Cree Side

Original idea by XgenSlicer, aka The Cheese

Chapter 1: The Random Nobodies

It happened several weeks ago. Captain Luther had summoned the core members of the guild PointBlank for unknown reasons. They didn't tell us anything at all. The guild had many questions, but they never got to be asked, for they, the six men, never returned. Without the presence of our "charismatic" guild leader, CreeCree, the guild is in mass confusion and chaos. Anarchy spreads, riots breaking out, looters taking advantage, squatters trying to break into the guild storeroom. But fear not, I, MacroniDude, the most trusted, intelligent, and reliable member of PointBlank, shall take this matter into my own hands.

"Hey you! Stop trying to open the lock! You'll never be able to do so anyways." I point at the guildie inspecting the lock of our guild storeroom. He shrugs and continues to study the cheap combination lock. Shaking my head, I look around the large but empty so called "banquet hall" of this guild. Several men are sitting at the tables, dozing off, staring at nothing, and playing cards. Someone burps loudly at the "minibar", which is really only a few stools and a dirty table piled with various drinkable water. This is equivalent to chaos here.

"I wonder what happened to Cree. Where did he and the other guild officers went?" Tamakorosu, a somewhat timid Soul Bender, makes a confused face.

"Who knows." Somebody replies loudly across the hall. Sighing, I plop myself at an empty table, laying my upper half on top of it. Why did Captain Luther pick us, a tiny guild composed of maybe two dozen nobodies? This place is so boring. Sitting up and cracking my spine, I sigh again. Maybe I should have stayed in Empyrean. Visiting here was a mistake. Kento's probably having the time of his life with that princess brat.

My train of thought moves on. Princess...I survey the room once again. Not. A. Single. Female. Entity. This place is a huge sausage-fest. Cree said there are more girls here now during the time I was gone but he seemed to lie again. I heard there is someone named SteeStee, presumably Cree's relative, but she is practically nonexistent because we had never even seen her. My third sigh of the day slowly transitioned into a yawn, squeezing out streams of tears.

Suddenly someone kicks down the door. Everybody stops what they are doing and gets ready for a fight.

"Whoaa, calm down you younglings, I'm not looking for a fight. Hell, even if I am I don't think I am allowed to trash your guild, haha!" It was Captain Luther, the captain of the flying ship Saint Horn.

"What are you doing here Captain Crunch? Where is Cree and the others?" FlameOnFeet, a Striker, asks the one thing on everybody's mind.

"Ah, about that, I'm here to discuss this...dilemma we are having here." He finds a seat in the middle of the room. "Is this everybody in the guild? I'll get to the point immediately: three weeks ago we discovered a new area in the Interdimensional Portal. Although it's similar to Ozma's Dark Side, it radiates a different kind of energy from the rest of the Otherverse Dungeons. Natalia dubbed it the first dungeon of OV4. Obviously I can't just send the lives of innocent men in, so I remembered your guild leader, CreeCree, was a capable man, and I decided to send him along with a few of his companions in there. As you may already figured out, they never returned."

"So," I speak up, "you want us to go in and bring them back?"

"Well, that's about the gist of it. Natalia couldn't keep this a secret and leaked to the Dungeon Fighters of the existence of a new OV4 dungeon. Everybody's growing restless and wants to go in. That cannot do. You must bring them back if they're alive and confirm whether it is safe or not for the exploration of this new area. I fear this one may be different than the others." The horned man opens up a gourd and begin to drink from it.

"I hate to admit it, but the people you sent in are some of our strongest in the guild. What good can we do?" One of the three Monks in the guild, DaJoekrMang, brings up a good point. We don't know what's in there. Even with the invulnerable party of Cree, Feet, Cheese, Teru, Joker, and Gramps they did not return, presumably dead.

"He's right. Why can't you summon the big boys from the elite guilds, such as Communism, Calamity, or Kinetic? Big shots like RunningWild and Reyak will probably be happy to oblige as well." Spitfire MayorOfKenya so says.

We all expect a reasonable answer, yes, but deep down inside our hearts we knew it's our duty to finish the job our guild master had left unfinished.

"It's fine." I've made my choice, I'll have to be truthful to my-our feelings. "Cree probably doesn't trust those guys anyways. We'll have to go." I look around the room, measuring the power levels of the guildies. There are quite a few strong ones here. BeyondEdgy, a legit Weapon Master who can use any weapon to it's full potential. Tamakorosu, while he may not look at it, is quite skilled as a Soul Bender. FlameOnFeet can do that flying kick which apparently gave Cree a stomachache for three days. There are a few others but of course I'm probably better, although I wouldn't volunteer to go because I don't want to die.

"That's some determination there, lad. Glad I chose you to lead the squad."

Damn it.

"Why me?"

"One, because Cree told me to go to you if anything's happened to them, and two, you Mechanics can use that little flying robot to record right? Film everything inside of that place and come back alive."

True, I can tweak Mr. Miller into a flying camera. I don't know about other Mechanics that can do that though. And that damn Cree, just because I have a little history here doesn't mean I can take the responsibilities.

"Fine, whatever, I'll go. At least it's better than slouching around here. So who are the rest of this 'squad'? Do I have to pick my own teammates among the remaining guild members?" I already picked out the best guys for the job. I'll leave them and my robots to fight while I just loiter in the back. Wonder if Ghent's Wi-Fi reaches in there.

"Well, I already found two very capable volunteers for the job, if ya don't mind. How long are you two gonna stand there?" Captain Luther turns his head at the door. After a brief moment of silence two guys flips themselves to the wall. No, a guy and a girl. Interesting.

"This," Captain Luther points at the tall man in white robes, "is John. He is a priest and attends regularly to the same church BufYoWeakAss went to."

"I'm no Paladin, but I can provide healing and some buffs. I seek to bring Archbishop Buf back. Allow me to join your quest, for he is my greatest friend." John kneels to me. Ho. So we have a 'Sader.

"And you are?" I question the short girl. Donning in a frilly dress with bright colors and with silky white hair, I assume she is a Mage. Ho, what a development.

She ignores me as she glares at my chopperbot.

"Wait, you're..." FlameOnFeet inspects the girl at a considerable distance. "Are you Stee? I haven't seen you since the Great-freaking-'Stasis happened." Stee? As in SteeStee, the one who Cree speaks of vaguely? "Don't mind her, she has a bitter taste for Mechanics. Probably traumatized from the influence of Kento." Kento? Ohhh, I can see. Judging from her height and body size, she is definitely a valid target.

"SteeStee is a Witch. She is from the guild SweetShop and claims to be your guild leader's relative. Seeing from your reactions, I guess she's right." Captain Luther finishes his drink and walks out the door. "Well, you have some hours. Work it out amongst yourselves first, then find me at my ship. Ludmilla will greet you there, as usual."

We were left with an awkward and somewhat tense atmosphere as a parting gift.