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I was going to comment on the "my hero" and such from Lilly at the end there as being somewhat out of character, but given that Lilly had disappeared afterwards I'm given to thinking that this Lilly is not the real Lilly. I did like how Resolve, despite being nothing more than a sword, is written as if it were a character in an of itself, with a personality and "mannerisms" and all that. Well done in that respect.

Chapter Nine – Through the Door

A soft clapping caught Hanako's attention. She turned to see the familiar backdrop of the Silk Room, the Inkweaver grinning lightly, Kasuga's head bobbing appreciatively.

“Congratulations, girl. Your first real test, and you not only passed, you exceeded expectations. A very good job, Miss Ikezawa. If you'll give me Resolve, I'll-”

“What did you do with Lilly?” Asked Hanako. She honestly couldn't care less about anything right now besides finding her friend.

Inkweaver's smile faltered slightly. “She's perfectly alright at the moment-”

“At the moment.” Repeated Hanako.

“-and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. And believe me, I can foresee quite a bit.” He held out his hand. “The blade please.”

Hanako handed him Resolve and Inkweaver began the ceremony.

“The Demon of Solitude was vanquished, and with her your fear of being alone. In response to the absence of this fear, your resolve is strengthened. In the absence of this fear, you steel yourself to support yourself. You break free of the chains of childhood and grow mature, and with your new strength find yourself. O Resolve, Blade of the Hare, temper yourself in the newborn Independence, and be reborn stronger.

“Solitude into Independence! Harden, O Resolve!”

The sword settled, the blade extending far beyond the hilt now. Hanako would have bet it would have been about half the blade's full length, judging from the slight slant of the blade's soft taper.

It was also quite clear now that this was a bastard sword now, designed to be weilded indiscriminately between two hands and one. The hilt was long enough, and as Hanako looked at it she noted to her surprise that it changed too, in a far more subtle manner. More ornate than when she first looked at it, the flat sides of ruby smaller, and shallow etchings were becoming more clear in the crystal.

She again hefted her Resolve.

“Now, a gift.” Hanako blinked.

“A-a gift?”

“Indeed.” Said Inkweaver. “Osaka has convinced me it's unwise to... recruit you... without letting you know what exactly it is you're signing up for.”

That was always a pleasant thing to hear, remarked the more sarcastic dark side of Hanako's brain.

As if reading her mind, Kasuga spoke up. “Don't worry. Ah think you'll enjoy it. Ah wasn't particularly suited to fightin' either, 'cuz Ah came from a slice-a-life. But I like it here.” Her eyes go unfocused, as if remembering. They didn't seem to be good memories, if the tears swirling in those brown irises were to be believed.

“So, Hanako, are you prepared to step through the door?”

“The door?” Hanako involuntarily glanced at the onld door on the other side of the train car.

Wordlessly, the Inkweaver answered by standing up and opening the door. As if guided by invisible hands, Hanako stepped through.

The door opened into a short hall, which in turned opened into a enormous dome. Everything was carved seamlessly of beige stone, great braziers held warm fires for light, extending for stories upwards, past balconies upon balconies. Gigantic pillars hoisted a ceiling painted with great frescos to put Michalangelo to shame. Soft pastel colors decorated every blank wall with beautiful paintings.

The people who populated the place were more diverse than Hanako's sheltered life had ever even imagined. Men and women of all colors, races, creeds, and backgrounds dined and chatted on stone tables, leaning against walls, or just walking through the press of the crowd. But beyond that, elves, dwarves, aliens, all were represented here.

Something large and blue, with cloven hooves and a scorpions tail, yet a mans head, somehow chatted with a otherwise normal girl in a yellow T-shirt advertising someplace called “The Lemon” who never seemed to open her eyes.

Hanako was led through this crowd to a large stairway, and up. Signs above doors indicated that they were moving, though to where Hanako didn't know, as the alphabet she knew didn't follow such an order. As G Bay gave way to C bay, which came before L Bay and F Bay, each populated by a increasingly erratic population, Hanako felt her head start to spin as if on a rollercoaster.

Finally, the top floor was reached. The sign above this door merely read, HQ, and beyond it lied the oddest thing Hanako had seen all day.

Another dome, this one smaller, and the walls made of glass. Beyond lay a great field of alien stars, swirling as though put on fast forward by some cosmic remote. And in the center was a round table, capped by a statue.

A statue of Inkweaver.

“Welcome to our home. The Ink Palace. My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look upon my works, ye mighty, and rejoice.”

Karnewarrior wrote:
Something large and blue, with cloven hooves and a scorpions tail, yet a mans head,

When I read this the only thing I could think of was an Andalite from Animorphs. Keep in mind I never played Persona and it may be something from there, but I imagined an Andilite.

AntonSlavik020 wrote:

Karnewarrior wrote:
Something large and blue, with cloven hooves and a scorpions tail, yet a mans head,

When I read this the only thing I could think of was an Andalite from Animorphs. Keep in mind I never played Persona and it may be something from there, but I imagined an Andilite.

And a light? Where?!

Actually it is an Andilite. One who is completely irrelevant to the story at hand, save to mention he is there, and fail to mention that it is odd that he is in G-Bay when he should be in L-Bay. Perhaps he had to discuss things with Zelda, or Varric. Perhaps he simply wanted to get away from L-Bay, which can be periodically chaotic when Fizban includes Cadel in one of his wacky schemes. (Tvtropes links, beware!)

That said, this is all backdrop. Hanako should be headed back out the Door for good in the next chapter, only to return at the last of this story. The only time you would see the actual Crossover part of the Crossover would be if the story switches to temporarily follow Ozymandias or Osaka

Karnewarrior wrote:Words

This is an amazing amount of, by your own admission, irrelevant detail.

Irrelevancies should stay irrelevant.

As G Bay gave way to C bay, which came before L Bay and F Bay, each populated by a increasingly erratic population, Hanako felt her head start to spin as if on a rollercoaster.

I only know E-Bay...