Caged In

"Why am I the one riding in a cage?" the swan grumbled as the self-proclaimed witch started the engine. The bird turned his head as much as the bars would allow to find his brother and the dark-haired girl in the vehicle with him in the backseats, Hazuki feeling the leather with a nostalgic (yet somewhat creepy) look on his face.

"You're the only bird here, bird brain," the woman shot back as the swan yelped due to a sudden invasion of space.

The Step Up girl had filled up all of the available room in the car with her golden panels, but once she'd rejected enough for her purposes, she tapped the windowsill to gather her driving companions' attention.

Shifting said panels around allowed the reader to know the Professor they'd been pursuing was from Itsuki's universe. He was at first a scientist who had opened a portal into another world - the world of magicians and anchors - using a machine of his own design, but he'd been caught up in one of La Luna's snowdrifts and gained the power of super speed, bringing his son Shousuke along with him as his anchor. Natalia and Paula, also from the other dimension, had been under his employ as bodyguards briefly, prior to their passing through the portal.

La Luna was based in the mountains, although whether the portal and the entity's base were close together was anyone's guess.

As Toshifumi nodded off, Hazuki absentmindedly stroked the bird's head feathers while staring out the window. What strange intentions did this professor have, and how would anyone defeat a man like him?
----
"We're here," the blonde told them, slowing the car to a halt on a grassy patch close to the base of the closest mountain.

However, no one had answered back - they were all asleep.

Meghan stepped out the door as quietly as she could, her black sandals camouflaging into the night as they crunched against grass. Then, after checking the surroundings for anyone watching her, she strode towards the mountain, fists clenched.