The next morning began very much like any other day. But today, something was different: there was the smell of adventure in the air. A new tale was about to begin with new heroes ready to embark on an epic quest.

Little did they know that one obstacle had already made his way to Indiana. He stood atop a truck, gazing at the landscape: the nice, peaceful suburban area, and he reviled the "peaceful" part with every fiber of his being.

He didn't worry, though. Should his plan go through, he would get his constant war and bring about endless disorder.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

Lunatic stepped out of his room, in full costume and ready for adventure. He was wearing a black, hooded cloak reminiscent of Organization XIII and a blonde wig. If he were to inform how he managed to tame the red spikes already adorned on his head in order to ensure that the wig would fit, we'd be here an astonishingly long time.

He trekked downstairs, humming something fitting for a dawning adventure. As he turned the corner to his living room, he summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion and admired them in his hands.

"Now, THIS is a warrior's costume…" he said to himself.

"Not as good as THIS, though!"

With a scream, Lunatic jumped back as a figure emerged from his dining room. Mentioned figure was wearing a bodysuit adorned in the traditional red-white-and-blue of America. His gloves and boots were crimson and he carried a circular, two-foot-wide shield on his back. Even with a mask covering most of his face, Lunatic could still make out the iconic mustache of a former green beret…that AND the guy still had his beret on.

"Dang it, Strait, don't scare me like that!" Lunatic said, peevishly.

"I think you're mistaken." Strait said, then straightened his posture and saluted, "I'm Captain America, American super soldier, and Spanish-American War veteran!"

"It's World War II veteran, Strait." Lunatic deadpanned.

"Oh." Strait said, slouching out of his salute.

"Yeah, so don't scare the crap out of me like that again." Lunatic said, jabbing his finger at him, "I don't need EVERY costume-clad guy in this house pulling a stunt like that!"

"I'm HERE!" came another voice as a cloaked figure emerged from behind Lunatic.

After the Insane Critic screamed in surprise again as he took in this new intruder.

This figure was clad in dark robes that were a combination of black, red, blue, and some purple. He had shoulder armor, gauntlets, and a hood and cowl combination that hid everything except his eyes. At first, Lunatic didn't recognize this strange intruder…until he saw a stripy tail.

"Xem, who are you supposed to be?" Lunatic asked.

"I'm Richard the Undead Warlock!" the hooded tiger answered.

Lunatic and Strait blinked, then both asked, "Who?"

Xem couldn't believe his ears. "From 'Looking for Group'?" Lunatic and Strait had no idea how to respond, earning a heaved sigh from the Roswellian tiger. "It's a webcomic."

"Ohhh…" they said as it sunk in.

"That explains a lot." Lunatic said, then shot it down with, "Never read webcomics; Sonichu basically scared me off them. And, by the way, KNOCK before you come in next time, Xem."

THAT statement caused the robed tiger to fold his arms and roll his eyes.

"Okay, is there anyone else here?" Lunatic said, directing his attention to the dining room.

"Yes." Came the voice of Cooly. Upon receiving a sharp shush, he countered, "Uh…No." Upon receiving another harsh shushing, he asked, "Whaddya want me to say?"

"Nothing." Came the annoyed voice of SaireNaoriva.

"Nothing!" Cooly called.

POW!

"Shut UP!" Saire growled.

"Uh…Shut up!" Cooly called.

There was the sound of a brief scuffle and Cooly was silenced.

"Well, if you're all in-costume, come on out." Lunatic ordered.

A fit of whispering among many people sounded before the voice of Sarge Ray stated, "We'd prefer it if you called us out by name and one guy at a time, too."

"WHY?" Lunatic asked, clearly getting agitated.

"Dramatic emphasis. Y'know, the roll call kinda thing?" Ray answered.

Lunatic rolled his eyes. "Fine. Steel, you're up first."

And from the kitchen emerged Tohokari-Steel. He was clad in what appeared to be kendo robes, the shirt part being orchid and the pants being white. His hair was an orange-red color: a stark contrast to his usual black hair. A sheathed katana was strapped to his waist and an X-shaped mark adorned his left cheek.

"Greetings, fellow PI members," Steel said in an oddly noble and yet soft voice, "I was formerly known as Battousai the manslayer, but changed my life to become a wandering hero or a 'rurouni'."

"What are you, some kind of pacifist swordsman?" Lunatic asked.

"I, dear brother, am Kenshin Himura from my all-time favorite manga series, Rurouni Kenshin." Steel answered, politely.

After a brief pause, Xem asked, "What would be the Old English word for 'geek'?"

"Oh, it's ON!" Steel said, drawing his reverse blade while Xem's hand began to emit a green energy.

CRACK!

Steel and Xem leapt back and looked back at the source of the recent whip-crack. Mere seconds later, everyone's eyes widened in shock.

(cue slow saxophone music)

It was Bindi the Skunk dressed in a black full-body suit and a catlike mask made of the same material. In her right hand, she held a long bullwhip and was in the process of rolling it up as she made her introduction.

"Bindi the Skunk here." She introduced, "Costume of choice: Catwoman from 'Batman Returns' and NOT that awful Halle Berry movie."

After everyone got over the initial shock, Steel said, almost unwittingly, "Huh. I suddenly see the appeal of furries." Upon getting weird looks, he quickly admitted, "YES, I regret saying that, too."

As the slow saxophone music continued, Lunatic had to ask, "And who's playing the sax?"

Everyone turned to the source to see Lt. Strait with a saxophone in his hands and was playing it like a pro. Upon seeing the looks everyone was giving him, he took the piece out of his mouth, threw the instrument over his shoulder.

"Sorry." The former green beret apologized, "I'll stop tomorrow."

"Anyway, next up is…Systema." Lunatic said after a quick thought.

A sleek, gray figure suddenly dropped from the ceiling and there stood Systema. He was wearing a bodysuit, too. This one was dark-gray with copper-colored parts around his joints: shoulders, knees, elbows, you get the gist. He was wearing a white mask with a single, glowing red sphere in its center, and he held a long, single-edged sword in his right hand.

He was dressed as Gray Fox from Metal Gear Solid.

"Ask me about the oldest form of all combat." Systema demanded.

Considering his reputation, no one dared deny him.

"Okay, what IS the oldest form?" Xem asked.

"Hand-to-hand is the basis of ALL combat." Systema answered, coldly.

"Great! A Russian playing an American. It'll confuse the enemy!" Lunatic said, almost indifferent of the former Spetsnaz's reputation.

Systema heaved a sigh. "One…two…" he growled to himself.

"Okay, who else is there? Um…Doopliss!" Lunatic called.

There came a deep roar of battle and everyone jumped in surprise to meet Doopliss. He was wearing black armor and orange gems on places like his shoulders and chest, and appeared to have dyed his "sheet" dark green near his head and a mix of brown and black on the rest. He also had what appeared to be orange hair attached around his head, and his bowtie and party hat were also absent.

"Doopliss?" Steel asked.

"YES!" Doopliss said in a deep, booming voice, "Look upon my costume and WEEP, fools! For I am the King of Evil, GANONDORF!" He even finished with an evil laugh and a lightning strike.

Every Planet Insania member in the room at the time burst out laughing.

"HEY!" Doopliss shouted, reverting to his regular voice, "Shut up! It took me FOREVER to prepare a costume with THIS caliber of evil! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"I dunno, Ganon-dork, maybe you didn't try hard enough!" Steel teased.

"Look! It's the King of Evil Bed Sheets!" Lunatic added on.

With a growl, Doopliss raised a hand and in a flash of light, Lunatic was gone and a lone pig stood in his place.

"Will THAT make you stop?" Doopliss asked, folding his arms.

Everyone nodded. A split-second later, Xem raised a hand and, in another flash of light, the pig was gone and Lunatic was back, costume and all.

"Where did I go just now?" Lunatic asked.

There suddenly came a repeating "clickety-clock" noise from down the hall, sort of like a horse galloping. As every member looked towards the source, turning their heads in curiosity, the source revealed itself.

Wildrook, dressed in a chainmail hauberk, a crown, and white-and-goldenrod knight robes worthy for a king, came into the room, all the while pretending he was riding some invisible horse. The source of the "galloping" noise became apparent when his sidekick Wandrex, now dressed in shabbier clothes and carrying a giant pack on his back, was knocking two coconuts together.

Rook held up his hand, all while saying "whoa". He pretended to dismount a horse, then came and introduced himself.

"Greetings, everyone." Rook introduced, "I am Arthur, King of the Britons, from 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. And joining me is my horse, Patsy."

Wandrex waved and said a simple, "Hey, guys."

"Does that count?" Strait asked.

"I de-limbed the Black Knight, didn't I?" Rook asked.

"He's got me beat there." Strait admitted.

"You're treating Wandrex like he's your steed?" Bindi asked, "Isn't that kinda…inhumane?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Rook said, "Patsy is my loyal steed. Is that right?"

"Uh…" Lunatic said, eyes darting back and forth.

Rook unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Lunatic like an accusing finger. "SAY he's a horse or else prepare to die!"

Lunatic's eyes darted to Wandrex, who was smiling an obviously-fake smile and mouthed "do it", then decided to take his advice. "Okay. He's a horse."

"Good." Rook said, sheathing his sword, "Now, back to business."

"Okay, now where's Saire?" Lunatic asked.

"Right here." Came a not-so-female voice.

Everyone turned and their eyes widened. Saire was wearing ninja garbs with blue on the chest armor and mask that hid all but her eyes. A bandana was fastened on her head, but one could make out a bit of blue hair near the front.

"I'm Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat." Saire said, her voice oddly deep and masculine.

"How do you do that with your voice?" Steel asked, inquisitively.

Saire took off the mask, then said, in her normal voice, "It's all in the mask. I thought everyone knew that."

After receiving sounds of "Oh, I get it" and anything along those lines, Saire put the mask back on.

A split-second later, Dimentio came into the fray. He had spray-painted his hair white and had a robotic visor covering his eyes. He wore a tan, expensive-looking vest, a bluish-green shirt, white tie, and black dress pants and shoes. He was Prosecutor Godot of the Ace Attorney series.

"Blacker than a moonless night, hotter and more bitter than hell itself…that is coffee." Dimentio said, holding up a mug.

"Oh, COME ON!" came the voice of Abe as mentioned person stormed in.

Abe was wearing a typical Japanese high-school boy uniform complete with a tie. He had a wig of long, black hair, fake elf-ears, a katana in his hand, goat-like tail attachment, and a pair of blue flames on his head. He was Blue Exorcist's Rin Okumura

"Lunatic said Ultimate Warrior, not Ultimate LAWYER." Abe pointed out.

Warrior-Rook looked ready to barge in when Steel gripped his reverse blade. "Bug off." He ordered, earning a disheartened look from the Warrior, who simply trudged away.

"Well, excuse me for not being in the room and not being able to hear him that well!" Dimentio said, crossly.

"That's what happens when you try to please EVERYONE." Abe shot back.

"Oh YEAH?" Dimentio asked.

"Yeah." Abe answered.

"Yeah?"

"YEAH."

"SILENCE!" Saire roared in her Sub-Zero voice, causing both to cower in fear.

"Yeah, shut up!" Lunatic barked, "You both look equally stupid. And…Abe, is your hair on fire?"

Abe looked up, then screamed as he realized that his wig was on fire. He then began to run around in circles trying to put it out.

Every member of Planet Insania looked on with flat looks, all the while thinking the exact same thing. And that thing was "why doesn't he just take off the wig?"

Abe continued on with this until Systema seized him by the collar, dragged the still-panicking cosplayer over to the kitchen sink, turned on the water, and doused the flames.

"Thanks…I think." Abe said as he returned to the group.

"Okay, don't think any of us saw that coming in our horoscope, so where's Sarge Ray?" Lunatic asked.

There came a familiar sounding tune as Sarge Ray was about to enter the room, but Lunatic couldn't quite put his finger on it. He looked at everyone else and asked, "Any one of you playing music?"

Upon receiving a bunch of "no's" from everyone, they turned to see Ray standing in the room.

Ray was wearing a black, sleeveless shirt, combat boots, and baggy, navy-blue pants and boots. A thick, leather belt and suspenders led to a piece of shoulder armor with screw-like projections. On his left hand was a gauntlet with similar projections. Ray still had his buzz-cut and black military beret, though…

And on his back was, probably, the biggest sword that Lunatic had ever seen.

"My name is Cloud Strife," Ray said with a pretty passable imitation of Steve Burton's performance, "SOLDIER 1st Class."

"Yeah, until you realize that the memories you thought were true were actually someone else's." Lunatic shot down.

Ray's eyebrows scrunched as he grumbled, "Killjoy."

(By the by, the tune playing was "Opening" from Advent Children)

"By the way, nice prop you got there." Steel said, impressed.

Ray looked behind him, then asked, "What prop?"

Everyone's eyes widened, but only Lunatic could speak. "That sword is REAL?"

"Yeah." Ray said, taking the sword off his back and pointing it forward, "Got a problem with that?"

Lunatic suddenly noticed something in Ray's arm…a slight shake to it. "Is it heavy?" he asked.

"Very." Ray said, then put the sword back on his back and proceeded to massage his now-sore biceps.

"Impressive. How about Kitten?" Lunatic asked.

And Kitten herself emerged wearing a pale-green dress, and a white cap and apron that might have belonged to an eighteenth-century maid. She also carried a push broom.

"Hello there." She greeted in a false-Italian accent, "You wouldn't happen to be serving pasta, would you?"

"CHIBITALIA from Axis Powers?" Lunatic asked in disbelief, "He BARELY qualifies as a warrior when he's an adult!"

"Hey, I've had this costume for a while," Kitten said, grabbing Lunatic by the collar and pulling him to meet her eyes, "And I paid good money for it, so I intend to use it. GOT IT?"

"Yes." Lunatic squeaked.

"Good." Kitten said, spontaneously returning to her cheery demeanor.

"DUUUUDE!" came the voice of Cooly, "Check out MY duds, man!"

Everyone turned to meet Cooly…

Mentioned hedgehog had a red, bullet-torn duster, black clothes underneath, and had starched his spiky hair into a different fashion. Holstered on his waist was a sleek, silver revolver. He still kept his sunglasses, though.

"Vash the Stampede is AWESOME, man! He has the most hardcore hairdo EVER!" Cooly said, excitedly, "The only way it could be more extreme would be if he IMPALED PEOPLE ON IT!"

Lunatic stared, flatly, then said, "Show of hands; who's not surprised?"

Everyone in the room raised their hands. Heck, even a few hands showed up from the dining room.

Cooly's positive demeanor slowly faded away and he asked, "Am I really THAT predictable?"

"You are, Cooly. You are." Lunatic said, gesturing the hedgehog over, "Okay, E350, how 'bout you?"

"First, ask me if I'm excited about this thing." E350 called from the dining room.

"O-kay, are you excited about this?" Lunatic asked, uneasily.

E350 stepped out in a typical military officer's uniform (green clothes, silver medals, the like) and answered, "I'm as excited as a terribly excited person who has a really good reason for being terribly excited."

The entire Insania crew was so quiet that crickets could be heard.

"I'm George." E350 explained.

Crickets again.

"From Blackadder?" E350 continued.

Even the crickets were silent this time.

E350 sighed. "It's a BBC TV show." Upon receiving a few understanding sounds from the crowd, he added, "Yeah, watch more British TV OTHER than Doctor Who."

From the dining room emerged a pitch-dark figure with a white streaks near his eyes and down his chest. His eyes were a bright green and he wore crimson gauntlets and boots as well as a matching cape. The one off-putting thing about it was the brown hair atop his head.

"Hey, guys, check me out." The figure said, "I'm Spawn!"

Silence.

"From Image comics?" the figure said.

Still silence.

The figure sighed. "It's me; Shadow-DJ."

"Ohhh…" Lunatic said, "So, tell me, how did you trap God on Earth?"

"Shut up." DJ growled.

"Funny how those two words are thrown around, isn't it?" Ray asked.

"How 'bout MY costume?" Came a voice.

Every person turned and their faces swiftly shifted to total shock. There stood Angelic Soldier, wearing a Trojan helmet, greaves and sandals, arm guards, a spear in one hand and a broad, bronze shield in the other. He wore no shirt, showing the body of a brazen warrior god like Zeus or Ares.

"Oh, Angelic Soldier, you're," Lunatic began, but Angelic Soldier cut him off.

"I'm Leonidas."

Lunatic found it odd that Angelic Soldier had said it so calmly and casually. One would think that, since this was Leonidas he was dressing up as, Angelic Soldier would be snarky, over-the-top, and shouting through his teeth.

"Good for you, then." Lunatic said with cheer, "Now, we have one more member and that's NobodieZ."

"Right here."

And there was the guy himself. He was wearing a green jacket with a black shirt underneath, blue jeans, and sneakers. On his right hand was a wristwatch of sorts with bright green patterns.

"I'm Ben Tennyson!" he said, striking a pose.

Everyone took it in until Ray popped a question. "Yeah, how does it feel knowing that the new shows aren't as good as the first one?"

"Okay, THAT'S it!" NobodieZ said, then fiddled with his watch (or Omnitrix for all the Ben 10 nerds) and slammed his hand down on it.

Normally, this would have turned him into some alien hero…but that wasn't the case, seeing as the watch was just a toy.

"HA! That toy doesn't even work!" Lunatic mocked.

"Really? Here, can you look at this thing for a sec?" NobodieZ said, going over to Lunatic and showing him the watch. As he bent his neck trying to look at it, NobodieZ sharply brought it up and smacked him in the forehead. As the Insane Critic clutched his forehead in pain, NobodieZ pointed a finger at him, "HA! See? It DOES work!"

Lunatic quickly recovered, then moved so that he could see everyone and everyone could see him. "Alright, we all look totally ridiculous. This is the team that will obtain great riches! DO YOU AGREE?"

That question was answered with a round of cheers.

SWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSWSW

A few seconds later, the entire group was out in Lunatic's yard. Lunatic himself was studying the map.

"Now, according to this map, this is the starting point for the quest." Lunatic analyzed, "Now, isn't this desolate field a good starting point?"

"Desolate? This is just your yard." Saire asked, then pointed with her finger, "Houses and cars are everywhere. LOOK."

Saire was completely spot-on. This was a pretty busy neighborhood and a few cars honked their horns. One guy even stopped, rolled down his window, and said, "Comic-Con's THAT way, you nerds!" before returning to his merry business.

"Well, it's still the ideal starting point for our quest!" Lunatic continued, then turned and asked, "Steel what happened to your 'scar'?"

Indeed, the x-shaped marking on Steel's left cheek had vanished. "Oh, marker must've worn off."

As quick as a flash, Tohokari-Steel took a rub-on tattoo from his robe, applied it to his face. He waited a few seconds, then removed it with a brand-new x-scar on his face. "Problem solved. Continue."

"Good. Anyway, the map says that the path splits into two separate routes. So, I'm going to split us up into two teams. Let's call...this side 'Team A'," Lunatic pointed to the area to the Bindi's right, then pointed to the group left of her, "And call this side 'Team B'."

"TEAM B RULES!" Dimentio said, raising his hands in the air, then saw that Abe was on the same team as he was, "Withdrawn."

"Now, I copied the map and torn it a bit to make it look ancient and old like the original, which I entrust to Xem." Lunatic said, giving the map to the warlock-dressed tiger.

"Thank you, Lunatic. I pity the fools who try to get in our way. Good luck, yourself." Xem said, taking the map from Lunatic.

"Right. Now, we are on the verge of a new adventure!" Lunatic announced, "If we pull this off, our names will go down in history as the greatest…"

"Lunatic!" someone called, attracting attention from EVERY member.

There was Stephenie Meyer again, still wearing that same, dumb smile. "Hi. Thought I'd be helpful this time."

Every member familiar with Steel's review section turned to Saire. On seeing the reproachful glances, she held up her hands, "Don't look at me. I only played her once to mock her, so I didn't invite her."

Lunatic rolled his eyes, then walked over to Meyer and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Meyer, it's not that we don't want you because you're more worthless than a bucket of mud…"

"We don't?" Doopliss asked, earning himself a knock on the head from Wildrook, "He'll pay."

"It's just…there's more that can be done HERE." Lunatic explained to the failed writer.

"Like what?" Meyer asked, eager for an answer.

"Um…uh…Tohokari-Steel lost a contact." Lunatic said, quickly.

"Doesn't he wear glasses?" Meyer asked.

Steel, more than wanting to ditch Meyer, quickly pulled off his glasses and hid them behind his back. "Oh, uh, I dunno what you're talking about."

"Then, what's he hiding behind his back?" Meyer asked, gesturing to Steel.

"Uh…" Steel's eyes darted back and forth, "Nothing."

"Oh, okay." Meyer said, buying it in an instant.

"Good. Now hop to it." Lunatic said, then pushed her, hard, to the ground.

"I'll find it soon enough." Meyer said, facedown on the ground.

"Less talking, more searching." Lunatic ordered, then turned his attention to his group, "Now, on to business. Our two teams will stay together and seek treasure. But first, I think it will be fitting for us to go over that hill," Lunatic gestured to a nearby hill with one of his Keyblades, "in order to symbolize our unity."

"How can it symbolize our unity if we're splitting up?" DJ asked.

"Uh…it's to show that, though we may part ways, our unity will be strong in our hearts!" Lunatic countered.

"It's for the trailer 'cuz you want it to look cool, isn't it?" Strait asked.

"Yeah, it kinda is." Lunatic admitted.

"It's based on the ThatGuyWithTheGlasses special, too, I take it?" Systema asked.

"Guilty. But do you want to look cool?" Lunatic asked.

"Yes!" everyone answered.

"Do you want to look EPIC?"

"YEAH!"

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's begin the quest for the Sword of Chaos!" Lunatic said in, "Line up!"

The two respective teams lined up with Lunatic at the front. He took a keyblade, then ordered, "Begin Epic Music!"

As the team of warriors strode over the hill…well, you heard Lunatic. Play whatever cool, epic music you want. Lord of the Rings, Narnia, anything you want.

As they neared the parting point on their map, the two teams went their separate ways, still retaining the devotion to the quest that Lunatic had forced on them against their will.

But little did the traveling warriors know that obstacles lay in their path: ones that would stop at nothing to prevent the Sword of Chaos from falling into their grips.

Team A…
Lunatic/Roxas
Tohokari-Steel/Kenshin Himura
Bindi the Skunk/Catwoman
Wildrook and Wandrex/King Arthur and Patsy
Cooly McAwesome/Vash the Stampede
Kitten Hachi-Chan/Chibitalia
Maxim Karne Systema/Gray Fox
The Angelic Soldier/King Leonidas
Doopliss/Ganondorf

Team B…
Xemnas1992/Richard the Warlock
Sarge Ray/Cloud Strife
SaireNaoriva/Sub-Zero
Dimentio713/Prosecutor Godot
Madness Abe/Rin Okumura
E350/Lt. George
NobodieZ/Ben Tennyson
Shadow-DJ/Spawn
Irwin Beau Strait/Captain America

(Meanwhile…)

The door to Lunatic's house swung open as someone came in. It was Dezblade Sachin, dressed in a gray bodysuit, black gloves and boots, a long cape and an all-too-familiar cowl. For those of you who are a bit dimwitted, Dez was Batman.

Through years of training in the magic arts, he had perfected an art to maintain a human form, so long as he kept one part of his dragonic nature. In this case, it was his tail.

"Sorry I'm late, guys, my alarm clock stopped working and I lost complete track of…" he apologized, then froze as he saw the room.

Shortly after, another person came in. This one was Cartoonatic55, dressed in a uniform fit for an eighteenth century ship captain (complete with deep blue coat) and what appeared to be cat ears on either side of her head. A naval sword was sheathed on her belt as was a holstered blaster of some kind.

"Sorry I'm late. Couldn't quite decide which costume to go with, but chose Amelia from Treasure Plan…" Cartoonatic froze at what Dez had just witnessed seconds earlier.

The room was completely empty. The others had left before they could arrive.

"Oh, SON OF A-!" Dez growled, and I'll end the episode before things get profane.

(A.N.: Hey, Insania members, hope I got you all good in-costume. I was originally going to be Zack Fair from the same series, but went with Cloud because FF and/or KH fans might know him better.

And if there's any history behind your costume choices, feel free to tell me.)

Next time, our teams find the first clues to the Sword of Chaos as well as meet their first obstacles.

Stay tuned…