin' stuff right there! Sure would suck to get covered in that shit, huh?" She laughs, and then quickly stops to hide behind Uncle Sam as her Persona absorbs the bulk of those missile-feathers' explosions. The effects are immediate, as she feels the skin on her arms and face burning, both from the Persona redirecting some of that damage and the miasma's explosions being larger than anticipated.

Somehow, that gives her an idea. She doesn't go back on the offense right away, instead pulling out her phone to look directly at the camera. "Hey, pards! Time for a donation incentive! Ten thousand bits, and I'll jam one of these guns right in its face and see what happens!" The phone goes back into her pocket, she slips an earpiece on to listen to a counter, and then she slaps Uncle Sam's leg once before drawing a rocket launcher out of it.

"'til then, though... Let's see how much it heavy firepower it can take!" And then the Persona lets loose with a barrage of explosive rockets and bullets spraying from above and below, all aimed at the miasma-covered wounds to see just how far the Carrion Eater's regeneration can go!
Staren     Staren tries to dodge, but the oddity of a... weaponized feather is so weird that he didn't realize what it was until too late. It /explodes/, sending him stumbling back and eating into his armor -- he frantically tries to scrape it off, but is left with a big splashlike mark on his armor where some of it has been eaten away. It seems it's less effective than it would be to (un?)living flesh, at least, so thank science for that.

    Staren readies his rifle, intending to just keep pouring energy into it, but then he sees more feathers preparing to fire, and he's ready for them this time: The missile racks behind his shoulders pop up into firing position, ready to try to take out the feathers before they can reach their targets!
Raziel 'I could feel the fear inside the wraith, so it could fear...instinctual, base, but not with a true intellect.  Worse, the miasma that seemed to stem from it was so corrosive and noxious, even my body as dead as it was seemed to be affected.  I would have to be careful when engaging this creature in hand to hand.."

The beak digs into Raziel, causing the wraith to jump back and to inspect his wound.  Well, that was...unfortunate.  Wounds sticking like this was not something he was used to, causing his eyes to look back up.  Fortunately, his body was resistant, but not naturally immune.  Though he wonders if the others would be affected worse than he would.  Something to consider later...

Feeling the wound, he started to track the wraith, trying to find out where it was trying to go or do.  Of course, this is when the feather missiles started raining down.  Raziel, thinking on his feet reached out with a claw.  Aiming to use his telekinetic power to try and grab the missiles flying towards him.  With a burst of his power, he aims to redirect the feathers back to their source.  

"This is going to be a disadvantageous battle if it continues to have the advantage of flight over us," he comments.
Muramasa             "Gh...!"

The Saber-Servant winces, corrosive burns slowly beginning to form on his body as he is thrown back, nimbly controlling his fall into a roll. Sliding across the ground on one knee, a trail of sparks trailing his path, he picks himself back up fairly quick with a disgruntled noise. "Touching it is bad news, huh ... "

At least with the attendant and the 'princess' defending the train and civillians, all he and the rest of the Elites had to worry about was taking care of the Wraith. He could see how it preyed upon ghosts of the dead; even though he was possessing a physical body, he was still a Servant, a spiritual existence. It's aura ate away at spirit-matter like a glutton at a buffet. It was disgusting.

Straightening up and drawing his sword, an evil presence emenated from him. The moment he grasped the hilt, the cursed weapon 'woke up'. Like many things he made, it had turned out as a demonic object, so it was dangerous to use for long.

The killing intent rolling off of his sword was tangible enough to stain the air as he calmly approached, himself clear and serene. Muramasa attacks with a sudden sweep of his sword, transitioning smoothly into a thrusting attack, a two-pronged offensive to gather its attention and open its guard at close-range. "There!"
Nie Li     "Ugh--!" The beast is strong. Quite strong. Nie Li's instincts warn him to release it and back away- and so he does. The shadow blade slithers back to its original size after existing the thing, and he backflips away... but not quickly enough to fully dodge the thing's noxiousness. An arm's covered in the gunk, which begins to burn and sizzle painfully! "Gahhhhhhh!" Without any delay, Nie Li gestures with his other hand and a thin round bottle full of clear liquid appears from a puff of smoke. He SMASHES this against his arm to rinse off the gunk before it does any worse things to him!

    And he manages all of this before even landing again.

    What with all the bullets and missiles flying around though, he decides NOT to close in any further. Instead he draws a long... spike? Knife? It's hard to tell from afar, because it's glowing a fierce scarlet color. With an injection of soulforce from the boy, the glow intensifies... and it just ZIPS OFF through the air on its own, wreathed in growing flames.

    The Scarlet Flame Flying Knife will do its best to simply PIERCE THROUGH the beast and then swoop around again to keep doing so over and over again, all while Nie Li stays far out of melee range!
Riku Just as Riku demanded by word and deed, he got just what he wanted. Sure, the man is relatively safe for now, but the assault of the beast becomes his problem at that point. The arrival of the others is noted, especially Raziel who seems to have exactly the same idea he did (IT KEEPS HAPPENING). Now united against the beast, Riku works to deflect the claws as they come in. He's not entirely successful. Sure, not getting gored is nice and all, but the slashing and ripping motions tear several lines in his suit, only exacerbated when the miasma begins to rush out and make things worse. "What a creature." Riku mutters as he leaps back and gives the thing some room. He can't leap into that miasma, it'll corrode him to bits. Instead, he has another solution. He dismisses his blade, and extends his hands forward, gripping the air. Simultaneously, his shadow extends forward, pooling around beneath the bird...

And then two massive clawed hands erupt from under the creature, slashing out to try to grab the thing by the wings and pull it to the ground. It's no more immune to the miasma than most other things are, but Riku seems to be working to sustain it through raw will while he works to grapple and keep the bird pinned with that shadowy manifestation, one monster assaulting another.
Eurys Tina responds to the attack with a spray of rockets and bullets, blowing through the regeneration and hurting it further. They can probably hurt it faster than it regenerates, based on that. It responds by trying to get closer and just taking that razor beak and moving to bite down on Uncle Sam...before it feints and moves to strike Tina, instead! While Uncle Sam could still block it, it shows some remarkable intelligence.

Staren is able to take out most of the feathers with his own missiles, averting the majority of the strike and injuring the monster badly, causing another screech, so the Carrion Eater also comes at him, swooping a talon into his chest.

Raziel redirects the feather missiles with telekinesis. They explode into the bird, causing it to screech once more, as it moves to impale its beak into him and then pull it back out!

The Carrion Eater immediately turns to look at Sengo as the killing intent radiates off his blade, and then he moves to slash into the creature. A massive gaping wound is dealt, as the miasma quickly moves to regenerate.

It fails. The bird gets angry /and/ scared, and starts to pull back, trying to figure out an avenue for 'people who can block its healing'.

Nie Li 'throws' his knife, which catches on fire. It pierces through the Carrion Eater, as the fire ignites on it, and...

The miasma catches aflame. This is actually advantageous, because the flame burns into the Carrion Eater painfully, and it's getting weaker and weaker, but has a problem for some of the others because it's smart enough to use this as a weapon. A flaming claw moves to swipe into Sengo, before another moves for Nie Li.

And then Riku uses his shadow to grapple the creature. The good news - the flaming miasma is less miasma-y, and the toxins are being burned off, so it's not going to corrode him. The bad news, as he pins it down for the others, locking it in place, his Eidolon will probably be set on fire. But with more cooperation, they might be able to execute the creature, especially as it's now trying to break from the grapple and simply fly off. But it's having trouble doing so, for sure.
Tina Natsumi Tina's grin grows wider as she listens to the constant dings in her earbud. "Dang, you folks really wanna see me get up and close with this thing, huh? Only twenty thousand more to the grenade!" The cowgirl chimes cheerfully as the Carrion Eater's flesh wears down from that constant assault from all angles. When it draws in close, Uncle Sam pivots to block its charge with a massive-ish shoulder check, but misses completely when the bird goes for the cowgirl instead!

There's a spray of blood, a painful gurgle, and Tina's barely able to avoid getting chomped in half thanks to wedging that rocket launcher in the way. The beak still crushes through the weapon and part of he rarm, but she's not dead!

"H... Hah! You know what? Let's call this a present to to my loyal subs! How 'bout we stuff this bird?" As Riku gets that monster off of her and holds it down, Tina takes a moment to pull out a miniature bomb out of Uncle Sam's hat that looks much too stumpy to be a missile, yet too long to be a cartoonish bomb. From the stickers decorating, it looks like an approximation of a handheld atomic bomb!

"Keep 'er steady, whitehair!" Tina shouts as she gets right back into the fray, ignoring the whole being-a-gunner-not-a-puncher issue as she starts trying to ram that bomb right into the Carrion Eater's mouth. Should she get it in there, it'd explode after a substantial delay with an unnatural light following it to try and put it to rest for good!
Raziel The beak comes down, sharp as it was the Soul Reaver moved to try and parry the larger natural attack.  It looks like for a moment that he's about to pull it off, but the force of the frightened and cornered creature gives it the edge it needs to stab into the ghost.  Blue blood dripping from his wounds as the lithe ghost is nearly knocked clear across the place.  

The only reason he stops before the edge is thanks to the claws on both hands and feet, allowing him to easily stop his momentum.  The reaver switches colors, moving from a greenish color to a red color.  He brings his hand back again, aiming to release a burst of telekinetic power.  

The burst would attempt to explode a fire aspected telekinetic push to try and burn away the Miasma and buy Riku and the others more time.  He does not push forward as the others were preparing for a strike on the creature.  

Instead, his claws grip the cowl over his face, and he waits. Once it looks like the bird is weakened, he pulls it down.  What is revealed is the jawless creature, with only two large vampiric fangs and sharp teeth in the upper part of what used to be his mouth.  An ectoplasmic wind seems to suck in spectral creatures, specifically ghosts, but Raziel is aiming this right towards the Wraith, aiming to draw it in once it is weakened.  
Muramasa Muramasa's expression remains calm even as he visibly strains to reign his own weapon in. The creature's blood seeped into the sword and turned into vapor, devoured despite its origin. This was a sword that killed without regard, but it especially hated inhuman things.

Changing his hold on the sword to repel the claw, the difficulty of doing so is reduced by Riku's successful attempt at restraining it. Raziel, the former-vampire could defeat the spirit for good if they could weaken it, and so Sengo offers to assist in doing so.

He once knew a young man who became an expert at cutting down swallows; or rather, he'd become known for killing one in particular. But before that, he'd been taught how to wield a sword by Muramasa.

That person's swordsmanship had surpassed him, because ultimately, Muramasa was not a swordsman. However, he could take a thing or two out of his book. Raising his sword, he lunged forward and swipes in a crescent. "Hiken!" The technique is particular, slicing apart the air in to create a blade of wind approaching from the opposite direction of his own armament, resulting in two simultaneous slices aiming to meet eachother through the Wraith's neck and remove its head with a whistle.
Staren     Staren smiles slightly in satisfaction as the explosions catch the bird in it, too. But then it comes for him! He opts to tank the hit, crossing his arms ahead of him in a defensive posture and throwing up his forcefield. The talons rake into it, gouging deep and also sending Staren stumbling as the forcefield slips out and rolls back, barely avoiding being spun around like a mouse that abruptly stops running in its wheel. By the time he recovers the beast is after another target -- Staren pulls the laser sniper rifle off his back and fires a burst, three pulses of some of the most intensely-concentrated energy ever made portable by mankind.

    And then he sees the trefoil-marked bomb and looks concerned. Tactical nukes are a reality of the 25th-century battlefield, sure, but he hasn't been around them enough to remember how big the blast radius usually is. It's probably not good if you can make out the symbol on the side of the bomb though. Tina's reassurance assuages his nervousness only slightly.
Nie Li     This thing is a GHOST?! Nie Li makes a weird face upon this news. He can't confirm it, he can't deny it. Only hope that the others are right. He has no experience with ghosts - they turned out to not actually be a thing in the way people fear them where he's from. Still... "Is it something like the Zombie Western Dragon...?" If so, it's much smaller, and much less ferocious, but still being quite troublesome.

    Nie Li, despite looking thirteen years old - someone who should be WAY in over his head here - keeps his composure. His Interspatial Ring surges out a puff of colorful smoke... and from it, his own weapon appears. An azure-colored straight sword with an unearthly luster. As he pours soulforce into it, the blade howls with electric might. Arcs of curling lightning twirl about it at the very last moment before he PARRIES the flaming claw strike at the very end of the blade to minimize his exposure to the burning gases.

    Unfortunately for the Wraith, the DIVINE LIGHTNING of the THUNDER GOD'S METEORITE SWORD is now something it has to deal with up close and personally, what with the whole 'striking the sword with a claw' thing happening. Nie Li pumps up the juice briefly, pouring even more soulforce into the weapon. Lightning dances along the ground briefly where he stands and an errant bolt flies down from the heavens to empower the blade further in a mighty, even godly display.

    The sad thing is, this could be said to be less than a thousandth of the weapon's true power... but more than enough to fry and drive back this beast!
Riku Life is hell for Riku. Metaphorically at least. The corrosive efforts of the beast and its struggles combine to force Riku to do nothing but attempt to maintain the effort. Damaging the Eidolon might not be damaging him, but the work to reconstitute it in the face of such damage is wearing on him intensely, rapidly depleting his will as the shock of the consumption of a manifestation of his emotions continues apace.

Thankfully, Raziel seems to have The Hunger and wants to end this quick, so Team Ghostbuster is on the case. Riku, despite his lone wolf status, continues to roll support as he slowly begins wringing his hands, causing the claws to sink in tighte,r more painfully, even attempting to wrench the thing apart if it can get enough leverage and grip.

Might be a little brutal, but the thing's attempts to eviscerate the junior conductor were no less so.
Eurys The group decides to finish off the Carrion EAter Wraith, once and for all. It's a multi-step plan, and full of gore.

Tina stuffs a bomb made of light, a handheld A-Bomb, into the creature's maw. Staren fires a powerfully concentrated laser sniper rifle into it. Raziel burns away the miasma, while Sengo moves to cohp off its head in two motions. Nie Li blasts it with divine lightning. And finally, Riku starts ripping the creature apart with the shadowy claws

The creature is devastated. Burnt, shot, cut, torn apart, electrocuted, beheaded (with its head proceeding to also explode), and not even hanging on as Raziel opens his maw and devours the Carrion Eater. It's pulled right in, and it disappears completely, leaving behind only a pooling of black ichor.

As the battle calms...cheers break out from the building and the train. The civilians still there are cheering on the heroes who slew the Wraith. The junior conductor returns towards them, his wounds having apparently healed during this time, and smiles. "My name is Orph, junior conductor and reaper of the Kharon Express. The head conductor would like to speak with you, if you can spare the time."
Muramasa As the creature's last vestiges disappear for good, Muramasa twirls the evil sword in hand and sheathes it. Once his grip releases the hilt, the oppressive and thick aura begins to dissipate, the weapon's bloodlust sealed so long as it rested inside of its scabbard. The smith released a breath and smiled despite the black and ugly blemishes on his body from the miasma.

After all, no one had died and the Wraith had been defeated promptly. "Is that so? I don't mind."
Raziel The remains of the creature flood into Raziel's...mouth.  We'll call it a mouth.  The cowl goes back over his face, as the wounds start to heal again, and the Soul Reaver returns to a bit of light that sort of clings to Raziel's hand like cancer.  

"Is everyone alright?" he asks, before turning his gaze towards Orph, who has requested their presence to talk to the conductor.  "I can talk to him if that is what he wants," Raziel says with an agreeable tone.  
Staren     And that's it. Raziel freaking EATS it. Staren puts the rifle back on his back and approaches the junior conductor. "Sure. Where can we find them, and how'd you heal so fast?" And finally, he turns to Tina. "And are you SERIOUSLY streaming this and deciding to risk your life extra if people pay you just to see you do it?"
Nie Li     As soon as the creature's no longer an issue... Nie Li expertly and swiftly banishes his blade back into the Interspatial Ring and takes stock of the situation. Some faces around him he recognizes.... but only a few. Many he doesn't! So when the junior conductor returns, Nie Li steps forward. "Nie Li. It seems we arrived just in time. Of course I'll meet with them, but... are there more of those creatures stalking about?"
Tina Natsumi Breathing a sigh of relief as the bird gets obliterated and used as a weird zombie meal, Tina slips her guns back into Uncle Sam's leg holsters before bringing her uninjured arm up in a peace sign to the cheering crowdand the junior conductor alike. "Howdy pards! My handle's FreedomWithFries, name's Tina! Pleased to meetcha, and sure we'll meet your head man. Anythin' for the adoring public~"

Once that last bit of hamming it up for the camera ends, she takes one more selfie before tlaughing in response to Staren's question. "Of course! That's showbiz, and there ain't a person around that'd pay to watch someone doin' boring stuff like accounting unless it's a class or summat." Smirking, she turns the camera to herself once more. "Anything for the fans! And remember to like, comment, and subscribe to my channel if you wanna see more next time!"
Rean Schwarzer A few moments later, Rean steps out of the train station and onto the platform where everyone else is.

"I'm here! Sorry I'm late-" Rean starts to say, but then he looks around, realizing that the distress call is resolved. "O-oh. You guys finished already." He shrugs. Well, at least everyone appeared to be safe, though.
Riku The horror is defeated through TEAMWORK and hyperviolence. The day is saved! Riku banishes the Eidolon as the Carrion Eater is consumed, and Riku rubs his face, shaking his head at the aftermath. "That's a hell of an appetite you have there." He quips to Raziel, but turns to face the junior conductor. "Hey." He says with a little wave. "Yeah, sure." He replies amiably. "May as well get an idea of what the hell we just had to deal with."
Eurys Despite the cheers, things are still a bit solemn. Based on the size of the 'bloodpools' of ectoplasm, it's likely some were slain. Orph nods to the others, and moves to start leading those coming along towards the conductor's cabin of the train. "As a reaper, I have a natural healing factor. It's not fast enough to do much in combat, but being out of it there allowed me to recuperate, so I have to thank you." When Rean arrives, and clearly knows everyone, Orph allows him to come along as well.

Nie Li gets a quick reply. "There shouldn't be any more Wraiths in the area. We'd know if there were."

The interior of the train is old-timey, early 21st century luxury train. The group is led to what appears to be a rest area for the conductors, where the moustached man is writing into a ledger - seems to be a list of casualties. As people file in, he turns to them. "Thank you for bringing them, Orph. I am Crowe, the head conductor of the Kharon Express, as well as the leader of the reapers. Though, that may not mean much, as there are currently only two of us."

"I'd like to thank you for slaying that Wraith. Quite bird-like this time, it seems. We've become outnumbered since the others have been destroyed. The Wraiths have gotten more powerful in recent times, you see. We're not exactly sure what they are, but..."

Orph chimes in at this point. "More and more people destroyed, sent to the Bad Place. It's infuriating."

Crowe nods, and continues. "I have little I can offer as a reward except for information. As I know you have never been on my train before, I can answer any questions about Asphodel you may have-"

And then, he's interrupted. By someone climbing through the window. The girl in the jacket-dress, specifically, who climbs through, falls on her stomach, and then wiggles forward like a dumb snake until she has the room to actually stand up. Orph just sighs and facepalms, as Crowe looks amused. Orph speaks up. "What the heck are you doing in here, 'princess'?"

Eurys replies, cheerfully. "You didn't invite me in, despite having totally helped! So I invited myself in. Hi, guys!"

"You didn't even fight the monster, princess." "I protected the civilians!" "So?" "Why, you-"

Crowe just shakes his head and claps his hands. "It's fine, it's fine. She's more than welcome to hear what information we have, with the role Asphodel has given her. This is Eurys, 'Princess of Hope', and...frequent...visitor to our train."

Read: frequent annoyance.
Staren     Staren actually interrupts the conductor, although he might have to wait for intervening exposition to finish before the conductor can give him an answer. "Are you telling me that if people die a second time here, they're automatically sent to 'the bad place?'"
Riku Riku is led inside with the others. stepping around the ectoplasm pools. It just seems gauche to step in ghost blood, you know? "Reaper, huh?" Riku says. "So you're here to help people with their afterlife stuff too." That much seems to be pretty obvious.

Riku gives a wave to Crowe (who is probably not played by Russell) and leans against a wall, entering his natural pose as he nods. "Nice to meet you. Nice... train of the dead you have here. Does this thing happen often?"

Meanwhile, Eurys wedges herself in, Riku squints at her and grimaces. "Princess of Hope? What's that supposed to mean?"
Muramasa Muramasa grimaces as he trails after Orph with the rest. It seems he stood corrected -- it was a sharp sting. Of course, he knew that he'd arrived as fast as he could have an intervened as soon as he was able, but that didn't stop the impulsive thought that perhaps a better outcome could have been achieved if he'd, somehow, been faster.

It's not long before they meet Crowe, the conductor, and then Eurydice. Muramasa smiles gently. "You did very important work in protecting the crowd, it let us fight without worrying too much about needing to protect anyone."

Even though he had the body and face of a youth, he spoke with the air of an old man. In that way, one could say he was somewhat similar to Nie-Li.

" 'Bad Place' ... I've heard of it before, but no details. A kind of hell, hm?"
Majima Goro MajimaEverywhere Rank: F
There has never been a situation where anyone has said to themselves, 'boy, I wish a one-eyed yakuza in a snakeskin jacket was here for no particularly valid reason'. This has never once stopped Majima before, and it hardly stops him now. Sure, he's just a man with a knife, and sure, by all means, he did not teleport here, or anything other than just happening to be a goofy man walking on in.

But there he is, all of a sudden, walking in a strange swagger, side to side. "Ehh?" He asks, tugging his sleeves down. For his part, he absolutely steps in the ghost blood. Looking down, mouth twisting a little before he casually poses alongside Riku, mimicking his pose. It looks like a badass pose. He wants to try it out.
Raziel Raziel looks towards Riku, "I do not personally recommend it.  This is a result of my 'remaking'," he comments but does not get into it.  He regards the head reaper who explains the situation as it is, tapping his claws against his arms as he considers the situation.

"What is 'the bad place'?  Is it a physical location?" He asks, assuming that it was, or else why would they know it was there?  It was odd for him to be able to interact with ghosts as he does normally, without even needing to manifest his physical body.  This place was something.

The 'Princess of Hope' goes falling over, and he offers her a hand up.  
Rean Schwarzer The interior of the the train is familiar to Rean, in the sense that it's not too different from the interior of Zemurian trains. Unfortunately, it seems there were some casualties...or recasualties? How did that work when you were already dead? Rean sighs, stepping around the puddles of ghost blood. Maybe if he'd been able to show up on time he could've done something?

"So people don't just get erased from existence if they die a second time...unless that 'is' what the Bad Place is." Rean murmurs as the conductors explain things.

Then Eurys fails her dramatic entry and flops all over the floor. It didn't seem like she got a lot of respect here, to be quite blunt.
Tina Natsumi The stream goes off, and Tina relaxes her stance visibly as she tips her hat back and listens to Orph and Crowe carefully. "The others being destroyed. You mean other reapers, or...?" Her tone is noticeably more resrained as well, and she grimaces when she looks towards the ectoplasm pools. "... Shee-it. That's rough."

Still not somber enough to turn off the accent, and that seriousness certainly doesn't stick when she sees a strange man with an eyepatch stepping in one of those pools and posing. Fighting back a snicker, Orph's mention and Staren's question about 'the Bad Place' have Tina raising an eyebrow, but she doesn't get a chance to ask about it when Eurys introduces herself.

Of course, Tina laughs and tips her hat down briefly in greeting. "Howdy, princess. You royalty 'round these parts, huh? Mighty pleased to meetcha, too."
Eurys Staren interrupts Crowe. Crowe just looks at him, waits for him to finish speaking, sighs, adn nods. "Yes. Ghosts are not supposed to be destroyed while in Asphodel, though it does happen. They have no place to go but the Bad Place, so that's where they end up."

Orph responds to Riku. "Pretty much. We transport them to their designated realm, help them with anything they need, and slay monsters that threaten them." Crowe also replies to Riku, finally putting his charter away. "More often than we'd like, especially in recent times. We'd been able to fend them off before, and the casualties were always minimal, except for the destruction of Third Station. That was a few years ago now, and was the most catastrophic attack we've had - luckily, none have even rivaled it."

Eurys beams at Sengo, as Raziel gives her a hand up. "Thanks! And being a Princess of Hope means I defend the people and bring them hope! I'm going to grant my wish and make everyone happy, after all."

Orph sighs as he responds to her. It seems they have a back-and-forth, based off how casual it is. "Still have your heart set on the Pandoran? Forget it. You'll never complete the pilgrimage."

Majima appears. Crowe doesn't seem to care, so Orph doesn't either, but Eurys speaks to him. "Hello! Are you also crashing the train party? It's fun, isn't it?"

Crowe answers the question about the Bad Place. "It has a name, but due to customs, we don't speak it. It'st he closest thing to Hell you could imagine - a place made of suffering and hate. It's physical, yes, but there's borders that make it practically impossible to cross over there. I have no knowledge of anyone crossing into the Bad Place without having been destroyed first." And then a reply to Rean. "Correct."

Orph and Eurys both respond to TIna. Orph first. "Those were just civilians, but our numbers have been thinned by the Wraiths, yes." And then he shakes his head at the royalty part, while Eurys grimaces at him and responds. "I'm a self-declared princess! I'm someone who brings everyone hope, like Marie Antoinette!"

Orph replies. "They executed her, you know."
Nie Li     Nie Li keeps an atrtentive and alert but polite face on as the group makes its way to the rest aura in the train. "Nie Li of the Heavenly Marks family. Partner of the Concord. I've seen worse, but that beast was quite nasty. And you call them Wraiths?"

    It doesn't take much to realize he's dealing with SOME kind of strange... afterlife. He's read about them in the Concord files, but to think that there's one that living people can just stroll into... is that safe? Relatively speaking?

    "I'll have to trouble the senior conductor for an explanation, yes. This area is completely new to me. My eyes are not easily fooled; I can see--" BAM!

    In comes the 'Princess of Hope.' Who is... cute enough to maybe warrant such a title, but Nie Li squints at her regardless. What kind of 'Princess' is this awkward and clumsy...?

    "I can see that I'm not dealing with ordinary folk here." He grins in a friendly, maybe mildly teasing fashion, but the request is still quite serious.
Tina Natsumi "So you beat the monsters back, and the monsters and anyone that kicks it gets taken to the Bad PLace. Sounds simple enough." Tina nods lightly at Crowe and Orph while taping a finger against her chin, still grinning as Eurys explains her plans. That eyebrow goes right back up at the mention of-

"Pandoran? That some kinda artifact or a place? If you're a princess o' Hope, sure, I could see ya gettin' there. Or.. It." A quick laugh later, and then Tina rubs her neck absentmindedly. "I just dunno if you'd wanna evolve into a French Queen that got her head lopped off. Makes it kinda hard to travel."
Raziel Raziel is not impressed with the naming conventions of this place, though the real name is likely something different.  Then again, he comes from a place that has 'THE PILLARS OF NOSGOTH', 'SAINT ABERNOUS CATHEDRAL' and other such grandiose names.  He does not voice his issue but instead continues on without addressing them.  

"What does your wish have to do with 'The Pandoran'?" Raziel asks, before turning towards Orph, "Could I be lead to this place, I would like to see the edge of it with my own eyes.  There might be some insight I could bring, that others could not."

Raziel says after a moment, "If my appearance wasn't already obvious, I too am a ghost.  I am referred to as a wraith in my world.  I have the ability to eat the souls of the dead, to send them along to their perspective afterlives.  In my world, it is to the Wheel of Fate, but in others, it is whatever comes after."

"Whatever that creature was, it is where it should be now," Raziel comments, looking far older than he sounds for a moment.
Eurys "Yes, we call them Wraiths. They seem to have a human-level intelligence, but other than that, not much we know." Orph replies to Nie Li.

Raziel gets a reply before they get into the Pandoran. "I'm afraid there's no way to really reach the boundary, or even see into it. See up there, in the stars?" Crowe points out the window. "Somewhere out there, far far away, is the Bad Place, or so we've been told. Not sure if it's a metaphorical barrier or what, but...as long as it's not accessible, the better."

Orph, meanwhile, explains the Pandoran. "The Pandoran is a wish-granting relic that recently reappeared. If you take a pilgrimage through various realms, collect talismans from their leaders, and get to the end, you can claim it. It's come and gone for a while, now, but no one's ever achieved it. The pilgrimage gets harder the further you go, to lethal levels, I've heard."

Eurys beams. "And I'm going to claim it! The wish will be miiiiiine!"
Staren     Staren folds his arms but waits for elaboration. "'They have no place to go.' you say. And yet the dead came here, physically, before. Why don't they come back? And even if the physical laws of this universe send them to the bad place, why is it filled with suffering? Where are these borders?"

    Staren rubs the chin of his helmet. "...Are there any places after? Just saying, if we like, blew up the bad place would they all go to the good place? Or to some neutral place, or just be freed from their suffering, or what?"

    "Up there, huh? ...Alright, wise guy, if noone's ever been to the bad place and come back, how do you even know about it? How do you know for a fact what goes on there or even that it exists?"
Rean Schwarzer "Oh." Rean says. Maybe vanishing would've been better than being sent to the Bad Place.

Nevertheless, he admired Eurys's determination to get her wish...even if she had absolutely no idea how she was going to get there. Though...

"Realms? Are these other parts of Apshodel, or are there other 'Afterlives' aside from here and the Bad Place?"
Majima Goro "Crashin' parties is what I'm all about! Kyaheeheee!"     
Majima retrieves a pack of cigarettes, flicking a lighter open to set one ablaze. There's one of two options: He has a cigarette, or the ghost train is non-smoking, and there are few things he can imagine funnier than learning that the ghost-train is non-smoking.

He idly tries to nonchalantly wipe the ghost blood off his shoe onto the wall behind him, in the meantime.

Huh. Wish-granting relic that everyone trying to get seems to die in the process of gettin'. That sounds way outta his realm of expertise. "Eh?" Staren gets a tilt of the head. "There are places ain't nobody comes back from in Kamurocho, but ya still know they exist. I should know, I came back from one of 'em," He says, apparently with little regard for the irony inherent in the statement.
Raziel Raziel considers the 'Princess' for a moment.  "I would be careful with wishes.  They tend to never be without strings.  There is always a price when it comes to such things...just like any power someone has.  There is always a cost for it."

Towards the reaper, Raziel frowns.  "How do you know this?  If it is impossible to reach, then how is it known?"
Nie Li     Nie Li wanders over to Staren and... puts a hand on his shoulder. Gently. "We really should investigate such things before talking about taking dire actions. You'll have my help though. People have it rough enough when alive. That something might be disrupting what comes between this life and the next is an UNTHINKABLE CRIME. I won't stand for it."
Muramasa Muramasa nods along to the explanation, internally flabbergasted at the appearance of Majima Goro. For some reason, the quirky Yakuza instilled in him nostalgia -- no, he was certain why. But that life was over, and dwelling on it did him no good. Besides, he had the feeing that thinking of the Tiger would perhaps bring her here, and that would quickly spiral into a catastrophe.

"I prefer simply being called 'Saber' but, as I'm not the only Servant of the class wandering about, you could also call me the Saber of Shimosa. I also don't mind if you call me Gramps."

As the explanation for the Pandoran finishes, the grandfatherly expression on his face turns stern, as if he remembered something unpleasant. "I see. A relic that grants wishes ... and your wish is -- "

The servant clams up. Did he feel pity, or was this sorrow? An unfortunate feeling of deja vu washed over him.

His stern face becomes troubled and thoughtful.
Riku Riku listens to the infodump, though he suddenly blinks when he notices Majima lean over next to him like some kind of Cool Dude. He quickly brushes it off and lets it pass, taking the sight of the striking guy in stride as much as he can. "Yo." He says in greeting to Majima, then nods to Orph. "Hell of an afterlife system you hav going here. Probably better than ours though." He rubs a hand through his hair as he considers the next move. Unfortunately, Eurys just seems to do Eurys things. "Can you even fight? How are you expecting to get there when these Wraiths are apparently attacking people?"

He turns back to Crowe. "So where are these Wraiths coming from, and why are they attacking? Is this some kind of ghost ecology thing or what?"
Eurys Crowe moves to respond about 'how they know it's there'. "It's simply a fact we know. Researchers have studied, and the taint of the place has been seen before. You can likely find the research yourself - it predates me by thousands of years. It's also not something you can simply destroy - otherwise I believe there would be efforts to do so. I'm not a scientist, you see. I explain this from a layman's perspective." He seems relatively young, for a ghost, but much older than Orph.

Majima is not stopped from smoking. Rean, meanwhile, gets a response from Eurys of all people. "Oh, Asphodel proper is a series of realms you travel through! That's what the train's for - it takes people to their realm. I'll take you to the big city sometime, it'll be a blast, especially since it's the known first pilgrimage spot!" And then Sengo becomes troubled and thoughtful.

"Gramps, what's wrong?" Eurys immediately takes to calling him that.

Eurys also frowns at Riku. "I can fight! I punched Godzilla in the face! I'll just take the train, duh." She crosses her arms, petulantly.

And then Crowe replies. "The biggest theory on where the Wraiths come from, which isn't sure, is the Bad Place itself. We don't know how they cross over. It's not through two-way portals, however it is. But that's part of how we know it exists. They're the 'taint' I mentioned." And he shakes his head about ghost ecology. "No. It's a recent phenomenon - the last few years. If it's indeed the Bad Place, perhaps boundaries have changed?"
Tina Natsumi "So your afterlife's somewhere out in space, eh? Or high enough up that.." Tina trails off as the location of the Bad Place is revealed (sort of), glancing back and shuffling back slightly to find a convenient something or another to lean against. "Definitely don't wanna go in half-baked with any wishes when you grab that thing. Monkey's paw ain't fun to deal with!"

A beat, and then Tina gives Eurys a big thumbs-up. "If you need a primer on any o' that, just say the word and I'll get ya some readin' material." Fishing her phone back out of her pocket, Tina takes a few quick pictures of everyone, then laughs again when Majima starts laughing.

It's contagious, and it gets louder when Eurys mentions punching Godzilla. "Really now? Dang, girl, you gotta take me with you next time you get into a scrap. That sounds like a real slobber knocker right there! But.. Uh. If these places are all reachable by trains, can the dead just... Take a train back here?"
Staren     Staren mutters, "Funny how 'unthinkable crimes' are usually the way it's always been and things you can't change." to Nie Li, but... his mood is improved, slightly, to hear that someone else noticed it too. "Well. It sounds like we need to see this research, and talk to those in the field of... hell research now. Where can we find the reports and the researchers?"
Majima Goro Riku gets a wave of a cigarette and a smirk, one hand behind his head and the ghost-blooded shoe pressed against the wall to hide it as best he can behind his pant leg. Noone has stopped him from smoking. This is excellent. There is an exhale of smoke, his one eye lidding as he retrieves an ash tray from--somewhere to tap the ashes into.
"Eh...ya blow up a crap heap, all ya get is crap everywhere, right? Probably for the best to leave that Bad Place the way it is, and just seal it up better, ain't it?" He clicks his tongue once, staring down at the floor.

"Good on ya. Far as I'm concerned, punchin' giant monsters in the face is one o' the best things 'bout this whole Multiverse thing thus far." Eurys gets a nod, and a mild wave of glowing red cigarette tip.

Staren wants reports and research on hell, which...alright. That's a thing you can want, Majima guesses. There's a brow raised, but little else.
Eurys "Sure, the dead can go too and forth from the realms! Unless you mean the Bad Place, which obviously isn't connected to any trains." Eurys replies to Tina. "I'll be safe, don't worry, and get my wish! And we're not in space. We're in the underworld!"

Staren asks for research. Crowe nods. "I'll get in touch with New Spooks City's university promptly and give it to you. It's the least I can do for your aid."

Tina and Majima also get a thumbs-up. "Of course, new friends! Punching monsters is great. Especially when they're huge jerks!" Eurys rubs her arm. She's sore, still, from the fight.
Riku Riku looks doubtful at Eurys' assertion. X has been pressed. He might even be shaking the Joycon to doubt faster. "And what did Godzilla do after you punched it?" He asks.

He looks back to Crowe again and gestures. "So they're invading everywhere else from the Bad Place and no one can get in there in order to find out why or how?"

He thinks for a moment, and looks back to the incredibly obnoxiosu girl. Something about her just puts him on edge. "What exactly are you trying to wish for?" He asks.
Muramasa Realizing that he was wearing his thoughts rather openly, Muramasa smiles apologetically. "Sorry, little missy, I was just reminded of something is all."

He caught the tail end of the explanation for Wraiths. If they did come from the 'Bad Place' then it'd make sense that ghosts who died would end up there. It was an unfortunate situation.

Muramasa purses his lips, looking down at Eurys again. That man's smile eluded him still, but doubtlessly, he'd died full of regret -- he'd been someone who had wanted nothing more than for everyone in the world to be happy. And he'd given up everything, just for the chance for that wish.

And then, while it had always been unsaid, it was painfully obvious that he lost everything. In the end, he'd only been able to save a single person. But just that one, that single frail being that he'd dragged out of hell had given him such a beautiful smile.

" .... It's presumptuous, since we just met, but ... why don't you take this old man with you? If you're serious about your wish ... then even if it's only for a little while, I want to help you."
Nie Li     "For all the things one can change, there will always be those things one can't. Whatever changed that lead to more Wraiths can surely be discovered and perhaps even reversed though."

    He has, of course, heard of a wish-granting artifact being spoken about. So he turns to look at the 'Princess of Hope' and ask, "This artifact. Can it only grant one wish? Does it only work for the dead?"
Eurys Riku asks the important question. Eurys pauses. "He kicked my ass." She looks sheepish. "But Doctor Strange and that talking boat defeated him!"

Crowe also replies to Riku. "Unfortunately, no. If we could find a way in, I wouldn't be against an expedition, but it seems unlikely. If you're to adventure in this world, as I hear the parlance is, my recommendation is to go on the pilgrimage. Perhaps it can grant you the insight into Asphodel you seak.

And then, Riku asks Eurys what her wish is. She beams brightly. "I'm going to make everyone happy. No more sorrow. No more unnecessary strife."

And Sengo asks to join Eurys. "Of course, Gramps! The more the merrier. We're going to find the Pandoran and change the world!" Orph, meanwhile, shrugs at Nie Li. "No one's gained it, so we can't be sure. I'd doubt only ghosts can use it...but I can't tell, since only ghosts have, until recently, existed in Asphodel."

Speaking of which - when the group eventually gets their research, it's pretty backing. Through means such as scientific tools, spiritual tools, and according to a few sources, 'literal communion with Asphodel itself', they've proven the existence of the Bad Place.
Majima Goro Majima Goro listens to Eurys's wish. He clicks his tongue a little, finishing off that one cigarette. Well. That's a hell of a plan, there. How does that even work? ...and, now that he thinks about it, he's actually pretty fond of unnecessary strife. It's kind of one of his favorite things, really. "..."
He opens his mouth to ask something, but closes it. Kinda rude to get on a ghost train and demand the ghosts on it change course, right? Right. Even for him.
Riku, however, gets a nudge in the ribs with an elbow. "Hey. You go punch Godzilla better than she did and ya can smacktalk her, neh?" He points towards the Princess of Hope. "I didn't hear anything 'bout you tryin' somethin that crazy, what kinda crap is pilin' on someone willin' to even try?"
Muramasa Muramasa says nothing, and simply smiles. There's something hollow about it, though. Not in the way where someone is just forcing themselves to smile, rather -- it simply gave the feeling of emptiness.

He allows himself largely to fade into the background of the remaining conversation, content to be an observer rather than an active participant. Eventually, though, he does say one more thing as belated as it might have been. Although, whether it was for himself or for Eurys was questionable.

    "It isn't wrong to help people."
Nie Li     Nie Li furrows his brow at Eurys's declaration of her wish. His thoughts churn over it. "Hnngh. There are stories about such artifacts where I'm from. None have ever proven to be true. I can't speak about what's true here, but you should think very hard about just what it means for 'everyone to be happy' or what sort of strife is necessary or not. It's through constant struggle that we rise to greatness. That wish is too vague. Hopefully you'll refine it through your journey."

    He... does seem to believe that such a thing exists and can be accomplished, unlike the Reapers who sought to dissuade her. "But how will you survive what many others failed to? A plan and preparations should be the first step."
Staren     Staren quirks an eyebrow at Eurys. "I do hope this wish-granting artifact is the kind that grants the intent... nay, the ideal intent, rather than the letter of your wish. Else it might simply obliterate everyone so that they no longer experience sorrow and strife. Or perhaps forces their minds to experience constant happiness no matter what happens to them."