CHAPTER TWO: Select Your Character

Jessica looked down at the forms. "Oh, so this is a role playing game?" she asked. "I've never played one that wasn't a video game before..." Scanning the paper, she took a look at the class list. Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Warlock, Rogue, Monk, Ranger, Fighter, Paladin, Sorcerer, and Wizard, each with their own sets of advantages and disadvantages.

Hang on, aren't those last two the same? she thought, before shrugging and going for the Sorceress class.

"Oooooh, I know how this works! I know what I'm gonna be!" Star giddily exclaimed, speeding through the process as fast as she could.

"Just remember, Star - it's all just a game," Marco said, turning his attention back to the table. "I don't want a repeat of what happened the last time we played something like this."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I won't pull out my wand the next time someone cries out, 'Goblin attack!'" Star muttered, scribbling away with one hand. "Aaaaand... Paladin!" she declared, leaning back in her seat.

"So, which one's the Chaotic Evil class?" whispered a conniving voice in her ear. Star almost fell on her backside as she jumped up in fright. Turning around, she saw a familiar shadowy creature snickering madly behind her chair. It was Shade - who, as Marco noticed, had even bothered to bring that stupid black crown of his to the event.

"At least he's in the spirit of things," Marco quietly sighed. He wondered how long Shade could last before he tried backstabbing the party just for a laugh.

Noticing the newcomer, Lusamine started examining Shade from every angle with gleeful curiosity. "Oh, what's this? It looks like a Crobat! It can talk too! What kind of Pokémon is this!?"

"U-Um, m-miss, that's not a 'Pokuh-mon'," Voidica pointed out, not really knowing who Lusamine was, or even what a Pokémon was. "H-He's an Elemental, like me!"

Shade, meanwhile, seemed totally ignorant towards Lusamine's eager curiosity and scanned the class list. His eyes fell on Warlock. Yes, that seemed like the most villainous option he could take. So of course, he did. Lusamine childishly pouted over Shade's dismissal of her, before suddenly taking an interest in Voidica.

"Oh? What are Elementals, anyway?" she asked, picking up Voidica and examining her with equal enthusiasm, poking at her as if she were a child's doll. "Are they always as cute as you two? Do you have different types? Can people train you? Do they all not have fingernails like you?"

"M-Miss..." Voidica grumbled, getting very annoyed with Lusamine's lack of regard for personal space. As she curiously plucked off the Elemental's shoes and prodded her some more ("Do you really all not have toes? Are you ticklish?"), Lusamine felt someone prodding her in the back. A particularly miffed someone.

"You know there's something else going on now, right?" Jessica asked, glaring at sharply at Lusamine. That seemed to snap her back to reality, as with nothing more than a casual, "Oh, oops, I forgot," she dropped Voidica back in her seat and scribbled in her form as fast as possible.

"...she's a weirdo," Voidica whispered, staring distrustfully at Lusamine while Jessica slipped her shoes back on and helped her fill out her own character sheet.

The other Skylanders picked their own classes, based on what they liked, knew, or were good at. Some, like Katii, were unsure of which class to use, and so Nicole would helpfully give them advice. Eventually, the full list of classes were assigned, and displayed helpfully on a monitor:

Clerics: Kyubey, Lusamine, Mikan

Fighters: Aspen, Knuckles, Ragna

Monks: Jack, Marco

Paladins: Alisa, Makoto, Star

Rangers: Chiaki, Noire

Rogues: Alter-Ego, Katii, Shuichi

Sorcerers: Celes, Jessica, Toko

Warlocks: Hero Prinny, Shade

Wizards: Komaru, Tenyew, Voidica

Once everyone had chosen their class, small figures appeared on the board. Each one resembled the gathered players, but wore attire appropriate to their respective class. Tenyew's figure, for instance, wore a long robe befitting a Wizard, Jack's had a gi with little to no armour as a Monk, and Shade's closer resembled a flying spiked helmet than Shade himself.

Nicole couldn't help but smile as she watched her game come to life. The power of this Command Room gave her so many more abilities to use! "Shall we begin, adventurers?" she asked the Skylanders sitting around the table.

"YES! YES YES YES YES YESYESYESYAAAASSS!" Star sang, rapping her knuckles in anticipation as she bounced up and down in her seat. It was nice to see someone getting so into the spirit of things. However, unbeknownst to everyone, a small camera peeked out of the portal to the Box Dimension, the headquarters for their unwanted broadcaster, L.O.G. It turned its gaze to the table, and the gathered Skylanders.

"THE-SKYLANDERS-ARE-BEGINNING-THE-GAME," echoed the emotionless voice of Monodam. With his extendable arms, he was using the camera to watch the Skylanders in the Command Room while remaining inside the Box Dimension. He wasn't alone there, either; his father and fellow Monokubs were present, as were L.O.G.'s subordinates, Lord Chen and General Teddie.

"They're starting now?" Monotaro asked. "That's great! Now I can make Papa proud!"

Monophanie sighed. "Monotaro, how many times do I have to remind you; we…" Before she could finish her point, she stopped herself. The usually scatterbrained and forgetful Monotaro, for once, actually remembered something! The half-pink bear ran around the Box Dimension in a state of panic.

"AAAAAH!" she screamed as high as her voicebox allowed, "MONOTARO REMEMBERED SOMETHING! IT'S A SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE! NOW I'M GONNA BE MEAN AND LOVE VIOLENCE, AND MONOKID'S NOT GONNA BE AN ASSHOLE ANYMORE, AND OH NO I JUST SWORE, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE, AAAAAAH!"

"Yeesh, what's her problem?" Monotaro asked as his sister ran into a tower of boxes, which toppled onto her and seemingly smacked some sense back into her. "All I had to do was tie this ribbon to my arm!" he said, showing it off to his facepalming brothers.

"Aww, my little cub is finally growing up!" Monokuma cheered, clapping his small paws together. But one bear was far from pleased with the scene, as he tapped his mitten-like hands against his big head.

"Chen, please," General Teddie whined, "remind me why we allowed these cretins in here?!"

"Can you shut it already?" the minifigure replied. "The boss was cool with it, you know that!"

"That's what concerns me the most…" As General Teddie sat slumped in his chair, he heard the Monokubs recite their plan amongst themselves once more.

"Okay okay, here's the plan!" Monotaro began, eagerly holding up two shurikens. "We go in, we ninja-kick the damn rabbit, then we use whatever funny items we find there to take the Skylanders down!"

"Ugh, the first time he remembers his role as leader and comes up with a plan, and it's something that's lame and don't make any sense!" Monophanie grumbled. Quickly realising how unusually rude she was, she exclaimed, "OH NO, IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN, I MUST SAVE MYSELF!" and tore the ribbon off Monotaro's arm.

"Huh...what's up with all the recolours?" Monotaro asked, looking at his siblings in total confusion. "Or all these boxes? Were we doing something?"

Monokuma sighed and slumped down onto his plush rump. "Kids, just leave the planning to your ol' pappy Monokuma, OK?" he told the group as he connected a wire from a small socket in his red eye to Monodam's head. Now, he could see whatever the camera saw, and therefore plan as the situation demanded…

The lights in the HQ began to dim, as the holographic display of a castle appeared on the board.

"Welcome, adventurers," Nicole began, "to the Sky Lands of... Um... Somewhere...? Err…" Taking advantage of the systems Alter-Ego often used to affect his voice, Nicole made her own voice sound mystical and grand.

"Anyways, this is a peaceful land filled with hope, especially thanks to Prince Miles, who helps to keep the peace of these lands!" The castle on the board began to disappear, the peaceful and hopeful atmosphere of it lost when a new structure appeared; a sinister-looking tower that radiated evil, clearly a sign of bad news.

"But someone wishes to disturb that peace. The master of chaos, the destroyer of worlds, the guy who stole a raspberry pie from the bakery yesterday... It's the Despair Lord Kuma! To break the flow of hope, he has kidnapped Prince Miles, and is preparing to unleash his terror upon the world from his Tower of Despair!"

The tower disappears, and the figures of the Skylanders appear, standing in a forest. There they stood, waiting for their command. "Here, we follow our misfit band of adventurers, deciding what they shall do. They stand in a forest that looks as if it will go for miles, but to the east lies a humble little town. And to the north, they see the Tower of Despair off in the distance, reaching into the sky as it's terrifying dark magic pulses from the top."

The lights came back on, the journey ready to begin. With a smile, Nicole asked the Skylanders, "So, adventurers... What will you do first?"

Credits:

RP Creators: Failinhearts & Crow the BOOLET

Original episode writer: Polkadi~

Adaptation writer: Spin Attaxx

Spin Attaxx: Jessica Powell, Voidica, Shade (The Sorceress of the Stars (original)), Star Butterfly, Marco Diaz (Star vs. the Forces of Evil)

Crow the BOOLET: Lusamine (Pokémon)

Polkadi~ : Nicole (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Failinhearts: Monodam (Danganronpa V3), Monokuma (Danganronpa), General Teddie (Persona 4 Arena), Master Chen (Ninjago)

Ryannumber1gamer: Monotaro, Monophanie (Danganronpa V3)