It's been a while but I'm back and taking a break from Doctor Who to write this, my first anime crossover which I am very excited about! There is really not much for me to say except that I hope you enjoy it :)

Chapter 1

It was raining when he got the call. Munakata listened patiently to what the caller had to say, murmured an acknowledgment, and then hung up. He'd been waiting all evening for the this and it confirmed his suspicions.

Looking up from his desk, he summoned his second-in-command, Awashima, who was standing by the door in her blue uniform with the short skirt, a sheaf of papers in her arms. Her hair was neatly pinned back and her posture perfect.

"Bring the car around," Munakata said.

"Sir." Awashima turned on her heel and left.

Munakata steepled his fingers and glanced down at the file on his desk. It was marked TOP SECRET. Not even the true authorities of Japan knew what was in that file. Its contents took top priority, over the Strains, over conflicts with the other clans, all of whom were unaware of what SCEPTER 4 had discovered. It was perhaps the greatest discovery since that of the Dresden Slate unearthed during World War II.

It was giving him a headache. Ever since the excavation, his paperwork had tripled, despite offloading some of it on poor Awashima and Fushimi, both of whom already had heavy enough loads as it was.

The window was streaked with rain. The lights of the city glared against the darkness and Munakata sighed. Pushing his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose, he stood and collected his jacket.

The drive to the wharf was mostly done in silence against the smooth sound of the car engine and the pattering of the rain. Munakata sat in the back seat, looking out at the city, his face so close to the window that he could feel its chill. He closed his eyes. Just briefly, but even then, the visions flashed through his mind.

The Sword of Damocles crumbled and came crashing down in a final brilliant display. He felt his saber penetrate flesh and it slid through so easily. The Red King's blood splattered onto his uniform and he didn't flinch when he felt its warmth on his hands as the king slumped against him.

Munakata opened his eyes, dispelling the vision. No, he did not regret his actions that day. He'd done what had to be done and he held no remorse for that. His last doubts had fled when the Red Clan's new king had forgiven him. No, it was the burden of a different sort that now weighed heavily upon his shoulders.

They soon arrived at the wharf. A single warehouse stood illuminated by construction lights and around it were strewn several heavy pieces of equipment and an assortment of vehicles. Blue-clad figures came and went from the warehouse and made adjustments to the equipment which was perched on concrete slabs and now covered with tarps. Munakata took this all in at a glance as he stepped out of the car to find Awashima waiting for him with an umbrella.

At first, Awashima was quiet and he thought she would stay that way. She opened her mouth, then closed it, tried again.

"You've been thinking about it again," she said finally. There was no need to elaborate. Both of them knew what she meant.

"The Red Clan is growing strong again," Munakata said. "We'll need to keep an eye on them."

"Their king is a child. Do you really think…?"

Munakata allowed himself a wry grin. "I wouldn't underestimate her. She has no interest in waging war, but she will do all in her power to protect her clan."

Awashima wasn't prone to revealing her emotions. Emotions were distracting. She much preferred the calm, cold-hearted façade she maintained at all times. But this time, she raised a brow and Munakata saw the mild confusion on her face out of the corner f his eye. She was expecting an answer but he elected not to give her one. Instead, he opened the door into the warehouse and gazed upon the object that had captured the interest of the entire Blue Clan so intently they wished to focus on nothing else.

A third of the way into the expansive warehouse, the hard ground gave way to dark soil, a ragged crater in the ground. Protruding from the soil and deeply embedded into the surrounding rock was a large gray ring with strange symbols carved into its surface. The structure measured at 6.71 meters across with a ring thickness of 88 centimeters. It had been too old and too merged with the earth to be removed from its original site and so this warehouse had been hastily erected around it. All of this would have been impressive enough if Munakata hadn't seen it multiple times already. What he focused on now was the fact that the symbols on its surface were glowing.

A young man ran down the street, panting. He slipped on the rain-slickened pavement and nearly toppled but managed to get his balance again. He swerved into an alley between two buildings, nimbly vaulted over a cleaning robot ("Show some respect!"), and dashed into an adjoining street. All the while, a shadowy figure all clad in black kept pace from above.

The man wasn't even out of breath, not even after having run several blocks. Again he found himself in an alley, this one ending in a stone wall. He braced himself, ready to grab the ladder of the nearby fire escape to get over the wall. Instead, a wave of dizziness washed over him and he nearly collided with the thing that appeared directly between him and the wall. It was absurd, like a giant inflatable cat that stared down at him with large eyes. He hesitated, his mind immediately coming to the conclusion that it wasn't real, but it was more than enough. Something snagged his legs and he went down, softening the fall with his hands. His glasses fell off and clattered to the ground.

He flipped over into a sitting position, his hands propping him up, just in time to see his pursuer lowering himself into the alley with the aid of a ghostly hand he projected from his real one.

The man on the ground smirked, even when he was grabbed by the front of his shirt and was made to look into his pursuer's harsh eyes.

"Are you ready to tell us now?" Kuroh asked.

The man didn't answer right away. He looked out from under curly black hair weighed down by the rain. Kuroh was taken aback by the man's calm and the grin which he found annoying. Finally, the man sighed.

"I led you on a merry chase, hmm?"

Kuroh gritted his teeth. He felt the comforting weight of Kotowari by his side. "No more games. What is your clan planning?"

The man continued to smirk and something new came into his eyes, something hard and cruel. "I wonder how SCEPTER 4 is faring," he said. "I hear they've made quite a discovery."

Kuroh couldn't help the widening of his eyes at that statement. It had been a while since he'd last had any run-ins with the Blue Clan. Were these people planning to attack them? And then – that smirk widened – no, he realized the attack had already begun.

Seeing the realization dawning on his face, the man said, "Well, it's been fun." His skin darkened visibly and Kuroh caught a glimpse of some type of marking hidden beneath his hair. "But I really must be going."

He pressed one hand to Kuroh's chest and before the boy could react, he was thrown back violently into the wall of the building and only his Silver aura, which flared instinctively at the attack, saved him when his head cracked against the wall. Still, he was shocked, disoriented. Through blurry vision, he saw the man stand up and brush himself off nonchalantly before running a hand through his unruly hair. A light jump took him clean over the wall and then he was gone.

Kuroh growled low in his throat, frustrated at having let him escape and ashamed at how easily he'd been defeated. He clambered to his feet just as Shiro and Neko ran into the alley, Shiro still with that red parasol of his.

"Kuroh!" the Silver King exclaimed upon seeing his friend.

"It was a trap," Kuroh answered the unsaid question. "He was toying with us, trying to lure us away from where we really need to be." Kuroh winced and rubbed at his chest where the man had shoved him. "They're going to attack SCEPTER 4."

Shiro nodded. "Then we'd better get going." He shifted his parasol from one hand to the other and for a moment, Kuroh caught sight of the end of a newly healed scar peeking out from under his sleeve, a scar that stretched from the back of the white-haired boy's hand all the way up to the elbow of his right arm.

"Right," Kuroh said. The three clansmen, using their ability to manipulate gravity, easily made it to the rooftops and nearly soared their way to the wharf.

Dr. Fujioka Takumi, SCEPTER 4's lead scientist, approached Munakata with a greeting too casual to befit a king. Oblivious to – or just ignoring – Awashima's glare, he launched into an explanation.

"The Gate started glowing at 21:45," he said. "We've detected trace amounts of alpha radiation but nothing that poses an immediate danger. But…as a safety precaution, I'd advise you not to get too close." His manner was straight to the point, but he sounded like he was reading it straight off his PDA.

Munakata nodded. Taking the scientist's warning, he didn't move too close. However, he did step down onto the soil for a better look. Two of Fujioka's team were taking readings, wearing light protective clothing. The symbols were made up of radial lines with the center of the gate as their focal point. Graceful curves and curlicues extended from these lines. If it was some type of language, no one had been able to decipher it so far. Their glow seemed more substantial then mere light, as if the Rosen Gate, as it had come to be called, was coursing with energy.

A tremor loosened the soil under Munakata's feet, but it was so slight it could barely be felt. He looked down at the ground where the dirt and rocks gently slid farther into the crater the workers had dug. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The ground shuddered again, this time stronger, and he had to take a step back to keep his balance.

"Get away from the Gate!" he ordered.

Seconds later, the glowing intensified and the Gate throbbed with energy and several bolts of what could only be described as looking like blue lightning shot from the ring and met in the Gate's center in a tangle of shuddering, unstable energy. The two workers at the Gate had retreated, one of them falling over backward from the shock.

Munakata had flinched from the display, one arm in front of his face from the sudden intensity of the light. But he didn't move from his position. Awashima and Fujioka had moved to his side and he ignored his lieutenant's forceful suggestion to retreat to the warehouse's front wall. His eyes remained fixed on the Gate in fascination.

The tangled knot of energy writhed and throbbed and grew. When it reached a substantial size, a dark figure appeared, first as a tiny dot in the midst of the crackling blue and then becoming larger until Munakata could make out arms and legs and a head.

He instinctively reached for the hilt of his saber. "Ready your swords," he ordered. He drew his weapon as did his clansmen and they stood at the ready, waiting until the figure arrived and revealed its intentions.

The figure dropped to the ground in a crouch and for a moment, Munakata thought he recognized him until he caught a glimpse of the man's face and knew he was mistaken. There was a hard glare in his eyes and his mouth twisted into a sardonic grin. He stood tall then, and in one hand he held a sword. Feeling his own heart begin to quicken, Munakata braced himself, the order to attack resting on his lips.

She could see the warehouse from her perch on the tall building. Her legs casually dangled over the side but she perked up when she sensed the sudden commotion from within the warehouse.

"Looks like the party's about to start," she said and then smiled at the thought. "I sure don't want to miss out on the fun, so you go bring the guests." She sensed the creature's reluctance and added, "Do it or I'll tell the Earl on you."

Suddenly obedient in the face of possible injury, the thing replied, "Yes, Lero!"

The newcomer was quick. Before anyone could react, his sword snapped out in a short arc and one of the scientists who'd been working on the Gate toppled, blood welling from the deep slice to his chest.

Without hesitation, Munakata rushed the intruder, ignoring Awashima's "Captain!" as he brought his sword into an offensive position. He had the man in his sights, sword still dripping blood as he glared from beneath heavy bangs. Then suddenly he was gone and Munakata skidded to a halt, confused, gritting his teeth. The man could not simply have disappeared and a moment later, Munakata looked up. Their blades clashed hard as the man came down in his attack and Munakata's Blue Aura flared.

They pulled away and then the man attacked again, trying to throw Munakata off guard. The Blue King parried and let out an involuntary grunt. His opponent was strong!

Several of his clansmen descended upon the man, their swords out in front. Without skipping a beat, he whirled, hair flying, and parried and dodged with such speed that no blade came close to hitting him. One clansman was slashed across the chest and another was defeated when his sword hand fell severed to the ground.

Munakata could sense an otherworldly power emanating from the attacker, an aura like that granted by the Dresden Slate and yet alien. Behind him, the Rosen Gate still glowed and the knot of energy, which had shrunk to its original size, continued to crackle and pulsate.

"Fujioka, shut that thing down!" Munakata saw the scientist's hurried nod as well as the confusion on his face bordering on panic. The Blue King cursed inwardly. Of course Fujioka would try but the truth was no one even knew how it worked. He cursed again, this time out loud. With anyone else, excepting the kings, SCEPTER 4 should have been able to neutralize the threat already. That they hadn't was worrying and they couldn't afford to let any more powerful individuals through that Gate.

The man cut down another clansman and Munakata went in for another attack, but before he could, the ground shook from a sudden explosion and a portion of the warehouse roof was gone, twisted rubble flying through the air. Some of it caught Munakata in the back and he flinched from the sharp pain. Through the hole, he could see something floating in the sky like some giant earth node bristling with cannons. He'd never seen anything like it. It fired a cannon and the chaos was complete when another chunk of ceiling was torn away and debris scattered. One man was killed on impact, several others injured. Munakata could only stare in horror as those who seemed to have escaped death developed pentagram-shaped marks on their bodies and they disintegrated before his eyes.

It was still raining and the soil was soon churned into mud. The rain streaked his glasses and blurred his vision so bad he discarded them to rely on his own impaired vision.

"Awashima!" he called to his lieutenant and he pointed up at the sky. "Gather a team and fall back. We have a possible hostile Strain situation."

He didn't wait for Awashima's acknowledgement, knowing she would do just as he ordered. The warehouse was being demolished all around him and in the chaos he'd lost track of the man who had started it all. Wiping sopping wet hair out of his eyes, he started for Fujioka and the Rosen Gate just as a third shot blasted another section and Munakata was thrown off his feet. His head hit a rock and he must have blacked out for a second. The next thing he knew, he was dizzy, his vision swimming, and a voice was saying, "Boss, you alright?" He winced and saw Fujioka's face above his. Grunting an acknowledgement, Munakata forced himself to his feet and grabbed for his fallen saber in the mud.

There was a stinging pain in his side and his head throbbed but as he surveyed the damage that had been done, he came to a realization.

"It's only attacking the outer walls. Whatever that thing is, it wants the Gate intact."

"I-I don't think I can shut it down," Fujioka said. "We don't even know what powers it. I'm sorry."

Munakata understood but he didn't accept sorry's. Taking the scientist's hand, he laid it over the pommel of the saber at his belt. "Then you take this and you stand in front of the Gate. Anything comes through, don't give it a chance to attack. You can ask questions later."

Fujioka nodded shakily and went for the Gate.

Out of the corner of his eye, Munakata saw movement from above, a shadowy figure with dark hair. He whipped around and his saber flashed.

He halted then, the anger in his eyes dying to be replaced with confusion. "Black Dog?"

Yatogami Kuroh stood before him, having blocked his saber swing with his sword sheathe. A Silver Aura lit up his dark silhouette and his mouth was set in a firm line. When the pressure against his block lessened, Kuroh lowered the sheathe.

"We heard you were in trouble. Sorry we're late," Kuroh said with a short bow.

"How did you know to come here?"

The corners of Kuroh's mouth lifted in a slight grin. "Did you think you could do a lot of digging and then build this warehouse and none of the other clans would know about it?"

When he put it that way…

Behind Kuroh, he saw Isana and the other clansman, the female Strain. Giving a slight bow in Shiro's direction, he said, "Then we accept the Silver Clan's aid."

Another cannon shot blasted through the warehouse.

On the far side of the warehouse, Fushimi braced himself, his Blue Aura expanding to encompass his sword. His other hand glowed red as he slipped two throwing knives expertly from his sleeve. With a deft flick of his wrist, he sent one and then another flying at the intruder. The first missed, the man's movements taking him out of its path. The second hit him in the shoulder.

Something flashed in the man's eyes. He grabbed the knife and tore it out, letting it fall to the ground in a cascade of blood. The wound must have hurt but he seemed not to notice, not even when the fabric of his coat darkened with wet.

Fushimi was completely unfazed by the glare. He met the man's attacks with a quick block and counterstrike. His attacker leaped back and brought his sword across in a low arc, sweeping it at Fushimi's legs. Fushimi leaped over the blade and whipped out another knife, sent it flying. It ricocheted off the man's sword as he raised it and slashed it at Fushimi's chest. Fushimi staggered back, a sudden stinging pain in his chest. A thin line of blood seeped through the new tear in his uniform. If he'd reacted a second too late, things could have been much worse.

Gritting his teeth, Fushimi attacked with renewed determination, slashing his saber in short, controlled movements, quickening his footwork, testing his opponent. He fell into the rhythm of it, locking his gaze on the other man's face. Then he saw something there, a wicked glint in those dark eyes and his mouth twisted into a horrible grin and though hardly anything rattled Fushimi, this did.

A single quick movement and Fushimi's saber went flying from his hand. Then he was on the ground, a sword thrust through the right side of his chest. He gasped and couldn't help the grunt of pain that escaped him. His teeth ground together and sweat shone on his brow.

The man, still with that unnerving expression, leaned over him, putting a hand on his chest. "How does it feel to die?" he said and Fushimi didn't grace him with an answer. "I bet it's…exhilarating."

"Tch," was all Fushimi could muster, defiant even in the face of his own end.

The creature continued its relentless attack and Munakata wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. He and Awashima, and all his clansmen who could were focusing intently on maintaining the shield he'd erected. Beside him, Shiro and Kuroh were doing their best to add their strength to the defenses, a silver shield that lay overtop the blue one. But still the cannons kept firing and as if that weren't bad enough, two more of the hovering creatures had joined in the siege.

Munakata was sweating with the effort but it all seemed to be in vain. He was nearing the point of exhaustion and those creatures kept battering at the shields, sure to take them down before long. He heard a female voice suddenly shout something, felt a wave of disorientation.

Then the shields fell.

When the wave hit them, Fushimi used it to his advantage. He gripped a throwing knife in his hand, his last one, and buried it deep in the other man's hand. The annoying, oh so annoying, grin was gone in a flash and the man let out a cry of pain, instinctively gripping his hand, blood streaming down his arm.

He staggered backward as if he'd lost his balance and a peculiar look came into his eyes.

Then there was silence.

One moment, all had been chaos, the next, silence. The shouts and the cannon fire had ceased. The Blue Clansmen and the man who'd come through the portal were gone. The warehouse was completely empty except for Kuroh, Shiro, Neko, and the still activated Rosen Gate. The air had an unnatural pinkish-white hue to it.

"W-what?" Kuroh said. "Neko, are you doing this?"

"There's not much time," the girl said softly. The fighting might have ceased for a moment, but they would soon see through the illusion.

"Neko," Shiro said. "What are you doing?"

Neko looked down at her feet and then glanced at the Gate behind her but this was no time for indecision. "I-I know how we can stop this," she said finally. "We have to go through that."

"Neko…you don't even know what that is," Kuroh said.

"It's where the answers are."

Kuroh was taken aback. It wasn't like her to be so cryptic and where had she come by this information, anyway?

"I think she's right," Shiro said.

"Eh?"

"I don't know what it is, but there's something about that Gate, about this whole situation…I just…I trust that what she says is right."

Neko moved closer to the Rosen Gate and nearly stuck her nose in the knot of energy at its center. Shiro was looking at Kuroh, who bit his lip. Sure, ever since he had found the Silver King again, he had seemed so different as what had once been Adolf K. Weismann had settled in alongside Shiro's own personality.

"I don't know anything more about this than you do," Shiro continued. "But I trust Neko and I'm willing to take a leap of faith for that trust. Are you?"

Still, Kuroh hesitated. They as clansmen had come a long way from their first meeting as enemies. A lot had happened in that time and Kuroh had learned to trust them, to fight by their side.

"I'm going," Shiro said. He held a hand out to his vassal. "Will you follow your king?"

The illusion was already starting to break up. They could hear faint shouts, they could hear the sound of the hovering creatures lining up more shots as the shields fell away. There really wasn't anything more to it.

Kuroh grasped his hand. The three of them approached the Rosen Gate.

And took a leap of faith.