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After some time spent aiding the rescue efforts in the trail of destruction Stratford's building-gone-monster had left, Sei returned to the rooftop located away from the action, where she had left her bag before getting involved. Much to her relief, the building it rested on was more or less untouched, but there was definitely some cleaning of junk and debris to do outside. And with no roof access, the bag was still there, exactly as Sei had left it. Confirming the contents hadn't been messed with by some unknown figure, Sei looked westward. Megalopolis University still needed that form. And with the destruction that had just sliced through so much of the city, Sei knew the trains would be delayed, if not stopped entirely, for some time. Which only meant one thing. Making the rest of the trip, and quite possibly her return trip - on foot. Certainly doable, but not something she wanted to do. Least of all in her current state, but she didn't have time to get patched up. Happy friggin' birthday, Sei. Megalopolis University, 1:58PM This wasn't the first time Sei had to run an errand for Alice, nor was it the first time said errands took her all the way across town like now. The campus was certainly a far cry from the rainy slums she currently resided in, generally for the better at that, but if she had to pick one or the other, Sei would go live in the 13th District any day of the week. Out of the way, generally little foot traffic, and the district wasn't fractured in what Sei considered a glorified gang war. Luckily, people generally didn't bother her, so she had no reason to bother them either. As Sei entered the building she needed to in order to turn in the form, the first thing she noticed was that the receptionist working here today wasn't the one she used to see coming here. While she hoped they were just out sick today, she did know that this would be an awkward conversation. "Excuse me," Sei said, stepping up to the desk and pulling the form out of her bag. "I need to turn in this form on behalf of Alice Solari." The receptionist looked up from his phone, to Sei and the paper she had set down. He seemed to be taken aback by the busted-up state Sei was in, but also seemed to dismiss it fairly quickly. Sei wasn't sure if that was just professionalism or if this university was really that violent, but she hoped it was the former. "Form for Alice Solari... and you are?" "I live with her." "She couldn't deliver it herself?" "She said she'd rather not do it in person if she can help it. I'm only here because there was a problem with the university website stopping her from sending it online." "So why's she sending her flatmate instead? One who seems to be a bit torn up, at that." "With all due respect, is that really any of your business? Alice's paperwork is right here, that's what matters, right?" "Ma'am, I'm gonna be completely honest with you, this is my first day working this desk, and I'm just trying to make sure you aren't submitting forged paperwork." "I can call her if you want." Without waiting for an answer, Sei reached back into her bag. It seemed she'd missed a few texts from Alice, but nothing important. Call her phone, and after a moment of waiting... "Hello?" "Hey, it's me, I'm at the university and... what's that noise?" Through the phone, Sei could hear some sort of background noise coming from Alice's end, that she didn't normally hear in these calls. "Oh, tha--AAH!!" Sei heard the unmistakable sound of a person falling down, and several metal objects clattering against the floor. "Alice!?" "Everything's fine! I just slipped! What's up?" "Right... I'm at the university. This guy at the desk wants to confirm you're real and I'm not forging your papers." "Seriously? Put him on." "Sure." Holding the phone out for the boy on the other side of the desk, Sei said "She wants to talk to you." "...hello?" "Hi, this is Alice Solari. Student ID number XXXX, major is theology. I'm not sure what's up with the website, but I wasn't able to submit that form online, so I sent Sei to do it for me. If I'd realized this would turn into a whole thing I would have just emailed my professor instead, but here we are. We were able to submit forms like this in the past with no problem, so I don't know why it's any different today." 6th District, 3:00PM After a frankly infuriating amount of back-and-forth between Alice, Sei, and the poor boy working the desk who was a bit too vigilant against potential forgeries, culminating in the form finally being submitted, it was time to go home. While she was glad to leave the campus, Sei remembered that she still would have to make the return trip on foot, likely as not. Especially since she wanted to check the site of the disaster of the day, to make sure everything didn't go back to shit while she was gone. Between her earlier injuries, exerting the power of the kami to hasten her trip to the university, then doing it again to get back to the scene, Sei was barely standing by the time she got back to the Samsara Titan's resting place to confirm that it was still immobile, and that efforts were still underway to fix things up. She couldn't help but wonder how they planned to get rid of the building. Her Fount senses were tingling though. In addition to at least one Fount still aiding in the rescue efforts, she could detect a small cluster of them in a bar nearby. Probably the group that had helped fight the thing earlier, if she were a guessing woman. Dragging her feet to the place in question confirmed her suspicions. It seemed Elita was receiving questions from someone, but Sei didn't pay much mind to the details of the conversation. Instead, she scoped out an empty seat at the bar, put herself in it, and promptly flopped her head against the bar. Mentally exhausted from the chaos and death from just a few hours ago, and physically exhausted from the trip to university and back, Sei was more than happy to just sit here for a while. That was, until she felt yet another Fount's presence. Turning enough to look at the door behind her while still keeping her head on the bar, she saw... someone familiar, but she couldn't put a name to the face at this exact moment. But she definitely knew who this guy was. Him and that power of his. Good kid, really. "I... I surrender..." He managed to get out, his voice barely a whisper. "I-I'm sorry..." "For what, exactly?" Sei groaned. "You don't seriously think you did all that, right?" "You don't have to try to make me feel better..." Karna muttered. His hands was still shaking as he took a deep breath. "I always knew this Fount Power was dangerous... I just... never thought..." "It absolutely is dangerous, but that's not what I meant. Elita here and myself were inside that tower monster thing earlier. Someone... hypnotized the mayor or something, I guess. However they did it, or whoever it was, it couldn't possibly be you. If you really wanna do something to make up from a crime you didn't commit though, I'm sure nobody would say no to some extra help in rescue & cleanup efforts. I'd help, but my legs feel like warm pudding after going to the university and back. And I still have to get back home too..." 6th District, 3:00PM "‼↨☺♀♀☼↨." Above a pile of debris, a rift in the world opened. The face - or what seemed like a face, anyway - of something that defied imagination reared its head from within. Its mouth opened wide, and from within came a number of tongues, reaching out, grabbing piles of rubble and metal, and pulling them into the mouth from whence they came. "¶◘↕☼↨." Elsewhere in the affected area, a long, jagged tentacle reached from what seemed like thin air. Each of the suckers on the tentacle seemed to be a small arm in its own right, each one scooping up some of the wreckage in the area and tossing it aside, clearing the way to find would-be survivors stuck in the rubble and debris. Survivors that, if Kiyoko were to find any, would surely be greeted with a passionate welcome and explanation of the life-saving greatness of the Old Gods. "♥☼♀♀♣♥¶." In a part of the affected area Kiyoko noticed she'd been neglecting, a few smaller, more easily-described arms descended upon the ruined area. They reached down, picking up whatever loose ends needed removing from the streets to ensure people could get through with ease, and bringing them upward into the hole in the world that accommodated them. Quite frankly, this was a whole lot of work! Far more than one person could ever hope to accomplish alone, even with some otherworldly assistance. And Kiyoko had been hard at work since the Samsara Titan stopped moving. A break was more than well deserved, and it was probably wise to confirm the other Founts that had helped during the crisis were all alright. Closing up the holy book for the time being, Kiyoko turned, and went a few blocks over, to a rather beaten-up bar that had tragically lost its roof in the chaos from earlier. Inside were several Founts, most of whom Kiyoko recognized from the efforts earlier today. Including one who was asking a lot of questions. Well, if it was answers she sought, Kiyoko was happy to provide. "Pardon me," she said, approaching the questioning blonde in question. "I mostly played a backing role, but I may also be able to provide some insight on the affairs that happened here." "You sure you wanna speak?" April raised a brow as the other young girl approached her, "I'm not exactly keen on questioning kids." "I'll have you know I am a legal adult. And while it may sound silly, I've always wanted to receive a press interview. Though I do wish it were under better circumstances..." "Better circumstances, huh? What circumstances would those be?" "Something like... "New Religion Takes Megalopolis By Storm!" perhaps. "Exclusive Interview With Head Priestess Kiyoko Nanashi: Learn More About The Divine Grace And Unfathomable Glory Of The Old Gods!" A girl can dream, right?" "You sure can," April smiled a bit... before her expression dropped entirely. "Not interested. I'm not going to be a mouthpiece for yet another cult." "Please, this isn't a cult. A cult is something like those Hyperion folks, who believe so fervently in something so obviously fake. What I preach is very real. More real than us, perhaps! Plus to qualify as a cult we'd need more than one member, but that's not the point. The Old Gods are very much real, and I've got the book to prove it right here." Gently extending the Necronomicon in April's direction, Kiyoko smiled "Read it if you don't believe me. Just a little peek, and you'll never see this world the same again. Surely you'd have nothing to lose if it's so fake, right?" Alas, it seemed Kiyoko's attempt to get someone else to read the holy book's pages had fallen on deaf ears. Either April wasn't listening anymore, or had spontaneously lost her sense of hearing entirely. Very well. Transgressions are meant to be forgiven, so I'll wave this one off. I'm sure she'll come around eventually.

Rest In Power, Zeo Ranger V