1st Person POV, Melodia

"Volo," I spoke in a hesitant tone, "what exactly am I looking at?"

"A brochure," he answered nonchalantly.

I huffed in exasperation. "I already knew that, smartass. But what does it have to do with me?"

"I want you to do me a favor..." He began.

"There it is."

"I want you," he began oblivious to my thoughts, "to check this museum out."

"But why me?" I questioned. "Why can't you do it? This feels like your thing to do, especially when your playing hooky with the Gingko Guild..."

"About that..." He rubbed the back of his head.

I sighed. "Lemme guess, Ginter finally caught you."

Volo ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah...." he admitted with reluctance.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. It was bound to happen at some point, I guess.

"Okay. I'll check the place out for you. But," I held up a hand at his excited expression. "You'll have to give me and the girls a ride to the place. And you're paying for our admission fees to get in."

It only took him a second to consider my condition.

"You got a deal, little sis."

And so that's how me, Kyoko, Higana, Oume, Omatsu, and Otake were all crammed into a minivan Volo managed to convince the court's mechanic, Souda Kazuichi, to let him borrow for this trip.

And as promised, Volo got the six of us tickets to get us admitted to the museum.

Speaking of, Volo was dressed casually to blend in with the crowd, as his Gingko Guild outfit would have attracted unwanted attention.

Admittedly, his outfit did garner attention, but not in a bad way, per se. If only going by the longing looks of some nearby pedestrians, most of them female.

He paid no heed to the stares, though as he turned to the six of us.

"Here you girls go," he said as he handed us our passes to go inside the museum. "As you requested, the Triad will be on standby should anything happen, and Yukizome-san and Tojo-san are keeping an eye on the kids back at your place and make sure those simpletons are kept away from them. Cogita plans to come by later for her afternoon tea. Call us or any of the members of the court should you need backup."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Otake piped up, waving a hand dismissively, "we get the gist, slacker boy, we got this down to a T, even the newbie here," she added, jabbing a thumb in Kyoko's direction.

I gave a reprimanding tap on her shoulder as Kyoko only rolled her eyes a little at Otake's remark.

"Duly noted," I said in response to Aniki's words. While it may seem like overkill to have the Triad alone nearby, we can't take any chances, especially given that ever since we stormed Overhaul's base and laid waste to his admins, he's gone into radio silence. Something about that rankled me, keeping me on guard.

"I wonder if I should alert Saya in case she comes across him...?" I thought absentmindedly, until I felt a nudge from Omatsu.

"Looks we need to get going," she nodded to the museum, where a line was already forming at the entrance, especially since today was the grand opening.

"Right." I said, hopping out of the van with the other girls right behind me, glad to be out of the cramped van.

I waved to Volo as he drove off, before I turned to the five to take in what they chose for "casual wear."

We chose not to wear our typical Bandit ensemble if only to keep ourselves discreet.

Though that's not to say what they were wearing wasn't, shall we say, distracting.

Higana wore a black tank top with red accents, with grey short jean shorts, knee socks, matching grey strappy ankle boots, and had a pair of red shades perched on her head.

Otake took on a snowboarder look; blue snowboarder jacket, a black and blue skiing outfit with the top part halfway zipped to reveal her white undershirt, striped blue and white socks, paired with hiking boots. Her hair was tucked underneath a white beanie with a pair of snow goggles on her head.

Omatsu took a page from the Johto's Ghost Gym leader Morty's book. She acquired a purple headband, a tattered scarf before she dipped the ends into some red dye (courtesy of Arezu and Anthe), found a yellow charm to pin it to the scarf, a sleeveless black shirt, white slacks, and red pumps.

Oume took on an inspired look from the vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku with some punk mixed in. She chose a black bunny-eared hoodie jacket, a black short sleeved zip-up top underneath, a short-sleeved blue and black blouse, two mismatched fingerless glove sleeves on her arms (one solid black, the other blue with black stripes), a pale blue pair of jeans with slashes in the legs, and a pair of high-top black Converse.

Kyoko opted for her usual outfit outside of school; purple leather jacket, button-up white shirt, orange tie, black miniskirt, and knee-high purple boots.

As for me, I chose a flowy black kimono-style overcoat, a slightly oversized white t-shirt with red designs, reddish brown pants, calf-length boots, hair tied back with two hair ties (one at the base of my head, the other closer to the end of my hair, similar to a Zoroark's hairstyle), my favorite fingerless gloves, my bangles and trainer wristband, and my Celestica necklace (A/N: replace the necklace charm in the pic with the teardrop necklace Volo, Cynthia, and Cogita wear).

"They all look so beautiful...!" I simped to myself, a slight blush on my face.

I felt a light nudge on my shoulder, making me turn to see Kyoko was next to me. She gave a me a rare light-hearted smile (the last one was some time before she said she was going to tell her overbearing grandfather she was not coming home ever again) before she said, "As much as I know you wanna ogle us and we don't mind, we do have to move before the crowd gets too big."

I nodded, snapping myself out of whatever trance I was in before I led the way inside the newly opened museum.

Timeskip

Things began at a normal pace. We presented our tickets, we got in, and then made our way inside to see the quote-unquote attractions.

Even though we didn't see much of anything that stuck out to us even as a group, I still took a few videos and pictures in case Volo wanted to even the most mundane details.

"Can't see why Volo-aniki couldn't have just sent Korekiyo to do this..." I muttered to myself as I took a snapshot of a rather unremarkable vase on display.

"Who knows with that slacker?" Oume remarked, looking at an abstract painting.

"Yeah, the dude is practically an overcomplicated puzzle wrapped in an enigma," Higana remarked, viewing an illustrated scroll that had an image of a lung dragon.

"Fair enough," I responded with a slight shrug. Not even Mother Cogita can figure him out sometimes, and that's saying something.

We then went further into the section that had more art and portraits.

As we began to pass by the sign directing to the Pre-Quirk era art, I felt an unnatural chill pass through me, making me shudder.

Omatsu, who heard me shiver, paused midstep and looked at me. "You okay, hun?" She asked, making the others pause at her words and look toward me.

Shuddering, I decided to ask, "D-did any of you feel a chill just now?"

The five exchanged confused looks before they looked back at me and shook their heads no.

"Just me? And my aura..." It was like my Nen was standing on guard, like something upsetting is about to occur. I could also feel the ball Meema Zoroark was held in shake a bit underneath my overcoat.

"You sure you okay?" Higana asked, her tone tinged in concern.

After a moment of hesitation, I nodded at her. While she and the others looked reluctant, they thankfully decided not to press the matter.

With that, we kept moving forward.

Unfortunately, the further we moved inside the art exhibit, the worse the forboding feeling grew.

And judging from my girlfriends' postures, they didn't feel this ominous air like I did. Though I noticed their concern grew as I showed no signs of relaxing.

It was just as Kyoko proposed we stop and take a break in the waiting area that I saw it.

A gilded framed portrait of a young girl with long brown hair and ruby red eyes and a red dress stared out in a fixed stare into space.

I found myself standing in front of this portrait, the ominous feeling drawing me in like a moth to a flame. I activated my Gyo fused with Aura in my eyes.

I heard the others silently exclaim in surprise as they saw me activate my Nen.

"Melodia, what are you doing?!" Omatsu hissed, as she and the others kept an eye in case someone saw me, despite the fact I'm using In to cover my tracks.

I didn't respond to her as the picture came to life as soon as my Nen and Aura came into contact. Like a moving picture...

Only this became horrifying fast, as the girl in the picture was seen banging her fists on the painting, like someone trapped in a mirror.

"Do you guys not see this?!" I exclaimed to the girls, my Gyo still active.

"What are you talking about, Melodia?" Otake replied in slight shock.

"It's just a painting." Oume added, "There's nothing going on with it..."

I was so focused on the painting coming to life I didn't realize Kyoko and Omatsu were exchanging looks of concern when I noticed everything becoming drippy. The walls began to look as if it were melting, the liquid spilling onto the floor in a colorful mess (A/N: for better imagery idea, think of Burgh's gym from Black/White 2.

I became even more alert as I heard an unfamiliar voice call out, "HELP ME!"

With a jolt, I realized it was the girl in the painting.

"Guys," I spoke in a shaky tone, "How are you not seeing any of this!" I waved to the walls melting and the girl practically screaming for help.

Higana spoke up, "What are you talking about, Foxface? It's only a-"

Whatever Higana was saying was abruptly cut off, like a phone line disconnecting as everything around me swirled violently and I was sucked into a vortex that suddenly formed in the painting.

Before I blacked out, I heard the girls scream my name in panic.

Timeskip

The next time I came to, I saw that it was dark. Using my Aura as a form of night vision, I noted with no small amount of shock that I was still in the museum. Only now the lights are cut off, and there's a lot of scribbles and doodles that looked like they were done by a kid on the walls.

Getting to my feet, I found myself getting closer to the scribbles on the walls, my eyes squinting as I reactivated Gyo to get a better look.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that the drawings were all of a door that has an exit sign.

Not only that, there were some words that practically screamed: I WANT TO LEAVE, I'M TRAPPED, HELP ME.

"Okay looks like I need some backup," I decided the best way out of here is to figure out what the hell is going on. This may be a long shot, but since this place gives off the same air as the museum that just opened, this might be the same one, only... older, perhaps? And all of this has to do with the girl that was seemingly trapped in the painting. And in some reverse The Ring fashion, I got dragged into this painting. And as for how that was possible, my immediate and best plausible guess was someone rigged some sort of Nen trap on the painting. And it looks like I took the bait if that is the case.

I immediately summoned Meema and Lucario.

"What in the Reverse World...?!" Lucario remarked before I cut him off.

"Not entirely sure aside from a theory that the painting I was looking at was entrapped with some sort of Nen only I could sense. I'm not sure why, but I feel like we don't have time to make up theories right now. For now we need clues. Can either of you sense anything here?'

Lucario closed his eyes for a moment, his teardrop appendages behind his head rising up as he activated his Aura while Meema crouched on all fours and began to sniff around like a bloodhound.

Meema then let out a bark, taking off at a sprint, Lucario right on her heels, his eyes still closed as he let his Aura sense guide him.

I picked up the pace, running alongside Lucario as we followed Meema before we stopped at a trail of small footprints.

Meema sniffed them, her growls becoming both melancholic and disgruntled as I squatted down to get a good look. Peering at the size of the footprints, they were roughly the same size as the Lian's and Sabi's.

"Look," Lucario telepathed to me to get my attention, looking up to see him pointing a paw down the hall where the footprints stopped in front of a portrait of the ocean.

Feeling my Nen pull me towards the painting, I listened to my instincts and channeled my aura as I prepared to sink my hand into the painting as I saw the painting come to life as I saw a familiar hand stick out of the water inside the portrait.

Just as I hoped, my hand sank through the painting, grabbing onto the hand, and began to pull her out.

"HrrrrK!!!" I grunted as the current was stronger than it looked inside the portrait.

Lucario then grabbed me from behind and began to pull, with Meema right on his tail, giving me a boost in getting the kid out.

It was as if the painting was fighting back against us, but I have proven time and time again that I'm a stubborn bastard and giving up isn't in my cards.

This tug-of-war continued, until I had an idea. It was risky but hopefully it will end this stupid charade and get this kid out of this death trap.

I summoned a Trapburst Orb, before activating it on the portrait, which caused the wall to explode as we finally pulled the owner of the hand out of the painting.

I barely had time to recognize the kid that was the person trapped in the painting that dragged me into it before the four of us collided onto the floor with a heavy thump.

"OOMMPH!!" The breath in my lungs left my body as we hit the ground.

Sitting up, I took in the sight of the kid we rescued, confirming it was the same red-eyed girl from the portrait.

The girl was coughing, no doubt from all the water in her lungs. Thinking quickly, I gave a couple of whacks on her back, which helped her throw up the excess water.

"Bleeerggghhh!"

"Easy there, kid," I spoke in a gentle tone as she finished.

I then grew alarmed as she suddenly slumped against me, her breathing becoming shallow.

"Melodia-sama!" I chose not to correct Lucario on the honorific issue as he pointed to a wilted rose that I didn't realize was there until he pointed it out.

"What...?" I began to ask before Meema piped up.

"Her life force is tied to that rose!" This made me tense up in realization before Meema continued, "And it is fading fast!"

"Oh crap!" I panicked, "Shit shit shit! What do I do?!"

"Melodia! Calm down!" Lucario barked at me. "This is no time to panic! You have a plethora of items originating from the Mystery Dungeons at your disposal! Use your wits and training to save this child!"

While his words were harsh, it was just what I needed to snap out of it before I let panic take over and potentially ruin everything.

With that moment of clarity, I knew just what I needed to do.

Summoning a Reviver Seed, I gently opened the girl's mouth to place the seed under her tongue. I then summoned Shaymin to use Aromatherapy on the rose, before I began to pull some stuff out from my bag.

"I was originally gonna use these as to make a few necklaces for my girlfriends once I found the flowers for them to do it, but this is more important..." I thought as I pulled out some resin and a necklace chain.

I then called upon Palkia and Dialga, switching them out with Shaymin.

Their massive forms just about touched the ceiling of the building, nearly bonking their heads on the high rafters.

"Yeah, sorry to pull you guys outta nowhere, but we need help getting out of here," I stated in a calm yet urgent tone as I held the girl in one arm and the rose and resin in the other. "STAT!"

Catching onto the severity of the situation, the two deities of space and time nodded to each other, before they used Spatial Rend and Roar of Time on a nearby wall.

"I don't know what is even going on anymore," I thought as I summoned Lucario and Meema back into their Pokeballs, "But I'm not about to leave this kid for dead if I can help it!"

With that resolution in mind, I made a dive through the rift manifested by Palkia and Dialga, calling them back as soon as I made it through the portal.

Meanwhile...

POV Change, 3rd Person

Back in the present time, Melodia's girlfriends, to put it in simple and mild terms, were in hysterics.

The second they witnessed Melodia disappear abruptly into the painting, pure pandemonium broke out. Otake went on a rampage, trying to jump through the portrait itself to get Melodia back, only to be held back by security that had decided now to show up. Which nearly resulted in a bloodbath as Otake went apeshit on the security that tried to put their hands on her.

This of course resulted in Otake being held back by both Higana and Oume while Kyoko and Omatsu recounted what happened that resulted in their girlfriend being taken by the painting.

This of course attracted the attention of more staff and patrons, and with the reveal of the surveillance footage displaying the incident, this caused for the authorities to be called. And with the leaking of the footage, news vans also appeared right on the heels of the police.

Kyoko could only imagine the migraine everyone was going to receive before this blows over. She already called Shuichi Saihara to see if he could divulge any details while also questioning the curator of the nature of the portrait that took Melodia. She also got Omatsu to call up Karasuma and Netero in hopes of getting some damage control done.

The museum was practically crawling with police and reporters alike, both trying to get the details of the incident, if only for two different reasons.

It was just as Higana recounted the events to Karasuma when the five of them felt something in the air, all of them simultaneously look at the painting, which was roped off for the investigation.

Right at that exact moment, Melodia came tumbling out, falling to the floor, with her arms wrapped around something in a protective embrace.

"Melodia!" Higana's exclaimation brought the attention of the reporters lurking around, some of which had cameras that caught the moment where Melodia emerged from the painting like some character from The Ring.

Reporters immediately tried to swarm her, only to be warded off when Karasuma ran in with his badge out and threatenting them with their careers should they try to get past him.

Of course, that didn't stop the live feed catching the action as Melodia was helped to her feet before she was placed on a stretcher with the now identified bundle that is revealed to be a small girl.

In another location..

Saya was prepping her gun as she planned to go out on another sweeper job when her ears caught something interesting on the TV in her rented room. Walking in her living room with a bottle of ramune, her eyes widened in shock as she recognized the mint-haired girl from the rooftops a few nights ago on the scene at the newly opened museum in town. And she took a spittake as the headline on the breaking news screamed, "GREEN-HAIRED ADOLESCENT GIRL SAVES A DYING KID THAT APPEARED FROM A MUSEUM PAINTING!"

"This dang kid...." Saya coughed, placing her now half-empty bottle of ramune on her end table. Her eyes were alight with concern, especially for the kid in the greenette's arms.

"I hope they're okay..."

Meanwhile in a certain bar in Kamino...

A cyan-haired man was gathering lackeys for an attack when the TV suddenly flicked on, catching everyone's attention.

Many commented on how weird the occurence at the museum was, which resulted in the cyan-haired villain to get irritated at how the attention was stolen from him, though there was no denying the curiosity in his red eyes as he watched the footage provided by the news channel. While he barked orders at a misty bartender, a couple of individuals exchanged glances.

One was a dark-skinned woman dressed like a feminine pirate in some scuba gear, her hair onyx black save for a couple of blue highlights, matching her aqua colored eyes. This woman is Izumi, better known as Shelly in a former life.

The second was a petite female with light fuschia hair with matching eyes, dressed up in a horned hooded top and odd outfit (even by villain standards), looking similar to a kid wearing a monster hoodie. This is Kagari, better known as Courtney in an old life.

"Analysis: this has gotten interesting..." Kagari allowed a small borderline menacing smile touch her lips upon recognizing Melodia on the TV.

"Very true..." Izumi remarked in response, smiling a bit herself.

The two conversed quietly to each other, keeping an eye on both the TV and on the bratty cyan-haired male as he tried to regain control over his goons.

Somewhere else outside of Deika City...

Two other females were squatting in an abandoned building, watching a small TV they stole from a nearby junkyard. One was on their phone while the other sat close to the front of the TV.

The one on their phone had pink hair with blonde highlights, while wearing familiar punk-style clothing and a familiar necklace with a recognizable symbol as a charm. This was Pluneria, ex-admin of Team Skull before Team Rainbow Rocket happened...

The second came as a surprise shortly after Plumeria got chucked into this weird world, especially after what happened with Nihilego and Team Rainbow Rocket. He, or rather she now upon rebirth, is Gia, better known as Guzma in her_his last life before he was reborn in this world as a girl.

"Plu..." Gia, her usually loud tone was quiet for once as she stared at the breaking news.

Plumeria, who found Gia a few years ago while the latter was running away from her family (like in her last life, her parents sucked to put it lightly), nodded to the white-haired girl.

"Yeah I know. I'm going to see if I can nick some information on her so we can both find her..."

Gia nodded solemnly before she went back to the TV.

In a nearby club...

Today there was a lot of clientele even though it was not even happy hour yet.

That didn't matter to one Yoruko Kabuya, a young pink-haired lady with blue eyes, also known as the youngest hostess (literally sixteen years old).

While she's very good at her job (some say she's the best), it doesn't mean that Yoruko likes it. Some of the clientele is questionable, especially in the male variety. Especially old men that like to come to the establishment.

To think that this is what the great Malva would become in her next life after having her life taken by that damn Xerosic after the Lysandre conflict.

Not that Yoruko remembers that life...

But was about to change as she and several others turned to the overhead flat screen TV as their usual program was abruptly changed to Breaking News....

Meanwhile in Jaku City...

A woman clothed in purple sat in the seedy part of the city, watching her phone in case she got some new clients. This woman is Raziah, a hex maniac from the other world, also one of the first victims of the wormholes that appeared.

A chill passed through the aspiring ghost-type specialist.

"Something interesting just happened..." A childlike voice stated, making Raziah look into the corner to see a small impish girl reading a manga (though it was dark), her devil tail swishing this way and that, like a cat.

"And I suppose you'll be getting involved." Raziah stated than asked with a knowing look at the imp girl.

"But of course. Don't worry, you're not going to be left out, though. Maybe we'll finally find you a girlfriend.... maybe two if we're lucky."

Raziah rolled her eyes at this but chose not to refute her statement. Arguing will only end up being turned against her favor so it's a losing battle.

Though a part of Raziah hoped her quote-unquote companion is right as it has been quite lonely here ever since she got spat out of the rift, and it's not much of a secret that she is gay...

Her phone dinged with a notification; a client wanted information on someone, and they also shared a video of said person.

Opening up the app to watch the video with the imp girl coming over to join, Raziah somehow knew that her answer to her loneliness problem was about to be revealed.

Back at the castle...

Adaman was sitting in his quarters back at the island enjoying some potato mochi with an unexpected guest that showed up recently.

She had a great likeness for Adaman, only she was a girl. This was Sazare, an aspiring photographer from the Sinnoh region, before a wormhole opened up and took her and Growlithe away when they were visiting Kitakami to find the "Blood Moon Beast."

Thankfully, unlike others who had fallen victim to these wormholes, she crash-landed on Melodia's island where Team ACT were patrolling because Alakazam sensed unnatural activity near their settlement and wisely brought Charizard and Tyranitar as backup. You can imagine their surprise when Sazare's Hisuian Growlithe ran up to them, pleading for help for his partner.

Team ACT wasted no time to bring Sazare back to the castle to get treated by the medical staff (thankfully Mikan and Seiko was there as Calaba was back on the mainland with Recovery Girl). Cogita left some time beforehand so they couldn't ask her for advice, and Melodia and her girlfriends were out, and Volo was stuck with Ginter so they couldn't call on them for advice.

Thankfully there was Adaman and Irida. Alakazam sensed a connection between the girl and the Diamond Clan leader so he asked the blue-haired male to keep watch on her while the others figure out a way to contact Melodia.

You can imagine Adaman's surprise upon seeing Sazare and how much she looked like him. Irida even teased him about it when she saw Sazare later, saying that she might as well be him but a female.

Even more surprising was when she woke up and saw Adaman, she gasped and called him her "great- great- great- great- great- grandfather." And no, Irida did not keel over laughing when she heard this....

Any conversation they were about to have was put on hold as the TV set up in the recovery room flicked on, showing some breaking news.

Adaman leapt to his feet when he saw Melodia flop out of a painting, holding a kid, before he shouted for someone to get the phone to contact Cogita.

Amidst the chaos unfolding around her, Sazare stared up at the TV, her eyes trained on the greenette's form as she and the child she was holding was put on the stretcher, feeling a tug towards the older girl.

Unfortunately, these characters weren't the only ones to see the news footage...

U.A. Teacher's Lounge

Two certain neglectful and delusional Pro-heroes were watching the news. They sprang to their feet as they saw their daughter fall out of a painting in the new museum that just opened up in town.

Upon seeing a child in Melodia's arms, they decided right then that their daughter needs them.

With no heed to Aizawa's calls, the two ran out the door, intent on tracking Melodia down and finding out more about the girl she just saved.

Meanwhile in the business course classroom, Volo received a message from Melodia, his eyes widening seeing her text.

"W-what?!" His exclaimation caught the attention of Tuli, making her come over to Volo and ask what was wrong.

Without saying a word to her, he speed dialed Cogita, who answered promptly on the first ring.

"Baby bird is in the infirmary!" He swiftly exclaimed, causing confused alarm from Tuli as she didn't know what that meant, but Cogita obviously did as she wasted no time to reply to Volo.

"Go to Melodia's location immediately and watch the news as her face is already on it and get the status update from her soulmates. And be sure to bring back up as I was just informed that those meddlers from her old life are en route."

This rankled Volo; nobody's gonna mess with his baby sister on his watch.

He grunted in affirmation before hanging up, his visible grey eye harder than flint at the mention of Melodia's former parents trying to stick their nose into what is not their business.

He summoned his Gardevoir, asking her to teleport him to the hospital location Melodia sent to him in the message.

"Sorry Tuli," he said before he disappeared. "Tell Ginter it was a family emergency and to turn on the news if he does not believe me."

With that he was gone in a blink.

Back with Melodia

Thanks to Karasuma saying to take them to a hospital that was sanctioned by her gang, Melodia and the little girl were en route to the emergency room.

The paramedics tried to separate the two, but Melodia was quick to tell them that her Aura is the only thing keeping the girl alive. And since the medics were trained in the first stages of Nen to at least see this, they verified this and opted to keep the two together until they made it to the operating room.

On the way, Melodia recounted what happened to them, while messaging the Shadow Triad to come to the hospital so they can guard the girl.

Upon being quickly rolled into the operating room, Melodia felt a spike of aura, one that felt foreign, almost otherworldly.

Lifting her head to hone in on the odd life signature, her eyes met with a rather small female in green surgery scrubs.

She also had a fox plush on her shoulder with a weird red crystal that emitted a strange aura while not the same as the foreign aura the smaller woman emitted, it was enough to make Melodia pay attention.

Before Melodia could open her mouth to ask her anything, the petite woman shook her head.

"You probably sensed I'm not from around here, but rest assured I'm here to help." She gestured to the small girl. "The name's Kanata. I can save her, but you better use that resin to encase that rose as that flower is essentially her lifeline."

She gently took the girl from Melodia. Before Melodia could alert her that the girl needs Aura to keep her stabilized, her words died on her tongue as the woman named Kanata begin to emit a bit of Aura.

Kanata nodded to Melodia reassuringly. "Don't worry. I got this. You just do your part and get that flower preserved."

With that, Melodia was escorted out of the hospital room and into a different examination room to be checked over by Pesselle.

After making sure she's not suffering from anything bad resulting from being ensnared by a Nen-trapped portrait, Melodia sat on the hospital bed in patient scrubs, keeping her hands busy if only to keep her anxiety over the girl she brought back at bay.

Thanks to Shaymin's Aromatherapy on the girl's rose, Melodia was able to encase the flower in resin and attach it to a necklace chain.

By sealing the flower in resin, the flower lasts forever. Melodia planned to ask the girls their favorite flowers so she can gift them with resin-encased flowers as a present for their anniversary. Who would have guessed she would be doing this to save a life?

By the time she put the finishing touches, her girlfriends showed up.

The five of them ran up and hugged her.

"Hey girls," Melodia managed to say as her body was nearly crushed by all of them.

She felt a light chop to her head, courtesy of Higana.

"'Hey'? That's all you got to say, after being sucked into that painting with no warning?" Higana sounded a bit choked up from worry.

Melodia winced as that meant trouble, especially if Higana is close to tears. "To be fair, I did say I sensed something wrong when we entered the art gallery."

Higana opened her mouth to counter her statement only to come up empty as this was true.

"So what's going on out there?" Melodia asked the group. "I bet it's a war zone..."

Kyoko was the one to answer, "We got a three ring media circus going on out there. Karasuma contacted Karma to interrogate the curator of the museum, the Triad are already here, guarding this room and the operating room, and Lady Cogita and Volo are also here."

Melodia nodded, before realizing something.

"Wait, if Volo and Mother Cogita are here, then where are they? Usually they be the first ones here whenever I end up in the infirmary..."

The others aside from Omatsu and Kyoko looked away from Melodia, shuffling from one foot to another.

Omatsu was the one to answer, "Well... they would be here... but they ran into some interference..."

Melodia's eyes shot to her hairline before dread filled her.

"Don't tell me..."

Right at that moment, the sound of yelling reached Melodia's ears, making her wince at the painful sound as she unfortunately recognized the voice.

Grumbling to herself, she pressed the resin-rose into Kyoko's hand, telling her to hold onto it for now as she marched out of the room, the girls trailing after her.

Walking out into the hall, Melodia had to refrain from pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration as her suspicions were confirmed about the "interference" Cogita and Volo had run into.

There stood Inko arguing with Cogita in a raised voice while Cogita argued back in a quieter yet still authoritive tone.

"But we can take care of her!" Inko shouted at Cogita, Toshinori backing her up while Volo glared at the two of them.

Cogita wasted no time in returning a scathing verbal barb.

"Just like you had with Melodia? I'm so sure."

"Mother?"

The two matriarchs turned to see Melodia, followed by her girlfriends (which Inko sent a disapproving scowl at before going back to Melodia).

Both Inko and Cogita responded at the same time, "Yes?"

Melodia rolled her eyes at Inko. "Not you, you charletan, I meant her!" She gestured to Cogita.

Before Inko could form a rebuttal, Toshinori spoke up.

"My daughter, who was that that you were-"

"For the millionth time, I'm not your daughter!" Melodia was so done with today at this point.

"Right, for she is my daughter," Cogita made her point by coming over to Melodia and give her a hug before standing beside her.

Inko gave the white-haired woman a hateful glare. "Silence, you grey predator! You're just grooming my daugter!"

This caused a massive wave of Ren to erupt, but not from Melodia (though she was quite vexed to put it mildly).

"What did you just say, you miserable wench?" Volo's tone became deadly as an adder as stood behind both Inko and Toshinori with a menacing aura of his own. Nobody talks that way about either of his remaining family, Celestican or not.

Before anyone could begin a deadly brawl, a voice caught Melodia's attention, causing her to turn and nearly leave Cogita's gentle grip as she turned to see it was Kanata, only now she was out of her surgical scrubs and is now in a more normal outfit (a/n: basically her canon outfit during the killing games).

Melodia walked over to Kanata so they can speak privately.

"Well?" Melodia asked in a low yet concerned tone.

Kanata had an expression of relief and satisfaction, which Melodia took as a good sign.

"The operation went without a hitch. That Reviver Seed really made the difference and leaking your aura into her helped in keeping her stabilized on the way here. Not only that, both had sped things up tremendously."

Melodia breathed out a sigh of relief at this. Thank Almighty Sinnoh... all four of them...

"Can I see her?" Melodia asked.

Kanata nodded. "Yes. We had her moved to your room for peace of mind. Your guard friends are also keeping watch and I got my own personnel helping them too."

While Melodia briefly wondered what she meant by her personnel, she pushed it aside for her sake and followed Kanata to the room they were keeping the girl. Kyoko and the others followed, leaving Inko and Toshinori to their fate at Volo's hands.

When they arrived, the six of them were surprised seeing a large black and white canine with a weird red stone in his chest laying in front of the doorway. What was more surprising was Peko giving him ear scritchies. The large canine let out a low rumble before he rose on twos, his full height nearly touching the ceiling. He eyed the group of six with mismatched eyes, his teeth showing.

"Mugen, sit." Kanata's soft voice became surprisingly commanding, making the large dog obey without question, sitting on his haunches.

Kanata reached up to pat his neck, which he lowered his head so she can reach.

"Sorry about Mugen. He takes his job seriously..."

"Clearly." Kyoko stated in a calm tone, not taking her eyes off the giant dog.

Melodia entered the room first, approaching the girl's bedside. The girl was asleep, breathing leveled.

Melodia allowed relief wash over her. She thanked every Deity in existence once more just as her girlfriends entered the room.

Kyoko handed Melodia the resin-rose, of whom the latter nearly forgotten about thanks to encountering Inko and Toshinori beforehand.

Speaking of...

Melodia dreaded the idea of Nedzu seeing the news, because chances are if those two dolts claiming to be her parents saw the footage, then chances are so did the principal and the other hero staff.

Which meant they're gonna ask questions, and more than likely, try to take the girl away like they've been attempting with Melodia's other kids.

"Like I'd let them anyway..." Melodia nearly snarled to herself. She would have to ask Karasuma about those adoption papers before she gets discharged from the hospital.

Speaking of which...

Melodia perked up from reading her phone as she heard low mumbling from beside her. Melodia put her phone away and grabbed the resin-rose in her pocket.

The girl opened her ruby red eyes, blinking in confusion at the unfamiliar white tile ceiling and the foreign beeping of the heart monitor next to her.

"Hey," Melodia spoke in a gentle and reassuring tone making the girl slowly turn her head to look at Melodia.

"I-it's you..." the girl coughed slightly, her voice raspy.

Melodia helped her sit up, before offering a glass of water to help with her burning throat.

The girl took it gratefully, drinking slowly per Melodia's gentle instructions.

"That was a rough ride back there..." Melodia commented, trying to make small talk. "I'm glad you're okay though."

"T-thank you," the girl managed to eke out. "You saved me... I tried to reach out to anyone to save me... but no one came..." Her red eyes became watery with unshed tears.

Melodia embraced her in a warm hug.

"It's okay. It's over now. You're safe with me and my girlfriends."

"Girlfriends?" The girl repeated, looking both confused and worried.

"Is something wrong?" Melodia asked.

"Ummm..." the girl fidgeted in her spot. "You must be careful, ma'am... especially with saying something so casually like that..."

"Why is that?"

"Because... girls in a romantic relationship with other girls is a bad thing... and did you say that you have girlfriends, as in plural? Miss, if you get found out, you'll be hanged..."

"'Hanged'? What day and age is this kid living in??" Melodia thought to herself. Sure there's still some "traditonal" bigots these days (hello, Inko) but this is a progressive era where same sex relationships are almost the norm like heterosexual relationships. And in some countries, polygamy is legal, and so is polyamorous relationships with some limitations.

"Kid, there's nothing to worry about," Melodia managed to get over her initial shock to explain to her. "It's nearly common knowledge that I'm gay, and while there are some that think it's bad they can't do anything about it. Unless they want to get lynched themselves by like-minded individuals who believe that same-sex marriages are okay."

The girl looked shocked for words so Melodia decided to change the subject.

"Hey what's your name anyway? I can't just call you 'Kid' all the time..." She asked.

"My name... is Ivu..." The girl responded in a quiet tone. (A/N: that was actually her Japanese variation name according to her wiki, and I felt it weird to be calling her Ib throughout the story.)

Melodia nodded. "Okay, Ivu. Can you tell me what happened before I came and got you out of that portrait?"

Ivu nodded before launching into a long and horrifying story, as Melodia recorded it all on her phone so she can give to Netero and Karasuma once they got discharged....

The two were found later post-visiting hours, on the bed, with Melodia protectively embracing the smaller girl, who had latched onto the greenette like a lifeline, a necklace with her rose encased in resin around her neck.

The staff left Melodia and Ivu alone aside from checking on them every few hours to make sure nothing happened to either their boss or her new charge.

Meanwhile with the petite young surgeon that helped with Ivu's operation, she had just picked up her doll companion after he scared off (read as traumatized) some meddlesome intruders (take a guess on who) who tried to sneak into the room housing Melodia and Ivu.

"Good job, TD," the blonde girl praised the odd doll as she walked alongside her giant canine companion Mugen. "That should keep those two vultures away from Miss Melodia..."

"I have questions," another voice broke in.

There stood Kyoko, who left the overnight room to try and ask the petite female some questions.

"I'm afraid I do not have time," Kanata stated, looking apologetic. "Rest assured you'll get answers, just noy any time soon. Though when the time comes, tell my mom hi when you guys meet."

Before Kyoko could stop her, the red stone on Mugen's chest glowed, causing a dark red portal to open up. Without hesitation, Kanata hopped up onto the back of Mugen with her doll in her arm and the three of them leapt through the portal, closing up behind them as soon as Mugen's large furry tail disappeared into it.

Kyoko sighed, a great amount of questions that need answers cropping up, but with no way to get any answers now that the one who holds the answers had just left.

Shaking her head she left the hall, going back to the waiting area where she and the other girls decided to crash for the night.

Getting into her bedroll Higana brought back from the dorms, Kyoko crawled into it, missing the warmth of Melodia's body, a sentiment she and the other girls shared.

Well if one thing were to come out if this eventful outing, Volo did get what he wanted in finding a valuable "artifact".

Who would have guessed it resulted in bringing home a new addition to the family?

Aaaaaaaannndddd scene!

Thank you KaoTamashi for helping me with fleshing this chapter out! Without you, I probably wouldn't be able to have this updated sooner.

I meant to have this done around Halloween but it's almost peak season here for us in the postal service and it's only gonna get crazy after Thanksgiving so I give you guys this update before I get swept away by the tides of holidays and work.

Kinda rushed at the end but next time we'll cover the aftermath of this event in the next chapter.

Also lots of foreshadowing in the future not only for this story but also for Chifuyu's timeline thanks to the sweet and virtuous Kanata. Word for the wise, never cross Tails Doll or a werejackal unless you have a painful death wish.

Also I got some new stories in the drafting stages and I plan to have those started around if not before New Year's so buckle up, readers!

This is ArtVampire signing off! Ja ne!