"Come on, Lord Dio. We're almost there."

Filia carried her leader's limb body over the sidewalk with the help of Mr. Everdeen. Filia had found it a little difficult to escape after tangling poor Samson up in the floorboards, but they got away in time to hide while the team left, allowing Filia to return to return for her master. She was surprised to find Mr. Everdeen was already there, trying to pry the road roller off of Dio, but with little success. Filia's abilities had made the job much easier.

"It's the foundry, right, Samson?"

"That's what it says here, Filia," growled her hair, holding the clue they stole in the chaotic attack on their appointed targets. The team that Dio had explained that it was their mission to defeat had collected so many clues that it was easy to grab one of the extras while no one was looking. "But do we need to keep carrying this lug here? He's slowin' us down a lot, ya know?"

"I cannot believe you're saying that, Samson. How rude! After all Lord Dio has done for us!"

"Somehow, he made you crazier than before. I dunno if that's something for me ta be real thankful for."

"I'm not crazy. I'm a vampire. And if that means I'm not a Skullgirl anymore, isn't that a- ureeey!- good thing?"

"Like I was sayin', I just dunno."

Filia pointed ahead, changing the subject. "Look! Isn't that a foundry up there?"

Tall smokestacks and their accompanying haze confirmed it to be so, even when no one responded to her. Dio coughed a few times before working up the strength to speak.

"You two… It is just amazing. You cared enough to save me."

"Even when we have failed, it doesn't make any sense to abandon your leader," said Mr. Everdeen quietly.

"The rest of them, they wouldn't do that, you know. They follow orders, but they're not… loyal."

Filia turned and smiled.

"It's hard to not be loyal to someone who saved your life."

I'm glad she's speaking for herself, thought Mr. Everdeen. At first I thought that tagging along with the guys that get to bend the rules would get me closer to winning. But now they're running suicide missions. I'm not sure about any of this anymore… but I'll be safe as long as I cooperate.

"Not hard at all," Mr. Everdeen repeated.

Filia suddenly stopped walking ahead. "What's this?" she whispered, kneeling down to look at something.

Mr. Everdeen set Dio down gently, raising a finger to indicate he would be right back. Filia was crouched over a small, blue creature, lying in a bruised heap on the street. A long set of skidmarks ran up to where it sat.

"Hello, there," said Filia. "Are you all right?"

The creature slowly opened its eyes, then shut them again in the light.

"Oh, man," it groaned. "I don't think so."

"Filia, take a few steps back," ordered Mr. Everdeen. "Never corner an injured animal."

"Oh. Okay," agreed the girl, stumbling back.

"You know," it whispered, "I'm starting to think that wasn't Shadow the hedgehog."

"It's hallucinating. It might be rabid," warned the hunter. Filia scooted further back.

"Get me out of here," commanded Dio.

"Don't be too afraid, sir," reassured the man. "If it poses a threat, I can kill it very quickly."

"Not that," coughed the vampire. "them." He raised a weak arm to point behind them. Filia and Mr. Everdeen turned to face the landing Valvrave unit, Poppy, and the succubus.

"Step awae from the brush hog," shouted Morrigan. "If ye please."

***

Hermione tapped at the edge of her AEGIS' screen.

"I don't have too long before I'm deployed, you know." The turtle looked up from his work to give her a frustrated glare.

"I know. I'm nearly done here," said Donatello, fiddling with the wires on the inside of the device. He opened his tool kit, removed the hyper-solder, and connected two circuits before slapping the maintenance panel back on. "There. Done. You see?"

"Thanks," said the girl, taking the extra AEGIS she had requisitioned for Piccolo.

"And don't forget," Donatello reminded her, fishing a small black box out of his shell. "Your new Scouter."

"You really are the best," she said. "Why Engineering wouldn't take you astounds me."

"I'm a tinkerer," explained the turtle. "Not an astrophysicist. They all like inventing their own machines. I like having some groundwork to go off of."

"Not the worst philosophy," said Hermione. "But isn't it hard trying to make things work with everyone's bits and pieces?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes it really is. But other times, the pieces just all come together."

"I understand," replied Hermione, not sure that she really did. She was an analytical sort- Trans-Dimensional Analysts were expected to do some analyzing, after all- she saw things in patterns and numbers, logical progressions of enchantments and the carefully-constructed formulas of charms. She didn't feel like she could always wrap her head around the ideas that sometimes things acted in ways they ought not, or that having a neat, set order didn't always help things. But she had seen people who lived by that code do wonderful things, and she couldn't deny that it was a valid worldview. She waved goodbye to the turtle and proceeded to walk towards the mess hall's exit, until she was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the four Regulations officers she had seen before in the doorway.

"WHERE ARE YOU HEADED, TRANS-DIMENSIONAL ANALYST HERMIONE GRANGER?!" bellowed the huge young man with pierced ears and bleached-blond hair. The girl with the pink hair mouthed along his words with a mocking glare.

"To my trainer, Piccolo," answered Hermione, indignant. "I'm about to be deployed on a mission, and I need to drop off some things with him first."

"Some seriously questionable things," intoned the second-tallest boy, who had a long, green bandana tied around his forehead, under a similarly-green mess of hair. "You've got an unlicensed AEGIS, there."

The third boy unzipped his uniform, which he had done up far enough to cover his mouth, and adjusted his spectacles. "The distribution of an AEGIS system without the requisite license is a criminal offense according to the Illuminati Brotherhood Code, Article 12, section A9, subsection α."

"Caught red-handed, huh, Curly?" sneered the pink-haired girl.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Hermione. "I'm just trying to help my friend."

"We're doing our jobs," answered the green-haired boy.

"LADY SATSUKI'S COMMANDS ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ALL!" roared the largest boy. "IF NOT FOR HER IRON FIST, ALL WOULD FALL INTO CHAOS!"

"Lady Satsuki?" Hermione questioned. "Since when does she have a title like that?"

"Since always," said the girl with a poisonous smile. "She's the one in charge here and that's the way it stays. You'd be better off not to question her authority."

"Whose authority?" asked a voice from behind. Everyone was shocked to find that it was the Chief of Regulations herself, waiting along with several others in a line that had begun to form at the blocked door. She kept her sword tucked under her arm, and with one hand kept a saucer level while the other brought a small teacup to her mouth.

"Your authority, Lady Satsuki," said the smallest boy, unzipping his uniform yet again.

Satsuki raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"THAT'S RIGHT," shouted the largest boy.

"So my authority is what is blocking this door, reducing productivity?"

The Regulations officers looked out at the line that had developed and quickly stepped aside, allowing a strand of apparently-irate Reis to pass by. Hermione remained standing, surprised to find the authority the officers spoke of turned against them. Satsuki walked forward, coming to a stop at Hermione' side. She took another sip of her tea and shot the witch a sideways glance.

"Take your items, Trans-Dimensional Analyst Granger. I trust that you are not putting them to ill use. But believe me when I say that the law is not finished with you."

Hermione nodded sheepishly and scurried down the corridor.

"As for you four," said Satsuki, turning to her officers. "Do you know what you did wrong?"

"We obstructed a vital thoroughfare," answered the green-haired boy.

"We impeded productive conduct," offered the boy with the glasses and zipped-up uniform.

"WE FAILED TO UPHOLD THE IRONCLAD TENETS OF THE REGULATIONS DEPARTMENT," screamed the large boy.

"We lacked professionalism," sighed the venomous girl.

"None of those things," replied Chief of Regulations Satsuki Kiryuin. "You failed to notice that she was also smuggling out a treacle tart."