Disclaimer: Kugane Maruyama is the true writer of the Overlord light novels that the anime is based off of, I'm just indulging my writing and imaginative skills.

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Overlord: The Supreme Being Duo

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Chapter One: A Loyal Friend

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With the DMMO-RPG YGGDRASIL's shutdown about to occur in the following hour and a half, Suzuki Satoru, in his gaming avatar of Momonga, Guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, decided to spend his final hours of playtime until the game would force him to log out at his guild base, hoping beyond hope that the other active members of his guild would join him for one last goodbye. YGGDRASIL's twelve years of runtime was daunting for some, joyous for others, and bittersweet for all, and with the vast majority of his online friends either quitting outright, or focusing too much on the trials of real life in the twenty-second century to pop up more often, Momonga had to do what he could to balance his stressful work life and the amount of time he invested in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. For some time, his virtual mind in the form of an Undead Overlord Magic Caster sat at the round table on the Dungeon's ninth floor waiting for someone to appear and tell him he wasn't alone until finally another Player in the form of an Elder Black Ooze appeared. While they hadn't met in real life, Momonga always felt he could rely on his guild member, Herohero, and was more than pleased that he came to visit one last time, if nothing else.

For a short while, they talked about minor things such as Herohero's long absence to his overworking with Momonga being sympathetic at the very least.

"I'm sorry." Herhero said guiltily before he could on a long rant. "I should know better than to come here just to complain."

"Please, Herohero, it's all good, man." Momonga replied, however, showing an easing emoticon, hoping that he would stay a bit longer. He knew it was wrong of him to demand so much out of Herohero after many years of online friendship, but having no real family and friends to support him outside of DMMO-RPGs like YGGDRASIL made Momonga more than desperate for companionship.

"I'm beyond exhausted, Momonga, so I'd better go soon." Herohero said after a moment and activated his console.

Momonga's virtual heart nearly broke into pieces, unfortunately, when he saw Herohero seemingly prepared to leave Nazarick and him behind forever. Afraid, Momonga forced himself to call out. "Herohero!" The other Non-Human Player stopped what he was doing, hearing the panic in Momonga's voice. The Overlord Player sighed in dismay more at himself than at Herohero before following up with. "I know that I can't force you to stay until the end, but can you please be here until midnight? If you're dealing with something important at that stressful job of yours, I'll understand, but I don't want to be alone. I'm sorry for being stupid and thinking more about myself, but the last couple of years without you and the others have sucked bar none."

For what felt like a moment between life and death, Momonga stared at Herohero pleadingly through his unexpressive avatar before Herohero sighed and turned off his console. Turning back to Momonga, Herohero voiced his thoughts a bit more positively than the former thought he would. "You're right, old buddy. Want to check out the throne room one last time? Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown in hand? It's probably the only thing we can do right now before the era ends."

Although it was all virtual, Momonga couldn't restrain sniffling through his avatar before nodding in gratitude. "Thank you, Herohero, for everything."

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Walking in-game from the conference room to the throne room on the next floor, Momonga and Herohero decided to let seven Non-Playable Characters accompany them through their own commands. The NPCs in question were the Head Butler, Sebas Tian, and the six ever-available Pleiades combat maids, including Herohero's own creation that he was happy to see, Solution Epsilon. Upon their arrival, Sebas and the Pleiades were ordered to stand back from the titular throne where Momonga took his seat with Herohero standing by his left. While it was all just a virtual game, Momonga felt that one could argue more than one seat would've been nice for his fellow guild members, but Herohero didn't complain.

"Our old friend, Tabula, put in a lot of effort into making Albedo, huh?" The Ooze commented with his attention on the Succubus NPC that stood near Momonga's throne with an ever-present smile.

Momonga nodded. "He sure did. Do you mind if I look over her settings? I don't mean to disrespect our resident settings maniac, but I'm curious what she was given, if you know what I mean."

"Uh, sure."

Looking over Albedo's settings, the two guild members were stunned at the lengthy backstory Tabula Smaragdina had given his own creation before their gaze settled on the last sentence that resulted in a deadpan expression from them both.

"She's a bitch?" The two groaned in unison.

Quickly thinking it over, Herohero decided that description had to go. "I liked Tabula and all that, Momonga, but I vote that instead of making her sound like a temperamental creature at best or a predator at worst, we just change her into a "romanticist looking for her own love interest" and leave it at that."

Momonga nodded without hesitation. "That actually sounds good." He then went to work editing Albedo's setting with the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown before saying the new stuff out loud. "On the inside, she values love and searches for her own love interest."

The two friends couldn't restrain a laugh at how dorky it sounded. With Momonga then ordering the NPCs available to bow down to him, he and Herohero then spent time looking over the banners used by themselves and their old friends from their heyday before they looked at the countdown and saw that time was running out.

"Well, it was a blast, Herohero." Momonga said at last, accepting that he'll more than likely won't be seeing him again.

"It sure was fun, Momonga." Herohero replied in earnest. "I hope we'll see each other again in another YGGDRASIL, or maybe in real life. You never know."

Not exactly optimistic, Momonga forced himself to agree. "Yeah." He then added for good humor. "I hope we won't end up as real zombies at worktime."

Herohero chuckled just as the last seconds reached their end. "Yeah."

However, when the countdown ended and Momonga expected he'd be back in his real world home, he saw that he was still in the Great Tomb as his Undead avatar and heard a great splash on the ground near him. Turning his head, he felt his skeletal and formerly non-expressive jaw slacken to see Herohero as a literal puddle. "Herohero?" He forced himself to say in a deep voice that wasn't really his. He had no idea what was going on.

"Lord Herohero!" A woman's voice shouted in panic.

His thoughts broken, Momonga turned his head to see Solution moving on her own accord to Herohero with a fearful expression. The sight of an NPC doing such things dumbfounded him even worse.

"Lord Momonga, what is wrong with Lord Herohero?!" Another female voice cried out in dismay, which Momonga soon saw with his own eyes came from Albedo with Sebas and the other Pleiades no less concerned as their facial expressions indicated.

For a moment, Momonga felt like he was going to exclaim in shock and near horror at the sight of both being stuck in an increasingly real virtual world and surrounded by self-aware NPCS, but then felt a kind of unknown force restrict his emotions to the point he was able to force himself to take hold of the situation. "Everyone, calm down!" He ordered with as much authority as he could muster. "We mustn't panic." He then said calmer to both himself and the NPCs before turning to the blonde-haired maid that was trying to desperately aid her creator. "Solution, as a fellow Slime, I trust that you know how to assist Herohero in literally pulling himself together."

Solution nodded. "I believe so, my Lord. I will do everything I can." Turning back to Herohero, she called out. "My Lord and creator, please hear me and focus on the sound of my voice. I don't how you lost your concentration, but I can help, if you'll let me."

The closest thing she got for a response were bubbles blowing and popping from Herohero's Ooze body.

Fortunately, Solution was undeterred. "Let's start by moving your body all together, Lord. You need not try to be individual about it, just move everything at once." Seeing Herohero's puddle form move as one mass as slowly as he was able to, she then said. "You're doing well, my Lord. Now input more control and then you'll be able to position yourself upright."

After a long moment, Momonga saw that Herohero was regaining a semblance to his previous form. Now upright, the Elder Black Ooze's surface was then dotted with two pits forming on it and turning around to gaze over the room. To make sure that Herohero could see, he asked. "Herohero, how are your senses?"

The Ooze nodded in affirmation and spoke in a voice that sounded as deep as Momonga's was. "I'm fine, people. I guess some great disturbance must've drawn my attention or something. Thank you all for your help and concern."

Solution and the other NPCs obediently bowed. "We shall always serve the Supreme Beings who blessed us with existence." She said with what sounded like genuine fervor.

Momonga forced himself to somehow clear his throat in order to get his bearings. "Either way, it would be in our best interest to investigate what's going on. Sebas, you will venture outside Nazarick and confirm our surroundings, the Pleiades shall be prepared for any attackers that come to the ninth floor, and Albedo is to inform that the Floor Guardians, aside from the fourth, sixth, and eighth floors, are to assemble in the sixth floor's amphitheater in one hour. Herohero and I will venture there shortly."

"Lords!" The NPCs exclaimed in understanding of their orders before leaving the throne room to carry them out, leaving Momonga and Herohero to figure out what was going on.

"This doesn't look good, doesn't it?" The latter eventually forced himself to ask the former.

"Most likely not." Momonga replied without hesitation.

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Having teleported to the amphitheater on their own using their Rings of Ainz Ooal Gown, the two Players took their time observing the arena and interacting with the two Dark Elf Floor Guardians who looked it over Aura Bella Fiora and her effeminate brother Mare Bello Fiore with Momonga himself summoning a Primal Fire Elemental to both test if he could use magic and to see how well the Dark Elves fight.

"Remind me again why Bukubukuchagama made Mare like that." Herohero couldn't help commenting as they saw the two fight the Elemental.

Momonga couldn't restrain a sigh. "Something about a complicated relationship between her and Peroroncino. Remembering their arguments, it almost makes me glad that I don't have any siblings of my own to deal with." He then remembered who he was talking to and tried to be more sympathetic. "Sorry, I shouldn't be underlaying whatever you're going through."

Herohero shook his head. "It's fine. Like you, I didn't have much back outside YGGDRASIL either, so I'm actually glad we're stuck here. Just wish I knew what we should do."

"Agreed." Momonga replied before deciding to use the Message spell to call someone. As Herohero observed him closely, he ended it shortly after before turning to his friend. "It worked with Sebas. He'll have something to report here shortly."

With Aura and Mare's fight with the Elemental concluded, Momonga decided to give them glasses of water for their hard-fought excellence before another Guardian arrived almost instantly through a Gate.

"Well, how about that?" The youthful looking Vampire who guarded the first through third floors, Shalltear Bloodfallen, remarked. "It seems I arrived first."

After observing the rather odd way Shalltear gushed over Momonga followed by a nostalgic confrontation between her and Aura, a large warrior in the form of a giant insect arrived to help put an end to the childish conflict. He was Cocytus from the fifth floor. Albedo, accompanied by the Demon in charge leading NPC defenses and guarding the seventh floor, Demiurge, followed soon after. With all requested Guardians in one place, they then followed Albedo's lead in pledging their loyalty to Momonga and Herohero.

"Supreme Ones, we await your orders." Albedo declared from where she and the others bowed. "You need but to say the words and it shall be done."

One thing was for certain, both Momonga and Herohero's lives had changed remarkably different. However, only time would tell if it would go well.

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To Be Continued

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Behind the Scenes

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I kind of planned on exploring such a route once I knew who exactly the other two remaining Ainz Ooal Gown members were other than Momonga and Herohero, but I guess my imagination got the better of me. I also had plans for an NPC-centric story, like the FFN story Masterless, but on a potentially more optimistic note. However, while I can imagine a few setting changes can go a long way, it's not like I've seen a similar story being both continuous and well-managed, so I had cold feet by the time I took this idea seriously. Nonetheless, I think I can do another chapter shortly.

Nonetheless, I'm not entirely certain how long I'll make this story, short or long length. The anime studio is going to release a third season this July last I checked, so depending on how frequent I update and how long until the following volumes are adapted, I'll might conclude this as a short story upon the Season Three finale, or keep it ongoing. Also, while I'm open to romances in a setting that allows them, or can be adapted to allow them, I wouldn't mind getting some pointers for single heterosexual pairings for both of the Supreme Beings. I'm open to gradually developing Momonga/Albedo and Herohero/Solution by default, but I wouldn't mind some guidance as it were.

Thanks for reading.